9. Lorna

Aheavy silence filled the truck's interior. With Elliott and Kenrid's magic, essence, and warmth surrounding me, I could barely smell Damon and Nathan's chocolatey goodness in the front seat. I was sweating from all the body heat, but it was still better than losing control.

The silence would give me and my dhampir time to sort out our shit. It was weird having someone else in my head. Her presence was real and almost tangible, like I could reach out and touch her. How had I not noticed her before?

I was in a deep slumber,she replied to my silent question. Nathan and Kenrid already explained the awakening to you.

I frowned, then wiggled in my tiny space between Kenrid and Elliott. Part of me hated it and the other part relished their closeness. I hadn't realized how much three weeks of isolation hurt me. I'd always been an introvert and didn't like people in my space, but after my experience in that damn cell, I really didn't want to be alone. I had a feeling these four men weren't about to let me out of their sight. But it was all irrelevant to my dhampir's comment.

How do you know what Nathan and Kenrid told me if you were snoozing? I asked.

She laughed at me, and I growled. The two men at my sides both jumped.

"What's wrong?" Kenrid whispered.

"Nothing," I muttered, then took a deep breath. I wasn't mad at him. I wasn't even really mad, just frustrated and confused. "My dhampir and I are having a conversation, so just ignore me for a few minutes."

"She talks to you?" Elliott asked.

I glanced up and nearly smacked my forehead on his chin. He backed up an inch or two.

"Yeah, and we have things to sort out," I said. "Don't you and your wolf have conversations? I've seen the way your eyes change when he wants to be heard."

Elliott smirked, and I nearly melted. His smile was almost as potent as Kenrid's.

"I get emotions and instincts from him," he said. "It's probably a good thing he can't talk. He'd be swearing at me all the damn time."

"I guess I hadn't considered it that way," I said, biting my lower lip, something Mallory normally did. Hmm … Were my compartments that weak? I didn't have the mental capacity to even consider the question. "Anyway, she and I need to sort stuff."

Kenrid slid his hand into mine, and I looked at him. A tiny crease wrinkled his brow. He was worried about something. Probably me.

"Come back to us," he said.

Why was he …

Oh, right. He'd seen me retreat into my mind to sort things a few times. He always worried that I'd get stuck there, but I was pretty sure I wouldn't need to do that now. My dhampir wasn't like the personas I'd created.

"I'm not going anywhere," I promised. "I'll even keep my eyes open, if that helps."

He raised an eyebrow at me, and the little furrow disappeared. Good enough.

All right, answer the question,I said to my dhampir. She really needed a name. It felt insulting to just call her dhampir.

I'm in your head, silly fae, she taunted. I can see all your memories. You had a good childhood. Nothing like the stories Kenrid told of the other dhampir.

Yeah, I said, sadness blooming in my chest. I miss my family.

We'll see them again.

The promise in her voice made my heart hurt.

How can you say that? I asked. We'll be hiding from everyone for the rest of our life.

Not if we convince them that we're not dangerous.

I considered her words, letting my gaze dance between the men surrounding me. Could we convince them? And if we convinced these four, what about the rest of the supernatural world?

I like your life,my dhampir said. I want to be part of your family. I want to feel their love the way you do. And I want to see Kenrid naked. Can you imagine how beautiful he is?

My face flushed. A wave of desire rolled through my body as I imagined—maybe my dhampir imagined—Kenrid's bare chest and his naked …

"Are you okay?" Elliott asked, his voice a low rumble.

Heat ran up my neck and burned my ears. "I think I need some space," I said, my own voice a little higher than I liked. "I'm cooking with you two so close."

Elliott chuckled. "Care to share with the class what you two are whispering about?"

I refused to look at him. There was no way I was sharing. I shook my head and picked at the seam on my borrowed sweatpants.

We've already had a glimpse of the wolf,my dhampir purred, shoving the memory of Elliott's bare chest at me. If the demon's impressive upper body is any indication, the rest of him must be tantalizing.

Oh my God! Would you stop? I pleaded. We have to stay with these guys for the foreseeable future. I can't be lusting after them. Neither can you.

I pulled my hand away from Kenrid's and pressed both palms over my eyes. I knew my face was as red as a tomato. The aching need between my legs increased with each of my dhampir's thoughts.

Silly little fae, do you not feel them lusting right back?

No!We could not have this discussion right now. This was one of those alone time discussions. Let's go back to convincing everyone we're normal, I said.

She chuckled, but I could feel her agreement.

I know a lot depends on me,she said. If you believe the demon will keep his word, I can prove I'm a worthy mate.

I hadn't wanted to acknowledge Damon's weird wording. I understood what a mate was, even if I was reluctant to admit it.

If you can really see my memories, you know he's always been open and direct with me, I said. I still don't understand why he'd want to have us around. We're not good for him. What could he possibly get from this?

My dhampir snorted. He is our mate. How can you not feel his magic calling to you? It's no different than Kenrid's.

I can't think about all that right now,I snapped. We need to have a survival plan first.

You asked what he gained from being with us. I only answered.

She had a point. I had asked. Okay fine. We'll convince them we're not a rabid animal, and then we'll get our life back.

Yes, as long as we can also have these delicious men, she purred.

I rolled my eyes and scrubbed my face one more time, then smiled. She was totally different from me, but I liked her. She was not the unhinged animal I originally thought. It seemed like she could be reasonable and easy to talk to. Together we could make it work.

I pulled my hands from my face and shifted in the seat again. Elliott and Kenrid had not given me any space. Both of their bodies still sandwiched me. Kenrid wasn't as massive as Elliott, but I could still feel the hard planes of his thigh against mine. Now that my dhampir—she really needed a name—had pointed it out, my mind went straight to picturing the fae naked. My face flushed again, and desire swooped through my core.

A low growl rumbled in Elliott's chest, but I couldn't look at him. He must've been able to sense my arousal. Before Elliott's growl faded, another one started from the front seat. Was that Damon or Nathan? I couldn't tell.

"Can you pull over for a few minutes?" I asked. "I need some air."

"Yes," Nathan snarled and immediately slowed down.

The tires hit the soft berm a few moments later. I pushed Kenrid until he opened the door and slid off the seat. I tumbled out after him and quickly walked away from the truck.

"Deep breaths," I muttered to myself.

I planted my hands on my hips and sucked in the cool night air. A gentle breeze caressed my heated skin and cooled some of my stupid hormones. If I wasn't pining after Nathan and Damon's blood, I was lusting after Kenrid and Elliott. What the hell?

Just make sure you share all that juicy pleasure with me,my dhampir demanded.

I laughed, the sound echoing back at me from the tree line. Like I can keep it from you!

She joined me in our brief moment of hysterics before Kenrid interrupted us.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

I turned around and found him standing a few feet away, planted between me and the rest of the guys. Nathan and Damon leaned against the truck's hood. Elliott strolled toward me. I hadn't realized I"d moved that far off the road, but apparently I had.

"Yeah," I replied, running my hands through my hair. "I just need to learn how to control my reactions to my dhampir's thoughts."

I'll give you lots of practice,she teased.

I grinned, and Kenrid gave me a worried look.

"I like her," I hurriedly explained. "She's just so different from me. I'm not used to having a whole other person in my head."

"She's responsible for the wave of desire that just assaulted us?" Elliott asked, having reached Kenrid's side. It was too dark to see if he wore that silly smirk of his.

"Yeah," I admitted, feeling my face flush yet again. "Sorry. We'll work it out."

"I could …" Elliott began.

"You will not," Kenrid finished. "Remember who threatened to throat punch Damon."

I squinted at the two men. I couldn't see their expressions, even though I could feel the tension gathering between them.

"Okay, fine," Elliott relented. "Nathan needs to be on a plane in forty-five minutes, or he won't make it back before dawn."

Kenrid had mentioned that vampires couldn't be out in the sun during our first road trip, not because it would melt their skin like humans thought. But the sun did drain their energy at a very rapid rate, which is why they slept all day.

"I'm so sorry," I said, rushing back to the truck. "I wasn't thinking about anyone but myself, which is really selfish considering what you all just did for me." I climbed into the back seat and scooted to the middle. "Sorry. I'm ready to go."

The four men stood at their open doors, just looking at me with similar expressions.

"What?" I asked.

"Get in," Nathan said, shaking his head. I assumed he was talking to the guys who were still staring at me.

"We're just a little … shocked … by how coherent you are," Kenrid said, retaking his spot next to me.

He left a couple inches of space between us this time. Elliott didn't. His right arm draped over the seat behind me and pulled me into his side. I didn't fight him.

When we got back onto the road, I responded to the questions they hadn't asked but obviously wanted to.

"My dhampir and I have a plan," I announced. "She's actually really smart and not what I expected." I bit my lower lip again and frowned. I'd need to look at my other persona at some point. But not now. "I thought I'd become a deranged creature with no mind at all. So, discovering an intelligent person in my head was pretty amazing and a huge relief."

Can I tell them what you said? I asked her. About being part of my family?

Yes. Only because they're your family.

I almost argued with her, but remembered I was supposed to be having a conversation with the guys.

"Like she said earlier, she wants to live," I continued. "She sees my memories. My childhood. My job. All of it. She wants to be part of my life." I glanced at the front seat. Damon was turned sideways, giving me his full attention. Nathan's eyes kept drifting to me in the rearview mirror. "We realize we can't have any of that unless we can convince everyone that we aren't dangerous." I swallowed hard and met Damon's dark gaze. "If we can't control her hunger, we know we're dead."

Elliott's fingers tightened on my shoulder, and Kenrid's hand landed on my knee, but I didn't take my eyes from Damon. He would be the one keeping my dhampir's hunger under control. She wanted Nathan, but we couldn't go there. Maybe sometime in the future when we had a good grip on all the chaos, we could think about it, but not now.

Even though my dhampir was hiding most of that awful time from me, I could still feel the lingering vampire magic still pulsing in my veins. It gave me so much strength. I honestly believed I could've tossed Damon's demon across the room with ease at the height of my bloodlust.

Though I'd thought Conrad was taking my blood when I first arrived, there was no way that was true … unless it had only lasted a short time. I never felt a surge of magic from him. It seemed only Jared had swapped blood with me. Actually, now that I thought about it, the way Jared's power was fading, I knew it only lasted a limited time.

A small shiver ran down my spine. My dhampir easily smelled the difference between the master vampire and Jared. She'd wanted Conrad's strength, but we hadn't gotten it.

I wonder how much power Nathan would give us.

Her thought had me looking at the vampire in the driver's seat. I caught several whiffs of his blood but never had anything to compare it to, until now. I was tempted to lean forward and draw in his scent, but that would sabotage my claim of wanting to be in control.

You'll have to wait to find out,I said.

"I'll drive back with Kenrid," Damon said, interrupting my thoughts.

"No, you won't," Elliott argued, his fingers digging into my shoulder.

"Nathan needs to be at the fortress before word of Conrad's death starts spreading," Damon said, his dark eyes moving from me to Elliott. "We need to find Lorna's limits before she gets there. We don't know how often she needs to feed. We won't have time to figure it out once she reaches the fortress. She and her dhampir are right. She needs to convince our clan that she's not a danger to them."

"Kenrid can go with Nathan," Elliott growled. "I'm not leaving her."

Elliott's possessiveness startled me. I would've expected it from Damon after his mate thing, but not Elliott. I wiggled out of his grasp and slid over to Kenrid's side so I could see the shifter. The fae didn't touch me, which elevated my concern. I'd expected him to pull me away from Elliott, but he didn't.

Elliott didn't take his eyes from Damon. I'd already seen that look right before they started fighting in Kenrid's house. There was no way a wolf and a demon would fit inside the cab… right?

"Elliott!" I smacked his chest with my palm.

His eyes slid shut with obvious effort. "Lorna." He breathed my name like it hurt him to say it.

"I'm putting all my trust in you four to keep me safe," I said. "But you also have a clan to protect and responsibilities that can't wait for me to get my shit together."

"Kenrid needs to stay with Lorna," Nathan said. "Unless you plan to knock her out the hard way if she loses it on Damon."

Elliott sighed and reached for me. I gave him my hand, which he cradled in his large palm.

"This shit sucks," he muttered, watching his thumb trace my knuckles.

I almost asked which shit he was talking about. We'd waded through quite a few unpleasant things in the last several hours. The last several weeks, really. But I kept my mouth shut and let him process. I didn't like people pressuring me to share my thoughts. I wouldn't do it to him.

"You'll keep her safe?" Elliott asked, still not looking up from our joined hands.

"You already know the answer," Damon said.