“That didn’t go as expected,” I hear Griffin half growl. I use every ounce of energy I possess to turn my head to the side and search him out. My eyes grow heavier when I feel him stroke my hair back from my face, even though Evan is still curled over me.
I think back to when we saved Jacob all those nights ago, when the female wolf said I would break easily. I try for a smile, but I’m not sure if it ever materializes. “I guess I do need to work on my stamina.”
Chapter 7
Evan
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Griffin has every right to be furious with me. I glance over at Quinn, but even his shouting isn’t causing her to stir. She’s been out for at least five minutes. In that time, I’ve gotten dressed, and so has Griff.
I put my head in my hands and curl my fingers into my scalp. The problem is, I wasn’t thinking. I allowed my instincts to take over. It’s the stupidest, riskiest thing I’ve ever done. I not only jeopardized Quinn’s safety, but I took away her ability to decide if she wanted me to claim her. As a human, she wouldn’t be privy to our mating rituals. She just bound herself to me, life and body, for eternity, and she has no clue because I didn’t tell her what her agreement meant.
I don’t want to explore what could have happened had she not muttered those few words in response to accept me, but I force myself to. If she had resisted my claim, both of us would have been broken. I’m not even sure if she would have survived it, and I risked that because I’m a fucking idiot.
I lift my head and take the full brunt of Griffin’s accusatory glare. When I don’t respond to his previous question, he asks it again. “Jesus Christ, Evan, what the fuck was that?”
“There’s nothing I can say that you don’t already know. I know I fucked up. I wasn’t thinking. I thought I had myself under control…” I don’t bother saying the rest, because it’s evident from my actions that control was the last thing I demonstrated.
“That’s not fucking good enough.” He shoves my shoulder, and I don’t even bother resisting, so he nearly pushes me over. “She could hate you for this, and I let it happen!” he bellows. I nod because it’s the truth. Quinn isn’t a supernatural, so I have no idea how she’s going to respond to what I’ve done, but even now, I can’t pretend to regret it. Which makes me even more fucked up.
The only thing stopping me from losing my mind right now is even while she’s asleep, I’m aware of her, which was only made possible by the bond I forced her into.
Griffin grabs the collar of my shirt. “If she leaves us because of this, I will spill every drop of your fucking blood on the ground.” I’m not surprised by his harsh insult, considering it’s one of the worst a vampire could deliver. He doesn’t even think my blood is worth consuming.
“I would only stop you because it would mean her death too.” I stare into my best friend’s eyes, knowing I deserve his anger and so much more. Griffin shoves me again, this time in disgust.
“When is she going to wake up?” he demands sharply.
“I don’t know.” I feel utterly useless, and it’s clear in my defeated tone.
Griff rearranges the sheet he pulled over her. The two small crescent marks he left on her neck are visible and look delicate, especially compared to my mating mark on her shoulder. A purple bruise is already forming around the area. Thankfully, her body is reacting how it should and it seems to be healing, but the scar is red and angry looking.
I pull my eyes away from her, feeling conflicted. Part of me is ecstatic with my claim and the fact that she accepted me, even if she didn’t realize what it meant. The other part of me can’t figure out how the fuck that went so wrong.
I heard her conversation with Griffin, heard her offer her blood to him, and even then, he made sure she was certain she was ready. He literally needs blood to survive, and he’s been damn near starving himself for days because he couldn’t stomach bagged blood when hers was so close, yet he still had more control than me.
I head into the bathroom, unable to watch him fuss over her anymore. She’ll probably be out for hours, maybe longer, considering it’s past her usual bedtime anyway. After a few torturous moments of me forcing myself to stare at my reflection in the mirror, I put my fist right into the glass, wishing it hurt more than just some cut up knuckles. The shards land mostly in the sink and all over the counter. I feel dumb after doing it. The only thing I accomplished was making another mess. After a quick rinse to get the blood off my hand, I head back to the room, and more importantly, to the bed, because I can’t seem to stay away.
Griff turned the lights off in my brief absence. He’s leaning against the headboard with Quinn draped over his lap. He’s stroking her back and hair, being mindful not to go too near the spot on her shoulder.
I stand there for a minute, wondering if I’m welcome, and if I still will be once she wakes up. The thought that she may never trust me again spurs me into action. I can take Griff’s disdain if it means I get to be close to her, even if it’s just for a little while.
Without jostling the bed, I climb in and lie flat on my back. Within seconds, I’m reaching my hand over to touch her, to feel her skin. Jesus, I’m like a fucking junkie, but I can’t say I really care, because once my fingertips touch her leg, I settle—not half of me, but everything inside of me settles.
Quinn
I’m slow to wake, but the persistent urge to get up and pee won’t allow me to stay all warm and cozy in bed. When the sheet brushes against my skin, I realize I’m still naked. A grin lifts my lips. I should feel bad that I passed out on Griffin, but there’s always next time.
The room is pitch black, as usual, but I’ve become familiar with the space and furniture, so I can get out of bed and find the bathroom without the lights. Both men sleep hard, therefore getting up without disturbing them isn’t an issue either. After the whole bonked on the head incident, Griffin made me promise to wake them when I get up, but I’m just planning on using the bathroom and climbing back in bed, so there’s no need.
I close the door and hit the bottom switch. It turns on a dim light that I would consider a nightlight for most, but I still need to shield my eyes. After doing my business, I move over to the sink. My eyes are heavy, but I glance at my reflection out of habit.
It takes me a minute to realize what I’m seeing. The mirror is completely shattered. There’s an indent in the center and a small amount of red which I’m going to assume is blood. When I look down at the counter, my suspicions are confirmed by the much heavier droplets of red and the slivers of glass everywhere. On instinct, I move back and look down at the floor. It seems shard free, but I still end up tiptoeing out of the room.
Still naked, I make my way into the kitchen, wash my hands, and rinse my mouth out with some cold water. I’m not about to wake up a couple supernaturals with morning breath and unwashed hands to find out what the heck happened.
Before I make it back to the bedroom, someone knocks on the door. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mumble and inch closer. There’s no peephole, so I settle on asking, “Who is it?” My voice sounds strange, even to my own ears.
The reply doesn’t come quickly. “I’m looking for Mr. Winters, it’s urgent.” The person sounds reluctant to speak to me.
“Just a moment please.” I’m tempted to make sure the door is locked, but then if I jiggle the handle and it’s not, whoever is on the other side may take it as an invitation to come in.
I flip the hall light on so I can see into the bedroom, then snag the first piece of clothing I find, wrapping it around my shoulders. Without needing to bring it to my nose, I know it’s one of Griffin’s work shirts. My fingers are already trying to work the buttons in the holes when I half whisper, half shout, “Evan!”
He sits straight up as if I just hit him with a cattle prod. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he says quickly. His soft brown eyes are wide as if he’s alert, but he must be out of it. At least he didn’t come up swinging.
“You’re dream
ing.” I give up on buttoning the shirt and just wrap it around me. “Get up.”
He damn near hops out of bed. Griffin lifts his head from his pillow. His eyes are sleepy, but he’s much too watchful.
“There’s someone asking for you.” I point to the living room.
“What?” His shoulders lower a bit, so he doesn’t look quite so defensive.
“At the door, someone is knocking and asking for you. They said it was urgent. I didn’t open it.”
Griffin lifts his entire torso off the bed, and my eyes are drawn to all his yummy, tan skin. “Someone is at the door?” Evan questions, pulling my attention back to him and looking wholly confused.
I flap my hands to shoo him, and Griffin’s long sleeves cover my fingers. “Come on, it must be important.” I damn near push him out of the bedroom and into the living room. He keeps looking over his shoulder to watch me the whole time, but he’s not resisting.
Once we reach the main door, I wave at it, motioning for him to say or do something. “Are you still half asleep? Ask who it is,” I whisper vehemently.
Instead of asking, he flips the lock and tugs the door open in one quick move. I’m left scrambling to get the shirt closed over my chest and trying to duck away from view of the door.
Griffin slides smoothly in front of me, his fingers deftly working the buttons closed much quicker than I could have on my own.
“What?” Evan barks. Maybe he’s not half asleep after all.
“We tried calling. It went straight to voicemail,” the man explains. When I look over, Evan is standing in the doorway so the person on the other side isn’t visible. “There’s an issue. Seven kids are missing, all vampires.”
“What time is it?” Evan asks, still sounding quite surly.
“A little after six AM.”
“Did you run patrols?”
“Yeah, we’ve been at it for about an hour. A sister of one of the kids who’s missing reported that her brother wasn’t in the room. We did a head count, and seven are gone,” the man reports quickly.
“Have all the floor leaders wake up the kids. See if they know anything about where the others could be. Everyone stays on shift. No classes, no cafeteria, no leaving their levels. Everyone is on lockdown,” Evan orders. “Put together six teams of four to run the property. I want reports every twenty minutes until they’re found. Tell all the security heads to meet me in the briefing room in ten minutes.” He slams the door shut without another word and spins to face me.
“I hope they’re okay. I’m guessing this doesn’t happen often?” Evan’s nostrils flare as his bright eyes rake over me. I step forward and place my hand on his forearm. “It’s okay, we’ll find them,” I soothe him. Evan stares down at my hand on his arm, his lips turned down in a frown. “Is everything okay?” I inquire, getting a bad feeling in my stomach.
“I marked you, claimed you,” he blurts.
He’s so loud, I recoil. “Is that bad?” I search his eyes, then peer over at Griffin, who seems to be awfully quiet, but then I notice the way he’s glowering at Evan, and it’s not a nice look.
Evan opens his mouth, but Griffin is the one to speak. “He bound you to him without your permission.”
I furrow my brow. “Bound, what does that mean?”
“I claimed you as my mate.” He swallows, not meeting my eyes but struggling to look away from me.
I reach up with my right hand and place my fingers over the spot where he bit me. “Does that mean I’m a bear shifter now or something?” I question, only half joking.
“No, but it does mean you’re tied to me forever. If I die, chances are you will too,” he states solemnly.
“Are you not supposed to do that with a human or something? I’m getting the impression this is a very big deal.” I gulp. The gravity of his words just aren’t sinking in yet. It seems so hard to believe, even for a girl who grew up knowing vampires and shifters are real, that something like a bite could tie me to him in the way he’s saying.
“It’s not a big deal because you’re human, it’s a big fucking deal because he did it without your permission,” Griffin snarls, but the anger isn’t directed at me.
Evan lowers his head. My heart aches, he looks absolutely devastated. “You really weren’t joking around when you said you were going to keep me, huh?” I try to make light of the situation, but it falls flat.
Evan’s shoulders actually dip a little more. I take two steps and peer up at him from close to his chest so he’s forced to look at me. “I’m sure there’s a lot we need to talk about, but right now, there are a bunch of kids who need you.” His eyes dart back and forth between mine.
“Please don’t leave, let me explain,” he pleads softly.
“I’m not going anywhere, Evan,” I tell him with certainty. He snakes his arms out and wraps them around me in possibly the tightest hug I’ve ever been given. The phrase ‘bear hug’ really does fit the situation.
I feel his lips against the top of my head as he whispers, “I’m sorry I have to go.” He releases me.
“It’s okay, we’ll come help too.” I motion to Griffin, who’s still glaring daggers at Evan.
“Thanks.” He nods. “I’m going to get dressed.”
“Okay, me too.” I keep talking because he does. It’s like he needs the reassurance.
“We’ll talk later, right?” he asks.
“Yes, later,” I promise. “Go find them.” He finally moves past me and into the room. Within seconds, he’s back out in a loose T-shirt and I’m pretty sure the same jeans he wore yesterday.
“My phone’s dead, I forgot to put in on the charger,” Evan mumbles, holding it in his hand.
“I’ll find you after we get ready,” Griffin says coldly, but at least he’s not being openly hostile.
“Yeah, okay.” Evan lingers near the bedroom door.
“It won’t take long. We’ll be down soon,” I assure him, trying to ease his anxiety. Evan bursts into action at my words, making his way past Griffin and me to the door.
“Later?” he questions again while looking at me with the door already open.
“Yeah, later,” I confirm again. Then he’s gone.
Evan
I take one last look at Quinn before letting the door close between us. I want to ignore the kids, but I can’t. Quinn wouldn’t want me to anyway. More than likely, they’re out on the grounds somewhere or in some old room and they lost track of time.
Once I reach the first floor, I open the door to the middle wing. Several heads turn in my direction. It’s clear Joe delivered my orders, since groups are already paired off, and by the looks of it, they’re discussing where to search. I get a few nods as I pass them, but I don’t waste time sticking around. I head right to the briefing room where we usually hold our weekly meetings.
The door’s already open, and Letty is standing near the back wall. She draws my attention first because she’s positioned where I usually am. Will is on Letty’s left, and everyone else in the room seems to be talking, but both of them were watching the door, possibly waiting for me. Letty reaches for something on one of the tables and takes a few steps to the right as she does so, moving away from the focal point of the room. The noise level in the room drops as I enter.
Once upon a time, this space was a ballroom or some shit. The ceilings are high, and the windows are ornately shaped, showing off the elaborate gilded moldings. The floors are still shiny as hell, but instead of hosting fancy celebrations for noble vampires, it holds weekly staff meetings and the occasional recruitment events.
A few people take seats at the linen covered tables, while most of the others stand around, but all of their eyes shift to me. I don’t jog to the back of the room, but I sure as shit hustle. The sooner we find these kids, the sooner I can get back to Quinn.
“Have there been any developments?” I scan the small crowd of about fifteen, but no one offers up any information. “Who’s got a list of the kids?”
“I do.�
� Will steps up and passes me a hand scrawled note with seven names and their ages. I skim it quickly and nothing really stands out to me. There are four boys and three girls, all over the age of fifteen.
“Anyone familiar with this group? Are they friends, enemies, hooking up?”
Paul steps forward. “The floor leaders would know better, but I can tell you we haven’t had trouble with this lot. Not as a group anyway. I’m familiar with a few of the boys, mostly fights or dominance issues.”
I nod and look around, wondering who I can trust. It’s not lost on me that all the kids missing are vampires, and Griff suspected the kid in Quinn’s office might have been sippin’. I was half expecting to find his name on the list, but it isn’t.
One of the people in this room could be the one who let Michelle out of the containment room, and if Griff is right, they could be supplying unblooded vampires with blood. Three weeks ago, I would have gone to bat for everyone in here, certain that none of them could be involved with something like this, but that’s changed. Right now, I just left the only people I can trust with this shit upstairs, and I’m not sure they feel like they can trust me right now.
Quinn
“What the heck happened in the bathroom?” I ask, a little out of breath from rushing around to get dressed. Griffin arches one brow at me as if he can’t believe I’m asking that question. “Don’t tell me you two got into a fight?”
“A fight? It’s adorable that you think if we fought, the only thing that would be damaged is a mirror.”
“Just tell me what happened.” I perch on the edge of the bed to put my socks on. This place is fricking cold when I’m not constantly surrounded by men.
“You can ask Evan, but it’s obvious he’s pretty disappointed in his…lack of control,” Griffin informs me, unruffled. He’s already dressed, decked out in a fine suit that makes him look like a mafia boss, especially with all those rings on his fingers. I’m going to ask him about them one day, just not right now.
Havenfall Harbor Book Two: Paranormal Ménage Romance MFM Page 7