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  “Let’s go meet Mishka,” Rage said. “Then we can talk.”

  “Let’s,” she said. “The night is disappearing quickly.”

  Chapter 5

  Angie’s mind was spinning as she left the glass-enclosed room with her mates and walked down the stairs. They stopped at the bottom where two male vampires stood guard.

  “This is our mate, Angie Beaumont,” Vex said to them. “Sweetheart, these are coven guards, Brash and Zan.”

  The males nodded at her and stepped aside. They skirted the edge of the dance floor, and she felt very safe walking between her mates, each holding one of her hands. She felt pretty invincible. They were three hundred years old. They were clearly warriors. And they were taking her safety seriously. The offer to teach her to defend herself was intriguing. Adam had never wanted her to be a fighter. She could defend herself in her shift, but in her human form she didn’t even know how to throw a punch.

  They passed by the coat check and headed down a hall, using a security keypad to unlock a set of intricately carved double doors.

  “We used to use trolls to guard the outer doors,” Rage said as the doors unlocked, “but when we upgraded security after an attack on the club, we assigned the trolls to guard outside instead.”

  Angie thought back to what she’d heard about the club attack. Humans had set off bombs inside the club that had been full at the time. “I remember hearing about the attack. Was anyone in the coven hurt?”

  “There were injuries to vampires and humans, and Harmony was abducted,” Rage said. “The attacks were by the First Church of Humanity.”

  “A church?”

  “They’re humans who hate vampires. Their leader started the church so it would appear as if they were morally better than they actually are. They spread lies about our kind and actively attempt to harm vampires and those associated with them.”

  “Harmony was okay, though?”

  “Yes,” Rage said. “She actually stopped an entire group of vampire-haters from causing trouble for us again.”

  Vex and Rage stopped in front of a set of glass doors that were guarded by two males. Vex introduced them as Dylan and Bellamin.

  “Welcome,” Dylan said.

  “Nice to meet you,” Bellamin said as he and Dylan opened the doors.

  “Thanks,” Angie said.

  When the doors were shut, they faced a seating area and desk, where a beautiful blond female sat. She stood gracefully and tugged on the hem of her short skirt before joining them.

  “I’m Cella, one of the family members.” She extended a manicured hand and shook Angie’s.

  “Family?” Angie asked.

  “The family is Mishka’s inner circle. There are seven members,” Vex said.

  “The family members work and live here at the club,” Cella said.

  “Are mates part of the family too?” Angie asked.

  “Yes. There’s no ceremony, it’s just what occurs when a member finds his mate,” Rage said.

  “Or her mate,” Cella added.

  “Right,” Vex said.

  “I think we should do something special, though. Angie makes the third beloved to come to our coven. That seems like an occasion to celebrate,” Cella said.

  “Beloved?” Angie asked.

  “A beloved mate is different than a truemate. It’s... a stronger connection between a vampire and their mate. You’re our beloved mate,” Rage said.

  When he spoke, his eyes darkened and she felt as if he were caressing her from the inside out. Her wolf was the happiest she’d ever been, and she very much wanted to get them both alone.

  “I didn’t know there was a name for it,” Angie said. “I thought everyone called destined mates truemates.”

  “People outside of covens don’t necessarily know about it. It doesn’t happen with every vampire,” Cella said. “A male or female could feel a connection to another and choose them as a mate, but if they’re not beloveds, then the vampire wouldn’t be able to share their immortality.”

  Angie blinked. “Share immortality? Is that a thing?”

  “We have a lot to discuss,” Rage said, giving her hand a squeeze. “First Mishka, then a conversation.”

  “Welcome to the family,” Cella said. “I look forward to getting to know you.”

  “Thanks,” Angie said as she followed her mates through another door and down a hallway. They stopped in front of a large door that was as intricately carved as the exterior doors. It looked to be depicting various battle scenes, finely detailed and mesmerizing.

  “These are Mishka’s battles,” Vex explained as he knocked on the door. “He’s also got them on tapestries if you want to see all the gory details.”

  Angie made a face.

  The door was opened by a female with dark hair streaked with pink and blue. “Hi, guys. Who’s this?”

  “Harmony,” Rage said, “this is our mate Angie Beaumont. Angie, this is the mistress of the coven and Mishka’s beloved, Harmony.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Angie said as she shook Harmony’s extended hand. She gasped as a little jolt of electricity slid up her arm.

  “Whoops! Sorry, my power escaped me a bit there. I was feeding earlier and I’m kind of juiced up.” She opened the door further and stepped aside to allow them in. She shut the door and said, “I’m a musical muse. I feed my nature by playing music and feeding off the emotions of the listeners.”

  Angie sat in a straight-backed chair across from a large desk. Vex and Rage sat on either side. Harmony stood next to Mishka, the master of the coven. She’d seen him on television before, but never in person. Before she met her mates, she would have thought he was perhaps the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. But now, having seen her mates and their gorgeous faces and felt their rock-hard muscles under their clothes, she knew no one held a candle to her attraction to them.

  “Mishka, this is Angie,” Rage said.

  “You’re related to the alpha wolf?” Mishka asked.

  “He’s my brother.”

  Mishka hummed and looked at her mates before meeting her gaze. “Does he know you came here tonight?”

  She tried not to squirm in her seat. Although she wasn’t a child, she felt like sneaking around behind her family’s back wasn’t something a mature person did. She was only eighteen plus five, so technically she was twenty-three even though she looked like she was barely out of high school. Adam was quite a bit older than her, but no matter how old she was, he still thought of her as his little sister.

  “No one but my sister-in-law knew I was having mating dreams. I wasn’t sure how my family would react to the situation and I opted to keep it to myself until I found Vex and Rage.”

  Mishka nodded. “That’s understandable. Family can be complicated. Do you wish for me to call him on your behalf?”

  Her brows rose. “Thank you for the offer, but no. I’m leaving here before dawn to go home. I’ll speak to my parents first and then Adam.”

  “Once the sun sets, we’ll meet her and her family,” Rage said.

  Mishka said nothing for a moment and then said, “You’ll need an escort.”

  Rage let out a gruff snarl. “We’re not going to war, we’re meeting Angie’s family.”

  “I’m aware,” Mishka said dryly. “What I mean is that we’re still on alert and no coven members leave alone, period. The escort can follow at a reasonable distance and stay out of the way, but you cannot leave here on your own until we’re certain the church is going to leave us be.”

  “It’s not just for your safety, it’s for Angie’s and her family’s as well,” Harmony said. “The church has attacked mates in the past. If you were being followed unaware, you could lead them to the pack and a new target.”

  Vex looked over Angie’s head at Rage. “We hadn’t looked at it that way.”

  “Better safe than sorry, right?” Angie said.

  “Definitely,” Harmony said. “She’s pretty smart, fellas.”

  “Beloveds u
sually are,” Mishka said. To her mates he said, “You’ll be taking time off soon?”

  “We haven’t discussed things with Angie yet, but we’ll keep you apprised of everything.”

  “Excellent. Welcome to the family,” Mishka said. He stood and joined them, shaking her hand. Harmony gave her a hug. “Once you’re bonded, we’ll hang out. I’m looking forward to getting to know you.”

  Angie nodded, overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. As they walked down the hall toward the elevator, Vex and Rage introduced her to the other family members in their offices – Temple, Ven, and Traz – as they passed. They stopped at the elevator bay and Rage pushed the down button.

  “Vex and I have our own chambers, but they’re connected by a door. It’s entirely secure – there are door codes and security features from the exterior doors all the way to our individual chambers.”

  The elevator door slid open and they walked in. Rage pressed the button to go down one floor and the doors shut.

  “What about dates?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?” Vex asked.

  “Don’t you guys date? What about casual sex and feedings?”

  The doors opened and she stepped out, and then realized her mates were still in the elevator. She turned and looked at them. “What’s wrong?”

  “You want us to date? I don’t understand,” Rage said.

  “No, of course not,” she said with a laugh. “I just mean that you said no one stayed in the chambers but family members and mates. Unless you’re three-hundred-year old virgins, I’m going to guess that you’ve had sex before, and I can’t imagine the offices are very private. I was just looking for some clarification.”

  Both males let out a sigh of relief and she tried to hide her smile. “We thought you were asking about us dating females now,” Vex said.

  She made a face. “I don’t really want to hear about your past conquests. I’m sure you don’t want to hear about mine, either.”

  Rage growled and his eyes flashed. “There was no one for us once the dreams started.”

  Rage used a keypad to unlock a door and he opened it for them. A light switch clicked as she stepped inside and looked around the room. It reminded her of an efficiency apartment. It had a large bed in one corner, a couch and bookshelf in another, and a desk next to a large wooden cabinet. The room was entirely carved from rock, the walls rough in some areas to give texture to the gray stone. Two doors were along one wall, and a peek inside told her they were a bathroom and closet. She pointed to another door on the far wall.

  “That connects your rooms?”

  “Yes,” Vex said. “They’re identical except mine has a television.”

  “I don’t watch much,” Rage said. “I prefer to read or train.”

  “Train for what?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Whatever Mishka needs us for. The family protects the rest of the coven. You come first for us now.”

  “Oh?” she asked.

  Vex nodded. “Your safety and happiness are our priority for eternity.”

  Her whole body warmed at the sweet statement. They were amazing males. And all hers.

  “I don’t really want to talk,” she said, pulling down the thin straps of her dress. “I know we should. There’s so much we don’t know about each other, but my wolf is scrambling in my skull and I want to be with you.”

  Her mates watched as she unlaced the front of the dress and pulled it off, tugging the long-sleeved shirt off next, leaving her in a bra and fishnets. Rage took a step toward her but Vex stopped him with a sharp growl.

  “We can’t, sweetheart,” Vex said. “Not tonight.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “No, damn it,” he said with a snarl. They crowded around her, their hands sliding across her skin and leaving a path of fire in their wake. “You’re our beloved, Angie. That means that we can’t mate with you until you know what that means.”

  “So we can’t have sex? You said you were going crazy with need for me.”

  “We are. It’s all we can do to hold onto our sanity,” Rage said. “But my brother isn’t wrong. Being our beloved means that once we mate – once we join and share our blood with you, it will be extremely difficult for us to tolerate you being away from us. It’s one thing for beloveds to be nearby or be gone for a short while, but you’re talking about leaving us for twelve hours. We’ll go berserk.”

  “I guess we do need to talk,” she said. She bent to pick up her dress, but Rage grabbed it and tossed it behind him.

  “No need to hurry back into your clothes, beloved,” he murmured, kissing her ear. His voice was silky and deep and her skin goose bumped. “You’re so beautiful. After we talk, we can play, but we can’t make love until you’re able to stay with us.”

  “Come,” Vex said, pulling her toward the bed. “Let’s get comfortable and talk.”

  “Talk fast,” she said as she climbed up next to him and helped him off with his shirt. The sculpted abs she’d felt under the fabric were revealed to her slowly, and her mouth watered at the thought of finding out what he tasted like. They were identical twins, but they looked different to her. Vex’s eyes were a beautiful bronze, and Rage’s a deep chocolate. And Rage’s lips were a little fuller. They were both stacked with muscles, broad shouldered with tapered waists, but Rage was bulkier and Vex was a little leaner.

  Vex dropped his shirt off the side of the bed and pressed one hand to her belly. “We’ll talk fast, beloved, but it’s the only thing we’ll ever do fast in this bed.”

  Her stomach twisted and heat filled her. “Promises, promises.”

  “I always keep my promises. Once you’re ours, Angie, nothing on Earth will keep us apart. It’s why we can’t fuck you into a sex coma right now.”

  She grinned and looked at Vex. “Oh yeah?”

  “Definitely,” he said with a chuckle.

  “I like the sound of that.”

  “The next time we’re in this bed, it will be because we’re going to make you ours forever,” Rage said.

  “I can’t wait.”

  Chapter 6

  Vex thought Angie was stunning on a hundred different levels. Her hair was a dark brown that reminded him of chocolate, and her eyes were an icy pale blue. Her curves made his mouth water, and his hands ached to do much more than they were at the moment, which was lounging together as a threesome, their beloved between him and his brother. Talking was important. He knew that. But he couldn’t keep his mind from drifting to the curve of her hip as it rested against him.

  He ground his teeth and focused on everything but how good she looked and how sweet she smelled. It was important she understood what being their beloved mate meant. Before they’d been changed, they’d dabbled with ménage sex, finding willing females and sharing them. After they’d become vampires, they’d been told that the desire to share a female would wane. Vampires were notoriously possessive when it came to blood and sex, and sharing was practically unheard of. He’d always suspected that because they enjoyed it as humans, it hadn’t caused issues between them.

  “Being beloveds means that we’ll be bonded more closely than even truemates,” Rage said.

  Vex turned his attention from his thoughts to their mate. She frowned and he wanted to kiss the corners of her mouth until she was smiling again. But he didn’t, because kisses, no matter the intention behind them, would lead to more fun things and they were still in the talking phase of the night.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Because we’ll share blood with each other,” Vex said. He took his free hand and brushed it along her pulse, listening to the sound of her heartbeat as it picked up in speed. He adored that they could affect her so easily with just a touch.

  “You mean mark me.”

  “Yes, but we’ll also drink from you,” Rage said. “We’ll both drink from you while we’re inside you, and you’ll drink from us.”

  Her eyes widened and her tongue darted out to swipe across her lips.


  “The important thing to know is the mutual blood sharing during sex is what makes the beloved bond what it is. It’s extremely intimate,” Vex said. “You’ll see all our memories and we’ll see yours.”

  “How will I see your memories? I’ve never heard of that happening.”

  “Brone and Mishka said it’s like watching a movie on fast forward in your mind. The connection between us will be instantaneous and deep. Because of the deep and instantaneous connection between us, we’ll feel much closer, as if we’ve known each other for our entire lives,” Vex said.”

  “Your immortality will be tied to ours, too,” Rage said. “You’ll have to feed from one of us once a week, but you won’t need to drink SyBl every day like we do.”

  “If our immortality is tied together, does that mean if one of us dies, the other two do as well?”

  Vex scrubbed a hand through his hair. “We actually don’t know. Traditionally yes, if one of a beloved pair dies, the other dies at the same time. It’s part of the beloved bond. But there are three of us. I believe if you were to die that Rage and I would die as well, but if it were my brother or me, you and the other may continue on. There’s really no way to know and, frankly, we’re not interested in testing out any theories.”

  “Let’s just promise to keep each other safe forever,” she said. “It’s strange to think of possibly outliving my family in what could be a significant way. They’ll live a long life because they’re shifters, but it’s not the same as being immortal.”

  “At least you have the potential to have your family with you naturally for hundreds of years,” Rage said. “Humans often don’t even get one hundred years with family.”

  “Will I lose my wolf when we become beloveds?”

  “No. You’re still you, just immortal.”

  “And mated to the two sexiest vampires on the planet.”

  Rage said, “The two luckiest ones.”

  “We didn’t ask you properly to be our beloved,” Vex said. “Tonight, after we meet your family, we’ll bring you back here and ask you to be our mate forever. Then we’ll mate and mark you, and you’ll be ours and we’ll be yours.”