Take Me Once, I'll Bleed You Twice novel Chapter 84

Chapter 84

BEATRICE

What on earth had compelled her to kiss Riaghaire?

Beatrice couldn’t figure out why she’d done it not that she regretted kissing him. She’d been wanting to do it since forever, but had held back beca mate bond always made her want to puke her guts out any time she started feeling… any sort of way about him. And the mark on her shoulder would burning like no-one’s business. It was beyond frustrating.

Taking the lead, Beatrice left the restroom, the vampire trailing a few steps behind. Claire was no longer in the hall by the storage room, which wasn’ surprising, but the strange person was standing off to the side, waiting for them.

“Did you have a nice shower?,” they asked, a smile on their face. For some reason, that smile sent chills down Beatrice’s spine. What the hell were the

Riaghaire moved to stand next to Beatrice, his arm brushing against hers as he gave the stranger a curt nod. He never stood this close to her, and she wondered if it had anything to do with their earlier… activity, or if it was because this person also gave him the chills.

Could vampires get chills?

“Most excellent,” they grinned, clapping their hands together. “Now that that’s taken care of, why don’t we all sit around the fire and have a chat.”

Sit around the fire? That sounded ominous. What the hell did they mean by that?

“Come,” they said, motioning for Beatrice and Riaghaire to follow as they led the way further down the hall, stopping at a door she was certain hadn’t b there before. They opened it with a flourish then stepped inside.

Riaghaire placed his hand on her arm, causing Beatrice to hesitate. He gave her a look before moving in front of her, taking the lead as they entered.

Inside was not what Beatrice had been expecting.

The walls were either covered in animal skins or made from them – she wasn’t about to touch them to figure it out and there was an actual fire pit in centre of the room. Seven large stones formed a perfect circle, within which the coals of a smouldering fire glowed cherry red.

There was only a little light to see by and Beatrice couldn’t figure out where the source was located. It was too bright to be from the congla but sof bright enough to disperse the shadows that flickered in the corners of the room. There was also a lingering smell of wood smoke and tobaks, both of whic she found surprisingly pleasant.

“Please, take a seat Claire has already made herself comfortable,” they instructed, motioning towards a cornes where the blond was sitting with an ice pack pressed against her forehead

“Are you alright?” Beatrice asked, wony in her vance as she closed the distance between them The vampire made sure to keep himself between her and the stranger as she knelt in front of the blond

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just, uh pushed myself a bit too much”

Beatrice’s brow creased in a frown Pushed herself too much? What the hell was she doing, pushing herself during a wolf attack? “Are you stupid? Or insane?

Those were wolves.”

Claire visibly flinched at the accusation but said nothing in defense

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Chapter 84.

“There is much we must discuss, the stranger called out, drawing everyone’s attention “Please, sit

As Beatrice was already kneeling, it didn’t take much to twist her body and find herself sitting on the dirt floor

How the hell was there a dirt floor inside Kaleidoscope? None of this was making sense. Had someone est brought brackets of dirt inside to cover the floor? Maybe they hadn’t even bothered to install a floor. Ugh. Too many questions were racing through her head.

Rieghaire sat so close to Beatrice their legs touched, which was fine by her; something about this person made her want to keep as much distance between the two of them as possible. If she could have gotten away with using the vampire to shield their view of her- without making it obvious-sher & have gladly done so. Those dark eyes were creepy as all hell.

“Good good,” they nodded, smile still in place. “Now that we are all settled, I will begin. I am the owner of Kaleidoscope.”

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hapter 85

That wasn’t a surprise. They’d banned the wolves from ever entering the bar again – until they paid off their debt, anyway authority to make that call.

and only one person had the

They were silent for a few seconds, as if waiting for someone else to speak. When no one did, they chuckled. “It seems I have left a… different first impression than intended. Please accept my apologies for that, as it was not my intent. I had, in fact, hoped to keep my presence from you altogether; that however, became impossible once the wolves decided to violate the laws of my land.”

“What do you mean,” Beatrice finally said, unable to stop herself, “by your land?”

Right now, they were all sitting on ‘land’, in the literal sense, but what did they mean when they referred to the bar itself as their land? It made her think they might be the type of Other that believed having their own territory meant something more than it would to a human.

“This land is mine,” they replied. “I believe the simplest way to explain this to a human would be to say… I own this property.”

Did that mean they paid taxes? Beatrice found herself wanting to ask but instead said, “Does the city know you own the property?”

“Of course,” they chuckled, giving her an amused look. “I have… owned this land for far longer than your predecessors have lived on this continent.”

Oh, great. Another long lived being. Beatrice snuck a glance at Riaghaire but his face was blank, eyes always locked on the person sitting across from them If he was this wary, it meant she should probably watch her tongue. “So… what are you then?” Okay, she was never going to watch her tongue. She knew that; everyone knew that. Why bother trying?

Her question seemed to amuse them, as they let out a loud laugh. “Direct. I like that. What am I? Hmm… I am uncertain how to explain such a thing. I am what I am.”

Well that was one hundred percent not helpful. “Which is…?”

“Bea,” Claire hissed, smacking her friend’s arm with the back of her hand. “Show some respect.”

“Why?” Beatrice asked, glancing over at the stormy-eyed blond. “I have no idea what we’re dealing with.”

“You should always default to being respectful when it comes to Others.”

“Peace, Claire,” the long lived being assured the blond with another laugh. “Though many of our ilk would be… unamused by her lack of respect. I find it rather refreshing.”

“But”

“Peace. There is no ill intend in her words and that is what matters.”

Did that mean they had a way of knowing how she felt, Beatrice wondered, then pushed the thought away. She didn’t want to know the answer. It was besi not to go there. “So… what should I all you?”

“Claire here calls me ‘Buss’, which I do not mind ”

“What do you want to be called,” Beatrice tried again, wanting them to choose a name instead of deciding it for herself Alive had told her that long inves beings believed names held power the more they were used. Making this whatever they were choose a name was her way of resetting that clock, so to speak. It was also called being polite

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