by Meg Xuemei X
“Lorcan picked this region centuries ago when it was a forest,” Reysalor said, turning his red-golden head to gaze at me. As usual, he was one of my main sources of information. “In the last century, technology arrived and ushered his realm into the modern age.”
But weren’t the gods wiping away the technology and civilization?
“My realm is warded and cloaked by deep magic,” Lorcan said, picking up the conversation. “The gods have been searching for this place and failed. They’ll eventually find it. We must take the war to them before they hunt us down to the last one.”
The van stopped before a palatial golden mansion with fountains, sculptures, and a vast lawn in front of it. Dario and Jezebel’s dome had some luxury and aspirations to class, but it was like a hill to a mountain next to Lorcan’s mansion.
A lineup of vampires waited before the magnificent entrance of the mansion. A dark-haired beauty who carried herself like a vampire queen stood out the most. She wore an elegant silver gown worth more than a working-class family’s annual income.
I kind of hated rich people.
The vampires bowed at Lorcan as we stepped out of the car. “High Lord.”
The striking beauty stepped toward Lorcan, her gray gaze glued to his face, greedily taking in his every line.
A sudden jealousy stabbed me. I wanted to slap her.
“Welcome home, my lord,” the beauty said, her gaze flicking to me for a nanosecond before returning to Lorcan. Her world had only him.
“Who are you?” I stepped forward, refusing to let anyone dismiss me.
The beauty glared at me with icy hostility. Vampires were the most unfriendly creatures anyway.
“This is Mistress Selena, dulcis,” Lorcan said.
Selena’s eyes widened at Lorcan’s endearment.
“Mistress?” I narrowed my eyes at Lorcan, anger and humiliation sizzling in me. “Like she’s your concubine? Why wasn’t I informed?”
And how dare he take my blood and claim me when he already had a woman at home!
“Selena administers my realm when I’m away,” Lorcan said. “I trust her to care for my land. She’s loyal and excels in all things, but she doesn’t share my bed.”
“Then who shares your bed?” I demanded, black fire twirling in my eyes.
“You, dulcis, only you,” he said, amusement sparkling in his gray eyes at my tone.
“Oh,” I said, feeling my face flaming. I stepped back. One had to know when to fight and when to withdraw.
“Don’t retreat yet,” Lorcan said, pulling me to him, his hand circling my waist. “I haven’t introduced you. These are my most trusted inner circle. You’ll get to know them.” He then turned to Selena and his inner circle vampires. “High Lady Cass Saélihn is my chosen mate. You’ll treat her as such.”
All the vampires’ eyes widened before they covered up their astonishment in the nick of time. Have I mentioned that I have super eyesight and reflexes? I didn’t miss anything, nor did I miss the pure hatred in Selena’s eyes.
Being her High Lord’s mate had made me her number one enemy. As long as she didn’t act on it, I’d let it slide.
“Cass is not only my mate, but the mate to all of my bonded brothers,” Lorcan added, sweeping a hand toward Alaric, Pyrder, and Reysalor, who maintained steely cold expressions.
They knew how to deal with bloodsuckers.
I should have used the same look in front of the vampires rather than my customary sneer, but it was too late to wipe my sneer off now, so I turned it to a smirk.
The vampires remained still and didn’t even blink naturally.
“My mate and my brothers need to settle in,” Lorcan said sternly. “We’ll hold a meeting in an hour.”
“Yes, High Lord.” The vampires bowed again.
A vampire butler led us into the mansion, which was the finest in every way. I looked left and right and up at the ceilings, awed, before I grinned at Lorcan.
“I hope my home is up to your standards,” Lorcan said, his arm never leaving my waist.
“It’s above average,” I said.
“It’s your home now,” he said.
“In that case, I hope the cuisine is up to par too, at least better than the mediocre food in ShadesStar court.”
Lorcan shook his head, a smile ghosting his sensual lips. “Dulcis is hard to impress.”
Then I was in Alaric’s arms.
All the males had long legs, and Alaric was sparing me from sprinting. I enjoyed pressing my breasts against his cut chest anyway, so I let him carry me all the way until we entered a vast suite that had connected five rooms and one large common room.
The sleeping quarters were perfect for us.
The guards stayed outside the door, so only the five of us were in the common room.
“I built this suite to honor the pact a millennium ago,” Lorcan said, his heated eyes on me before he swept a glance at Reys, Alaric, and Pyrder. “Only now, finally, it’s put to its full use.”
“I want the largest room that has a full-window view,” I said before anyone else could stake a claim.
The males chuckled.
“You don’t need your own room, Cass baby,” Pyrder said. “All the rooms are yours. You’ll just pick a different bed to sleep on every night.”
My face flamed as blood heated in me.
“Since we’re all your mates,” Alaric drawled, “you’ll learn to balance us and treat us equally if you don’t want fights to break out among us.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. If it got too hard, I’d just quit!
“No, no,” Alaric said, as if he read my thought. “You’ll never quit on us, sweetheart.”
Before I could stand up for myself and fight back against his dominance, he grabbed me and crushed me to his hard chest. Wasting no time, he dipped his head and slanted his mouth against mine.
His scent of pine, leather, and oil painting wrapped around me, both gentle and harsh. His kiss was raw, hard, and tender. Only the demigod could administer such contradictory kisses.
My mates were so different from one another. Even the twin fae didn’t share many traits, though they had the same features and turquoise eyes. And yet Pyrder’s eyes were a shade darker, and he had a tattoo of a golden panther on his forearm and half of his chest. One day, hopefully soon, I’d get a chance to explore him as well and get a good look at the entire panther.
Alaric’s kiss deepened. His tongue thrust into my mouth, tasting me, and I twirled mine around him, tasting him back. He had lightning in him, compatible with my fire, yet the two elements tended to compete, which caused many sparks between the demigod and me.
I melted into him, forgetting why I’d been fighting him a minute ago.
“It’s not entertainment time.” Reysalor’s deep voice rang beside us. “Let’s settle in first. We have serious business.”
If he had his tongue down my throat, he wouldn’t have mentioned this “serious business.” Alaric obviously thought the same. He sucked my tongue playfully and erotically before releasing me, though I didn’t want release since fire was coursing in my bloodstream.
Displeased with the cold, empty air on my lips, I turned to Reys with a glare.
Reys only pulled me to him and kissed my lips hot and hard before letting me go. I instantly forgot my anger and gazed up at him longingly. The scene of me riding him and him giving me oral pleasure reeled back. I hadn’t been as close to Reys as I’d wanted since all my mates had shown up, and Reys was my first best friend.
“You’ll have all of us soon, Cass baby,” Reys said with a wink. “We’re all yours.”
I wondered if I would have them one-on-one or all at the same time, as in that dream I had, but I had no time to ponder that since we had to rush to the vampires’ meeting.
To be honest, I’d rather have taken a nap, or cuddled with one of my males, which would certainly lead to further exploration and fireworks, than attend a meeting. But my new role seemed to require me to take
I’d reached maturity physically and sexually seven years ago. Only now was I being dragged to adulthood mentally and emotionally, in all ways. By my nature, I needed to dominate, so I told myself to suck up and truly be an adult woman, which meant I had to take on some responsibilities I didn’t feel like taking. Like attending boring meetings.
Fake it until you make it.
I showered quickly, and an elegant, light blue gown was on the counter for me. I stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my torso.
Reys, Alaric, Lorcan, and Pyrder wheeled toward me, their heated eyes glued to me. This would take time to get used to.
“We agreed that I’d always pick my own clothes.” I fixed my gaze on Lorcan before darting toward Reysalor. “I don’t want the blue gown.”
“The ladies in my court wear gowns except for the female guards,” Lorcan said.
“I’m a warrior, too, a born one,” I said.
The males all looked at me doubtfully.
I sent my air current at them, but their hair just ruffled in the wind. Right, I forgot my power wouldn’t hurt my mates.
The males grinned.
I threw a hand, and chairs in the room flew around, slamming into them. That I could do.
The males laughed and ducked.
Pyrder grabbed a chair speeding toward him, put it down, and sat on it with a smirk. But the chair wasn’t budging and kept bumping his ass.
“Fine, fine, let’s call it a truce,” Reys called.
I withdrew my air current that had wrecked the room. “You all want me to be a weapon, don’t you?”
All the smiles and laughs dropped off them. They looked grimmer than ever. That was why they’d sought me out in the first place. But now, they only wanted to shield their weapon, hide it in a sheath.
It was too late now.
“So I’m going to act like a weapon,” I said. “I’ll dress like a weapon first. I don’t want a gown unless it’s a weapon in disguise. I’ll dress casually and comfortably. A pair of jeans and a cashmere top will do. I hear cashmere is a luxury material in the mortal realm. As for jeans, they must be a designer brand. With a few holes around the knees. The mortals think the holes are a fashion statement.”
Lorcan just stared at me, but his brow didn’t crease. He no longer wanted to pick a fight with me. He wouldn’t win anyway, and I had three other males to back me up.
“I appreciate that you didn’t frown at me this time, Lorcan,” I said. “That’s a big improvement. You come from the old world, so I don’t blame you much. But I’m a brand-new modern woman with novel ideas and plenty of independence. You’d better catch up with me if you want to stay my mate.”
He grimaced, but I had to be hard on him sometimes, since I didn’t want to outgrow him and then dump him. “A hot body can hold my interest for a while, but it won’t last forever,” I added incisively.
“Well said, sweetheart,” Alaric said with a roar of laughter. “I bet Lorcan has never heard such an instructive speech in his entire life. The vampire might be stuck in the old world, but you never need to worry about me. I’m most adaptive.”
“We’ll see,” I said, regarding him. “You might need to tone down your menace vibe a little. You scare people. Lorcan hides his viciousness sometimes, but you don’t even bother.”
“Do I scare you?” Alaric asked quietly.
I snorted. “Me? In your dreams.”
“Then why would I bother to make any change?” Alaric said. “I’m comfortable with who I am.”
“You’re hopeless,” I sighed, “but I guess I can learn to live with that.”
“So I’m the only one on your blacklist?” Lorcan asked, and then a determined look took over his storm-gray eyes. “I’m the only one who has claimed you. The process is irreversible.”
“Try me,” I said.
He regarded me darkly.
“You might want to adapt around Cass, Lorcan,” Reys said with a delightful sigh. “I understand that you never needed to charm any woman. They fought to be in your bed. You think you never have to bend and can always have your way. But you won’t get away with it with Cass.”
I narrowed my eyes at both Reys and Lorcan, not pleased with the insinuations about Lorcan and the other women.
Reys ignored me and continued. “Cass isn’t like any woman we’ve ever met. She’s cunning and free in spirit. She’ll never bend to you, or any of us, unless it fits her needs. There isn’t a single submissive bone in her. She’s just as much an alpha as any of us, and even more so, regardless of her youth.”
“And none of us can walk away from her, even if we try,” Lorcan said quietly, as if he’d tried.
“Cass is actually easygoing,” Reys added. “She only has strong opinions about food and fashion. Just give her what she wants, and we’ll have our peace.”
I frowned at Reys. He had totally misinterpreted me.
“I led armies into wars for an eon,” the High Lord of Night said. “And now I’m at a loss dealing with a girl.”
“You didn’t think of me as a little girl when you were on top of me,” I hissed.
Lorcan looked like he wanted to bang his head on the wall. It wouldn’t hurt him anyway. A vampire’s head was very hard.
The other males looked at me in sexual hunger as if they wanted to devour me.
I shivered.
I was intentionally being provocative since I wasn’t pleased with how they saw me. I didn’t like the gap and misunderstanding between us, and their ages of knowledge intimidated me and made me feel lacking.
I lashed out when I felt insecure and threatened.
“I know our mate is mostly ridiculous, but—” Pyrder said.
My face burned red, anger flashing in my eyes. My score had just gone lower and lower. “How am I so ridiculous?” I sneered.
Alaric chuckled.
“In a good way, Cass baby,” Pyrder said. “We’re ancient, jaded, and scarred beings, but you make us feel like big kids again. I feel like the boy I was when my twin and I first met Lorcan and Alaric and formed the brotherhood millennia ago.”
“You make us feel alive,” Reys said in amused voice.
“In that case—” I said as a knock disturbed the rest of my thoughts.
The door opened and Xihin poked his head in before his broad shoulder entered. He was as big as my mates, and everyone knew he was the only vampire, except Lorcan, whom I wouldn’t growl at. So the vampires often sent him in to deal with me.
In his large hand was a stack of clothes, with a pair of washed-out jeans on top.
“Thank you, Xihin,” I said.
Xihin grinned at me and I grinned back. Lorcan’s vampires were more efficient than Dario’s, and they’d prepared for me.
While I was arguing with my mates, Lorcan must have mentally ordered his minion to bring me the clothes I wanted. I took a mental note that top-ranking vampires could communicate telepathically at a distance.
Lorcan was learning to bend a little.
He took the clothes from Xihin and handed them to me. “Happy now?”
“Yep, but I don’t like your tone,” I said. “You’ll have a lot to learn to make a woman happy, Lorcan. You did the work, yet you still succeeded in irritating me with that condescending tendency.”
Xihin sucked in a breath. I bet he’d never seen anyone teach his High Lord a lesson or two. He withdrew at once to escape the crossfire and carefully closed the door behind him.
“We need to leave for the meeting after your change, dulcis.” Lorcan sighed in resignation.
I didn’t give him grief again since I’d gotten what I wanted, though I didn’t appreciate being rushed and given a command.
I wore my black leather top and jeans to the vampires’ meeting in a vast conference room.
No one offered me a drink. Since everyone looked so serious as if they were at a funeral, I didn’t even demand a cup of coffee. I’d grown addicted to the mortals’ coffee. I’d had two mugs already before we drove to Lorcan’s court, so I decided not to make a fuss over not being offered more.
The vampires lined up on one side of the long table. My three other mates and their core team members sat on the other side, with me between Reysalor and Alaric.
Lorcan sat at the head of the table since he was the host. Mistress Selena sat next to him, giving me the coldest stare in the world, sending chills slicing up my spine. I could tell she wanted me dead more than anything, just as Jade had once craved to bleed me out to my last drop.
I didn’t think Lorcan could sense the threat to me, since a woman was always more intuitive about another malicious woman. And my instincts had never been wrong. I returned a stink eye to her whenever I felt her glacial glare in my direction.
Bring it on, bitch. I beckoned. I wouldn’t back down from a challenge, especially fighting for my male.
The attendees proceeded with introductions, followed by open discussions on gods, defenses, strategies, and current dire situations in the mortal and immortal realms. All that doom and gloom shit.
Then the high-class vampires sought to persuade their High Lord not to take a hopeless fight to the alien gods but retreat further into the shadows or the immortal realm like ShadesStar to preserve their race.
Reys’s fae warriors jumped up from their seats, yelling for the vampires to wake up and get real. “There’s nowhere for you to hide when the Olympian gods are done with the mortal world,” Hector said, and he would have pounded the table if it weren’t for his boss Reysalor’s warning look. “For your information, the gods are already seeking a way to breach the immortal realm.”
A vampire sneered. I waited for Hector to punch him, but he disappointed me.
And then, they drew out more long-winded debates.
I dozed off after that—maybe my morning coffee wasn’t strong enough—until my name was being shouted repeatedly around the table. Pyrder was saying that the brotherhood had found a secret weapon that could kill the gods, and that weapon was me.
I pretended to still be asleep.
“Her?” A vampire, who sneered earlier snickered this time, his version of vampiric politeness. “Sure, that little girl will kill the gods with her drools.”
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