Page 52 of Awakening the Dhampir

“I’m going to spend the night with Lorna,” Elliott said.

A flare of jealousy reared its ugly head. I barely managed to tamp it down as the shifter headed for the elevator. I’d spent the last two days with Lorna, I could it make one night without her. Maybe.

“We have work to do,” Nathan said, drawing me out of my pity party. “The rest of our responsibilities have been on hold long enough.” He emptied his glass and shook his head with a grimace, mumbling under his breath about it being cold.

Our leader was right again. We’d put everything on hold while we looked for Lorna. It was time to get back into our normal routine. I cringed. There was no way I’d be resuming my place with the Exiled Fae. I just had to figure out a way to tell them I’d no longer be part of their council. No matter what I said, they wouldn’t take it well.

Chapter 20

Lorna

Istood in the middle of Damon’s open concept living space, unable to sort my thoughts. After a quick tour, the guys left me in Damon’s apartment saying they had to meet with Nathan. I hadn’t moved from my spot in the last ten minutes, though.

My mind couldn’t step away from the fact that I needed them for everything. Food. Shelter. Clothes. Transportation. Every damn thing in my life. The thought of asking them for even the most basic needs pissed me off.

We still hadn’t discussed whether or not I’d keep my real name or go with a new identity. If we chose the latter, I’d forever be dependent on them. I’d lose everything I’d built in my life. All my funds. My house. My car. Everything. I really missed my damn Land Rover!

Now that I wasn’t surrounded by Damon and Kenrid’s very tempting magic, my brain finally came back online. I couldn’t walk away from my life. I loved my family. I didn’t want them to think I was dead. As much as my nieces and nephews drove me nuts, I still wanted to see them grow up. Knowing how my parents would react to my ‘death’ made my chest ache. I couldn’t do that to them.

I needed to convince Nathan that keeping my identity wouldn’t be a risk. First, I needed to find out if anyone believed the video of me denying Conrad and his roomful of vampires. If we could convince the supernatural community that I wasn’t a dhampir, I could probably keep my name and everything that went with it. I was not ready to give up my independence.

Yes, that needed to happen first. Then maybe I could find out why the fae wanted me bad enough to put out a ton of money to find me.

With that half-ass plan, I made my way to my new bedroom. I was exhausted, but there was no way I’d be falling asleep any time soon. Instead, I set to work rearranging the furniture. Damon said I could do what I wanted with any part of his home. I wasn’t ready to test him on it quite yet, but I would make my personal space comfortable.

I’d pushed the dresser halfway across the room when I heard footsteps in the living room. According to Kenrid, the guys were the only ones who could get into the tower. I could leave if I wanted, but I wouldn’t get back in without one of them. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

I left the dresser in the middle of the floor and stepped out into the living room. Elliott’s eyes met mine and my heart did a little flip in my chest. His rugged handsomeness was so very different from Kenrid’s refined beauty. Not that I’d ever tell Kenrid he was beautiful. I was sure men didn’t like to be called ‘pretty.’

“Is everything okay?” I asked, glancing behind Elliott. I half expected to see the others, but he appeared to be alone.

“Yeah.”

He stuffed his hands in his back pockets, stretching the fabric of his shirt across his defined chest. Mir superimposed an image of his bare chest in my mind and heat crept up my neck. It was impossible not to find him attractive, but I hated how easily my body betrayed me. My dhampir laughed at my embarrassment, and Elliott’s nostrils flared.

Of course they did. All the guys could tell when I was aroused.

“Did you need something?” I asked, cringing at the hostility in my voice.

“I’ll be staying with you tonight,” Elliott replied. If he noticed my grumpiness, he didn’t acknowledge it. “I also really need to talk to you.”

I took a step back without realizing it. I wasn’t sure how I felt about his declaration about staying with me. He hadn’t asked my permission. He also hadn’t said a thing about my claim on Kenrid and Damon when I arrived. But now the look on his face made me think he knew, and he wasn’t happy about it. Was that what they had to talk to Nathan about? Did they send Elliott here to keep me distracted while Kenrid and Damon were punished for claiming me?

“Please don’t,” Elliott whispered, taking a step toward me and closing the space I’d just made between us. “I can’t stand seeing you scared. I know I screwed up during our first few encounters, and I’m sorry.” He took another step closer, putting him almost in arm’s reach. “I always thought my mate would be another shifter. I refused to listen to my wolf when he said he wanted you. But I was wrong. We need you in our life.”

Two more steps put him well within my personal space. His shifter magic wrapped around me like a warm comforting blanket, making it really hard to think. Did he just say I was his mate? Kenrid and Damon insinuated the same, but I hadn’t wanted to believe them. Having two men in my life was already overwhelming enough.

I didn’t see you complaining about the sexy times we had at the hotel, Mir said.

That’s not helpful, I snapped. Damon was worried that Elliott wouldn’t share, remember?

My dhampir didn’t reply.

I swallowed hard and looked up at Elliott. His eyes searched my face, but I didn’t know what he was looking for.

“I’m not sure what you’re trying to tell me,” I admitted. “You know about my claim on Kenrid and Damon, don’t you?”

He reached out and ran a finger along my jaw, then tucked my hair behind my ear. “Yeah, but I realized they can’t deny their soulmate any more than I can. I’m guessing that you aren’t ready for another mate, but I’m hoping you’ll give me a chance to persuade you that I’m not a hotheaded asshole.”

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