Chapter 14

Unsurprisingly, when I drag my exhausted body home in the early hours of the morning, I can tell from the shadows under the door that Mandy has erected her barricade again. She's not asleep on the floor tonight. Maybe that's progress?

Shaking my head, I force my feet to keep moving. It's killing me that she's so close and yet so far.

I kick off my shoes and fall forward onto the bed. Face-planting in the soft duvet, I have no energy left to undress or even turn my head to avoid suffocating. Hours of running with nothing to show for it but debilitating guilt and the desire to scrub my despicable mouth out with soap.

"Have fun?"

Lucian's voice comes from the corner of my room and the low growl that accompanies it tells me he's not alone. I groan around a mouthful of Egyptian cotton, mentally willing them to leave me alone.

But, of course, they won't.

These are the waifs and strays I've brought into my home, and, because I'm not officially the owner, or their guardian, they think they have a say.

"Not really," I grunt. "Tired. Going to sleep." Army crawling up the bed, I pull a pillow over my head. That's a pretty big hint that I'm not interested in chatting, but once again, they choose to remain oblivious to the non-verbal cues I'm throwing out there.

"Did you feed?" Lucian asks, sounding pissed off, despite it being his idea.

"No," I admit reluctantly. Lifting the corner, I peer out from underneath, wondering the reason behind the question.

"Good." What? He stares hard at the floor, his face glum. "I think… I think it's probably not right to feed from someone else. Other than Mandy, I mean."

Lucian's lips thin, his expression serious and thoughtful. Seth is curled up at his feet, eyes closed, but he's far from relaxed. At Lucian's mention of taking blood from someone else, Seth growls, low and angry. As a wolf, he understands how bad that would be when you've found your mate. There's only one person I should be sinking my teeth into.

Sitting up, I turn to face him so he can see how serious I'm taking this.

"Lucian, the only person I'll be biting, if she'll allow it, is my mate." Rubbing a hand over my gritty, sore eyes, I sigh. "My plan was to drink some fresh blood. I thought it might be better than the bags… but I couldn't do it."

Lucian's eyes meet mine, and he nods once, satisfied I'm being truthful. Seth gets to his paws and moves to the door, scratching to get out. That's all he wanted to know. Now that he's satisfied I'm not a terrible person, he's done. Watching him now, he's more like a grumpy house cat than a feral wolf. When did that happen?

"She seems nice," Lucian says quietly, opening my bedroom door to let Seth out. One hand resting on the doorframe, he hesitates. "If you want her to move in with us, I think we can make it work. If it makes you happy, that is. I think she likes you."

I smother a smile, knowing there's no faster way to ruin a heartfelt chat with a teen. He likes her. If she wants to, she'll be moving in regardless of what he thinks, but it's nice to know she has his vote of confidence.

And she's my mate, I should hope she likes me at least a little.

"You might be in trouble though; she was not happy about the blood," he adds, turning my smile into a frown instantly.

I thought as much, but I have no idea how to fix this. We both look to the door where she lies sleeping just across the hall, looking for inspiration.

"Bad?" I ask, wincing when I think of the mess I left behind.

He nods, looking at me with sympathy. "I think she was pissed-off that you weren't here to talk to her this evening. She's curious about it. She might not be as against the idea as you think."

She spent her second afternoon here all alone, with a strange young vampire for company. I had been so determined to show her what life could be like if we were together. But that's not working, and I'm making a mess of everything I do.

What I need is a grand gesture, and I think I know just the thing.