Page 14 of Claiming the Dhampir

“Well, um, I know you said the girl isn’t dhampir, and all your arguments made perfect sense, but …” Tedd licked his lips, and a wave of unease washed over me. “But she smells amazing, man.”

Damon growled, and my own magic swelled in response. The need to rip the man’s tongue out was overwhelming. How dare he talk about tasting my mate!

“Whoa!” Tedd held up both hands, twisting in his seat so Damon wasn’t at his back. “I ain’t doing nothing to your mate. I’m just saying that vampires can identify the supernatural species by tasting their blood. It’d be pretty easy to find out what she is.”

“She’s my mate,” Damon stated. “I don’t need to know her family history. It’s irrelevant to me, and it’s none of your business.”

Nathan rose from his seat and braced his palms on the desk. “Damon’s right. Lorna’s privacy is more important than your curiosity. I would never condone allowing a vampire to feed off someone else’s soulmate. In Damon's case, I’d be sentencing that vampire to death.”

Tedd swallowed hard and his buddy elbowed him. “Sorry Nathan. We didn’t mean any disrespect.”

Nathan narrowed his eyes at the two. “Any other questions?”

“Nope.”

They both jumped to their feet and hurried out of the room. Nathan dropped back into his chair and rubbed his palm across his face. I understood his frustration. It seemed like no matter what we said, people believed whatever they wanted.

Damon closed the door again, then locked it. “We might consider making our claim on Lorna open,” he said. “The clan needs to know that they’ll be fighting more than one mate if they harm her.”

“If my family discovers mine, she’ll be in even more danger,” I said. “But I agree with you. If she claims Elliott, they shouldn’t hide it.”

Nathan barked out a harsh laugh. “You do a better job of hiding your affection than Lorna. It’s obvious how much she loves you. I’m pretty sure your secret is already out, which just enforces my need to lock Lorna in the tower.”

I shook my head. “It might be safest for her, but I don’t want to be the one to tell her.”

Damon grunted, and Nathan downed his beverage but didn’t respond.

“Can you really tell what other species might be in Lorna’s blood?” I asked, thinking about the vampire’s claim.

“Technically, yes,” Nathan replied. “But only if I’d already tasted the blood of the other species. Most vampires aren’t trying to bite a siren, fae, or shifter. They might be able to entrance a witch because they’re mostly human.”

“So Tedd just wanted to feed from my mate,” Damon said before I could.

Nathan met Damon’s scowl with a raised eyebrow. The answer was obvious. I might agree to help Damon dispose of the vampire who was stupid enough to suggest such a thing.

Another knock on the door echoed through the room. Nathan glared at the interruption.

“Just a minute!” Nathan yelled then turned to me. “Do you think you can question some of the fae to find out if their loyalty is with us or Brance? Preferably before they get back to the fae manor? I’d really like to know if we’ll have a coup on our hands or just a mass exodus.”

“Sure thing,” I replied. “I can think of several fae who have built a life here and wouldn’t want to leave. I’ll start with them.”

“Be careful,” Damon warned. “Call if you need us.”

I nodded and headed for the door. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”

Chapter 6

Lorna

Igladly followed Elliott back to Damon’s wing in the tower. Pretending that I wasn’t affected by Nathan had been exhausting. As soon as his hand slid around my waist, an army of butterflies erupted in my stomach. His touch was feathery soft, but it burned right through my clothes. I wanted so much more from him. It took every ounce of self-control I possessed to stand still and keep a straight face.

Mir had retreated into her box and closed the lid. I didn’t blame her. The temptation was overwhelming. Maybe because I was already under so much stress from the hundreds of eyes watching me. Maybe it was the dozens of vampires who were too close for comfort. Or maybe it was just Nathan.

Regardless, I was now grateful for the solitude of Damon’s space. My space. I sucked in a deep breath and held it for several seconds while I visualized my stress disappearing. I wouldn’t meditate with Elliott in the room, but I could do some stress relief exercises.

“Breathing is normally a good thing,” Elliott teased from right behind me.

I nearly choked on my burst of laughter. “Thanks for making sure I didn’t pass out from lack of oxygen.”

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