by Maggie Bandy
I walk over to him and he pulls me into his lap, wrapping his arms around me. I cup his face in my hands looking up at him. “Well, this is a lot to take in. And I’m not going to lie, it’s a little overwhelming and confusing but I want this too… I want to give this a shot. I don’t know how this is going to work since apparently there’s three of us in this relationship now. But I know I don’t want to let you go,” I say as I lean back to kiss him.
Someone clears their throat loudly and I jump. I hear a chuckle coming from across the counter and look over. Standing there is a boy about our age, maybe a year older. He has the same short dark brown hair, tanned skin but he had green eyes like Crystal. His face is more angular, but you can tell they are brothers- they look a lot alike.
He stares at me with amusement in his eyes. “So, this is the infamous Sophie?” he smirks. “Knock it off, Tyler,” Carter growls. “What? I’m just curious about the girl who has your panties in a bunch, that’s all,” Tyler says winking at me. “I don’t have my panties in a bunch. You know how serious the situation is- she’s already been attacked three times in the past few days by the same wolf,” Carter says angrily.
Tyler drops the teasing and looks at me seriously. “You know I will help you protect her. If she’s your mate, that makes her family. And we look after our own,” he vowed. “I’m sorry about giving you a hard time, Sophie. It’s just not every day I get to tease this one here about a girl,” he said lightening the mood. I blush. “Has he never brought a girl home before?” I ask curious.
Carter drops his head in embarrassment. Tyler shakes his head and says, “Nope, never. He hasn’t been interested in dating before. He has some-what of a reputation at school as a player. He always takes girls out but it’s always a different girl every week and he never brings them home. He definitely never makes romantic dinner dates for them,” he says eyeing the rest of Carter’s steak.
Carter sees him looking at it and says, “Here, you can have the rest of it, I’m done.” He pushes it over to Tyler and Tyler digs in. “Mmmm, this is good. Who made this?” Tyler asks savoring his bite of steak. Carter looks embarrassed for a minute and says, “Dad did actually, he wanted to help me win Sophie over. He’s the best cook I know.” I turn around to look at Carter and say, “I thought you said a friend made it? Why didn’t you just tell me your dad made it?” His cheeks flushed red again. “Because it’s embarrassing to have to tell your date that your dad was trying to help set you up…” he said embarrassed.
“Well, I think it’s sweet. At least your dad cared enough to help you, and if he did that means he at least doesn’t hate me. That’s one less thing I have to worry about,” I say reassuringly. Carter cups my face in his hands and says, “Even if he didn’t like you, it wouldn’t matter because I do.” He pulled me down for a kiss. Tyler made gagging noises and I laughed.
“Well, I guess I better get you home,” Carter said ignoring Tyler’s antics. Tyler jumped up when we did. “I’ll go with you,” he said quickly. Carter shook his head. “No, it’s ok. I got it.” Tyler insisted.
“Sorry bro, you’re not going alone. I heard what happened earlier at the hospital. I’m coming with,” he said leaving no room for arguments. Carter sighed and said, “Fine, but I can handle myself and I can take care of Sophie just fine on my own.” I laughed at their bickering- true to form for brothers. I wish I had a brother or sister to argue with.
◆◆◆
We walked from his house to mine without incident. I guess the wolf went to nurse his wounds. Hopefully he won’t come back any time soon. Fingers crossed. I would like to have just one day without all the chaos. Is that too much to ask?
Carter walks me up to my door. “Well, this is me,” I say smiling. “So it is,” he says smiling back. I lean up on my tip toes and kiss Carter good night. “Thanks for tonight, I had fun. Well, except the getting attacked part but that seems to be an every day thing around here,” I say sarcastically. Tyler laughs from his spot on the porch, I almost forgot he was there. “Me too, I’m glad you enjoyed dinner. I wish the rest of the day had gone a little better though,” he said ruefully.
“Hey, do I get a kiss too.” Tyler teases making kissy noises. Carter smacks him in the back of the head. “Knock it off, Ty,” he growls. Tyler comes up from behind Carter. He leaned close to me and pecked me on the cheek before taking off running. “Tyler!” Carter growls heading his way. Ty yells, “Bye Sophie!” as he’s running towards their house. I can’t help but laugh. Carter turns to me looking annoyed. “I better get him home, he’s so immature. Sorry about that,” he says grumpily. “It’s fine, I’ll see you later?” I ask.
He turns to leave and calls out, “I’ll call you tomorrow.” He heads for his house but stays close till I get inside and lock the door. It was nice to have someone that cared about my safety.
I locked the door behind me and headed to the stairs. I paused when I saw aunt Linda asleep on the couch. I grabbed a blanket out of the hall closet and draped it over here, kissing her on the cheek. “Good night,” I say quietly. I head up the stairs to my room, not bothering to cut on the light. I strip down and head for the shower but as I do, I hear my bed creak. I go to scream but a hand covers my mouth.
A familiar scent hangs in the air, honey and vanilla. “Shh, it’s just me,” says a familiar voice. He lets his hand drop, but he’s still standing up against me- his other hand lingering on my bare hip. “Cole?” I ask surprised. “What are you doing in my bedroom?” He moves his hand off my hip, just realizing he had set it there. “I uh- I wanted to talk to you,” he says flustered. “But I didn’t realize you were going to strip down as soon as you came in, I thought you would turn the light on and see me,” he said apologetically.
I wrap a blanket around me trying to cover up, not that he could see me in the dark, but still. I cut the light on and head for the bed motioning for him to sit next to me. “So, what did you need to talk to me about?” He looks over at my make shift cover like he wants to remove it, then looks away. “Have you talked to Carter yet?” I nod my head. “So, you know about-” he trails off. “About being mated to him?” I say finishing for him. I nod again.
“Did he tell you about you and me?” Cole asks softly. I shake my head. “No, he said you wanted to be the one to tell me. I do remember him being mad though. He said that I should be his, not both of yours…” I look over at Cole. “What did he mean by that? If he’s my mate, wouldn’t that mean that I’m his?” I ask unsure.
Cole scoots closer to me and takes my hand. “It normally does but you’re not just his mate… you’re also mine,” he pauses to look at my reaction. “What do you mean?” I ask confused. When did this happen?
“That day in the woods by your house wasn’t the first time we met. You were just a little too out of it to remember the first time,” he said reaching up to push a piece of hair out of my face and smiled. “I was there the day your parents died… I saw the wolves take them away and I knew they would do the same to you when they found you. I knew I had to get to you before they came for you. When I found you in the woods you were in pretty bad shape… “ he trailed off like the memory pained him.
“I knew you weren’t going to make it. So, I had to give you some of my blood to heal you or you would have died,” he said. I jerked away from him in surprise and jumped off the bed. As I did my blanket fell to the ground. I was too shocked to even care that I was now standing completely naked in front of Cole.
“You’re a vampire?” I ask shocked. I’m standing in front of a vampire? I knew wolves existed but vampires? Cole held up his hands as if surrendering and tried to calm me down. “Can we please sit back down and talk; I’ll explain everything I promise. Just please hear me out,” he said pleading with me. I could see I had hurt his feelings with my reaction and now all I want to do is erase he pain I see in his eyes.
I sit back down feeling ridiculous for over reacting, it’s still the same Cole. He grabs the blanket wrapping it around me gen
tly. He tries to move away to give me space, but I pull him to me. He looks surprised but he sits down beside me. I lay my head in his lap, curling against his chest. “Please tell me the rest of the story- I’m sorry for reacting so badly. It’s just it was already a lot to take in with finding out about wolves and the whole mate thing. I didn’t know vampires existed too. What else is out there?” I ask curiously, trying to hide my unease. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings again. I’m still not entirely comfortable with the whole wolf and vampire thing yet. I’m not afraid of them though, they were still my guys.
Cole strokes my hair absent-mindedly while trying to explain. “There’s a lot out there that you probably would be better off not knowing about, angel. It would only give you nightmares. I promise another day I will tell you more about it, but for right now I’ll tell you about the day of the accident...” I nodded my head wanting to hear the rest.
“I was in the woods the day of the accident. The car threw you into the woods nearby. You looked so broken and so small. I could smell the blood all over you. I knew you were dying, and I couldn’t just walk away from you. I felt this strong pull to heal you and I knew if I didn’t a part of me would always be missing,” he said looking at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered to him.
“I had heard about people finding their mates, but I didn’t understand it at the time. I just knew I couldn’t let those wolves get you and I couldn’t let you die. The only way I knew how to save you was to give you my blood. I didn’t know it at the time but that was the day I bonded to you.” I looked up at him curiously. “Bonded? I thought you said we were mates?”
He smiled down at me. “We are, but we both have to be bonded to each other to be mated. At the moment, I’m the only one who is bonded. By willingly giving you my blood, I bonded myself to you. With vampires, when we find our mates, we exchange blood to complete the bond,” he says apologetically as if he knows my reaction will be already.
“So, I’d have to drink your blood to complete the bond?” I ask nervously. “Won’t that turn me into a vampire?” He shakes his head. “I would have to drain your blood and replace it with mine for you to turn into a vampire,” he says reluctantly. I try not to show how relieved that makes me, but Cole sees right through me.
“I would only do that if it was something you wanted,” he said looking away. I lifted my finger under his chin to make him look at me. “Just because I’m not ready now doesn’t mean I never will be,” I say pulling him down to me. The blanket falls from around me and Cole’s eye go wide with need. I brush my lips lightly across his. He kisses me back softly at first before crushing his lips against mine passionately. Moving his lips to my ear he trails kisses down my neck, nipping softly as he does. He cups one hand behind my head and reaches down with his other and kneads my breasts. I moan softly entangling my hands in his hair.
I reach for the hem of his shirt. “Let’s even the playing field, shall we? I think it’s only fair that this comes off,” I say winking. He pulls back, raising his hands above his head letting me pull off his shirt. I run my hands down his chest feeling his rock-hard abs. He smiles down at me. “Anything else you want me to take off?” he says seductively. “Well, let me see…” I say pretending to think on it.
I reach down to unbuckle his pants. “These are personally offending me- I think you should remove them.” He reaches down unbuckling his pants and starts to pull them down. A knock at the door makes me jump. “Sophie? What’s going on in there,” aunt Linda says from the hallway.
I look over and Cole is already gone. I head for my bathroom and call out, “Nothing, just about to get a shower.” The door opens and aunt Linda peaks her head in- thankfully I’m already in my bathroom. “I thought I heard voices in here. Who were you talking to?” I lean over the shower and the water. “No one, just me,” I call out over the running water.
“Alright then,” she sighs annoyed. She doesn’t believe me but isn’t calling me out on it. “Head to bed after you get a shower. It’s late.” I hear the bedroom door close behind her. I turn around to lock the door and Cole is standing there smiling. “Well, that was close,” he says leaning in to kiss me. “I better get going. If your aunt finds me, she won’t ever let me back over here,” he says ruefully. “Can’t you stay for just a little while?” I plead hopefully.
He wraps me in a hug, resting his chin on my head then kissing my forehead. “Sorry angel, I gotta go. But I’ll be back tomorrow,” he says before slipping away. I shake my head. I’m still not used to the whole vamp speed thing.
I jump in the shower- a cold shower will be good right about now.
Chapter Six
The Grey Wolf
While I was in the shower, I heard a loud thump in my room. “Couldn’t stay, away could you?” I tease Cole. Only the person I come face to face with in my room isn’t Cole… It’s the man from the hospital. “Happy to see me?” he sneered at me. I quickly tried to cover up and look for a weapon. “Don’t bother, I’m only here to talk. There’s been a change of plans- my alpha wants you alive,” he says eyeing my towel making me uncomfortable.
“If you aren’t here to try to kill me again then why are you here?” I ask trying to edge towards the door. He came closer, blocking my exit and cornering me. “Stop trying to run, I told you I’m not here to hurt you,” he said annoyed. I huffed. “Well excuse me for not believing that since you already tried to kill me once,” I said acidly, glaring at him. I wish he would back the hell up. I’m standing here in a towel and this asshole is so close he practically has me pinned to the wall.
He shrugged his shoulders passively. “Nothing personal, I was just following orders,” he said like it was normal for him. “Well, it’s personal to me,” I say getting closer and getting up in his face. If he wasn’t such an asshole and trying to kill me, I might think he was attractive. He had short black hair and chocolate brown eyes. And just like every other guy in this town, he was ripped.
“Whatever, my alpha wants to meet with you tomorrow night. I was sent here to arrange the meeting,” he said looking bored. I laughed. “I’m not meeting with anyone who tried to have me killed less than twenty-four hours ago,” I said taking a step back from him again. “Look, I promise no harm will come to you. I’ll be there the whole time,” he said.
“Again- not comforting since you’re the one who tried to kill me,” I said rolling my eyes. “I’m only going if I can bring my guys,” I said crossing my arms. He shook his head. “Not happening. He won’t allow it, he would kill them on sight,” he said dismissing my offer. “Then I’m not going,” I said shoving past him to my dresser. If he really wasn’t going to hurt me, I’m not going to let him keep me cornered.
“Turn around so I can change please,” I said motioning towards the wall. He smirked and shook his head. “Sorry, love- I have orders not to take my eyes off you till you agree to meet with my alpha.” Fine, he wants to play it that way. I grabbed a t-shirt and underwear, dropping the towel. His eyes went wide for a moment before he turned around. “Shit!” he cursed covering his eyes. I laughed feeling triumphant. I knew if I called his bluff he would react.
“He’s going to kill me for seeing you that way, you realize, that right?” he said still covering his face. “You can uncover your eyes now, I’m dressed,” I say stifling a laugh. Good, I hope he’s as uncomfortable as he made me when he barged into my room. It’s his turn to squirm. “Why would your alpha care if you saw me undressed?” I said heavy on the sarcasm when I said alpha. “That’s for him to tell you, not me. Just please come tomorrow night- he won’t ask nicely again,” he said slipping through the window.
“How do I know where to meet him?” I asked. “Tomorrow at sunset, I’ll come back here for you. Be ready,” he said and then he was gone. All I saw was a grey wolf retreating into the woods. So not only did this asshole try to kill me at the hospital, he’s also the wolf who’s been hunting me down. Yeah fat chance I wasn’t going to tell the guys about
this. I needed back up. Even if they couldn’t come with me, they could at know where I was if something happened.
I pulled out my phone and called Cole. “Hey angel-”he started to say before I cut him off. “Hang on, I’m calling Carter too,” I said adding him to the call. “Hey princess, what’s up?” he said cheerily. “Angel, what’s wrong? Why do you seem on edge?” Cole said worried. “Wait, why is Cole on the line too?” Carter asked confused. I paused for a moment gathering my thoughts. “Sophie? What’s wrong?” they said at the same time.
“I had a visitor tonight…” I started to say. “I’m coming over,” Carter growled. “Me too,” Cole said before I heard the dial tone letting me know they both hung up. Five minutes later they were both at my window. Cole already climbing through. “Geez, you scared me,” I said jumping. “Sorry,” Cole said pulling me into his arms.
Carter walked over and stood protectively by me. “What do you mean you had a visitor?” he asked angrily. He wasn’t mad at me. He was angry that I was upset and that he didn’t know why. “You’re going to want to sit down for this,” I motioned for them to sit on my bed.
“Do you remember the guy from the hospital?” I asked Carter. His face drained of color and he sat rigidly still for a moment. He nodded his head. “He’s the one that was in your room?” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m going to kill him!” he said jumping up from his spot on the bed. I grabbed his arm and tried to calm him down. “Please sit back down, I haven’t told you everything yet,” I said pushing him back on the bed.
Cole had been quiet, so quiet I didn’t even realize he had left. I pulled my phone back out to call him right as he was coming back in the window. “Where did you go?” I said angry that he just left without saying anything. “I followed his scent; it ran cold about a mile from here. But I’ll know if he comes anywhere near here again. He’s a dead man if he does,” he said hissing.