Tobias shoves him, knocking me to the ground. Theo’s eyes blaze red with anger as he shoves Tobias back. I see Tobias skin start to ripple; I know he is about to shift. Tobias grabs Theo’s shirt, yanking him forward, his eyes completely black. I jump to my feet, frightened. I don’t want him to hurt Theo, so I grab Tobias hand, which is clutching Theo. He lets go of Theo, throwing him to the ground, before turning on me and grabbing my neck. I clutch at his hand, but he squeezes tighter, his anger completely engulfes him.
I claw at his hands, my nails scratch his skin. I can feel my face changing color, then, something snaps in him and he realizes he has grabbed me just as Theo tackles him. His grip is gone from my neck as I fall to the floor and start coughing, choking for air.
Theo and Tobias are on the ground, fighting. I crawl onto my hands and knees. Trying to breathe, my windpipe feels like it has been crushed in a vice. I can still feel where his fingers gripped me. Tobias, coming to his senses, gasps, making me look at him. His horrified expression at seeing me on the floor turns to panic. He moves to me in an instant, but I swat his hands away. Theo looks relieved as he comes closer, standing behind Tobias, who is on the floor next to me. Tobias moves his hand to my cheek.
“I didn’t mean to; you can’t touch me when I’m like that.” I feel his fingers brush my neck and I see his eyes change, going darker and an indecipherable look appears in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he says before getting up and walking out, slamming the door behind him. I stare at the door. Theo steps closer, offering me his hand. I take it, and he pulls me to my feet.
“He wouldn’t have hurt me. Don’t ever do that again, Imogen,” he says. “You need to remember we aren’t human. We aren’t breakable like you.”
His words anger me, I let go of his hand and walk into the closet to find some pants. Theo follows closely behind me and passes me a pair when I can’t find any. “Don’t be upset, he feels guilty enough. He is just on edge because I haven’t marked you yet. He will settle down once I have.” I stare at him, my anger clearly on display as I slip the pants up to my waist.
“Why is marking so important? You men are infuriating. Why couldn’t I have been gay?” Theo chuckles before pulling me into him.
“Because Tobias has only marked you. The mark isn’t complete, and you can still leave.”
“Leave?” I ask, confused.
“Yes, once I have marked you, you will be bound to us for eternity, Imogen. The bond will never allow you to leave, and you won’t want to anyway. The bond gets stronger, you will be able to feel what we feel, and us, you.” He explains.
“Just from you marking me?” I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Yes, after a few days and your mark is healed, you won’t want to leave us. Before then though, you can reject us still. That’s what scares Tobias.”
“But he has already marked me. How can I leave?” I keep pressing for more answers.
“Because Tobias and I are fated mates, just the same as you’re ours, so his mark is like half, mine is the other half. It won’t be complete until I mark you. If you leave, it will destroy him, and after a few years, you will forget about us.”
Do I want to forget about them? I’m not sure what I want, I just know I want to go back to the apartment, where my mother is still sitting in her box. That thought upsets me, I haven’t even had a chance to release her. I sigh and walk out, Theo follows behind me as I walk down the stairs and into the living room.
I sit on the couch. Theo sits beside me, and I lay down, putting my head in his lap. “Would it hurt? You, marking me?” I ask, suddenly scared but if it is the only way I can leave, I might not have a choice.
“Yes, but Tobias will help.” Theo whispers.
“What do you mean?” I ask, confused.
“He will distract you from the pain. It will only hurt initially, then will be pleasurable, but you being my mate and human complicates it a little. I’m a vampire, so I’ll want to feed on you. Tobias will make sure I stay in control; he won’t let me hurt you, Imogen.” I nod my head not feeling any better about being bitten again when I can’t remember being bitten by Tobias.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” He asks, distracting me from my thoughts.
“On what? There is no TV.” I chuckle.
Theo reaches over to the coffee table and grabs a remote control out of the drawer. He presses a button and the painting above the fireplace opens up. Only it’s not a painting, it’s a cupboard hiding the TV inside. Really, this could have saved so much boredom. Not that I have actually been bored, but still, I didn’t even notice it. Theo selects a movie and presses play.
“How do you have service when I can’t even get cell service?”
“There is a hard drive in the back. We don’t have service, we never needed it. We rarely stay here.” I nod in understanding before turning on my side. Halfway through the movie, Theo starts a fire in the fireplace, comes back and slides in behind me, wrapping his arm around me.
Before the movie is over, I fall asleep, only waking up when I feel warm hands lift me up. I snuggle into Tobias, his manly smell fills my nose. He dips his head into the crook of my neck, inhaling my scent. I reach my hand up and put it on his cheek. He lifts his head and kisses my fingertips before moving his lips to mine, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth and deepening the kiss, his tongue playing with mine. I moan into his mouth, arousal floods me, and my legs squeeze tighter to stop the ache. Tobias pulls back and sniffs the air, I blush, embarrassed. My sex drive is so out of whack it is becoming ridiculous. Tobias smirks before kissing my forehead but doesn’t put me down.