Under His Spell (Blanchard Coven 2): An M/M Vampire Romance Page 3

  Bennett needed him, that was a fact. Elijah could—would—show the warlock the support he needed, and show Bennett that his place was right by Elijah’s side.

  Chapter Three

  “You okay, Benny? You’ve barely touched your food.”

  Bennett looked up to see Soraya and Haley staring right at him. Soraya was cradling an overstuffed burrito and fitting it into her mouth, while Haley was lifting a forkful of salad to hers.

  He looked down at his own food, this beautifully-made, rather-large rectangle of lasagna glistening with deliciousness, oozing with cheese and dribbling a bit of meat sauce down the side.

  He was zoning out again.

  Bennett blinked down at it, and then looked up at his friends, smiling. He knew the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. He was still feeling a little tired and sluggish. “I’m okay. Something just feels a little…off.”

  “If it’s the melon soda you got, I told you that melon doesn’t really go with the flavor palate of lasagna,” Soraya said around the burrito in her mouth, muffling her every other word. “And if it’s the fact that Julien Blanchard is over there watching something on a tablet with his mate, I agree—that’s a little weird, too. We don’t usually see him out and about at this hour anymore. He’s turned full day-walker ever since his mating.”

  Bennett turned to look at the leader of the Blanchard coven, Julien, and Eos—the two men responsible for Bennett’s survival and his stay in the Blanchard building. Julien and Eos hadn’t intended to save Bennett, it was just a nice little side effect of getting rid of Marcel and Eos saving his best friend.

  He didn’t really know what to think of them. Some strange mix of anxiety and gratitude made his stomach knot and twist at acknowledging that they were the reason he was alive right now, but he was just a happy little accident in the grand scheme of things.

  Bennett wondered, then, if he were one of those people who had developed feelings for his captors, like if he had fallen in love and had actively started to work with Marcel rather than still retaining his sense of self and how poorly he had been treated—although he inwardly retched at the idea of forming some kind of romantic bond with that madman—would they have dealt with him the same way they did Marcel, too? If he had been just a little less cooperative, would he be here now?

  “It’s probably the melon soda,” Haley said, pulling Bennett away from his darkening thoughts. “They don’t get the good stuff from Japan. They’ll get it if you ask, but if you don’t, it’s not the really, really good kind. It tastes all artificial and kind of blah.”

  Bennett smiled, and shook his head. “No, it’s not that,” he replied. “I was just wondering about some stuff.”

  “What kind of stuff?” Soraya asked.

  “Nothing, really,” Bennett answered, maybe a little too quickly judging from the raised eyebrow he got from Soraya and the slight tilt of Haley’s head. “Mostly I was thinking about how weird it would be that if things had been a little different, I may not be here right now. If I had been a little less cooperative, or a little more volatile, I may not be in this building. I may not even be alive at all.”

  Soraya blinked, lowering her burrito down to the plate. “Well, that’s a rather grim thought, isn’t it?”

  “I agree. What brought this on?” Haley asked, leaning forward toward Bennett. “Lots of “ifs” you’re thinking about there.”

  “Mm, like I said, nothing in particular,” Bennett answered. He immediately looked down at his plate. “Just…stuff. And things.”

  “Stuff…and things,” Haley repeated, to which Bennett nodded in response. “Sounds…descriptive.”

  Bennett nodded. He knew he was being evasive, but he didn’t really want to concern people with the way his thoughts tended to go deep and dark the way that it did sometimes. For the longest time, after all, his mind was his only safe place.

  “Yeah, but what kind of stuff and things?” Soraya asked.

  Haley was looking at him with such an expectant look in those wide, doe-like eyes of hers that it made Bennett shift uncomfortably in his seat. He picked at his lasagna, trying to find the right words to say—the words that’d make them focus on something else other than his own feelings at the question.

  It was such a simple question, yet it definitely put him on the spot.

  “I don’t know. Just random stuff. Can we drop the subject? I’m sorry I even brought it up,” Bennett said, trying to fight the frown that was beginning to form on his face.

  Haley sighed. “You don’t have to be sorry, Bennett. The only reason we’re asking is because we’re worried about you, you know.”

  “Yeah. I know how those deep, dark thoughts can lead to other deeper, darker thoughts. Spiraling is no fun,” Soraya added.

  Bennett really didn’t feel comfortable with all the show of concern by his friends, so instead of meeting their gaze he picked at his food, poking at the lasagna in front of him with his fork with one hand while he gripped tightly onto his seat with the other. He hunched over a little bit, trying to make himself smaller. It was making him feel like curling up into a ball and hiding away.

  Honestly, he was fine. He was better now. This was a much better place than he was in just mere days ago. In Bennett’s mind, the concern being showed to him was touching, but highly unnecessary.

  Dark thoughts came and went. That’s just how it worked for Bennett. Just because he thought them, didn’t mean he wanted to act on them.

  Bennett looked up at them, and gave a little shrug of his shoulders. What exactly did they expect him to say? Didn’t other people feel the same way as he did? Was he weird for having such deep, dark thoughts? They weren’t intrusive—distressing, no, but sometimes disturbing—and Bennett still knew that reality was reality, but fiction was fiction.

  Instead of saying anything, he lifted a forkful of his food to his mouth and took a big bite, trying to calm down his heartbeat that was steadily going faster and faster. He couldn’t quite swallow, as he was beginning to lose his appetite, but still it was better to fake it rather than have to answer and risk displeasing his two friends.

  Both Soraya and Haley stared at him for a long, excruciating moment. Their eyes were so intense that it almost felt like they were trying to burn a hole into him just from their looks. He knew, because every so often he would turn up to look at the both of them, and they were still staring. The two witches were definitely intent on staring him down until he caved, but he wouldn’t.

  If he could survive a year with Marcel, he could survive a couple seconds of intense staring.

  Finally, Soraya sighed, and shook her head. “Fine, we’ll drop it for now,” she said. “But you should know that we care, and that’s why we ask. And if you’re ever ready to share…”

  Bennett nodded, and lifted another little forkful of lasagna to his mouth. Honestly, he didn’t really know what they wanted from him. Wasn’t he already being honest with them? Wasn’t he already doing what he was supposed to do, sharing his thoughts to his new friends?

  It still felt like his insides were quivering, though, and his stomach was definitely churning in a bad way.

  Anxiety is a bitch.

  But as he slowly calmed down, he could finally swallow the food in his mouth.

  “So,” Haley started to say, filling in the silence between them. “About the thing Miss Ifi said to you earlier today…”

  Bennett finally looked up at Haley and Soraya, who were taking bites of their own food, looking at him, but with far less intensity than earlier.

  Every so often, they would turn to look at each other, and then they would share a little mischievous smile. Bennett tilted his head, looking between the both of them.

  “What about it?” Bennett asked, placing his fork down onto his plate.

  “Do you finally know who that person might be?” Haley asked, lifting a forkful of her salad up to her mouth to take a big bite.

  Bennett frowned. He pondered on it for a moment, leaning back a
gainst his chair to think about this person. He glanced around, trying to peek at the people around them. Who could it be? It’s not as though anyone was looking at him, giving him the answer he needed.

  Finally, the warlock sighed. “I honestly still don’t know who it is,” he answered.

  “Well, I’m pretty sure you’ll find out soon,” Soraya said.

  Bennett furrowed his eyebrows. “What makes you say that?”

  Soraya turned toward Haley, and the both of them shared a little smile. “You’ll see,” Soraya said. “But we have to get going for now. I…forgot that we left a cauldron unattended. Right, Haley?”

  There was a pause in that last sentence that made Bennett know immediately that she was lying. But why? What had suddenly come up?

  Haley blinked for a moment, but then she nodded gravely. “Yeah. It was a very stupid mistake. We don’t want to get shouted at by Miss Ifi, so…” She trailed off toward the end, which only served to make Bennett even more curious.

  Soraya finished the thought for her. “So, why don’t you finish up on your meal and we’ll see you back upstairs?”

  Bennett opened his mouth to ask a question, but ultimately, he kept quiet and nodded. “Okay. But are you guys upset about…earlier?”

  It was a fair enough question, Bennett thought. They were acting really shifty. Was it something he said? Were they upset about how he avoided the conversation?

  “What? No,” Soraya said quickly, shaking her head. “No. Like we said, we’re worried, but we’re not upset. I trust you, Benny. Just don’t let yourself get hurt, or hurt yourself, okay?”

  Bennett nodded. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

  “We are,” Haley said, turning to Soraya, who nodded in approval. Soraya picked up her burrito. “Let me just take this. Try to enjoy yourself, okay, dear?”

  “I don’t know what that means,” Bennett said. “But okay.”

  The two witches headed over out of the restaurant, holding each other’s hands all the way. Meanwhile, Bennett sat there, confused, with maybe just the tiniest bit of emotional whiplash over all that had happened.

  Bennett felt even more confused than earlier. If it wasn’t something he said, was it something he…did?

  He went from being needled about his dark thoughts, to having his friends skip out on him all of a sudden with puzzling smiles on their faces. Now, he was hungry and confused, which only really made him hungrier.

  Bennett stuffed his mouth with another forkful of food, quietly contemplating and watching the people around him. They were all busy minding their own business. A waiter was taking someone’s order. Eos and Julien were still looking—or watching, more like—at something on their tablet, and Julien had pressed a kiss on Eos’s temple, which made the smaller human cuddle closer into his mate. Others, still, were just going about their day, mundane as ever. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that many of these people were vampires.

  Bennett sighed. They looked so happy, and content, and…good. Why would he ever think badly of them? Marcel had really done a number on him if he could think that these two people could ever wish him harm. They seemed so harmless, now, even though Bennett knew that Julien was literally the leader of this entire coven.

  Eos’s eyes had caught Bennett’s suddenly, and the other man smiled. His round cheeks lifted into a wide smile that made him look, well, downright sunny when compared to Bennett’s own, or so he thought. Eos even raised a hand to give Bennett a soft wave. When he did so, even Julien looked up at Bennett and offered a polite wave and a nod.

  Bennett sheepishly offered a little wave of his own. Dang. I’ve been caught.

  He felt a little awkward doing it, but he knew he needed to, at least for politeness’s sake.

  “Hey, Bennett.”

  Another voice called out from behind him—a deeper one, more masculine, in a rich tone that was unfamiliar to Bennett for the most part—and it already made an already-surprised Bennett startle once again. His heart skipped a beat, and it made him place a hand up on his chest as he turned to look at the person calling out to him.

  “O-Oh, hello, Mister Lillegard,” the warlock said, trying to calm himself down.

  Elijah Lillegard was a baby-faced Adonis with his chocolate-colored hair and eyes the shade of deepest hazel—mostly dark brown, with just the barest hint of green mixed in—like a swirl of honey and emerald. He always looked immaculate in a suit, but there was a rumpled quality to how he looked recently that Bennett was sure wasn’t the norm, because some people had pointed it out, which meant that Elijah was…well, not as he usually was.

  Truth be told, it was strange that out of everyone in the building, Bennett’s eyes were always drawn to Elijah. Sometimes, he could even catch the other man peeking at him too, and offering the slightest of easy-going smiles.

  Bennett wondered—was he the one everyone was talking about? No, it couldn’t be.

  Elijah Lillegard was a stunning man. Bennett was a broken, frail little frump right next to him. Maybe the reason Elijah was always looking at him was out of concern. He was, after all, one of Julien Blanchard’s right-hand men.

  Elijah scratched the back of his head. “It’s just Elijah, Bennett. Not Mister Lillegard. Are you alright? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

  “Oh. Right. Elijah, then,” Bennett replied. “I’m fine. You just startled me, is all. Besides, I haven’t attended a séance in a long time, so no ghosts here. How may I help you today?”

  Bennett inwardly winced at his own awkwardness, but he offered a half-hearted little chuckle. Was a joke really appropriate there? He didn’t know.

  The corners of Elijah’s lips quirked upward into a smile, but then he gestured to an empty seat. “Can I sit down first?”

  Bennett looked up at the vampire, and nodded. He gestured over in front of him, trying to remember his manners as best he could. “Yes, of course.”

  As Elijah moved over and sat in one of the empty chairs right in front of Bennett, the warlock couldn’t help but see Elijah as this graceful panther stalking its prey. His movements were so fluid and confident, it was glaringly opposite to the janky, awkward way Bennett moved.

  In fact, Bennett couldn’t help but feel like…well, like the prey to Elijah’s predator. Elijah’s eyes were trained on him, and though there was something strangely unfocused in those hazel depths, it made Bennett feel…seen. Well, people could see him—it’s not as though he was invisible—but it felt like Elijah could see every little inch and nook and cranny of him in a way no one else had in the Blanchard building.

  In some small way, it felt flattering. But it felt deeply disconcerting, too. Bennett’s heart started beating a little faster. It felt just like it did earlier, when Haley and Soraya asked him about his thoughts.

  Bennett tried his best not to be awkward when he smiled at Elijah. “So, did you need anything?”

  Elijah nodded. “Well, honestly I just needed to tell you something important. I’m trying to come right out and say it rather than beat around the bush, but it’s hard to do when you’re looking at me like that.”

  Bennett raised an eyebrow, and tilted his head. “Looking at you like what?” he asked, but he felt his body tense and go a bit more rigid. When people started a conversation with “I need to tell you something,” it was usually some form of bad news. It was just another way for couples to say “we need to talk,” after all.

  Did the coven send Elijah to kick Bennett out on the curb? Maybe he did something to displease someone. Almost as soon as those words left Elijah’s mouth, Bennett’s stomach wrenched and he sat up a bit straighter than before. “I’m afraid I don’t quite know what you mean,” Bennett said.

  “Well, looking at me the way you are now, with your big eyes, and that soft expression on your face. It’s…really cute,” Elijah replied. “It’s distracting, is what it is. Fuck. What was I trying to say again?”

  Cute? Now Bennett was really confused.

  So many questions swirled
around in the spiral of Bennett’s mind. How could Elijah think he was cute? What did Elijah need to tell him? Most important of all, what in the nine hells exactly was happening here?

  The curling anxiety that settled in Bennett’s stomach was beginning to abate somewhat, and he felt himself slowly start to loosen up. Bennett could finally let loose a little sigh. “I’m afraid I still don’t quite know what you mean.”

  The handsome vampire huffed and sat back against his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Shit. I’m fucking this up, aren’t I,” Elijah muttered under his breath, his face scrunching up into this expression that looked like a mix of annoyance and concentration. It was like he was trying to think too deeply about something. “How do I want to say this? Maybe I should just go right out and say it. Maybe I’m just overthinking it.”

  A moment of silence passed between the two of them. Bennett felt the tension in his body slowly begin to leave, and he actually had enough strength to reach out for the fork on his plate to get another mouthful of food in his body. All of this, of course, while he waited for Elijah—who Bennett was now convinced was a little drunk, to put it mildly—to find the right words.

  “Gods, tequila was a bad idea,” Elijah muttered under his breath, placing a hand over his face and leaning back, sighing deeply. “I’m fucking this up even worse than I thought I would. No—I know I’m overthinking things.”

  Seeing the vampire be at a loss for words was actually kind of…cute. It kind of humanized Elijah a little bit to Bennett, who had always felt like being surrounded by all these perfect beings was a little off-putting. But maybe it wasn’t so bad, if someone as beautiful as Elijah Lillegard could be flustered.

  Elijah banged his fist on the table, a smile appearing on his face when it seemed like a thought finally clicked in his head. The resulting slam, and the sound it made, startled Bennett and some other people around them, making the warlock pull back slightly out of embarrassment—and maybe a little bit of anxiety—while Elijah didn’t seem like he cared that much about having made a scene.