His Vampire Mate

Chapter Five: A Step Closer

♡ Grayson’s P.O.V. ♡

I felt sick to my stomach. Someone was dead…

“Gray, are you okay?” She asked, her hand going to rub my shoulder. I swallowed, looking at her with worry. A kid, a fellow schoolmate, was dead.

“They were killed. By one of you- Ryder will be furious.”

“I don’t understand.” She frowned, and I looked at her in confusion. “I mean, I get why he’d be upset about the victim, but why if it was a vampire?”

“Vampires took his whole family away. His best friend, our best friend is dead. His mother is barely getting along with everything that happened-”

“His dad died?” She spoke as if in shock, and she bit her lip in pensive thought. “And now he hates vampires. It’s just a matter of time before he finds out what I am.”

“He won’t find out-”

“He’s going to want to kill me, isn’t he?”

I took a step towards her, grasping her shoulders and looking at her with reassurance. “No one is going to kill you. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t-”

“What do you mean?” Nina looked up at me with confusion. Her hands gently held my wrists, her touch soothing me.

I hesitated. I mean, it wasn’t that big of a law or anything that she could extort, right? Even though one of the laws is that our mates cannot be harmed, it is overridden if they’re a threat to persons in the pack. f*****g hell-

“I wouldn’t let him.” I decided to say, and her lips parted slightly as she looked up at me with her doe-like eyes.

“You guys look cozy.” We turned at the sound of Ryder’s smug voice, and he smirked at the two of us. I pulled away from her, clearing my throat. Ryder huffed, his smirk turning into a frown, “Especially considering that there’s a dead kid outside.”

“Ry, we need to talk-”

“Does she know?” Ryder asked, interrupting me and pointing a finger at her. Nina tensed, and she was about to protest when I decided to take the initiative.

“Yes. Yeah-”

“Well, she’s pretty calm for someone who just found out about werewolves recently.” Ryder noted. I scoffed under my breath, about to make a snarky retort when Nina engaged.

“My dad was half werewolf, and I’m, like, only a third. So, I’ve known about them. Kind of.” Nina shrugged, looking away as to feign discomfort. Then in turn, Ryder didn’t want to pry further.

“Huh. Well, the principal just announced that school is cancelled for the next two weeks.”

“Seriously?” Nina asked.

“Well, they did just find a dead body on campus. And they’re gonna investigate, so…” Ryder scoffed, and I shook my head. I would have to text my coach about football practice…

“What are you thinking, Alpha?” I asked, hands on my hips.

“It’s obviously a vampire. Bite marks on the neck… blood drained. The humans think its an animal attack of some kind, and… after the tense relationship I have with the mayor-”

“What- Vampires? The mayor?” Nina pried.

Ryder barely glanced at her, continuing on as if she hadn’t spoken. “He says the scientist went rogue, so I figure they’ll reach out to me on this one to try to build rapport after the way they screwed up.”

“Then what? They almost killed us, I mean… those humans are obviously working with those bloodsuckers.”

Nina groaned to herself. Ryder sighed, “We have to keep up a facade for now. Play by their rules until we get the upper hand.”

“We’re wolves. We killed their vampiric forces, or whatever- we’re stronger-”

“And how do we know that they don’t have another army ready to send out?” Ryder countered, giving me a raised brow. “We need to think ahead- we need to be smart. Because if not, then another one of us will be in the ground.”

I flinched back, the thought of Trent making me recoil. I remember not being able to do anything while that woman killed him.

“Also, I probably shouldn’t tell you but… Bella’s mate, Liu, and I are thinking of merging his rogues and the pack together. Especially since this full moon, I have to announce the new beta and delta…”

“You’ll still be Alpha though, right?” I asked.

“Of course.” Ryder smiled encouragingly, before looking down. “We’ll be integrating Ophelia’s dad and Ophelia into the pack… As well as Seth, and Liu, and all the rogues this full moon, so… Starting tomorrow, I was wondering if you’d join me in the pack territory. We got a lot of preparation to do- tradition and magic and all.”

“Can I tag along?” Nina perked up. I looked at her in surprise, almost having forgotten she was here.

Ryder hesitated, glazing at me and then her, before shrugging. “It’s up to Grayson.” He looked over at me smugly, and I lightly scoffed at him. “I’ll catch you later.”

He left the classroom, and I turned to Nina. “Now why would you want to tag along?”

Nina smirked devilishly, and it wasn’t until now that I really had started to notice her clothing. It was beautifully preppy, the half top her hair held back with a ponytail and two strands of her curly brunette hair framing her face. Her earrings had small and silver hoops, her torso defined by a black and slim turtleneck that was tucked into her asymmetrical grey skirt- her legs were wrapped up in these thigh-high tights, black heeled boots on her feet, and all I could think about was ripping those tights down and-

“Had your fill of checking me out yet, wolf-boy?” Nina teased her perfectly manicured hands going to her hips. I cleared my throat, shaken by the wave of lust that had hit me. “Anyways, I want to tag along because I could get to know you.”

“But how… I mean, won’t you get… hungry? It’s a whole week surrounded by wolves.” I asked, furrowing my brows. Her right hand travelled to my chest, wandering up and spreading tingles throughout my body. Her eyes bore into mine as her hand lovingly caressed the skin on my neck and licked her lips wantonly.

“I’m sure I could get fed somehow.” She seductively responded, and I swallowed. I raised a brow, grasping her wrist and softly moving her hand away.

“We’ll talk about it later. Come over around two, alright? And pack for tomorrow-”

“You mean you’re taking me with you?” Nina smiled widely.

“Don’t hold your breath, bloodsucker.” Her eyes glared at me playfully at the nickname, “I could still change my mind.”

“I doubt it.” Nina grinned, suddenly reaching up on her tippy toes to give me a peck on the cheek. My eyes widened as she smirked at my reddened cheeks and winked before sauntering out of the classroom with an extra sway to her hips.

I sighed to myself as I restrained my body to not follow after the bewitching seductress that was my mate.

I grabbed a duffel bag as soon as I entered my bedroom and started grabbing everything I’d need for the week and a half I’d be staying in the pack territory. I got out my phone as I got my boxer briefs out, dialing up Xavier.

He answered with a groan, “And you’re calling me, why?”

“Well, Ry wants me to go over this week and I was wondering if you could give me some….” I hesitated, knowing I wouldn’t be able to close this conversation back up ever. “Some clothing advice-”

“On my way.” He hung up, and I chuckled. Xavier had always been good at styling his clothes- he knew exactly how to look clean yet effortless at the same time. Sometimes, he would really roast our outfits in the worst way but stopped around the time we got to sophomore year. We all had our own style, really. I usually wore my varsity jacket, my white tees, and my skinny jeans- I was one of the two running backs on my team- and the best.

I went down my contacts, calling Coach Tanner. His gruff voice spoke up as he answered, “I know, I know, Grayson. As much as I hate a kid getting killed, I hate all the s**t that comes after even more.”

“Just tell me when and where to be, Coach.” I said just below shouting level as I got out some of my favorite shirts, and he chuckled.

“That’s my all-star. I’ll send you the new schedule I got planned tonight.”

“Thanks, Coach.”

“Alright.” Coach Tanner hung up curtly, and I nodded as I started unloading my drawers for Xavier to come over.

Before I knew it, Xavier was coming in panting. I chuckled as I looked at his tired form, “Did you seriously run all the way over here?”

“I’ve been wanting to give you clothing advice for like, all of my life, dude.” He regained his breath quickly, standing up and looking at me with a raised brow as he chuckled as well. “Let’s get started on your wardrobe, young padawan.”

“Yeah, ‘cause my wardrobe is the reason I was getting all the ladies back then.” I sarcastically retorted.

Xavier scoffed as he walked past me, going into my closet. “You got lucky with your clothes, rookie. But I am interested as to why the f**k you wanna get my advice now- is it for a certain mate of yours, huh?”

“You mean my only mate.” I rolled my eyes, snickering. He groaned under his breath.

“God, I wish I could burn this all.”

“Shut up, fucker.” I laughed, throwing a wad of my boxers at him and sat down on my bed. I looked down at myself, appeased at my comfortable attire of a hoodie and jeans. Comfy…

“No, seriously. The only reason you made these clothes look good is because you’re hot, but that doesn’t mean you got a good fashion sense, alright?”

I laughed again, amused at his commentary. “Xavi, I just want Nina to be impressed. The way she dresses-”

“That girl should be a model.” He said, throwing a couple of my shirts to the floor as he moved from hanger to hanger, “Or a fashion designer. Some of the stuff she wears is like, super expensive too.”

“Huh.” I remarked. How would a vampire like her, who ended up alone for eternity, get such expensive clothing?

“But I get you. Sometimes your mate has a way of making you feel like you need to be better, when really you just need to be yourself. Or a better version of yourself, anyways.” Xavi remarked, signaling to my clothes. I bit my lip, contemplating whether Nina could be a danger. She was a vampire, after all, and the odds of her showing up shortly after all this tragedy? I didn’t know much about vampires, and I didn’t know if they travelled in packs but… as much as I liked her, as much as I longed for her, I couldn’t put away the sense that I was in danger because of her.

“Xavi, I need to tell you something.” I spoke up, anxiety swelling up in my chest. Xavier turned to me, his face morphing into alarm at the sudden seriousness of the whole situation. I looked at him, swallowing, “And you cannot tell anyone- not even Seth.”

“Grayson, what’s wrong?” He sat down on my bed next to me, moving the clothes away and furrowing his brows. “Is it the night terrors-”

“It’s Nina.” My voice was shaky. My wolf was eerily quiet- as he had been for a while. I’m sure he was torn, just like me, about the whole thing: loyalty to the pack or loyalty to your mate.

“What about her?”

“She’s a vampire.” I spoke aloud, my eyes wanting to tear up at what telling her secret would trigger. The thought of her being killed… haunted me. Xavier tensed beside me, and I rambled out of panic. “I know, Xavi. I know that it’s bad, believe me, but I can’t… she swore she wasn’t apart of that group, and that she’s alone, but I… the timing is just-”

“It’s too close.” Xavi finished for me, swallowing as he turned away with his widened eyes. “And you’re scared because you care for her.”

“I don’t know what it is, Xavier. But I can sense it… I can sense she’s hiding something from me. And then her brother is also a vampire, and then the dead body showed up at school this morning, and I can’t tell Ryder because then he’ll try to kill her and I-” I harshly exhaled, trying to breathe in deeply and prevent myself from crying. “I can't let her get hurt, but I cannot get captured again-”

“Hey, hey. Slow down.” Xavi’s hands secured me as he placed them on my shoulders, and I looked at him with worry. “We’re never going back there, you know that. That stupid scientist is dead.” I nodded, feeling slight relief at the reminder. “We don’t know anything for sure yet, alright. You just… you have to play the part, alright?”

“Xavi, I like her too much-”

“I’ll help you.” Xavier smiled reassuringly, “I’ll investigate with you- we can swipe her phone, maybe hire a private investigator or something… But for now, just act like normal. We have to give it time, and you still have to get to know her.”

“She’s coming over in a couple hours.” I said, sighing and feeling myself calm down. Not being alone with this information was comforting, at the least. Xavier didn’t have a blind spot for her like I did. “So what’s the plan you had in mind specifically?”

“Well, first you have to get to know her more to keep her off her guard. While you do that, we’ll keep track of every piece of information she’s given you, and double check it while investigating, so…” Xavier trailed off, grabbing a notebook and pen from my desk and opening it to a blank page. He labelled it ‘vamp info’ and gave me a pointed look. “Start from the beginning.”

⚜ Nina’s P.O.V. ⚜

I rang the doorbell to Grayson’s house with two duffel bags over my shoulder, and my purse in my other hand. I had done my hair in boxer braids, dressed sporty with tight pink leggings, a cropped tee, and sneakers for the territory I suspected we were going to. I was glad to be here after a longass argument with Alexi and Papa. They thought I wasn’t being careful, but after revealing the fact I was ‘mated’ to him, and the little tidbits of information (not everything, of course, but just that Ryder was suspicious of the mayor, they calmed down.) But they were still worried about a vampire who was killing random people, and if it was one of ours. If those loan sharks had started heading here, then we needed to get the wolves under our thumb faster than we originally planned.

However, I was confused, to say the least, when it came to being mated to Grayson. A part of me really did like him, and another part of me wanted to please my father. I had never felt such intense feelings, even when I was in love in the past. I was usually well-guarded, yet Grayson had such a way of making me melt. I tried to remind myself that I was a deadly weapon, that I’ve killed before and I would do it again if needed.

I could hear Grayson running down the stairs with excitement, and I couldn’t the way I smiled as he opened the door. The sight of him alone made my body tingle with joy, and I hated the way I wanted to jump into his arms, so I avoided looking at him. I walked past him, starting to talk nervously. I hadn’t been in a relationship or had a real friendship in so long, it almost felt foreign talking like this with someone.

I took note of the way his house looked and placed the duffel bags and my purse on his couch, before turning and gesturing to my athletic wear. “Okay, so I didn’t know what kind of clothes or stuff to bring, so I just brought a lot of different kinds of clothes and-” His arms suddenly enveloped me from behind, and my breath hitched as he pressed me against his front. His face dug into my neck, and my breathing increased quickly. “Gray?”

“You smell so good.” His voice was deeper than usual- more husky, even. I bit my lip, not wanting to give into the temptation of going further. “You make those clothes look so sexy.”

I resisted the whimper that threatened to come from my mouth and gulped as my hands found themselves caressing his strong forearms. I whispered, “I thought you wanted to take it slow.”

I could feel him tense, and he stayed quiet, most likely contemplating what I said. He ultimately snuggled me closer, and I chuckled in amusement. Grayson spoke gruffly, “We don’t have to do anything too… intense. My wolf is… a little hard to control right now, truth be told.”

I bit my lip, the temptation winning at the ideas that floated through my head with Grayson on top. “What did you have in mind, wolf-boy?”

He turned me around harshly, bringing me in by the jaw to give me a deep kiss. I moaned, pulling him closer by the waist. He laid me against the other side of the couch, pulling me in by my thighs so our groins were closer, and leaning down to kiss me again. I loved this- being dominated by him, and… the feeling of being weak. The feeling of being brought to submission under his touch.

“You drive me crazy.” I found myself whimpering out as his kisses trailed down to my neck.

“I get the feeling.” He sarcastically murmured across my skin, and I exhaled shakily as my s*x started to ache- my hips bucked upwards against his, and he hissed. His hand went to my throat, pulling away from suckling on my skin to give me a harsh glare. “You don’t want to do that.”

I bit my lip, bucking upwards again with a moan as my hands gripped his shoulders. “Please, I need it.”

“Fuck.” He groaned, his brows furrowed. “I don’t know- I don’t want to mark you in the heat of the moment.”

“Any mark from you would be heavenly.”

“Goddammit.” He murmured, grinding down his bulge harshly on my s*x. I let out a loud whimper of surprise.

“Oh. This was your plan after all, wasn’t it?” I moaned out, our grinding becoming more desperate. “You wanted me all to yourself, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did.” He leaned down, his teeth grazing over my neck. I couldn’t take it anymore- I turned us around with my speed, so I straddled him. Grayson went to sit up, but I grasped his throat and held him back down. I started to ride against his bulge, moaning heavily as I looked down at him with an expression of euphoria.

“Is this what you wanted?” I taunted, grabbing his wrist and biting into his skin. Grayson shuddered and let out a slight gasp as I started to drink from his blood. I don’t know if it was the mate bond, but I was glad he liked it. I rode faster, chasing the c****x his large erection was giving me. I pulled away from his wrist, gasping for air and moaning while my hands secured themselves on his chest. My true vampiric face was still present, and I was both surprised and grateful that Grayson seemed to still be so attracted to it.

Grayson’s hands gripped my hips, his nails digging into my leggings and guiding me as he chased his own o****m as well. I could feel it on the brink- I gasped, my muscles tensing as I threw my head back and let out a guttural moan. I swore I saw stars, I felt everything all at once more than I ever had before.

It was hard to get a release when you were around vampires, and with the life I lived, it was hard to be in the mood. Grayson was like a dream come true- he was sweet, he was sexy and commanding- I had just met him, but I didn’t ever want to leave him. I needed to know him, I needed to know everything about him.

He kept rutting against me, and I whimpered as I continued to grind against him despite me already having my o****m. I wanted to please him too- my c**t was throbbing from the over-stimulation. He groaned under his breath, muttering dirty things that made me more wet. “f*****g hell. I love your hips, I love your body- I love the way you sucked my blood. You look so sexy-”

I panted, feeling flushed. Grayson’s breathing stuttered, and I knew he was really close now. He suddenly sat up, his hand moving to hold the small of my back and leaning in to give me a deep kiss as he held his bulge tightly against me. I gasped again into his mouth, cumming for the second time on his groin. When he groaned into my mouth, tasting his own blood that was on my lips… I knew then that there’d be no one else who could accept like he would.

I had to protect him from my family, from the vampires who wanted to hurt us… from everyone. Even if that meant betraying my brother, my dad… Even if I had to let the rest of his pack burn to the ground, I’d keep him safe. He pulled away, resting his forehead against mine as he panted and tried to regain his breath.

I looked at him, feeling dazed with ecstasy, “I would kill for you.”

His eyes opened, green with emerald-like highlights. His hair was beautifully brown, like mine, but lighter than my dark brown hair. How had I never taken notice of his features like this? My fingers moved, tracing over his beautiful lips. He held my hand, kissing the inside of my palm with such softness… it made my heart ache. He gave me a meaningful look, “I would die for you.”

“I’d rather you not die at all.” I whispered, biting my lip.

The front door opened, and we both turned. He moved me off his lap, sitting in front of me with a determined stare. Lindsay came through the door, looking around and raising her brows at the sight of us. “Woah. Didn’t see that coming.”