by Ginna Moran
I groan and cover my face. “What’s going to happen to me? I didn’t even instigate or tease any of the bastards. That one asshole just tried to bite me for no reason.”
I shiver as Berkeley growls deep in his throat, an uncontrollable reaction to my words. Aspen reaches out and flicks his shoulder to get him to stop.
“And what about Hudson? He was trying to protect me.” I rest my head on Aspen’s shoulder. “This is Mr. Jimenez’s fault. He insisted I practice my defense moves with Ivo.”
Berkeley narrows his eyes. “With who?”
“Mr. Nowak, the prospective head of daylight security for the Knightly Coven,” Aspen says.
I cover my mouth. “Oh, shit. He stabbed one of them.”
Berkeley and Aspen look at each other.
“He protected me,” I add. “They’re going to give him his final donation, aren’t they?” As much as Ivo pissed me off, and how nervous he makes me, I can’t feel good about being responsible for his death, even if it was partly his decision and partly due to his upbringing as a Blood Rebel.
“That’ll be unlikely. He didn’t actively seek to harm anyone. If anything, his bravery will be seen as a commodity when it comes time to apply for positions.” Berkeley glances at me. “I’d even consider him if my brothers agreed. It’s not often that a donor protects someone other than themselves if there is no bond or blood relation.”
I try not to frown. If I frown, he’ll suspect something. “I don’t think Hudson would agree,” is all I can think to say. “He was not happy about Mr. Jimenez pairing me up with Ivo instead.”
“Wait, what? That should’ve never happened. You’re ours. No one has the right to instruct another to—” Berkeley punches the coffee table. It cracks under the force of his strength and startles a screech out of me.
“Damn it, Berkeley,” I snap, swatting him on the shoulder. “Chill out. The instructor had a good reason.”
“You’re under Hudson’s care. This is his fault.”
“Oh, no you don’t.” I snatch the back of Berkeley’s shirt, forcing him to pull me up as he gets to his feet. It takes him two steps to realize I’ve attached myself to him before he reaches over his shoulder and yanks me into the air so fast I can’t protest as I land in his arms.
“Fi, you’ve been through a lot today. As the King Coven leader, I will handle this. You will stay here and let Aspen entertain you.” Berkeley tosses me to Aspen.
I scramble to get up, annoyed as hell that he throws me around. “You will not tell me what to do, Berkeley. This doesn’t involve you, and I sure as hell don’t need you to speak on my behalf. Mr. Jimenez ordered me to join the class to see the headmistress, so that’s what I’ll be doing. Got it? It’s bad enough my peers think I get special treatment.”
Berkeley gawks at me in surprise. I bet it’s rare for someone other than Blood Life Corp and the headmistress to tell him what to do. I don’t even think the vampire instructors do as much, considering the vampire students training here are more powerful than they are since they’re being trained for high-power positions in the regions, and up until just yesterday, Berkeley was supposed to lead the entire Donor Division of a new region.
Berkeley flashes his fangs. “I can’t tell if I should be pissed off or turned the hell on right now.”
Aspen cracks up from the couch. “Our girl can hear you.”
Berkeley swings his gaze to me and glares. “Fuck. Look at the shit you do to me, Fi.”
I stick my tongue out at him. “I told you I was going to drive you crazy. Get used to it.”
Groaning, he closes the space to me and holds out his arms. I allow him to lift me off my feet because I know I’ve won, and he’s going to do what I asked.
“You look smug as hell,” Aspen says, coming up next to me.
I grin wider. “I wasn’t sure how often I’d get my way, but I think I might actually like being here with you. It’s far more entertaining than my boring-ass life before.”
“Maybe keep those thoughts between us, Fi,” Berkeley says, lowering his voice. “And don’t argue with the headmistress. We’ve already lost part of our good standing after...”
“After what?” I ask.
“Some of us, and I won’t mention who, might have blown the hell up after our running for region head had been rescinded.” Aspen tightens his jaw. “But it doesn’t matter. We have time to show the board that we’re still capable of the task.”
Berkeley adjusts me in his arms. “So be good.”
I sigh. “I’ll do my best.”
As Berkeley carries me from our suite, we nearly run into Rylie in the hall on her way in. It’s far too early for her to be finished with her classes. She’s as surprised as I am, and her gaze darts to both Berkeley and Aspen before dropping it to the floor.
“The human health practitioner excused me from the rest of my classes,” Rylie says, hugging herself. “I’m not feeling that great.”
“What’s wrong? Maybe Berkeley can help,” I say, pursing my lips.
“I’ll see what I can do when we get back. I don’t want to miss much more of the meeting. Hudson can be a bit hotheaded. He might throw some blame on Mr. Nowak. While he wouldn’t get severely punished—at least I don’t think—I can tell you would prefer no one gets reprimanded on your account,” Berkeley says.
Rylie’s eyes widen. “Ivo’s in trouble?”
“He stabbed a vampire protecting me,” I say.
“Oh, shit.” She waves her hand. “Hurry, go. You have to protect him. He’s—he’s the one I’ve chosen for a position on your staff.”
“What?” we all ask her in unison.
“What about Patrick?” I ask. “I thought you liked him.”
“He’s applying to be a personal donor at the end of the term. He doesn’t want another position. Supposedly that’s the best place to be in a vampire household.” She turns her gaze up to look at me. “Despite being under a vampire’s fangs.”
“If he is who you truly want, I’ll need you to join us, Ms. Reynolds.” Berkeley motions for her to come closer. He looks at me. “Would you mind if Aspen carried her. It’s much faster if we don’t have to keep her pace.”
I raise an eyebrow. What a weird question to ask me. “It’s fine with me if she’s okay with it.”
Rylie closes her eyes and nods. “Yes, it’s fine.”
It’s not until Aspen picks her up that I realize something is utterly and completely wrong with me. I find myself frowning, a wave of jealousy rushing over me. If Rylie wasn’t my best friend, I might even tell Aspen to put her down because I’ve changed my mind.
What the hell is up with me?
Sucking in a breath, I hide my face in the crook of Berkeley’s neck. He tightens his fingers around me, his touch more desperate than before, and I can’t stop from smiling. Teasing him helps me not focus on the strange feeling Rylie arose in me. I kiss his throat as the world blurs and only stop at the rumble of voices.
“You can’t be serious,” Hudson says, his voice echoing through the air louder than I’ve ever heard. “You’re giving the region to them, even after this bullshit they pulled?”
“Calm down, Mr. King. It’s not set in stone. Mr. Knightly was just trying to explain his reasoning for testing Ivo in class. It had nothing to do with you or Ms. King. It was all part of the process of lining up the right staff to offer entrance to the Donor Divide Competition to fill crucial positions in his household.” Headmistress Rasmussen’s voice rings through the air over Hudson’s. “Now, please. Sit down. You’ve had your chance to speak.”
The excuse I hear Headmistress Rasmussen give on behalf of the dickwad who attacked me is a load of shit and Hudson knows it. I’m sure everyone does. Berkeley doesn’t wait for the receptionist to announce our arrival and strolls right into the room.
He tightens his hold on me under the scrutiny of the group of vampires in the office—some sitting and some standing—and strolls right up to Headmistress Rasmussen and motions
for Mr. Jimenez to give him his seat. The instructor does without complaint and moves to lean against the wall by Ivo and two other human students.
“Sorry to interrupt, Headmistress. I understand that Fiona’s presence was required, but I’d like to keep it short.” Berkeley turns me on his lap, so I have no choice but to face the headmistress. “I’d like to personally file a complaint against Mr. Jimenez for going against the personal donor rule that disallows others from touching Fiona without our consent.”
Mr. Jimenez growls. “Mr. King allowed it.” He’s referring to Hudson.
“But I did not,” Berkeley says, “and because our entire coven agreed to share her contract, you must gain permission from all of us. Or does that rule not apply in our case?” He looks at the headmistress.
“I have to agree with Mr. King,” Headmistress Rasmussen says, tightening her jaw at his obvious revelation about what she allowed to happen with my contract. “Had you followed the guidelines, none of us would be here trying to stop a blood feud from occurring between two powerful covens.” Sitting straighter, she glances at the rest of her silent audience. “And might I remind you that we do not tolerate such things on this campus. You are all here to learn to form alliances and build strong regions—together—so our territory thrives.”
“Yes, Headmistress,” a few voices say in unison.
“Now, if that’s all, Mr. King, I’d like to excuse everyone back to class.” The woman looks at me expectantly like she knows I have something on my mind.
But Rylie clears her throat from her spot next to Aspen by the door. “Actually, I’d like to have a word with you, Headmistress. I’ve made my decision on who I’d like to have the Kings offer a work contract to.”
“I’m going to assume it’s Mr. Nowak,” she responds.
Rylie nods. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Very well.” Headmistress Rasmussen glances to the small group of jerks, two of whom I recognize to be part of the Knightly Coven. “My apologies, Mr. Knightly. I’m going to have to deny your early request to acquire Mr. Nowak’s work contract. It’ll be going to the Kings.”
Chapter 16
Bonds
STEAM CLINGS TO ME AS I exit Aspen’s shower in only a towel. I freeze in my tracks at the sight of all the King brothers sitting on the couches in his room with a movie playing on the glowing projection screen.
Shit. That’s a lot of intense gazes devouring me.
Gripping my towel tighter, I try not to react and show how much I enjoy their attention. It makes me feel incredibly sexy. Unlike back home, they don’t want me to move up their status like a soldier would. They also obviously like me for more than my blood. I hope maybe even for more than their attraction to me. I guess I’ll find out as I spend more time with them.
“Um, I need clothes,” I say, focusing on Aspen.
He pauses the movie and gets to his feet. “I’m sorry, Fiona. Let me find something for you. I didn’t expect you to be rooming with me today.”
Disappearing into his closet, which is bigger than the dorm room I stayed in, Aspen returns with one of his T-shirts and a pair of his boxers. I stare at his offering for a moment and relent, taking them from him. Instead of returning to the bathroom, I stroll to the partition screen he brought in from Hudson’s room in an attempt to divide a portion of his bedroom for me. He’s crazy if he thinks I’m taking the small bed, though.
I drop my towel and listen to four distinctive breaths that come from them. They can’t see me, but they have imaginations. I can’t stop smiling and shaking my head to myself. Quickly shrugging into the too-big shirt and surprisingly comfortable boxers, I pad my way to where the four of them sit.
Aspen scoots over to make space for me, and I squeeze in between him and Torrance. I haven’t seen Torrance all day, so I shift and smile at him, patting his knee. He graces me with a brilliant grin. He obviously enjoys that I give him attention.
Silence draws between the five of us. It’s not exactly awkward, but I can tell they’re all waiting for me to say something. I don’t like that I can’t look at all of them directly, so I get up and sit on the ottoman to face them. My movement makes them all sit straighter in anticipation.
“I’m just going to be blunt and say that today was a shit show, and I don’t like not knowing what to expect or how to handle things,” I say, linking my fingers together.
Berkeley leans closer and reaches for my hand. “We’re sorry about that. This is all new to us, too. Things don’t tend to change so quickly for vampires, so I have to warn you that things might take some time to adjust. Even for the rest of the head covens. What we’re doing, splitting your contract, isn’t normal.”
“About that. I want to know more. No one has even let me read the damn thing,” I say.
“It’s not important,” Berkeley says.
Torrance smacks him upside the head. “Don’t be so oblivious. That contract affects more than our lives. It’s her life too.”
I bob my head. “Yeah, what he said. I need to know what is expected from me, so I can prepare myself if I need to fight it.”
“If by fighting, you mean wrestling, and by wrestling, you mean cuddling, then I accept your challenge to fight with you over the terms of your contract.” Hudson bites his lip with his smile. “But in all honesty, the contract is merely a guideline to assure your health and safety. Blood Life Corp frowns upon wasting blood sourc—hurting donors unnecessarily, especially women, so it basically binds us into properly caring for you. It’s more of a contract for us than you. Everything else, like expectations, falls on us to figure out.”
“And what kind of expectations do you have?” I ask, crossing and uncrossing my legs. I kind of know what they want but hearing them say it makes me a bit nervous. “There are four of you, so I hope you take that into consideration.”
They all look at each other, various expressions crossing their faces. It’s Aspen who says, “My only expectation is getting some time with you and having you fulfill some of my dietary needs. All of the other stuff, while I hope to partake in with you eventually, isn’t something I expect. The majority of personal blood sources are not actually bed companions like your support group insinuated.”
I release a relieved breath. “Okay, I think I can handle that. I’m sure I’ll get used to being treated like an occasional meal.”
“We don’t consider you a meal, Fi.” Berkeley squeezes my hand. “You are more of a caregiver in a sense, assuring our needs. You don’t bond with your dinner, do you?”
“Have you seen me eat a cupcake? We’re bonded for life.” I laugh at the thought. He is right about that. “It’s just the blood draw and shit. Back home, if I snuck blood to one of my bl—the vampires in our community, I’d just let them bite me. It was a lot more fun.”
Torrance shifts to lean back on the couch and glances at the ceiling. “I love and hate imagining that.”
Hudson grins at me. “I am perfectly fine with your desire for a little more fun with us.”
“Same,” Aspen says. They reach behind Berkeley and knock their fists together.
Berkeley combs his fingers through his brown hair before shaking his head. It’s enough to stop me from whacking his brothers. “We can’t do that, Fi. The school has a no-bite policy to protect you. Even personal donors outside of the academy don’t get bitten all the time. You can’t heal quickly enough.”
“I healed just fine since my offerings were more of a blood exchange.” I try not to react to the subtle groans humming from under their breaths. I realize that none of them like hearing about my past encounters with other vampires. “Nothing intimate or anything.” Apart from occasionally kissing and some touching if I was really in the mood. But I don’t need to tell them that.
The four of them shift to look at each other in consideration. They look like they want to agree with me, and I mean desperately to agree with me, but Berkeley tightens his jaw and shakes his head again.
“I’m sorry but no. It’s
not something we should risk, not only because of our new standing with the board but also your comfort. Very few people receive multiple bites from different vampires, and it’s only permitted once a month in their line of work.” Berkeley scoots to the edge of the couch so that my knees rest between his. “I really want this to work and don’t want to do anything to jeopardize it. The only loophole to the no-bite rule is one given during...an intimate encounter.”
I blush at the thought.
Hudson smirks at my reaction. “I don’t know about my brothers, but if I’m going to get my way with you, it’ll be far better than a five-pump chump and chomp.”
I lose my shit at his words, my laughter echoing through the room. “I guess that’s good to know.”
“Satisfying your needs might have been your idea to include in the contract, though I’m a bit offended that you think we needed such additions to assure it.” Hudson grabs my hands and tugs me to him to wrap his arms around me. “I wish the rest of our day wasn’t wasted so I could prove it.”
I giggle and pat his chest. “Apparently you have the rest of my life to accomplish the task, so relax. I’m good.”
He plants his lips to mine. “I want you to be more than good.”
Tingles travel from between my legs and into the rest of me, and I release a small breath against his mouth and slowly ease off of him. The last thing I need is to get carried away. I’m far too hungry for blood to want to chance it. I haven’t had any since the beginning of the day, and it feels like it has been weeks.
“Then let me make a few suggestions to help,” I say, shivering as I suppress my oncoming lust. “If you want to make sure I’m better than good, how about you all start by assuring I have clothes in each of your rooms if I’m going to be sharing.” I wave my hand. “As comfortable as this is, I need stuff like underwear and bras, more uniforms, stuff I can change into after class. Things I can work out in. I don’t want to have to run from room to room to find shit.”
“But you look so hot in my clothes,” Aspen teases.