Page 17 of Bound in Blood
Marco cleared his throat, snapping Mateo out of the temporary bliss. Right, Logan wouldn’t be able to get anything he actually needed from Mateo’s blood. As gently as he could, hepried Logan from his neck. The little fledgling snapped his teeth, snarling at the loss, but when Marco put the blood bag under his nose, he was quickly sated. He drained it quickly as Marco grabbed two more from the fridge, before draining both of those as well.
When the third bag was sufficiently bone-dry, Logan slumped forward onto Mateo’s chest, looking dazed but undeniably sated. His lips were stained dark red, and true to vampire fashion, a single drop of blood rolled down his chin. Mateo swiped his thumb over it before sliding the digit into Logan’s mouth. Wouldn’t want him to waste anything. Logan’s eyes were half lidded in satisfaction, but quickly settled back into that pretty green that Mateo loved again.
Marco collapsed beside his brother, his hand instinctively running through Logan’s curly hair as they let him rest. “Three pints,” he said, the corners of his mouth twitching up, “Hungrier than we thought.”
Mateo chuckled, still recovering a little from Logan’s bite. He stretched his neck, the dull throb still pulsing through him. It was healing, but Mateo wasn’t sure he wanted to part with it. He’d picked up some werewolf books in his lifetime, and though he wasn’t sure if they were real, he was led to believe that a bite mark from their mate was a permanent addition to their body. If only…
“Holy shit,” Logan groaned, though he didn’t move from his position curled up on Mateo’s lap, “That was crazy. I feel like I need to take a ten-year nap.”
“You overindulged a bit,” Marco explained gently. “It’s the same as a human eating too much. You’ll feel better after a little rest.” Mateo watched as his fingers curled a bit in Logan’s hair, going over his scalp with blunt fingertips. Logan was practically purring.
“Would you like me to put you back in your bed,tesoro?”Mateo asked, praying Logan would tell him no.
“Hate that bed,” Logan mumbled against Mateo’s chest. “Hurts my back. I’ll stay here.”
“Wait till you start having to sleep in coffins,” Marco teased, exchanging a smirk with Mateo.
“You’re not funny. Keep petting my hair,” Logan murmured, eyes fully closed now. Marco said nothing, resuming the slow circles on Logan’s scalp. Mateo settled a little further into the couch, feeling a sense of rightness as Logan drifted to sleep.
Their mate.
What a fucking concept.
Mateo let his head tip back on the couch, his hand moving up and down Logan’s back in a soothing pattern. Sure, things weren’t perfect. Not yet, anyway. But they would be. Mateo would make sure of it. Already, he felt so protective of the fledgling. He was warm and safe in Mateo’s arms, and the most primal part of Mateo was sated. He was on the verge of feeling something new, something he wasn’t sure he had a name for, because he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt it before.
Whatever it was, though, Mateo would fight tooth and nail to keep it. Of that, he was certain.
* Kitten. This one was kinda cringe to write, but oh well
Chapter
Seven
MARCO
Marco woke in phases, unsure of when he really fell asleep. It made sense, of course, that he’d passed out sometime right after Logan, as he hadn’t slept since the day before he’d accidentally turned the fledgling. He noticed first that he’d fallen asleep with his head at an odd angle, half on Mateo’s shoulder, half rested on the back of the couch. If he were mortal, his neck would probably hurt for the next three days.
The next thing he noticed was the hushed conversation between Logan and Mateo. They were whispering, he realized, so he could sleep longer. The consideration Logan felt toward Marco made no sense to him, considering all he’d put the boy through, and it tugged at something within Marco’s chest that he had thought was long dead.
“No, I mean, I guess I wasn’t thinking about it when everything was happening. My brain was just like ‘yeah, okay, this is kinda crazy, but whatever,’but Ineversuspected Alexei might not be human! I’ve known him for months!” Logan whisper-yelled in exasperation. “Did you know? Like, in the bar?”
“Yeah, we’ve known Alexei for decades. Honestly, I thought he was going to try to out us to you. Or that you already knewabout vampires, especially after theDraculareference. But no, I guess you just attract the supernatural,tesoro.” Mateo replied, voice still conveying his half-asleep state.
“It’s just so crazy. I mean, y’all, I understand, butAlexei?!”
“What do you mean?”Mateo asked, half offended, shifting slightly on the couch.
Marco cracked his eyes open, more than a little curious as to what Logan meant, as well.
“I mean, come on. You two were flirting with me within like… five seconds of sitting down at the bar. Alexei never did that. Never tried to lure me anywhere or whatever. Well, except for various sporting events, but I don’t think that counts,” Logan replied, his tone implying this was the most obvious reasoning in the world.
Marco frowned. Something about Logan’s answer wasn’t sitting right with him. He felt like he should be offended. Not on his behalf, but on Logan’s.
“Ah, I understand,” Mateo said, nodding sagely. “Alexei doesn’t have nearly as much charm as us.”
“Imean,he’s never hit on me,” Logan mumbled sheepishly. “I should have known there was something different about you two when you were so eager to take me home.”
Oh, Marco didn’t like thatat all.
