Time seemed to slow down as the kings moved their gaze towards the kitchen door, the sight of Skye leaning against the door frame, a perplexed frown across her face as she met their stares. The only evidence of what had just happened no more than a bloody stain against her thigh and a rip in her jeans where the bullet had passed through. But that was all. Her skin had healed over, leaving smooth caramel flesh. She noticed their stares and chuckled slightly
"What you just saw was an illusion, triggered just after I shot my thigh, your worst fears projected into reality... Now why would you fear my death if you were only 'fond' of me? and as for the absence of an injury on my leg, I believe it is called hyper regeneration. I heal at an astonishing rate."
She moved away from the door, getting closer to the brothers. She really did feel guilty for putting them through such an ordeal, but she hadn't known any other way to get the truth from them. Aro couldn't take his gaze from the woman, unsure of whether to feel anger at her behavior or express joy that she had displayed her gift and appeared unharmed. Skye pinched the bridge of her nose at their silence, maybe she'd traumatized them.
"Look, I'm sorry that I had to show you that, but you weren't coming clean with me and I didn't know what else to do... If it makes you feel any better, I'll repay the favor with my own honesty, anything you want to know. As long as you explain this whole 'true mate' thing to me."
Their ears picked up slightly at this, she would tell them anything? Caius was the first to regather his composure, closing the gap between himself and Skye. He smirked slightly at the little squeal of surprise she gave as he lifted her into his arms, moving them both into the living room and sitting on the sofa with her on his lap as his brothers came to join them. They revelled in the slight blush across her cheeks at the intimate position she found herself in, the way her heart rate became frantic as Caius drew his lips close to her ear, his words whispered as a sensual purr.
"A true mate is the highest form of bonding for a vampire, a rare gift that few are blessed too receive. The protection and well-being of the mate becomes the main concern of the vampire. If anything were to happen too them, if they were to die, then the vampire would be thrown into a coma like state that they would never awaken from. Too a vampire, nothing matters more than their mate... You are our true mate, all three of us. You belong too us completely, both in body and mind"
Skye felt frozen by his words. She didn't know if she could cope with this. It was one thing to be told you were the mate of one vampire, but being the mate of three was in a whole different league of worrying. They would expect her too let them take care of her without question. They would be over-protective and a little controlling. She'd never even been in a romantic 'human' relationship before and now fate had decided too throw a vampiric mating bond her way? As if her life wasn't already a complete mess. The feel of Aro's slender fingers holding her chin gently broke her thoughts, turning her to face him as her wide, confused eyes met his own dark, bloody red orbs. When had he removed his contacts?
"Rest assured, Mia Cara, you shall be punished for your stunt before. But such delicious prospects can wait for now, I believe that you owe us a number of answers"
A shiver ran up her spine at the incinuation that lay beneath his words, the way he turned her face slightly too expose her throat, ghosting his lips along her skin and inhaling her scent with a gentle growl at the delightful sensations the small interaction sent through his being. She bit back the moan that was building within her throat, forcing herself to refocus on the situation. How were they able too affect her so easily by doing so little? She could only imagine how she would be feeling once they actually began trying.
"What would you like to know?"
She wished her voice had sounded firmer, less like the breathy sigh of a woman fighting her own urges as Marcus moved to her side and began tracing soothing circles into the base of her back, a weak spot for her senses, as he spoke.
"Let us begin with your past. Aro has been unable to discover much through his gift"
She sent a look towards Aro, silently requesting an explanation of what Marcus had said. What did he mean by 'gift'?
"I am able to read every thought and memory a person has ever had with a single touch of skin. But I have been unable to see past the memory of blood and fire in your mind"
She was silent for a moment as she continued to stare at him, a none too impressed look on her face. So every time he had touched her hand, he'd been trying to read her mind? She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a little violated.
"You know, most people would call that mind rape on an epic scale... I keep my past a secret for a lot of reasons, all of them very good... The only reason I'm going to tell you three is because I trust you and I believe that you will not suffer for the knowledge. Not too much anyway, vampires are very difficult to kill after all."
This caught the attention of the three kings. Why would speaking of her past lead to reproccussions? Skye let herself relax slightly, leaning back against Caius's firm chest and enjoying the way it felt to be like this with these three, not missing the contented purr that passed Caius' lips, his arms tightening around her waist by a fraction as Aro sent a jealous glare his way and Marcus rolled his eyes in annoyance at the smug smirk on the fair haired kings face.
"I suppose it is best to start from the beginning, if what you say is true and I am your mate, then it would be wrong of me to continue hiding anything about myself from you all"
Skye closed her eyes for a moment, letting the memories fill her mind and fighting back the urge to cringe. The brothers noticed that her body had suddenly stiffened as she began to speak.
"My Parents were originally from the Russian capital city, Moscow. My mother was a flourist and my father a mechanic. I only know that we moved too England not long after I was born because my father was offered a new job in the country... I don't really remember much else about them both, they died when I was six, a robbery on our house that went disastrously wrong, and I spent three years in care because we had no other family that I could be placed with. Both of them had been only children and my grandparents had died many years before"
"Being in care was awful. Everytime I thought that I would finally be placed with a family and allowed to rebuild my life, something would happen, usually they would see something that, at the time, my uncontrolled gift for illusions conjured up, and I'd be sent back to the social workers. Then one day, when I was nine years old, a man arrived at the office saying that he was looking for a number of children too take part in a government project. We were all given a series of tests, the usually stuff, intelligence, strength and speed. If any child passed these tests then he would take them with him. In the end, seven were chosen, and I was one of them after passing both the strength and intelligence tests"
She leaned forward slightly, intent on proving her point as she raised her fist above the coffee table and slammed it back down, shoving the limb through the wood like it was butter.
"For the first week, every thing seemed fine. We were still put through numerous tests to monitor our various attributes but it didn't bother us too much, we were all just happy to be out of the home. But it all changed one morning when we, all seven of us, were seperated and led into a lab room... I was terrified when they forced me onto the cold steel table, strapping me in. I tried to kick my way free, I could hear the screams of the others at their own fear. That's when I saw the syringe, filled with a strange looking liquid that glistened in the flourescent lights of the lab"
Skye was shaking slightly at the memory of that day, the three kings seeing the growing distress in their mates eyes as Marcus stole her from Caius' arms and began trying to sooth her, holding her tight against his chest as she took deep, calming breaths. She'd barely told them anything and the three were already beginning to feel anger bubbling inside their minds at what these people had done to Skye.
"They never said what it was called, only explained that it would enhance the most dominant aspects of our beings... It felt like I was being ripped open and set on fire from the inside when they injected it into my system. It took two days for the serum to complete it's work on us, by that point I had passed out from the pain... Out of the seven children chosen for the experiment, only four survived. Our names were stripped from us and we were known only as subjects one, three, six and seven. I was subject seven"
"The serum affected us all in different ways, none of us were the same. Subject one was able to completely mask his prescence, his speed unmatched, making him the perfect silent assassin. Subject three had, what I can only describe as, an all seeing eye, he could focus his vision upon any event or area that he was requested or desired too, making him perfect for stratergy planning. Subject six was the weakest of our team, physically and emotionally, but she could shift her appearance too suit her circumstances, making her the perfect decoy and spy for any mission."
Skye smiled sadly as she thought about these three. The memories were painful but, as a team, they had all been close, knowing that they only truly had each other in the end.
"And then there was me, subject seven. The formula had strengthened my illusions and given me control as well as enhancing my desire to survive, resulting in my talent for rapid healing. I was trained for interrogation, showing my victims their worst fears and most horrific nightmares too attain the information that we required at the time. But due to my healing and physical strength, I was also trained in combat and in the use of weapons, sent into the field on a number of occassions."
"We were all sixteen or older when we began working for the governement, contract killers sold off too which ever regime was willing to pay. If an election needed rigging, subject three would be sent out. If a political rival in some country needed to be disgraced, subject six was sent to put him into some precarious situation. If an assassination needed to be carried out then they would send out subject one. We were rarely commissioned as a team. The only time was a mission in China. We were sent to take out a terrorist uprising that had begun to form in the country and I had been ordered to carry out the seige on the hide out"
Skye pulled away from Marcus at this point, standing between the three kings as she began to pull her shirt up enough too expose her back. Caius let a snarl of anger rip from his throat as a long, jagged scar was revealed, maring the, otherwise, perfection of her back.
"The only problem was that it had been a set up, orcastrated by the Chinese government after rumours of our team began too surface. When I entered the hostile enviroment, I was caught by surprise and knocked out. Taken hostage and kept in seclusion for a week with no food and very little water before they began too interrogate me, my healing ability weakened by my lack of sustanance. This was the only wound I have never been able to completely heal and, if i'm honest, I don't want too. It's a very clear reminder of what I have done in my life"
"I never broke my silence, waiting for the oppotunity too escape, knowing that eventually they would grow too confident in their hold over me... When the day came, they left me alone with a single guard, still finding new ways too torture me. He got too close, about to slice the lobe off my ear, and I bit into his throat... The gun that I used today was his, I stole it too aid my escape... But as messed up as it sounds, being interrogated is not my worst memory of the past. I soon returned to work, what else could I do when I had never known any other life?"
"I was sent back out on mission after being assessed by the medical team, partnered with subject three and one too sort out a hostage situation at a school. This is my worst memory, because during the seige... I shot a child in friendly fire whilst trying too take down one of the mercenaries... I still have nightmares about her even now. Not long after, we were disbanded, rumours about what we were and how we had been 'created' becoming too much of a problem. They chose not too kill us on the condition that we would never utter a word of what we had done or how we came to be what we are... Subject six recently broke this rule and died for it, along with her husband... I'd never have told you three if you had been only human, but I have faith in the knowledge that you will be safe"
She gave a sad smile as she looked at each of the brothers. She'd have to learn fast how to cope with this whole mating bond situation, but she got the feeling it would be worth it. The only problem she really had now was keeping track of any threats her old life could now hold. They always had means of keeping tabs on the subjects.
"do you still keep in contact with the remaining two?"
She gave a quick nod too Aro's question, grinning slightly at the thought of her recent conversation with subject three.
"of course, myself and three have always been close. He saved my life with his gift on many occassions and I've taken a fair few beatings to look after him on the few times he was brought into combat. He's like a brother to me. sadly, however, I do not know where he is now. We don't really know where subject one is anymore either, he decided to travel the world and find his own way of escaping, but we know he's alive and well so that's enough for us"
She sat back on the couch, feeling slightly guilty again for lying about the where abouts of subject three. Of course she knew where he was, but she didn't want to risk dragging him into her mess. An impish grin formed on her face as she took in the appearance of the brothers, there were still some minor details that she wanted to know.
"so, if you guys are vampires, does that mean you freak out at the sight of garlic? Run ten miles at the thought of a stake through the heart? I suppose it would explain why you guys never go out in the sun and always have the curtains closed"
The three kings shared a look, all of those things were myths created by mortals too make vampires a little less frighening. The idea that a vampire could easily be defeated by throwing a lump of garlic in his face was highly laughable. But did they really want to show their mate what they looked like in the sun light? It was hardly fitting for the three most powerful vampires in creation. But she had kept too her word and told them what they had asked for, they were beyond the point of lying now. Aro moved towards the covered window, not exactly delighted that he would be the on too demonstrate.
"No, Mia Amore, all of those things are falsehoods. And as for our aversion too the sun, it is merely that we do not take much joy in it's effects upon our skin"
With that, he threw the curtain open, letting the sunlight wash over him as Skye's eyes widened at the sight of him. His skin looked like a million shimmering diamonds, truly beautiful in how they glittered in the weak scottish sun. Unfortunately, Skye's mind seemed to process the information differently as a little giggle passed her lips before she fell into full hysterics, her head falling against the back of the sofa as Aro sent a mildly offended look her way and his brothers looked at her with utter confusion.
"I'm so sorry. I swear I'm not laughing at you, Aro, but I've just revealed myself to be a walking, talking weapon of war and nightmares and you have shown me that vampires are walking, talking disco balls! Bram Stoker would be spinning in his grave"
She continued to laugh, small tears coming too her eyes as she closed her eyes in mirth, not noticing that the curtain had been closed and she now had three vampires very close too her, all with a feral look in their eyes as they took in the sight of the bags underneath her own eyes. She screamed in shock as Aro lifted her up and began to carry her towards one of the cottage's bedrooms, unsure of what he was up too until he placed her down carefully and the three of them sat on the edge of the bed.
"you seem tired, Skye, I know that you do not sleep well but you must try. Your health is now our concern. Do not fear, we shall not leave you"
She hadn't even realised how exhausted she felt, the days events having pushed the notion of sleep from her thoughts. A small yawn passed her lips as she fell back into the pillows, a look of worry in her drooping eyes as she spoke
"Will you wake me up if I start having a nightmare?"
"Of course, little love"
With Marcus's reassuring words and Caius' fingers gently stroking her hair out of her face, she was lulled into a deep sleep. The last thought in her mind before succumbing too the bliss of a dreamless sleep was that, perhaps, this whole 'being the mate of three vampires' thing wouldn't be so bad after all.
So what did you think of the chapter? Things are going to start heating up for Skye now, the dangers of her old life starting to surface and coping with the three kings now that she knows the truth. Hopefully you will all continue too enjoy the story, any feed back on the chapter would be great and I hope to have the next chapter up in a few more days.
Also, a huge thank you to everyone for reviewing and favorite/following :) hopefully I don't disappoint any of you with what I write.