Captivated

Salvatore

“I think you should talk to her first, Sal. I actually find her temperament quite a turn-on and may goad her.”

“Agreed. Although I too am getting extremely turned on by her manner.”

Angelina’s emotions were doing the most unsettling things to both of us. Okay, we could sense she was attracted to us, but we had to treat her with gentleness and tell her the truth if this was ever going to work. And Luca was right. It should be me to tell her about her life from now on.

“Come on, I haven’t got all day,” she grumbled.

“You wanted the short version, right?” I asked.

“Yes. You can tell me the full unedited version if I see you again.”

“Oh, she will see us again.”

A small smile crossed my lips at Luca’s words.

“No more mind talk while I’m here. It’s rude.”

Without hesitation, we took her hands in ours and placed kisses on the back of them. Tremors ran through her at our connection.

“Sorry. It was very rude of us. So,” I said, squeezing her hand a little. “Here’s the short version. We are angel/vampire Hybrids. Created to save the world from demons.”

“You what?” she shrieked. “You’re telling me that you’re a cross between two completely different species?”

“The simple answer is yes.”

“But…” She pulled her hands from ours and pinched the bridge of her nose. “If what you’re telling me is true, that means you’re both good and evil.”

“The creatures you’ve seen in movies and books are all wrong. Pure fantasy, nothing more. Vampires are territorial but would never take blood without a person’s permission. Most of the time, they share each other’s blood. They require normal human food to survive.”

“How can you walk out in the sun then?”

“All lies and bullshit again, bella,” Luca added.

Angelina went to get up, mumbling profanities under her breath. She headed for a large oak tree and rested her back against it, closing her eyes. We could sense her confusion and it broke our hearts.

“No one said finding a mate would be so fucking hard,” Luca complained.

“Brother, I am as eager as you to have this all sorted out and have her under protection at our home. But she’s an independent woman who’s just had her whole world turned upside down. Baby steps, Luca. Baby steps.”

* * *

Luca

My frustration was rising. Out of the two of us, Sal had way more patience than me. Now we’d discovered Angelina, I wanted her with us at all times. Sure, I understood that she’d need time to become accustomed to all this, but I honestly never imagined it would be this difficult. I thought she’d fall for us the instant we met and that would be it.

“Come on, Luca. We need to rescue this situation.”

I followed my brother over to where our beauty stood, looking up at the sky. It was cold, and I could feel her discomfort at being outside in the frigid air. As Hybrids, we never suffered from this condition. We stood at either side of her. I decided I should give it a go.

“Angelina, we understand how confusing and fantastical this might all seem. But I’m sorry, your fate has been sealed. It was sealed long before you were born. If you don’t allow us to protect you, Viktor will be back… and he will keep on coming for you.”

“But why? I’m just a little human trying to get on with her life,” she protested.

“As we’ve said, you’re our mate. We have a bond none of us can deny. You’ve had dreams, and you remember what happened last night. This all points to the fact that you know it’s true.”

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “So, what does it mean? You know, to be a mate.”

Her tone was less aggressive than it had been a few minutes earlier.

“Keep going, Luca.”

“The very short version now. We can go in to details another time.”

“Okay. Fire away.”

“When a vampire becomes a Hybrid, it is a special gift. Only Hybrids can destroy demons. Angels give us their blood, which makes us stronger and better able to deal with abominations like Viktor.”

She let out a small laugh at my statement. “So now you’re telling me angels are like vampires too?”

“No. We are two very different species. Their blood contains a venom which demons abhor. That, mixed with our speed and strength, can knock a demon down easily.” I paused. Hybrids don’t suffer with headaches, but I felt pretty to close to having one right then.

“So why do you need a mate if you can do this all on your own? I’m sure you have no problem with the ladies. What makes me so special?”

Jesus, if only she realised how fucking special she was. Angelina obviously couldn’t see how stunning or how strong a character she was.

“We’ll make her see,” Sal assured me.

“Each Hybrid has a mate somewhere in the world. Most never have any idea about this until their paths cross.”

Angelina was frowning now. I could almost taste her confusion.

“I’ll take over.”

I was grateful for Sal’s intervention. My frustration would only have made her more anxious. Especially being this close to her with her arousal hanging so heavily in the air. My cock refused to go soft with her so close to us.

“We can temporarily banish a demon on our own, but we can only destroy one if we are joined with our mate.”

“But what happens if I want no part of this? I can’t believe we’d all die.”

I watched while Sal turned deadly serious. “If you were to reject us, we would all die within a short space of time.”

Another shaky breath left her. “Why?”

“Mates have territories to guard from demons. Now Viktor knows of you, more demons will come in search of you. If they kill you, they know we will die too, leaving the territory we guard vulnerable to attack. You’re like our light in a world of darkness. Only together can we survive and keep our territory safe.”

She was silent, although we realised she was mulling things over in her head.

“Look,” I said, “this is a lot for you to take in. We can leave it for now if you like.”

She shook her head. “No. I need to know a little more. I get the demon killing thing. It’s this mate business I don’t understand. Well, unless it’s all to do with… um.”

Angelina blushed furiously. This turned me on; it was so sexy. Sal and I couldn’t wait to show her how good it could be to be loved by us both.

“Luca, focus,” Sal pleaded with me.

“It does have to do with lovemaking too. That’s what the term mate implies. It is also so much more.”

“Luca’s right. It’s about trust, friendship, and love. It’s an unbreakable bond which will be between the three of us.”

The silence dragged out as she considered everything.

“Does this mean that I… we. God, I can’t even go there.” She put her head in her hands and moved away from the tree.

Sal stood at her back, and I faced her. He put his arms around her waist, and I cupped her face between my hands. She was sandwiched between us, but not hard enough to scare her.

“Bella, we share everything. We always have. There’s no jealousy, or disagreements. It’s the way we are. Yes, we both belong to you, and you belong to us. Don’t be afraid. We would never hurt you. We are incapable of doing anything to harm or upset you.”

“I should be calling the police, but I can’t.”

“Why?” I whispered.

“Because… because for some strange reason… I believe you,” she murmured.

Not knowing what else to say, we crushed her close. We both wanted to kiss her, but the timing would be off. And so, for a long time, we held her between our bodies. This was the closest to heaven we’d ever been. The fact that Angelina hadn’t pushed us away gave us hope that she would accept her new life. The deeper facts about Hybrids and how different her life would be from then on could wait.