Page 91 of Those That Are Lost

“Oh.” Antares looks sheepish at his mistake. I guess even though he’s been a vampire for decades, he’s not had much guidance on the bonds.

“Ready, Red?” Ty pulls me up out of my seat.

“Show me how,” I tell him, gesturing.

Ty lifts his wrist to his already extended fangs. I scent his blood the second his lips lift from the puncture wound he’s inflicted on himself. I have to brace against my instinct to lick the drops of blood pooling on his skin.

Ty offers his wrist to Henry first. Henry simply nods then takes a pull from Ty’s veins. Seeing him swallow my mate's blood makes me tense.If he dares take more than he should…

He doesn’t though, one pull and he’s retracting. Ty’s non-wounded hand soothingly strokes the base of my back.

‘Your turn,’he instructs through the bond.

Biting my own wrist is a strange experience. It’s strangely more painful than when Ty sinks his fangs into me. I let out a little hiss as the sting.

‘That stops vampires feeding on themselves. Never swallow too much of your own blood, or you’ll be sick for days,’Ty informs me.

Oh.

Remembering the task in hand, I offer my punctured wrist to Antares. He cups the back of it in one of his hands.

“Thank you.” He looks up into my gaze as he lowers his head. He pulls a mouthful of my blood from my veins and swallows.

I expect to feel something but nothing happens. Antares licks the wound, sealing it and lets go of my wrist.

We repeat the procedure so Ty can bond Antares and Henry can bond to me. Afterwards, Ty grabs another blood packet from the fridge and splits it between him and me. Even though we’ve only given a little blood Ty encourages me to drink to ensure we’re at one hundred percent full strength again. Which is wise considering what tomorrow is going to bring.

“Do you feel it?” Antares asks as we settle back on the sofas. He blinks a few times in rapid succession.

“I can,” Ty acknowledges.

“You can?” I ask, still not feeling any different.

“Focus on one of them,” Ty informs me.

I look at Antares and suddenly I sense it. As soon as I focus in on it, I can tell there’s an invisible tug in the back of my head linking me to him. I can sense his nearness and his contentment.

‘That’s telling you he’s alive and well.’

I’m awestruck. I immediately feel for Henry and have thesame sense wash over me. It's nothing like the bond I have with Ty. My mate almost feels like an extension of me, we can share brainspace in my head with complete ease.

These bonds, however, take a little focus. But as soon as I think of them, I get a soft wash of their presence. The sensation strikes me with a sudden ominous feeling. We have a responsibility to these males now. Their wellbeing is ours to monitor and to ensure.

I exitthe ensuite in our bedroom a while later and get a shock when there are four males in the room, three more than I’m expecting. Whilst alone in the shower I’d leant further into my new bonds and had sworn I could start to feel a shimmer of emotion from each of them.

“Why are you all in here?” I wave a tired arm between them. The hot water from the shower has relaxed me and I just want to crawl into bed.

Ty sits on the bed, up against the pillows, his face annoyingly passive at the scene. Antares is crossed legged on the foot of the mattress and Henry looks to be pulling extra bedding from the built in cupboard. Mitch looks thoroughly amused, leaning on the doorway to the living space, covering his grin with his fist.

“Ask them again,” Mitch chokes out around his barely concealed laughter when no one answers me.

“Well?” I press. Ty bites his lips as a grin splits his face as well.

“We’re sleeping in here tonight,” Antares declares, completely giddy about it.

“What?” I say, my head tilting in confusion.

“I think the new bonds are taking hold.” Ty gestures at the two males. Henry is now making up what looks like amakeshift bed along the floor beside the double bed Ty and I have been sleeping in. “They may not be able to fully control the protective instinct now placed upon them.”