by Lynn Hagen
He stepped closer to the door, listening as he heard heavy footfall getting closer. Being a vampire, he didn’t have to strain to hear. But he stood close to the door anyway. He was afraid that by some twisted chance of fate, he would miss anything that was said.
“ You’ll be in this bedroom, Darcy.” Malcolm Lakeland’s voice was deep, thick with good intentions. Raven was still trying to figure everyone out who lived here. He would probably get to know everyone a little better if he ventured out of his bedroom, but he mostly stayed to his room, while his brothers acted as if this was truly their home, wandering downstairs after the sun had set.
“Thank you.” Raven swallowed as he listened to the hesitancy in Darcy ’s voice. What was the man afraid of? Malcolm was an imposing man, but from what he had learned, the kindest man around. Raven still didn’t trust him. The bear was just too perfect. His own damn father had disowned Raven, so what did he have coming from Malcolm?
The footsteps began to fade, but didn ’t go far. Was Darcy in the room across from him? Raven reached for the door handle, but stopped short before pulling it open. He didn’t want to be out in the hallway right now.
“And this will be your bedroom, Sterling.”
Raven wasn’t sure how Sterling fit into all of this. But from what
he had seen from the window, Sterling had a slight resemblance to Darcy. Maybe brothers? “ This is so cool.” Sterling’s voice was buoyant, amusement making the words almost musical.
Raven tuned Sterling out.
He wanted to hear Darcy’s voice again. He could solve the problem by just going out into the hallway and introducing himself, but Raven wasn’t sure he wanted to take those steps.
Darcy was a man.
Raven was a man.
And Darcy was his mate.
Raven could feel the spine-tingling connection as soon as he had looked out of his bedroom window and spotted the man climbing out of the truck.
Instinct tried to take over and make Raven go to Darcy, but Raven fought against it. He had been taught his whole life that men should not lie together.
But then again, look who had taught him. His father was a real piece of work, but the thought still floated through his mind. It wasn’t just the male thing that was factoring into Raven’s decision to stay in his room. His mate was also human. Raven could look past the whole male thing. His father was someone Raven wasn’t going to allow to guide his life any longer.
But the human thing?
Since when did a vampire and its cattle mate?
Raven laid his hands on the wood, palms flat, as he pressed his ear to the door. It was unnecessary, but it gave Raven something to do. He listened for Darcy, but his mate had gone quiet. Raven could hear voices once again downstairs, but the upstairs hallway had grown silent.
Raven found that hewas…curious.
He cracked the door open slightly, glancing into the hallway, but no one was out there. Raven chastised himself for acting like a young one. He was well over four hundred years old. He shouldn’t be cowering behind a wooden door or afraid to face his mate.
That was something his younger brother Daniel would do.
Stepping into the hallway, he glanced at the door across from him. Raven wasn’t sure if he should knock or just leave well enough alone.
Darcy was human. Raven wasn’t sure what he should do. He knew feeding from his mate as soon as he got his hands on the man was not a good idea. It would scare Darcy, and probably get him a good slap across the face.
The decision was made for him.
“Who are you?”
Raven glanced at the man coming toward him and recognized the voice as Sterling’s. This wasn’t his mate. His eyes raked over Sterling, assessing him and coming to the conclusion that Sterling was no threat to Raven or Darcy.“Raven.”
“I take it you live here as well?” Sterling asked as he stuck out his hand. Raven gave it one quick pump before releasing it.
“I do.”
“Not much of a talker, are you?” Sterling asked as he cocked his head to one side, his extremely light-grey eyes filled with humor and mischief. Raven could tell this one was a troublemaker.
“No.” But Raven could tell Sterling was. He prayed Sterling didn’t talk as much as Daniel. His younger brother could talk the ear off of a damn statue.
“I see you’re more of the brooding type, like my brother Darcy.”
So Sterling and Darcy were brothers. Raven’s lip lifted slightly at one corner.“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t met Darcy.”
Raven hitched one thumb into the waistband of his jeans, the other tucked behind his back. He glanced once more to the door in front of him and wondered what his mate looked like up close. Raven didn’t care what his father had said about men lying together. He was more curious to see what fate had given him. He wanted to inspect his mate up close.
His human mate.
Damn, that was a kick in the pants. But Raven was willing to give this a try. He would only get one mate in his life. Eternity was a very long time to live without his other half. At that moment, Raven realized that he didn’t care if his mate was vampire, human, male, female, or a hairy baboon. Well, he was glad Darcy wasn’t a hairy primate.
“Then you should meet him. From the way you’re acting, you two should get along fabulously.” When Raven remained quiet, Sterling rolled his eyes and knocked on the door.
Raven would be the judge of how he and Darcy got along. He wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. It was true that he was a moody, quiet kind of guy. Raven had been like that his entire life.
“What?” Darcy asked irritably as he opened the bedroom door and then his eyes shot from Sterling to Raven. His agitated look melted instantly, to be replaced by surprise. Raven felt like he’d been punched in the gut at how stunning his mate looked up close. They both just stood there staring at each other. Raven wasn’t sure what to say or think. His mate’s eyes were the color of copper. They were brilliantly intelligent, but sharp and assessing.
Raven could tell his mate wasn’t someone who trusted easily.
Darcy plunged a hand through his dark-brown hair, his tanned skin pinking the longer Raven studied the man. By the time Sterling spoke, Darcy had managed to make his hair stick up from raking his hands through the strands.
Raven had an urge to reach over and smooth the hair back out.
“This is Raven.” Sterling chucked a thumb at Raven as he grinned at Darcy.“He’s your across-the-hall‘neighbor’.” Sterling made air quotes on the last word and then looked at Raven.“And this is Darcy.”
Darcy’s hand fell away from the doorknob, but didn’t rise to shake Raven’s hand. The man looked slightly confused as his copper colored eyes glided across Raven’s face. He felt the draw of mates, and his fingers began to itch. The need to touch Darcy was becoming overwhelming.
And that scent! Gods, Raven was ready to sink his fangs into Darcy’s neck. It took sheer willpower to hold back. His damn fangs ached as his throat went instantly dry. Had he ever smelled blood any sweeter than Darcy’s?
Hell, no.
Here he thought he was going to have a problem with a human mate. Raven was ready to jump Darcy right here in the hallway and make the man submit to him. His cock jerked in his jeans, approving wholeheartedly of the idea as it thickened to an almost painful fullness.
“Nice to meet you,” Darcy said as his eyes shot to Sterling, and then back over at Raven, a shy smile tugging at his mate’s soft, kissable lips.“I’m Darcy.”
How cute was that smile?
“I said that already, dork,” Sterling reminded Darcy as he once again rolled his eyes. Raven had a feeling that was the man’s instant reaction to a lot of things. He could also tell that Sterling was the younger of the two. Darcy had a lot more etched lines on his face, like life had been too hard to him.
Raven almost smiled. Sterling and Darcy were acting like Remus and Daniel. He liked the easiness between these two men. It showed him
that Darcy was a caring man, at least with his brother.
“Don’t you have someone else to harass?” Darcy asked Sterling.
“Nope. You have that honor.” Sterling’s smile widened as he leaned against the wall, glancing between Raven and Darcy like he knew something but wasn’t going to say what it was.
Raven did smile this time. It was good to know all younger brothers were irritating, not just his. He waved a hand at Sterling as he chuckled.“He’s as impossible as my youngest brother.”
“I heard that,” Daniel quipped as he walked up the stairs.“It’s not nice to talk about me when I’m not around to defend myself.”
Raven stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Sterling already had that covered. He knew that it was Sterling and Daniel who were going to get along like two peas in a pod. They acted just alike.
“And you are?” Sterling asked as he stepped between Raven and Darcy, extending his hand toward Daniel. Raven’s eyes shot to Darcy to see his mate snatching quick glances his way. Raven gave Darcy a slight smile. Damn, just seeing his mate standing there looking bewildered and innocent was making Raven’s cock throb in his jeans.
“I’m Daniel. Are you Sterling or Darcy?”
“The first.” Sterling let Daniel’s hand go.“What’s there to do around here?”
Daniel chuckled without showing his fangs.“You’ve never been on a ranch, I take it.”
“Nope,” Sterling said.“But I like animals.”
“Then let me show you around.” Daniel turned and walked away, Sterling following behind him. Daniel gave a quick glance over his shoulder, throwing a questioning glance toward Raven.
Raven just stood there.
Daniel shrugged his shoulders and headed back downstairs.
“Cute kid,” Raven commented when he and his mate were finally alone.
“Are you talking about Sterling?” Darcy asked, but there was no humor in his tone. It was guarded.
Raven turned toward his mate, wondering why Darcy’s defenses were up. They were just talking. Raven hadn’t made a move toward his mate, although his body was fighting to get closer. He wanted to touch his mate, feel his warm flesh under his fingers, and do other wicked things to the man. His mouth began to water for just one tiny taste of his mate’s blood.
Raven nodded.“Yeah, Sterling.”
“Well, he is a grown man.” Darcy’s words were clipped as he took a step back, closing the door in Raven’s face.
Wait. What in the hell did he just miss?
Raven stood there staring at the faded wood, confused. Had he said something wrong? He wasn’t sure what just happened. Raven placed his hand on Darcy’s door, wondering if he should knock and ask. He shook his head and walked back into his bedroom, glancing back at Darcy’s door before closing his. The human confused the hell out of him. Maybe he should have gone with his first instinct and left the guy alone.
He sat on the side of his bed, wondering why his mate had looked so angry, when a gentle knock landed on his door. Raven pulled the door open, a little surprised to see Darcy standing on the other side looking defeated.
“I wanted to apologize.” Darcy’s eyes darted around Raven’s bedroom, not meeting his eyes.
Raven nodded, unsure if he should speak. He didn’t want the man walking away from him again.
“I shouldn’t have acted so childish. Sterling is a nice guy. If you are interested in him, go for it. Although, I’m not sure if he is into guys or not.”
Whoa, hold on.
Raven was starting to see the picture now. Sterling was a goodlooking man, but he was starting to see Darcy’s plight. His mate thought he couldn’t hold a candle to Sterling’s good looks.
His mate’s assumptions couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Raven bit his bottom lip, leaning in toward his mate, inhaling as he did so. Raven’s cock throbbed as his mouth watered. His lips were close to Darcy’s ear, enabling him to hear Darcy’s blood rush through his veins. What he wouldn’t give for just one small taste. Instead, he lowered his voice, but was still loud enough for Darcy to hear him.“I am not interested in Sterling.”
Darcy took astep back, a look of shock on his face…and a bit of hope. Raven wasn’t sure how to take that look. He was the one to take a step back this time, glancing down at the floor and then back up at Darcy.“Well, it’s late.” How in the hell had he gone from trying to seduce his mate to feeling inadequate in the span of five seconds? Darcy was making Raven lose his damn mind.
“Yeah,” Darcy agreed, but hadn’t moved. He chewed on his bottom lip, looked down at the floor, and then back up at Raven.
They both seemed to be staring at the floor more than each other. Raven felt like he was a damn teenager again. That had been so long ago that he barely remembered those years, but hell if Darcy wasn’t making him nervous.
Raven’s hand itched to reach up and let his fingers run down Darcy’s flushed cheek. He curled his fingers in, taking another step back. Not only was his body fighting to be close to Darcy’s, but Raven’s throat had gone dry once again.
Darcy’s blood sang to Raven.
He wondered if it tasted as sweet as it smelled.
Raven took another step back.“You should go.” Because he wasn’t quite sure he could hold back much longer. Raven had adjusted to the crimson that Prince Christian was sending over for him and his brothers to drink, but Raven had been raised on the vein.
Standing this close to the sweet smell of his mate’s blood was too much for Raven to handle right now. He could see the pulse quickening in Darcy’s neck, hear the blood quickly racing through Darcy’s veins, and Raven knew what he wanted.
“Oh, okay,” Darcy whispered and then darted a glance across the hall.
“Good night.” Raven slowly began to close the door, giving his mate enough time to step back and out of the way before the door hit him.
“Good night.”
Raven watched for only a brief second as Darcy walked back toward his bedroom. He let out a heavy sigh as he closed the door tight. Raven wasn’t sure what fate had planned, but the urge to sink his teeth into Darcy’s neck had been extremely hard to resist. His entire body was humming with want, and Raven knew that if he didn’t keep his distance, he was going to jump the man and take what he was most desiring.
Raven entertained the thought of calling his mated brother, Dudley. Dudley was mated to a timber wolf shifter. Maybe his brother could tell him if his reaction to Darcy was normal. Maybe Dudley could let Raven know that his thirst was to be expected when finding his mate. Raven had never felt anything like this and feared he would lose his mind and drain Darcy.
That was the last thing he wanted to do. He only got one shot at a mate, and draining Darcy wasn’t appealing to him. Having the man’s body was. Drinking from his softlooking neck was appealing as well, but Raven just didn’t trust himself around the man right now. He felt out of control. He had had to fight the urge with every cell in his body.
That couldn’t be normal.
But as much as he wanted to find out, Raven quickly pushed the thought aside. This was his problem, and he needed to figure it out on his own. What kind of an older brother would he be if he ran to the younger ones?
Resting his forehead against the cool wood of the door, Raven took in deep and steady breaths until the urge slowly abated. He had been able to resist the vein before. Why was it so hard now? Raven knew very little about mating. It wasn’t like he could call his father and say,“Hey, daddy dearest, why do I feel like drinking from my mate until he’s dry?” Yeah, so not happening. And his pride wouldn’t let him ask anyone else.
He was living with bear shifters. They knew nothing about vampires and mating. Remus and Daniel weren’t mated, so they wouldn’t know. Raven bit at the corner of his mouth as he wondered what he was going to do about Darcy.
The sane thing to do would be to ignore the urges and let Darcy leave tomorrow. But Raven knew mating was anything but sane. It was the most in
sane thing he had witnessed over the four hundred years he had been alive.
And now fate had turned its evil little sight on him.
Raven opened his bedroom door, making sure that Darcy’s door was closed before making his way downstairs. He could smell Darcy’s scent lingering in the hallway. It almost made him cross the hall and take what he wanted. He knew he needed some fresh air to clear his mind. That and being right across the hall from Darcy was too much of a temptation.
Raven had made it down the stairs and into the kitchen, almost getting away without being stopped when he spotted little Oscar digging in the refrigerator.“Are you supposed to be up this late snacking?”
Oscar squealed and spun around, nearly losing his balance because of his bad legs. He looked relieved to see that it was Raven. “I’m not snacking.”
Raven hid the grin that threatened to emerge.“Where are Chance and Seth?”
“Asleep.” Oscar moved away from the refrigerator, but kept his hands behind his back. The little six-year-old thought he was sneaky.
“Show me your hands, Oscar.”
Oscar shook his head.
Raven quirked a brow at the young human.“And why not?”
“Because,” Oscar whispered,“you’ll tell on me.”
Raven moved closer to Oscar, squatting down in front of the small male child as he rested his arms on his knees, making himself seem smaller.“I secret swear I won’t say a word.”
Oscar didn’t look convinced, but pulled his hands from behind his back. One hand was filled with three Oreos—that was all the small fingers could curl around—and the other held a slice of leftover pizza.
“Are you having some sort of party I wasn’t invited to?” Raven asked teasingly.
Oscar shook his head, bewilderment etched on his tiny little face. “I’m not allowed to have friends over unless I ask permission first.”
Raven rubbed his hand over his mouth, hiding the smile.“What will happen if I let you eat these things?”
Oscar shrugged.“I’ll be happy?”
