Callie emerged from the walk-in closet after changing her clothes, to find Nico awake and sitting up. "Hi, sleepy head," she greeted him, making her way over to sit on the bed. "I'm sorry about earlier. I'd no idea you were the voice I heard, or that you were the wolf for that matter. How do you feel now?"
"Truthfully, I'm a little sore," he admitted. "I'm fine, really." He added at her troubled look. "I hurt more after a workout with Chris and Mike, it's no big deal."
She patted his knee through the duvet. "Thank you for trying to make me feel better. Now come on, get your butt up and out of my bed. It's almost dinner time and I think the cook's making venison stew for you guys."
He threw the duvet off and stood to unashamedly expose his nakedness.
Callie gasped and turned her head away. "For pity's sakes, Nico. Warn me next time. I really don't want an eyeful."
"Sorry, I forgot how prudish you Irish are. This is nothing, you should see it back home. Practically everyone walks around naked half the time." He chuckled at her shocked look. "If we change forms when we're dressed, the clothes we have on tear, so we get naked first. The clothes just don't magically appear back on you know." He wrapped the sheet around his hips. "Besides you're my mate so you may as well get used to seeing me like this. You'll be seeing a lot more of it."
"What? Mate? Huh...You've lost me. Did I miss something?" Callie asked, stupefied. "What do you mean I'm your mate?"
He sniggered at her horrified expression. "Ah come on, it's not that bad. Look, you're obviously not an alpha, so that means you must be my mate." When she still looked confused, he explained, "You can hear me when I'm in wolf form and you made me shift. Only an alpha or a mate can do that."
"But Sam said I was his mate. No offence, but I don't really think of you like..." She pointed at them both alternately. "Like, you know...like that."
"Before last night we didn't know one another so that's not surprising. I've heard of worse cases where mates actually hated each other before they bonded. Personally, I love the idea of us, and after last night I'm rather looking forward to your supper time." He bounced his eyebrows leeringly at her, and then burst out laughing when she blushed.
"I'm still not jumping into bed with you just because you think I'm your mate. I'd rather you didn't walk about naked either please... I'm dating Sam anyway."
"I don't mind sharing," he said with a grin.
"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "Get dressed and come down for dinner. I'll save you bowl of stew." She left the room in a hurry, pausing only to call the apprentice witch's diary to her hand as she passed the dresser.
Instead of going directly to the kitchen, Callie made her way up one floor to the bedroom where Sam was staying during his recovery. After knocking gently, she entered to find Mike holding a straw that poked out the top of a blood bag, to Sam's lips.
Mike removed the straw from Sam's mouth and got up from the bed. "I'll give you a minute, but don't expect too much conversation. His vocal cords haven't healed enough yet." He paused on his way out the door. "I'll be right outside if you need me."
"Thanks," She called over her shoulder. Sitting on the bed, she leant forward to brush a gentle kiss to Sam's forehead. He was sitting up a little crooked but his eyes were open and he managed a slight twist of his lips in greeting. "You're looking a little better since the last time I saw you. Sidney reckons it must have been my witch blood that did this to you. I'm so sorry."
He moved his hand slowly to touch hers and gave it light squeeze in understanding. "Not...your... fault," he managed to croak out.
"Don't talk or you'll hurt yourself." She squeezed his hand in response. "I'd like to try healing you. I'm not as strong as Adie, but it might help. Is that okay? Just nod."
His head moved just a fraction in agreement so she reached up and circled her hand around his throat, hovering just above his skin. She concentrated on calling earth energy and focused everything she could draw into healing him. A faint white glow began to build under her hand. She closed her eyes and willed it to do what she needed. Warmth seeped from her hand to his throat with little blue sparks that jumped between them.
Tingles spread up her arm. She opened her eyes and watched as colour began to blossom on Sam's skin, washing away the pallid tone of death it had held only moments before. The tingles spread across her chest as more heat left her and flowed into him. It left her feeling cold. A bitter chill so deep her body began to shiver. Drowsiness followed as all warmth left her. The blue sparks faded and the glow died as Callie slid off the bed.
The noise of her fall alerted Mike, who came rushing into the room to find her deathly pale and limp on the floor. He checked on Sam and noticed immediately the improvement in his colour, but found that he too was unconscious - his head hanging limply to one side. Mike rearranged Sam so he lay flat then lifted Callie off the floor and headed for the stairs with her cradled in his arms. A whisper of her hair moved across his cheek as she snuggled deeper into his neck. The sharp sting of her fangs scratched when they found their intended mark.
Callie gradually became aware of the thum-thump of a pulse beating just below her ear. She groggily moved her head around to better position her fangs. So tired she could barely open her mouth, she managed to pierce the vein with the first strike. Lifeblood filled her. She swallowed, not noticing that her position had changed again.
Mike managed to sit down on the stairs with her across his lap while she suckled gently from him. He could feel her tongue sweeping in and out, lapping at the blood that oozed from the wound she made. With every swallow she took, he felt himself slip deeper into bliss and his hips began to rock. Before long, he began to thrust harder. She moved, angling herself for better access until she sat astride him, clinging to him as the force of his pumping threatened to throw her off. He gripped her waist and used the extra friction her new position gave to heighten his pleasure.
Consciousness slowly returned to Callie with every mouthful, and as she became aware, she slowly withdrew her fangs. The grip on her waist tightened to stop her from moving.
"Please don't stop," Mike begged. "Just a little more."
She returned to the elixir that flowed freely. Her tongue dipped and swirled in time with each of his thrusts until he roared in ecstasy as he toppled over the edge. He shuddered. She swept her tongue directly over the wound to close it and he shuddered again.
Callie rolled off him to sit beside him on the stairs. She sighed, still exhausted. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."
He turned his head to look at her and grinned wickedly. "I can think of a really good reply to that." He laughed and he pushed himself up. "Do you feel better now? You were out of it for a bit."
"Eh...Yes, thanks. I guess I used too much energy on Sam and passed out. I ... thanks for letting me..." She pointed to his neck - the wound had gone.
"You're welcome to suck on me anytime you feel like it." He winked. "You okay to head down yourself now?"
"Yup, I just need to get the book from Sam's room. I think I dropped it in there." She too got up.
He smiled at her and took her hand in his to help her to her feet. He then placed it against his lips. "You are one special little lady, Callie Williams," he said and kissed her hand before turning and whistling on his way into Sam's room. A second later, he was back with the diary, which he passed to her with a wink. Whistling something resembling Dr. Hook, I'm in love with a beautiful woman, he left her listening to the echoed tune in the empty stairwell.
Callie made it to the kitchen. She even managed to fill a bowl of stew for Nico before the four shifters arrived through the swinging doors with Sidney following on their heels. She handed each of them a bowl as she filled it, before gratefully accepting a tall glass of chilled blood from Sidney. Almost immediately after taking her seat, three of the four shifters moved at the same time, for the only seat beside her. They shoved each other, arguing over who was going to sit next to her.
"Stop it now, all of you," Sidney cried in frustration, stepping over broken remains of a glass of blood one of the bickering males had knocked from her hand. Delicious red juice covered her from head to toe. She stood with her hands on her hips. "Callie, move to the head of the table then no one can argue," she ordered, clearing the shards of broken glass. "Such a waste," she mumbled and sighed dramatically while she licked and sucked the juice from each of her fingers.
Three of the shifters watched Callie's every move while they all chatted easily about the events of day - each of them had wide satisfied smiles. Sidney observed them in silence, trying to catch random thoughts the three seemed unwilling to share.
"Why the hell are you three grinning like idiots anyway?" Brian eventually asked, scowling at his three friends. He thought they were up to no good and he would likely suffer the brunt of any pranks they were about to pull.
Brian's question prompted all three of their minds to reveal the same thing - Callie feeding from them and them loving her, graphically.
Sidney groaned. "Callie, can I have a word in the library? In private?"
"Sure," Callie replied, getting up to follow her. Three pairs of eyes watched her leave.
"Okay," Sidney started when she closed the door behind Callie. "This is going to sound strange, but I need you to just do as I say for the time being. You have to stop feeding from donors for a while and stick to bag feeds. Don't ask me why. I'll tell you when I get confirmation. Okay?"
"Okay, I guess." She started pacing. "While I have you here alone I have something to ask...Nico seems to think I'm his mate now because I heard him when he was a wolf. Is it true? Am I his mate?"
"I honestly don't know the answer to that," Sidney admitted, "but don't worry about it for now. Sam loves you and I know you feel strongly for him too." She answered Callie's next question before it fully formed in her mind. "Your shields are down because you weakened yourself when you tried to heal Sam...and no, it's not like that when anyone else feeds from them, just with you."
"Oh."
"Anything else you want to ask?" Callie shook her head. "Right, I'll leave you to try and make sense of the witch's diary then. Good night, Callie."
"Night Sidney," she replied, a little shaken by the news that she alone could induce that kind of response from the three men she had fed from.
She absentmindedly snapped her fingers so the small table lamp lit up. Making herself comfortable in the armchair, she spent the next few hours jotting notes or drawing sketches of the symbols from the diary – some she already knew, and some she wanted to research more.