It was amazing how comfortable I felt with them afterwards. We all laid on the couch together and unwound, enjoying each other’s company. After a while, Jasmine pushed herself up off the couch and pulled on her dress. She smiled and waved at us and sauntered out of the room, back towards the bar. I watched her hips swaying as she walked away, and sighed as the door closed behind her.

After a few minutes the two men decided to leave, too. Bobby gave me a quick slap on the ass before pulling on his clothes and saluted before he walked out the door with a smile. I couldn’t help but laugh and said goodbye before settling into the couch with Pete. He wrapped his arm around me and we snuggled together for another few minutes before he said he had to leave as well. I sighed as he kissed my cheek, and I took in the deep scent of his mask. He pulled on his clothes and ruffled my hair and give me another kiss on the cheek before he left. Leaving me alone in the room by the fire.

I took a few more minutes to collect myself before I picked up my clothes off the floor and pulled them on. There was a small door on the other side of the room with a bathroom symbol on it, and I went inside to clean myself up. I splashed cold water on my face and looked at myself in the mirror. My cheeks were still flushed and my hair was disheveled, but the look of anxiety that had plagued my face for the past few months was gone. I couldn’t help but laugh and smile at my reflection as I remembered making a point of instilling this state in my memory. Chances are I wouldn’t experience anything like this again, not that I didn’t want to, mind you, but it was a little bit extreme, even for me.

A used paper towels to clean myself up and pulled my clothes on, and ran my fingers through my hair to calm it down a little bit. I splashed more water on my face, and decided I better leave to find a way home. I had no idea how long we had been in the room, or what time it was, but I better make an effort to find a train station so I could get home sooner than later.

I stretched my arms above my head and felt my shoulders pop, causing me to laugh at myself for all the stress on my body that I just put myself through. I had a pretty serious ache between my legs, but it was a good ache. I ran my hands down over my jeans between my legs and relished in the sensation. I could still feel Pete and Bobby’s bodies gyrating against me and it was the sensation I wasn’t soon to forget. And the taste of Jasmine’s lips were firmly implanted in my memory, and I would remember that beautiful smiling face of hers forever.

Taking one last look at myself in the mirror, I brushed my hair behind my ear. I could hear the chattering in my mind pick up again, and I smiled devilishly to myself in the reflection. I thought deeply about what I just done, and could sense a spark of anger in the back of my mind. I knew Erik had been forced to experience everything that I done tonight, and I hoped that maybe it would’ve been enough for him to break the link. He didn’t seem to think he could, but as the master of a vampire coven, I suspected his powers were stronger than he let on. The anger that I fell in my mind subsided then and I was overwhelmed by a sense of sadness as I looked at myself in the mirror, confused, wondering why I could possibly be sad. The sensation consumed me, and a flood of depression passed through my body. It was devastated, and I felt guilty.

I shook my head and splashed more cold water on my face, thinking how stupid it was that I felt guilty for what I just done. He should be the one to feel guilty because of what he did to me. He forced a link on me mentally, and I’ve haven’t been able to be myself for the past few months. I stared at myself in the mirror, and my eyes looked back at me, full sadness.

“You’re not allowed to be sad. Fuck you, you fucking vampire. You’re not allowed to be sad,” I said to myself in the mirror. The chatter in my mind quieted again, but I couldn’t help but still sense the feeling of sadness in my head. I sighed and did my best to push the thought from my mind as I was getting so used to doing, and turned to leave the room and all this behind me.

The room was still empty, thankfully, and I could hear the faint crackle of the fire as it danced and flickered in the hearth. It was down to a few embers, and the warm glow in the room was comforting. This really was a strange place.

I straightened my black sweater and ran my hands along my jeans as I walked through the room towards the door that led back out to the club. But the door led to another room, and I forgot that we had gone through a series of doors to get to where we ended up.

The room was bare apart from a number of doors leading in opposite directions. They all looked the same, and I wasn’t sure which one headed back to the club. I stood there in silence a moment to try and listen to where the thumping beat of the music came from. I turned to my left and pressed my ear up against one of the large dark doors, and heard the rhythmic beat of the music and loud conversation on the other side.

I sighed in relief as I pushed the door open to walk-through, but at the same time someone pushed the door in other direction and knocked me back. The large wooden door hit me in the head and threw me onto the ground with an ungraceful thud.

“Oww, fuck,” I swore loudly as I rubbed my forehead where the door had hit me. I was sprawled on the ground, flat on my ass and my head pounded something fierce. The room was dim, and colourful lights flooded into the room as the door opened in front of me and a man came walking through.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” the man said flustered as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him

I rubbed my forehead again as I pushed myself off the ground. “Watch where you’re going next time,” I muttered angrily. I then looked up at the man and gasped. I stood there shocked, my mouth hanging open like an idiot. James from the night before stood in front of me, looking just as confused as I was.

We both stared in silence at one another for a long moment until I finally shook myself out of the daze. “What are you doing here?” I said hurriedly. I regretted snapping at him, and wondered why my first instinct was to get mad. It was obviously an accident, and no fault of his since I was clumsy enough to be standing so close to the door.

He reached out to my forehead and rubbed his thumb along where the door had hit me, and frowned. “That’s going to leave a mark,” he said. I smiled quietly at him as he ran his hand on my face. “Now, I could ask you the same thing.”

I shrugged sheepishly at him and put my hands in my back pockets. I felt embarrassed for some reason, not that I really had any need to be. “I was in town and thought I’d come check out the bar,” I said as I looked up at him.

He smiled at me and shrugged, “And? How do you like it?” A mischievous grin spread across his face, as if he knew exactly what I had just done or why was there.

There was such an easy-going air about him, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, it’s alright. It’s definitely an interesting place.”

He stepped back from me and looked me up and down and smiled. “You look great, Charlie,” he said.

I couldn’t help but blush as I cursed myself for feeling giddy. His beautiful, warm brown eyes were kind and gentle, and he seemed genuinely happy to see me.

“So, what are you doing here?” I asked again. He was a shifter, and I knew exactly what he was doing here. He was probably here for the same reason I was, not that I wanted to admit that to him. He suddenly became self-conscious, as I’ve figured he’d be able to smell the sex all over me. My heightened senses from my link to Erik allowed me to recognize his scent as a shifter at the bar, and I discreetly inhaled to see if I could smell anything on him. He just smelled like the same sweet musk that I had smelled the night before. But I didn’t sense any other smells on him. For some reason I felt ashamed, but he didn’t seem to mind that I was covered in the scent of three other shifters.

I knew I didn’t owe him anything, having only met him the night before. But even after he was sweet and friendly at the bar, and I felt guilty for leaving him in the morning without saying goodbye. Now I did feel like I owed him something.

“My brother owns this place,” he said cheerily. “I come and visit him every now and then, although it’s really not my scene.”

I nodded at him and rubbed my hand against my neck, my fingers tracing the bite marks consciously. His eyes flicked to my neck for a moment and then back to my face as I smiled. “Oh, that’s a funny coincidence,” I laughed nervously.

I stood there awkwardly in silence for a moment before he extended his elbow to me to take his arm like he had done the night before. “Can I buy you a drink?”

I smiled and stepped towards him, but I really wasn’t in the mood for another drink. “Honestly, I really just want to get home. I was about to go find the train station.”

“You realize it’s the middle of the night?” he said, teasingly to me. “You won’t be able to get the train back to London at this time.”

I sighed and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t even know where to begin looking for the train station. My phone and my wallet are at home, and to be honest, I have no idea how I was gonna find my way back to Camden.”

I realized then that I’d given him more information than I intended, but I was grateful that he didn’t seem to pry. He looked at me with concern for a moment, but didn’t ask any questions. “So, can I buy you a drink?”

I sighed and nodded. “Okay, but I’m definitely gonna have to chase it with the water. After last night’s whiskeys and this morning’s hangover, I really don’t know how much more I can drink.”

He laughed at that and led me through the door towards the bar. Music was loud and I could feel it in my bones as we walked through the sweaty crowd of people dancing and grinding together. He pulled me through the dense crowd and to the bar, and ordered a whiskey and water from me, and a jim and coke for himself.

He turned to me and smiled and waited expectantly for me to say something. I simply looked him into his eyes for a long moment as I thought of what to say. Finally, I ran my hand awkwardly through my hair and said, “I’m so sorry for leaving this morning, James. I really didn’t want you to feel any sort of obligation to me, so I thought it would be best if I just went home.”

He frowned and nodded but then that beautiful quick smile of his came right back to his face. “It’s okay. I completely understand. Besides, it’s not like you would’ve gone away completely. I could’ve just followed your sent home.” He winked at me, and I laughed. I wasn’t sure whether to take that as a compliment or to feel creeped out. But I guess as a shifter, his sense of smell was better than I thought. The idea that any of these men could’ve followed me home, though, was a bit unnerving.

“So, sorry, but I have to ask. How did you end up in Oxford with no wallet or phone?”

I sighed and figured that he would eventually have to ask that question. “I came here with a friend, but left my purse and jacket at home. It’s a bit of a long story.” I to a sip of the whiskey and set it back down on the bar. I didn’t think I could drink anymore as I instead proceeded to gulp down a glass of water that the bartender had brought out as well. The water felt cool in my throat, and I drank the whole glass in one go.

“Wow, you’re thirsty,” James teased. I laughed and nodded and then asked and ordered another water from the bartender. “You look exhausted,” he said finally to me as I proceeded to gulp down the second glass of water. I looked up at him and nodded and sighed sleepily. It’d been a long day, and I really just wanted to get home to my own city apartment and my own shady bed.

“How about I drive you home?” he offered as he took the nearly-empty water from my hands and took a sip himself.

I smiled at him and nodded. “That would be amazing, yes. Thank you.” I chugged the rest of my water and put the empty glass on the bar, and he wrapped his right arm around me and pulled me in for a half hug.

“Alright. Let’s get you home.”