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FREYA AND I STRIPPED our bloody clothes off and dropped them to the floor. We stepped into the shower together, then just stood there, holding each other as the water beat down on us. It was strange to feel a bundle of emotions that didn’t belong to me in the back of my head. My mate was feeling just as astounded that we were true mates.
“How is this possible?” I asked, stroking my hand up and down her back. “Did I turn you into a shifter when I bit you?” Humans could turn into shifters after being bitten, but she hadn’t been human in a very long time.
“It’s a long story,” Freya said evasively, then froze when she caught sight of her reflection in the shower door. She touched her face in wonder, still coming to grips with the fact that she was alive.
Our strength slowly returned as we washed our hair and soaped our bodies. My vampire had fought hard to keep me alive as the toxin Freya had infected me with had purged the silver from my veins. Somehow, we’d saved each other with our mating bond. Her thoughts and emotions were whirling too quickly for me to make sense of what she was thinking.
I took the soap from Freya’s hand and turned her around so her back was facing me. She’d washed most of the black blood from her skin, but had missed a few spots. I soaped a washcloth and lovingly ran it over her flawless back, growing hard at the sight of her perfection.
Looking at me over her shoulder, her fangs peeked out from between her lips. I felt her desire rise to match mine as I washed away the last traces of the dead blood that had oozed from her pores.
“Do you think it’s safe to kiss you now?” I asked, slipping my hands around her to draw her back against me.
Leaning backwards until my shaft pressed up against her, she rubbed herself against me invitingly. “I’m not a full vampire anymore,” she replied. “I’m not sure what I am,” she added almost forlornly.
“You’re my mate,” I said. “And I’m yours. Neither of us are normal. We’re both hybrids now.”
“Do you have fangs?” she asked and turned around to examine my teeth.
“I don’t think so,” I said with a grin. “Now that you’re not a full vampire, can you drink from my veins?”
Longing to sink her teeth into me flickered across her face. “I could hurt you,” she murmured as I backed her up against the wall.
“I don’t mind a bit of pain if it’ll end your hunger for blood. Besides, we all take turns feeding Alex and Yas. I’m used to cutting myself open and filling a glass of blood for them.”
“In that case, maybe I’ll have just a small taste,” Freya said, then pressed her lips against my neck. Her tongue pressed against my vein, then her fangs pricked my skin. I grew even harder when she made a sound of pleasure deep in her throat and began to drink from me.
Sliding my hands beneath her butt, I lifted her up and speared myself into her. Her bite didn’t infect me with toxin. Either I could assimilate it now, or her saliva was no longer dangerous to my kind. Her head fell back in pleasure as I pulled her legs around me and thrust into her.
Our eyes locked and our bond strengthened with our mutual ecstasy. We both neared the edge far faster than we were used to, but we could feel each other’s pleasure. It triggered us into an orgasm and we bit each other on the shoulder at the same time. Our bond caused us both to come over and over. I’d heard sex between true mates was mind-blowing and now I knew the rumors were true. Syd and Brynn had both said it was incomparable. I had to admit that they hadn’t been exaggerating.
“How do you feel?” I asked when we got our breath back.
Freya’s head was draped over my shoulder and she’d gone limp. “Confused. Amazed. Scared.”
“Why are you scared?” I asked, focusing on the fear I could feel through our bond.
She disentangled herself from me and we both rinsed off as she gathered her thoughts. I switched the water off and we stepped out of the shower to dry ourselves. She waited until we were standing in my bedroom before she replied. “I’m not like normal vampires and I’m not a normal shifter.”
“Neither is Liam, Alex or I,” I replied. “Our parents are hybrids, too.”
She shook her head and tucked her towel more firmly around herself. I couldn’t allow myself to become distracted by the sight of her perfect breasts. She was no longer deathly white, but she was still extremely pale. Not being able to go out into the sun for over a millennia and a half would do that to a person. “Your friends and family will want to hear my story,” she said. “I just hope they won’t think I’m some sort of freak.”
I deliberately didn’t pry into her thoughts. She clearly needed time to sort through her sudden and unexpected transformation.
I got dressed in clean clothing and gave her a t-shirt and sweatpants to wear. Our feet were bare when we left my bedroom. It’s our bedroom now, I corrected myself. Freya glanced at me, then smiled and held out her hand. I took it and we walked down the hall to the stairs. The entire team was gathered in the living room. I was unsurprised to see Uncle Mark was also here. Liam must have called him while we were in the shower.
“How are you, Nick?” he asked as we descended the stairs.
“It was touch and go when Freya and I were shot through the heart with a silver bullet, but we’re both going to be fine,” I replied.
Liam’s face drained of color and he put a hand on his chest. “I knew you were hurt! I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer your phone.”
“It’s still in our hotel room,” I said with an apologetic shrug.
“Do you need anything?” Syd asked.
“Coffee and a snack would be great,” I replied. A full meal would have to wait until after I’d explained what I’d been up to. Uncle Mark already looked slightly disapproving. None of them were going to like the report I was about to give them.
Syd looked over her shoulder as she poured me a mug of coffee. “Does the vamp want one?” she asked.
“I haven’t ingested anything except animal blood in many centuries,” my mate murmured, then shook her head. “That isn’t true. I’ve eaten many wild animals, even if I don’t remember it.”
Uncle Mark exchanged a look with Liam, who was guarding his thoughts from me. My twin was growing impatient to hear what I’d been up to and I was still dreading telling him about it.
Syd poured a mug of coffee for Freya and put cookies on a plate. She carried them over to us and I procrastinated by sipping my drink and munching on cookies.
Alex had Epsilon and was staring intently at the mouse. She looked at me and her shocked expression told me the zombie was spilling the beans to her.
“Why don’t we start with an introduction?” Uncle Mark said after Freya cautiously tasted her coffee and ate a cookie. “I’m Agent Mark Steel from the Paranormal Investigation Agency. I created the Shifter Squad and raised most of the older generation and helped raise their kids.” He swept his hand to include my friends and family.
Everyone looked at my mate, waiting for her to explain exactly who she was. “My name is Freya. I hail from the Viking era. I was turned into a vampire two nights before the Asgardian army came to our land to do battle with the Viltaran invaders. On the third night of my transformation, I was changed into a werewolf by Loki.”
Her answer shocked everyone to speechlessness.
