by Tamara White
There’s a knock on my door and I move to open it, expecting Tristan and Jesse to be waiting like normal, but it’s neither of them. Instead, it’s Ellen wearing a massive grin.
“Well, hello, hot stuff,” she greets, as she saunters in as if she owns the place. She walks over to my desk and props herself on it, crossing her legs like she’s a supermodel, not an old woman wearing a pair of floral sweats and a just as hideous blouse.
Her gaze runs over my tight black clothing and weapons—at least I hope that’s what she’s admiring. “You look like you’re ready to take on the world, Isobel.”
I shrug and move to the other daggers still on the bed, and slide them through the straps in my boots as Ellen watches me with fascination.
“I don’t want to take on the world, but I’ll fight back if it throws the first punch.”
“Hmm, that’s a weird way of thinking of it, but I suppose I understand. Now, aren’t you gonna ask me why I’m here?” she challenges, her eyes twinkling in delight. I swear she’s going to be the death of me.
“Why are you here, Ellen?” I inquire, giving her what she wants.
She jumps back onto the floor and walks to the toilet and inspects it. “Well, I just got back from seeing my Alpha, and he would like to see you tomorrow. He was actually quite pleased I told you the truth, you know? He thinks you will be more willing to listen to him since I chose the honest route rather than simply kidnapping you.”
“Uh-huh, and was kidnapping really an option?”
“Well, yes, but I would have had to build your trust over several weeks, and my Alpha doesn’t have that much time, which is why he was pleased with my work. So I’m thinking I’ll come grab you at eight tomorrow and we can get on the road and be back before the end of the weekend.”
Damn, tomorrow I won’t be here first thing. I don’t know if the boys will kick me out right away, but I doubt Quinn will want me in his house for long.
“Ah, I’m staying the night at Tristan and Jesse’s house. I don’t have plans to wake up before eight just to walk back here. Can we meet later?”
She mulls that over, even though I can see she’s dying to ask me a billion questions about the fact I’m staying with Jesse and Tristan. She thrives on gossip.
“Well then, I’ll meet you there. If memory serves me, their property is in the back of the woods. I saw the road on my way here, so it should be no issue to drop by there instead.”
I nod, not really caring where we meet up. I just don’t want to be up at the crack of dawn to have breakfast and make my way back here. If she can meet me at their house, then I can at least sleep a little longer.
“Alright, dearie, I’ll be going then. I can see you’ve got other things happening tonight, but I’ll see you tomorrow.” She walks to the door, turning back as she remembers something. “Oh, and my Alpha wanted me to thank you.” At my raised brows, she smiles and continues, “For giving him a chance. Not many would when they knew he had planted me as a spy. Even though I came clean with you, many would use that as an excuse to never speak to him and hear him out. He appreciates your willingness to listen.”
“Oh.” I mean, it’s sad that not many people would stop to speak with him. Sure, I like honesty above all else, but even I know there are some things that simply can’t be spoken about. Like myself, I’m not walking around telling people every little detail of my life when they ask. For all I know, his problem is one so bad he thinks it’s either impossible to help with or too dangerous that I won’t want to assist. Those are the only real reasons I can think of why he would resort to such measures to get my attention. If he knows who I am and what position I hold in this community, then he knows I’m powerful. He probably just doesn’t know where my allegiances lay. Why else would he skirt around asking me? I’m leaning toward that whatever he wants from me is extremely dangerous.
A knock on the door saves me from asking Ellen for more details. “Come in,” I call, but Ellen simply opens the door for them.
Jesse and Tristan are both standing there with matching grins. “Hi, Ellen,” Tristan says, pushing past her and making his way straight to me. He grabs me and pulls me flush against his body before swooping in with a very hot and heated kiss.
I don’t know how long we stand there locked in each other’s embrace before we part. Ellen is chuckling softly. “I thought so.” She grins smugly. “You are one damn lucky girl, Isobel.”
She turns and saunters out the door, leaving me with Jesse and Tristan. Both of them are staring at me, no doubt wondering what Ellen was doing here, but I just shake my head. I’m not going to explain, so there’s no point in them asking.
I grab my backpack and stuff a few more clothes inside, as well as some additional ammo. If I’m leaving the house tomorrow and going to Ellen’s Panthera, then I need to have provisions just in case. She said we’ll be back by the end of the weekend, so a change of clothes might be necessary.
Once I’m done, I turn to the guys with an excited smile. “Alright, boys, let’s go hunting.”
Jesse takes my hand and Tristan follows up the rear. He leans forward to whisper in my ear as I exit the door. “Tonight is gonna be fun, Iz. Hope that hunting stamina works in other areas too.”
I fight a shiver at his words and exit the room, making sure to lock my door behind us. I thought there was a reason to worry tonight, but maybe with these two, I’ll be too distracted by them to pay any attention to everything else going on in the house.
But before I can get too eager about the night’s activities, I need to feed on other things first. Then, I can have my way with the two supes who know how to make my body sing with pleasure. Maybe being in a relationship with two people has ruined me for relationships with only one man, because I can’t see myself choosing between them.
Chapter Thirty
Adrian
I finished cleaning my room in no time, and now I’m on to the living area. I didn’t realize how much we lived like stereotypical males until Tristan informed us Isobel would be spending the night and my bear got worked up over the state of the house. Our mate is going to be staying here and she deserves to be in a home that, while lived in, is not a sloppy mess.
Marcus comes into the room, sits down on the sofa, and then kicks off his muddy boots in the middle of the room, the very spot I just cleaned. I growl over at him and pick the boots up. “Do you mind? Can you not see I’m cleaning the house so it looks somewhat nice for our mate?”
Marcus laughs and watches me throw his boots in the mudroom without getting off his ass. He simply leans back in the chair before shucking his thick socks off, leaving a very distinct smell of dirty feet coating the room.
My bear wants to break free and strangle him for making the house worse with his scents. It should smell floral, or at least fresh for our mate.
“You know this is pointless, right? Isobel doesn’t care about whether the house is spotless or a mess. Just give up, dude.”
“Well, excuse me for wanting to please my mate. At least if she wants to visit my room, she won’t be assaulted by dirty laundry and dirty sheets that may hold past women’s scents on them. Can you say the same, Marc? Will she go in there and scent other females and decide you aren’t worth it if you’re not faithful?”
He thinks over my words, a thin thread of fear entering his eyes. It’s one thing of a mate to know of past conquests but to scent them in a space you may share with your future mate, well it’s a big no-no.
“Why do you think Jes and Tris cleaned their rooms? They both expect that their mate will be in one of them, so they made sure it’s what a mate should be coming home to.”
He rolls his eyes but gets to his feet. “Fine, what do you want me to do?”
I grin, seeing his own eagerness to please our mate. Just because we’re not the same species doesn’t mean our animals don’t have similar instincts. His tiger will want to please her and make her feel at home.
“Clean your room and the bathroom. Ever
ything else is being taken care of.”
Marcus nods and leaves me to my cleaning. Thankfully we have hardwood floors, which will make sweeping and mopping a hell of a lot easier. I can’t even imagine what we’d do if we had carpet. I’d probably go out and buy a carpet shampooer, even if the others called me crazy for doing so.
I haven’t been this excited to have a female in the house for a long time. I even sent Quinn out to stock up on groceries, not that he was very happy about the task. Still, we needed food and wanted Isobel to have all her heart desired. She may not have spoken to me much in the past few days, only showing up to lessons to learn about bears, but I still felt the connection. I also saw the guilt in her eyes when she looked at me for too long.
I don’t know if she was aware that Tristan’s and Jesse’s scents were all over her, or if she just ignored it, but we knew they were intimate. I knew that if we talked to her about it, she’d be defensive and possibly deny it. Which is understandable. She must be confused as hell about what’s happening. I know Tristan is convinced Isobel will never leave him, but there is doubt about whether that’s true or not. She’s like a flighty bird. Happy to be here for the moment, but if something sets her off, she’ll bolt and never be seen again. And I don’t want that to happen.
Satisfied with the living room, I move to the kitchen and pack away the dishes before cleaning out the fridge. We don’t generally cook much unless it’s on the grill, and then it’s just a bunch of steaks. Quinn is the culinary genius around here, but he doesn’t cook unless he’s feeling inspired. So most of us just order takeout and pick it up when we’re out and about. Of course, that means tons of leftovers in the fridge. And we don’t need her seeing that. We should at least look capable of taking care of ourselves.
I’m almost finished cleaning it out when Quinn arrives with the groceries and Marcus finally comes back down from tidying his room.
Quinn looks around the house with a slow whistle of surprise. “Damn, I think this is the cleanest the place has been since we all moved in. Who knew it would take one girl to get you all pulling your weight around here?”
I roll my eyes, take the bags from his hands, and set them on the counters before putting it all away. Quinn leaves to get more bags from the car and Marcus follows to help. When they come back in, they finish helping me organize it, then we simply stand in the kitchen at a loss of what else to do. I’m pretty sure the house is beyond spotless now.
“I’m nervous,” I confess into the silence. “What if she doesn’t like the house?”
Quinn groans and rubs a hand down his face. “Dude, you’re taking this way too seriously. If she’s truly our mate, she won’t give a shit about the state of the house, whether we have groceries all the time or whether we take care of her needs. In case you haven’t noticed, she’s an independent woman who, from the way she acts, has one hell of a past. She won’t want us to smother her, simply to be there if she needs us. But we all need to accept that she may not want us all as mates, despite how our animals feel. She’s obviously connected with Tristan and Jess, because they are the least dominant of us. Which tells me she’s been hurt and bad. No woman that strong chooses weakness over strength unless she’s been hurt by someone with power, so no matter what happens, we need to be careful.”
Marcus grins slyly, bumping shoulders with Quinn. “‘We need to be careful,’ huh? Does that mean you’re warming up to the idea of her being our mate?”
Quinn growls and abruptly leaves the room. His footsteps stomp up the stairs and Marcus just chuckles under his breath. “That wolf’s got it bad,” Marcus mutters, shaking his head. “Let’s hope he doesn’t screw it up.”
“You think he would?” I ask, grabbing a soda from the fridge and leaning against the bench.
Marcus looks out the window into the backyard. For a long while, he doesn’t speak, just going over what’s in his head. When he turns back, his eyes are filled with worry. “I don’t think he would on purpose, but you’ve gotta remember, the last person he cared about was Drake. And when that dick left us here, he didn’t just abandon his family, but Quinn too. It’s been two years and Quinn still hasn’t dated another. I don’t think he’s even hooked up. Isobel may have her work cut out for her with Quinn.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Isobel
Jesse is holding a vampire while Tristan feeds, and it’s turning me on in the most ridiculous way. How can such a wrong thing turn me on so completely? I must be seriously deviant to be so enamored with the way a man is feeding on his prey. Don’t get me wrong, the vampire deserved it. He was walking the city waiting for women to be left alone before trying to use his wiles to get them to go home with him. Only when they refused, he turned violent and started feeding. We had come across three of his victims before we finally caught up to him.
I decided to let Tristan have this feed, because it was clear how hungry he was. His skin was clammy and his body kept shaking. He was obviously unaware of it, but Jesse and I both noticed the tics starting.
So when we caught up to this vampire, I made sure Tristan got to feed. Hopefully, it would calm his appetite and help him rein in those baser urges. I believe that’s why the others think he acts out the way he does. I think none of them have picked up on his tics because they haven’t actually spent much time with him. They leave him in his room to live out his life and take him out hunting only once a week. I think Jesse has only noticed the tics because of how much time he’s spent with me and Tristan this week. He’s paying more attention than he has since Tristan has been like this. I think maybe by spending time with us, Jesse’s seen just how much Tristan is dependent on feeding. Maybe now it will help in the future when Tristan is at home. Jesse can help the others understand that he’s not a monster, just a special breed of vampire that requires feeding more often.
Tristan is finally done eating and Jesse waits for me. Rather than feeding on the vampire to disintegrate him, I pull my special dagger I imbued earlier with my magic and blood, then simply slice the vampire’s head from his shoulders.
Jesse releases the body before it turns to dust, but he still looks just as surprised as he did the first time he saw a body turn into a pile of ash.
“It never ceases to amaze me that you’re able to do that,” he mutters with awe and jealousy.
I shake my head as I sheathe my dagger. “Don’t be jealous, Jes. What makes me different is not necessarily a good thing. Especially when even I don’t know the full extent of why I can do these things.”
He grins at the use of his nickname, his eyes going a little glazed. He became frustrated the other night when I called Tristan, Tris, but kept being formal by calling him Jesse and not Jes like the others did. So I started trying it out, but every time I say it, he gets this goofy look on his face. I mean, it’s cute as hell, but very goofy.
“Let’s go,” I say, when he just watches me with that stupid smile. I grin when I turn away, loving the attention. It just sucks because I feel like I’m leading them on. Even though they haven’t demanded anything from me, I know in my heart that they must be my mates. Why else would I be so drawn to them? I made myself break my only rule and let them in more than I should of and to be honest, it feels like it’s too late to turn back now, even if my brain is telling me to run before I hurt them.
Tristan joins me and Jesse hangs back. No doubt watching my ass. I’ve learned a lot about these guys in the past three days. Tristan is a boob guy and Jesse is most definitely an ass guy.
“Do you want to go back home yet? Or would you like to hunt a little more?” Tristan inquires, taking my hand. I twine my fingers through his.
“I’m okay for either. I’ve fed enough and so have you, but we can stay out a little longer if you want to find more food. I think it’s only a matter of time before the city dries up and we have to move on though.”
“You really think people will stop killing? Supes have been left unmonitored by the council for so long that they probably don’
t give a shit about a possible vigilante out there. They know you exist, Isobel, I just don’t think the supes care anymore. They want to feed, to hunt, to kill. If they can do it, they will. Disappearances that could be related to the feared Midnight Guardian won’t stop them.”
Tristan sounds so matter of fact that I stop to stare at him. There was no emotion in his words, like he honestly had no care for what might happen. Just that it was an inevitability. It’s not that which worries me though, it’s that he may be right. Has the council so royally screwed up their rule on this world that no one really fears the repercussions of hunting a human? Does the council police it at all?
“That’s really sad, Tris.”
He shrugs and glances down the streets, his head cocked as he listens for what could be another attack.
“It’s not sad, just the truth. I’m glad you’re our new Alpha. Maybe one day you could step up and actually make things change for the better.” I open my mouth to tell him that won’t happen, not because I don’t want to but because this world is so messed up that it’s gonna take a hell of a lot of time to even get close to that. Tristan just smiles and places a finger over my mouth to silence me. “No, I’m not saying now. You have so many devils chasing you that I doubt you will be ready for a long time. But when you are, I’ll be there to stand behind you and watch you become the leader our kind needs. At least, I hope I’m still there and that you still want me.”
I smile and move his hand away. “I’ll always want you, Tristan. You just have to be patient. I’m not exactly the open person I once was, but I’m trying.”
“I know. And I’ll wait for you as long as you need me. I’m not going anywhere, Iz.”
I expect some kind of similar sentiment from Jesse, but when I turn around to ask him if he’ll be patient with me too, it’s to find he’s disappeared.