Fix Me Up (Unknown Succubus Series book 2)

Friendly Reunion

  Back at the castle that evening was a surprise for me. I'd barely made it inside of the castle before excited yips and the scratch of claws rang through the air. My jaw dropped as forty pounds of orange fur and amber eyes jumped up on me. Happy nipping on my fingertips brought a cheerful grin to my face. Seriph circled around me with vigorous sniffing and lots of head nuzzling. As she calmed down I was able to look up and see my friends. Jared, Colton, Hunter, Gage, Violet all stood looking around in awe. Upon meeting my gaze shock filled their expressions.
"Where are your leggings?" Colton quipped sarcastically and I felt tears fill my eyes. God, I'd missed them so much. With a shriek I threw myself at Violet in a hug whilst also smacking Gage on the back of his head.
"There's a dress code here. But please tell me you brought some of my clothes. I will literally love you forever if you did." My voice held my smile and my chest felt tight with emotion.
"I missed you so much Aspen!" Violet cried into my shoulder passionately. I squeezed her tighter and blinked back fresh tears. "You have no idea how much I missed you...all of you actually." I choked out as the dam broke and my tears rolled down my cheeks.
"You're looking good, kid." Gage pat the top of my head awkwardly and I rolled my eyes at the vampire.
"I knew I should have stayed with you." Hunter growled when Violet and I finally separated. He yanked me into a suffocating hug and breathed in my scent deeply. My heart jumped in my chest at his touch. I felt safe and comforted in his arms.
"Some things need to happen and they did. You can't protect me from everything Hunter, you know that." I mumbled into his chest softly. His hands tightened on me for a moment before he sighed in agreement. It took some difficulty to pull away from the shifter but I managed it.
Jared stepped close and gave me an almost fatherly embrace with a kiss on my forehead that did not go over well with the other guys. "I'm happy to see you're well." He announced after giving me a once over.
"Right back at you, ya grump." I punched his arm lightly and Colton was quick to push Jared out of the way. The muscular vampire crushed me to his chest with roaming hands reassuring him of my presence. I tilted my head back to look up at him and he kissed me desperately. When he pulled back I was blinking in surprise. Gentle thumbs wiped away my tears. "Colton." I whispered uncertainly.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me." His voice broke with emotion. My heart twisted painfully at his torn expression. Self loathing and anger swirled inside his eyes.
"It's okay, I'm okay." I reassured not just him but all of my friends. Seriph bit the hem of my dress and dragged me backward. She placed distance between me and Colton. A laugh bubbled free from my chest and I crouched down to pet her.
"Oh, so these are your friends?" Arabella asked from behind me, she sounded uncertain. I nodded and glanced back at her with a huge smile. "You look so happy." She observed.
"I haven't seen them in so long. I really missed them so of course I'm happy to see them all again." I explained cheerily as a tongue swiped under my chin excitedly. Seriph whined and yipped happily as I gave her attention. I spotted Jasper entering and stood up.
He glanced over awkwardly before turning to leave but I stopped him by calling out his name. I ran across the room and stumbled to a shaky stop in front of him. "Thank you. Thank you so much Jasper." I showed my gratitude by enthusiastically grabbing into his hands and squeezing tightly.
"I want you to be happy here and your friends make you happy Aspen. Your smile is thanks enough." He replied in an airy tone. I let go of his hands and instead cupped his cheeks and stretched up on my tiptoes to help even out our height difference. Surprise lit up his beautiful eyes.
"Thank you." I repeated in a meaningful tone. It was my way of brushing over the earlier incident and showing my genuine appreciation.
"I see you have quite a few male friends." Arabella stated to break up the growing tension that had formed by my actions. I quickly pulled my hands back to myself and moved away.
"Oh, yeah. I'm starting a harem." I answered with a devilish laugh that dissolved the uncomfortable atmosphere. Only Jasper knew that I actually had first hand experience with harems so the joke went over the group well. From an outsider's view it was true that I'd acquired a lot more male friends than female. The men may have tried to court me at some point but most women tried to kill me so I was fine not being surrounded by psychopaths.
"A harem would require you to marry all of them and if I'm not mistaken you're terrified of commitment." Jasper pointed out with a raised brow. My expression turned sour as I shot him a sharp look. I was not afraid of commitment. Right?
"Finally, someone hits the nail right on the head. I'm sure it's just a succubus thing though. Can't stay alive if you're committed to only one person for your life, eventually someone would die." Gage prodded without realizing how insensitive his statements came off as. Violet elbowed him hard in the ribs but the damage had already been done. A frown twisted my lips and my hands fisted to keep a grip on my emotions.
When everything was just laid out like that it made me realize just how much of a monster I was. Humans didn't feed from energy like I did. Just because I was raised human didn't make me one. I could never live a normal life. At least not after everything that had happened. If Sam had never found me my powers might not have activated. I could have lived my entire life as a human and never known that I was a succubus. Maybe I could have formed a real relationship with someone and planned a future with them. Or maybe my powers would have activated and I would have accidentally killed them. A light bite on my hand pulled my from my spiraling thoughts. Seriph stares up at me excitedly.
"Dinner should be soon, I'll meet you guys in the dining hall later. I think I'm going to take a walk in the garden before it gets dark." I mumbled before walking away from everyone's concerned stares. They all cared for me but all I did was inconvenience them. I fed from them and dragged them into unnecessary trouble. They were my friends and yet none of them deserved all the problems I sucked them into. I truly cared about all of them which is why I needed to find a solution to keep them out of harms way.
None of them were going to get hurt on my behalf. It was always my powers that caused issues. I needed to control them better and stop impulsively feeding from people. Luke is willingly to kill to get me back. He is starting a war just because Jasper saved me from him. I can't let Jasper's people fight and potentially die because I'm too scared to fight myself. Luke has a claim over me and it's my job to dissolve it. He won't hurt anyone around me just to get back at me. I refuse to let him hurt me and scare me anymore. He won't kill me...I'm too valuable a pawn for him to kill. For me to have any hope of accomplishing my plans I needed to get stronger. My control over my powers was mediocre at best and my strength was shaky and unpredictable. I was powerful but unreliable. Only bursts of strength had kept me from failing in the past. It was time to practice until I could control my powers entirely.
I was able to use my powers at will but I couldn't deflect Luke's at all. He had been able to defend against my attacks with his own power so it was possible I could do the same. Physically he was stronger but if I could control my powers I had a chance. I was going to keep my friends safe no matter what. This was going to be our last reunion because I was going to end things here. No one will challenge me or try to take advantage of me again. I was going to prove my position in power with my strength. This succubus is ready to kick some ass and take down names all for the sake of her friends.