Page 49 of Cryptic Dreams

I have an inkling the sweet and sassy Zephyr has yet to be introduced to my kind of fun and I cannot wait to share it with her, because after that exchange, Iwillbe sharing it with her. And I do believe my gentle breeze would enjoy every second of it.

A willing participant indeed.

I suppose we wouldn’t need all the blood then, would we?

Huh.

Interesting how things change once your chosen one falls from the sky like a shooting star.

We’ll keep the cooler for good measure, though. You never know when that will come in handy.

“Wraith,” Orion snaps as he drops onto a couch. “You need to explain the sudden urge to have us over. Zephyr is going to get suspicious if she can’t find us.”

I wave my hand dismissively as I pour us each a glass of red, only to have my decanter barely fill one of the crystal goblets. “She is showering, we will be done before she is.” Only if she quickly takes care of the need that was radiating off of her while we had many words before we were interrupted. Otherwise I may have to drag this out for her to do so. “I will be quick.”

“Then get to the point. Sending up an SOS text that included a rather cryptic message about your parents and Zephyr and dinner didn’t give us much to go on.”

Withthatimage playing through my mind, the one of my mate alleviating the ache between her thighs while she washes her sinful body, I turn from the small buffet and make my way to the cooler.

“Right.” I sigh and reach for the phony book, popping another hidden door open so I can refill the bottle. “As you know, Atticus and Drusilla stopped by the same night we moved our gentle breeze from that godforsaken prison she was held in for far too long.”

He nods, as does Aries before they gasp in unison, “Who the hell is that?”

I glance back at my companions with a smirk before facing the twoguestsI’ve been entertaining in secret for the last few weeks. “Ah yes, how rude of me. Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to Stu.” Stepping to the side, I move just enough for Orion and his mate to see the vile male humans hanging from recently installed hooks in the cooler. “And Kyle. These two were acquaintances of my mate, men who’d very literally run into her on a few rather unpleasant occasions, and after the last time, I thought it best they acquaint themselves withme.”

Grinning like a bastard, I walk over to Stu and lift my hand to the pic line in his femoral artery before placing the tubing in the mouth of the decanter. I free the clip and allow his AB+ blood to flow into the bottle, my eyes moving between the two while I take a moment to admire my work.

The human males have been kept barely alive, only enough to maintain a fresh source of blood, and given the minimum requirements to keep their hearts pumping it through their veins. They’re dressed in nothing but their briefs, their skin now fairer than mine and pasty from all my harvesting—though the cooler isn’t currently cooling anything because I don’t prefer my blood chilled therefore their coloring isn’t a result of freezing temps—the white of their flesh marred with bruises and wounds that have scarcely begun to heal.

After seeing them come so close to assaulting Zephyr, I used my talents to have the two drunks take themselves to my private residence where Declan—my personal bodyguard, true right hand and childhood friend—was waiting. And once I joined him, my confidant and I tortured the humans within inches of death.

We beat them mercilessly for hours, throwing in the occasional sharp object or cigar for good measure, though we both prefer using our hands, and once their faces were nothing more than ground meat, their bodies broken and spent, only then did we stop. Declan hung the meat hooks from the ceiling before adding my newdecor, and my personal healer came in to attach IVs to Stu and Kyle in order to keep them alive until I decide when they can die. And since then the two have been a rather handy addition to my home, coincidentally possessing the blood types my mate and I both prefer.

It’s been lovely having AB+ and O- on tap, but based on the way Stu’s blood is barely filling the decanter, it seems my supply will soon run out.

All good things come to an end, I suppose, and I’ve no doubt Declan will be up for another go at these two before we take them apart and feed them to the alligators nearby.

“You’ve had them in here the whole time…” Orion whispers as he comes to stand in the doorway. “They’ve been here the entire time Z has?”

“Of course.” I extend my free hand, motioning for a glass. “After what I witnessed they’re lucky to have lasted so long.”

“I’m sure…” My mate’s cousin puts two of the small goblets in my hand before taking the bottle, the male’s eyes fixed on me as I begin filling those as well. “And you did this for Zephyr?”

Bloody hell.I don’t have the energy to get intothatat the moment, not when there’s so much else to discuss, which is why I finish playingbartenderand pinch off the tube and I grunt, “Yes.”

Orion backs out of the cooler slowly as I turn to face him, the look of wonder on his face almost amusing, but once I close it up and return the bottle to the buffet, he seemingly forgets what he just saw and jumps right back into our previous conversation.

“What came of their visit?” he asks as I sink down on the edge of the bed and take a sip of my drink.

“And as I suspected, they’ve discovered rather quickly that I have found my mate and moved her into my private residence.”

“Which is why they stopped by.”

“Yes. They came to confirm what they knew to be true and in pompous phony aristocratic vampire fashion, they all but demanded to meet Zephyr. At a dinner. Held at the nest. Formal attire with a rather indulgent meal, no doubt.”

Orion blinks wide eyes as he sits by his mate. “Shit.”

“Exactly.” I point to him and knock back my snack. “Obviously, this presents a slew of problems since until recently, Zephyr and I have shared very few words, most of which were mine and—”

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