“Um, I don’t really know how to explain it,” I admit.
“Do you like it, or does it just taste like blood, and you choke it down because it helps you to feel better?” he clarifies.
“Oh, um…I definitely like it,” I tell him, but the response comes out a little squeaky, and I feel like a fucking psycho admitting that I like drinking blood.Likeis really an understatement in this case because I fucking love the taste of his blood. It’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted, and I’d like to pack it into little Capri Sun pouches and sip on that shit all day, every day. Or better yet, sip on him when he’s fucking me hard and then beg him to return the favor by sinking those sharp little teeth in my neck. I shake away that sudden and deliciously graphic train of thought and refocus on Sabin.
He’s staring at me like he’s asked me another question and he’s waiting for the answer. “Um, what?” I ask. I have no clue what he might have just said to me.
“I asked if you’d read any of the books in Lachlan’s library about lamia,” Sabin repeats to me.
“No, I only stole the ones about the different branches of magic,” I admit.
“A lamia knows his mate when he starts to crave the magic in their blood. It changes the flavor of the blood itself and holds a different quality to them, they develop a need for it. The same can also be said for their mate. The fact that you like his blood, or rather the taste of his magic which is in his blood, since really that’s where the flavor comes from, is a big deal.”
“Meaning?” I ask, not exactly sure where he’s going with this.
“Meaning you two are mates.”
“So was a written in the stars thing, and not my Sentinel magic teaming up with my greedy vagina to be an asshole again? I ask, a little too much excitement in my voice.
“Yeah, that’s probable,” Sabin tells me.
Guilt drops away from me as I realize that this wasn’t another case of my magic just taking what it wanted with zero fucks about who was impacted by it.
“You get to blame fate for all of it,” Ryker agrees. “Well, thatandyour greedy vagina.” He stands up with a laugh and brushes matted hair off my shoulder. I shoot him an indignant glare, but it’s ruined by the chuckle that escapes me at the same time. “Good as new, Squeaks, or you will be after you shower,” he teases.
The sound of a lava hot shower sounds amazing, but I know I’m not going to be getting one until this whole new mate shit gets sorted.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Ryker tells Siah, and all eyes are once again trained on him.
“I knew she was my mate after we got here and I started craving her,” he tells them, and his words cause more heat to pool between my thighs. “Lamia are very territorial and protective of their partners. We’re not like casters. We’re not sharers.” Siah shakes his head, and he gives me a pained look. His words and the struggle in them tug at me. I try to think how fucking hard it would be for me if I had found my mate, and they were already mated to someone else.
When the guys told me about caster culture and the whole multiple mate thing, I was on board. Who wouldn’t be though when you’re being told that multiple hot men are going to more or less worship you for the rest of your days? It was like a dream come true to me and my thirsty vagina. But what if it had been the other way around? How easily would I have been on board to becoming one of many for my mate?
“I never saw this as being for me,” Torrez admits and gestures toward the guys. “Wolves mate for life, and it’s very rare that a female would have more than one mate. It shocked the fuck out of me when my wolf marked her the first time I met her. Yeah, she was a supe, and we were technically compatible, but she wasn’t a shifter, and I found out quickly she was already coven claimed.”
“Wait…” I interrupt. “You marked me the first time we met?” I ask, confused.
“Yep, my wolf sunk his teeth into that very same spot,” he tells me, pointing to my left shoulder.
“Okay, you did bite me, but then you tried to rip my head off. That doesn’t exactly screamyou complete me, be mine.”
“Technically, I was going for your throat,” Torrez corrects. “Not to rip it out, but to force you to submit. That’s very typical for shifters. If you had been a wolf, your animal would have accepted the bond and submitted.”
Bastien snorts and pats Torrez on the back. “How’d that whole submission thing go for you?” he teases, and all the guys, except Siah, laugh.
Torrez shakes his head, and an amused smile takes over his face. “She broke my jaw,” he fills Siah in. “Anyway, my point is that I fought it, just like you are fighting it now,” he tells Siah. “I spent weeks convincing myself that somehow it was a mistake. That there was no way that I was mated to a caster female. Especially not one who already hadfiveintendedmates,” Torrez adds, putting a dramatic emphasis on the number five as he shoots me a cheeky grin.
“She’s greedy, our mate,” Knox teases, and I can’t help but grin.
“But you’re here,” Siah points out, and a beaming smile takes over Torrez’s face.
“I’m here,” he agrees. “The little vixen showed up at a pack function, and I was a goner. I followed her around like some lovesick pup the whole night, and there was just no denying it after that. I’m new to all of this. Before, I couldn’t even begin to process how it will all work, but they feel like pack to me. More than that really, because I don’t feel territorial or competitive with them. I don’t know if the magic in our bond helps with that or if my soul just recognizes that this is where I was always meant to be, and that helps me to be at peace with whatever happens. I can’t say for sure, but are you feeling protective over her now?”
Siah’s brow furrows at Torrez’s question.
“Your mate’s in a room with other males, one of which just had his hands all over her. Did you need to rip his throat out?” Torrez presses.
“No,” Siah admits, and I can hear the surprise in his voice.
