My alarm rings at eight pm. It’s loud, and the sound startles me awake. A few seconds later, I find myself staring at three ridiculously handsome men who have barged into my room. I see Mr Tickle rush out as they rush in. Poor cat, he’s not used to having anyone but me about the place.

“Are you hurt?” Rhain says immediately. He rushes forward, then covers his ears. “By all that is Light, what is that awful noise?”

Grabbing my alarm clock and switching it off, I swing my legs out of bed. Thankfully, I had the sense to remain fully clothed even though it’s my preference to sleep naked. “It’s an alarm. I set it to wake me up.”

The three men exchange glances. “This world is not like ours. So many strange things. I do not understand it,” Ezra says.

I glance at him. “You talk of magic, vampires, and evil queens who curse people, and my world is strange?” Ezra raises an eyebrow but doesn’t respond.

“You keep mentioning these vampires. What are they exactly?” Devin asks, genuinely interested.

“Pretty much what you are,” I say. “Except in our world they are fantastical creatures who do not exist in real life. They are loved and disliked in equal measure.”

“Interesting,” Devin says. “How would they know about us?”

“Ask Bram Stoker,” I say offhandedly.

“Bram Stoker?” Ezra frowns.

“May I go downstairs, please?” I ask, ignoring Ezra. All three are blocking my exit.

“Yes, of course,” Rhain says, stepping aside. Out of the corner of my eye I can see him lean towards me, whilst Ezra takes two steps back. Devin bows, then winks.

I head downstairs and to the front door, grabbing my coat and bag.

“Where are you going?” I hear Ezra ask.

“Why do you care?”

“I care because Rhain can’t stand to be away from you and Devin will go wherever Rhain goes… and because I care about what happens to them. We do not know the dangers of this world.”

“I see. Well, I’m hungry. There’s no food in the house and, unlike you three, I don’t need blood to survive. I need real food and I’m going out to get it,” I huff, slightly offended because Ezra hadn’t mentioned me in the list of people he cared for. Shaking my head of the sudden, absurd jealousy, I yank open the front door and head towards my car, climbing in behind the wheel. By the time I switch on the ignition, all three men are in the car alongside me. Devin sits up front in the passenger seat and Ezra and Rhain take the back seats.

I am simultaneously pleased and irritated by their presence. Putting my foot on the accelerator, I speed out of the drive. Devin whoops, Rhain remains quiet though I can feel him staring at me, and when I glance in the rear-view mirror at Ezra he is looking out of the window, his face a mask.

“What is this contraption,” Devin shouts over the sound of the radio, which I have turned up to full volume. Kiss FM is playing some drum and bass and Devin seems to like it. I, on the other hand, hate it; in fact my station of choice is usually Radio Two or Classical but for some reason I want to shock the men. My plan doesn’t appear to be working very well.

“It’s called a car. As you can see, we use it as a form of transportation,” I say, turning the volume down slightly. Pissing them off might be the aim, but frankly I have a headache.

“I didn’t realise you have witches here on Earth too. What kind of magic is used to power such a contraption?” Devin says, his eyes bright with interest. Out of the three men, he is the only one I feel remotely comfortable with right now. He doesn’t appear to have any hidden agenda. I kind of like him.

“No magic, just science,” I say.

“Science? What is this?” Ezra speaks, his voice low.

Pulling up at a red light, I glance back at Ezra. “It’s the study of the physical and natural world. A way for people like me to understand the world about us through observations and experiments,” I say haughtily.

“People like you?” he asks, frowning.

“I’m a pathologist, I am trained to interpret biopsy results. That’s what I do. I work at the hospital establishing whether patients have a life-threatening illness or not.”

I hear a car horn sound behind me and Rhain jerks in his seat. “Why all the noise?” he says, covering his ears. I frown at Rhain’s sudden sensitivity.

“It’s part of the Claiming, or rather what happens when the Claiming isn’t consummated,” Devin says, noticing my confusion. “Rhain will become extra sensitive to everything. He will hear, see and smell things even our heightened senses usually cannot.”

I puff out my cheeks and let the air out slowly. “Right.”

The car behind me blasts on the horn again and, realising I am sitting at a green light, I put the car into first gear and pull away.

“You study nature?” Devin asks after a few minutes.

“Yes, I suppose you could say that. Though, what I do is more about establishing whether someone has an illness and passing that information on to others who can then use the right medicine to cure them.”

“So, you are a healer then?” Ezra says, interested suddenly.

“No,” I say, feeling the burn of his glare on the back of my head. “I’m not a healer. I use my knowledge of diseases to confirm whether someone is unwell. Someone else heals them, hopefully.”

“I see.” In the rear-view mirror, I can see his eyes cloud over in disinterest.

“Thalia was a healer,” Rhain says, then slams his mouth shut at the growl that erupts from Ezra’s throat.

After our brief chat we sit in an uncomfortable silence as I drive to the restaurant. The whole way there Devin fiddles with the radio, twisting the knobs and flicking between channels. I have to slap his hand away when he attempts to move the gear stick. “Don’t touch,” I warn him.

“How far away exactly is this place you wish to find?” Rhain says. He looks almost pained when I glance back at him.

“Why,” I ask.

“No reason.”

“He’s hungry,” Devin says. “We’ve not fed in a while, and his issue with you isn’t helping.”

“I’m fine,” Rhain says through gritted teeth.

“You’re not fine, and the quicker she realises it the better,” Ezra says. “If you can feed, then perhaps you’ll be able to control your desire that bit better until the Claiming is complete.”

I slam on the brakes and we come to a sudden halt. People behind me are beeping, but frankly I don’t care. Swinging around in my seat I glare at Ezra. “She? I presume you’re talking about me?” I say, my anger boiling to the surface. Ezra looks at me as though I am a petulant child. His arrogance annoys me more and I poke a finger at him. “Firstly, as strange as it may seem, there isn’t exactly somewhere I can take you so you can feed on people willy nilly!” I can’t help it, Ezra is beginning to piss me off. I am sorry for what happened to his wife, but I wasn’t responsible for it and his attitude towards me is grating, to say the least. “Secondly, I have, at no point, said that I will be a part of this Claiming and you have no right in assuming I will just lie back and think of England!” I turn around and steer the car back into the line of traffic, driving erratically.

“Fine. After you eat, we eat, unless you’re willing to offer yourself up to Devin and Rhain?” he says, and I know he’s smirking even though I refuse to look at him.

“Of course not,” I snap.

“Ezra, leave her be,” Rhain says, and I can hear the strain in his voice.

Five minutes later we arrive at my favourite Italian restaurant. I ask Sophia, the owner, for a secluded table at the back of the room. She takes me to the table, eyeing the men all the while.

“Friends of yours?” she asks. She smiles warmly at us, her bright green eyes luminous in the light. She may be in her mid-forties but she’s still incredibly attractive. I notice the way Devin is looking at her and a thread of jealousy surges through me. It surprises me with its ferocity.

“Uh huh,” I say noncommittally. I’ve been coming to this restaurant for years with my mother, then, once she died, on my own. I’ve never brought even one man with me, let alone three at once.

“Well, hello,” she says to the men. “I’ll give you a moment to choose what you want to eat. Would you like the house red?” she asks, tearing her eyes away from Devin and back to me. A blush appears on her cheeks and chest, highlighting her ample breasts.

“No thanks,” I say. “I’m driving.”

“Of course, and your friends?” she asks, casting another appreciative eye over them. Devin winks at her, Rhain pulls a strained smile, and Ezra is his usual constrained self.

“They can have a glass if they want,” I say with a shrug.

“No problem. I’ll bring a bottle and three glasses momentarily.”

Devin watches her leave, his eyes honing in on her shapely behind. “Quite the woman. I wouldn’t mind seeing what she tastes like.”

I flip my head back around, narrowing my eyes at him. “Don’t even think about it. I’ve known Sophia for years. There’s no way I’ll let you take blood from her.”

“Who said anything about tasting her blood?” Devin says, grinning.

For some reason, his reply enrages me more than I like to admit. When Sophia returns with the bottle of red and pours a glass for Devin, I snatch it off him and down it in one go. To hell with driving, they can find their own way. I watch the brief, flirty exchange between Devin and Sophia and pour myself another glass. After taking my order, she leaves us alone. Devin is staring at me with a smirk on his face, Ezra is looking at me as though I’ve suddenly grown horns, and Rhain is holding onto the edge of the seat, his face pale. Somehow, I’ve ended up sitting next to Rhain in the booth with Devin and Ezra opposite. Rhain is pressed up against the wall, apparently not able to stand sitting so close to me.

“I’ll move,” I say, getting up.

“I think that’s best,” Rhain replies, looking at me helplessly. The desire in his eyes makes me feel strange. No one has looked at me like that before. Period.

“Yes, I think so too,” I say, the wobble in my voice betraying my feelings.

Devin looks between us both and shakes his head. He mutters something under his breath but I can’t catch what he says.

I sit down next to Ezra and feel his distaste oozing from every pore. I can’t believe I pressed myself up to him like some dog on heat earlier. That person wasn’t me. I just don’t do things like that. It must have been his blood or something. I glance away from him and back at Rhain, who is looking increasingly uncomfortable.

“When you are done, Rhain must feed. I don’t care how or with whom, but I will not see him suffer so,” Ezra says, his words cutting short as Sophia arrives with my spaghetti carbonara.

“Are you certain I can’t get you boys anything?” she says.

Devin lays a hand on her lower back, just above her bottom. “Well, now that you mention it.” His smile oozes sex appeal and I can see why Sophia is so enamoured with him. I feel like any moment now she’s going to straddle his lap and have her way with him in front of everyone, and frankly I don’t blame her. There’s something deliciously naughty about him. Devin chooses that moment to look at me, and I feel as though this show has been put on for my benefit. A sudden heat pools in my chest. He winks, then smiles, showing the points of two, very sharp teeth emerging from his gums. I react without thinking, and kick him under the table. He seems to snap out of whatever game he is playing and laughs.

“That’s very kind of you Sophia, but we will be eating later.”

I breathe a sigh of relief and shove a forkful of food into my mouth so I don’t have to look at any of them. They allow me to eat in relative peace, although I feel their eyes on me. I don’t think I’ve ever had this much attention in my life.

Once I am finished, I excuse myself and ask them to wait for me outside whilst I use the ladies. After using the toilet, I wash my hands in the sink. The last few hours play out in my head and I feel the stirrings of my own desire filling my chest. “Get a grip, Accacia,” I say to myself. Yet I can’t seem to help it. I keep picturing Rhain’s hands and lips on my legs, the taste of Ezra’s blood in my mouth and the wicked glint in Devin’s eyes. I’m confused, on edge. I feel like a furnace is alight beneath my skin and, frankly, I feel like a hormonal teenage boy. I need release, anything to stop me from self-combusting right here in the lavatory.

The door slams open and Rhain appears in the bathroom. He rushes forward, and before I can even blink, lifts me up beneath my armpits and has me pushed up against the wall, his body pressed firmly against me.

“Damn it, Cia. I can smell your desire from outside,” he says, trapping my arms by my sides. I have no idea whether my heart is pounding in my chest because I am enjoying it, or because I am terrified of what he is about to do next. He breathes in deeply, and I can see the tips of his incisors press into his lower lip.

“Rhain, please,” I beg, not really knowing what it is I am begging for. I feel as though the old me, the one who left the house and went to work yesterday morning, has been replaced by a stranger. I don’t know who I am anymore. It’s as though my body is fighting against my mind and I have no idea who’s winning.

“What’s happening to me?” I whisper.

Rhain’s eyes look pained. He leans in, pressing a soft kiss against my mouth. I can feel his body tremble with the effort of holding back, his desire is overwhelming in its intensity. Part of me wants to relax into his hold, the other wants to get well away. I have no idea what to do, but the choice is taken out of my hands when I feel a rush of cold air as Rhain releases me from his grasp.

“That’s enough,” Ezra says, his voice firm, controlled. He looks at me accusingly.

“We need to find Rhain some blood, and fast, otherwise next time you might not be so lucky.”

I look aghast at Ezra and want to tell him to piss off, that none of this is my damn fault, when Devin strolls into the bathroom. “Phew,” he says, waving his hand in the air, “things appear to be getting a bit steamy in here.”

“None of this has anything to do with me,” I deny, blood rushing to my cheeks.

“Are you sure about that?” Devin says, serious for one moment.

“Yes,” I snap, storming out of the bathroom.

“You keep telling yourself that, Accacia, but you can’t fight the Claiming, not once it has taken hold,” Devin calls after my retreating back.

I stick my middle finger up at him, and can hear his laughter as it follows me out of the restaurant.