Page 7 of Bound in Blood (Vampires of Boston #1)

“They drink from animals, you idiot. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. How many have starved themselves into a feral state, thinking they could feed on animal blood?” Alexei snarled, the original point seemingly abandoned.

“What does that have to do with anything?!” Logan cried out, willing to beg for an answer at this point. “Please, can someone tell me what’s going on? I have the worst migraine of my life and you all are so fucking loud.”

Alexei’s expression shifted as Logan’s words sank in.

He narrowed his eyes, stepping away from Marco and closer to Logan.

Mateo must have decided he wasn’t a threat to Logan, because he stepped out of the way, allowing Alexei to…

assess him. He looked at Logan like he was trying his damndest to see through his skin, down to his bones.

“When did he wake up?” Alexei asked Mateo, reaching out as if to touch Logan’s face before thinking better of it and dropping his hand.

“Maybe ten minutes ago,” Mateo answered. There was that shared confusion again, rippling between Logan, Marco, and Mateo as Alexei watched Logan thoughtfully.

“Has he fed?”

“No. You knocked on the door before we could help him,” Marco said.

“And he’s been coherent the entire time he’s been awake?” Alexei did reach out to Logan now, gently pressing down on his chin, like a request for Logan to open his mouth. Logan obeyed, of course, but he felt really weird about it.

“Yes. We thought it was a little odd, too, but neither of us has seen anyone else turn before.” Mateo replied as Alexei examined Logan’s… teeth?

Alexei’s fingers lingered for only a moment longer before he pulled back, his expression unreadable. His gaze flickered between Logan, Marco, and Mateo, the weight of his scrutiny pressing down on all of them. Logan was annoyed, sick, and running out of patience.

“Turn from what? Why are y’all all being so vague?!” His voice sounded whiny, he knew it did, but this was actual torture.

“Marco turned you into a vampire, Logan, keep up,” Mateo said dismissively. “What we’re confused about is why you’re not in a bloodthirsty rage.”

Logan’s mouth dropped back open as he stared at Mateo, waiting for the punchline that never came. He glanced over at Marco, who looked incredibly guilty, and at Alexei, whose lips were set in a thin line as he tried to contain his rage.

They’re not joking, he realized, which meant every single person in this room is insane, except for him.

“We’re not crazy, Logan, do you not remember what happened before you passed out?” Marco asked, his eyes pleading.

Logan opened his mouth to answer that no, he could not remember anything that had happened, not really, other than feeling really, really good, but Alexei beat him to the punch.

“How did you know he was about to call you crazy?” Alexei asked Marco, but his eyes never left Logan.

Marco paused, his expression blank. Logan could feel his confusion, like Marco wasn’t sure if he’d said something wrong.

“I’m not sure,” he said finally, “I can just feel it. It’s like a tug in my chest. I figured it was a product of turning him.

Because I turned him, maybe. Mateo and I never had a Maker to teach us these things. ”

Alexei’s expression darkened as he took a step back, arms crossing over his chest. His gaze flicked between Marco and Logan, narrowing in contemplation. “That’s not a symptom of a Maker’s bond,” he muttered, almost to himself.

Mateo frowned, shifting uneasily. Logan could feel a tangle of emotions coming from the other man… other vampire? Whatever. Logan would hold space to freak out about all of this later.

Mateo was feeling confused and afraid, as if something was coming between him and his brother. Overall, though, Logan felt Mateo’s jealousy. “What does that mean? Something else?”

Alexei ignored him as the wheels turned in his brain. “Logan, do you know how Marco is feeling? Without asking him?”

Logan nodded. “Yes, since I woke up. It feels on the brink of mind-reading, without actual words. Just… concepts.”

Now that Alexei mentioned it, Logan could really feel it. Like something was wrapped tight around his chest, guiding him straight to Marco and Mateo. Something Logan had never felt before, but was synonymous with coming home after a long day.

Alexei exhaled through his nose, like everything was finally clicking into place.

“Newborn vampires are volatile, Logan.” So he was sticking with the vampire story, it seemed.

“When you woke up, you shouldn’t have even been able to process a coherent thought until you fed for the first time.

But you’re here, completely stable, arguing with me about whether or not our kind even exists.

At first, it made no sense, but now,” His eyes narrowed on Marco, “I have reason to believe you’re mate-bonded to the sad twin. ”

Silence.

Logan’s brain blanked. It was like listening to someone speak in a different language. Sure, all the sounds made sense, but what did they actually mean? Marco made a choked noise, and Mateo muttered something sharp in Italian that Logan was pretty sure he should be offended about.

“No,” Marco said, shaking his head almost violently. “Not possible.”

“Not likely, ” Alexei corrected, “Entirely possible.”

“Isn’t a mate-bond like… a kink thing? Like in fanfiction? Are we circling back to Twilight ?” Logan asked incredulously.

“Jesus Christ,” Alexei sighed, letting out a frustrated noise. “No, Logan, think of it more like… a tether. While the bond a Newborn has with their Maker will fade as they become stable, a mate-bond is permanent.”

Logan frowned, crossing his arms defensively. He wasn’t really even past the vampire thing, and they were already adding new rules. As if he were being taught algebra when he didn’t know addition. Life was so much simpler twenty-four hours ago.

Marco looked up at him with a softened expression, and Logan could feel his guilt washing over him in waves. Logan understood he hadn’t meant to do whatever he had done, and, vampire thing aside, Logan felt mostly fine, so he couldn’t really be angry. Not yet, anyway.

“Think of it like a soulmate,” Marco offered, his tone resembling that of someone trying not to scare off a feral animal.

“Mateo and I have only ever seen one mate-bond, and we weren’t really in a position to ever ask for the gritty details.

The gist is, when you… when I turned you, our souls recognized each other, forming a bond designed to preserve our humanity.

To keep us from getting bored and taking it out on the locals. ”

“Mostly accurate,” Alexei agreed. “The strings of fate bind us when we need them most. Not always to protect others.”

Well, that was fucking cryptic.

Logan looked up at Marco, his green eyes reflected in Marco’s golden ones. “You care about me?” Nobody had really cared about Logan before.

Marco thought about it for a second, before nodding. “I think so.”

“This doesn’t make complete sense, though,” Logan argued, his expression flicking over to Mateo. Mateo, whom Logan could still feel the white-hot jealousy coming off in waves. Jealousy that his brother had something he couldn’t share with Mateo. “I can feel Mateo’s emotions, too.”

It was as if Logan’s words had sucked the air out of the room.

Alexei, Mateo, and Marco all sucked in a breath, a collective gasp before going completely silent.

Everything snapped together, like finding the last missing puzzle piece under the couch.

Logan could feel the sharp pulse of shock from both twins before a wave of relief washed over them.

Pure, unfiltered relief. It occurred to Logan that they had probably shared everything for a long time.

“I’ll have to admit, I’ve never heard of two vampires sharing the same mate, but mate-bonds are so rare anyway that I’m not entirely surprised,” Alexei mumbled, more to himself than to the others in the room.

“And you think that the bond is what’s keeping me from going Transylvanian on my neighbors?”

How did that even work? There were too many rules. This is why you don’t take home one-night stands, he supposed. You might wake up as an immortal creature of the night. If they would have covered that in Sunday School, maybe he’d have listened.

“Kind of.” Alexei grimaced. “It is not always so simple. Your mind has to accept the bond. If you don’t, it might turn out worse for you than if you were turned and discarded.” Alexei looked away as he spoke, his expression unreadable.

Logan looked between the two twins, then back at Alexei. He didn’t remember pressing accept on any soulmate invitation, that was for sure. But… well, he supposed it wasn’t so bad. But he wasn’t the only one affected here.

“How does the bond thing work… exactly? What should I do? And like, do you two even want to be bonded to me? Is there a way to break it?”

Quietly, incredibly deep down, Logan thought, he didn’t want to break it.

It didn’t matter to him that they were near strangers, or that it was their fault he was in this situation, that his life was forever altered, whatever.

None of it mattered, because he wouldn’t be alone.

Logan fucking hated being alone. He hadn’t moved away from home by choice, and if these twins allowed him, he’d never have to be alone again.

“If you were to die, it would break. Though not without great pain to the two of them. Other than that, no. You are stuck with them, I’m afraid. My condolences,” Alexei replied, shooting a glare at Marco.

“Are you asking if I, the monster that drained you of your blood, stole your humanity against your will, and somehow forced you into an unbreakable soul-tie with myself and my brother, am comfortable with this situation?” Marco asked, barely containing his shock.

“It doesn’t matter if either of us is comfortable, Logan, we’re responsible for you now. ”

Well, that didn’t feel great. Logan wasn’t a huge fan of being an obligation.

“Right, well, I just came over to see if my friend was okay, and seeing as he is clearly… breathing… I will be taking my leave now.” Alexei made his way to the door. “There are too many emotions in here. Please make sure you feed him soon.”

Logan blinked as Alexei all but fled from his apartment, muttering something about a headache mixed in with some curses in Russian as he quite literally did not let the door hit him. When the door clicked shut, leaving Logan alone with Mateo and Marco, the tension in the room seemed to rise.

Because they all knew—Logan stood at a crossroads.

On the right, he could freak out. He could rage and tear the world apart. Cry and scream and beg whatever God would listen to restore his humanity.

On the left, he could roll with it. Accept his new immortal companions. Take a breath and realize that bad things happened, and the quicker he moved from disbelief to acceptance, the quicker he could look toward the positive.

Logan did always prefer to think of things optimistically.

“So,” Logan started, mind made up, taking a slow breath. Removed from the drama, he could feel the way his stomach twisted. The empty, aching feeling that wasn’t there when he’d gotten home the night before.

The smell.

Blood.

It was unbearable.

“What does he mean by feed me?”