A knock on the library door brought Sam’s head up from her books. She had four of them spread out on a table, using all of them as pieces of the puzzle that would help her understand her new life. Like Amaa had promised, they all had thorough recounts of beloveds, and how they helped vampires. The more she learned, the more she liked the idea of being a beloved.

“Aruum,” she greeted, feeling her smile in her voice. “What brings you in here?”

He smiled back and strode in, his gait, as always, confident and cheerful. Sam was learning the very different personalities of her vampires, and enjoying them. Aruum was the youngest, and most humanlike. Like her, he was passionate about science and research. Amaa was the second youngest. Born in a time where magic capabilities trumped medical science, he had dedicated his immortality to refining his studies of witchcraft, wicca, naturalism, and the list went on. While Aruum’s notepads were filled with notes on the growth rate of deadly fungi, Amaa’s was filled with measurements and drawings of magical herbs and spells.

Taas was still a mystery to her. Although kind, he was very aloof. He wasn’t too sure about the feelings he had developed for her yet, and she was fine with that. Since they had claimed her she had begun to feel more power of her emotions every day. She was no longer afraid of the paranormal, but simply curious about it.

Sulma was the oldest, and the strongest. He also enjoyed monosyllabic stoicism whenever he got the chance, which Sam oddly appreciated. When there was a meeting with the elders of House Rinna, he was always the representative of the group to go see them. Since she came into their circle, his strength had increased ten fold. According to Sulma, it was because of her. There was still a ton more she wanted to know and understand, but since having her conversation with Sulma and Aruum two weeks ago, she was feeling more natural about it everyday.

“I came to rescue you from your books,” he told her, taking a seat on top of the table. “We’re having a group discussion outside. I thought maybe you would like to join us.”

Sam lifted her eyebrows in surprise.

“It’s two o’clock in the afternoon,” she told him. “You can’t go outside. It’ll kill you.”

Aruum chuckled.

“I love how protective you are, but seriously we’re fine. We do it all the time. Vampires don’t sweat, so sunscreen stays on quite a long time. And the grove of trees we practice under provides a very large well shaded area to be in. It’s safe, I promise.”

When Sam didn’t look sold, he slid off the table, came around, and held out his hand to her.

“You’ve spent nearly every minute of the last two weeks in this library,” he said, his tone sincere. “Come outside, see what we can do and get to know our gifts and yours outside of those words.”

It was true. Although they had all come in and out of the library to talk with her, she hadn’t spent much real time with them. And she knew she wanted to. For the last two weeks, they had kept touching to a minimum until they got to know each other better. However, being constantly close to them kept her in a near frenzied state of arousal. Maybe some fresh air and exercise outside would be best.

“All right,” she agreed, taking Aruum’s hand.

Taas, Sulma, and Amaa had gathered together under the dark shade of the hemlock trees in the mansion’s back yard. Sam had, after some convincing, agreed to move some of her things into the mansion, so that she could get better acquainted with not just them, but her destiny as a beloved. Having her close was a blessing, and a curse. They had yet to establish a balance between their sexual hunger and their budding gifts, and it put everyone on edge.

“This is much more difficult than I imagined it would be,” Taas mentioned, adjusting himself to cover his erection. “I’m not used to all of these emotions and-” he cleared his throat, “other cravings.”

“Tell me about it,” Sulma all but growled. “I didn’t realize how accustomed I’d become to feeling numb.”

“I warned you,” Amaa butted in, leaning against the tree. “But no, you didn’t want to listen to me because you thought my past beloved wasn’t real. So your struggles are your own fault.”

Taas rolled his eyes. “You’re suffering just like the rest of us,” he replied. “So don’t even try that holier than thou crap.

“Seriously,” Sulma added, giving Amaa a dirty look. “Be nice or I’ll nail you to a tree.”

“I never said I wasn’t struggling,” Amaa shot back, looking aggravated.

“Shut up,” Taas shot back, covering his eyes. “I can’t think between you, and all this pent-up energy, and this burning in my hands.” He growled, shaking out his hands and clenching them several times. “Seriously, it’s pissing me off.”

“Probably a new gift,” Amaa replied. “Maybe it’s something we use against these rogues coming into our territory.”

“Exactly,” Sulma added. “Two more disappearances came across the police scanner. We’re a band of brothers here, trying to do the best we can. We need to figure out how to control these new emotions and cravings so we can focus on keeping her away from House Gormeth.”

They all nodded in agreement.

“These disappearances are leading up to something,” Taas warned. “I can feel them, especially since we claimed Sam. I can practically see their plan unfolding. We need to be ready. If they attack campus openly like they did in the 50s, we’re going to be under a lot of scrutiny.”

“Their leader, Belal, has lost his mind,” Amaa chimed in, his tone serious. “Did you see what happened over near Westminster last week? Four bodies were found drained, all homeless women. They didn’t even bother to hide the bodies in their territory. I think someone from their house felt Sam rising to her powers. They’re trying to find her, I’m sure of it.”

“Someone’s trying to find me?” Sam asked, appearing with Aruum under the trees, making Taas jump.

“How do you do that?” He asked, seeming annoyed. “Humans aren’t supposed to be able to sneak up on vampires.”

“Well, I guess I’m not your average human,” she shrugged, taking a seat cross-legged on the warm grass. She giggled after she said it, as if getting used to the idea.

“To answer your question,” Sulma spoke up, “no one is looking for you. At least not that we’ve confirmed yet. However, there’s another coven within a three hour distance, House Gormeth. Mostly we stay out of each other’s territories, but they’ve been crossing our borders lately.”

“Sounds serious,” Sam replied. “You think they have something to do with all the disappearances around here?"

“It could be,” Amaa responded truthfully. “But we have to be careful. Their coven is older and much more aggressive by nature. Starting a war with them could lead to a lot of innocent deaths.”

Sam let out a low whistle as she shook her head. “All this time,” she mused. “I was buried in my books and all I thought I was missing was frat parties. Turns out I was missing a lot more.”

Taas raised an irritate eyebrow. “You’re being quite calm about this,” he speculated. “Seems you’re still buried in your books. Are you finding the answers in there that you’re not getting by actually talking to us?”

Sam threw him a look, but when he got up to leave she stopped him.

“Look, please. Just sit, would you? I have something to say to you. All of you.”

She and Taas held each other’s gaze for a long moment before he finally relaxed his muscles, and sat back down. He still looked a little hurt that she hadn’t spent more time with him, and she felt bad for that. She hadn’t meant to leave him out on purpose, they had just always seemed to miss each other. With time, she hoped things would get better.

“Look, I won’t pretend that I understand everything perfectly, but I am getting the gist of it. And to be honest, every aspect of this is brand new to me. I’ve never felt a part of anything my entire life. I was always the lone geek that sat by herself. Even when people would reach out to me, I couldn’t connect with them.” She paused, taking a moment to look in each of their faces.

“But the moment I met the four of you I felt an instant spark in my, well, everywhere. It was as if my soul was like, ‘oh look. There they are. They’re what your life was made for.’ The way you look, the way you speak, and feel… it’s epic, and overwhelming, but it’s also a little intimidating. But you were four strange men, and yet despite not knowing you, I feel safe every time I’ve been around you.”

She motioned to her body with her hands, looking for the words.

“I can’t begin to explain the struggle of all these new sexual urges,” she went on. “But I’m getting the feeling that this is a very good sign. Just…just give me time to adjust.

For a moment no-one spoke, but only exchanged long glances. To Sam, Amaa and Aruum’s eyes looked hopeful, while Taas and, surprisingly, Sulma appeared unsure.

“This is a lot for all of us,” Amaa said, reaching out to take Sam’s hand in his own. “As long as the four of us have been together we’ve never shared a beloved. We all have some adjusting to do.” He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it gently. “Of course, we’ll wait for you.”

“I look forward to spending more time with you,” he murmured, before turning his attention to Taas.

“Brother, let’s go. We have a dragon portal to check on.”

“Dragon portal?” Sam asked incredulously.

“Another story for another time,” Taas promised, walking up to her.

“I hope you’re right, Sam. I apologize if I came off like a frat boy. I really do look forward to getting to know each other better.” Just like Amaa, he waited for Sam to slide her hand into his, and kissed her knuckles when she did so. Both times a shiver of desire went up her spine, and she wondered how much more often she would be thinking about sex.

After they left, Sulma shuffled from one foot to the other, looking surprisingly uncomfortable.

“What’s the matter?” Sam asked, confused. “I thought you wanted me here?”

“I do. We all do,” he told her, slowly backing up, his face pained. “I’ll explain later. For now, I’m going to go buy you more groceries.”

Without another word he turned and left, heading back towards the back patio of the mansion.

“I don’t understand,” Sam admitted, looking over to Aruum.

He gave her a smile as he hopped up from his seated position, then offered her his arm before walking them towards the enclosed garden.

“In scientific terms, Sulma and the rest of us are experiencing a vast sexual metaphysical altercation, just like you are, but on a much grander scale. After a certain amount of decades, vampires begin to experience intense numbness of touch and emotion. All of us have been touched by this numbness, but I’m the only one that has lived with it the shortest, so I still have memories. Through the years I’ve used these memories to connect with human females, but for the others it’s just been too long. Once a vampire is claimed by a beloved however, their sense of touch comes back, along with a full spectrum of emotions. It can be overwhelming at first. But don’t worry, it’ll subside.”

Sam nodded, but didn’t say anything. She had already admitted to them that she had been struggling with her own new emotions, and understood perfectly well how it could be overwhelming, awkward even. Women did not have testicles, but that didn’t stop them from getting blue balls.

Back in the enclosed garden, Aruum switched the topic to the odd fungus, which she greatly appreciated. Her mind needed a break from her beloved studies. On the table, Aruum spread out his samples and his notes, talking to Sam about what he had learned as he did so.

“I can’t find anything regular in its genetic pattern,” he explained, setting up his microscope.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked, coming closer. “Are you saying it’s a synthetic fungi?”

Aruum shrugged his shoulders awkwardly. “Someone definitely created it. This wasn’t a natural genetic mutation. Whoever did this knows their way around magic. For more answers, we’re going to have to convince Amaa to help us.”

“Will that be difficult?”

Aruum smirked, his eyes sliding over her as he moved to set up his workspace. “If you asked him I’m sure he couldn’t say no.”

A soft smile spread across her face as she watched him. His watery blue eyes were practically glowing with excitement as he broke down the different microbes and bacterial structures he was finding in the fungi. A warmth spread through Sam as she listened to him talk, giving her great new information, as well as challenging questions. As he asked them, she grew more and more aroused over his academic performance.

“And furthermore, and I know that this has been on your mind too, why now? Whoever created it must have a reason as to why they let this fungi here in the middle of everything that is going on? They have to be connected. Don’t they?”

His concern, intelligence, and pretty much everything about Aruum became too much to bear in that moment. Sam’s body overflowed with need for him, and she was finally comfortable enough to give in.

“That’s a great question,” Sam responded, sliding her hands around his neck. “Maybe we should answer it later.” Balancing on her toes, she leaned up and kissed Aruum on the lips, tasting him for the very first time.

Heat swept through her as she heard Aruum growl low in his chest and felt his arms wrap around her like iron bars. The moment she parted her lips for him he slid his tongue in, slipping over her own to massage and tease her. It drove her senses crazy, and for a moment all she could think, all she could feel, was how unbearably good kissing Aruum made her feel.

His hands, rough and firm, slid hungrily over her body as their tongues twined together. He kissed down her neck, his fangs scraping against the pulsing vein there and making her whimper in pleasure. Letting her need take over, she slid her hands up under his shirt, finally feeling what his chiseled muscles felt like. He was cool, but not freezing, and in some ways, his body felt more like slightly malleable stone. She fell in love with the feel of it immediately, and continued to explore.

After several minutes and a discarded shirt however, her mind slowly started to come back to reality. Gently, she pushed at Aruum’s chest, breaking the kiss with a slight laugh at herself for being so brazen. The moment she did she felt bereft, and had to take a steadying breath.

“What’s wrong?” Aruum asked, looking concerned.

“I’m sorry,” Sam apologized, shaking her head. “This…this need just came over me. I was listening to what you were telling me about the fungi and was following it, and then suddenly, all I wanted was to kiss you. And then I was and it felt so amazing that I didn’t want to stop.”

When she looked up at him, she realized he was smiling at her.

“Don’t be sorry,” he told her, massaging the front of her shoulders. “I enjoyed it very much and you obviously did too. We have all the time in the world, and honestly I’m happy that we’re making progress. You’re clearly becoming more comfortable with us.”

Sam nodded. “I am,” she admitted. “It’s just a lot. It’s not just you being vampires or me being a beloved. Before, when I thought I was normal, I had a very low sex drive, nearly nonexistent even. Now, all I seem to want is to find out what each and every one of your abdominal muscles taste like.”

Aruum gave her a seductive smile, and opened his arms wide to display his incredibly well-sculpted torso.

“My abs are yours to lick, my lady.” He smirked.

Despite her feeling of worry, Sam burst out in laughter, covering her face as she did so.

“I get it,” Aruum assured as he settled down and reached for his shirt. “You want to take it slow. Slow is good.” He kissed her forehead, then her nose.

Glancing down, she noticed his thick, heavy erection pitching a rather large tent in his pants.

“You guys don’t like…have ancient blue balls or anything?” She asked, looking pointedly at his area.

Aruum howled in laughter.

“Not me at least,” he answered honestly. “I mean, you met me in your dorm shower, and I’m not about to lie and tell you we were testing ph levels in the stall beside yours.”

His smile slowly faded, growing somber. “But the others…they haven’t been attached to their emotions for quite some time. Give them time and you’ll see. We all want you here. We just have to figure out how this all works.”

Sam nodded. She gave Aruum a kiss on the lips once more, then left him to work on his research.