Our dark sides flooded the bond with demands, screaming at us to pin her to the table and bond. Immediately.
When that didn’t work, the fuckers started conspiring, swapping ideas, creating X-rated images like a fucking special edition of the Kama Sutra.
Thank fuck Zeek created a mental block between us and Red before that conversation really got going, because the things they were saying…
“That was… careless of us,” Zeek says, finally. We’ve been in silence since we flitted here, even me. He flings his tablet onto the desk and pinches the bridge of his nose, shoving his glasses up with a sigh. “Julien, how are you feeling?”
Julien stands beside the wall of glass, looking out at the district. “I doubt my response will ease your concerns.”
Poor big guy. He’s still not fully grounded, I can practically feel the unrest oozing from him.
He managed to feed last night, just before we went to see Red, but it was… difficult.
We went to one of those feeding clinics together, but it was a hard watch.
Lines of warm, willing bodies all waiting their turn, and he could barely look at them. I wasthisclose to chaining the fucker up and force-feeding him through a tube, when the owner led us to a refrigerated backroom.
Blood bags, hundreds, hung from the ceiling like fucked-up chandeliers. Eventually, Dark Julien took less offence to a row hanging in the back. He choked it down, but not without a lot of heaving.
I stuck it out though, because it didn’t even rank high on our list of fucked-up situations, but it was still nasty.
When he flung the dry, plastic packet to the floor, I saw what was written there. Pig blood.
Animal blood from a bag. Rock bottom with extra plastic.
I mean, at least it was something. Took the edge off his hunger, grounded his darkness enough that Kane deemed him safe to see Red.
But we all knew it wouldn’t last—he’d need to feed again soon or risk going full beast, and not the sexy kind.
“However, I wouldn’t say we were careless,” Julien suddenly counters, placing his back to the glass and surveying us. “We simply cannot predict what our bond will say, or do, and we especially cannot predict how we will… respond.”
“Yes, all very riveting observations, mate.” I wave my hand as I stroll closer to Kane by the door. “But we’re all good now, crisis averted, all thanks to Daddy Darkness here.” I throw him a wink.
Kane doesn’t respond with words, but that pitch-black stare says enough. Almost makes me wanna wink again…
“I’m not surefineis the correct word either,” Julien slowly adds.
“No, it’s notfine, Sai,” Zeek snarks, now using his‘I’m a Lord and I’m in charge’voice. He even swipes off his glasses so he can really scowl at me. “That cannothappen again. Wecannotlose control like that again.”
“Alright, we lost it at first, but then Red grounded us.” I head to Zeek’s desk next, and his eyes narrow a bit more with each step.
“Grounded?” he scoffs. “You call what happened when Jasmine’s darkness touched usgrounded?”
“Well… eventually she did.” I shoot back with a grin. “We’ve just gotta learn not to lose our shit the next time our girl fancies a play.” I shrug easily, acting like the thought isn’t already making my darkness flare to life.
Ezekial sighs, some tension easing from those big-ass shoulders as he slumps back into his chair. “Let’s just… think about this pragmatically.”
“Brilliant.” I drawl the word out, and he scowls; I just smirk back.
“First, why did that happen?” Zeek asks while looking at everyone except me.
So I aim my attention at Julien, the most likely to have an answer, since Kane’s in one of his silent, brooding moods.
“I believe it was a combination of factors,” Julien begins, pacing by the window as he slips into full hypothesis mode.
I dramatically nod, faking enthusiasm, and I even manage to get a little laugh from Zeek.
That fucker loves me, even when he doesn’t.
