FIFTEEN

"Terra, what...? No, not again..." The vampire ignored my complains and enclosed my waist with her tattooed arms, forcing me to sit down on the kitchen island while she locked her lips with mines and tore a moan from my throat. "Our dinner is going to burn..."

The vampire's lips cut me off and kept kissing me, her tongue swirling around mine in a filthy kiss that took my breath away while her hands on my back squeezed me against her torso. Her fangs stuck out slightly and one of them brushed over my bottom lip, I barely felt the scratch but she managed to draw a tiny blood drop... Terra stared at my mouth mesmerized, breathing heavily, her pupils got blown and she dug her fingertips into my sides involuntarily to stop me from escaping even if I wasn't going anywhere because my muscles had turned into jelly while looking right into her blue eyes. She licked my lower lip deliberately slowly and remained still, savouring my blood for a second... Her moan echoed against the room walls.

"Fuck, you taste so good..." My girl leaned her head forward but before she could kiss me again, a powerful force snatched her from my arms and threw her to the other side of the kitchen.

"Don't be greedy, Terra, I want some too." Ruby growled angrily before hugging me gently: contrary to her sister, she teased me with kisses and playful bites till I heaved a sigh. She also managed to scratch my skin and licked it like it was ambrosia instead of human blood. "You're delicious, my love."

"You're going to drain me if you keep drinking like this," I complained while Ruby moved away and helped me to jump from the island, I felt my legs a bit shaky but I knew it wasn't due to the blood loss or anaemia, but because of the effect they had on their human preys: the weakness in our muscles forced us to remain meek under their mouths.

"No, we'd never hurt you." Terra got closer again, hugging us both at the same time and leaned her forehead on my cheek. "It's just that you drive me crazy, amor... This is ridiculous, I've never lost control like this before..."

"Not even with Ruby?" The beautiful vampire with green eyes chuckled amused before kissing my neck.

"Well, we had our moments... we lived through some centuries of unbridled passion and Aren threatened with moving to a different house if we kept behaving like desperate bunnies having sex everywhere. But this is different, now that the bond is sealed the energy flows between the three of us and our feelings are way more intense. And the truth is that your taste is amazing, your blood is sweet and spicy... you'd drive any vampire crazy."

"Mmmm..." I sighed staring at the ceiling, pensively, and Terra raised her head abruptly.

"No, don't you dare... I'm going to die of a heart attack..." she complained looking at me offended. I had a very clear image of my vampires in my mind, naked in bed and gasping for air, satisfied after having sex, one second before Terra bit Ruby's neck and I let her lick a drop of blood from my own lips... I wondered if the mixed taste of her mates could make her pass out. The brunette woman shook her head frantically while I stared at her with a wicked smile and she read my intentions in my mind. "Have mercy..." she whispered.

"Come on, I don't think it's possible for a vampire to die of a heart attack..." I winked at her and Ruby smirked mischievously.

"We're doing this for science, Terra, we must check if it's possible... Like those experiments you read about in your scientific magazines..."

The ring of my phone on the kitchen counter interrupted the vampire and her sister heaved a sigh of relief when I pushed her away gently in order to turn off the stove so our dinner didn't get ruined and answer. Saved by the bell... I frowned because I didn't recognize the number, it was too long, a phone extension maybe.

"Hello?"

"Are you Iselen... Mia's friend? Your number is the first one in the contact list in case of an accident..."

My mind went blank when hearing the words Mia and accident in the same sentence and Ruby took the phone from my hands to talk to the doctor. My former roommate had been hit by drunk driver when she left the retirement home where she was working after a long and exhausting night shift: the driver fled the scene while she was lying on the road. The police officers were sure that he saw her since my friend was wearing her white nurse uniform but he escaped anyways and they were looking for the car Mia's workmates had described. Fortunately, my friend also trained with Vera and was very agile, she managed to jump to one side when she noticed the car lights getting closer and was surrounded by other nurses that helped her and called an ambulance immediately so she only had a broken leg and some bruises. Her life wasn't in danger but they needed me to sign some documents before her family arrived from the other side of the country.

"Let's go, Iselen... We need to change our clothes, I'll tell Aren what's happened and will ask him to go to the retirement home to take a look at Mia's workmates memories, I bet our brother will be able to find that drunk jerk and he'll give some accurate clues to the police officers so they can arrest him." I blinked bewildered, staring at Terra till I understood what she was saying to me.

"No, you don't need to come with me... The hospital will be full of people, surveillance cameras, lot of light... You'll feel very awkward..."

"Do you really believe we're going to let you go alone?" Both vampires stared at me in disbelief standing in front of me, unnaturally still, not even their chests moved when breathing and they looked about getting pretty upset. I shook my head and sighed.

"No, of course not, I'm sorry... Thank you..." I whispered and they smiled, hugging me tight. I'd never be alone again and my mates will always be by my side supporting me, that was the best thing about the bond that bound us, probably, way better than the wonderful powers and eternal youth.

*****

"And now sign here and here... And that's all, your friend's family will take care of everything when they arrive in a few hours but we needed these insurance documents now and you're Mia's emergency contact..."

The doctor was a middle-aged women, smiling really kind, who made sure she explained to me that my friend was all right and everything was under control before bombarding me with documents. We were leaned on a tall counter and a nurse was behind it answering the phone and handing folders to doctors and nurses walking down the corridor, everybody was busy but I didn't see frantic activity or scenes of panic, that wasn't the ER wing and visiting hours were over so we were the only people there apart from the hospital staff. There was a lot of light anyway, surveillance cameras and doctors coming and going and I was concerned about my girls in case they felt awkward. I looked back over my shoulder to check if they were still there, behind me, despite I could feel them through the bond.

I couldn't help smiling: the vampires looked like badass members of a dangerous gang with their oversize dark sweatshirts and the hood over their heads, always looking at the floor and dodging the cameras. Their furtive behaviour should've triggered alarms in the guards at the end of the corridor but nobody was paying attention to them, doctors and nurses didn't even look at them and they probably forgot that my girls were leaned on the wall of the waiting room immediately. They looked calmed and expectant but I knew, or better I felt, that they didn't like the hospital: the strong chemical smell, surveillance cameras and the medical equipment were getting on their nerves but they dealt with their anxiety for me. I focused on the love I felt for them and sent them my gratitude through the bond while the doctor kept talking about Mia's broken leg and the rehabilitation exercises she'd need, Terra raised her head abruptly and smiled sweetly while Ruby put her arm around her waist.

"I can give you some minutes if you want to see her even if visiting hours are over..."

"Thank you very much, that's really kind of you..."

Mia was alone in a small and simple room and my vampires were able to relax a little when they walked in behind me, I didn't even know if it was allowed for three people to visit a patient at the same time but no one stopped us, maybe because they were controlling the minds of all the staff on that floor of the hospital. My friend didn't look that bad when I got closer after leaving the flower bouquet and the card I insisted on buying on a small table, she had a big bruise on her cheek and some scratches on her arms, her broken leg was up and had a cast but she was sleeping stuffed with painkillers. I took her hand while looking at her furrowed brow with concern: Mia twisted slightly but didn't wake up.

"She'll be all right..." Ruby whispered next to me. "The doctor was telling you the truth, I checked her mind to be sure..."

"Thank you, babe, but I get the impression she's still in pain despite all those pills she's taken, she's not getting a good rest..." I pointed at the tensed muscles on her face. "There'll be some difficult weeks ahead and she hasn't found a new roommate yet, I don't know how she's going to pay the rent if she can't work..."

"We can pay it for her, we have lot of money..." Terra whispered getting closer to the bed.

"She won't accept it..."

"Of course she'll do," the vampire cut me off. "We only have to shove in her head the idea that it's okay to accept your help as long as she's unable to work... Yes, I know that you hate when we manipulate people's minds, but this is for a good cause... What's the point of having money if you can't make your friends happy?" The vampire smirked mischievously knowing that she'd hit my weak spot, I'd do whatever necessary for Mia and it'd be easy for them to pay her bills and make her forget about giving me the money back later. I nodded reluctantly and held my friend's hand tighter.

"What are you doing?" I asked worried. "Terra, don't..." I tried to stop her but Ruby put her arm around my waist while her sister placed one single drop of blood in Mia's mouth with her index.

"Calm down, it won't hurt her, quite the opposite." The vampire with green eyes explained to me with a gentle tone of voice. "She'll feel less pain now and will recover sooner but not that fast for the doctors to become suspicious, they'll think Mia is a strong girl and her wounds heal well."

"You shouldn't be doing this without her permission..." I growled angrily but noticing that my friend had stopped frowning and was sound asleep finally while Terra stepped back, looking at me sadly.

"Iselen, you don't understand it... You were worried about Mia and I could do something to soothe you both, I can't help it, when I feel you're not okay... I have to fix it. I know you think I'm too overprotective and always sticking my nose in your businesses but I can't control my impulses, I'm really sorry..."

"Babe, I know, calm down..." I rushed to hug her tight, my heart was racing when I noticed her pain and embarrassment, and I felt like I could die if Terra wasn't happy again with me. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have talked to you like that... I'm a stupid human that must adjust to this new situation soon, I have to assume this is the way the bond works..."

"You're not stupid," she whispered kissing my lips softly.

"Ignorant, then..."I smiled hugging her tighter. "Be patient with me, okay?" The vampire nodded and let me go to say goodbye to Mia, I knew she'd see my flowers and the card when she opened her eyes and her family would arrive soon to take care of her.

"We can leave now, the corridor is clear." Ruby whispered taking a look from the door and I nodded, stealing a kiss from her lips quickly and winking at her. We walked slowly trying not to draw unwanted attention, the vampires kept their heads low in the elevator to avoid the cameras but no one looked at us twice while we left the building heading to our car.

"Look what we have here, two pretty girls and their human pet..."

I turned around abruptly but my girls were faster, Terra put her arms around my body protectively and Ruby moved one step to be able to stand in front of me growling like an animal and sending a shiver of fear down my spine. Two men were leaned on a wall wearing white uniforms, one of them smoked a cigarette and the other one smiled amused, the dim light coming from the closer lamppost didn't allow me to see their facial features clearly but I understood instinctively that they were vampires. They moved with confidence, feeling safe among humans because they were strong and powerful, but they were facing my girls now and they should control that scornful tone of voice or they'd get a punch on their faces... I think that last thought came directly from Terra's mind and I was able to read it easily thanks to the bond. The guy who was smoking threw the cigarette to the ground.

"Please, forgive my friend, it's pretty obvious he hasn't realized that one of you is this human's mate..." That vampire seemed kinder, maybe more cautious when he understood that Ruby and Terra were hostile, his instinct was telling him that they were powerful and didn't feel like joking at all. On the contrary, his friend was an asshole unable to read the signs.

"Fuck, men, she's the mate of them both, can't you see the energy flowing? I didn't know that could be possible... I wish I'd have two mates too... Would you allow us to watch while you...?" Ruby's growl echoed through the parking lot and this time even the asshole understood he'd gone too far. "Well, sorry... I never meant to offend, I was shocked..."

"Let's go, James..." the other guy whispered stepping back. "Sorry, we won't bother you again." Both vampires vanished and my girls relaxed their muscles a little, not too much, while they dragged me to the car and shoved me inside. Terra turned the engine on and drove us back home checking the rearview mirror from time to time while Ruby sniffed the wind sticking her head out through the window and I made myself comfortable on the backseat, thinking.

"How do you know if a vampire is stronger than you are? Or older, or more experienced... How do you know who you can fight successfully or who deserves respect?" I asked with curiosity and Ruby turned around to look at me.

"Your instincts warn you... if you're not a stupid jerk and pay attention."

"The guy who was smoking noticed it, didn't him? He knew he'd lose if he dared to fight you..."

"They were young vampires, barely a hundred years old, and there're a lot of things they must learn... Usually, the person who turns you is in charge of explaining these rules of coexistence but I think it happens the same with humans: the education of children is often neglected in our world too. Don't worry, they won't bother us again and will leave the city soon, anyways..."

"How do you know that?"

"They're rogues," Terra answered stopping at a red light. "Nomads that wander around hospitals and get a job as orderlies or cleaning staff to be able to have easy access to blood. We do pay attention to signals and know who they are..." Suddenly, I pictured those men licking the floor of the operating room covered with blood and I couldn't help grimacing in disgust.

"I know, right?" Ruby shook her head sadly. "The truth is that we're very lucky, not only because we have a gift for manipulating human minds easily, we're capable of erasing their memories but other vampires aren't as good at that as we are and it's difficult for them to feed on people not drawing attention. Marcus taught us how to keep an orderly life from the very beginning, taking care of finding the perfect home for us and finding a good way to get blood safely too. Not all the vampires are like that, some of them prefer traveling nonstop and taking a sip here and there, those are the experiences they teach to their children."

"I'd love to meet Marcus," I whispered thinking of all the wonderful conversations we could have about art and history.

"He can't wait to meet you too," Terra answered me.

"Have you talked about me with him?"

"Of course. Despite he left years ago and lives in Europe now, he's still a caring father and always cares about us even if we haven't seen in him recently. In addition to that, we have a special bond with the vampire who turned us, not as strong as the one we have with you, but he knows when something important happens in our lives even from the distance. In fact, he sensed when we sealed the bond with you..." I blushed remembering how we'd done it and stared at her horrified. "No, don't worry, he didn't feel that... Only that now we're connected to our mate. Although you better get used to the lack of privacy, vampires have very keen sense of smell and hearing..."

"I don't understand..."

"It's easy," Ruby answered laughing. "We could tell you how many times Aren and Vera have slept together: we can hear them perfectly when they're at home, Vera's perfume sticks to Aren's hair when they spend time together and we can smell the blood of the pretty Brazilian girl when she lefts the bedroom all flushed every morning..."

"Oh God..." I shook my head dismayed. "It means that Aren knows when we..." The vampires burst into laughing but I failed to see the humour.