Ledger shook him off and stomped to Dacian, prodding a finger in his chest in such a manner that, were it not for the shock, Dacian would have ripped the hand away. “Right, can we have less of this wind-up merchant bullshit? I’m in no mood to humor anyone.”
Thorn’s grin made his cheeks ache at seeing his tiny omega take no shit off his brother. “Isn’t he perfect?” he gloated, uncaring he was also on Ledger’s shit list.
“What are you?” Ledger asked Calvert.
There was a moment of hesitation while Calvert waited for Thorn to answer. “Vampires,” Thorn replied. “We are ancient vampires.”
The blood drained from Ledger’s face and his eyes rolled into the back of his head as his legs crumpled under him.
Dacian, who was closest, caught Ledger before he landed on the ground. He lifted him effortlessly, offering him to Thorn. It was a wise move given the way his blood surged at anyone touching Ledger. The bond was too new for him to allow anyone to get close his dhampir.
“Well, that went well!” Dacian scoffed, without amusement.
“Fuck off,” Thorn muttered, scooping Ledger into his arms. Barely weighing anything at all, he eyed the man with concern, despite feeling their bond. “Do you think he needs to feed from me again?”
“He bit you too? Holy shitballs, what the hell has gotten into you?” Dacian shook his head, dark hair flicking at his cheekbones. “No, don’t bother answering, I can feel what the hell got into you.”
“Stop that. That’s private!” Thorn exclaimed, stomping off towards the open front door. “And ring whoever went to watch Ledger’s car and ask them to have it towed here. It’s got all his things in it. I’m sure he’ll want them when he comes around.”
“I think you have bigger things to worry about,” Calvert said, chasing after them.
Thorn headed up the big staircase to his part of the enormous house he shared with his brothers, not stopping. “And what’s that?”
“Who saw you in town?”
That was easy. “No one. I was in an alleyway.” He used his elbow to open the door to his suite of rooms, careful not to catch Ledger’s head or legs as he shuffled in sideways.
Dacian and Calvert were right behind him. “Go away,” he stated in a tone that suggested now was not the time for twenty questions.
Neither moved from their position at the foot of the large sofa Thorn laid Ledger on. He glanced at them. “Seriously, I need to talk to Ledger…alone.”
“Shouldn’t you have done the talking before you bit him and he bit you back?” Dacian asked sarcastically, the humor grating on Thorn’s nerves.
“I’m not explaining myself to you.” Thorn knelt next to the sofa by Ledger’s head.
He caught Calvert’s sympathetic smile. Always the peacekeeper. “We just need to know that we aren’t going to find ourselves under scrutiny. We’ve lived in Bayfield for over a century without anyone asking questions about our existence.”
The concern was valid.
Vampires were an unknown entity in modern times. As far as the population was aware, they were just lore. The damned, the only creatures with a need for blood to survive and wiped out many millennia ago because of it. It was far from the truth. Yes,vampire bloodlines had diminished, but the cause of that had never been pinpointed properly. The belief was it had something to do with the need for blood containing a certain property. This did not fully explain why certain bloodlines died out when the brothers had spent centuries perfecting a simulated blood group to prevent this.
“No, I shielded and although I might have been a little out of control, I had the wherewithal to keep my senses pushing folks in other directions.”
“A little out of control?” Dacian’s arched stare got disregarded, just like the implication that he wasn’t being honest.
Thorn looked at both brothers. “Listen, you haven’t met your dhampir so you have no idea how you’ll react, so stop fucking judging me.” Thorn returned his attention to the concerningly pale man on the sofa, stroking the blond hair off his forehead.
“He’s the heart of me,” he continued, his tone softening. “My heart beats with his blood. There is nothing I have to compare the desire to. The gut-wrenching necessity that comes from the first drops of his blood singing through my veins, feeding my soul's desire for him. I know an eternity with him won’t be long enough to quench that desire.”
“Fuck, then count me out,” Dacian grumbled.
Whereas Calvert murmured, “I’m happy for you, Thorn.”
He kept his gaze on Ledger, feeling him stir. “Go, he’s waking up and if I’m going to have to grovel, I’d prefer not to do it with an audience.”
“Pity,” answered Dacian, smirking.
“Leave him be.” Calvert tugged Dacian to the door and a second later, the soft click told him he was alone with Ledger.
