by Belle Harper
“Did you want to ask me anything? Now is a good time if you have any burning questions?” That got her attention. She had her hair out again today, and she ran her hands through it, pushing it out of her face as she turned to me, her foot cocked up on the seat, relaxed.
“Yes, vampire ones?” I chuckled at the way she asked, like she wasn’t sure that was what I had meant.
“Yes, vampire ones. I will tell you anything, but… Please, don’t judge me.” I turned and saw she was still focused on me. Her gaze wandered over my sweater.
“Do you have tattoos?” I let the question linger for a few moments. That was not what I thought she would ask.
“No, back in my day—” She started laughing, it was a deep laugh. She clutched her belly and bent forward, and I started laughing, too. God, I was an old man; I just didn’t feel it when I was around Lexi. And that was bad. I needed to remind myself who I was. “As I was saying, back in my day, tattoos weren’t something people did. Not the same as now a days. You will see the older wolf-shifters don’t often have any.
“Alaric does not have any. And so, the answer to your question is no. I don’t, and no, I can’t get any. I heal too fast.”
She nodded as I pulled up to the Wendy’s drive-thru. I could see she was reading the menu, so I waited for her to decide. When I got up to the little box, I heard the scratchy voice of a woman ask for our order.
“Get whatever you want,” I told Lexi as she hesitated, but she surprised me when she ordered three burgers, fries, and a shake. Wow, she must have really been hungry.
She turned to me. “Did you want to get something?” I was confused by her question. Did she forget that I didn’t eat human food?
She giggled. “I mean . . . like get something you would want to eat, and then I can tell you how it tastes. I saw you eyeing off the chocolate the other night and it made me feel sad that you don’t get to experience foods like I do.”
If I was on the fence about whether to leave Lexi alone… I just jumped off and ran straight toward her. I didn’t know what to say, I was stunned. The lady in the box asked if that was all.
I looked back at the menu. I had never been here before; I had never needed to. I didn’t know where to start.
“Yes, can I have also a crispy chicken sandwich?”
She ate two burgers and the fries before I even got to my place on the Lovell estate. She described every bite, and I think I enjoyed it more, experiencing it through her words than I would have ever eating them.
“You can ask me all the questions you want when we get inside. I have a device that keeps out unwanted ears. There are a few around the house; Alaric has one in his office and his bedroom. Most shifters have them in their bedrooms.” Her eyes perked up to that.
Yes, well, vampire hearing was much better than shifters. I didn’t want any outsiders to hear what was said in here. Not that we have done anything to draw the attention of other shifter packs or vampires, but it was always nice to talk to someone in private.
It was a strange feeling when she walked inside my place with her bag of food and backpack.
“Wow, it is a lot bigger in here than it looks from the outside.” I nodded, there was a basement too, but I used it mostly for storage. She walked around the sitting room, looking at some of my trinkets I had collected over my lifetime. I just kept the ones that meant the most to me here. She eyes the wooden horse my father carved for me when I was only four or five.
Most of my belongings were in my many houses and apartments around the world, with time I have grown wealth. And I owned many properties. But with money doesn’t come happiness, doesn’t give you a purpose. That was why I was here, in Kiba.
“So, I guess a burning question, to follow up the ‘in my day,’ spiel is, how old are you? Like you look young . . . maybe twenty?” I shook my head and pointed up, she smiled as she took a seat, curling her legs under herself, making herself comfortable. She was so relaxed in my presence and I realized I was the tense one. Why did she make me feel nervous? I took a seat across from her as I watched her unwrap another burger and take a bite. “Twenty-three?” Her voice muffled as she spoke. I shook my head and pointed down. “Two, one?”
I smiled as she took another bite, not caring that she was speaking with her mouth full.
“Hey, you said you would answer my questions.” She drank some of her shake and I laughed. It made me relax more.
“Yes, I did. I am stuck at the age of twenty-one, and I have just celebrated my three hundredth and twelfth birthday. So, I am old, not the oldest… there are older vampires than me. But to be honest, when you are around… I don’t feel old or like a vampire.”
She stopped eating and put her burger back inside the wrapping, I could see her brain ticking over—she was always thinking and I liked that. She was switched on at all times.
“Is it something to do with what I am? Or… me.” She didn’t meet my eye, maybe worried about my answer.
“Not what you are, but who you are.” I waited for her to be disgusted, to leave my place. Grossed out that her teacher—an old man—was saying this to her.
“I like that,” she whispered. Her smile was so genuine, her eyes so beautiful they almost glowed from within. I almost forgot myself for a moment.
I let that sit as I watched her lips as she licked them—I wanted to lick them too.
I wanted nothing more than to kiss her.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Lexi
Galen said when he was around me, he didn’t feel old. Or like a vampire. I liked that it was me and not just the what I was that made him feel like that. There was a quiet in the room after I spoke, but it was nice. He was waiting for me to ask more.
“Do you drink human blood?” I decided to just dive right in. I wasn’t afraid of Galen. He made me feel safe when I was around him—the same way I felt when I was around Raff and now Ranger.
“Yes.” When he didn’t go further, I waved my hand for him to continue and that sexy chuckle he had came out to play. “I drink from humans and I also go to blood banks.” Oh wow, that I guessed, but blood banks… That made me feel a bit better.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, his eyes searching my face.
“The truth?” I asked. Being bold, I wanted to tell him why I didn’t want him drinking other people’s blood. And not because it was wrong, but that I was jealous. I wanted to be the one he fed from, and that should scare me, but it didn’t, it just felt right. He nodded and crossed his legs as he sat back and got a little more comfortable. But I could tell from the way he was holding himself that he was anything but comfortable.
“I don’t like the thought of you sucking blood from someone…” I could see his face harden slightly, but before he could speak, I quickly added. “I want to be the one you take blood from.”
I could feel the air in the room thicken with desire as the words lingered between us. When he didn’t move or say anything, I felt like maybe I was reading this wrong and he didn’t feel something for me like I did for him.
“I can’t, I… Your blood is different. It calls to me, but I do not know what it would do to me. If I drank from a shifter, it would make me weak, but it wouldn’t kill me… like their venom does.”
Before I could say anything, he blurted out, “Your DNA results are back, and that was one of the reasons I brought you here.”
That had me sitting up straighter. Oh my God, I was going to find out what I was…
“Before you get too excited, they are still running tests to find out what you are. They haven’t seen blood like yours before, and they are comparing it against everything they have. The news I have is different, it might not be what you wanted to hear. And Alaric thought it would be better coming from me.”
I was truly freaking out. What the hell could it be if they didn’t know what I was?
“Give it to me, I can handle anything.”
Galen nodded as he placed his elbows on his knees, leaning closer to me
. I mirrored the same movements, not wanting to miss anything he said.
“You do not share any DNA with your father. He was not your biological father, Lexi. We do not know who is, but he was the one who passed the supernatural element onto you, your unique scent, and the fast healing. I am so sorry to tell you this…”
That was it? My mom cheated on my dad with some supernatural guy? I didn’t know if I was numb to the fact he just told me that the man I called dad for five years wasn’t my real dad. He didn’t act like I was his daughter, but then again, neither did my mother for that matter. They were always drugged out and I was left hungry more than I could count the times they fed me.
“That’s okay… don’t need to be sorry. They weren’t exactly loving parents.”
Galen was in front of me in an instant and I gasped at the sudden movement. His curls bounced on his forehead like they were trying to keep up with the sudden shift. I giggled as I reached out and twirled one in my finger. It was silky and soft.
“You are like super-fast.” He was so close, and I was touching his hair. My stomach felt like it had butterflies and I bit my lower lip as I slowly traced my fingers down his forehead, his cheek, and to his jaw. He was cold to the touch, which reminded me what he really was. But it didn’t put me off, it just made me more curious. I wanted to know… no, I needed to know how he would feel on my lips. My breathing had sped up as my lips parted; I was sure he could hear my hammering heart. My breath hitched as I ran my thumb along his bottom lip, his eyes never straying from my own.
“Show me your fangs,” I whispered almost breathlessly. I was so turned on, my body tingling all over. He tried to pull away from me, but I reached out and grabbed his shoulder and held him. He would have been able to get out of my hold, but he stayed.
His big hazel eyes turned dark. “Your eyes are so amazing when they turn dark. You don’t have to show me your fangs, but you also don’t have to be afraid to be yourself. I won’t run screaming; I am a lot stronger than you think.”
When he faced me, I could see the dark swirling with the hazel. Like his eyes were fighting for dominance—the vampire side taking over from the human. But it didn’t alarm me. I trusted Galen with my life.
I watched in fascination as dark won and his mouth dropped open slightly. I could see this was hard for him. He didn’t want to show me this side of himself, the part he had kept hidden.
His tongue swept out and licked his lower lip where my thumb had just been moments earlier. I could see two white fangs protruding. I moved closer to him and he didn’t move. He watched me with curious eyes as I reached out and ran my thumb along his bottom lip again. This time, I stroked a finger down the exposed fang. Galen shivered.
“Sorry, I should have asked.” He shook his head and nodded for me to continue. He was waiting for me to finish exploring. I touched the other one and tried to imagine it piercing someone’s skin.
“Does it hurt? When you bite people?”
He pulled away slight to talk. “No, I compel them. Something I can’t do to shifters… or you. I had tried once.” He looked a little ashamed at that. I shook my head. I didn’t care if he tried, just that he couldn’t made me feel relieved. That what I felt for him wasn’t put inside my head, that this was really how I felt.
“How do they explain the holes in their neck?”
He let out a deep, rumbled laugh. “Ah, see there is our secret. Vampire blood heals humans as fast as it heals us.”
Oh wow. I raised my brows. So, the person wouldn’t feel it happening, and then be healed and not even know they had been fed on by a vampire. I guess that was the way vampires survived for all these years and no one knew that they were real. Still didn’t.
I wanted to kiss him so bad, but I had already created a bit of a mess with Ranger that I needed to fix first. I didn’t want to throw Galen in the mix and add a bigger mess. But his face, his lips… I wanted nothing more than to kiss him. He was the sexiest teacher I had ever had, and I think that was why this was such a bad idea. I shouldn’t be touching him like this. I shouldn’t want him like this. It was wrong. Until I graduate.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“Kissing you.” I held my hand over my mouth as my eyes widened. Holy shit. I said that out loud.
“Hey, don’t do that. Don’t overthink it. I asked and you told me… I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t thinking the same, Lexi.”
I drew in a shuddering breath at his words. His hand went to my knee and when I didn’t say anything, he smiled. He moved in closer. My body humming in response.
“Did you mean what I think you did? When you said, ‘have your cake and eat it too?’” His left brow cocked and I could see a tiny smirk on his face. I pushed his shoulder lightly, but I didn’t take my hand away.
“I want to eat cake,” I whispered. His hand moved farther up my leg. I could feel the cold of his skin through my jeans. “I want every slice.” His hand stopped, my skin tingled everywhere he had touched, like he was lighting me up.
“Rafferty?” I nodded. “Ranger.” I rolled my eyes but smiled and nodded. “What about Maverick?” That didn’t know, so I shrugged. How many was too many?
“Me?” It was so low, I didn’t think I would hear it, but I did. I didn’t speak; instead, I looked him in the eyes and slowly nodded. He was so close, just another inch and we would be kissing.
My eyes drifted closed as our noses met, cold against my warm. I sucked in a small breath just as there was a loud bang on the door. My eyes flew open and so did his. He was up instantly and over to see who it was. My hand on my chest tried to calm my racing heart.
Alaric…
And now the moment between Galen and me was gone.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Lexi
I ran back to the house. I needed to get some space to clear my head. I almost kissed Galen, I dry humped Raff and Ranger in the pool in front of Maverick and Galen… and he asked me if I wanted Maverick. I wasn’t sure what was happening. Did I want them all? Could I have them all? I had started to really like Maverick, but now everything was crazy.
As soon as I got into the house, I went toward the kitchen to grab a snack. What I didn’t expect to see was Maverick… topless. He had a tattoo on his chest, it was some words.
“Hey, Lexi. Do you like steak? I was going to grill tonight.” I looked up at his face, and he smiled. Oh God, those dimples. I need to think with my head, not my body.
“Ah, yeah.” I think I did. His brows furrowed as he looked at me closer. I tried to be casual and put my hands in my pockets. I desperately tried not to give away that I almost kissed my teacher and was busted by his dad.
“Are you okay? Was it bad news? Did you want to talk about it?” Huh? Oh, oh… the whole parent thing.
I shook my head. “No, I’m fine. It wasn’t anything big. My dad isn’t my real dad. It’s some supernatural guy… Are you making potato salad?” I was just now seeing what he was doing. He looked at me, concern written over his face. But then he smiled again as he nodded.
“Yeah, for dinner tonight. I hope you have room; I made a pasta salad, too.” Wow, just… wow. The Lovell brothers didn’t just look like works of art, but they could cook and were smart, too. Not helping me stop thinking about how sexy Maverick looked right now.
“Yep, I have room.” I would make room for that. I quickly dashed past him, grabbed some cookies, and made my way up to my room. By the time I flopped onto the bed, I realized I left my backpack at Galen’s. Ugh… I didn’t think I could face him again tonight. I had too many things on my mind to sit and do any homework right now.
I was actually lucky that Alaric bought my bag back for me so I didn’t have to go get it. He said that Galen had to excuse himself from tonight’s dinner, that he had somewhere he needed to be. I groaned internally; Alaric would have smelled me at Galen’s. He knew that something else was going on there. That I was turned on by Galen. This was bad. So, so bad.
I
was quiet at dinner. Ranger and Raff both sat beside me. Jett was cracking jokes, and I was trying to laugh along. Lyell was discussing something to do with the weather and Nash… Well, he was Nash. After dinner, Raff invited me to come spend some time with him in his room. I agreed, but I wanted to take a shower first and get comfy for the night. I think some time alone with Raff would be good for me.
If I could, I would live in pjs. Like every day. It was warm inside the house, so I opted for some sleep shorts and the oversized white tee. But I was going bra free tonight; I loved throwing off the bra at the end of the day. I needed to be marked now and I was hoping Raff would be into marking more than just my neck tonight.
I giggled to myself as I made my way down to his room. I was surprised when I passed by Ranger’s room, his door was open and Raff came out. I stopped and spun around.
“What were you doing in Ranger’s room?” I asked as I lifted my arms up to hug him.
Raff smiled and wrapped his arms around me, kissing me softly. “Were just hanging out. Talking about shit.” I raised my brow at Raff as I saw Ranger causally lean against the doorframe. He looked like he really got his confident, cocky self back.
“Do you guys want to hang out in here?” Ranger asked. I looked up to Raff, trying to work out if this was what he wanted. I was looking forward to the one on one marking time. But if he wanted to hang out with Ranger, then I was okay with that. I was sure it was not us just hanging. I had a feeling Ranger’s words meant more than that.
Just I wasn’t too sure if Raff was really okay with this, and I needed to be sure. If he wasn’t, I would put all my other feeling aside and walk away right here with Raff. I knew in my heart he was for me—he was my forever.
