Nexus [COMPLETE]

26. Domare

August 2013

I was sitting in my favorite lounge when Alexander Devonshire walked in, a fair-haired individual in tow. I didn't recognize the human, but I could smell the fresh chemical scent of the Nexus wafting off of his skin. The Nexus smelled a bit like bleach. The human also smelled a bit like Alexander himself, who looked very pleased.

"I see you've gotten a slayer," I commented when he approached my chair. He sat on an empty sofa and the fair-haired man joined him.

"Domare, this is Winter. Winter this is Domare."

"Charmed," I said flatly.

"Where's DeBrock?" Alexander asked.

"Running. Winston's a track junkie." It wasn't a joke. Winston seriously spent a lot of time exercising. It gave him a good focus though. Even sitting idly in the lounge, I could feel the rush of blood through his veins, feel the strain of muscles working, and bask in the clarity of my human's thoughts as he pushed himself through each new task.

Alexander chuckled. "I heard about the fight with Teirren. You practically broke the kid, Domare."

"He deserved it."

Unsurprisingly, Alexander took the news in stride. "It's amazing how many of them don't know how easily we could control them. The pureblood's power is unmatched. I'm still shocked that you so rarely exert your authority over these lesser vampires."

"Neither have you," I noted.

"I'm not really the type."

"And you think I am?"

"I think you're far more vindictive than I am."

I smirked. "You got that right." A quick glance to Alexander's right had me wondering. "You're in each other's heads?"

Winter nodded, face tense. "It's trying."

"Isn't it?" I insisted. "What's your match rate?"

"Eighty percent," the other vampire declared proudly.

"Pretty high," I commented.

"Oh, shut up!" he said cheerfully. "Everyone knows that you and Winny have the highest match-rate in the history of the prison."

"Watch yourself, Devonshire," I warned. "You are not to call him by that name."

The icy quality of order flooded my blood as I let the command take wing. As Alexander had said, I rarely took the time to use my powers of control over other vampires. However, when it came to the other pureblood, I was often more liberal with demands, which didn't always stick, seeing as he was a pureblood himself. Winter shifted uncomfortably on the couch, but Alexander made no sign of acknowledgment or discomfort as the push of my words surely overtook him.

"You're overprotective," he observed.

I raised a brow. "Aren't you?"

"Utterly," Winter piped in. "It's maddening."

"You and Winston would get along swimmingly," I pointed out. "He claims I'm far too possessive."

You are, Winston's voice filled up my head, causing me a small amount of relief. I liked the calm, but not the distance that his single-minded focus could build between us.

I'll be done soon, Winston reassured me, then distanced himself again to finish his workout.

"You've gone all hazy," Alexander observed. "Winston chiming in?"