Page 35 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness

I’d destroyed not only her trust in me, but I’d also damaged her faith in her new family. And we all needed each other now more than ever. There was no room for weakness within our ranks.

“Thank you for saying that,” Evie said. “I know I’m not Princeton. And I won’t try to be.”

I stroked her hair, reveling in her shudder as she leaned against me.

“I want to do what’s best for the realm,” she finished. “And I’m still learning.”

“I think that’s a lifelong process,” Harmony said with a small smile. “Can I give you a hug?”

My glare was immediate and entirely unavoidable.

Blade raised his beefy hands in the air before scratching his beard. Harmony rolled her eyes.

Evie twisted to glance up at me in confusion.

I wiped the feral expression from my face. With begrudging effort, I released her from my hold.

“Sure,” Evie said tentatively.

Harmony’s face lit up, hugging Evie notably briefly. She was incredibly empathic, even to a magickal degree. She likely understood Evie wasn’t used to such displays of warmth. But Harmony just couldn’t help herself, and it pulled a grin from my lips to see Evie embraced by my comrades.

“Welcome,” Blade said. “I would say I’m glad Kylo has someone to balance out his intensity, but I’m not sure you effectively accomplish that.”

Evie stepped back. She lifted a shoulder. “Kylo should be able to balance himself at his old age.”

Blade and Harmony laughed. I even heard a soft chuckle from outside.

“Well, at least I didn’t decapitate a poor feline shifter,” I retorted.

Evie glared at me. Harmony and Blade exchanged a shocked glance before shifting their incredulity to Evie.

“Brutal,” Blade said with the widest grin. “The surprises keep coming.”

Harmony shook her head. “I’m not surprised. You’d do anything for your family. That’s how I know you belong with us.”

Evie wantedto come with me to see Idris, but I’d explained once again how traumatizing it would be if Idris tried to eat her.

We’d gone straight to work on educating him about his new nature and building up his tolerance for bloodlust.

But it was a slow process. It took time, and he still wasn’t quite himself.

“Still don’t remember what happened?” I asked.

He shook his head. He sat at a table in one of our many casual gathering areas underground. A few of his older classmates were here too. They regarded me with enthusiastic respect, clearly grateful for the opportunity to do something meaningful for me. The way they looked at me felt strange on my skin, but I knew it was the same way I admired Valentin’s turned leader Rune. Like he was more God than vampire. We all needed figures to look up to.

The lights in the room mimicked sunlight, and several potted plants brought another degree of life to the space.

“I remember walking to my professor’s office. Then nothing. Just anger, darkness, a tunnel of light, and then this fuckinghunger,” he bit out.

Newborns were moodier than the most angsty teenager. Everything became bigger in vampirism. Our feelings, our senses, our urges. We were beings of shadow, and that didn’t come without its drawbacks. It was the reason many vampires shut it all off completely, giving up on their humanity. I’d built intricate structures within the clan to guard against this—emphasizing philosophy, art, depth, and comradery to guard against the apathetic call of immortality.

We would never be likethem.

“Why did you want to become turned, Idris?” I asked him.

His frown eased. His pupils halted in their widening. He processed. “To protect Etherdale like the city has protected me and Evie. And to protect Evie like she protected me.” He glared at his feet. The words came out gritty and irritated, but I sensed a bit more ofIdrispeeking through the cracks.

“Do you feel that inside you? It’s not the same as hunger, is it?”