Promised in Blood: Chapter 9

Ophelia pulls her hair into a ponytail while she waits for the leftover moussaka to finish heating in the microwave. Even from a few feet away, I can clearly see the pulse fluttering on the underside of her jaw. My fangs ache to taste her. I fed from her this morning, but it may as well have been weeks ago for how much I need her now. With four vampires drinking her blood every day, we need to be careful about how much we take.

“I can feel you watching me, Xavier,” she says, giggling.

I smirk. “I am always watching you, Cupcake.”

Flashing me a coy smile over her shoulder, she flutters her eyelashes. My beautiful little slut.

“Little and often, Xavier,” Alexandros says, reminding me of the agreement we made yesterday after Ophelia left for class. We will all feed from her each day because going longer than that without a taste of her blood feels like torture, but we will only take small sips, at least until she’s stronger. Who knows what her new powers are going to hold? She healed much faster from our bites this morning than she has previously.

I study him from across the table. “Are you reading my mind?” Not that it’s a big deal, I have nothing to hide from him, it’s just that he usually doesn’t.

He arches an eyebrow. “I do not need to read your mind to know what you are thinking.” He licks his lips. And make no mistake … I am thinking about it too.

I snort a laugh.

“What are you making, sweet girl?” Malachi steps up behind her, wraps his arms around her waist, and drops a kiss on the back of her neck.

Axl takes a seat beside me and rolls his eyes. Such a sap for her.

“I heard that,” Malachi snaps.

Axl leans back in his chair and puts his feet on the table. “Yeah, you were supposed to, nutsack.”

“We are at the table.” Alexandros scowls at Axl’s feet, and Axl swiftly drops them to the floor. I flash him a shit-eating grin, grateful to not be the one getting roasted for a change.

Ophelia squeals, and I look up to see Malachi nuzzling her neck and tickling her. “Stop!” She lets out a loud, infectious giggle as she squirms in his arms.

He burrows his hand beneath her top and carries on. “But you’re so ticklish.”

“Kai!” she shrieks with laughter now, twisting in his embrace and planting her hands on his chest. A split second later, Malachi slams into the wall on the other side of the room.

“Oh my god, Malachi!” Ophelia gasps, her eyes darting between him and her hands held in front of her face.

Malachi, sprawled on the floor and looking as confused as I am, rubs the back of his head.

“W-what happened?” Ophelia asks, her voice filled with panic. “I just pushed him away.”

When it comes to size, Malachi is by far the largest and strongest of the three of us, and the dude just got thrown clear across the room by our tiny cupcake.

Alexandros pushes back his chair and goes to Ophelia. He takes her hands and examines them. “Did you channel your power, Ophelia?”

She shakes her head. “I-I don’t know.”

He presses his lips together the way he does when he’s deep in thought. “Did it feel like when you started the fire?”

Her cheeks flush bright pink. “No,” she whispers.

Humming, he turns her hands over and inspects her palms. “I did not feel anything from you.”

“I just pushed him away and … Usually, he wouldn’t budge an inch.” She chews on her lip and looks past the professor at Malachi, who jumps to his feet and rubs the back of his head again. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just shocked.” He winks at her.

A thrill of excitement shoots through my veins. “This is going to make fight lessons so much more fucking fun.” We were going to start yesterday, but Ophelia was feeling overwhelmed with her upcoming midterms, so Alexandros decided to have us kick off the weekend with lessons after she’s done with class today. Images of me pinning my little cupcake have my dick twitching in my pants already.

“Axl will provide Ophelia’s combat training,” Alexandros says without taking his eyes off her.

I roll my eyes. Of course it’s fucking golden boy who gets to manhandle our girl in the name of “teaching” her. It’s Axl’s turn to flash me a shit-eating grin. Dickface.

“Wait. Not me?” Malachi asks with a frown.

“You are stronger, Malachi, but Axl is a better strategist. Fighting is about more than strength.”

What the hell? I jump to my feet. “I’m a fucking strategist! Who plans all the obstacles for the Hunt? Me!”

Alexandros sighs and rolls his neck, and I shut my mouth. I don’t want to piss him off any further. Even if this is all fucking kinds of unfair. He directs his attention back to Malachi. “You will be my TA for the rest of the semester. That gives you full unrestricted access to Thucydides Library. You will be able to take Ophelia with you so you can both study our history. Ancient magic, the Skotádi, the Order, elementai genocide. All of it.”

Malachi grins, and Ophelia squeals with delight. I suppress a snort. They’re such fucking nerds. Hot-as-fuck nerds who I want to bite and fuck into oblivion, but still nerds.

But my amusement doesn’t outweigh my irritation. “So Kai is your TA, and Axl teaches Ophelia to fight. What about me? I sit on my ass and watch?”

Alexandros sighs, and I know I’ve poked the bear, but I don’t give a fuck anymore. I’m tired of this shit. Tired of never being good enough for him. Without waiting for his answer, I kick my chair to the floor and stalk out of the kitchen.

A few seconds later, I find myself pinned to the wall in the hallway with his hand around my throat, his expression carefully and terrifyingly blank. I should have known he wouldn’t let that slide. “You will watch your tone when you address me, Xavier.” His tone is deathly quiet, the threat implicit.

I growl, wanting to fight back. Wanting to sink my teeth into his neck and tear out his throat. So often, I piss him off on purpose, needing his reaction to show me that he at least feels something. As much as I want to resist, instinct makes me submit. “Yes sir.”

His jaw tics, and his dark eyes bore into my soul. My pulse throbs beneath the pressure of his hand on my throat. My fangs ache to taste him. My skin burns where his touches mine, and I know that he can feel what he does to me. I fucking hate that he does this to me when I mean so little to him. I want to close my eyes and break the connection, but I can’t. His tongue darts out, and he moistens his lips as he breathes heavily through his nose. “You are infuriating, Xavier.”

Tell me something I don’t know.

“You will assist me in teaching Ophelia to channel her powers and control her mind.”

I’ll assist him? So I’m being given a pity role? What the actual fuck? Clearly he heard all that because he squeezes my throat tighter and slams my head back against the wall. “Controlling her mind is the key to controlling her power, Xavier. It is the most important thing she can do. I would not risk Ophelia’s teaching to assuage your fragile ego. I do not do pity.” That’s actually true. So what is this, then? I blink at him, my throat raw from the pressure of his grip. “Despite your many flaws, Xavier, you are far more skilled than your brothers when it comes to controlling your mind.”

Was that a fucking compliment?

“It is the truth,” he says.

I can’t help the rush of pride I feel at his words, and I hate the fact that he must feel it too. He releases his grip on me, and I rub at my burning throat. “I trust you will treat this with the utmost seriousness?”

His need to clarify that stings and takes the edge off his previous compliment. “Ophelia’s safety is everything to me.”

He nods, his glare softening at the mention of her name. “Do not let me down.”

“I won’t.” My voice cracks, and I tell myself it’s because my throat is raw, but we both know that’s not why. We both know that I would rather die than let either of them down.