Twelve

Natasha woke, cocooned between Maël, Taichi and Keiji. Her body was pleasantly sore from their evening together. The bite mark at her neck throbbed, reminding her just how aggressive Maël could be when he claimed her. She stretched, loosening the muscles in her body before curling back into her bonded.

Last night had been ... amazing—corny as it sounded. It’d also been overwhelming. Not only had her brothers known the truth the whole time, they had a bonded as well. She understood their need to protect her. The danger lurking just out of sight while they were little must have been a constant reminder to her grandparents. It all made sense now. Why her grandmother wanted her to stay in Blue Creek. Why they wanted her to settle down with one of the shifters, even though none of the guys saw her in such ways. They would have covered her scent and her uniqueness.

 

In a way, it seemed serendipitous she found Turnskin University—that her brothers found it as well. The one place where shifters, others and humans could co-exist without fear. Kind of reminded her of Blue Creek and again, she realized, it’d been what she’d was looking for with a relaxed set of rules, of course.

“You’re thinking again,” Maël mumbled, wrapping his arm around her and tugging her back against his chest.

“How can you tell?” A small smile crept across her lips.

“You’re a whisper through my mind.” He rubbed against her. The hard length of his erection teased the cleft of her ass.

“Naughty,” she whispered, a hint of teasing laced her words.

He quite rumbled laughter vibrated against her back. “Not even close.”

“They’re still sleeping,” she hissed.

“And?” Maël filled her in one stroke. He muttered a curse. “I’m sure they are very much awake, waiting to see what we do.”

Natasha looked up at both of her demons. Taichi’s heavy-lidded eyes caressed her naked form. Behind him, Keiji watched her and Maël. Their gazes darkened. The flecks of blue and red swirled with lust. Taichi bit his bottom lip and moaned, fanning the desire burning through her veins. She gasped when Maël rubbed her clit.

His lazy strokes weren’t enough to get her off, but enough to keep her on edge. There was nothing hurried about this. It was all about them. All about the love forged between them. Keiji and Maël shifted their bodies closer. Taichi linked his fingers with hers. His face was inches from hers. Somehow, she found her breath matching his. It was euphoric. It centered her, ensnared her.

Tantric, maybe?

What did she care. It was exhilarating. Her heart pounded. Bliss mixed with adrenaline. Passion flooded her senses. Taichi smirked before leaning forward to capture her lips. The kiss was languid. The gentle lap of his tongue against hers caused her to moan. Behind her, Maël grunted. He nipped at her shoulder and the arm holding her in place tightened.

None of them spoke. There were no need for words. They were physically and mentally in tune with each other. After the run, and subsequent bonding, they carried a piece of each other within them. The erotic way their bodies moved together had a flutter of her impending climax washing over her. A small whimpered fell from her lips. She squeezed Taichi’s hand, clinging to him as a lifeline.

Their tempo increased. They rocked together in an unheard sensual beat. The gasps and sighs of her lovers were music to her ear. She sank into it, absorbing it. It wrapped around her like a comfy blanket, warming her.

“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” Keiji murmured. “You make it easy to lose control, but also want to be better. To make it better.”

A flush filled her cheeks. “It’s not me. It’s all of us.”

Taichi lowered one of their joined hands, he wrapped her palm around his throbbing shaft, then pushed Maël’s hand out of the way. She sucked in a breath the minute Taichi began to not only manipulate her clit, but also tease and fondle Maël’s balls and cock. The devilish look in his eyes as she squeezed and pumped Taichi’s hard length, turned her on.

The frantic way they each chased their release, was too much. The excitement of it washed over Natasha. She concentrated on the tingling sensation building behind her clit. She canted her hips, rolling them across Maël’s groin. The approving sigh from her vampire encouraged her. Her world narrowed down to the spot between her thighs and the growing need centered there.

“Let go,” Maël moaned. “Give it to us, princess.”

He nuzzled her neck with the tip of his nose before burying his face there. The strangled sound he made before biting her, had her release slamming through her. She lost her ability to breath as he drank from her. Everything within her shattered into a million pieces and only fractured more so when the wet, sticky heat of Taichi’s cum coated her hand and the marks upon her chest glowed. The guttural groan from Keiji drew her attention to him. His features were tight, then, when he stilled, became serene, placid even.

Maël licked close the wound at her neck as he throbbed deep within her. Their shared connection burned bright within her. She didn’t want to move from their bed. She wanted to stay just like this—well maybe not exactly like this, they were sticky after all.

“Good evening,” she whispered.

The guys laughed.

****

Natasha stood outside the hotel where her uncle waited inside for her. She tightened her hold of Maël’s hand. Her palms were sweaty. Her stomach had been a cluster of knots since she started to get ready for this introduction. She glanced at her bonded, they surrounded her, giving her the strength she needed to get through this moment.

Beside her were her brothers and their bonded. They’d already met the man named Yevgeni and knew more about him than she did. The irrationally jealous part of her mind reared its ugly head and she shoved it way down. She clung to the knowledge of them all trying to keep her safe, even if she’d always wanted to know the truth.

Now or never. “I’m ready,” she said.

They crossed the street and entered the lobby of the opulent hotel. Though they were in a little college town, the hotel screamed money. The marble floors gleamed in the soft lighting. Across from them a cozy sitting area had been filled with large plush furniture. The fire burning in the fireplace snapped and crackled, drawing her attention. Shadows danced upon the wall and she swore she saw a small figure swaying within the flames.

No way.

The smartly dressed front desk clerk smiled at them, waving them forward. “Welcome. Checking in?”

“No,” Sebastian said. “We’re meeting our uncle. Yevgeni Nemescu.”

 

“Ah, perfect.” The woman smiled. “This way. He left instructions to show you to his table when you arrived.”

The clerk led them through the hotel lobby to a restaurant near the rear of the establishment. The sheer beauty of it took Natasha’s breath away. The far wall overlooked the small town and gave a spectacular view of the mountains in the distance. The twinkling lights glittered in the small trees lining the sidewalks and reminded Natasha of the picturesque towns she’d seen in different magazines, but never up close.

They stopped in front of a table where a man, flanked by two other men sat. He looked like a very old visage of Erik, but not. His shoulders were slumped. His eyes were dull, almost lifeless. A scruffy beard covered his cheeks. The sheer number of wrinkles on his face didn’t denote the youthful complexion of a vampire. Natasha was sure the woman led them to the wrong table in the secluded dining room until the man glanced up at her.

 

Joy filled those tired blue eyes. He grasped her hands in his. His lips parted. “Annalina.” Her mother’s name was a faint whisper on his lips.

She frowned. “No, Natasha.”

The man smiled, but the sadness returned. “Of course you are. You look very much like your mother.”

Her grandmother said the same about her all the time. “Thank you. It’s a pleasure meeting you.” She didn’t know what to call him. Yevgeni seemed too sterile. Uncle too personal. Mr. Nemescu way too formal and stuffy, especially since they were family.

“Yevgeni is fine,” he said as if reading her thoughts.

“Yevgeni,” she replied, sitting across from him.

Her brothers, their bonded and her men filled in the seats lined up like little wooden soldiers for them. She didn’t know what to say. Instead, she studied the man across from her. She could barely remember her mother. Her father was a complete ghost to her. A shadow, she could never quite pull from the darkness. Did Yevgeni look like him? She glanced at her brothers. Were they a rendering of their father?

“You have many questions,” Yevgeni said, pulling her from her thoughts.

“I do,” she answered. “I don’t think I can have all of them answered though.”

“I’ll start then.” He reached into the pocket of his jacket. He retrieved a locket attached to a gold chain and placed it in her hand. “Your father wanted you to have this. He carried it every day with him while he tried to find all of you.”

Natasha stared down on at the beautiful pendant. The simple design etched into the oval-shape surprised her. She expected something more ... expensive looking, silly she knew. She also realized she hesitated to open it. She wasn’t sure why, other than some irrational ideal her subconscious put in her head. She stuck her finger under the clasp and flicked it. The pendant opened, revealing a picture of her mother and her father.

Tears sprang to her eyes. She traced the shape of her mother’s face, the length of her smile. In her mind she heard the faint echo of her laugh mixing with Natasha’s childish giggles. She sucked in a sob, closing her eyes. Grief didn’t make sense, it would seem. She couldn’t remember ever crying over the loss of her mother, definitely not for her father. Yet, it struck then, holding the picture of her parents.

The painful mourning of loss. The abyss of not knowing what to do next or how to go on without them, swamped her. All of the repressed feelings she’d pushed down so far, just so she could get through her day to day life, came back with roaring clarity. She missed her mother. She missed her stories. She missed her laugh. She missed the way she’d sing through the house or in the car when she’d drive. Natasha missed the smell of her mom. Lilacs and honey. She missed the way her mother sat near the window of her room and brushed her long, silky black hair. Natasha missed every inch of her. Oh mom.

She gathered her tattered courage and looked upon her father, then over to the man who sat across from her. His eyes were damp with unshed tears. His lip trembled as he cleared his throat. Yes, they were brothers and yes, they looked alike. She followed the line of her father’s strong jaw, his bright blue eyes and sharp nose. When she looked to Sebastian who gave her a small grin of encouragement, he too looked like their father, but with a hint of their mother. Erik was wholly their father.

“They were happy,” she murmured.

“Very much,” Yevgeni answered. “They never meant to end their lives before you three grew into beautiful adults. You were all wanted and loved. You were a surprise for an old vampire who didn’t think he’d ever have children of his own.”

“Are we as rare as I am learning?” She could stop staring at her parents.

“More so.” He dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief. “Twins are unheard of. However, three dhampir...” He shook his head. “I believe it is what put your mother and you children on the radar for other syndicates.”

She nodded. “We were worth something. If they took us, they’d make money.”

“Yes.” He didn’t have to expound on his answer, she could figure out the rest. “You though...a dhampir. You can walk in the light. You can procreate. You were who they were after most of all. You can bring the vampires into a new era with your blood.” Yevgeni looked to Maël. “Tell me you feel it. The way dhampir blood sings through your veins.”

Maël stared at Natasha. He didn’t say a word for a moment. When he spoke his tone was stern, protective. “I do. But, that is a folklore.” He frowned.

“It’s truth and you know your body is changing.” Yevgeni extended his hand to her and she placed her hand into his. “Your blood can change a vampire to dhampir. It takes years to do, but little by little your bonded will become like you.”

“What about demons and shifters?” Greer’s cheeks turned a bright shade of pink when everyone turned their attention to her.

Yevgeni shook his head. “It has no effect on them, since genetically, they’re on a different spectrum. Their animal bonds to their human psyche and they become one. Vampires are just that. There is no duplicity in their biological make up. Plus, shifters can’t make their kind, vampires can and do. Dhampir like Natasha make it so the biological line of a family can continue on.”

“So, Sebastian, Erik, and I won’t be able to have biological children?” Greer’s soft tone held a wealth of emotion.

“Unfortunately, no,” their uncle answered. “Only the female dhampir have that ability. I am sorry. I know how upsetting all of this is.”

Jacob tucked Greer into his side. “It will be just fine, sir. We will have children one day, I think a lot has happened over the last few days and it is a bit overwhelming.”

He could say that again.

Natasha had gone from wanting to be free and start her own life away from a community she didn’t feel like she belong in, to being a part of the other community and then some. Add in the fact she held the key to helping the vampires walk in the sun once more...talk about pressure.

“Even I feel it,” her uncle said. “I have dedicated my life to finding you. Dimitri would have been so happy knowing you lived. He...he went insane you see. He thought with your mother’s death, and not finding you three, you too had died. He lost his will to live and to keep pushing forward. I would have never thought to check with Annalina’s parents. I didn’t know them, I’m not sure Dimitri did either.”

“I don’t mean to be rude,” Natasha said. “But, how old are you?” Even if her mother and father met in their thirties, Yevgeni couldn’t be more than fifty if that much, though he appeared older.

“I am a stout one hundred and twenty-four years old,” he said with a slightly smug grin.

“No shit,” she said breathlessly, surprised by his honestly.

“No shit,” he replied with a lift of his chin.

“This is...wow.” She scrubbed her forehead. “I’m not naive when it comes to lifespans, especially since I was raised in a shifter community, it’s all a bit...”

 

Yevgeni patted her hand. “It’s a bit startling when you make the connection between yourself and your nest.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Nest?”

“What we call a group of vampires. A nest.”

She looked to Maël who nodded. “So, does that mean my demons and vampire are part of our nest?”

Yevgeni chuckled. “Yes. The invitation is also extended to Greer and Jacob, though I think for a shifter it might take a bit more time to accept.”

“Not as much as you’d think,” Jacob said. “I am a solitary shifter after all.”

“What are you anyway?” Natasha winced at her tone. “I have been dying to ask you since last night. I mean you walk around during the day time, I figured wolf or something preppy.”

Jacob laughed. “Not even close. Gargoyle.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Natasha blinked. “One of them cherub things that sit on the peaks of buildings standing guard?”

Jacob nodded. “Only, my gargoyle form isn’t a cherub. It’s bigger. Think demon wings instead of feathers.”

“He’s so fucking hot,” Greer said with a sigh.

Natasha bit the inside of her cheek so not to laugh at the way the red-headed girl sighed as she stared at Jacob and her brothers. She had it bad for them. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Sebastian, and Erik, are you planning on changing your human?” Yevgeni cut through their idle chit-chat.

Her brothers stared at Greer. The stern looks on their faces said enough without word, like Maël, Taichi and Keiji, they left the decision up to Greer. No one but her could give Natasha’s uncle an answer.

“I will take the bite when I am ready,” Greer said. “I have agreed to it, but all of the details have been left for me to sort through.”

Their uncle nodded. “You should live your life as you choose. Have children, then take the bite. Give yourself a rich family filled with the pitter-patter of tiny feet. Experience everything together. Sebastian and Erik can still bite you and not change you without offering up their blood.” He added, “It would be nice to hear a child’s laughter again after so many years.”

Greer nodded. “Thank you.”

Yevgeni motioned for one of the men standing behind him to approach the table. In the man’s hand was a briefcase. He handed it to her uncle before stepping away. “This is all the information you and your brothers need to know about your family and your inheritance.”

“I’m sorry, inheritance?” She had money? What?

Her uncle retrieved three stacks of paperwork. He handed one to her and the others to her brothers. She glanced down at an investment portfolio summary. She’d never seen so many zeros before in her life. “This ...” She licked her lips. The trepidatious knots in her stomach clenched. Her heart pounded. “This is for me?”

Her uncle nodded. “Yes, all three of you have an equal amount of money. You also own a piece of all of the Nemescu businesses, along with some other stocks and bonds. You are the heir, Natasha. The way your father arranged everything, once you learn the business, your brothers will become your advisors, and I ...” he sighed. “I will retire.”

“Walk into the sun?” She choked out.

He snorted. “And miss these years by your budding family’s side? Never.”  He winked at her then gave her an impish smile. “I might go on vacation. Find a lover or three like you have.” He wiggled his brows.

Oh wow. Ew. Natasha laughed. “Sometimes, I don’t need to know these things.”

“I have one more gift for you. All of you,” her uncle announced. “There will be a ball in two weeks in your honor. All Hallows Eve.”

Natasha blinked. “Seriously?”

Yevgeni nodded. “Yes. It will be a perfect time to announce the heirs to the Nemescu syndicate have returned and enjoy the festivities.”

Natasha left the hotel an hour later. Thoughts of what to do next spun through her mind. She couldn’t believe she was returning to Romania in a couple of weeks. Shit, she couldn’t believe she agreed to fly to Romania to begin with. However, sitting there with her family, it felt right. Like deep down in her bones. She wanted to meet her family even though it scared the crap out of her. It’d only been a few weeks since she found out she wasn’t exactly human.

“Are you okay?” Sebastian came up beside her.

“I think so, yeah.” She nodded. “It’s—”

“Weird?” He smirked.

“Yeah. Totally.” She glanced over at Greer and Jacob sitting on Keiji’s couch. “So ...”

His gaze followed hers. “I could say the same.”

She laughed. “True.” When she left home, she hadn’t even thought about finding the one, let alone three. “I’ve missed you guys. Every day.”

“We missed you too. I’m sorry we couldn’t tell you. I wish we would have done everything differently.”

“Me too, but we’re all together now.” She grinned, watching her bonded tease each other. “So, who’s going to tell gram and gramps about all this?”

Her brother gave her a devious look, one probably matching her own before they said the same at the same time. “Erik.”

“What are you conspiring about over there?” Erik asked.

“Nothing,” Natasha said, biting back a laugh.

“I don’t buy it,” Erik grumbled.

Natasha laughed. No, he never would. She sat back and watched as her family interacted with each other, excited about her new future, but also sad. She only had one wish, that her parents could have seen all of this. But, she supposed they’d always be there in a way. Love you, mom and dad.

Keiji held his hand out to her. “Come here, hachidori. We should be celebrating.”

Yes, they should. She took his hand and stepped into his embrace. “Just as long as we don’t invite my brothers and their bonded to our bed. That’s just ew.”

Keiji’s rumble of laughter warmed her. “Never. You’re only ours. Forever.

Forever, had a nice ring to it. “Always.”