Page 58 of Awakening the Dhampir

“I’ll be more than happy to take it out in trade,” he countered, his breath tickling my neck.

I drew in a deep breath, failing to calm my hormones. Elliott had already proven to be a master at flirting. I’d always considered myself immune to those types of comments. Not from my wolf shifter. Nope.

He’s your mate, stupid, Mir hissed.

Shut up!

She laughed but didn’t say anything else.

“We should probably head back,” I said. “It’ll take me all night to sort the stuff we bought.”

Elliott didn’t move. I turned my head just enough to catch of glimpse of his profile. He winked at me, then captured my gaze in his deep, blue eyes.

“Thank you for today,” he said, barely loud enough for me to hear.

I returned his smile. “I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed shopping,” I admitted. “I normally get what I need and get out. You made this special for me.”

Elliott looked away, and I didn’t miss the faint blush coloring his cheeks. My smile turned into a smirk, but I didn’t comment. I loved this side of him and didn’t want to do anything to make him stop.

“Alright, let’s get you home.” Elliott rose from his chair and held out his hand to me. I loved that too. I didn’t expect him to go all gentleman on me, but I wasn’t complaining either. It made me feel special.

It took almost an hour for us to get out of the city and back to the fortress. I still had a hard time calling it that. It seemed more like a castle to me, but I didn’t argue.

Elliott and I rode the elevator up to Damon’s wing in the tower with more bags than I could count. My favorite demon greeted us as soon as the door slid open. In his human form, much to my disappointment. He smiled down at me, and I melted into a puddle of emotional goo. I hadn’t seen him since the evening before when he dropped me off.

“I missed you,” Damon said, planting a kiss on my forehead.

He took the bags from my hands and headed into the apartment. I stood there for several seconds with a goofy grin on my face until Elliott sighed behind me. I glanced back at him, a little worried about the open display of affection. He watched Damon stroll across the foyer and disappear into the living room. He didn’t look mad, but the easy smile he'd carried all day was gone.

“You okay?” I asked.

Elliott’s eyes snapped to mine, and he let out a long breath. “That’ll take some time to get used to,” he admitted. “But yeah, I’m good.”

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, picking up several more bags and stepping out of Elliott’s way.

“Don’t you dare,” he warned. “You have nothing to be sorry for. My wolf isn’t happy about sharing, but it could’ve been a whole lot worse.” He skirted around me, several bags hanging from his arms. “At least I’m sharing with my best friend and not my enemy.”

His voice sounded light and flippant, but his eyes told a different story. His gaze lingered on me for a second before he joined Damon. An uncomfortable tightness wrapped around my heart. Had I somehow forced these men into being my mates? Kenrid never expected to find his soulmate, and Elliott had always assumed his would be a shifter. Damon was the only one who never doubted our connection.

Did my dhampir magic somehow manipulate their feelings?

I can’t believe you’d think that of me, Mir hissed at me.

Another wave of guilt nearly knocked me over. I didn’t mean to insult her, but hadn’t Damon and Kenrid both said that the dhampir of old compelled the vampires to do whatever they wanted? Isn’t that what I’d done at Conrad’s? Wasn’t that why the dhampir had been hunted down and executed?

Not you directly, I said. But would our magic draw them in and make them feel something they might not otherwise have felt?

If it was my magic, every man you ever found attractive would be in your harem.

Mir’s disdain hurt, but maybe she was right. I’d spent the last decade getting close to powerful men to steal their secrets. While they may have thought I was pretty, they didn’t want me. Not like these guys wanted me.

Sorry, I feel like their ability to choose has been taken away.

Fate’s a bitch, Mir said, but that doesn’t mean you should deny her gifts.

I hadn’t thought about it that way and probably never would have if Mir hadn’t pointed it out.

“You better get in here before I start putting these away!” Elliott called from the other room.

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