Chapter 34 Shea

I groaned, lifting a hand to my pounding head. Everything was fuzzy. I wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but the surface beneath me was hard and unforgiving. Frowning, I sent a hand out to feel around. Towel. I was on a towel on the floor, and as I cracked my eyes open, the room that came into view was the last place I expected—Julian's living room.

I sucked in a breath as I bolted upright but groaned again as the room began to spin. My stomach did flip-flops, and I pressed my hand against the towel, trying to gain my bearings.

"Shea?" Julian was kneeling next to me in the next blink, smoothing back my hair.

I leaned into his touch, focusing on the gentle, comforting sensation to ground myself against the nausea.

"What happened?" I croaked. I cleared my throat, then swallowed.

"What do you remember?" That was Caesar's voice. I hadn't seen him standing nearby, but he came to sit beside me on the floor, his hand finding mine and flooding me with a much-needed warmth .

"I—" I what?

I'd come to Chicago to deliver presents. And afterward, I'd run into Adam... Had he roofied me? But no, I was with Julian and Caesar, not Adam. Wait, Julian and Caesar? Together?

The jackhammer digging at my brain made it hard to think, and I wanted to close my eyes again and slip into blissful sleep.

"Caesar, get her some water," Julian said.

I looked between the two men in confusion. Caesar frowned, seeming reluctant to leave my side for even a moment, but finally, he let go of my hand and rose, disappearing into the kitchen.

I distantly heard the rush of water from the faucet, the sound only amplifying the whoosh in my ears.

Caesar returned with a glass of water, and only then did I realize how desperately thirsty I was. I licked my cracked lips, eyeing the glass as he handed it to me, and then greedily guzzled the entire thing. The cool liquid was a balm to my dry throat, even if the weight of it filling my belly did make my stomach knot with discomfort.

"How are you feeling?" Caesar asked, rubbing a hand up and down my back as I swallowed the last gulp.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, closing my eyes to steel myself against the continuing spinning in my head.

"Confused. Am I hungover? What's going on?"

An ache lanced my neck, and I clamped my hand over the spot, my palm meeting a raised scar.

Why is there—? The vampire.

The memory of the attack crashed through my mind and rattled my nerves—the glowing red eyes, the sharp pain in my neck, the animal desire that spread into me from the bite. Cold fear washed over me, and my eyes darted around the apartment. "Where is—?"

"He's dead," Julian said, rushing his hands to either side of my face and rubbing his thumbs over my cheeks. "He won't hurt you ever again."

My eyes darted back and forth, roaming blindly in my attempt to recall everything, until they landed on the body lying on the floor a few feet from us. Panic shot through me, draining all the blood from my face as recognition slammed into me.

Instinctively, I curled up my knees to scramble backward, and Caesar wrapped his arms around me, tucking me into his arms and cradling me protectively against his chest.

"It's okay, baby," Caesar cooed, rocking me against him. "Like Julian said, he's dead."

"But how did—why is—when did—?" I couldn't manage to form my words into the questions I so desperately needed answers to.

I felt Caesar nod against the top of my head, and his strong arms tightened around me. "I came as soon as I got your text. When I found you, you were lying on the ground in an alley. The vampire that attacked you was peeling himself off the wall above you, as if he'd been glued there."

"That's right," I said, still staring at the corpse over the sleeve of Caesar's sweater. "I cast an entrapment spell as he was…" I couldn't finish the sentence. We all knew what that monster had been doing to me.

I felt Caesar nod again. "He ran off before I could stop him, and I knew I should've gone after him, but you were bleeding out and whimpering, and I just couldn't leave you. I needed to get you help immediately. I couldn't take you back to the Dome. It wouldn't be fast enough. You'd lost too much blood. So I called Julian. "

"And I didn't answer because your attacker decided to come here and start a fight," Julian explained. "A fight which I finished."

"So I brought you here anyway," Caesar continued. "Julian healed you and replenished the blood you had lost."

I frowned, turning my head all around in confusion. There were no needles attached to my arms, no blood bags hanging to deliver the vital liquid intravenously.

"But how?" I asked.

"I fed you my own blood," Julian said, raising his arm to expose his smooth, unblemished wrist. "I sliced my artery and let my blood drip into your mouth until your color returned and your heart maintained a steady beat."

I rushed my fingers to my lips, my eyes widening in understanding—and then disgust. "I think I'm gonna hurl," I mumbled between my fingers.

"Ugh, where is Piper with that damn food," Julian growled, getting to his feet and beginning to pace.

"How do you know she's really getting food?" Caesar barked, a suspicious edge to his voice. "She could be running off to inform Hadrian of our alliance."

Julian shook his head. "She wouldn't do that, not after what happened here tonight. We can trust her."

"Piper?" I asked. "Who's Piper?"

"My Initiate," Julian replied, stopping his pacing to look down at me. The concern and intimacy with which he regarded me made my insides melt, but the knowledge of Piper's involvement was too striking to ignore.

"Wait, she knows about all this?" I burst .

"Yes, but she won't betray us," he assured me. "She was the one who killed Solomon. In Hadrian's empire, a human killing a vampire is a capital offense, the punishment worse than death. Her allegiance lies elsewhere now."

"For your sake, I hope you're right," Caesar grumbled.

"Raow," came a disgruntled meow as Rainbow emerged from the bathroom and sat to look at us.

Caesar's body jolted around me. "What the hell is that thing?"

"Yeah," Julian said, drawing out the word as he rubbed the back of his neck. "About that. Well, he's a vampire."

"What!" Caesar's booming voice vibrated through his chest. "You turned a cat into a vampire?"

"No, actually, I did," I confessed in a small voice.

Caesar pulled away enough to look down at my face, his brows pinched in question.

"I used a dead cat to practice a spell I hoped to use to resurrect Alice," I explained. "The spell didn't work out exactly as planned." I chewed my lip, darting my gaze away from his critical stare.

Finally, I felt his eyes shift to Julian.

"Why didn't you just kill the thing?" Caesar asked him.

Julian walked to Rainbow and knelt to scoop him into his arm, and the vamp cat purred like a motorboat as Julian ran his hand free over its back. "He's grown on me. Though, I did have to kill his mate, unfortunately. She attacked my Initiate just this evening, right before Solomon came bounding in."

"Oh no, you killed Goldie?" I whined .

Caesar withdrew his arms and scooted back a few inches, shaking his head. "I can't believe you two. They're monsters. How can you talk about them like they're actual pets?"

"Did you forget, Caesar, that I'm also a vampire? Do you consider me a monster, as well?" Julian asked, offense clear in his narrowed eyes.

"No, of course not," Caesar retorted, shaking his head even more. "That's beside the point. They're wild animals that you endowed with immortality and bloodlust. They can't control their urges like you can."

Julian shrugged. "I disagree. Rainbow is quite intelligent."

I nodded. I was growing fond of our undead feline.

Caesar looked between Julian and me with an astounded expression. "Okay, what's happening here? Are you becoming a vampire sympathizer?" His question was directed at me.

I shrunk slightly at the accusation. "Not all vampires are bad."

"No, especially not when they're sucking your neck and dry humping you," Caesar barked.

I winced, uninvited shame seeping into me like poison at his slight.

"Hey, leave her alone," Julian defended, dropping the cat and coming to kneel beside me again. "I did that, not her. If you're going to be mad at anyone, you should be mad at me."

"Oh, trust me, I am furious with you," Caesar seethed, scowling at Julian. "Why the fuck are you pursuing her anyway? Isn't she supposed to be helping you resurrect your dead wife? Or did you just think you could use her to get your rocks off in the meantime?"

Julian returned the scowl, his eyes glowing red as he leaned toward Caesar. "You think I intended for any of this to happen? I didn't want to want Shea. I tried everything I could to resist her. And you're one to talk. You've been fucking a girl the same age as your students. A girl, I might add, who you're also supposed to be working toward actually making one of your students."

"You ba—" Caesar began to curse, but I cut him off.

"Enough!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, the effort making my still-dry throat sting. "You're both acting like a couple of macho assholes, treating me like I'm some witless pawn between you. I played the same role in all of this as both of you. How dare either of you think you get to speak for me. And, guess what, for some insane reason, I want both of you! Equally! But if you're going to fight over me like two dogs over a bone, then fuck both of you."

I climbed to my wobbly feet, stumbling against Caesar and gripping his shoulder to steady my footing.

"What are you doing?" Caesar asked, taking my hand as he got to his feet as well.

I jerked it out of his hold. "I'm leaving."

"The hell you are." Julian was suddenly standing in front of me, blocking my way to the door. "You just got attacked by a vampire, and you think either of us is going to let you back onto the streets?"

"Let?" I hissed. "There's no let going on here. I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and I'm. Going. Home! Gram will be worried sick about me by now, and I'd like to avoid a lifetime sentence of being grounded. Though, at this point, I'm probably better off not seeing either of you, at least until you get your heads out of your asses."

"At least let us escort you home," Caesar implored, the hostility and possession in his tone replaced with a cowed sentimentality .

A knock came at the door, which then fell forward into the living room, crashing to the floor with a loud bang . I jumped at the sound, blinking at the tall blonde woman who looked equally rattled as she stood in the hall.

"Sorry," she said, wincing.

"It's okay, I'll fix it later," Julian said, moving to pick up the door and prop it against the wall.

The woman, who I assumed was the aforementioned Piper, came in, holding up a brown paper bag as she approached me. "The only place I found still open was Raja's Palace. I hope you like Indian food."

The bitter smell of curry twisted my already uneasy stomach, but I accepted the bag anyway. "Thank you. I'll actually take it to go."

"Oh," she said, frowning.

"Please don't leave like this," Caesar begged, putting a hand on my shoulder as he came around to face me. "I'm sorry for lashing out. I'm just so terrified of anything happening to you. You're incredibly important to me."

"To both of us," Julian added, coming to stand in front of me as well.

They both looked at me with pleading, stupidly alluring expressions, which was making it incredibly difficult for me to storm out the way I wanted to.

"Well, that's all well and good, but honestly, this whole thing is exhausting," I said with a huffed sigh. "I'm tired of being your dirty little secret, Caesar. And Julian, I'm tired of competing with the love you still hold onto for Alice. I refuse to be the one who has to make the tough choices. So when either of you figures out your shit, come find me. Until then, kindly fuck off. "

I pushed between the two of them, heading for the open doorway. "Piper, will you escort me home?"

The woman blinked at me, looking over at Julian, who nodded his ascent. "Oh, um, okay. Sure."

And without any further argument from my two unlikely suitors, I strode out the door.

Not that whatever they decided mattered because Gram was going to kill me.