Marked by Blood: Book 2 of The Marked Series by Ford, Rinna (top novels of all time txt) 📕

“I still can’t believe you are able to do that sort of thing,” he chuckled and shook his head. “My vampire mate is also a caster.”

“Don’t forget dragon shifter too,” I supplied and slipped on the only clean thing I had left at the bottom of the bag, one of the dresses Della gave me when we were back at Xander’s mountainside house. It showed off a lot of my back and the mark that covered it, but as I zipped up the side zipper, I realized I really didn’t care anymore. I was tired of hiding who I was. What did I care if people didn’t like it? It made me who I was, and despite what the Council and society said, I wasn’t ashamed.

“You are beyond beautiful,” Matias told me as he slid an arm around my waist and kissed me on the temple. I smiled up at him and he kissed me again on the lips.

As he pulled away, I willed my backpack to return to my room, but after the normal few seconds it took to complete the task, it still hung from my hand by the straps. I scowled down at the offending bag and tried again with it still remaining in my hand.

How odd. Since learning that trick, I never had any issues.

“Do we have time to drop my backpack off in my room?” I asked, still confused as to why it didn’t work.

“Of course,” Matias smiled and he took it from me and slung one of the straps over his shoulder and led me out of his bedroom.

We turned down the hall and descended one of the sets of stairs, turning to go down another hallway where my room stood. I opened the door, seeing it exactly how I left it and dropped it just inside the door. I made a mental note to do my laundry after breakfast and closed the door.

I took a single step toward the stairs when I saw Irna come out of her room on the other side of the hall. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me and paled instantly. Furious at the part she played in my turning vampire, I sneered in her direction. However, when my fangs didn’t immediately descend because of my sudden emotion, I hesitated. She saw the opening in my moment of surprise and scurried away before I could approach her.

Mating with Matias must have appeased my vampire side more than I anticipated. I was still angry at the fact Irna told Di about my history and that she got away, but I didn’t feel the need to hunt her down and drain her dry. I’d call that a win in self-control if there ever was one.

“Who was that?” Matias asked me and began walking toward the bottom floor of the house again.

“Someone I thought was a friend,” I replied. I closed my lips, indicating I wouldn’t say anything else about her, and Matias, being the intuitive vampire he was, understood and didn’t pressure me.

We walked into the dining room, being some of the last people to go to breakfast and looked around. Even Xander was finishing up when he saw me. He stood halfway up and smiled until he saw a difference in me, sitting back down with a frown on his face.

I squeezed Matias’ hand and walked around the table, taking my usual seat next to my dragon mate. I heard gasps as I walked by and people saw the extensive mark on my back, but I ignored them. Only one thing was on my mind and it was seeing Xan.

“Hi,” I said quietly. I hated that he was upset over this. He was the one to tell me to go for it because it was what I needed, but it still hurt to see me with someone else.

“I didn’t think you’d go and do it right after I gave you the green light, Emi. But I guess you were chompin’ at the bit to fuck someone else, weren’t you?”

“Watch your mouth, dragon,” Matias hissed, his eyes glowing red. “You have no idea what…”

“It’s okay, Matias. He has every right to be upset.” I turned back to Xan. “Please let me explain. You know me better than to think I’d do something like that without thinking it through.” His eyebrows shot up in disbelief, remembering our own mating and the fact I went into it not knowing what it meant. He shook his head and laughed. “That was different and you know it,” I scowled, reading his mind. “I understood what I was getting into with Matias and you said you’d be okay with it, so don’t be an asshole. My feelings haven’t changed for you, not one bit. From the way you’re reacting, I’m betting yours have, which absolutely breaks me. If you remember, it was why I held out from him for so long, when I was hurting him just as much as you’re hurting now. I’m sorry you’re mad and in pain, but either tell me to fuck off or get with the program.”

His eyebrows shot up, surprised at how I called him on his bullshit, then he softened them, and apologized. “You’re right. I’m sorry, baby. It’s just...I didn’t expect you to go through with it so quickly.”

I looked over at Matias. “I didn’t expect for it to happen so quickly either, but something happened last night... “

“Are you okay?” Xan asked.

“Yeah… I need to go talk with Amos after breakfast. I want you and Matias to come with me.”

Xan’s eyes shot to my vampire mate and after a few seconds, nodded his head. He then broke eye contact and reached for a plate, piling food onto it and handing it over to me.

“I’m sure you’re hungry, so eat.”

He took the nearby carafe of coffee and poured himself another mug, settling in to let me eat my breakfast. Xan took care of