7/22 - Today's my birthday! So I decided to post this today... because I wanted to.. yeah... Anyways...

(Drakus' POV)

It's been a whole week since Rene had joined our coven. It didn't come as a surprise to me that him and my mate formed a close connection. It was like a sibling bond. Something told me having Rene around eased my mate at times. Once or twice, I could see faint images of his sister, who he missed dearly. Rene was more so a replacement to fill that empty void.

In a sense, Joel claimed the other as his brother.

And he wasn't the only one. The girls also did too. Kim had squealed multiple times about having two younger brothers now in the coven. Since my coven joined Joel's, due to our bond, I noticed that there wasn't a collective of only about 8 submissive males. There was quite a number of females, both dominant and submissive.

But where was I going with this? Oh right.

"Drakus! Come over here!"

I turned to see a friend of Joel's, Angie. Beside her was her mate, Max. "Angie?", I questioned. I walked over to her when she waved me over. At the moment, a couple of us vampires were in the backyard that led out to the woods. It was now a little past two in the afternoon.

"What is it?", I asked. The small girl smiled. "We're about to play a game. Thought it was nice for you to join.", she said.

I realized I haven't done much conserving or joining in activities with the other coven. With Magnis being around, and now the wolves, it was rarely free time. That and I was always clinging to my mate now that he was pregnant.

"I think it would be nice for you to join."

I turned to see my glory of a mate standing on the patio. Nexus and Niya standing on each side of him. I noticed Rene was no where in sight. I had smiled, seeing Joel smiling back. "Oh?"

"Get use to the others. Remember, our covens are no longer rivals."

"I know. And I'm glad for it. It makes us stronger."

I looked back to see Angie and Max. "Sure. What's the game?" "We're playing our own crazy vampiric version of 'Tag'."

"Hold up! I'm coming!" The three of us chuckled as Niya rushed up to us. "I'm game for this and you damn well know it!" "Of course, you competitive little vamp.", Max teased. Niya pouted as Angie gave out another giggle. "Oh whatever. Just for that comment, I'm finding your ass first.", she threatened playfully.

We split off into equal teams of six. I was with Niya, Kim, Derus, Sarena (from my coven), and another I didn't know.

Our opposing team was Angie, Max, some guy named Julius, Yolanda, and Revina.

I looked over to the sidelines to see Joel and Nevus cheering on for me and Niya, she being Nexus' sister. I smirked, waving back to them before turning to see Kina holding a flag. With a wave of it, she announced the start of the game.

(Rene's POV)

I was walking from inside the house onto the back patio when I saw at least twelve vampires scatter across the field. When I got to his side, I tapped Nevus' shoulder. He turned to me, instantly smiling. "Rene?" "What are they doing?", I asked. He chuckled, sending shivers down my spine a bit.

"Tag. A simple game of tag.", he answered, placing his arm around my waist. Normally if anyone do this, I'd push them away and probably slap the shit out of them, but... with Nevus, it was more of a comfort touch that I grown to like. I don't know what it was, but something inside me is telling me he's my stone.

Getting closer to him, I looked out to the field. I saw a redhead girl slide under another vampire who tried to touch her. She jumped up and swiftly touched the back of his neck with a visible smirk.

A white haired woman called out, "Julius is out!" Said male groaned as he went over to the sidelines. Joel chuckled as he perched himself on a table. "I always told Julius he wasn't a good game player." "He's more of a straight forward guy. Goes in head first in a fight.", Nexus said. He looked down at me and smirked. "I reckon you still don't know some of us, huh?" I nodded. Joel pointed over to where Julius was. "Who you just saw get called out is Julius. He's one of the brawns in the coven. He may pack muscle and look frighten, but he is a sweetheart. If he grows on you, count yourself lucky. He's protective of his friends and family."

"Yolanda is out!", the woman called out again. Nexus spoke this time. "The woman calling them out is Kina. She's one of the Vivus Coven Elders. She has a gift to detect bonds between people by feeling the emotions they attract to each other." "And the girl she called out is Yolanda. She also has a gift. She can feel the emotions of vampires or others and influence new ones in an instant."

"And the redhead Julius tried to touch earlier is Angie. She's a sweet girl, a bit quiet at times."

"Maximus is out!" I saw a boy with dark brown hair leave the field. "And that's Maximus, or just Max. He's Angie's mate. He's even more quiet than her, but if you get to know him he's more opened.", Nexus added.

As each vampire dodged or got tagged out, Joel and Nexus informed me of each one. Including Joel's own mate, Drakus. I did know him by name, but I haven't had much interaction with him since I've been here.

"And that's just some of the vampires. There's others, but even we don't know everyone.", Nexus joked. I giggled a little, knowing I had a slight blush when he smiled down at me. His smile was gorgerous, truth be told. If he wanted, he could have been a model with his looks. No doubt in my mind, Nexus was attractive. Like some other vampires, his eyes were a golden yellow, filled with warmth with a slight tint of orange. It went well with the slightly auburn brown locks of his and the fair skin. He was taller than me but at least a foot, holding a structure of a god.

I don't know if I was developing a crush on the dude or what. I just know I felt an attraction to him.

"Nexus, you and Joel told me that some vampires have gifts. Do you have any?", I asked. Nexus' smile fell a little. "Yeah. I have one, but to me it's more of a curse than a gift." Joel had frowned, looked at both of us with sympathy. Something told me that whatever Nexus' 'curse' was, he knew about it.

Nexus pulled me closer. "I have the ability to break bonds between any two people. Whether their mates, or siblings. I don't like it because there's a drawback to it."

"What's that?", I asked softly, hoping I didn't sound as if I was too curious or pressing him. "I can't bond with anyone even if I tried. And I really want to because I found someone I really care for."

He took hold of both of my hands and held me closer. Willingly, I laid back into his chest. His frosty skin felt so relaxing against my abnormal heated cheek (another trait I have). It felt good. Too good.

(Joel's POV)

I couldn't help but let a smile linger on my lips. Nevus looked so at peace with holding Rene against his chest. The smaller had an effect on him that no one else had on Nevus.

Even me.

I looked into both their futures and saw how happy they were. I wanted to help them have that future. I wanted them both to be happy. Rene needed someone to love and care for him. Someone he could trust. Nevus needed someone for him to love. He needed someone he could be there for and say, "I'm here. I love you."

And now they have each other. The only thing that's in their way was Nevus' 'curse'. At first, I was happy with the fact he couldn't bond only out of the temporary hatred I had for him. But then, that grew into pity.

I knew I wasn't the one for him. I knew he would eventually find the one he wanted the most and wanted to bond with but he couldn't.

He wouldn't say it, but there a bundle of envy within him. He's jealous of those that formed bonds with their mates, friends, or family. He wanted... he yearned to feel other's emotions, to read their thoughts.

But fucking nature was cruel.

It turned around and merely gave him a slap in face and laughed at him.

I felt sorry for him. Especially after I looked into his past. He didn't have the life with his sister that he wanted. His parents were both killed in the mist of them protecting both his sister and himself. Niya was just 10 years of age and Nevus was 8.

They managed to escape before the angry mob of people found them. Niya had took responsibility over her brother, caring for him the best way she could. It wasn't until Nevus was 11 that they found a place they called home. A young woman took them in, seeing they needed family as much as she did. She saw herself in them, also knowing the feeling of being neglected.

Unfortunately, their happiness broke 5 years later. Niya and Nevus was once again accused of being evil demons or doing witchcraft. The woman had took it upon herself to protect them again, being burned to the stake.

Not even a week later, Nevus and Niya were turned by that bastard.

And now here they were. Surrounded by others who may or may not experienced what they have. And Nevus finally found love. I can see it when he looks at Rene. At the moment, the two were cuddled against each other, not caring how much of a couple they looked.

They actually looked cute together.

Rene had his eyes closed, snuggling in Nevus' much broader chest with his arms around his torso. Nevus was holding him protectively, nuzzling within his dark locks. I smiled at that.

I placed a hand on my stomach, feeling one of my babies move. It was as if they sensed the happiness, too.

"Babe!" I turned to see Drakus coming my way, a bright smile on his face. He placed an arm around me, giving me a kiss on my cheek. "What has you so giddy, love?", he asked. I nudged my head in Nevus and Rene's direction. Drakus looked over and smirked. "Oh. They look cute together." "They do.", I agreed.

It was silence between us for a while, my eyes closed in thought as I relaxed against my mate.

I had let my fingers run against the stone of the patio stairs before an image flashed in my mind.

(Drakus' POV)

I heard a sudden gasp and felt a shiver within my grasp. I looked down to see Joel snapping upwards, his eyes filling with that ghostly blue before turning back to their normal lavender state.

"Joel?"

He snapped his head to the right and stood up aburtly. "Blaze! Kina! We have company!"

I looked in time to see a large black wolf jump from the bushes, showing teeth that was made to kill. I grabbed my mate and placed him behind me as Nevus did the same with Rene.

Kina and Blaze with the others on the field got into stances to fight the wolf off. I felt another shiver and looked back to see Joel staring off in a distance. "Love, what's wrong?"

He pointed past the wolf, clear fear in his eyes. "He... he's here. Magnis is back."