“How old are you guys? Do we age the same?” I finally asked the question that’d been bugging me for so long, his panic making me think of it. From everything I’ve read… I mean it was paranormal romance books, but still… vampires are immortal.
“I was wondering when that was coming. Aeson is the oldest at twenty-two. Tristan, Van and Lachlan are all twenty-one. I’m a baby, I’m only twenty,” he teased with a wink. “And we do age slower, but no, we’re not immortal. Any other questions?” he asked, his voice super low, though he still seemed to be coming up with an escape plan.
"What happens if they find out?" I asked, catching on to the gravity of the situation from the way he spoke. He just shook his head and scooped me up from the stool as the teacher walked over to another table.
"Mr. Stevens, she's feeling dizzy and nauseous. I'm going to take her to the nurse!" he called out. I put on my best pitiful face and leaned into Calev, like this was my last day on Earth.
"Oh my, yes, please do," he said, giving me a concerned look. Calev didn't bother to put me down until we reached my bedroom, placing me on my feet so I could unlock the door.
"Okay, now spill. What the heck?" I asked as I closed the door behind us, but he was already on the phone texting away. Likely telling the others to stay the hell out of Biology. He didn’t answer for a moment, only looking up when I got impatient and huffed.
"Sorry. Our blood type is the same as humans underneath it all, but we don't register regularly on tests like that. If we were to put a slide under the microscope, he'd be calling the closest scientists to run tests on us. Our cells multiply rapidly, not to mention the unique aspect each supernatural type has. Mine would be slightly darker and harder to see through, and Evander's is thicker than normal. Yours would more than likely have a purplish tint, like most sirens," he explained, pacing the room. The close call clearly had him on edge. “I suppose it’s lucky that you didn’t find your siren side until after we found you. Otherwise, today would have been very bad for you. Not revealing ourselves to the humans is our most enforced law. Though, in your case damage control would have been used. It’s not like you had support before we found you.”
"It's okay, crisis averted. We can take some of Evander's blood vials to do the makeup assignment. Of course, we’ll have to make sure they’re not all the same blood type, or that would be suspicious as well." I suggested, walking up to him and grabbing his hand to stop him from pacing any more. He stopped, his wide eyes softening as he looked down at me, before pulling me into his arms.
"Good suggestion. I'm sorry I freaked you out. I know that's not what you need," he whispered, his warm breath tickling my cheek.
"You didn't. I'm not nearly as breakable and weak as you guys think," I said quietly, hating the way they had been treating me since the kidnapping.
"I'm sorry. We know you aren't," he said, holding me at arms length so he could see my face. "It scared us, and we don't want to see you hurt. Some of us have possessive sides, and those sides have claimed you. You've been in my head since that night at the pool, but I just wanted to give you time."
"Well, time's about up," I teased, leaning up and claiming his lips. He chuckled at my words before kissing me back. My heart beat faster as his words finally registered, and I pulled away to look up at him. Claimed me? “What do you mean by claimed?”
“Um, think of it like soulmates. My gargoyle wants you, and has claimed you as his. I don’t want to freak you out, but it’s kind of a ‘mates for life’ type of deal,” he said in a rush, his hands tapping out a nervous rhythm on his leg. Mates...for life? Oddly enough the words filled me with hope and excitement. I didn't feel like running away in the least. I’d felt the warmth when they touched me, and I knew it was more than just normal feelings. Even if I denied it to myself at first.
“Does that mean you’re stuck with me forever?” I asked, my voice light and teasing. Unfortunately, my awkward self also had to add that dash of hopefulness into the words.
His answering smile had me swooning a bit, his gray eyes lighting up at my acceptance. "Go on a date with me?" he asked as he studied my face, his tone carefree and excited, a sweet smile softening his face. I looked up at him in surprise.
"You don't have to do that just because I'm impatient," I said, feeling guilty for pressuring him, but he just waved me off.
"No, I've been thinking of a place to take you for awhile. Now that I know you're up for it, I want you to go on a date with me," he said excitedly, a sweet grin spreading across his face and making my heart warm.
"Alright, that'd be fun. How should I dress?" His excitement had me bouncing on my toes, the prospect of going on my first date intensifying it. I'd wanted to have a chance at a first date for a long time, and knowing it was with someone like him made me look forward to it even more. That little voice in my head wouldn’t relent, reminding me that he wasn’t the only one I wanted… and that was a problem.
"Hey, I heard about biology, did they see her blood?" Lachlan asked, bursting into the room without warning, his shoulders heaving with heavy breaths, like he’d sprinted the whole way here.
"No, we got out of it," Calev said, stepping away but not letting go of my hand. The smile still stayed plastered to my face, the disruption not killing the vibe any.
"What's going on here?" Lachlan asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. My eyes widened in shock. The last thing I want is to make the others mad
.
"I'm taking this beautiful girl on a date tonight," Calev announced proudly, though a hint of teasing was there.
Lachlan's eyes narrowed on us for a second, and I braced myself for his anger. You shouldn't have been flirting and so open with the others, now they're going to hate you. First friends you've had in a while, and here you are, fucking it up.
"I get next date, then. No hogging our girl," Lachlan said, walking forward and gently placing his hands on my cheeks. He leaned forward slowly, but I was too shocked to pull away. When he placed his lips on mine with the gentlest of kisses, butterflies went wild in my stomach. Then he pulled away, and I quickly looked at Calev, expecting him to be angry, but he didn’t look upset. In fact, he looked happy. Am I in the twilight zone?!
I guess my thought was written clearly on my face, because Lachlan laughed, pulling me out of my shock. I narrowed my eyes at him, waiting for some kind of explanation about what was going on. "I'm sorry! I forget you didn't grow up a supe. We aren't as traditional with our relationships as humans are. We thought you were interested in us, did we get that vibe wrong?" Lachlan asked, cringing at the words. I blinked at him stupidly, not able to formulate words. Hold up... does this mean they all actually want to date me? Evander hadn’t exactly been shy about his feelings, and neither had I. Plus, Tristan and Aeson were pretty damn obvious... but surely I was misunderstanding? They can’t really mean that it’s normal for all of them to date the same person. I just figured I’d have to choose.
"You aren't misunderstanding, Lennie," Tristan called as he walked through the bathroom into my room. "Sorry, but you were screaming those thoughts, babe. And fuck yes, we all want you,” he said, stalking forward and placing his hands on my cheeks, his warmth permeating my skin and washing away any more worries. “Listen, I know we've all been platonic the last few weeks, but we didn't want to pressure you. If you're up for it, we all want to get to know you, too." His grin lit up at the last part, and he chuckled as my jaw dropped impossibly further. My mind was blown, and I had no coherent words to say yes. I mean... fuck yes, I'm in, but I still don’t comprehend this at all. How do the logistics of that even work? How could five hot guys like them want me?
"She thinks we're out of her league, and she isn't hot enough for us," Tristan announced disapprovingly. The others narrowed their eyes on me.
"You're literally the kindest, strongest, and prettiest girl I've ever met. You clearly don't see yourself the way you should," Lachlan countered, tucking a stray strand of my ebony hair behind my ear.
"Don't worry, we'll convince you eventually," Calev said with a shrug. "Now go get ready. Come on guys." They each come over and give me a hug, Lach and Calev giving me a quick kiss before walking out. As soon as the door closed, I let out a little squeal and happy dance, before composing myself. Time to get ready.