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He runs a frustrated hand over his face as he leans against the wall, looking like the most beautiful man no matter how mussed he is. It’s an unfair advantage because of the inconvenient distraction it provides time and time again. I really like pretty things, damn it.
“I feel like I’m trying to reboot, but I’m a person and not a machine, so it’s sort of not working.”
“If I’m hurting, the cold feels better,” I remind him. “Hurting,” I add, gesturing toward the phantom mass on my chest, as the stupid tears spring to my eyes. He clears his throat several times before standing and abruptly taking a few steps back. “Usually this burden seems to fall to Vance. Sorry,” I say, not sorry at all, if I’m honest.
After a long stretch of silence, I start feeling more and more ridiculous, wearing a beautiful new red coat and matching boots with Vance’s T-shirt, while sitting in the lap of the Morpheous, next to the werewolf in the snow, as the Van Helsing and vampire stare on. I really prefer to process things alone because of moments like this.
Isiah says nothing, and I drop a foot to my knee, sitting casually now. This is one less problem for me, since it’s rare Arion gets so pissed that he’s eerily calm.
“Sheathe your weapon, Van Helsing,” Arion says very bitterly, eyes not moving off Isiah. “This is a House matter, and this is still my House.” “Just preparing to step in front of your sister in case you lose it,” I assure him with a dark grin, glancing in Emily’s direction.
“Shera had the centers coated with some of Violet’s castoffs. The girl has a small arsenal she doesn’t know how to dispose of,” Arion goes on, almost admiring the pencil now. It’s a little unnerving to notice the pencil sharpener he used has turned into a melted pile of plastic at some point…
“The point is,” Arion says, jabbing the point of the pencil in the air toward Isiah like a cheesy pun from a sociopath during a torture session, “I don’t know if what’s seeping out of the broken crystalized center of those particular pencils is lethal or just painfully toxic.”
One pencil starts sizzling, and the distinct scent of burning flesh finally erupts into the room. Arion grins again, as the room’s smell turns rancid. “Well, that’s intriguing. I’ll call those the sizzlers,” Arion chirps as he walks around to a box of pencils and actually labels it. With a marker, not a pencil. Fucking vampires. “Fucking vampires,” Damien says, echoing my own sentiments, as he massages his temples and exhales harshly.
“I happen to have vampire friends,” she says on a frustrated breath as she shakes her head. “Obviously, I’m my number one priority, but I’d like for some of them to live as well,” she adds like it needs to be said. “I’m not a bloody miracle worker,” Arion tells her, looking over at me.
“You don’t stab a psychotic vampire in the heart unless you have a suicide note prepared in advance,” Violet tells her father calmly.
“Has he gotten any more…masculine to you?” What…the…fucking…hell? Wh-what? Where did that come from? I glance at the mirror to see if I suddenly stopped looking like the brute I am. Nope. Still the motherfucking king of masculinity.
I remain rigid and slightly stupefied by…well, I’m a man. I’m a fucking beast. There’s not a cocking inch of me that’s not bloody masculine.
“You called him sweet and mild,” Tiara’s voice cuts in, and Leiza mutters a curse under her breath as she covers her face again. “He is sweet and mild,” Violet tells her as something grinds in the background. Put the nails in my coffin. I’m fucking done. “And I like that about him. But he’s more of a friend that’s rough-and-fun in bed. Not a boyfriend I should be cuddling with on a couch. And now that things with Vance have sort of progressed—” “Emit is just treating you with soft gloves. You’re a soft girl,” Tiara defends, while I sit up here like a pathetic little bitch listening in.
“I’m falling out of contention because I’m not man enough for her?” I ask Leiza in completely dumbfounded disbelief. “You can’t be pleased. Arion’s all over you and that’s no good, and Emit—” “Arion’s attention would be great. But he’s been devoted to one woman for this much of his eternity—a woman who’s rising soon. And even if he’s as completely over her and ready for me as he claims to be, he still hasn’t gotten any closure from her. I don’t want to compete. Why put myself through that at all? It just seems like a pointless risk.”
“I don’t know. I still feel like Emit is just interested in me because I’m convenient,” Violet says as her phone buzzes on vibrate. She has no idea that she’s the most inconvenient woman I’ve ever felt anything at all for.
“You can feel the difference. With Damien, there’s always been that sort of desperate passion. With Arion, there’s this annoyingly intense chemistry, and I feel like I’m failing all women everywhere every time I struggle to pull away from him. With Vance, there’s been this subtle, slow-boil passion that is finally coming to fruition little by little, and it’s…” Her voice trails off, and I inwardly groan when I practically hear her smile.
“The point is, with Emit, it’s fun and nice, but it’s not powerful. That connection I thought was there faded when I realized I’m not all that special and my secrets aren’t my secrets when they reach him.”
“So this is hell. I’m the gossiping wolf toy that’s nice to play with, while the vampire is the forbidden fucking fruit that hangs so low it’s suspicious. It’s absurd,” I angrily tell my very silent omega.
My omegas have figured out something I had to figure out in a much more dramatic, eye-opening way. Not only am I apparently too soft, I’m also stupid once more.
“If Violet wants to find me, I’ll be outside chopping wood,” I tell her, causing her to choke back a sound that suspiciously resembles a smothered laugh. When I eye her, she’s the picture of seriousness, nodding once again. “Of course, Alpha,” she says so graciously.
His eyes narrow on me, and then his brow furrows. It’s when his lips start to twitch that I bristle, feeling a little too transparent. “Didn’t realize you’d gotten this pathetic, mongrel,” he drawls. “And here I thought our calls were being ignored so you could have Violet to yourself.” “I’m holding an axe,” I warn him. “Not a Van Helsing axe,” he volleys with a growing grin.
“What’re you doing shirtless?” she asks, looking back over at me. “It’s like ten degrees out here. People are going to think that’s weird.” Damien restrains a smile. “You were almost out of wood,” I tell her, gesturing to the…fucking full wood chamber on the side of her house. I couldn’t squeeze another piece in there if I wanted to. Violet glances from it, to me, to Damien, and then to the wood again.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your future captain speaking,” Arion’s voice says smoothly over the intercom, causing Emit to roll his eyes and Damien to release a small groan. “It’s apparently a lot quicker to cross the Atlantic in this era, so the trip time will be considerably shorter than it was the last time I personally made it.” “Get off the fucking coms,” I hear Vance say in the background. “Just drive the plane and—” The speaker cuts off, and I shake my head. “Men to boys,” I mutter under my breath.
“I got bored and watched Arion’s surveillance of Vance’s house when we couldn’t reach Emit right away,” Damien says like it’s no big deal he continues to be a complete creep.
“This is your future captain speaking,” Arion says over the speaker once more. “I think the ghosts might be worth listening to after all. Let’s discuss that some more.” Violet’s eyes widen marginally. “He can hear us?” she hisses. “Of course I can, love,” the speaker says again. “Unbelievable,” Violet mutters, pinching the bridge of her nose, as a peculiar blush rises up her neck and spreads to her cheeks.
“Want to visit your captain before descent?” I hate Vance as well when Violet grins and slowly undoes her seatbelt for the first time, trusting him far more than she does any of us.
“He’s not even flying right now. It’s on autopilot or some shit,” I point out. Vance ‘scratches’ the back of his head with his bird finger, and that’s the last I see before the cockpit door slips shut.
“When you walk into a room where I’m sitting, I’d like to be straddled like that,” I can hear Arion saying. “How do I get from here to there?”
“Why are you posing shirtless and chopping wood?” Damien asks me, as I crack my knuckles. Fortunately, his register is below that of a whisper. “Because this girl makes us all act l...
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“The man presses his trousers to be pristine, before hanging them up in a color coordinated pattern. How is he more masculine than I am?” I ask, trying my damnedest to ignore the sounds from up front, as I tune out the small bi...
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“Your masculinity has been called into question? That’s the newest blockade?” he asks like he’s hoping he’s figured this out and found this hellish answer.
“I’ve been handling her too gently, apparently, and there’s been a miscommunication of intentions, it seems,” I correct, glaring at him. He chokes back a laugh…barely.
“Vance can’t talk right now. He’s in the middle of crashing a completely fried plane. This won’t happen on Air Arion when I’m your captain,” the psychotic vampire says with a careless tone.
Violet limply reaches for Vance, who snags her away from Arion. She clears her throat, as she gives us all a weak thumbs up, even as that violet rim has expanded to nearly take up most of her eyes. “The seatbelts were exceptional,” she says through strain. Vance makes a humorless laugh, and I shake my head, as Violet gives us all an unconvincing, tired smile. “Next time, maybe just avoid the storm,” she adds as her eyes roll back in her head and her entire body goes slack.
I snatch her out of Vance’s arms, and I cradle her unconscious body to me again. Vance wisely lets me keep her, since I’d likely bite any hand that tried to pry her away in this moment.
“Do you have any idea how damn fine of a job I just did?” Vance asks Arion with narrowed eyes. Arion glances over at the smoking wreckage, quirking an eyebrow. “Not really, no,” the vampire quips in a very genuine tone. “Fuck’s sake, Arion. It wasn’t me who crashed the plane; it was the—fuck it. Never mind,” Vance says, sighing in exasperation as he pulls out his phone.
His hand runs down my cheek as I give him a quick nod, not wanting to discuss the whole lightning rod thing just yet. Jeez, I forgot how much that sucks.
“Violet, it’s not your—” “Lightning from miles away will find me if I’m not properly quarantined, so don’t say it’s not my fault. I can’t afford to replace your jet, but—” “Bloody hell, she’s being serious,” Arion cuts in, sounding so damn amused. Vance’s lips struggle to keep from turning up at the edges.
“Who’s Fiona?” Arion asks, causing me to glance up at Vance. Vance looks like he’s about to punch Arion, who’s grinning. Ohhh… “Really?” Vance asks Arion a little pointedly. Arion grins over at me, getting my attention, as he raps his fingers on the arm of the chair. “Vance named all his ships after women who’d made him bother to remember their names.” I give Vance a lazy look, as he palms his face and mutters some threat of violence under his breath.
“Violet, you’ve had a trying night—” “It’s quickly becoming my norm,” I say in interruption to Vance. “And that actually was pretty normal for me, aside from the plane crash. But all the lightning sort of took my mind off the plane crash,” I babble on. “Regardless, I want to see the castle.” “For fuck’s sake, Violet. You were struck by lightning, survived a plane crash, had hardly anything left to change into after all that, and that’s after learning about something as crucial as your mother possibly being an immortal. Why is it so important to see Idun’s home right now, after what you’ve
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It’s a bad day when you can’t remember the details of a plane crash because you were too distracted by the back-to-back strikes of lightning. Doesn’t matter. Right now, nothing else matters. Everything else gets a big freaking pin pushed into it.
“After just witnessing that helpless torment, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t apologize for inconsequential details, sweet gypsy. Apologize for not warning me how truly severe that is.” I blink a few times. “Aside from the plane crash, that one really wasn’t all that bad.” Emit makes another strange sound before stalking out, as Arion rakes a hand through his hair on his way back in. Vance mutters a curse before also storming out.
“Apparently the voltage made me stupid, because I’m not even getting the gist of this tantrum,”
“A kiss for the ferry charge,” Arion says as he teases my cheek with the brush of his lips. “For fuck’s sake, Arion. Don’t make the girl so—” Emit’s words cut off when I quickly kiss Arion, pressing my lips to his. It catches him so off guard that he doesn’t have time to react, and I’m able to keep the kiss chaste.
“I paid the ferry toll,” I remind him as he continues gingerly kissing the side of my neck, backing me up to a wall. “So you did,” he murmurs against my neck. Like a bad habit, my neck turns, giving him more access instead of cutting it off like I know I should, flirting with disaster.
“I bet Emit can hear me from my cellar then,” I state dryly, mentally assessing how weird and quiet Emit has been. Fucking. Great. Arion’s grin only grows. “This is a story you can tell me another time, love. I truly want to hear it, since the temperamental wolf is huffing and puffing at the bottom.
“Working around me is almost counterproductive, because I generally go with the flow, unless there’s a barrier I can’t cross,”
“My mom always said I was unbreakable, but the truth is I’m just resilient. I’m not at all unbreakable. With you, it’d be easy to be consumed and forget all the little warning signs of the strong denial you’re portraying, should you be earnest—” “I’m very earnest, Violet,” he says, sounding almost angry now. I pat his chest, certainly not wanting to piss off a psychotic vampire who hasn’t tried to kill/hurt me as of yet.
“I already bloody admitted you started as a replacement. Give me time to adjust. I fall the hardest. Already told you this too, love. It’s too late for you, I’m afraid.” He leans forward abruptly, gently nipping my earlobe. “And I haven’t wanted anything as much as I want you in far too fucking long. I’ll have you, Violet. At some point, you’re the kind of sweet girl who will see it cruel to continue to make me chase.”
