After a few minutes, I began feeling like my normal self as I continued glaring at Gideon. Tyler's hold didn't loosen around me while he repeatedly checked my arm. Thankfully, the bleeding had stopped.

Justin and Lucas hadn't stopped shouting at Gideon, who continued to drink my blood like a Friday night cocktail. Gideon's gray skin appeared to grow lighter with life as time passed. Several times as the guys growled and hollered, Gideon would vibrate with silent laughter. His confusing behavior made me question if he was getting drunk.

"Is he a vampire or something?" I whispered to Tyler.

"No, but Stitchers live for a long time. They're known to develop strange habits, and Gideon appears to like blood. Or maybe he just really likes yours." Tyler barely spoke through his clenched teeth as he openly glared bullets at Gideon.

Curious, I tugged on the front of Tyler's hoodie. "Do vampires really exist?"

Tyler's blue eyes shifted to me as he scanned over my face. He nodded as he whispered. "Yeah, Shortie. All the shit you hear from human folklore exists. Vampires and all types of undead are part of the Seventh Realm. Some can be straight-up evil as fuck."

"How do you keep them away from humans?" I asked as Lucas hollered at Gideon again.

Tyler searched my face as he shrugged. "We don't. The Undead Realm has a government with its own system to keep their kind in line. We only have to step in when shit gets way out of control. And shit can get really ugly when we go to war with them. There's a lot of death."

Inwardly cringing, I thought about an entire realm of the undead. It would be impossible to keep vampires from sucking their victims dry and to keep zombies from eating every person to death. What other undead things were there? The world I'd always believed to be safe wasn't real. Now I knew the truth. Ugliness lived under every beautiful house and within every gated community. Darkness lived down every alley just waiting to take its next victim.

At that horrible line of thought, my gut twisted. My body started trembling as I sucked in a breath, trying to calm myself down. The undead weren't coming for me too. Were they? I knew the shifter clans wanted me. We still hadn't found out who the Whistler worked for, and he'd sent me to Purgatory for safekeeping. What else was coming for me? Who else was coming for me?

What the hell was this life? The world I called home had become foreign to me. Everything I'd known to be real was all a lie.

"What's wrong?" Justin's yelled at Gideon, cracking through my dread-filled train of thought. "Why are you shaking?"

Glancing at Gideon, I found his worried gaze directed at me and he was obviously shaking. He started in my direction, but Justin cut him off. "I'm not letting you near her again. You've shown you can't be trusted."

Gideon's grim gaze didn't leave my face. "She needs my assistance."

Justin threw out a sarcastic laugh. "Don't you think you've done enough? Obviously, she needs help. That's why we came here. For help! She's been to the Eighth, Stitcher. She's seen more than any of us. She needs comfort. Not your darkness."

"He feels her fear." Lucas's hand fell on Justin's shoulder and squeezed. "She's more powerful than he anticipated. Look at his fucking face, dude. We didn't have to drink her blood to know her emotions. He's feeling everything she feels."

"Child?" The Stitcher's wary gaze searched my face, trying to understand something. "Tell me why you're afraid."

Tyler tugged me closer as he lowered his head. His lips skimmed over my ear, sending tingles down my spine as he spoke. "He's lived for thousands of years, Shortie. He's cold inside. He lost his humanity long ago. Your blood is like an emotional drug to him, and he loves it."

Shock tore through me as I searched Gideon's lost expression. How could my blood be a drug to him?

With a look of confusion, Gideon stepped to the side and rounded Justin. "I only wish to ask her a question."

Justin's eyes began to glow before they found me. "Angel?"

I nodded. "It's okay."

Gideon clasped his hands together as he sighed in relief. "Thank you. I only wish to help."

My gaze swept over the guys in confusion. Gideon had done a complete personality flip. Only moments ago, he was defensive and argumentative. Why was he trying to help me now? What the fuck was happening?

Gideon rushed toward me while assessing me carefully. "Are you well? What is it you are afraid of?"

I thought back to what caused my fear before Lavinia rubbed her side against my leg. Do not let him fool you. He's in a state of transformation as he adapts to your blood. If you tell him the truth, you know what could happen.

Lifting a hand to run it down her back, I frowned. "I was afraid of you, Gideon. Why are you acting so weird? I just wanted some help, and you scare me."

Excellent answer. Lavinia licked my hand.

"Oh, my. I am sorry. I never meant to scare you, child. You must understand..." Gideon glanced at the guys who were all listening intently. "My dealings are all I have. I have no family or friends. I have nothing except this." Gideon gestured to the surrounding cabin, and the cats lingering around us. "My existence is not a life that anyone would choose. My father forced me into this treacherous lifestyle. I have been alone for a very long time. Once I did not mind. I was content with my freedom and eternal life, but over time it has caused me more pain than I can admit. What was once my heaven has become my prison. Please do not fear me, child. For I have vowed to never harm you or your mates. I only wish to grant you protection."

What the fuck? Why's he being nice? I asked the guys.

Lucas's fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. A part of you is inside him. Blood is full of energy. Especially yours. Vampires get off on this shit the same way. Gideon drank nearly that whole bowl, and now he only wants what you want and feels what you feel.

Let's just hope it wears off soon. Justin's forehead wrinkled in regret, and I wanted to run my fingers through his spiky hair to make him feel better.

Gideon's expression changed to quizzical confusion as he studied me. With his crisscrossed scars, it was weird and mildly comical. Gideon suddenly changed his focus. With small catlike steps, Gideon sauntered toward Justin.

Justin watched him closely, tensing with every step that Gideon took. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Not anything horrible. I wish to touch your hair." Gideon smiled eagerly. "You do not mind, do you? I must say your hair is quite intriguing. How do you keep it erect in such a manner?"

Justin glanced around the room in discomfort as I burst out laughing. "I asked him the same thing."

Gideon looked at me in surprise as his eyes grew large and his lips parted into a smile, revealing his freaky sharp teeth. "I must touch it. Have you touched it yet, child?"

Shaking my head, I sat up and instantly winced at the bandage wrapped around my arm. The sting was harsh, which made me remember the blade I used to slice into my skin.

Gideon turned and rushed toward me.

Lucas stopped him this time. "Slow down."

Gideon nodded obediently and tiptoed to my side. He knelt and carefully lifted my arm. Cradling it in his hands, he analyzed the blood-soaked cloth. "It hurts?"

"Yeah," I whispered.

"I have something that will help." Gideon's thick black eyebrows lifted in delight before he scurried out of the room.

"We need to get this shit done. I'm not down with whatever this fucker is up to." Tyler's abs flexed against my side as he cradled me to him.

Lucas nodded as he folded his arms, and his biceps hardened. "How the fuck is this going to help us? He hasn't even cloaked her yet."

"I know. Just give me a minute to think." Justin started pacing back and forth. "We may need to find a new Stitcher."

"What's a blood bond? Is it like a fated mate bond?" I asked.

Justin shook his head. "No, blood bonds fade over time, but if the bond is maintained, he can feel your emotions when you're close. Distance is key, though. The closer you are, the stronger the emotional connection, but he'll know where you are, no matter what."

"I guess that's not a terrible thing since we need his help for now, but does this mean we have to live with him?" I asked, glancing at Tyler to see his eyes glowing blue.

"No!" All three guys exclaimed, and I sighed in relief.

"Good. Let's get this done so we can go home." I started to stand, and Lucas came forward and reached out, helping me up.

Taking his hand, I focused solely on controlling my emotions until we could get the hell out of this cabin and back to Lucas's house. We could figure out the rest there. I just didn't want to be inside this dude's cabin any longer.

"I have found it!" Gideon emerged happily from the doorway with a triumphant smile, holding his hand in the air. He was holding a small brown tincture bottle. "Take off that cloth, child. This will heal your wound straight away."

"Thank you." I used my kindest voice as Lucas started untying the towel.

"What else do we need to do in order to complete the cloaking ritual?" Justin stalked over to me and began rubbing my back.

Still smiling, Gideon removed the cork from the bottle. "Nothing. I've already done it. I did it before you arrived."

"What?" Justin growled, his eyebrows pinched in irritation. "Why didn't you just say that? We could've left before you lost your fucking mind."

Gideon sent me a sheepish grin as he applied the syrupy amber tincture to my cut with a tiny brush-like applicator. "I had to find out if you were the Bringer. And for that, I am sorry. I must say I feel ridiculous. I felt your intense energy once you arrived. You are... nothing like the others who have made the same claim. Your wound is mending."

Glancing at my arm, I was astonished to see the skin growing back together like magic. "Whoa."

Nodding, Gideon closed the bottle. "It takes longer on others, but your soul is pure, so it works miracles. I was not lying about needing to locate you. To protect you, I must know where you are and perform the cloaking ritual often. Since we are so closely connected, I must confess when I received word of that Whistler sending you to Purgatory, I thought it was a gift from the Ancients. For days, I was grateful they had punished the imposter. However, I'm greatly saddened now that I have you here and I know the truth. You see, I could've helped."

"What? You fuck!" Lucas growled at the Stitcher. "We could've lost her forever!"

Justin and Tyler began vibrating with rage. All three of them were about to wolf out. The cats started howling loudly, egging the guys on.

Even though I wanted to throttle this worthless prick, I fought to keep my temper under control so we could leave. "I understand, Gideon. I have a hard time believing things too. Sometimes, we must experience life to discover the truth."

Completely disregarding the animosity in the room, Gideon sent me an appreciative smile. "Yes. Thank you for understanding, Pure One."

"Well, I have a lot to do today, so if we're done here..." I started toward the front door, eager to leave.

"Oh, no. Must you leave already? You must stay, and I will teach you how to play one of my most beloved games. My cooking is quite rusty. However, I have a large cut of elk we can roast over the fire. Please do not go." Gideon sounded genuinely sad that I was leaving, but I couldn't imagine what kind of games this freak played, and I didn't want to find out. Plus, elk sounded gross.

"I'm afraid we need to get going." I had to walk back to Justin and lace my fingers through his to get him to move from his frozen position. Come on, my Prince. We need you.

Justin blinked hard, snapping out of his furious glare. Unable to look away from Gideon, Justin's fingers tightened around mine as he led me outside. He deserves to die for creating a blood bond with you.

Only mates exchange blood, and we always wait until we solidify the mate bond first. Lucas yelled in our thoughts.

I wanna rip his fucking throat out for this. Tyler seethed through our connection. We're the only ones who have the right to taste your blood, and you ours.

If you guys want to drink my blood later, you can. I just need to get away from him. Please. We can all discuss this at home. I begged through our connection.

"Be well, child. I will contact your mates and inform them of our next meeting." Gideon said to our backs.

Looking over my shoulder, I waved with a forced grin. "Okay. See you soon."

The ride home was horrible. About halfway there, Lucas drove off the road, and all three of them told me to stay in the truck while they got out and argued for over an hour. It wasn't fun. They were angrier than I'd ever seen.

Then, stupid me thought they would be somewhat normal when they got back inside, but they were still livid. Not one of them looked in my direction. The truck felt smaller than ever, and I couldn't understand why their anger was more warranted than mine.

I was pissed too. Gideon had tricked me into thinking he needed my blood for his ritual, and I'd even cut my arm open for him. If anyone deserved to be angry, it was me, but the guys were irate to the point of barely holding it together. Knowing I needed to ease the tension, I figured the only way to even the playing field was to offer my blood to them and mean it.

"Can you guys still hear everything in your heads that I'm thinking like you could before?" I asked as Lucas turned down his long driveway.

"No," Tyler said in aggravation through his teeth.

If they couldn't hear my thoughts anymore, something had changed. Who was I kidding? I had changed. My powers were finally showing themselves, and I must've been blocking them without knowing it. And I had no idea how to lower the walls unless I was speaking to them intentionally.

"If you drink some of my blood, would that help?" My voice was just a whisper over the gravel grinding beneath the tires.

Lucas glanced at me in shock as he hit the brakes. "We would never ask you to do that unless we were properly mated to you."

"But, it would help," Tyler argued.

"How can you say that?" Justin's eyebrows slammed down in anger. "We have no right to ask that. It shouldn't even be a question at this point."

"Okay. How do I properly mate you guys?" I shrugged.

Lucas scoffed in disgust as he continued driving. "We all have to make you ours, and you're not ready."

His reaction pissed me off. "What? You guys don't want me anymore?"

Tyler grabbed my thigh. "It's not that."

"Then what is it? Because I want you guys. I know it's unorthodox, but I feel like I need all of you. I'm solely focused on you guys all the time. It's not normal, but I won't lie about my feelings. I need all of you in unique ways, but if you don't want me..."

"Need isn't a reason to mate. Are you in love with us?" Lucas snapped.

His question was like a splash of icy water to my warm heart. I considered how to answer as we parked.

"If you have to think about it, then you don't." Justin gritted his teeth and ripped open his door, stalking away.

"I never said I didn't love you." I shrieked defensively. "I don't say I love you to anyone. Ever. I don't want to lie to you guys. Can't I have some time to think it over?"

Lucas's upper lip curled as he opened his door. "Yeah. That's what I meant. When we go through the mating ritual, we need to be head over heels in love, and there's no thought process behind it. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. You have to be taken... sexually by all of us. We can't create a powerful mate bond without that. Love and sex are the first steps. If we can't do that, then we can't even talk about the blood exchange."

Those words sent me for a loop. I stared down at my shoes as I considered everything Lucas said.

I knew Tyler loved me, but I wasn't about to pressure Justin and Lucas into loving me. And what about me? Did I love them? My feelings for all of them ran deep, but let's be real here, I barely knew them.

The only person I ever loved was my dad. Love wasn't a word I threw around easily. I cared about people deeply, but did that mean I loved them? Honestly, I had no idea what the hell love was. All I knew was that my love was a curse.

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