I stood in my gallery, mouth agape, as Konstantin suppressed a chuckle.
Suddenly all the mysterious puzzle pieces clicked into place.
His timeless demeanor…
His sense of style…
His nearly psychic level of intuition…
Konstantin was a ~vampire~.
“I see that I’ve rendered you speechless,” he said, unable to hold back his laughter any longer.
I blushed, feeling foolish.
“Sorry, I’ve just…never met anyone like you before,” I replied.
Konstantin looked back at the painting of Eve. “Are you sure about that?”
“Wait, you mean…she was a vampire too?”
That would certainly explain a lot.
Konstantin nodded. “Yes, but she’s a vampire with an ~i~, not a vampyre with a ~y~ like me.”
“What’s the difference?” I asked, realizing I knew next to nothing about the world outside of my werewolf bubble.
“Vam~pires~ are born with the gene, while vam~pyres~”—he pronounced it vahm-peers—“have been turned by vampires.”
“So someone turned you,” I said, thinking about long fangs sinking into my neck.
I imagined it was a ~very~ different experience than being marked by your mate.
Konstantin smiled wistfully. “A long, long time ago.”
I was dying to know how old he was, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask. I didn’t know vampyre etiquette, and it might’ve been a rude question.
Still, I had so many other questions to ask.
“What brought you here?”
Konstantin’s gray eyes almost looked silver for a moment as they flashed with intensity. He looked like he was considering the answer to my question, but then he finally spoke.
“I’m opening my practice here,” he said. “I’ve traveled all over the world seeking knowledge, and now I just want to help others find what they seek.”
Oh, right…I kept forgetting he was a doctor.
“I use my powers for good,” Konstantin said. “I can unlock things in people’s minds that they didn’t even know were there. I can schedule you in for a session if you’d like.”
My heart started beating faster.
There was so much about my own past that I still didn’t know.
So many questions swimming around my head. About where—and who—I came from.
Could Konstantin help me unlock the answers?
***
As I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, I couldn’t stop thinking about my conversation with Konstantin yesterday.
He’d offered to help me work through my issues as my therapist, but I wasn’t so sure. Therapy was never something I’d given much thought to.
Though Konstantin was no ordinary therapist… Maybe he actually could help me find the answers I was searching for?
I sighed, throwing off the covers and getting out of bed. I needed to get ready for the meeting at the pack house.
I stepped into the dress I’d set out the previous night, pulling it up over my body, and Aiden walked in just as I was zipping it up.
He approached me from behind and pulled the zipper right back down.
“Aiden,” I said reproachfully. “It’s a miracle that I ever manage to get ready with you as my mate.”
He pulled the top of my dress down too, and I let my arms fall through the sleeves.
“Won’t we be late to the council meeting?”
“They can wait,” he said, cupping his hands over my exposed breasts. I wasn’t wearing a bra, and the feeling of his warm hands against my body ignited my haze.
As his fingers played with my nipples, circling them, rubbing them, I felt my skin tighten, and an all-encompassing heat began to grip me.
I turned, and Aiden locked his mouth to mine. Our tongues danced with each other as he started walking me toward our bed.
We didn’t have time for this, but my body didn’t give a shit what my mind wanted.
“We’re going to be late,” I said again.
“I’ll be quick,” he replied, giving my ass a squeeze.
My dress fell to the floor in a pile, and I was right back to where I started.
In one swift motion,, he pushed me onto the bed and pinned me beneath his bulk. I felt the weight of his hips press against my sex as he placed his mouth on my breasts, sucking softly on my nipples.
I moaned out in ecstasy.~ Oh God, why does the haze always make me lose my damn mind?~
Then his fingers began to play with my clit and my body felt like it was soaring through the clouds.
“Aiden…we…have to…go.” I could barely speak between my uncontrollable moans of pleasure.
He finally pulled his face away from my breasts and looked at me.
“Babe, when the haze comes knocking, you answer the door.”
“Well, the haze is going to have to wait this time, because I really want to take my alpha’s mate duties seriously. The pack is finally starting to trust me, and I don’t want to lose that.”
Aiden sighed, sitting up and squeezing my thigh tenderly. “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
I didn’t like these pointless meetings. I’d much rather be pleasing my mate.
Josh, however, had insisted on these weekly recaps, where everyone in the council updated each other on what they’d accomplished during the week and brought up any items they’d like to discuss with the group.
They were typically uneventful and not of much value to me, which was why I was fine if Sienna and I were a few minutes late.
I tolerated them because I could sense that Josh was trying to prove himself. These meetings gave him a bit of control—something he could own.
I didn’t harbor any ill will. His motivations made sense.
For much of our lives, he’d been the one I turned to when I needed a second opinion or someone to vent to. But that changed last year when he betrayed me.
Now I had Sienna to fill that role, and I could tell he felt cast aside at times.
“Sienna, did you finish the charity list?” Josh asked, looking up from his spreadsheet.
~For all our sakes, Sienna. Please say yes.~
“I was planning to send it to you right before the meeting, but I got distracted. It’s basically done, though.”
“What distracted you?” asked Josh.
Sienna blushed and shot me a coy glance. “I can’t remember exactly.”
“All right, well, can you make sure I have it before you leave for the day?”
“Of course.”
“If you ever need help catching up on anything, you know you can holler and I’ll take care of it.”
“Absolutely, Josh. Thanks.”
I had to hand it to her. Sienna had picked up the passive-aggressive doublespeak of pack-house politics faster than expected. It was oddly attractive, actually.
“Is that everything, Josh?” I asked, trying to speed things along so I could—hopefully—get Sienna alone and continue where we’d left off.
“I don’t have anything else on my list, unless someone has any other items,” he replied, looking around. “Great, in that case, meeting adjourned.”
I thought I was being pretty reasonable, but Sienna had me steamed. I didn’t know how to be any nicer.
I’d given her an easy out. Why wouldn’t she take it?
It was like she didn’t take the responsibilities of her position seriously at all.
Responsibilities that used to be mine.
I needed Michelle. She always knew how to calm me down when I got like this.
She still didn’t have the list 😤
boo, relax lol
Sry, I needed to vent
It’s like Aiden doesn’t even care
I’m busting my ass and she can’t put a list together
she’s had alot going on the past few months
I know, but she’s the ALPHA’S MATE
Apparently Aiden wants her to be his new beta too…
I wish he’d just say it
ur not the only one whos had to adjust
Si was always the quiet one, but now shes ms. spotlight
I basically live in her shadow
That’s not true
You’ll always be my sunshine
get outta here with that 🧀
You love it 😉
Hurry home. I have a surprise for u 🏏
👅
I couldn’t believe I was finishing this list instead of enjoying my mate. Josh probably wouldn’t even look at it until Monday.
Actually, from the way he’d been badgering me about it, I wasn’t so sure. He either really cared about giving to charity, or he was trying to call me out in front of everyone.
All because he’d screwed up and was trying to make amends.
Before Aiden and I had mated, Josh and I were already on shaky terms. I thought he was a dick, and he thought I was a delusional schemer.
But once we spent more time together, we learned to tolerate each other. I mean, we had to.
Not only was Josh Aiden’s best friend, but he was also mated to ~my~ best friend, Michelle. In other words, our personal relationships depended on the two of us getting along.
And Josh didn’t understand that I was dealing with a lot of doubts and insecurities.
No one understood, really—myself included.
I was trying my best to be a good alpha’s mate, but maybe I needed to start accepting help when it was offered.
And in order to do so, maybe it was time to finally confront my issues instead of sweeping them under the rug.
Hey Konstantin
Does your offer to schedule me for an appointment still stand?
Of course!
When were you thinking?
Does now work for you?
***
I pressed the P in the elevator.
For ~penthouse~.
Living in the Norwood family home, I’d become used to nice things. But if the lobby of this hotel was any indication, Konstantin’s apartment would probably be more lavish than I could imagine.
As the elevator began to rise, I felt a tingling sensation in my thighs.
Was I just nervous about my first therapy session?
~You’ve got this, Sienna. There’s nothing to worry about.~
Except…the slow, molten heat that started crawling through my body ~wasn’t~ nothing. My stomach quivered, and I fought to catch my breath.
Aiden’s face flashed before me, and I ~felt~ him. Felt his hands caressing my neck, my breasts, my stomach…my sex.
What the fuck was going on?
The elevator kept rising, getting closer and closer to Konstantin’s apartment, and to my horror, my body began to respond to Aiden’s phantom touch.
I started to perspire as felt myself open up to his caress. His scent filled my nose, and his face filled my imagination. I couldn’t escape it. I didn’t ~want~ to escape it.
I was burning up. I needed to get these clothes off before I suffocated.
I unbuttoned my blouse and sank to the floor, gasping for air.
Aiden’s fingertips danced along my inner thigh and traced the outside of my lips. I was going crazy with desire, and I couldn’t stop what was happening.
Aiden had been right earlier…
When the haze came knocking, you opened the door.
I tried to squeeze my legs together as tight as I could, fighting the feeling of Aiden’s touch, but my panties were getting wet.
The fire was threatening to consume me, and I needed a release before I burned up.
Not here! Not now, dammit!
~DING!~
~Oh my God.~
The elevator doors opened.
And there, standing over me, was Konstantin.