Mates?

9

*Joey's POV*

Dylan has been sleeping for at least thirty minutes now. I could tell there was something majorly wrong with her. She would shiver then sweat. She started making feral noises in her sleep and that's what worried me.

If she doesn't get better soon, I'll have two people to worry about. My brother and my friend. Cole doesn't understand my friendship with Dylan, not that I've really explained it.

If I didn't have Dylan, I think I would be even more heartless than Ash. I see myself in Dylan sometimes. Well, the young version of me. The non-traumatized version.

I'm not saying that what Dylan has been through isn't traumatizing, I'm just saying that killing my father after watching him kill my mother affected me more than what the effect of what Dylan has been through has affected her.

I feel as though most of the guilt that affects me is that Ash took the blame. At six, he took the blame for our father's murder. I was eight and we had taken over the throne after our dad's death. We didn't have the support of our mother because our father had abused her to the point of her death. So, in turn, I killed our father for killing our mother.

Few know the true story, actually. Me, Ash, and all the judges of the pack at the time were and still are the only ones that know. Well besides Alee, Cole, and Dustin, but that's a given because they are our co-leaders. Alee and Dustin came first. Alee's family were close family friends of our mother's. Alee knew Dustin from her family's family friends.

So, they came from Seattle to help us rule. There were only supposed to be four leaders, but Cole kind of just happened. We were hunting one night when we were all young, and we found Cole, hungry and disoriented.

He came from a wolf pack. His mother had been a vampire but was mated to a wolf. His mother cheated with another vampire and Cole was conceived. Once his mother's mate found out about the betrayal, he threw Cole out, in the middle of him learning how to be a vampire.

I guess I developed a soft spot for him over the years. I knew he had always had a crush on me. First, it started with him pulling my chair out for me at meals and over the years it has developed into whatever we have now.

Secretly, I don't want him to find his mate. I know, it's selfish, but if we do start seeing each other, I will be replaced with a snap of his fingers. He thinks the bond won't be strong enough but trust me, it will. I know I was crushed when my mate rejected me. I even lead the attack on his pack.

I guess that's something else I feel guilty for; letting Winter believe it was Ash who killed her father. It was me. Her father was the main judge of her pack and he's the one who killed my mate. So, I killed him. I may have a slight problem with holding grudges against people, but it's better to not have to deal with anyone than having your trust broken frequently.

I heard the door to the house creak open and shut quietly again. Liam was being careful not to disturb Dylan. I heard quiet footsteps into the room where Dylan and I were. He peeked his head in through the door before completely walking in.

"She's been asleep since you left. Are you sure she doesn't have the flu?" I questioned.

"I'm sure Queen Joey." He answered politely.

I grabbed the bag of what he brought and looked at the medicine.

"Tylenol?" I sighed, disappointed.

"I didn't know what to get. We don't know what's wrong with her, after all." Liam excused, leaning against the door frame.

Maybe if we had an extra opinion we would be able to figure this out. I mind linked Cole.

"Hey. Meet me at Liam's. I need you."

"What's wrong? Did he hurt you?" Cole hissed.

"No, but there's something wrong with Dylan." I pleaded, hoping he would come.

"I'm on my way. I'll be there in like two minutes." Cole responded.

I sighed in relief and turned to Liam.

"King Cole is on his way. He will be here soon. He will figure out what's wrong with her." I stated and stood up from the uncomfortable chair in which I was sitting.

I walked into the area of Liam's house where the front door was. He followed and started a conversation.

"So, I heard you almost died the other night..." Liam whispered.

"It's none of your concern." I stated with a little edge in my voice.

I had had a hard time seeing all the good people who cared for me. I had actually wished for death. It had been five years since I found my mate and been rejected because I was a vampire.

I had waited five years to leave this cruel place and when it came down to it, I couldn't go through with it. Cole convinced me to stay. He really did care, I just didn't know how much or why he cared in the first place.

"But you're one of our rulers... I just wanted to make sure you were okay Queen Joey." Liam whispered in a small voice that was hardly audible.

"Well, I am. You have no need to be concerned."

"If you ever need anyone to... you know... help you-" He started while diverting eye contact. I was about to cut him off before the door flew open.

"She's fine Liam. That's why she has me." Cole declared.

Cole had a serious facial expression, eyes hard and jaw clenched.

"Real funny Cole." I smiled, attempting to cover up the fact he had been staying in my room ever since he saved me.

He walked over to me and put his arms around my shoulders from behind.

"I wasn't joking sweetheart, but you already know that. If you still don't remember, maybe you should look below your ear lobe. I left some marks to make sure you wouldn't forget." He whispered while staring at Liam.

Liam looked surprised at this new information but continued to be respectful.

"I apologize King Cole. I was not aware you had already had a claim on her." Liam bowed his head in submission.

Our village uses claiming as a term to refer to vampires who aren't mates that have been tethered together my a mark. We use this term because a lot of vampires get rejected because of their species.

Even though Cole had meant a hickey, Liam assumed he meant an actual mark. The only thing with claiming is that once the more dominant has bitten the submissive, they start to become so submissive that their main purpose in life is to serve the dominant one. It can be stopped by splitting the two away from each other until the mark heals.

I took this moment while Cole was distracted to jab him in the ribs with my elbow. He recoiled from being wrapped around me to being doubled over in pain, clutching his left side.

"He doesn't have a claim on me Liam. He just wishes he does." I hissed, glaring at Cole.

Before anyone could say anything, Dylan came running in the room, terrified.

"Master I'm scared." Dylan spoke shakily, wrapping her arms around Liam's midsection, burying her face in his chest.

The commotion Cole had made had shaken her to her core, she was horrified. I was standing a few feet away but I could still feel the heat off of her. Liam pried her off of him and pushed her away. He lifted up his shirt and he had red, irritated burn marks where her arms were.

I gaped at his scorched skin. I looked at Cole and he had a worried expression painted on his handsome face. I touched two fingers to Dylan's arm and immediately jerked back from her searing skin.

"Her skin feels like she's on fire." I fretted, looking at Cole pleadingly.

A tear slipped out his eye before he turned back toward Dylan with a sympathetic smile.

"Dylan, I need you to come with me, honey. I'm gonna make all the pain go away, okay?" Cole lamented while getting on his knees to look her in the eye.

She looked at Liam questionably as if asking him silently if she was allowed to go. It didn't really matter what he said anyway, she was going whether or not he granted her permission or not.

"Behave for King Cole for me, okay Dylan?" He begged sadly.

She nodded her head.

"She's shifting into a wolf for the first time. Since she doesn't have a pack, the pain will be excruciating." Cole mind-linked with a solemn tone in his voice.

"You're going to help her, right?" I whimpered.

"Of course."

"I'll make it up to you later." I promised.

"You don't have to Joey. If anything, later I'm going to make you feel like the only woman in the world." He cooed.

I resisted the urge to blush at his comment and looked at Dylan, who was still unsure.

"Dylan I'm going to be with you too, okay?" I smiled, looking at her with a calm expression.

She immediately became more compliant. The closest she had ever come to meeting Cole besides now was when I ranted about his tendency to sleep around.

Cole picked her up in his arms like a groom carrying a bride and softly cradled her, ignoring the blisters developing all over his body from her high temperature.

I felt my heart soften at Cole's actions. He didn't care that he was getting hurt, he cared about helping Dylan. I may love him. I quickly corrected myself and reminded myself that I don't love anyone, not even my brother. Love is for fools. Love only hurts people in the end.

I sent a nod to Liam before we left into the woods to help Dylan shift. Cole took the lead and he looked like he knew exactly where he was going.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had just taken Dylan back to Liam. She had been so exhausted from the pain of shifting that she fell asleep in Cole's arms on the way back. I finally had the sarcastic, stubborn, strong girl back. After she shifted she started to act like herself again.

We found out that her wolf had taken over when she was 'sick'. Her wolf identified Liam as her mate, but she later learned otherwise after Dylan had shifted and talked to her. Dylan hates Liam with a passion and she is usually seen with bruises from where he's punished her for mouthing off. Which, is sadly allowed among pets.

As soon as we brought her back, Liam regretted ever saying she was sick. She spoke when she wasn't supposed to and got sent to her room. We left almost immediately after because Cole was about to snap Liam's neck for yelling at her. He's been silent ever since we left Liam's.

"We need to find Winter." I declared, opening the door to the mansion us five rulers live in.

"Why do you say that, sweetheart?" Cole asked as he placed his hand on the small of my back.

I pushed him off of me, if Ash found out he and I were screwing, he'd have Cole killed. Cole whimpered but soon recovered.

"Because she's going to help us evacuate all the pets. She's the best at running away, so she can help us." I said with a little bit of judgment in my tone by accident.

I understand her situation, I really do. She just hurt Ash and Ash is my brother. I'll be by his side until I die, or, he does.

"We'll find her one day Joey." He beamed.

He's always so happy and certain about everything. I don't understand how he does it.

"I have a question." I frowned, turning the corner to my room.

I've been waiting to ask this for a long time.

"What's your question? I may have an answer." Cole vacillated, his eyes glinting with uncertainty as he spoke.

"Why do you care so much for me? I'm not that special." I asked, reaching my door and turning back toward him to face him.

His face fell for a few seconds before he quickly recovered.

"Joey, don't ever say that again. You're the most special girl in the world. You're the only girl in the world to me." He whispered, staring me straight in the eyes.

I didn't feel like arguing. I just opened my door and walked into my room. It was filled with rose petals and he had manipulated the lighting to a dim red.

"Cole..." I gasped turning back between him and the 'decorations' he added.

"Do you like it?" He breathed out whilst wrapping his arms around my stomach and speaking into my ear.

"You did this?" I asked, turning to look at him in the eyes.

"Of course I did Joey." He smiled.

I gave him a heated kiss, wanting to thank him for doing something special.

"Joey, we shouldn't. You haven't eaten today and you'll-"

I interrupted him.

"I'm not hungry." I excused, even though I was lying. I was starving but I'd rather do this right now.

I pressed another kiss against his lips, trying to be convincing.

"Are you sure Joey? You need to eat." Cole doubted.

"Please Cole." I begged, while clutching his shirt tightly.

He looked uncertain for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"No. You need to eat." Cole finalized.

I huffed out a breath of air and fell back on my mattress. Then, a mischievous idea came to mind that I was sure would work.

"Maybe I should go take Liam up on his offer." I spoke with determination.

Little did he know, my determination wasn't to have s*x with Liam. It was to seduce him. Just as I was hoping, his gaze turned to me. Eyes black, fangs elongated, and most scary of all- his expression.

"No."

The word had come out hard and demanding.

"What do you mean 'no'? I mean, maybe he's bigger than you are and he can do more things with his-"

I was cut off by Cole jumping on top of me. Yep, I've really done it now.

"Liam can't touch you, in fact, no one can except me. You're mine, Joey. I won't let you forget that." Cole growled.

The growl wasn't fierce. It was more like defensive. Cole's vamp side always has been extremely protective and possessive of me.

"Maybe Liam can be less possessive." I whispered, knowing he would hear and hoping he would take a hint.

His grip on the sheets beside my head tightened, his vamp side becoming even more prominent until actual Cole had no chance of pushing back through until this side of him calmed down.

"Liam would be foolish to not protect you as I have. But you're not his to protect, are you Joey?" Cole challenged, seeing if I would deny him the right of dominance.

I knew if I agreed I was his he wouldn't follow through, but on the other hand, if I disagreed, I wouldn't be able to walk normally for at least two to three days. Eh, I don't have much to do for a couple of days.

"I could be."

This is all it took for a growl that would terrify anyone who wasn't a supernatural creature to rip through his throat.

"You are mine and only mine. You will submit to me." He roared with a look that could kill thousands.

He buried his face in my neck and I let out a relieved sigh, I had accomplished my goal. I thought I was about to enter euphoria but something unexpected happened.

His fangs sunk into my neck, claiming me. My scream penetrated the quiet atmosphere around us. My cries and pleads for him to stop fell on deaf ears. He pulled away after he had finished the mark.

"Now you know who you belong to." His black eyes danced with mischief as he wiped my blood off his lower lip with his thumb.

Soon, loud, booming knocks filled the air, which was followed by Dustin yelling.

"Joey! Are you okay?! Open the door!" Dustin commanded.

Cole gave me a look that dared me to answer. He quirked an eyebrow and put a finger to his lips.

"She's fine. I just spooked her a little." His gaze never left me, as if he was trying to see my reaction.

"Open the door. We need to see that she's alright, then we'll leave you two alone." Dustin urged in a calmer voice. "I smell blood."

Cole smirked again but this time it was more devilish than anything.

"Do you really want to know?" Cole questioned.

"Yes. We want to know." Alee protested.

"We were blood sharing. I accidentally hit an artery. It hurt and she screamed. I'm cleaning her up." Cole lied.

Blood sharing is when two vampires are having i*********e in their human sides and as they're... finishing off they bite each other and drink some of their blood.

It's not marking or claiming because they aren't in their vampire side. It's frowned upon by high-class vampires, but other than that it's not all that bad, I guess.

"Okay. Fine. We'll leave. We understand." Dustin murmured.

After hearing them walk away out of earshot, I let myself cry. It hurt so much. I know actual Cole will want to hurt himself when he realizes what he's done.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" Cole purred, kissing the mark.

Since it's still fresh, it made it hurt worse.

"I-It hurts." I sobbed.

He gave an understanding nod and moved off me.

"If you move, I'll have to put you in your place, understand?" Cole demanded.

I gave a small nod, which hurt my neck even more. He walked into my bathroom and came back with some antiseptic and a hand towel. He kneeled at my side with the mark on it.

"It's going to hurt a little." Cole mumbled. He was slowly coming back to himself. He wasn't fully back yet, so, he had no clue about what's going on. His usual emotions are just now pushing through. He wet the hand towel with the antiseptic and set it against my skin. The cold liquid actually felt soothing against he throbbing bite. "Are you scared of me?" Cole asked randomly.

Tears stung my eyes once more. I gave him a look before answering.

"I'm scared of this side of you." I confessed.

He diverted his gaze to the ground. A frown was plastered on his face.

"That's a shame. I hope you know I would never hurt you. This wasn't meant to hurt you. It was meant to make you happy that you're officially mine." A tear slipped down his face and he looked back up at me. "I'm sorry I made you feel this way but this had to be done. Too many people wanted to steal you away from me."

I understood his reasoning because our vampire sides are territorial. He took the towel off because the bleeding had stopped.

"Cole, I need you to stay away from me. The only way it'll heal is if you aren't around me." I requested, trying to reason with him.

He looked shocked and laid down on my bed beside me. He held my face in his hands.

"Joey, I can't do that. I won't use the submission command. It's only to show that you aren't available." He smiled weakly. I thought for a few seconds on the subject. Even when Cole returned to his normal self, his vamp side wouldn't let him be away from me anyway. "Maybe to make it up to you we can help some of the pets escape." He offered.

If all I have to do is live with this mark to help others to freedom than so be it.

"Deal."