“I didn’t want to frighten you further,” Pierce said with a sympathetic smile. “Remember, at that point you didn’t even know we were vampires.”
I sighed. “I guess you’re right. If you told me back then you had bat-butlers I probably would’ve thought you were crazy and left.”
I looked at Theo, who still had an armful of bats cozying up against his chest.
“Seriously, they don’t have rabies?” I muttered to Pierce.
One of the bats opened its mouth and screeched at me - a tiny, high-pitched noise that sounded like a deflated toy.
“She heard that,” Theo said. “And no, none of them have rabies. Duh.” He picked up the one bat who had hissed at me and thrust her towards me. Up close, she was actually kind of cute - furry, with shiny eyes and fangs that poked out of her mouth. She looked kind of like an ugly kitten. “Apologize to Mrs. Floof.”
I glanced at Pierce likeReally?He simply shrugged. Then I sighed and faced the bat. “Sorry… Mrs. Floof.”
The bat blinked at me and chittered.
“She accepts your apology,” Theo said, collecting her again. He opened his arms and the bats flew away. I thought they would leave, but instead they hung upside down on the beams of my four-poster bed.
“Odd,” Pierce remarked.
“What are you guys doing?” Theo asked, like the bats could actually answer back. “You’re supposed to be doing the rest of the chores.”
None replied except Mrs. Floof, who chittered. Theo and Pierce’s brows furrowed.
“Wait, do you guys actually understand them?” I asked incredulously.
But they didn’t answer my question. Pierce suddenly looked serious when he faced me. “Benji, the bats have just confirmed my suspicions.”
“And those are…?”
“Oh, crap,” Theo said, his eyes widening. “You’re coming into heat?”
Now it was my turn to be shocked. “I am?”
Pierce’s gaze turned sharper than usual. He never took his eyes off me. “Yes. I thought I smelled the beginnings of it on you last night, but I wasn’t entirely sure.” He gestured to the bats. “They’re nesting here because they sense something has changed within you.”
“I don’t get it,” I mumbled.
“These bats are all female, like Mrs. Floof,” Theo added. “When bats enter mating season, the females all like to stay together in one big maternity colony.”
“I’mnota female bat,” I argued, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“Of course not,” Pierce said. “But they must know you’re in season, and therefore want to band together with you.”
I blushed and stared up at the five bats. They blinked down at me with their black eyes. I felt strangely comforted knowing they were here for my sake, and then felt bad for scaring them earlier.
“I guess that’s kinda sweet,” I murmured.
I hadn’t noticed until now, when Theo’s hand reached for the door handle, but he had shuffled backwards towards the exit. “I should, uh, get going then.”
He ran off without another word.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked Pierce.
Pierce’s eyes blazed in a way I’d never seen before, intensely dark. “He doesn’t want to be around when you enter your heat fully. Smart move on his part. I should let Adriel know about your situation as well.”
I remembered the way alphas always went crazy around an omega in heat, and realized I was in a house full of them.Plusthey were all powerful vampires.
“Oh. Right.”
