Page 57 of Claiming the Dhampir

He kissed my forehead, then stood up and left the room. I watched him go with so many mixed emotions. He’d kind of answered all my questions with that one statement though… ‘there will be no other extenuating circumstances…’

I sat up and rubbed my face with both hands. Kenrid’s warm palm brushed against my back, almost tentatively. I looked up and met his gaze. Tears immediately pooled in my eyes. He looked at me with so much understanding it hurt. How could he be so compassionate?

I crawled into his lap and wrapped my arms around him. He held me close, letting me breathe in his soothing scent and calming magic.

“I love you,” I whispered. “You always know what I need.”

He chuckled. “No, I just get lucky guessing most of the time.”

I laughed and leaned back so I could see his face. “If you say so.”

“You know he didn’t reject you, right?” Kenrid asked. “Nathan is very literal. When he claims you, there will be no doubting his intentions.”

My smile faded. “I just keep second-guessing. Every time we decide to do something together, it’s because we’re forced to do it. Like the clan meeting. Or when I gave him my blood, so he didn’t die before we got to the tower. Or at the warehouse.” I frowned, not even knowing what time it was. “Was that today or yesterday?”

“I have no idea,” Kenrid said. “I suspect we’ll find out when we talk to Elliott and Damon.”

“Yeah.”

Kenrid smacked my bare butt and smiled. “Go get dressed. I’ll find some food.”

I leaned forward and kissed him. He cupped my face and kissed me back, then sat me on the bed and left me alone. Looking around for the first time, I realized we were in my room. My heart beat a little faster with the realization that Damon and Elliott brought us here. Not Nathan’s room. Not Kenrid’s room. Mine.

I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Just like I wasn’t sure how to process four mates. Kenrid had always been okay about sharing me with Damon. I thought he had been, anyway. After our last time together, I wasn’t so sure. The way he reacted to Elliott made me doubt it even more.

Nathan didn’t seem to mind Kenrid being in the room with us. But again, maybe I was too busy enjoying the way they made me feel to see them. I really needed to pay better attention. Kenrid, Damon, and Elliott were stuck with me for better or worse. I didn’t need to drag Nathan into this as well if it wasn’t what he wanted.

Stop! Mir exclaimed. Did you not just hear Nathan? And Kenrid confirming it moments later? And didn’t you say that Nathan overthought everything? Quit being stupid!

I heard them, I grumbled. Sometimes it’s just hard to accept. I wouldn’t want to share them with another woman, so it’s difficult to imagine them being okay with this.

What am I? Chopped liver?

I paused before answering. You’re part of me, I replied. They aren’t enjoying someone else’s body. The fact that I feel that way makes me a horrible hypocrite.

Whatever. They have a say in this, too. We should all sit down and talk about it.

I agreed. We needed to talk. Bad things happened over lack of communication.

Mir huffed and I gave her a mental hug. I smiled when she hugged me back.

As I walked into the open-concept living space of Damon’s wing in the tower a few minutes later, I froze. Instead of having a leather sofa and two chairs in the living room, there was now a huge sectional sofa. Its soft camel coloring was completely different from the dark leather that used to be there. Several small pillows were scattered across the cushions in shades of olive green.

The guys were not in the living room, though. They sat at a large round table with six chairs that replaced Damon’s old square table that only accommodated four people.

Had Damon replaced all his furniture while I was recovering from our fight in the warehouse?

Duh!

I rolled my eyes at Mir’s snark. It was a rhetorical question.

Sure it was.

I strolled across the room, stopping at the empty chair between Kenrid and Damon. There was another empty seat between Nathan and Elliott. I stood there, looking back and forth between my choices. If I picked one over the other, would I hurt someone’s feelings? Did they do it on purpose?

“There is no wrong answer, Lorna,” Damon said.

I let my gaze wander around the table at my guys. Each of them had a neutral expression on their faces.

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