by Lia Davis
"Sterling ordered dinner. It should be here soon," Peter said, releasing Tala and returning to his spot next to me.
Dorian stood from his chair and sat on the other side of Peter so that my sisters had a place to sit. We asked our sentries if they wanted to stay for dinner. Sterling ordered more than enough. They politely declined and went to their own dorm.
Ami gave me a mental nudge, and I glanced up. She frowned and said, "I take it we are not telling Mom and the Niswi."
"No, not yet." I pointed to Sterling. "That's why I called Sterling in the first place. He's not only a powerful witch but the heir to the High Priest and Priestess. He understands the need to keep the parents out of it for now."
Ami seemed to be satisfied with my answer and went back to reading her book.
I sent a telepathic message to Tala. "You okay?" We couldn’t read each other’s minds, but we could send thoughts. It took a lot of focus to do it, so we didn’t often.
She threw a small square pillow at me. "Of course. And you're forgetting Sterling has telepathy."
I met Sterling's gaze and his sensual lips lifted at the corners. "I've learned to shut it off unless I want or need to use it."
Tala answered my question, "Yes, I think it's great that Peter is your...well one of your mates. We’ve never felt anything but friendship with each other."
"It's more like a brother-sister friendship," Peter added.
Dorian played with my hair as he spoke. "Even though everyone in high school was betting those two would be mates."
Tala scrunched up her nose. "Nah. Peter is my bud. Now he’ll be my brother for real."
We all laughed, and I was happy to think about something else besides my blackouts and someone controlling me. The latter pissed me off. I would find out who was behind it and bring them down.
Chapter Six
We discussed all the different possibilities until late into the night. I sat between the three guys on the couch, alternating between them every time I got up to grab a drink or go pee or something. We couldn’t stop touching each other. Small touches, like grabbing pinkies or pressing our legs against each other. Not touching wasn't an option. I was proud of the four of us for not going into an orgy in front of everyone.
Eventually, my sisters convinced the guys to go home and research. Sterling had access to tomes and tomes of spell books and histories of his people and was hopeful he'd find some answers in them.
His family led one of the largest witch circles in the world. Witches didn't fall under one umbrella like vampires and lycans, but Sterling's circle was large enough to rival the Collective in terms of sheer numbers.
Mom had been mending fences with witch circles our whole lives. She wanted all paranormal establishments to be allies. Never know when the humans might find out and turn on us all. The Hightower Circle was one of the first she'd approached, though the Niswi had hated it. Everyone suspected the Hightowers of being more than a circle. They had their hands in human businesses and were said to think themselves above human laws.
I stood at the door, saying goodbye to Sterling, Dorian, and Peter, one kiss at a time. They held my hands, pressed kisses on my knuckles, wrists, cheeks, and neck until Tala jerked me inside the door and slammed it in their faces.
Sucking in a deep breath, I turned and leaned against the wall. They were still standing in the hall. I could smell them, but besides that, I was pretty sure I could feel them. With Sterling and I both having telepathy, it wouldn't be hard to tell. I reached out gently and pressed at his mind, sort of knocking on the door to his psyche.
When he lowered his defensive walls, his aura enveloped mine, pulling a gasp from my throat.
His mind was warm and safe, and though I didn't exactly feel love from him, he definitely surrounded me in feelings of fondness and desire.
"You okay?" Tala asked.
I smiled at her while Sterling filling my thoughts and emotions. "I'm really good," I whispered and went straight to my bedroom.
As Sterling moved, I had a general sense of what he was doing, but not specifically. I could tell when he switched from walking to riding in the car, but I couldn't tell specifics like which direction he went or if he drove or not. I felt the distance grow between us until eventually, he slipped from my mind, leaving me with an emptiness I'd never experienced before.
Surely, we couldn't go through life inside of each other's brains. Time to get rid of that disappointment.
Sleep came easily, though I'd expected it to take until daylight to fall asleep. I drifted off with thoughts of my new mates and the possibilities they brought with them. Uniting the witches with the Collective would thrill my mom.
Morning came with a vengeance, bright sunshine waking me up a few minutes before my alarm went off. "Who opened my curtains?"
Ami opened my door a few minutes later. "If you miss Algebra, Paw will find out." I'd told them about his phone call the night before. "Better get up."
I groaned loudly, but crawled out from under my thick comforter, heading straight for a shower. By the time I came out, dressed in jeans and a tee with my long black hair still soaking wet, Tala had a big pot of coffee waiting on us. "Mmm, thanks," I whispered as she handed me a cup.
"How does it feel?" she asked.
"Overwhelming. I've been turned on since the second I smelled them, and I can't think of anything else. But I don't understand why none of us felt it before?"
"When was the last time you saw any of them?" she asked as she popped some bread in the toaster.
I had to think. Not enough caffeine. "Not since they graduated. Three years ago?"
"Yeah, Pete graduated three years ahead of us. So we were fifteen then."
I nodded. "Makes no sense."
"Actually, all three of us started our periods late."
Groaning, I laughed. "Remember how badly we wanted it to happen? We couldn't wait. Then once it happened, ugh. I've regretted it ever since."
"Same. But we bloomed late, for sure. I think I read something once about a mating call not coming until both mates are ready for it. Maybe you hadn't matured enough for it."
She made sense. I'd always crushed on Sterling, but Peter had been off-limits as Tala's best friend. They'd bonded when we were really small. Peter's dad died, and Grandpa Graham had started bringing him around. Peter's dad had been one of Grandpa's sentries.
Tala and Peter had hit it off, playing together and eventually training. Then, Peter started training with Voss's sentries, so he was around the compound even more.
Everyone thought Peter and Tala would eventually mate.
Plot twist. He was for me.
Dorian had been ridiculous in high school. I hadn't liked him at all. Neither had Peter until their senior year. I didn't know the specifics, but Dorian helped Sterling out of a scrape with a different vamp, and suddenly the three of them were inseparable.
I'd secretly thought it was too bad Dorian was such an irresponsible partier. I'd made the perfect little scenario in my mind, where I married Sterling, Tala married Peter, and Ami married Dorian. Except Dorian was all wrong for her. Fantasy Dorian was kind and warm and took good care of the scatterbrained Ami.
Time to find new fantasy mates for my sisters. The thought of Peter or Dorian with one of them made my fire stoke. Literally.
"Why are you blushing?" Ami asked as she walked into the room.
I gulped more coffee before answering. "Thinking about how I used to view my new mates when we were in school together."
"Did you tell her the maturity theory?" Ami asked Tala.
"It makes sense," I said, nodding. "Dorian was such a man-whore that if he'd felt the first inkling of mating pull toward me, he would've acted on it voraciously. If I'd let him. Which, I wouldn't have."
Good thing none of us could catch STDs the way I'd read humans did. Dorian would have one for sure. I rolled my eyes. "I hope his past doesn't cause any issues for us. I don't want to have to deal with a jealous ex."
&n
bsp; "It'll be fine. You're to be High Alpha. What could they say?" Ami sniggered. "You could just set them on fire."
"Ami, you're such a sweet person, but I swear you've got one hell of a dark streak. Let's go to class." Grabbing my backpack, I slipped into my sneakers and banged on the sentries' door. "Let's go!"
We left together, always an entourage. "When we add my mates and eventually yours as well, our ridiculous group is going to be too many to handle. Especially if you guys follow the same path and have multiple mates like me and mom."
Tala looked around at our group. "We are a lot, aren't we?"
"It's the cost of doing business," Elijah quipped.
We all laughed at his human phrase. Ami and the guys split off to go to her divination class while Harper and Tala joined me for Algebra.
I needed a lot more coffee to get through that class. I hoped Harper and Tala absorbed what the teacher taught because I got nothing.
Our only other Tuesday class, Human Relations, had been canceled. All of us were in that one, because the professor only came out for one class, twice a week. Professor Shield was human, the wife of a lycan pack member, and she'd come down with a human cold. Too bad, it was an interesting lesson every week.
Every single student and most of the teachers came for it. Humans were a mysterious phenomenon to most of us, and Professor Shield taught us about their financial systems, how their family units were set up, and what to do if we were ever cornered by one and had to converse with it.
The class was so huge it was held in the gymnasium, the bleachers filled and a bunch of people sitting on the floor. Mom had talked about hiring a second teacher, but we didn't have access to that many humans that could be trusted with the secret.
My phone dinged. I smiled when I saw the name.
Dorian: You up yet?
Meda: I'm leaving my only class for the day. You?
Dorian: Barely. We crashed at Sterling's parent's house. Can we come over?
Meda: I'd like that.
Dorian: See you soon.
"I'm going back to the dorm," I told the group. "The guys are on their way."
"I'll walk you," Harper said. All the sentries knew what was going on and had all agreed to keep the secret for now, since I was getting help.
Sighing, I nodded. I kept hoping for a little freedom now that I was out from under Mom and Niswi's direct thumb, but with sentries, it would never happen. We stopped off at the school cafeteria for another cup of coffee, then continued to the dorms.
I had just enough time to change into a nicer shirt. Impressing my mates wasn't something I really needed to do, but I didn't want to look quite as much like I'd just rolled out of bed and gone to class, even though I nearly had.
At least I'd showered.
Straightening my shirt, I hurried to the door when I heard the knock. A smiling Dorian, Sterling, and Peter waited on me.
Dorian surged forward, pulling me into his arms. "Are we alone here?"
His scent overpowered my sensitive nose, yanking my inner vamp to the surface. She wanted to bite him, exchange blood with him, and fuck him senseless.
My wolf wiggled her ass in agreement, but she smelled the other two as well and wanted me to pull them into the hug.
"We're alone."
He growled and attacked my mouth, lifting me off of my feet. I wrapped my legs around his waist and let him have his way. If Peter or Sterling didn't like it, they could lump it—or join in.
"Hey," Sterling said sharply. "Don't hog her."
Dorian's kiss slowed until he pulled his lips away, his forehead resting on mine. "We have to fuck," he said. "I can't stand the desire."
"I understand." My fingers danced their way up to his neck and into his hair. "I really, really do."
"We all feel the same way," Peter said, walking around us and pressing his front to my back as Dorian continued to hold me.
Moaning, I leaned back, resting my head on his shoulder. His hands ran down the outside of my thighs, then back up the inside, teasing me even through my jeans. I hissed, clenching my legs around Dorian's waist.
"Get down or I'm going to bite you," he said through clenched teeth. "This is worse than the first time I jacked off."
Peter put his arm around my waist, and I dropped my legs, freeing Dorian. He shot across the room and opened the window, sticking his head out to suck in air. "It's not working. I can still smell you."
"Well, I do live here," I said, still in Peter's arms. Sterling stood in my direct line of sight. He'd bulked up since high school, and he'd been into lifting weights even then. The shape of his muscles strained the short sleeves of his t-shirt.
When we were kids, he'd been scrawny. At some point, he'd started working out, though, because muscles like that don't grow on their own.
"Hi," I said as Peter's fingers lightly tickled my side.
"Hey." Sterling walked forward, more reserved than the other two. Witches didn't have the inner wolf of the lycan or the heightened emotions of the vampire.
Unfortunately for me, I had both and my fire, which also fed off of my emotions.
That meant I wanted to fuck all of them senseless with no regard for the repercussions.
Sterling took my hands and leaned forward for a kiss. His kiss was firm and warm. My fire danced under my lips, loving the feel of him on me, and he jerked back.
"I'm so sorry," I gasped. "I didn't mean to do that."
"You're a fire elemental?" he asked in surprise. "I never knew that." He rubbed his lips thoughtfully.
"Did I burn you?" I asked, holding out my hand to him.
He took it and kissed my wrist. "No, it was just a surprise."
Smiling, I pulled him toward the couch, where Dorian had sat down. Peter followed. "It's not something we advertise." I patted Peter's hand on my waist and he let me go. "It's bad enough we're hybrids. If everyone knew we had magic as well, our threat levels might go up."
"Your sisters too?" Dorian turned on the couch beside me, putting one of his legs between us, probably to keep himself from getting too close and too turned on again.
"Yeah, Tala has water and Ami air."
Peter laughed. "That fits their personalities so well."
He was right. Sterling stood and walked over to the doorway, retrieving a backpack I hadn't even noticed. "I found several books that should help us."
The books he pulled from the backpack looked like they belonged under glass in a museum. "What are they?" I asked, gingerly picking one up.
"One is an ancient grimoire, and the other three are sort of like witch encyclopedias." He opened the largest one first. "The first thing I want to try is a memory probe. Our minds seem to like being connected to each other, so maybe I can pick up something that you can't remember."
The thought of having him in my mind again was alluring. We couldn't read each other's thoughts unless we projected them, so I didn't have any worry about him finding something too private. My sisters and I had studied at length with the best witches mom could find. We knew how to control how much someone could get into our minds. It would be difficult to find someone powerful enough to overpower us. Which was why I was so worried about the blackouts and the possibility that someone had gotten my shields.
"Let's do it."
We moved the coffee table and sat in the middle of the room, cross-legged and facing each other. "This might take a while." He looked at his friends. "Get comfortable." He took my hands while Dorian stretched out on the couch and Peter curled up in the chair.
The warm comfort of his mind washed over me again. Time floated by peacefully, in a haze. In the very corner of my mind, I realized I'd given Sterling an incredible amount of trust. I couldn't see the memories he searched for. Opening my mind this much had been easy with him, even after all the years of keeping it shut off from everyone but my sisters. In what felt like a few short minutes, he pulled slowly and calmly out and the room came into focus again. I blinked as I looked around. "That was..."
/> "Yeah, me, too," Sterling said. "It was intimate."
"Did you feel like your mind was being given a loving massage? Cause that's the best way I could describe it." I scooted forward into his lap, seeking the closeness again. I couldn't help it, I felt like we should be constantly connected.
"No, I felt like I was giving your mind a gentle massage." He nuzzled my neck.
As I turned my head to give him more access, I saw Peter asleep in the chair. Dorian was nowhere to be seen. "Peter's asleep."
"No, I'm not. I woke up as soon as you spoke, but I'm really comfortable." He grinned but didn't open his eyes.
"Where's Dorian?"
"In here," he called before walking out of Calista's room. "Snooping."
"Don't go in there, she might know."
"She couldn't possibly know," he scoffed.
"What if she smells you?" I pointed out.
"She's a witch, right? They don't have heightened senses of smell."
He had a point. Still, it wasn't polite to snoop. "Did you find anything?"
"Her tastes in literature run on the dark side, but nothing any worse than I've seen Sterling read." He shrugged. "It's a boring room, really. She doesn't have very much in the way of personal effects."
Weird. Teenage girls typically had loads of stuff. My sisters and I certainly did.
"Well?" Dorian asked Sterling expectantly.
"Nothing. All I can see of what she can't remember is like fog. I hung around a long time in the memories, hoping something would come through, but nothing ever did."
"How long were we like that?" I asked.
Dorian looked at his phone. "Three hours."
"What?" I exclaimed. "It felt like three minutes!"
Peter stretched and hopped out of the chair. "I slept through most of it. Hungry?"
As usual, I was starving. "Famished. There's plenty of food in the fridge."
"I'll cook something," he said. "I'm no good with the stuff Sterling wants to try."
Sterling patted my thigh, so I got off of his lap and moved to the couch beside Dorian. Sterling pulled a baggie containing a series of very small bottles about the size of travel liquor bottles out of his bag