Page 28 of Daring Her Vampires

“How are you feeling?” he asks, his lips lifting.

“Like I just got home from a wild party.” I continue into the room and lean against the corner of the counter. “Where’s Luca?” I don’t sense him in the apartment.

“He left to get blood.”

“How did I get home? What happened?”

He frowns. “You passed out. We left, carried you to the car, and put you to bed. You didn’t wake.”

“Sounds right,” I mumble.

“We had to insist that your family not camp around the living room. Micah wanted to hit me. I don’t believe Luca and Bash will be on good terms for a while.” He tilts his head. “Are your visions always like that?”

“No.” I get some water and reclaim my spot. “What happened to Marcus?” I open the bottle and drink deeply.

“We did as you instructed,” he says.

“Good. He wasn’t right.” I shouldn’t be thankful that someone died, but he deserved it.

“Little Bunny.” He grabs my hand. “Tell me about your visions. You were out. If I couldn’t hear your heartbeat, I would have been more alarmed.”

“It’s hard to explain,” I mumble. The door opens, and Luca steps through. My heart drops when I see what’s in his hand. Shit. I forgot.

“Who’s sending you flowers?” he demands, holding a single yellow carnation.

“Nobody important,” I say, and cringe. I am not ready to explain, but I know I have to. He shuts the door with his foot and carries a bag and the flower to the counter.

“Tricks,” Luca growls, and I sigh.

“It’s a long story,” I hesitate, biting my lip. Atlas stares at me, and I shift.

“We will share,” he says.

“What?” I ask.

“We go back and forth. We share, and then you share.” He leans back, crossing his arms.

“I can do that.” If they are willing to share their secrets, I’ll have to find the words to do the same.

“You asked about the cuffs. Why I wear them?” he asks roughly.

“Yes.” Luca stares at his brother, and they have a moment of silence, communicating without words. Atlas nods, and Luca sits on the couch, his hands cupped in front of his mouth.

“It’s also a long story,” Atlas says and motions to the living room with his hand. He sits beside Luca, and I drop into the recliner, curling up on the seat. “I wear the cuffs to hide the scars.” He unbuckles the leather around his wrists. “I wear them to hide what Allie did.” He tosses them on the coffee table and holds out his arms.

I swallow my gasp at the deep gouges in his skin.

“What did Allie do?” I ask.

“Allie was the vampire who turned us.”

My gaze skips up to his face, unable to hide my shock.

Chapter Seven

Atlas

“Allie understands that we have to explain our past.” I look up from my wrists to Sally’s shocked expression. “We have her permission to reveal all of it.” I prop my elbows on my knees and cup my hands. Looking away from my mate, I begin a story we have never told anyone. “Allie is the oldest, and when she was human, she was abused by our father. As I said, he liked to drink. He used her as a punching bag, but did it in private. He was smart about where to hit, so I didn’t know what he was doing. When Allie confessed what was going on, I tried to protect her. I stepped in numerous times to stop it. When I did, he would back off. It didn’t take me long to become bigger and stronger than him. He was verbally abusive to me and Luca. He preyed on someone weaker, so when hewas faced with my anger, he became apologetic. Abusive men are good at hiding what they do behind closed doors. Luca and I worked, so we weren’t always there.”