vi.

Dwayne led me out of my bedroom and to the living room where I quickly sat down on the beat-up recliner that I had gotten from a thrift shop. Dwayne sat on the ground while David sat on my other recliner and Paul was laid across the sofa with Marko in his lap, playing with his hair as they listened to music. The three seemed to perk up as I entered the room, eyes following me making me just a bit uncomfortable.

I sat up a bit in my chair, smiling. "So, what do we need to talk about? Nothing bad, I hope."

David was the one to speak. "Was what you said in there true?"

I raised an eyebrow. How could he hear me? I wasn't talking that loud. Was I? "I mean, yeah. Tenth grade me would be screaming at the opportunity to become a vampire."

"What if we could give you that opportunity?"

David's voice was deathly calm, and it was the only thing that kept me from laughing. "What? Is this some kind of cult?" David glared at the question, and I simply shrugged my shoulders. "I thought it was a valid question," I mumbled, slumping in my seat with my arms crossed. Paul laughed a bit, but he quieted when David glared at him.

"I'm being serious."

I huffed and rolled my eyes. "And how exactly would you be able to do that?"

"Because we are vampires."

I sighed and stared at him. "Okay, I realize that I look dumb and all, but I don't think I would be that gullible. I mean, really? What would a group of vampires want to do with me besides eat me?"

"I'm always up for eating you out," Marko mumbled from where his face was buried in Paul's shoulder.

I shook my head at him and stared at the two on the couch as I spoke. "I mean, am I really-" I cut myself off as I turned to David to see his face completely distorted. His eyes had turned a bright shade of gold while his teeth elongated while his face distorted into a snarl. I stared at him for a few seconds, trying to find it in myself to move. My heart was beating faster than I thought possible. "Okay, well, you see-" I started before I flung myself out of my chair and booked it to my bedroom.

I threw myself into my room and slammed the door shut, locking it even though I knew it would do no good. I could faintly hear Dwayne go 'fuck' and Marko yell out a 'what the hell, Paul' as his body hit the ground. I looked around my room for anywhere to hide before I decided to do the most childish thing possible and hide under the bed. I scrambled under the tight space and watched the bedroom door from the shadows.

"Evangeline," David called out as he knocked on the door. I stayed silent, trying to lower my heart rate the most I could, though I was utterly terrified. Sure, I had talked about them before, but this was different. They were real. Really real! And in my house! I wanted to scream, but I knew it would do no good.

"Angel?" That was Marko.

"Come on, doll!" Paul.

"We're not going to hurt you, Princess." Lastly, Dwayne.

They sounded so concerned and genuine, and I almost pulled myself out, but I stayed still, staring at the door. "How do I know that?" I wanted to say that my voice was strong and powerful and that I felt confident when saying it, but in truth, my voice wavered and cracked at the end, and I swear, I heard one of them whimper.

"We haven't hurt you yet. Why don't you trust us?" Paul's voice was desperate as he spoke.

I paused. They hadn't hurt me at all. They just made me confused and a bit aroused. That was it. "Then what do you want with me?" That time, I screamed it out, on the verge of tears. I had thought about dying before, but I couldn't deny that I was fearful of it, and these boys could kill me in an instant. I still didn't know why they hadn't walked into my room yet. Maybe they were giving me space.

"I need to tell you that face-to-face," David responded, and I heard someone turn the doorknob. "Can we come in?"

I wanted to say no. I wanted to crawl out from my bed and jump out of my window, but I knew I couldn't. There would be no point in running even if I could make it out of the house. They would find me; I had no doubt. So, I simply squeaked out a small 'yea' and tried to push myself as close to the wall as possible.

The door opened slowly, and I watched as four pairs of boots walked in, one after the other. Dwayne was the one to notice where I was first, and he fell to his knees and peeked under the bed to see me curled in the corner. My frightened eyes stared back at his worried ones, and I watched as all the boys followed his lead and peaked under the bed.

"Can you come out for us, princess," Dwayne questioned, reaching his hand under for me to grab.

I hesitated for a moment before reaching out and taking his hand, letting him pull me from what felt like safety. I was shaking terribly, and I could tell that they noticed. Dwayne lifted me up carefully and sat me down on my bed while they continued to surround me. I looked down and played with my fingers, trying to breathe properly.

I gasped a bit when I felt David's gloved hand softly grab my chin and pull it to where I was looking him in the eyes. I stared at him, and he stared back for a few seconds like he was looking for something. "You've felt it, haven't you?" His voice was soft, barely there. "That feeling you don't understand. It's the reason you feel so comfortable around us. It's why you don't mind us staring and why you felt comfortable kissing Paul when you first met him. You feel it, don't you."

I nodded slowly, still matching his gaze. "Yes. With all of you." My voice was barely there, even softer than David's, but he still heard me.

"Do you want to know what it is?" David tilted his head a bit as he asked.

I paused for a second, and I felt myself think back to all the vampire fiction I had read years ago – the romance novels, the old tales from even older books, the survival guides. I had read them all. "Am I your mate," I questioned, looking away for a second before meeting his gaze again.

David seemed taken aback for a second before he nodded slowly. "How do you know that?"

I blushed bright red, and I heard Marko and Paul laugh a bit. "I read a few books." My eyes subconsciously drifted to my large bookshelf filled with novels about vampires. Dwayne laughed at that one as he scanned over the selection. I could tell he knew a few of them. "But I haven't read one where she had multiple mates."

David chuckled. "It's called a pack mate, sweetheart. If you have a strong enough connection with your vampire family, you'll end up sharing a mate so you aren't torn apart when individual members find one. We share you."

I blushed again. "I feel like a whore," I mumbled, pulling out of David's grip. He let out a guttural growl like the one I had heard a few nights before.

"Don't call yourself that."

"Well, it's true," I whined, slumping my shoulders. "I have four mates. That's a bit whorish!" David growled again, and I sighed, standing up. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in for a hug. "I didn't say I didn't want to be with you guys. It's just not normal."

"Do you want normal?"

I thought for a second before shaking my head. "I've been living normally my whole life. Maybe you guys can change that."

David chuckled before I was pulled from his grasp and into another chest, and if the feeling of mesh on my mid-riff told me anything, it was Paul.

"Group hug," Marko yelled out, wrapped his arms around me from behind. "You guys have to join, too!"

I heard a grunt, and soon, I was surrounded by all four of my boys. "This is the dumbest thing I've done all week," David grumbled lightly, but he had complied, and I was happy. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

After a few seconds, everyone pulled away, and I felt Paul throw me over his shoulder. "You have got to stop doing that," I screeched, trying to fix my skirt without falling onto the floor.

Paul laughed and swatted my hand with his free one. "Don't move it! I'm enjoying the view."

I groaned and fell limp against him. "Where are you taking me?"

"Right here," he responded, and I was moved so fast I couldn't comprehend anything for a second. When I was able to focus again, and I found myself straddling Paul on the sofa while he laid against the cushions with a lazy grin on his face. I rolled my eyes and fell on top of him, laying my legs between his and my head on his shoulder like Marko had done before.

I took a few moments to get comfortable before sighing softly. "You're really soft, Paul," I mumbled. He laughed a bit, and I twirled my fingers through his hair before growing bored. The boys had taken back to their activities from before, and I was left physically and emotionally exhausted. Paul rubbed his hand against my back, and I sighed softly, snuggling into him. I felt my eyes close, and I did nothing to stop them. Paul sang softly to the song on the radio, and though he wasn't the best, his voice helped me calm down just a bit to where I was drifting in and out of consciousness. I could vaguely make out when Marko had talked a bit too loud, and the boys immediately shushed him, when they had changed the stations, when Marko went rummaging through my fridge, complaining that there was nothing good, and when Dwayne had picked me up from Paul, much to his complaint, and took me to my room while David told the boys to clean up the messes they had made.

The last memory I had before drifting completely to sleep for the night was each of the boys pressing a kiss to a part of my face. Dwayne had been first, pressing a kiss to my forehead while mumbling 'goodnight, princess.' Paul had pressed one to my cheek with a 'see ya tomorrow, girl.' Marko had jokingly kissed the tip of my nose, whispering a 'night, angel.' David had been last, pressing a kiss to my other cheek. "Stay safe, sweetheart."

Then, I was out like a light, dreaming about the four boys who had taken over my life in only a few days.