I wanted to feel full, to be whole again. Then a different set of hands had joined in.Relax. You’ll have all the more you want, my flame.
Stopping in my tracks, I slowly turned toward Rack, my muscles moving inch by inch until I was facing him.
He was still in the doorway, arms crossed, watching me like a hawk. He was waiting for something, and I thought I knew what.
“Did we…” My voice came out thin, barely there.
His mouth twitched like he was trying to fight something amusing, but he eventually gave me a slow, certain nod. “Yes. Your change took all three of us.”
My breath hitched, and I stood there for a second, trying to piece all this information together. Instincts had me glancing down, knowing that I’d never done something like that before. I braced for soreness, but I felt nothing.
Everything felt fine, better than fine, actually, which didn't make sense. Two dicks inside me at the same time seemed like an abundance of dick, and that had to come with a price, but again, I felt nothing. No soreness. No pain.
Raising my hand in front of my face, I opened and closed it. Was this what being a vampire felt like? This surge of power that said my body was invincible, unbreakable. That I never had to worry about being maimed, broken, or killed again.
Rack pushed off the doorframe and slowly approached me. My gaze snapped up, and I watched him, this time with a hunter's eyes.
“You’re not human anymore,” he said, softer now. “Your body heals fast. Faster than you’re used to. Stronger than ever before.” He paused, his eyes wandering down before traveling back up to my face. “You won’t carrydamagethe same way.”
I understood what he was trying to hint at, and that just made that monster inside of me purr. I flinched at the sound, realizing that there was now this other side of me, this instinctual side that shared the reins over my body.
I wanted to know more. Needed to know more. One thought pushed through clearer than the rest.
Calix.
There was suddenly a second thump alongside my heartbeat, and that tripped me out. Why would I feel two heartbeats? My eyes lifted, scanning the room like he might just be there if I looked hard enough, but he wasn’t.
“Did he…” I started, then stopped, my foot dragging lightly against the tile. “Did Calix not want to turn me?”
Even as they left my mouth, the words felt wrong. Rack’s expression shifted subtly, but I still caught it. His gaze dropped briefly before he pulled it back up, a tight, crafted smile settling into place.
“He wanted to save you,” he said. “Hedidsave you.” He closed his eyes and took a deep, exhausted breath. “It was his first time,” he admitted. “He’s probably trying to figure out what he needs to do now that he’s your maker.”
“My maker,” I repeated quietly.
Rack nodded, stepping closer.
“There’s a bond inside you now. One that doesn’t go away. Doesn’t fade with time. But from what I understand…” His jaw tightened slightly before he finished, “It’s his to control. His to manage.”
That word hit differently.Control. What exactly did that mean?
“I don’t know everything about it,” he admitted, one shoulder lifting in a small shrug, though the way his eyes slipped away made it look less casual than he tried to make it. “But I’ve seen what happens when the maker doesn’t care for who they’ve sired.” His jaw tightened briefly before he added, more quietly, “It’s not good for either party.”
“And that’s why he’s staying away?” The question left me slower, my brows pulling together as I tried to make it fit.
Rack didn’t answer right away. His lips pressed together like he’d sealed them shut, gaze drifting somewhere past me as he stared into space for a second. When he finally looked back, it was with something more measured, reminding me of the Rack I had met before.
“That’s something you should hear from him,” he said, carefully. “You need to build that connection directly. I don’t want to step into something that’s between you and your maker.”
Just when I was about to argue, he stepped closer. His hand slid lightly down my arm, the touch gentle, grounding, and warm. I felt myself lean into it without thinking.
“But,” he added, softer now, “I’m glad it was him.”
My brows pulled in tight as I tried to measure the truth in his words from his eyes.
“You’ll be taken care of,” he continued, his thumb brushing over my skin in slow, absent strokes. “No matter what happens, you have him, and by extension, the Syndicate. That… matters more than you probably realize.”
The weight of that hit a second later. My eyes widened slightly as the thought settled in.
