Page 64 of Accidental Blood Lust
“And I’m the luckiest mage.”
They both look at me.
“And look what I’ve got. A pack, after all this time.”
The three of us lean in at the same time to share a sweet kiss. Our scents mingle, creating something new and beautiful, and my wolf curls up and rumbles with contentment. Yes, this is everything we’ve ever wanted.
“Let’s get this part over with,” I suggest. “The sooner we do, the sooner we get back to our lives.”
I notice the flicker of insecurity on Jareth’s face, and I have a feeling what caused it, but that subject needs to be tabled for later. We have to deal with this fae situation before we can tackle living arrangements and mortality. One thing at a time.
“We’ve got you, Loch,” I say, smoothing his hair.
“We do,” Jareth agrees.
Loch smiles. “I know.” He exhales slowly. “Let’s do this.”
The three of us walk down the hallway toward Cas’s apartment. The closer we get, the more agitated my wolf is, fully awake again now that he knows what we’re doing. He has to trust the process though, like I’m doing. This is for Loch and our future. It’ll be okay.
It has to be.
TWENTY
ROMAN
Cas insists we do this in my apartment instead of his. “Trust me” was the only reasoning he gave, along with a knowing smirk. I don’t really care where we do this, I just want to get it over with and know that Loch is safely on the other side of it.
Jareth squeezes my hand as Loch lies down on the bed and Cassius climbs on after him. An involuntary growl rumbles in my throat and my wolf pushes towards the surface, demanding that we protect our mate, claim him, keep Cassius’s and everyone else’s hands off of him. Except for Jareth, obviously. My wolf is perfectly happy to let Jareth touch him.
“It’s okay,” Jare murmurs, soothing my wolf by leaning in closer and rubbing his cheek against mine, scenting me the way I’ve scented him a million times.
“Relax. I’m not interested in fucking your mate,” Cas says in a bored tone.
“My wolf still doesn’t like it.” I growl, vibrating with the effort it takes to keep myself in human form as the vampire crawls on top of Loch.
“Wait.” Loch stops Cas before he can sink his teeth in. “Will I smell different after this?”
“Well, yeah, that’s the point. You won’t smell like fae anymore.”
“No, I mean…” Loch cranes his neck to look over Cas’s shoulder at Jareth and me standing together at the foot of the bed, holding our breath, waiting until it’s our turn to take care of him. His eyes meet mine and I see an ocean of worry inside them. “You smelled me before I was turned and you never thought I was your mate. Cas is basically remaking me, right? So, what if I smell…different.”
My heart fractures for him, for all the uncertainty and fear I can hear in his voice and smell in his scent. Jareth squeezes my hand again, and even though I don’t have the same burgeoning connection with him to be able to feel threads of his emotions like I can with Loch, I’m sure he’s feeling the same thing I am. He wishes Cas weren’t here so we could properly reassure our mate.
“That’s not how fated mates work, love,” I say. “I promise it will be okay.”
He holds my gaze for another long second before he nods and relaxes back into position, staring up at the ceiling, bracing himself to be drained.
“Ready?” Cas checks.
“As I’ll ever be.” Loch chuckles. “It’s funny, I wasn’t this nervous when I?—”
LOCH
—was turned.I guess I know what I have to lose this time.The rest of my words are lost to thoughts that vanish from my brain as soon as they form as Cas sinks his fangs into my throat, and the venom in his bite makes me drowsy.
More than drowsy; my vision is starting to get fuzzy like I’m looking into this room through a tunnel that’s only getting longer. And I feel weak,soweak. Shit. My heart doesn’t beat anymore, but I have a sudden, visceral memory of how it felt when that vampire at the bar drained me, the way my pulse got slower and slower, and I started to feel so alone and fucking terrified. The memory itself is hazy now, even though it wasn’t that long ago, but I remember the realization that came over me in that moment—that the vampire might not be turning me at all, he might just be feeding on me, and maybe I would die alone on a dirty bathroom floor.
Panic starts to override the drowsiness, and my body acts on instinct, bucking and flailing under Cassius’s weight. His teeth stay lodged in my flesh, but my movements force them to drag and tear, sending sparks of pain through me.
