process usually worked. Just as he’d explained the vampire transition. I’d technically not undergone either in full, but rather, I’d experienced some convoluted marriage between them both.
However, I was definitely immortal. Yet Ryder claimed I was stronger than a newborn, his ancient bloodline working magic inside me that Edon’s bite had brought to life.
“We’ll figure it out together,” Ryder had vowed.
I believed him.
We stroked each other and kissed throughout our shower. He lathered shampoo into my hair, then helped me rinse it. I tried to do the same for him, but his height proved superior to mine. He chuckled when I went to my tiptoes to try to check his dark strands for suds. Then he caught my hips and pulled me against him, his semi-hard erection a brand against my belly.
I was about to comment when I heard a deep voice nearby. My nose twitched, Damien’s scent—cinnamon and spice, something my wolf recognized more than I did—swirling around me.
“What is it?” Ryder asked, his lips near mine.
“Damien,” I whispered, my nose twitching again. “I suddenly got a whiff of his cologne.” There was another scent with him. I sniffed, trying to identify the source. Woodsy with a hint of cinnamon, I thought. Rich. Masculine. “He’s with someone else.”
“Jace,” Ryder murmured. “Damien messaged early this evening that he and Jace were coming back tonight.”
“Coming back?” I repeated. “When did they leave?”
Ryder smirked. “I’m taking your lack of awareness as a compliment, pet.” He nipped my lower lip. “They left seven days ago. So did your wolf friend and his mates. They’re all coming back today.”
“Oh.” No wonder the house had been so silent. I hadn’t thought much about everyone else, too consumed by Ryder to really notice. But now I realized how careless I’d been. “I want to talk to Silas.”
“I imagine you do,” Ryder agreed softly, brushing a kiss over my lips. “You also need some blood.” He palmed the back of my neck, his thumb brushing my pulse. “I’ve fed plenty this week. You haven’t. I’ll heat some up for you.”
“Blood?” I repeated, my nose wrinkling.
His lips quirked up on one side. “You’re half vampire now, pet. Hybrid or not, blood is a staple.”
“I don’t feel thirsty.”
“You are,” he promised. “You’ll understand when you smell it.”
I didn’t agree but chose to follow along. He dried me off with a towel, then found me a pair of jeans and a tank top to wear while dressing himself in jeans and a T-shirt. We both remained barefoot, our hair still wet as we wandered downstairs to find Damien in the kitchen.
He held out a mug to Ryder, his lips curling into a taunting smile. “Admit it. You missed sex.”
Ryder grunted and took the mug from him, then handed it to me. “Smell this,” he told me. I frowned but inhaled the aroma coming from the inside and groaned with want. “Drink.”
Blood. How had he known I was hungry when I didn’t? Rather than ask, I took a sip from the cup and moaned at the flavor on my tongue.
“Wait until you try it fresh from a vein,” Damien said.
My brow furrowed, uncertain I liked the sound of that.
But he wasn’t waiting for me to reply, his gaze on Ryder. “Was a week of fucking long enough to make up for a century of celibacy? Or do you require more time?”
“Your concern with my sex life is touching, Damien.”
“A century of celibacy?” a deep voice asked from behind me. “Why the bloody hell would you indulge in such desolation?”
Ryder sighed. “You’re both too young to comprehend the meaning of boredom.”
“He blames his age,” Damien put in.
Jace stepped to my side, his presence causing my heart to skip a beat in my chest. I’d seen photos of him at the university. Most of the females found him devastatingly beautiful, several longing to join his harem.
I never desired such a position, but I couldn’t deny his handsome features. He had an aristocratic appeal that lent to his regal elegance, making his royal title all the more appropriate. And being this close to him now, I could feel the power and hot energy radiating off of him.
It made me less interested in my mug and more interested in stepping closer to Ryder. He pressed his palm to my lower back as I moved into him, his presence an immediate shield of protection that allowed me to feel at peace once more.
“She must be quite the female,” Jace murmured. “To break your boredom streak, I