(DEIRK POV) Navigating the market was a familiar routine for us, but today felt different with Jo and Percy in tow. I'd always cared for females, so naturally, I didn't have a single item to suit Percy, especially given his larger build. None of my clothes would fit him.As we prepared to leave, I caught Percy eyeing Jo as she playfully snapped her collar on before leaning up and kissing Dane. His expression was somewhere between curious and totally horrified. The dynamics at play here were admittedly hard to understand.Jo, ever enthusiastic about the smaller joys, had found herself some teddy bear pajamas she adored. Percy watched, clearly surprised by her childlike delight. As for Percy, he made choices that reflected his maturity. He opted for sensible jeans and shirts, selecting a few slacks and button-downs that hinted at a preference for a more classic, understated style. His selections were practical yet smart, suitable for various occasions, and far from the whimsical choic
(PERCY POV) Returning to the townhouse, Jo was acting like a completely different person. Deirk mentioned that it was all for show, but it was still disorienting to see her behaving like a child, throwing tantrums and pouting. It didn't make sense to me, and I couldn't help but question what was really going on.We were trying to eat dinner when Jo threw her fork on the floor for the second time. Dane's eyes went dark, and he calmly stood, picked her up, and walked out of the room. Moments later, we heard the sounds. Sharp pops and anguished cries.It was clear what was happening.I turned to Deirk, confused and a bit alarmed. "Okay, explain, because I have to know what's going on here.""Look, wards are expected to act with childlike obedience after they get through the initial stages of acting out," Deirk explained, "It's all part of the academy's way of maintaining discipline and control.""So, Dane and Jo are okay with it?" I asked, trying to grasp the whole concept."Not really,
(DEIRK POV) He was turning me on, and I was honestly blown away by how much.I tried to keep my cool, to hide my reaction, but I knew I was failing miserably. When Percy kissed me on his own, without any prompting. His willingness surprised me.Kissing a vampire so soon was a shock because of the natural self-preservation humans typically have until they trust us fully.One that sent a rush of heat through my entire body.We had unleashed something uncontrollable. He slid into my lap as I kissed him passionately. He couldn't stay still, grinding against me with a hunger I hadn't experienced before. His hands roamed through my hair, shoulders, and back.His aggression caught me off guard in the best way. I liked the intensity, the urgency. It was the kind of connection I'd always hoped for but never entirely believed I'd find.Unable to contain them, my fangs popped out with force.I worried it might frighten him, that he'd pull away or hesitate, but he didn't. He kept kissing me, hi
(Dane POV) Jo was sitting on the bed totally naked, watching me as I cleaned up the room. Things had gotten a little wild. It's been a while since we'd been intimate, and she had been aggressive. It felt good to be close to her again, to feel her energy, even if it meant cleaning up afterward.I leaned in and kissed her nose, "I'm thrilled you're back. I missed your spunk."She eyed me. "I'm sure you did. You seemed to enjoy yourself. I like it when you let me be on top.""Always," I replied with a grin, unable to hide my amusement at her bluntness.Jo's smile faded slightly as she asked, "Why did you refuse to feed on me during sex? Really? Tell me the truth. I'm good to go, you know that, right? I don't want you to worry abou... Wait... where have you been feeding if not on me?""Well, I haven't," I admitted.She frowned, "You know you can't just do that. You need to feed to keep yourself steady.""No worries," I said, "Deirk helped me out a time or two to keep me straight."She
(DEIRK POV)Dane stood up from the bar. "Well, I guess I'll leave you two to talk," he said with a smirk, heading towards the door. I watched him, wishing the floor would give way and swallow me up right then and there. No, no, no… I wasn't ready for this. After 400 years, these feelings were the scariest thing I'd ever experienced. Nevertheless, I tried to prepare myself for the conversation ahead. Before leaving, Dane walked over to Percy and said, "Take it easy on him." Percy smirked in response, and I hated how my heart fluttered at that simple look. When Dane disappeared into the other room, Percy gently tugged me away from the barstool. I let him, feeling strangely weak, as he wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me into a tight hug.I was caught off guard by the unexpected moment, frozen in his grasp. I didn't know how to respond. Percy whispered into my ear, "I'm not playing you. Please don't say anything like that ever again."I pulled away slightly, looking into
(DEIRK POV) Finally, I pulled away from the kiss, though everything in me wanted to stay locked in that moment forever. Percy whispered, "We don't have to take it any further. This must be difficult for you." I shook my head and said, "No, it's not about me. I'm scared for you." Percy chuckled. "I'm not exactly a newbie here, you know." "No, listen," I insisted, needing him to understand. "Remember how I said I thought I was in love with Dane? Well, he didn't feel the same way, and eventually, we realized my feelings were tied to the forced intimacy we had to endure for so long. In an effort to figure it out, we tried to make it work. It was the only time I ever had sex willingly, but it didn't go well. He ended up having to pin me down for hours after because of my reaction." Percy took my hands in his. "You're not there anymore. You're here with me." I nodded slowly. "I know. It's just… Magness twisted so much of what I understood about love and intimacy. I'm terrified of repe
(PERCY POV)I was jolted awake by the sound of Dane yelling at Deirk. Something was wrong with Jo.Deirk jumped up, almost tossing me off the couch in his haste. He realized what he'd done and quickly grabbed me before I hit the floor, setting me upright on my feet in a flash. It happened so fast that it left my head spinning. I wondered why he didn't use it more often.I'd only witnessed that kind of time-bending speed when a vampire was thrusting faster than I could comprehend or when one disappeared without paying after taking advantage of me. I'd never seen it used to help someone before.Dane and Deirk vanished from the living room in the blink of an eye, and I followed them into Dane's bedroom, where she lay unconscious on the bed. The room seemed to shimmer with the aftereffects of their movements. The air shifted as if it couldn't quite catch up.Deirk leaned down and put his lips to Jo's neck. As worried as I was for her, I couldn't ignore the jealousy that twisted inside
(DANE POV)I rarely made a habit of bending time for extended stretches, as it always left me disoriented afterward. But at that moment, I didn't care at all. In a blur, I was in Camilla's office, interrupting her as she fed on a donor's femoral artery. Feeding from the femoral was strictly forbidden at the academy—a line even I had never crossed."Fuckin' figures," I muttered as I entered the room so quickly that the gust knocked papers off the table.Camilla quickly healed the donor and dismissed her before facing me. I didn't give her a chance to respond as I exploded with frustration. My New York accent slipped out, and I couldn't hold it back. "He fuckin' drained Jo to the point of death, Cam. I doubt I'll be able to save her this time. She will be a vampire, and I didn't want that for her yet. Not yet."Camilla stood up, and within seconds, she'd pierced her wrist and shoved it to my mouth before I could protest. I tried to push her away, but she pinned me to the couch, forcing
(DEIRK POV) The struggle had been almost overwhelming for hours. Mag was vulnerable and weak, and all I could think about was how easy it would be to rip him apart. Every time I tried to push the thoughts away, the memories came flooding back, vivid and sharp, slicing through my mind like the knives he used on me for centuries.I leaned back, trying to escape the constant loop of flashbacks. Percy lay beside me, close enough that I could feel his heartbeat against me. He always knew when I was close to breaking. His touch was steady, tracing shapes across my chest.He was trying to remind me I was still here, still in control. But the memories were relentless.The first time Mag strapped me down, I thought I'd die from the pain. I could still feel the cold metal biting into my wrists, the restraints cutting into my skin as he stood over me. The blade he used wasn't sharp. It was dull, dragging across my chest just deep enough to make me scream but not enough to kill. He enjoyed it
(DANE POV) I stood outside the room where Mag was held, feeling the moment's gravity. For 1,200 years, this man had been my "Daddy," inflicting pain, manipulating me, and shaping my life in his twisted image. Yet, there were times when he provided care and shelter, giving me some stability in the chaos. Now, the roles were reversed, and it was my turn to take care of him. A responsibility I never imagined. I opened the door and stepped inside. The air was thick with the smell of blood, remnants of the recent horrors that had unfolded. Mag lay on the floor, battered and broken, his once formidable presence reduced to a fragile shell. "Mag," I said as I approached. "It's time to get you cleaned up." He didn't respond, his vacant stare fixed on the ceiling. The man who once controlled everything now seemed utterly defeated. I crouched beside him. "Let's get you up and into the shower," I said, offering my hand. "I'll make sure it doesn't hurt more than it has to." Mag's eyes f
(DANE POV)I didn't want her to deal with my insecurities right now. She had enough on her plate. Between last night's chaos and everything still unresolved, burdening her with my doubts felt selfish. But I couldn't shake the nagging thought clawing at me for what seemed like forever.She pulled away slightly, her expression shifting as she processed what I had said. "What? No, Dane, you know I chose you. How long have you been dealing with that and not said anything? What the hell?"Oddly enough, seeing her getting worked up over this made me feel a little better. It was like a reminder that she did care, that this wasn't just something trivial to her. I shrugged, trying to downplay the unease that had been messing with me for days. "I didn't want to upset you more."Without hesitation, she pulled me down until I was practically kneeling in front of her so we were at eye level. She gripped my shoulders, and the intensity in her eyes forced me to focus on her and nothing else. "I ch
I left Deirk, Jo, and Percy curled up in bed asleep, intertwined after the chaotic night. They refused to sleep in different rooms, insisting on sticking together. They insisted on the same during sex with us, effectively turning it into our first foursome. I didn't dwell on why. Maybe they sought comfort, or perhaps they were afraid of us. Nevertheless, it was the right decision. I had to restrain Deirk more than once to prevent things from escalating. I hoped I had done it subtly enough that Jo and Percy didn't notice, but I wasn't so sure. They seemed more aware than they let on.As I stepped out of the room, I found Dom and Marshall loitering in the hallway. Seeing them there so early wasn't surprising, but there was something different about them. There was a hunger and eagerness in their eyes that I hadn't seen before. Lately, they had been pushing boundaries and testing limits, as usual, but this time it felt different."What's up?" I asked, heading toward my office. I had a
(JO POV) I woke up to the unsettling emptiness beside me. Percy was still there, deep in sleep. Dane and Deirk were gone. I slipped out of bed. The silence weighed heavily, broken only by a distant, rhythmic sound that made my skin crawl.As I moved closer, the noise became unmistakable.Agonized groans accompanied the sharp crack of a whip. My heart pounded as the sound pulled me toward a door I had never noticed before. It was slightly ajar, with a sickly maroon light spilling into the hallway. I pushed it open and stepped inside.The room was a nightmare. Mag knelt in the center, shackled and bleeding. His body was crisscrossed with fresh wounds. Dane and Deirk stood over him, their eyes solid black, their faces crawling with red veins that pulsed with rage. Their need for total vengeance was consuming them. The brutality was terrifying to witness."Did you think you'd escape this, Mag?" Dane snarled in that thick accent, lashing the whip across Mag's back. "That we would just o
(DEIRK POV)The moment I saw Marshall with those knives, everything I thought I had buried came surging back, tearing through the mental walls I had so carefully constructed.I was thrust back into the nightmare, and suddenly, it wasn't Marshall holding the blade...it was Mag.His twisted grin, the way he'd relish in our pain, the unbearable torture that followed. Mag didn't just inflict physical wounds. He cut into our very souls, leaving scars that never truly healed.He always started slow, like he was savoring the moment. The first cut was an intro, a reminder that the nightmare was beginning all over again. He'd look me in the eye, a sickening smile, and then drag the blade across my skin, just deep enough to make me scream but not deep enough to be fatal. The real agony came later, drawn out over hours, sometimes days.The burn of silver seared through my skin, leaving marks that would never fade. The scent of burning flesh, my own flesh, still haunted me. Mag would just laugh,
(DANE POV)Marshall had always claimed to be bisexual, so I decided it was time to let him prove it. It was the only way I'd consider letting him continue attending the male events he enjoyed so much. Tonight was his test, and Mag was about to become his plaything.I turned to Marshall, who was already eyeing Mag with a dark gleam that matched the twisted grin spreading across his face."Have your way with him," I said as I tossed him a set of knives. He caught them mid-air with ease, his excitement noticeable. "Break him from the inside out. Make it count, and don't hold back. You might want to stretch him a bit, loosen up... you know, to get things going in easily."Mag's eyes went wide, his bravado shattering as the reality of his situation hit him. The fear consumed him, and the blackness in his eyes betrayed his panic. He began to unravel, his desperation flooding the room."Dane, please! You don't have to do this!" he stammered out in a rush. "I didn't mean it... I was just tryi
(DANE POV)Mag slid into the leather jacket, his excitement radiating off him like heat from a fire. He looked at me, his eyes gleaming with what he believed was shared anticipation. "I knew you'd like it," I said, forcing a smile that didn't reach my eyes. "Figured it would help you settle in before you dive into things at the school."He beamed, completely convinced that he had finally won me over. Inside, though, all I felt was cold resolve. I might have been excited...if he hadn't crossed the line, if he hadn't forced Jo into that unbearable situation. But he had, and now, he had to pay.Deirk played his role perfectly, not giving anything away as Mag eagerly shrugged off his sports coat and slid into the jacket like it was a badge of honor. It fit him like a second skin, making him look every bit the predator he fancied himself to be. Deirk and I exchanged a brief knowing glance. The first part of our plan had succeeded. Mag, completely oblivious, was wrapped up in his delusions
(DANE POV) I slammed my phone down, the sharp sound breaking the silence. Two weeks had passed since we found out Jo was pregnant, and now, after what seemed like forever, the message I'd been waiting for finally came through. Mag was coming home.Tonight.Deirk looked up from across the room, his eyes meeting mine. He didn't need to ask what had me on edge, but he did anyway. "What now?""It's happening," I replied, leaning back in my chair. "He's coming tonight.""Tonight," Deirk echoed, a slow smile creeping onto his face. "Perfect. Full moon and all.""Yeah," I agreed, the plan solidifying in my mind. "We're going all out."The hunt had been meticulously crafted, not just as a hunt but as a punishment. Tonight, the academy's halls would become a battlefield. Slaves and wards who had stepped out of line, or those whose masters wanted to teach them a brutal lesson, would be let loose. They could run, they could hide, but escape wasn't an option. The vampires would be released to hu