Distantly, I wondered how they could tell what I was so easily, but I supposed that they might be able to scent it in my blood. Still, it was a little hard to be afraid of this guy—Vlad’s father if I had to guess—when he himself had admitted he dreaded the reaction of his wife to a possible rejection from Vlad’s part. It reminded me a little of the dynamics in my own warren. Females of my species were actually very aggressive, so I could empathize with this man’s difficulties. Besides, if Vlad’s mother was anything like his sisters…well, I actually didn’t look forward to meeting her at all.

  Vlad winced, and an image of a dark-haired female vampire flashed through my mind’s eye. She seemed like an older version of Mina, and the thought of going through the painful process of fur abuse for the millionth time didn’t appeal in the slightest. Alas, it would seem that we wouldn’t have much choice.

  All around us, reality blurred, until the strange forest and the crumbling hut vanished. The scenery melted into the surprising sight of what I instantly recognized as a castle foyer. Truly, I might have been taken aback, except I’d grown pretty used to the way Vlad’s translocation powers worked. This spell, even if it hadn’t been Vlad’s, was pretty similar. Even the castle we were in reminded me of Vlad’s, so much so that, for a few moments, I actually thought we’d been transported back to Merlinia and expected Vlad’s harem to burst around us any moment now.

  However, that was obviously wishful thinking, because it soon became clear that we were definitely not back home. The four of us were actually surrounded by over a dozen vampires, all of whom were staring straight at me. Once again, I couldn’t help but remember that I was still naked and covered in Vlad’s cum. Of course, Vlad was naked, too, but that didn’t help. I was essentially meeting my in-laws in the nude, still reeking of sex and blood.

  Everyone—including Vlad’s father and cousin—was staring at me. I didn’t know why, but suddenly, that made me feel uncomfortable with my current form. Before meeting Vlad, I had never used it much. And while it had certainly been of a great help for the mating process, right now, it didn’t seem like the best one to be in.

  And so, following my instincts, I shifted into my rabbit form and leapt into Vlad’s arms. As I did so, I bared my fangs slightly at the gathering of vampires. Now what?

  Chapter Six:

  In Which Family Bonds Form a Gordian Knot

  Back when I’d left Necro Valley, centuries ago, I had known it was the only path I could take to ensure my sisters’ well-being. The coven stifled them, and our parents, while well-meaning, pushed them all into things that didn’t make them happy. I had never regretted my decision, and I wished now that I hadn’t been forced to come back here, especially not with my mate.

  I might not have hated it so much, but my powers hadn’t completely recovered. Vesper had been right in that I hadn’t taken all the blood I needed from him. I just hadn’t wanted to scare him or harm him, especially since it had been our first time together. But now, my family had shown up, and I wasn’t at the top of my game. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried and how much I wanted to keep Vesper safe, I was destined to fuck up.

  Of course, even if I had recovered the full extent of my abilities, I would have been no match for my coven. Mercifully, my father didn’t appear to be inclined to attack us. In fact, he seemed pretty interested in Vesper’s shifted form.

  “Oh,” he said when my mate changed into his rabbit shape. Tilting his head, he scanned Vesper with interest. “I suppose I can see the appeal.”

  His voice was completely neutral, which didn’t surprise me given that he had already known about Vesper’s nature. However, he could still go against me, so I anticipated trouble. My guess was confirmed moments later when my brother, Abraham, stepped forward, smirking. “Really, brother? A rabbit? I could understand it from our sisters, but from you? What could you possibly be thinking?”

  “Greetings, brother,” I said coldly. “I see you haven’t changed. Have you found a mate yet?”

  Abraham had always had trouble with finding his other half. The disadvantage of living in Necro Valley was that our circle of potential mates was quite limited. Few vampires were lucky enough to find their true mates, which was one of the reasons why Pygmalion had attempted to make himself one and failed so abysmally. It was actually kind of sad, and it was a low blow from my part, but I couldn’t help it, not when he had dared to attack my mate.

  My brother’s face fell, which told me that my guess had been correct. Of course, that didn’t mean he reacted well to it. “And look who’s talking? You, with a mate who’s incapable of satisfying your thirst?”

  I winced, already knowing that Vesper wouldn’t react well to that. My guess was confirmed moments later, when Vesper shouted, “Take that back!”

  Abraham snorted. “And what if I won’t? What are you going to do?”

  Before I could stop him, Vesper leapt out of my arms and toward my brother. Abraham obviously didn’t expect him to actually attack—something I knew was a big mistake. Indeed, Vesper launched himself forward and straight at my brother. Abraham wasn’t wise enough to move back in time, and my mate managed to climb onto his leg. With a bemused snort, Abraham reached for my mate and tried to dislodge him. However, my lover seemed to have expected that. He crawled up Abraham’s thigh and, under my horrified glance, buried his fangs in my brother’s crotch.

  I had experienced the sharpness of those fangs more than once, and even if he’d rarely meant to hurt me, I knew all too well that they weren’t as harmless as they might have seemed at first glance. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised in the slightest when my brother released an agonized cry. He whirled around, trying to dislodge Vesper, but my mate stubbornly held on. Trying to rip him away from the attacked zone would obviously not be a good idea, since it was a recipe for castration. Of course, if Vesper wasn’t stopped, the end result could very easily be the same.

  My coven seemed completely taken aback by this development. Normally, their powers would have allowed them to easily remove a threat such as Vesper, but my mate had moved too quickly, putting Abraham in a very precarious position, indeed.

  “Vlad!” my father shouted. “Do something. Help him!”

  For my part, I didn’t particularly care about my brother being harmed, but Vesper could get hurt as well, which I couldn’t allow. And okay, I wasn’t very happy that any part of my mate touched the genitals of another man.

  Even as I thought this, Vesper released him and leapt toward me, an apology shining in his black eyes. “Sorry,” he whispered through our bond. “I probably shouldn’t have done that.”

  I just grinned at him and picked him up once again. “Probably—but it was great anyway.”

  My mate smugly cuddled close to my chest, while my brother collapsed to the floor, keening and clutching his crotch. “You little fuck,” he screeched. “I’ll…”

  “Now, now,” a female voice said, interrupting his rant. “Vlad is finally home after so many years. Let’s welcome him in an appropriate manner.”

  I turned, only to notice my mother descending the winding staircase of our mansion home, impeccably dressed in an embroidered evening gown. She hadn’t changed in the slightest in the centuries I’d been away, or so I thought at first. When our gazes met, I noticed a sadness in her eyes that hadn’t been there during my earlier years.

  “How have you been, son?” she asked, a hint of kindness softening the tone I remembered as unyieldingly harsh.

  “I’ve been well, Mother, and so have my sisters,” I replied politely. “Recently, I’ve found my mate.”

  “Greetings,” Vesper piped up. “It’s an honor to meet you…”

  He trailed off, not knowing how to address her. I hadn’t really told him much about my family beyond my sisters, and we hadn’t really gotten the chance to communicate through our bond about it. “Your Majesty,” I provided quickly to help my mate.

  “Your Majesty,” my mate repeated out loud.

  It was obvious that the meaning of the address didn’t immediately dawn on him, because the last syllable of the words went high pitched. “What?” he snarled through our bond, his sharp fangs digging into my palm. “Your family is royalty and somehow you forgot to mention it?”

  “It’s not important,” I replied with yet another wince. Even to me, that excuse sounded a little weak. I hadn’t deliberately hidden my background from Vesper, but neither had I volunteered the information, which had actually gone against the whole point of waiting before we mated. “Yes, they’re the king and queen of the vampires in Necro Valley, but I’m not a prince or anything like that. My title as a count is granted to me through my birthright, but I have many other siblings who are more important than me and my sisters.”

  Due the lengths of our lives, vampire families were generally quite complicated. Mina, Catherine, Veronica, Monica, and I shared both a mother and a father, but our coven abounded with our older half brothers and sisters who had more preeminent positions, like Abraham for example. I truly hadn’t thought Vesper and I would ever have to face such circumstances, which was why I hadn’t bothered to explain.

  Of course, that wasn’t a very convincing reason for my mate, but he stopped biting me nonetheless. He didn’t leap out of my arms, which I was grateful for, but he was still obviously uncomfortable with this new knowledge.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I was just surprised.”

  Before I could reply, my mother walked to my side and arched a brow. “It looks like you kept some things from your mate,” she said, now sounding a little chastising. She snatched Vesper from my arms, grinning. “It’s all right, young Vesper. Our titles are irrelevant right now. You can call me Mother, or Charlotte, if you’d rather. You’ve already met my husband, Harker.”

  “I’m honored,” Vesper replied. Much to his credit, he sounded only slightly fearful.

  Mercifully, my mother almost seemed aware of Vesper’s dislike to be petted. She held him carefully, like she was afraid he would break. I was grateful for her kindness, but at the same time, wanted to snatch my mate from her arms.

  Likely, my mate might have bitten her anyway, but the fact that she had royal blood still had him in a barely contained panic. Also, for all her gentleness, my mother seemed extremely interested in Vesper. “Tell me about yourself, young shifter,” she said. “How did you and Vlad meet? What did you think about my daughters?”

  The question was carefully phrased, but something in her tone put me on the edge. It was quite telling that my mother hadn’t earnestly started to interrogate me on my sisters’ well-being ever since she had showed up. It suggested that we had been watched during our entire stay in Merlinia. I honestly couldn’t say that surprised me. In fact, I would have been shocked if it hadn’t been the case, because all throughout past centuries, I’d occasionally gotten a feel of being spied on. But that was just the way my people worked, so I couldn’t even be offended.

  “It’s a pretty long story,” Vesper replied. “Vlad and I met in Merlinia, through the assistance of some friends of ours. And I’ve actually grown pretty accustomed to living with him and his sisters.”

  At that, Abraham finally recovered and snorted. “As if we’d believe that. I’m surprised they didn’t turn you into their pet. Or…did they?”

  Vesper bared his fangs at my brother. “I’d only ever be Vlad’s pet,” he replied. “For everyone else, I can be friend, family, or foe.”

  My mother laughed. “Well said, young Vesper. A mate bond, especially one with a vampire, is unique. I’m very happy to see you understand Vlad’s nature.”

  Horror coursed through me at her words. I didn’t think Vesper’s defensive comeback was in any way related to our sex life, but my mother had interpreted it that way. One reason why we took our time during our engagements was because vampire families tended to be very candid with regard to sexuality, and that could shock people who weren’t accustomed to our ways. Our ways were actually quite complex. When it came to strangers, we were very formal and avoided any sorts of sexual innuendo. However, once a person entered our inner circle, all bets were off.

  “It’s okay, Vlad,” Vesper told me through our bond. I could feel his embarrassment upon acknowledging the meaning of my mother’s comment, but he didn’t show it through a visible reaction. “I can handle it,” he continued. “After all, what can possibly happen?”

  That sort of question practically meant asking for trouble, especially when my parents were involved. They had a way of managing to find the most uncomfortable topics possible and using them to twist people up in knots. Half the time, I wasn’t even sure whether they even meant it maliciously or not, because they were hard to read even for me. But my gut told me that if I wanted to avoid a problem, I needed to get out of there at once.

  And so, even if my mate was trying to be encouraging, I walked up to my mother and retrieved Vesper. “Yes, he does understand,” I told her. “And now that we dropped by for a visit, we really must go. We appreciate you welcoming us here, but we’re needed elsewhere.”

  It was a little hard to act dignified and self-righteous while still being nude, but it wasn’t exactly something I could help. If I’d had a choice, I’d have already cast a spell to take us back to Merlinia, or, at least, Grimoire, but my magic still hadn’t recovered. Bonding with Vesper had strengthened me, though, and I had faith that after a little hunt, I could snap back to my regular strength.

  Right now, though, I’d have to walk out of here. I started to do exactly that, but my father and brother got in the way, blocking my path. “Why aren’t you using a translocation enchantment to go?” my brother asked with a smirk. “I can smell the weakness on you.”

  “Abraham is right,” my father said. “You need to feed and rest.”

  “While I can understand you being taken with your young shifter,” my mother added, “we couldn’t possibly allow you to leave if this mating is inappropriate for your habits.”

  “But…I thought you believed I respected Vlad’s nature,” Vesper spluttered.

  “Maybe you do,” my mother answered, “but Vlad certainly doesn’t think so. Otherwise, he would have fed from you correctly. Don’t you agree?”

  That was a low blow, even for my mother. Vesper went positively rigid. I could sense his distress through our newly formed bond, like a jagged spike digging right into my heart.

  “It’s not like that,” I rushed to assure him, wishing I’d had more time with him before that Pygmalion had shown up. “I merely…”

  I was worried about him and had not wanted to hurt him. I didn’t trust myself around him. The blood I had drunk from him had tasted like pure ambrosia, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I would have been able to stop myself had I fully let go.

  “You’re right,” my mate told my mother. “It looks like he doesn’t understand that, but maybe the fault is on my side for not taking things seriously.”

  He leapt out of my arms and toward her. “Please, won’t you teach me? I want to be a good mate for Vlad.”

  “Of course,” she replied with a wide smile. My mate’s large ears twitched when her grin revealed her fangs. Perhaps he realized he was getting himself in quite a difficult situation, but he still didn’t take back his words.

  “Thank you,” he said instead. “I will be your most earnest student.”

  “And in the meantime, Vlad and I will get reacquainted a bit,” my father said, clapping my shoulder. “Isn’t it an excellent idea, son?”

  That wouldn’t have been my opinion on this disaster of a situation. Forget about the fact that the witch was likely still undefeated and our Merlinian friends were in danger. In spite of all my efforts and the painstaking, assiduous work I’d put into being the right man for Vesper, I’d completely fucked up our mating.

  As if guessing my thoughts, my father whispered, “Maybe you need a few hints on a successful mating, too. And there are a few other things I’d like to discuss with you.”

  He was using his mental voice, his words drifting right into my mind. He hadn’t done that in years—even before I had left—because the walls of my consciousness were too thick for even his powers to breach.

  My shoulders slumped. It looked like there was no way out of my childhood home, not until I got some not wholly unwanted lessons.

  Chapter Seven:

  In Which the Best Lessons Are Private Tutoring

  “And this is what you call a penile cage.”

  I glanced at the contraption, then back at Vlad’s mother, wondering if she was serious. The thing looked more like a torture device than something used for erotic play, but she had promised to give me a few hints of what my mate expected of me. A cage was a good name for it indeed, because it was basically a lot like a metal entrapment shaped like a phallus, complete with a weird sort of iron bands.

  I sniffed the item with a degree of apprehension. The faint scent of spent passion reached my nostrils, but I still wasn’t convinced. The shape of the cage didn’t seem to be large enough to hold Vlad’s dick. Had it been something he used on his previous lovers? Was I expected to wear a similar toy? “Does Vlad like this sort of thing?” I asked dubiously.

  “He most certainly does,” the female vampire replied. “Why, during his young years, he often used items identical to this one on his lovers. Of course, he took most of them with him, so this isn’t actually one of his.”

  As she spoke, I leapt back, feeling horrified at having invaded someone else’s privacy like that. It wasn’t that my people were shy with regard to sex, but touching someone other than one’s mate was a big no-no. For me, that rule extended to any kind of interaction with such peculiar items, as long as they belonged to strangers.

  My mate’s mother chuckled. “Don’t be embarrassed. I assure you it’s perfectly all right to use this for the purpose of our lessons.”

 

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