Stumbling back, she came up hard against Arthur’s desk. Scrambling over the top of it, she dropped to the other side, never once taking her eyes off the wolf.
“Titan is a wolf shifter,” Arthur explained, standing up. He wasn’t entirely steady. The wolf made a soft whimpering sound and pressed against Arthur’s side, helping to support the man.
“Thank you, Titan,” he murmured, placing a hand on the beast's back. He lifted his gaze back to her. “You’re safe, Beatrix. Neither of us would ever hurt you.”
“Did you drug me?” Beatrix asked. Maybe there was a new type of designer drug out there that she hadn’t tried before.
Arthur snorted. “Of course not.”
His amusement at her question was enraging.
“Excuse me for trying to find a normal reason for all this madness!” she snapped.
His expression turned remorseful. “I’m sorry. You’re right, that was uncalled for.” He pulled in a deep breath and touched his chest. “I was born sometime in the summer of 1877. I was turned shortly after my thirty-fourth birthday in 1911 England. If you’d tried to tell me anything about this world before that happened, I would’ve had a similar reaction. I assure you, this is all very real. I’m a vampire. Titan is a wolf shifter. The bar you walked into last night was full of magical creatures. Lion shifters, druids, pixies, and other vampires. We’re good at keeping our presence a secret mostly because the majority of humans don’t want to know.”
Could this be the truth?
She wasn’t dreaming, and she knew what drugs felt like. She’d spent a year doing some serious experimenting until a bad trip had her swearing off anything more powerful than a glass of wine.
Everything about this moment, including her sore body from a fun night with the guys, told her this was all real.
“What did you mean by flock?” she asked.
Arthur looked relieved at her question. “Vampires don’t have a natural lifespan. Until we’re deliberately killed by the sun or decapitation, we don’t die. However, we can go feral. As we age, our hold on our humanity can become tenuous. If we turn feral, we become nothing but bloodthirsty creatures of instinct. That’s where the bloodier legends come from.”
Titan nudged Arthur with his head, making the vampire look down at the wolf. “Fear not, I won’t ever be at risk of going feral with you in my life, sweet Titan.”
That made Titan relax a little. His big mouth opened, revealing huge canines. Beatrix was intimidated for a moment until a long, red tongue lolled out sideways, giving the wolf a comedic look.
She had to fight a smile.
“You were explaining about the flock thing,” she reminded Arthur.
“The one thing that will keep a vampire from going feral is having a flock,” Arthur said as he petted Titan’s head. The wolf’s eyes half closed in pleasure. It made Beatrix long to sink her fingers into the wolf’s fur. “A flock is made up of individuals meant to share souls with a vampire. They are rare and prized. Nothing is more precious to a vampire than their flock.”
She blinked for a moment, letting the words sink in before speaking. “And you think I’m one of those people?”
“I know you are,” Arthur said. “You and Titan are meant to be my flock. Did you feel the pull the moment we met? Have you ever felt such intense desire for anyone before?” She shook her head. “And yet, you felt it for both of us. Two men you’d never met before. It’s because the void wants us all to be together.”
“This is a lot,” she said with a little shake of her head.
Titan whimpered and when she looked down, his wolf eyes pleaded with her.
“He wants to comfort you,” Arthur explained.
She didn’t question how Arthur knew that. Feeling a little shaky, she walked around the desk and held out a hand. Titan went down on his belly and crawled to her. When he got to her feet, he rolled onto his back to show her his belly.
“You’re too sweet to be a wolf,” she muttered, dropping to her knees to pet him. His fur was soft and fluffy, and he acted like an average happy dog instead of a monster from a fairy tale.
Stepping up to the other side of Titan, Arthur lowered himself to the floor and started petting the wolf also.
The way Titan wiggled made it clear that he was thoroughly enjoying the attention.
“You don’t have to decide if you want to be with us right now,” Arthur said as they both paid attention to Titan. “But please give this relationship a chance.”
“In what way?” she asked, expecting him to say they should all have sex again. It’d been explosive last night and if they kept her climax-drunk, she’d probably agree to anything. He had to know that.
“Spend time with us,” he said without hesitation. “Let us take you out on dates. We could even take you to meet other humans who are involved in our world. They can tell you what it’s like, and I promise, they’re under no obligation to make me sound good.”