I keep my mind busy with mundane tasks. Cleaning, showering, getting dressed. Anything to not hyperfocus on whatLumi is doing with Nyx. But the intense feelings flood me all the same.
Heat, want, desire…stronger than I’ve ever felt from her flood my system, making me hard just from the thoughts in her mind. But they aren’t directed at me. They are directed at him.
I try to pull away. Try to give them privacy. But it’s damn near impossible. I stare down at the new mark on my hand. The one that should be a snowflake, but instead, it’s a vampire rune—it’s him. Why are we so interlinked, Nyx and I? What am I missing?
We aren’t brothers. Aren’t related in any way that I can tell. Other than our love for the same girl, I can’t figure out why we are connected in this way.
Nyx is better at blocking me out than Lumi is. Still, I feel his own thoughts flickering in my mind, and I push through his thick wall, needing to know what he’s feeling. Needing to know if he’s currently fucking her and undoing every inch of progress I’ve made with her.
Control—intense control. He’s concentrating on everything he has, so he doesn’t kiss her, fuck her, or kill her. All are competing thoughts in his mind.
I pull away and block them both out. This isn’t helping. I’m just hurting myself.
I go find Riven, knowing I need something larger to distract myself with. He’s in Nyx’s office with a large stack of books.
He doesn’t even bother to look up at me when I enter the room.
“Need some help?” I ask.
He pauses as he turns the page, still not looking up from whatever he’s reading. He hands me a book from his stack. I take it over to the chair in the corner of the room and start flipping through it. But after reading the same page six times withoutcomprehending any of it, I realize this isn’t going to be a very good distraction.
“He’s not going to touch her. You know that, right?”
I look at Riven now. The man who is an anomaly himself. Mostly wolf shifter with some witch traits. It’s impossible. An abomination. And yet, he is. Not gifted with magic, but born with it. Two supernatural powers existing in one creature. I’ve never seen another and may never see another again in my life.
“I don’t actually. I don’t trust him. And if you share the connection with him that I do, you’d know that his intentions are anything but pure.”
Riven shakes his head. “Nyx loves her. He’ll always love her. He won’t do anything to hurt her. And giving her hope, making her fall for him again, would be giving her hope. It would endanger her life.”
“Doesn’t matter. He’s a bastard that can’t control himself.”
Riven sighs. “I know about the blood deal you made with him. He doesn’t have a choice. This is the best way to protect her, so he’ll do everything he can to protect her.”
“How do you—” but I stop before I finish asking. It doesn’t matter. I know Riven is right. The blood deal will ensure Nyx doesn’t touch her again. He’ll do everything he can to push her to me. As long as my curse doesn’t force him to kill her first. Hopefully, the blood deal we made is stronger than the curse.
My ears perk up as I hear them enter the house. I’ve never moved faster, reaching the stairs in record time. Sylara enters first, followed by Lumi, then Nyx.
I glance out the window and see a flickering of blonde flur dart by—Emeric.
And then a woman I don’t recognize walks in after them. With sharp green eyes, long thick hair, and a look of determination on her face.
“I’m Amora. I believe I’ve met a few of you before. It’s nice to see Nyx’s home. It’s very him,” she says sweetly.
Lumi visibly flinches every time she speaks. Nyx doesn’t even look in Amora’s direction. And Sylara seems bored with the entire thing.
Nyx and Amora are dressed, most likely traveling in their vampire forms. But Lumi and Sylara are naked. It doesn’t usually bother me. In fact, I’ve seen so many wolf shifters walk around naked that it is practically meaningless. But right now, my possessiveness overtakes my senses.
In a split second, I release my magic, yanking one of my shirts and Lumi’s leggings toward me. Before she can even register what’s happening, I’ve already pulled the shirt over her head.
“Thanks, I know that everyone is used to being naked around each other. But I’m not sure it’s something I’ll ever get used to. Thank you for knowing so well and knowing that I would feel more comfortable covered up,”Lumi says in my mind as she slips the leggings on underneath my oversized T-shirt.
“Of course,”I say back, omitting the part where I’m so possessive of her that I can’t stand for others to see her naked anymore.
Sylara studies the exchange suspiciously—the only one still naked and not giving a damn that she is or who is looking at her.
I spot Kael out of the corner of my eye, his eyes never leaving Sylara’s naked body, but not moving to stand by her or possessively covering her up like I did Lumi. I know that Kael has a thing for Sylara, but I’m not sure she’ll ever give a damn about him.
I pull Lumi to my side, draping my arm over her shoulders once she’s finished getting dressed. “I’m just glad you made it back safely. It’s dangerous to hang out around somany vampires.” I don’t say Nyx specifically. She knows he’s dangerous and chose to be with him anyway.