by Lia Davis
"Nobody ever treats us that way," I said, my heart pounding. Had everyone in high school hated us?
"Of course not. Everyone loves you, plus you're going to be their leaders one day. They'd never treat you badly. But you know how guys talk in the locker room. We all knew that nobody had ever gotten anywhere with any of the three of you."
"That's not reassuring," I said dryly. "What sort of locker room talk?" I narrowed my eyes on him, suspicious of his motives.
Dorian leaned forward, cupping my cheeks in his hands. "Mainly talk of wishing they could fuck the perfect Webb triplets. I know that's all I could think about when I saw you three, but especially you. Your sisters' personalities didn't call to me, but yours did. You're fiery, passionate, aren't you? Just waiting for someone to let it out."
His lips closed on mine, softly, almost reverently. He couldn't have known it, but he was my first kiss. And what an amazing kiss it was. His warm lips moved softly over my own, caressing, almost... loving them. When he pulled back, he was smiling, and I had to fight myself to keep from falling into a puddle of goo.
If his carousing in high school had taught him how to do that, well, maybe I wasn't so upset about it after all.
Chapter Four
Speeding around the room, I picked everything up, throwing the trash into the bin, the clothes into the hamper, and the dishes into the sink. Normally, Tala kept the dorm spotless, but she and Ami had gone home for the weekend, and I'd slobbed it up a bit. They came back for classes this morning, going directly to our first-period History class, so Tala hadn't seen the mess.
Tala had joined a drama club and would be there most of the afternoon into evening, and Ami had walked through the apartment without noticing the mess. She'd grabbed a book and told me she was going to read in the forest until it got too dark. After she exited our dorm, I heard her knock on the sentries’ door.
That gave me several hours to spend with Dorian and Peter. I'd sworn them to secrecy on Saturday. We'd spent a couple of hours talking about what we liked to do, our hopes for the future, everything. The conversation had flowed naturally, calm and uplifting to me, that I seemed so compatible with these two men that I would presumably spend the rest of my life with. At least, the conversation had been calm. The whole time I was like a coiled spring, ready to jump on top of them and rip their clothes off. The mating urge was intense, and I didn't even have a frame of reference for what intense even was.
Something felt off the whole time, though. It made me nervous, and I wanted to keep the situation to myself. I kept thinking something was off or missing.
When Tala texted to ask if I wanted them to pick me up any fast food, I rushed the guys out the door with the promise that they could come back tonight. They'd wanted to come Sunday, but that was family day and I didn't want to alert my parents that something was going on by missing dinner with the family.
They'd noticed anyway, grilling me for information all day. Finally, they accepted that I was just tired, and I never had to explain that my mind was stuck on the glint of the sun in Peter's hair, or the passionate kiss I'd shared with Dorian.
Now, it was time to see them again and I was so nervous I wanted to throw up. Instead, I channeled the energy into cleaning. I knew I was a total slob, but they didn't need to know it yet.
A knock on the door interrupted my frantic cleaning. I stopped dead, staring at the door, holding back a squeal. Anticipation thundered through my veins and my vampire and wolf were not making anything any easier. They were more excited than I was. Maybe I'd get another kiss. Or get to kiss Peter. Holy shit, I had mates. Actual mates. And I liked them. And they liked me.
Another knock unfroze me, and I darted to the door, throwing the items in my hands into Ami's bedroom on the way through.
I opened the door to a grinning Peter and Dorian. They looked amazing, just wearing jeans and tees. "Fuck," Dorian muttered.
"What?" I asked looking down. Had I spilled something on me while I cleaned up?
"He didn't mean that in a bad way," Peter said. "You just look amazing."
"Come in," I said, my voice squeaky. Damn, Meda calm the fuck down. They're going to think you're a bubblehead. As they passed in front of me, their scents hit me, and I nearly groaned.
They smelled like sex. Not actual, physical sex, I had no idea what that smelled like. But in my mind, they smelled like sex and passion. Holy Hell, how would I get through this night with them?
I shut the door behind them with a sense that I should hold it open for another moment as if someone else was about to come in. But it was just us. How odd.
"So, how are you guys?" I asked nervously. "I'm good," I continued before they could answer. "I've got a couple of frozen pizzas in the oven, and I rented that new human movie that everyone is raving about. The one with superheroes."
Dorian snorted and started talking about how unrealistic those movies were. He sounded like my dad, so I just rolled my eyes and checked on the pizza.
"Do you realize that to humans, we are just as unrealistic?" Peter asked, walking toward the kitchen.
"Yeah, but we're real. Superheroes aren't." Dorian grabbed the remote, making himself at home.
"I'll make the drinks," Peter said softly, putting a hand on my back as I looked in the drawers for the oven mitt. "What would you like?"
The feel of his hand burned into my skin under my thin shirt. I'd worn one of my nicer shirts, black with small red polka dots. Normally, jeans and tees were my staple, but Ami had forced me to buy a few nicer things, and for once, I was glad. I'd had to steal a pair of black ballet flats from Tala's closet, and used Ami's makeup, but even I'd had to admit I looked nice when I finally stopped primping and started cleaning.
"Water?" he prompted.
"Oh, sorry, yeah, water's great." I'd gotten so lost in the feel of his hand on me that I'd completely forgotten his question. He moved his hand away, and I missed it immediately. Was this what it would be like? Feeling excited to have another person in my life, in my personal space? I'd always pictured myself as wanting my alone time, but the time over the weekend we'd been apart had been like torture. I'd wanted to run screaming to them the entire time.
Maybe I could find a way to ask my mom about how she felt when she met her mates without being overly obvious. I lamented for a moment as I cut the pizza that I hadn't done so the day before after dinner.
Once again, the conversation over dinner and until we started the movie was excellent. I learned that Dorian wanted to go into finance, which threw me for a loop. He was a hotheaded, passionate vampire.
"My dad is an accountant. He actually works on the committee that handles the finances for the Collective and your parents." He shrugged. "It's interesting, digging into a set of numbers and figuring out how they make sense."
"That's actually hot," I said without thinking. As soon as the words left my mouth, I wished I could take them back.
"Oh really?" he asked with an eyebrow raised. "How so?"
"Well, you're obviously attractive, as you damn well know." I teased him effortlessly, the words coming out naturally. "It's even better that you actually have a brain."
We started the movie, and I honestly couldn't even say what superhero it was about when it was over. Sandwiched between the two of them, I spent the entire time worrying about how much my legs touched theirs, if my hand brushing against them was as much of a turn on to them as it was to me, and whether or not I could just reach over and kiss one of them. I thought about it for so long the movie was over and Peter turned the lights back on.
He took the worry off of me, though, and when he sat down, he sat sideways so he faced me. "Meda. Can I kiss you?" His question was respectful and polite, and holy hell I was so glad he'd asked.
"Yes."
My permission launched his passion, and he leaned forward, capturing my lips with his. He wasn't as slow or sweet as Dorian had been the day before. His desire burned through his lips and into mine, ravenous. My fire exploded
into an inferno, heating my skin.
Shit. That would be something to watch out for in the future. Peter pulled back, rubbing his lips. "Ouch."
"I'm so sorry," I whispered.
Dorian reached around and touched my hand lightly. "You're scorching hot. So it's true."
"Yep. I'm a fire elemental." Not many people knew, really. We tried not to advertise it. Bad enough that I was the first hybrid anyone ever heard of.
"So, my sisters will be home soon, and I'm just not ready to share you yet. I promise, when word gets out, it'll be an absolute circus. We'll regret ever telling anyone."
"It's okay." Peter stood and stretched. I missed his nearness immediately. "We did tell Sterling, though. He's our best friend."
That wasn't so bad. I said goodnight, and they each gave me a chaste kiss on the lips, though Dorian groaned as he pulled away.
I went to bed to avoid my sisters. I couldn't keep it up forever, though. They were going to realize something was going on.
The next morning Harper dragged me out of bed for a run, which I was all too glad to go on. The pent-up sexual tension was about to make me burst into literal flames.
After we finished our run and showered, Harper went with me and Tala to our first morning class. It was standard Algebra, the same as we’d take at a human college.
Kerry was in the class. "Hey," I said, sitting down beside her. "You okay?" Harper walked up to see what she said. I realized we’d never gone back to check on her last Friday. I’d gotten totally distracted by my new mates.
"Hi, Meda. Fine, and you? It’s good to see you." She smiled at me, and her expression was perfectly normal.
"Good. Were you okay last week when we passed you by the dorms?"
"When?" Her face went blank. "I haven’t seen you since we graduated from the Academy."
Harper looked at me over Kerry’s shoulder with one eyebrow raised.
"My mistake, Ker. Never mind."
I continued making idle chit chat with her until the professor came in, but she seemed perfectly fine.
Life went into a normal pace until Friday, except I kept sneaking off to meet Dorian and Peter. Peter came one morning and ran with me and Harper. Another day, Dorian turned up and walked me to the only class I had that day without my sisters. Wednesday night, I told my sisters I was going to go with Harper looking for new running shoes, then Harper made herself scarce while I went with Dorian and Peter out to dinner.
Friday morning, I woke in bed, groggy and disoriented. "What the hell is going on?" I remembered going for an early morning run with Harper. Randell had joined us. Then I showered, and then… nothing. I didn’t remember going to class or anything.
I sat up in bed, still disoriented. This didn't make any fucking sense at all. Lycans couldn't easily be drugged, not really. It took an extraordinary amount of any drug or alcohol to even begin to affect us.
"Ugh." Throwing the blankets off, I realized I was still wearing my running clothes. My skin felt sticky, which meant I hadn't showered after sweating. "Gross," I whispered, heading toward the bathroom.
The hot water helped wake me up, but no matter how I turned it over in my mind, I couldn't figure out why I was losing time. After throwing on shorts and a tee, I headed for the kitchen, my stomach growling.
"Finally awake?" Ami stood at the island, spreading peanut butter on toast. "Hungry?"
"Starving," I muttered. "What time is it?"
"Nearly one." She didn't give me any looks as she placed the toast in front of me as one of the sentries would've, or Tala, but I felt her concern. As triplets, we didn't exactly have a read-each-other's-mind’s sort of bond, but we could get a really good read on each other. She was worried.
"Holy Hell," I said around a bite of warm bread. "It's so late."
"The only reason nobody worried is because you came in here and went to bed pretty soon after we lost you. Are you coming down with something?"
She met my eyes, no judgment in them. Ami had one of the kindest souls I'd ever encountered. She was pure. I'd always been waiting on the person to come along and ruin her unsullied nature. That would probably be the first person I had to kill.
"Sister, whatever it is, we're here for you. Maybe a quick visit from the shaman wouldn't hurt?"
"No, not yet. I think I've just been tired. The whole move and stuff, wearing me out. I'll be okay. If it keeps happening, I'll call, I promise." She nodded, and we finished eating.
"Oh, did you hear about Kerry?" Ami asked as she put our dishes in the washer.
"No, what happened?" After her strange behavior, I hoped it wasn't anything too bad.
"She left campus. I guess she decided college life wasn't for her." She shrugged.
That made absolutely no sense. "But she's super smart. If anyone would want to go to college, it's her." There was no way she left of her own accord.
"Maybe the classes weren't tough enough for her. You know she was always teaching the teachers at the academy."
I snorted. "Yeah, it drove them crazy." I still didn't believe she left because she just didn't want to go to our college anymore. If anything, she realized something strange was going on and took off. Ami shrugged and walked out of the kitchen, leaving me lost in my own head.
Maybe it was time to talk to someone about all this after all. But who? Anyone connected to my parents would overreact, then all four of them would swoop in. What an embarrassment.
Maybe my new mates would have an idea. The likelihood that the missing time and my classmates behaving so strangely was related to a spell was high. I needed to talk to a witch or a shaman that didn't know who I was. Not freaking likely.
Oh, what a dummy I was. Dorian and Peter’s best friend was a witch. He’d be the perfect solution.
"Meda," Ami called from her room. "I'm going to class. You coming?"
"I don't know, maybe I am coming down with a little cold or something. I'll catch up with you later."
I couldn't think of anyone else I trusted to tell about the blackouts. I didn't know Calista well enough to trust her with any personal information about myself, even though she was supposed to be the daughter of some powerful witch. She was ruled out. Sterling was the heir to the High Priest of the Hightower Circle, which if my memory served, was an enormous witch coven that had ties to the mafia. At least, that’s what the rumor mills in high school had said. If anyone would understand my strong desire to keep my parents out of my problem, it would be him.
If anything else happened, I'd call him. Dorian or Peter could get a message to him.
Since I skipped class, I had plenty of time on my hands. I decided to get online and see if there were any blogs about memory loss and losing time. Most things referenced aging, head trauma, and other things that really didn't apply to me. I gave up quickly. The internet was full of human information, but really not much for shifters or other supernatural creatures.
Maybe that would be a good goal for me. I could start a secure website for people like me.
I went to bed early and woke up on Saturday morning feeling like a million bucks. My sisters, my sentries, and I decided to hit the mall and do a little shopping. The guys hated it but went along anyway. It was their job. They consoled themselves by spending most of the time at the food court while Harper accompanied us to the stores. Then we had somewhere to drop all our bags—with them as they ate their way through the mall's offerings.
Shopping had been the last thing I’d wanted to do, but Tala twisted my arm, saying she was beginning to think I’d found better people to spend my time with since she’d seen me so little over the last week. I bit back my disappointment that I couldn’t spend the day with my guys and tagged along.
Sunday was spent on homework. It had been our tradition since we were kids. We’d camped out in the living room back home but used the common room in our dorm. Blankets and pillows everywhere, music on in the background, and snacks scattered around everywhere. I ate more than anyone else, as usual. Focusing on m
y homework was nearly impossible, especially considering the constant influx of texts from Peter and Dorian. They weren’t together, apparently, because they each seemed to have nothing better to do than send me messages. Not that I minded.
Monday morning came around with me still feeling normal. Maybe I wouldn't have to call Sterling after all. Probably, I really had just been tired and was acclimating to my new routine and life, not to mention the guys. They’d taken up a lot of time. After my run, I caught up with my sisters to walk to History.
"Mom asked about you last night," Ami said.
"You saw mom last night?"
Tala pushed me. "Sunday night family dinner, dumbass."
My mind buzzed. I'd forgotten about it completely.
"I forgot," I whispered.
"You said you were going to bed when we asked if you were coming with us?" Ami took my hand. "But you didn't seem like yourself."
"I just wasn't feeling so hot," I said dejectedly.
Damn it! I'd have to call Sterling after all. I didn't remember anything weird about the night before. We studied, finished our papers, then I went to bed. I didn't remember them asking me about leaving. I didn't remember them leaving at all.
Several of our friends had randomly exhibited strange trance-like behavior, and I wasn't the only one that had noticed it. Was I one of the ones? Was I acting exactly like them?
As soon as I could get a moment to myself, I was calling Sterling.
Defensive spells would've been a good distraction, if not for the professor. We were beginning the chapter on curses, and Professor Nelson singled me out first thing. "Meda, how would you counter a lovesick curse?"
"I'm afraid I'm not sure what a lovesick curse is, sir." What the hell did he want from me? "I'd love for you to tell me, though."
"It was in the required reading for the weekend. Did you not do it?" His eyes narrowed on me. Shit. I thought I had, but I definitely hadn't read anything about a lovesick curse.
"I—uh, I wasn't feeling well, I'm sorry." My face burned in shame, my fire licking close to the surface of my skin. If I didn't calm my racing emotions, my skin would start to smoke. "As a matter of fact, I'm still not feeling great. If you'll excuse me." I snatched my bag up and made a beeline for the exit, Harper hot on my trail.
