"I'm with Rayne." Wynn lazily gestured to me from the bed. "Even I wouldn't dare give anyone to Valentine, even to let him just bite them." Wynn shuddered. "Ugh, he doesn't even let them feel pleasure in the bite. He enjoys hurting them."
"Exactly." I whipped back around to Antoine. "Would you in your right mind ever give someone under your protection to that monster? She's our maid. You convinced her to stay when she wanted to leave. How could you think for even a second that we could do that to her?"
Antoine watched me for a moment without saying a word before breaking his gaze away to scan the others in the room. "Do you all feel this way as well?"
Wynn stood to his feet. "Indubitably."
Drake and Allister inclined their heads, and Drake added, "Even if I weren't fond of the little minx, I wouldn't give anything to Valentine just out of spite."
"I second that." Allister smacked his brother on the shoulder. "That slimy ass can suck my hairy balls before I ever let him touch a hair on our girl's head."
The twins chuckled between them... but my eyes were on Marcus, the one who had suggested we should hand her over in the first place, the one who didn't really seem to care if Piper stayed or went, lived or died. If our decision wasn't unanimous, I wasn't sure what Antoine would do, but I would spirit Piper away if I had to. I wouldn't give her over to Valentine, even if it meant leaving my brothers and all I knew behind.
Marcus stared at us for a long moment and then, in perfectly Marcus fashion, jerked his head in consent.
Fucking dick.
"Are you sure?" Antoine cocked a brow at Marcus. "You were just talking about getting rid of her? Now you want to change your mind?"
Marcus shrugged a shoulder. "I am obviously outvoted. I will not be the piece that pulls this family apart. If you wish the human woman to stay, then she stays."
"Very well." Antoine turned to the rest of the room. "Now that it has been settled, who would like to be the one to tell her?"
Drake and Allister burst out laughing. They waved Antoine off, threw themselves over the side of the couch, and picked up their game controllers. Obviously, they weren't going to do it.
"We do have another issue," Wynn mentioned. The twins didn't even bother looking away from the game they had begun to play.
"Besides figuring out how to keep Valentine and his nasty fangs off Piper?" I asked with a sneer. "Please, I'm all ears."
"Well, if you would rein in your attitude, I'll tell you," Wynn snarked as he glared at me. I huffed and then gestured for him to continue. "To keep Piper safe from Valentine and our mercurial sire, I suggest we do a little more than a claiming this time."
"What do you suggest?" Antoine arched a brow, clearly interested in what Wynn was talking about.
A sudden image was shoved into my mind before I was ready for it, one of Wynn and Piper lying on a bed. They were nude, of course, and he had his mouth wrapped around her neck as he plunged into her with both fangs and dick.
"Geez, fuck, Wynn." I shook my head as I slapped the side of it. "Warn a guy before you start fucking someone in your mind. Shit."
Wynn gave me a sheepish grin and lifted a shoulder. "Sorry, mate. My desire got away from me."
"I'll bet that's all that got away," I grumbled and shook my head once more. "So, besides screwing her, what exactly do you plan on doing to protect her?"
"He wants to bind her." Antoine stepped up beside me. "Like I have done Darren, correct?"
As Wynn sat up on the bed, he pushed his dark hair over his shoulder. "Yes. It's the obvious choice, isn't it? Bind her to one of us and then Valentine is a moot point."
"He has a point," Drake called over his shoulder without taking his eyes off the game. He was clearly bearing his twin.
"It would keep unwanted attention off of her and satisfy our sire," Antoine mused as he rubbed his chin between his fingers, his brows furrowing together in thought.
"But do you really want to listen to her bitch at you for all eternity?" Allister added after finally pausing the game, much to Drake's dismay. "She's hot, don't get me wrong, I'd love to get a piece of that action."
I gritted my teeth against his words but didn't call him out on it.
"Yeah, what he said." Drake pointed at his brother, game controller in hand. "It's obvious she's attracted to us. I mean, who wouldn't be, right?" He chuckled and bumped fists with his twin. "But adding a woman to the family isn't the same as adding someone like Darren."
"True." Wynn nodded and then glanced at Marcus. "What about you? You must have an opinion past saving ourselves the headache."
Marcus's nostrils flared before he bit out, "Bind her and bring her to heel."