by Lia Davis
When we stepped outside, the cool autumn air swirled around me. I shivered. I wasn’t a big fan of the cold and dreaded the coming winter. Ami loved the winter. Tala didn’t care for it either, her nature tended to make her cold, as if her inner water could freeze.
Scanning the area, I spotted Peter as he disappeared into the tree line next to our dorm. "There he is."
Sterling, Dorian, and I moved together, jogging into the forest. I felt Sterling using his magic. When I glanced at him questioningly, he sent me a thought. "Cloaking spell."
Ah. "Good thinking."
We slowed when we saw Peter talking to someone. From our vantage point, I couldn’t tell who he was with. "We need to move closer."
My guys nodded, and we made a wide loop around Peter to get a better view. I almost couldn't contain my growl when I saw Calista with my mate. I was going to teach that bitch a lesson about stealing other people’s mates.
Sterling took my hand and squeezed. "You know this isn’t him right now."
I nodded and motioned to get closer so we could hear what they were saying. I could hear them, but Sterling couldn’t. Or could he? I met his gaze. He smirked and tapped his head. "I hear them through you."
Hmm, interesting.
When Calista mentioned my name, I focused on their words.
"Do you have anything new to report on Meda and her sisters? How powerful are they? I know they have secrets. Better, yet what are their weaknesses?"
What the hell? Why did she need to know that? No way would my Peter spill information like that to her.
Peter stood there, his back straight and staring ahead like he wasn’t really there. The trance spell. "They are more powerful than even they realize. I don’t know if they even have weaknesses."
Hope bloomed within me. Peter lied to her. Was he in there fighting her hold? I fought the urge to slip into his mind and break the spell. "I want to break the spell she has on him, but at the same time, I want to know more. Like why is she doing this?"
Dorian growled low. "I don’t like her living with our mate."
"Me neither," Sterling said, agreed with me. "Leave the spell for now. We need to see what she wants."
Calista made a sound of frustration and waved her hands in the air. "You can go away now. But I'll be calling you again soon."
Peter walked toward the dorm. Sterling, Dorian, and I started to follow when a dark presence settled around me. "Wait," I breathed. I wasn’t sure if my guys sensed it or not. They turned to look at and that told me they could sense the demon approaching.
A man in a suit appeared, but since we’d moved to be able to see Calista’s face, his back was to us. From the feel of him, he was a low-level demon. They weren’t terribly powerful but could pack a punch when they needed to.
Calista folded her arms and glared at him. "I’m handling this, Dad. I didn’t need you coming here."
My jaw dropped, as did my heart. Son of a bitch. Calista wasn’t a witch. She was a demon.
Chapter Fourteen
I put my hands on my mate's arms, squeezing. If they made one movement or one sound, the demon would sense us all there. I didn't know if Sterling's cloaking spell was strong enough to hide us. Keeping absolutely still was crucial.
"Don't move."
"I won't. Who is that?"
"I'll explain when we get back to the dorm. If he senses us here, I don't know what will happen." Dorian would’ve been taught about demons in his education as a vampire. He knew to keep absolutely still.
We stopped communicating and listened.
"You're taking too long. Have you figured it out yet?" The man in the suit cocked his head, and something tickled the back of my mind. He was familiar somehow. Maybe I’d met him at a party over the years. Lilipad loved throwing lavish parties and we’d been invited since we turned sixteen.
He stiffened and straightened his spine. After he placed his hand on Calista, they both disappeared.
"Let's get the fuck out of here," I whispered. Dorian and I could exit the woods without disturbing a single leaf, but Sterling couldn't. "Dorian." I jerked my head toward Sterling. "Piggyback."
Sterling rolled his eyes but hopped onto Dorian's back. We moved fast, faster than any non-magical eye could possibly keep up with.
I didn't stop until I was in our dorm, through the common room, past my sisters and the sleeping sentries, and into my bedroom. Dorian kept my pace, even with Sterling on his back. As soon as he stopped, Sterling jumped down, bending over and breathing hard.
"Son of a bitch, how do you guys stand that?" he asked. "I'm hardcore fighting the pukes." He stopped talking and pressed his hand to his mouth.
Grinning at Dorian, I helped Sterling onto my bed. "We're born this way, can't help it. But better you have a bit of motion sickness than be dead at the hands of a demon."
Sterling nodded with closed eyes.
"Did you recognize him?" Dorian asked as he paced the room, obviously keyed up. "I wanted to rush out and confront him."
"Bad idea. Don't you know about demons?" It was standard at the academy we'd all gone to.
He laughed and pushed at my head as he passed by me. "Of course. I didn't go off on him, did I?"
"Yeah, I wanted to as well." I sighed. "Now what?"
"Now we figure out how to deliver Calista to the sentries." Sterling sat up, his face looking less green.
"No," I said with a sigh, my disappointment written all over my face and body language. "This has gotten bigger than us. It's time to call the Niswi."
Dorian shrugged. "I'm happy to do whatever. I'll fight or I can hang out and be your last line of defense, as long as you're safe."
I stuck my tongue out at him. "I'd rather eat a live toad than my mother finding out about this, but I think it's going to happen." With a heavy heart, I walked out into the living room to wake up my sisters. We were about to be overwhelmed in parental units, and they deserved a heads up.
Ami was curled up in the corner of the couch with Harper on the other side, sharing a blanket.
Tala was in the middle of the floor, with her head pressed against Randell's chest. Elijah was curled around Tala's body like they'd been made to spoon together and had done it for years.
"This is new," I said loudly, waking all of them.
Tala raised her head up and looked into Randell's eyes, a panicked expression growing on her face. As she tried to back up, she planted herself firmly onto Elijah.
I really hoped he had a hard-on.
Ami and Harper watched sleepily from the couch, then shared a look before quickly looking away from each other.
"The fuck is going on?" I burst out laughing. It was like me finding my mates had triggered something in my sisters, awakening their sexuality.
Oh, shit. What if it had?
Nobody answered my question. "Whatever it is, it has to wait." I moved into the room and sat between Ami and Harper. "We have to call the Niswi."
We explained the whole fiasco to my sisters and our sentries, who were furious we hadn't woken them to go with us.
"I'm sorry. It just happened so fast." I shrugged. I had no real excuse besides I felt safe with my mates. "Besides, in the end, I'm glad you weren't there. If any more of us had been in the woods the demon might've sensed us."
They grumbled but couldn't argue with that. I pulled out my phone and stared at it, dreading the call. "Should we wait for morning?" I asked hopefully.
"No," Tala said. "If they have to go searching for Calista, sooner is better than later."
She was right, so I pressed the button to connect to Dad. He'd be the one least likely to totally freak out. "Hey, Dad," I said. "We need some help."
I heard my mom in the background. Damn. "Kane, who is it?"
"Meda. Something's wrong," he replied.
The line went quiet for a second before my mom came on the line. Her voice was like ice. "What's wrong?"
With a sigh, I told her to put me on speaker. Might as well get Papa and Paw
up to speed at the same time. Ami and Tala put the blankets away and neatened up as I spoke. Dorian came to sit in Ami's spot.
"I'll make coffee," Harper muttered. Nodding, I smiled at her as I waited on my mom to stop yelling about not being told so I could continue telling them what was going on.
By the time I got to explaining the demon, Dad was already at our dorm. He'd used his speed to run the mile or so from the manor to the college.
The pounding on the door scared all of us as we sat sleepily in the living room, listening to my parents make plans and call sentries as I continued explaining. "Come in," Tala called.
Dad walked in, all scary vampire king. My mates seemed to shrink back a little. Dad was pissed. Like, scary pissed. Maybe I should've dealt with Calista myself. Dad would rip her apart in a mood like this.
"He's here, Mom," I said at the phone. They'd stopped listening and were in planning stages, though I could tell they were working their way to the car to join us here. Ugh, I hoped they weren't staying in the dorm with us. Talk about awkward.
The next addition to the growing crowd in our dorm was Poppy. He popped in unannounced a few minutes after Dad.
"Poppy," Tala exclaimed. Ami was closest to him and ran over, throwing her arms around his waist. "Where's Lilipad?" she asked.
"She's keeping things flowing downstairs." He meant Hell, of course. "Tell me about this demon." Poppy walked to the couch and glared down at Sterling, who had sat on my other side when Harper went to make the coffee.
Sterling scrambled, jumping off of the couch and darting across the room.
"Now," Poppy said as he took Sterling’s spot and put his arm around me. "Talk to me about the demon."
"Yes, I'm interested to hear about him as well," my mom's voice came through the phone. "You're about to be covered in sentries and we're on our way."
I collapsed against Poppy, throwing my head back. He pressed a kiss on my temple. "Not how you expected your first semester, is it?" Shaking my head, I closed my eyes. I'd just wanted a year or two of normalcy. "Meda, you're the heir of the vampires and the lycans. Eventually, it's entirely possible you'll one day run hell, should I decide to retire. Now you're going to be the head of a rather impressive witch circle as well. You don't get to be normal, my dear, I'm sorry to say."
He was right. It was time to give up my dream of normalcy and embrace my abnormalcy. There was nothing wrong with being who I was, in fact, there was something very special about it.
"Okay, Poppy, okay. I hear you."
He grinned and began to drill me with questions about the demon. What had he looked like, smelled like, how'd he cock his head? of his voice. On and on, he questioned. Finally, he must've gotten the answers he wanted, because he stood. Tilting his head at my dad, he walked toward the door. "You know how to protect her from a demon?"
Dad nodded. Just then, the rest of our parents walked in the door, mom's belly just beginning to show. Poppy gave her a kiss and shook my Papa and Paw's hands, and then disappeared.
"I think he suspects who the demon is," Dad told the room.
"Whoever it is, I don't envy them when he gets his hands on them." He'd always been nuts over me and my sisters, and he wouldn't take a threat to us lightly.
"You're on lock down. Sterling, I called your parents." Sterling was outraged, but with all three of my Niswi staring at him, he didn't dare say a word. "They know the situation," Paw continued. "And they're the best equipped to put a ward on this building."
He nodded begrudgingly. "I can help. "Sterling pulled out his phone, then sighed when he looked at it. "Yeah, they've been texting me. I turned it off when we went after Peter." He walked out of the room, presumably to meet them downstairs.
Dorian still sat on the other side of me, somehow, he'd avoided the glare of my grandfather. I took his hand and turned to my mom. "Mom, Peter is out there."
"I'm sorry, sweetie." She took Poppy's place beside me but didn't say a word about Dorian's hand on mine. "We've got every available sentry looking for him and Calista. We'll find him."
She stood and nodded to the Niswi. "Girls, we're making a command center in the apartment next door so your sentries can help us. You're not to leave this dorm at all." She turned and faced us again. Leaving my two mates on the couch, I moved to stand beside my sisters.
Mom pointed her fingers at us. "Not one triplet-toe should move one inch out this door, do you understand?"
The desire to say something disrespectful was strong, but I kept my mouth shut and nodded. I wasn't promising jack shit. My mate was out there. If it had been one of her mates, she'd move hell to heaven and back to find him.
Her gaze moved to me, softening. "We'll find him."
They left with our sentries, leaving me, Tala, and Ami alone with two of my mates. My fire and rage heated my blood to a boil.
Tala and Ami looked at me, then at each other. "Yup, I'm outta here," Tala said, retreating to her bedroom.
"Same." Ami kissed my cheek before looking at Sterling and Dorian. "Good luck." She went to her room, too.
"I guess we should try to sleep?" I asked. Sleep sounded like the worst thing ever.
Sterling's phone pinged just then, and he pulled it from his pocket. "Mom and Dad are here. I have to go help them with the ward. It's going to be complex. Once I'm done, I'll help look for Peter, okay?" He smiled at me sympathetically and pulled me into his arms. "How does the bond feel?"
"The same as before. She's got him enthralled again." My heart beat faster, or at least it seemed to, as I worried about him. "Surely she won't hurt him. She'll want to use him to get to me, right?"
"I'd say that's the most likely." He kissed me slowly, tenderly, and the tears threatened to fall. It was so nice to have someone to be there for me, to give me kisses and care how I felt.
He broke the kiss and walked toward the door. "Dorian, man, don't leave her side for one second."
"Don't worry," Dorian said, wrapping his arms around me from behind. "I won't."
The door closing behind Sterling made me feel empty, as if 2/3 of my heart were just missing. Peter's chunk especially blank since I still felt Sterling pulsing in the back of my mind.
"Come on. Let me distract you," Dorian said. He pulled me toward the bedroom.
"Now isn't really the time, is it?" I asked, but my wolf perked her head. Apparently, she was good to go anytime.
"When better? We're stuck here, nothing else to do. Life is dangerous," he shut the door behind us. "Why not take every opportunity to have as much fun as possible?" Turning back to me, he grabbed my shirt.
I lifted my arms, allowing him to draw it over my head. "Bite me," I said, shocked at my own boldness. I knew as soon as he did, I'd have an orgasm, but I'd never been bitten since reaching sexual maturity. As a matter of fact, except for Ami, Tala, and I biting each other as kids while fighting, I'd never been bitten at all.
He didn't need much encouragement. After he quickly shed his shirt, I lowered my hands to my bra, freeing my breasts and pressing my bare front to his chest.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I curved my neck to expose my pulse to the big, bad vampire. Anticipation raced up and down my spine. I had no idea what it would feel like, having his teeth in my neck. I knew what it was like from his perspective, the blood warm and tangy, giving me energy and strength. I hoped my blood would taste good to him. What if it didn't?
Before I had time to second guess myself and get insecure, his lips were on my neck, kissing. "Oh," I breathed.
He opened his mouth, his tongue darting out to move over the skin he'd kissed. "Dorian," I whispered, ignoring the emotions pounding my brain. Worry, anticipation, fear, desire.
He sank his teeth into my skin, and I lost myself in the feeling. The orgasm really was nearly instantaneous as I'd always heard. Liquid pooled in my core and drenched my panties while my clit pulsated as if being worked by an expert. Clenching my inner walls over and over, I rode the wave of pleasure as Dorian drank from me. I h
ad just enough presence of mind to reach down and shove my pants down, kicking them to the side as I reached for Dorian. His hands held my neck in place, so I unbuttoned his jeans. I was shorter than he was, so sliding them over his hips and down to the floor was easy. He toed his shoes off and finally, his pants were off as well.
He removed his teeth from my neck long enough for me to hop up and put my legs around his waist. "Do the birth control thing," he whispered, eyes on my neck. He hadn't licked the wound closed, and though it probably healed itself in seconds, I felt a little blood trickle down my collarbone. Dorian's eyes followed the blood's progression. "Hurry."
I closed my eyes and moved a piece of my magic, wrapping my womb in a bubble of magic. I was fairly certain that's what Sterling had done. "Now," I said breathlessly.
Dorian moved forward a few feet until my back hit my closet door. Using it to support me so he could move, he sank his teeth into my neck and entered me in one smooth motion.
Crying out, the orgasm this time was twice as potent. Feeling Dorian move inside me blew the feelings of pleasure out of the water. My fire roared to the surface, nearly engulfing us. I knew it wouldn't hurt him, but I always had to be aware so I didn't burn the house down. I nearly had as a kid, several times. Tala and Ami'd had to stay near me constantly so they could use their water and air to put out any accidental flames.
He pumped slowly in and out of me, giving me the most drawn-out orgasm I'd ever had. His teeth and the stimulation of his dick kept me pulsating. When I relaxed, the orgasm fading away, he licked my neck and looked me in the eyes as we moved. He still went slow. "I already love you, Meda."
"You couldn't possibly," I said, though I knew I loved the three of them as well. They'd dropped everything to help me, went into this mating thing without complaint. I didn't know every little thing about them yet, but I knew they were good. They were mine. He continued pumping into me slowly as he looked me in the eyes. "I could possibly," he said, thrusting forward. I moaned, relishing the feeling of him. "I do."
