Possession (The Mate Games 3)

“Thank you.”

He nodded once and moved back to the other side of the kitchen to grab some spices off the top shelf for the cook.

Olivia held the jar out to me. “I want you to go upstairs and run yourself a nice warm bath. Your chicken will take a bit to prepare, and this way you can be cozy and relaxed while you enjoy your treat. Martin will bring it up and leave it in your room as soon as it’s ready.”

My bracelet still stung, and every moment in the company of all these vampires made me more uncomfortable. Someone was here with the intent to harm me, but who?

As quickly as the pain came, it vanished, but the same people were in the room. Weren’t they? Maybe this thing was defective.

I took the bath salts and thanked Noah’s mom, heading back to my room with a pounding heart. Everything we’d been dealing with made me suspicious of any new person in my life. Perhaps the bracelet was picking up my anxiety. Blackthorne mate or not, I was trapped in a house with vampires who hated my kind, and I was pretty sure all of them would feed on me if they had no other blood supply around.

With that happy thought in mind, I started the water, pouring in a liberal amount of the fragrant salts. I undressed and removed both the necklace Noah had given me and Moira’s bracelet, setting them on top of my folded clothes. Then I sank into the water, letting the claw-foot tub fill up to my chin.

The soothing scents of lavender and vanilla filled the air, mixed with a hint of chamomile. God, Olivia was right, this was the tits. Exactly what I needed to help me reset after the incident downstairs.

Closing my eyes, I draped my hair over the back of the tub, keeping it from getting wet. It would take me forever to dry it otherwise. The heat seeped into my aching muscles as I gently ran my hand over my belly, feeling the baby chase the warmth of the water. I guess my little one enjoyed a good soak as much as I did.

Head lolling as I crooned the Norse lullaby Alek taught me, I came dangerously close to falling asleep in the bath. Thankfully, the sound of the bedroom door opening brought me back to consciousness.

“Thank you, Martin,” I called, dipping a washcloth into the water before placing it over my face and breathing in the relaxing aroma of the salts. “I’ll be out in a minute!”

My stomach growled, hunger gnawing, reminding me of the entire reason I’d gone downstairs in the first place. But I could wait five more minutes. This was the kind of pampering I didn’t want to rush.

Sharp pain in my scalp tore a yelp from my throat before I was shoved down into the bath. Water filled my mouth as I twisted and fought against the hand holding me down. Even with the berserker inside me rising to the surface, lending me its strength and desperate to fight back, I couldn’t shake them. They’d timed their strike well.

My attacker’s vicious use of force sent terror through me, panic making me gasp for air that wasn’t available, letting even more liquid into my oxygen-starved lungs. I choked and thrashed, clawing at their arm, but it was no use. I was drowning.

I should’ve listened to the bracelet’s warning. Instead, I’d left myself entirely at the mercy of the Blackthorne vampires. The last thought I had before my vision went dark was the pack I’d created. My four loves and the child we’d made.

The child I would never meet.