16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Rissa

Although she was perfectly capable of climbing up the stairs herself, she let Anatoly carry her. She wasn’t ready to be separated from him yet but was scared about what she was going to find out.

As calm as she thought she was, the fear overwhelmed her the moment he stepped through the apartment door.

“Put me down!” she demanded, pushing on his chest.

He was quick to set her down on her feet and back away. Zan had taken the stairs ahead of them to open the door. Now he shut it and moved to stand next to Anatoly. During the fight and right after, she’d been centered and focused. Now that everyone was safe, it was all hitting her. She could've died. Everyone could’ve died.

There were gargoyles, nymphs, vampires, shifters, and fuck-face durmins.

“Do you need to sit?” Zan asked gently. “You’re looking a little pale. I could get you some water.”

Pulling in a deep breath, she ignored Zan’s question and focused on Anatoly. “Zan can shift into a mountain lion, that was obvious. What are you?”

For a moment, his expression was pained, then his face went blank. “I’m a vampire.”

She blinked, processing that. “Does that mean Kimble’s a vampire too? Both of you had glowing red eyes when you were fighting.”

“Yes, Kimble is a vampire as well. Cora and Pike are his flock. Cora’s human, and Pike is a bear shifter.”

“Why the hell didn’t he shift and help you guys fight?” she asked, outraged.

Zan winced. “Because he would’ve only gotten in the way. He’s a sweet guy, but he’s not a great fighter. In such tight quarters, it was better he stayed back.”

Anatoly made an angry sound. “His job was to keep you and Cora safe, but obviously, he failed.”

Fear for Pike made Rissa shake her head. “Don’t do anything to him, it was my fault. I punched him in the dick.”

Both men winced at the same time, and she almost laughed. Nice to know dick punching was universal. If she had to go up against any supernatural creature, she’d remember where to hit first.

“Poor Pike,” Zan murmured. “The guy didn’t deserve that. It’s a good thing he’s a shifter and will heal fast, or Cora might come after you. She’s not big into direct fighting, like Briar. But she’s really good at the cold revenge thing.”

Rissa sighed. “Do you think she’ll still want to be my friend?” What was she saying? She wasn’t even sure she wanted to be part of all this! “I mean, maybe my friend. In the future.”

“I’m sure she’ll understand. She probably didn’t want to be separated from the fight either,” Anatoly said. “Human women who find their way into our world tend to be fierce. Present company included.”

Rissa felt herself blush at the compliment. She forced herself to meet Anatoly’s gaze. “What are we? I mean the three of us. Am I a guest on the Zan and Anatoly show for a few seasons?”

Anatoly looked confused, but Zan understood. “Baby, you’re part of the main cast. If you leave, there is no show.”

“I’m a vampire, and I want you to be in my flock,” Anatoly said, as if that would mean something.

Her brows furrowed. “We’re already in a relationship. I mean, we’re having sex and living together.”

Zan and Anatoly exchanged a look before Zan started speaking.

“Being in a flock is more than a relationship.” he touched his chest. “Anatoly put a piece of his soul in me, and took a piece of mine inside him. We’re bound for as long as he lives.”

Carving out pieces of souls to share? That sounded intense and scary!

“You want to tear up my soul?” she gasped, taking a step back and feeling afraid for the first time.

“Tear? No!” Anatoly said with an emphatic shake of his head. “We share, not shred.”

“It feels a little weird, but it doesn’t hurt,” Zan assured her. He rubbed his chest over his heart. “Every flock has a different relationship with their vampire. I can feel Anatoly, his love and devotion. I can feel when he worries or fears for me.”

The idea of having someone tied to her was both appealing and intimidating. “What if you fall out of love and one of you wants to leave the other?” The last thing she expected was for both men to laugh at her question.

She crossed her arms and scowled. “What’s so funny?”

“Don’t be upset,” Zan said. “Mates and flocks are picked by void magic. We are fated to be together; we can’t fail.”

“That’s why there are so many vampires in San Diego. There’s a rumor that the void magic is strong here, and it’s easier to find your flock,” Anatoly added. “If we don’t find our flock, we risk losing our sanity and going feral. Most feral vampires are put down, they don’t come back. It’s the one thing all vampires fear.”

“Wait,” she said, looking down at her feet and thinking about the occupants of the apartment below. “If flocks are picked by void magic, why didn’t Skyler want to be with the McConnel vampire?”

Anatoly’s expression went from amused to sad. “Poor Skyler. You have to understand that it’s deadly for a vampire to force someone to be in their flock. Both souls are poisoned over time, and everyone dies. Skyler is a rare landless nymph. No piece of land has claimed her, so she’s free to be claimed by a vampire. She is one of the only types of creatures that can be forced into a flock without the vampire being poisoned. McConnel and others are desperate to get their hands on her for that reason.”

“Oh, that sucks,” Rissa said, feeling bad for the woman. At least she was safe for the moment. “What’s Mason’s story?”

“He’s a gargoyle, so he’s protective by nature,” Zan said. “It would make sense that the void magic would pick him as a mate for Skyler. He’ll go slow and be gentle with her, and gargoyles are one of the only creatures that can stand up to vampires.”

That was when Rissa started to understand void magic. “It wasn’t an accident that she showed up at Sanguine while Mason was here, was it?”

Anatoly shrugged. “Some think the void guides all our lives. Others think it only sets things in motion and it’s up to us to recognize when we need to act.”

“Blood!” Rissa shouted, making both men jerk. She couldn’t help it; she laughed at their startled expressions. She pointed at Anatoly. “I just realized that all the wine you’ve been drinking was blood!” On the heels of that thought was another one. “Wait, are you going to bite me?”

Anatoly looked puzzled. “Do you want me to bite you?”

“Don’t you need to, uh, drink from me?” she asked. She never saw any bite marks on Zan, but then again, he seemed to heal faster than a human. Or Anatoly could be biting him in places she couldn’t see.

Anatoly looked insulted. “I’d never feed off my flock.”

Zan made an upset sound. “You would if you needed to. Remember, you promised me.”

Anatoly put an arm around Zan’s waist and pulled the larger, naked man closer. “Yes, my heart. If the situation is dire, I’ll feed from you. I promise.”

Zan draped his arm over Anatoly’s shoulders and gave a little relieved sigh. “Or?”

“Or when you beg,” Anatoly agreed with a chuckle. “But that’s not really feeding. Those are love bites.”

The way Zan’s expression turned dreamy made Rissa curious about Anatoly’s love bite. Without moving his body, Zan slid his eyes to her.

“Try it, you’ll like it,” he whispered.

A wave of heat went through her, but she shook her head. “Don’t distract me with your sexiness.”

Zan didn’t look repentant, but Anatoly’s expression turned serious. “You can have as much or as little of us as you want. We’ll do anything you need to make you comfortable.”

“Even if I want to walk out the front door and never see either of you again?” she asked.

Zan’s eyes went wide. He went from sexy and sensual to suddenly looking like he wanted to cry. Anatoly didn’t react except to go perfectly still.

“Do you want to leave?” Anatoly asked.

“No.” The word came out of her before she consciously thought about it, but it was the truth. She wasn’t sure she was ready to be flock, but she couldn’t leave. “Do I have to decide about the soul thing now?”

Zan looked pained, but Anatoly gave her a gentle smile. “You can take all the time you need.”

“Can I…” she licked her lips and tried again. “Can I meet your cat, Zan? I want to see all of you when we aren’t all fighting for our lives.”

She thought they might not be happy with her request, but both looked pleased.

“My animal is desperate to meet you,” Zan said, stepping away from Anatoly.

As she watched, his shape blurred and within seconds, there was a massive mountain lion where the man had once stood. The bandages she’d applied earlier fluttered to the floor, unable to stay attached to this new shape.

“Wow,” Rissa whispered before looking over at Anatoly. “Can I pet him, or would that piss him off?”

Anatoly chuckled. “That’s Zan. You can talk directly to him.”

Before she could ask Zan, he was on her, rubbing his face against her torso and thighs.

She dropped to her knees. “I always wanted a cat.”

***

Zan

Rissa’s reaction to his cat was everything he could’ve hoped for. When she sank her fingers into his fur and started running them down his head and neck, he wanted to melt. Purring loudly, he dropped to his belly and rolled over, inviting her to touch him more.

“You’re so soft!” she exclaimed, leaning over to rub her hand up and down his belly. Oh, dear goddess of the hunt, he was in heaven!

“I can feel Zan’s pleasure,” Anatoly told her.

“Yeah?” she asked, pausing for a moment to look up at the vampire. Zan huffed and batted gently at her shoulder to bring her attention back to him.

Laughing, she grabbed his paw and examined it. “This is as big as my face!”

He carefully extended his claws so she could see them. She was suitably impressed, making him feel amazing. Retracting his claws, he used his paw to knock Rissa down on top of him.

“Uff,” she exclaimed, sprawling out on him. His cat liked having her this close. The mountain lion he shared his body and soul with wanted to stay shifted and spend the night curled around her.

Anatoly sat back to give them a little room. Zan could feel the vampire’s contentedness at Rissa’s easy acceptance of the mountain lion. “That didn’t take long.”

“What didn’t take long?” she asked, relaxing into the new position on top of him.

“Accepting Zan’s cat,” Anatoly said, reaching out to rub Zan’s head. Having both his mates touching his cat form made his purring even stronger.

“Wow, your whole body rumbles when you purr,” Rissa murmured.

“This is a beautiful picture,” Anatoly said. Zan could feel the vampire's adoration for his flock. “I feel so fortunate.”

Fighting his cat for control, Zan shifted so Rissa was now lying on his naked human body. “I can think of other things we could be doing on the floor.”

“Such a boy!” Rissa said with a laugh and tried to sit up.

Zan was quick to grab her hips and move her body, so she ended up straddling his torso. “That’s better!”

“I’m sure,” she responded dryly, but didn’t try to dismount. It was too bad she was still dressed. He wished there was a way he could make her clothes melt off or disappear, but he’d settle for a kiss.

“Show me you’re not afraid,” he said, his voice husky with sudden need.

Her expression went from laughing to intense and she moved her face to his. Anatoly’s hand tightened on his shoulder as they kissed.

She ended the kiss too soon and pulled away, her gaze gentle as she looked down at him. “I could never be afraid of you.”

He could hear the truth in her words.

“What about me?” Anatoly asked. Although his question sounded confident and his expression was calm, Zan could feel his fear.

Rissa looked up and smiled. “You too,” she agreed, holding out a hand. Anatoly took it and let her pull him forward for a kiss.

When he pulled away, Zan noticed Anatoly’s emotions were so powerful, they were turning his eyes slightly red. He didn’t need to ask what emotion the vampire was feeling; it was coming through their bond.

Relief and joy.

Rissa was accepting them. She might not be ready to soul bond yet, but she knew what they were and wasn’t running away. As long as she stayed, there was hope and that’s all he needed.