X looked over at me and grinned. “Sranje means bullshit in Croatian. Miranda is intimate with the word because it's the only thing she produces.”
The witch flipped him off and Nico cleared his throat. “Please, continue.”
“I couldn’t possibly be the only one who wondered about Lucius’ complete turn around regarding Raine, right? He is thousands of years old, and what, Raine is so pretty that she somehow turned a raving lunatic into a lapdog? Makes no sense. No offense,” she said to me, and I snorted.
“None taken.”
“I could almost believe it of Judge, who was a confirmed bachelor but deep down, he wanted love. I knew it.” Old hurt flashed across her face, “so I was willing to let that go. But both X and Lucius? The odds that she’d enamored so many damaged bachelors was a little unrealistic, even to me.”
Well, when she put it like that, it did sound improbable.
“So when I got some of Raine’s blood, I ran some incantations on it. Never voluntarily give your blood to a witch,” she told me sternly, then looked at the guys. “They should teach you better.”
I bet they were all regretting leaving that little fact out of the ‘How to be a Vampire’ handbook now. “It showed me that there was a little bit of succubus in Raine’s bloodline, and when your Doctor turned her, it coalesced with her vampire DNA to make her a hybrid. A weak one, but one all the same. Enough to enamor you all, but not enough that she must feed from you to survive. Though I’m sure she feels extra peppy after a good roll in the sheets.”
Yep, that was definitely jealousy. I didn’t feel bad. I would be jealous if I was in her position too.
Nico frowned. “Succubi have been extinct for centuries, Miranda.”
She nodded, “I was surprised too, Nico, but the magic doesn’t lie. It is merely a drop, but you know there's conjecture that both the succubi and the vampire descended from demons, yes?”
Nico nodded and I frowned. Say what? Miranda wasn’t looking at me now though. “Well my theory was that the demon DNA melded and there you have it, a baby Vampcubi.”
I sounded like a mixed breed dog. A mixed breed dog that had forced others to love her. “So you are saying, until I became a vampire, this succubi DNA was just dormant?” Miranda nodded. “And everyone who thinks they love me is just enraptured by the succubi blood?” She frowned but gave me another tight nod.
I tried to wiggle my way off of Brody’s lap, but he just held me tighter. “And this would affect all supernaturals? Not just vampires?” Like shapeshifter Alphas that ignored their duties when they should have been running a Pack. Brody’s arms squeezed me as if he could sense the destructive direction of my thoughts.
Tex was right beside me in a moment, sensing my distress. He reached out, grabbing my hand and placing it on his cheek. “I’ve loved you since we were kids. Long before any vampire blood or vulcan mindmeld.” He moved my hand down over his heart. “You can trust in that. Lean on that.”
Brody reached for me and pulled me back down. “The mate bond is determined by the ancestors, not your blood. It is a soul connection, not something created by lust. Maybe your succubus traits made me eager to get in your bed, but this, what we have? It has nothing to do with DNA.”
I shuddered against him and blinked back big fat tears.
X growled. “So what? I say we kill the witch.” The way he said witch definitely had a silent B in it. “Then we forget this conversation and go back to happy naked orgies.”
I snorted a sad laugh. Miranda rolled her eyes. “I don’t care what you do with the information. As I said, this was only meant to be between Raine and I. It will go no further than this room. You have my word. Now I will be going. You guys can work out your own relationship drama.”
Nico eyed her a moment too long, and I saw her body subtly tense. But eventually he sighed. “Thank you, Miranda. We appreciate your discretion.” She opened up her interdimensional vagina slit and disappeared from the room with a pop. Then I was left in a room with all my lovers.
Walker had been mostly silent, a frown line between his brows as he listened and contemplated. It was Walker’s way. He was hard to rattle, but he looked shaken.
I didn’t blame him. I too was shooketh.
Judge still looked pissed, but underneath all that, I could see the doubt. I could see him running through every scenario, every emotion he’d felt for me, every interaction we’d ever had, trying to decipher if it was my powers or his own genuine need.
I didn’t want to see his face when he decided which side of the fence he landed on. Didn’t want to witness the moment he realized the same thing I was realizing right now. As a human, I wouldn’t have been able to make even one of these guys fall in love with me, except maybe Tex, who was my mate which was a different kind of unintentional bond. I needed him as my rock. My one certainty in the latest shitstorm of my life.
I climbed off Brody’s lap and he reluctantly let me go. He was hurting for me, I could feel it through my bond.
“You guys should all go home. It's late.” They all hesitated, and I stuck my hands on my hips, shoring up my broken heart with a little bit of inner bitch. “I want you to go. I want to be alone.”
I wasn’t surprised when Judge was the first to stand to leave. He came over and kissed me softly. “What I feel for you, Rainey Day, is more than just lust. It might have started that way, but my feelings outgrew that pretty damn quickly.”
Then he was gone.
Nico came and kissed my cheek, silently nodding to the rest of the room as he left. Walker came over, bending slightly so he could look me in the eye. “I am only leaving because I can understand your need for space. This means nothing, Raine. I will be back again tomorrow, and I will still love you so much my heart feels like it's going to explode.”
I let out a choked sound, but the door clicked quietly behind him. Brody and Tex turned toward X who shrugged. “I don’t give a flying fuck. I already knew you must have had a magical vagina when I signed up. Confirmation of the fact means nothing to me.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Fucking X.
I swallowed hard and nodded. “Thanks, I think.” I sighed, the shitstorm of my turning squarely back on my shoulders. “I really am tired. I just want to go to sleep for eternity.”
Brody stood, lifting me easily into his arms. Tex squeezed my hand and X grinned. “Fair enough. Lead on Macbeth. I’ll make sure no witches sneak back into your room tonight.”
For once, I appreciated the crazy killer more than I ever thought possible.
Chapter Five
The following morning there was no head on my doorstep and I didn’t know if I was relieved or disappointed. Brody came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist as I picked up today's newspaper. A newspaper delivery in a town that voluntarily isolated itself seemed odd, but if my disappearance and untimely death taught me anything, it was that keeping track of what's going on in the real world was important.
Brody nuzzled my throat. “You seem disappointed. I can’t get you a head, but I can give you head,” he purred and I laughed half-heartedly. Any other morning I’d take him up on that, but this morning, it felt wrong. Still, I appreciated the effort.