Twenty-Seven

Mircea

I didn’t sleep after Vali and I had our… interaction in the library. Not a single part of me wanted to rest. Every inch of me was aching for her touch; as if when she had placed a hand on my chest she had given me my first hit and now I needed more. It was probably for the best that she walked away, because if she hadn’t I would have kissed her.

And after kissing her full lips I would have moved to her pretty neck. And if I’d done that, I would have felt her pulse beneath her soft skin. Then I would have grazed my canines over her vein before I would have—

“Earth to Mircea.” I blinked and looked up from my hands, seeing Vali with a smirk on her face. Jackson, Marcy and Antanasia were in the back of the car, the other two wolves wearing their own stupid smiles.

“Where did you go?” Antanasia asked. So it was her who had brought me back to reality.

“We can smell what he was thinking about, Anne, it’s probably for the best that you don’t know.” Jackson said. Antanasia furrowed her brow.

“What do you mean? Mir, what were you…” I shuffled uncomfortably in the front passenger seat of the car, trying to cross my legs in a way that hid the evidence of where my thoughts had gone to. “Mircea, you are in the car with friends. That is very…”

“I’m sorry, Anne.” I apologised while trying to ignore the quiet laughter from Vali in the driver’s seat.

“You should be sorry. We are about to reach the Coven and you are in the car daydreaming about sex.” Anne scolded me, which made Vali laugh louder. “Don’t you start laughing, it’s your fault this is happening. You two could have locked in the bond back in Slovakia but you didn’t so now we have to suffer.”

“We barely know each other, Anne, and it’s not Vali’s fault. I’m an adult, I can control my own thoughts, or I can try to at least.” I said as Vali’s laughter turned to silence, when I looked over to her she had an appreciative expression. “We want to know each other properly before we lock in the bond.”

“Fine. But don’t let this happen again.” Anne told me, I nodded as I looked over my shoulder to her.

“I won’t.” I replied, before turning my attention to the forest around us. We had arrived in Salem, had called Ianthe ahead of time so she knew we were coming to talk to her, and that it was important. So, she gave us an address for a house in the woods, her home. We were almost there, and I really had to calm myself down.

A large cabin came into view, and I shuffled in my seat. It was the beginning of autumn, or fall as they called it here, and the leaves were turning the colour of flame. The cabin was surrounded by the trees changing colour, and the sunset made the warmth around us glow.

“Remember, they won’t know about the mating bond. Witches aren’t able to process scents the same way we do, however if the bond is strong enough they may be able to sense the connection between you.” Jackson said.

“Is that a good or bad thing? Do we want people to know?” Vali asked as I looked over my shoulder to Jackson. He was tilting his head to the side.

“I think that is completely up to you.” Jackson replied. “It shouldn’t change things too much, only difference I could possibly think of would be that if they knew… they’d know that this alliance can’t be broken.” Right, that was a point. But I didn’t mind, as long as Vali was happy with her choice then I didn’t mind which option we went with.

Okay, that was a lie. I did mind, I minded quite a lot actually. Why would she want to hide our bond?

“Well, that settles that then.” Vali said as she stopped the car and put it in park, getting out of the car before I could even question what she meant by her statement. I got out of the car, walking towards her as her brown eyes focused on the front door to the cabin.

“Vali-” I was cut off by that door opening and Ianthe walking out. She was ethereal in a white dress, no shoes on her feet as she walked across the cobblestone driveway to meet us, her blonde hair cropped to her collarbones. But it wasn’t enough to take my attention away from Vali, who was wearing a black dress that hugged every curve of her body, cutting off at her knees, her hair pulled into a high ponytail and looking deadly with the harsh eyeliner that Anne had applied for her.

“I never thought I would see the day a vampire and a werewolf walked into my abode side-by-side.” She said, her blue eyes the same colour as the sky, and as she looked between us she smiled. “And mates, no less.” She added, raising an eyebrow. “This is very interesting indeed. Come inside, I have tea steeping and we have much to discuss.”

We followed her without question, my eyes looking to Vali as we walked. Her eyes caught mine as well, and then a strange sensation made my brain tingle before I heard her voice, even though her lips didn’t open.

How did she know? She asked, and I realised this was what it felt like to have a telepathic conversation with someone. The sensation felt similar to when I listened to certain kinds of music or white noise, or when I heard the deeper chords of a violin or cello.

Jackson did say that if the bond was strong enough they might be able to sense it. I reminded her, she furrowed her brow as we kept following Ianthe into the cabin.

We haven’t accepted it yet, haven’t locked-

Maybe our bond is stronger than you thought. I cut her off, and that strange but wonderful sensation left my brain. And her voice didn’t echo around my mind either. Great, this was going spectacularly.

“Now, while we do have much to discuss, I need to get a few things straight.” Ianthe said as we walked into her study, where five cups of tea were waiting on her table. The scent was divine, chai with a drizzle of honey in each.

“Of course. We’re in your home, I expected no less.” Vali said, projecting her confidence and authority.

“Good. I only ask one thing, why are you here speaking to me? A meeting like this could be construed as having me take a side, and I would prefer to avoid a war.”