17. I don't want to be loved by you.

**Kieran**

As soon as the ceremony is over, we separate Ocean from her friends. As a human, she has no idea how our society works, let alone the smallest laws we must follow. Collared humans must return home no later than midnight, except on ceremonial nights. But as soon as the official part is over, they must leave. Ocean stays here, and the other women go back to the club. I knew she'd be mad at us, not that I care half as much about her tantrums as Octavius does. The dimwit brother runs after Ocean as soon as she walks up the stairs. Obviously, he'll do anything to endear himself to her, especially after the decision he made. Not that Octavius would ever tell her that; after all, he's going to make me the bad guy. And honestly, I don't mind.

As I close the door behind the last guest, I want to collapse on the floor and think of an idea to explain everything. The collar isn't nearly as bad as anything that could happen to Ocean. I don't know if she intentionally ignored the comment about taste or decided to question us later. One thing I know for sure is that she won't like the answer. Not at all.

I can wander around the house, but I know where my feet will take me, so I go to her room instead of living in denial. I am not surprised to see my brother standing at the door like an unhappy animal. Sometimes he reminds me of a dog. I lean against the wall and chuckle. "Well, well, well, what have we here? The one and only Octavius Jude, standing at someone else's door, unable to break it down. Just look at you; you are pathetic." Sure, I am rude and probably sound like an asshole, but sometimes he needs a little slap into reality.

"You talk to me like I care," he snaps.

"Dogs care. They listen. You listened," I laugh in his face. If he wasn't already dead, at least one part of his body would be turning bright red. I bet his blood would be boiling if he had any. "Step back," I add.

Hesitantly, he does as he's told, and I stand exactly where he was standing a moment ago. I raise my fist and knock three times on her door. "Open the door before I break the damn thing down. And no, you are not getting a new one. Later, I'll be happy to walk by your room every two minutes and catch you half-naked." The words barely escape my lips as Ocean unlocks the door and opens it a crack. "There you are," I wink at her and make my way inside, ignoring her protests. So what if she wants to be alone? I never asked her.

Ocean scolds and nearly slams the door in Octavius' face. "You are invading my privacy!" She mutters angrily. Looks like I'm not the only one testing my dear brother tonight. Oddly enough, I find her prettier when she's angry or trying to disobey me. It must be the damn primal in me, always looking for an opportunity to impose my dominance on someone. Ocean would be the perfect brat, that's for sure.

"Your personal space in my personal house, yes?" I shrug and sit down on her bed. While Ocean keeps shooting me death glares, Octavius stands at her bedroom door as he focuses his gaze at his feet.

"Forget it," she rolls her eyes and turns her back to me. Part of me wants to force her against the nearest wall and fuck her until she's barely breathing, but the other part understands where she's coming from. She must be angry about the collar. Well, if Ocean wasn't acting like an idiot and asking someone to kill her, she'd have the same collar as her friends. But to do that, she has to gain our trust first.

"My brother wants to talk to you," I mutter and lie down. There's nothing I can say or ask her now, so I decide to hold back. Until Octavius asks me to join their conversation or - if I'm lucky - lets me tame this woman.

If they don't start talking like two adults soon, I will be bored to death. Sure, there have been a few moments when talking to someone was impossible, and I preferred silence to chatter, but it's different with Octavius. He's always been the centre of attention, the life of the party, so his silence is suspicious. If that asshole came here to tell her about the next step in the Elite collaring ceremony, I will hurt him. "Kids pout, adults discuss. Drop that damn attitude and talk before I resort to extreme measures to deal with your stubborn asses. Either we have a peaceful conversation here, or you two will have fun watching each other rot in the cells of Invictus. So, what's it to be?" I turn on my side and place a hand under my head. They both stare at me like I am the evil stepfather, whereas I feel like the annoying little brother threatening his older sibling with something he might tell their mother.

"Ocean," Octavius sighs, and I keep my gaze fixed on him. Something tells me he might do or say something stupid. "I was against this collar, please, trust me."

"You lying little piece of shit!" I jump up from the bed and stomp towards him. I go to attack the lying maggot, but Ocean jumps in front of him. I stop and stare at the smirk spreading across Octavius' lips. I knew it. Even if he's the bad guy, he'll make me the villain to save his reputation.

"Stop it!" Ocean shouts at the top of her lungs. "Just stop the stupid show and bickering between you two. You are brothers, not enemies, so stop it, for God's sake! A human shouldn't be the reason vampires are fighting a silent war against each other, and don't even get me started on the possibility of a fight! I am so sick of it all; I just needed a moment of peace and quiet, and guess what- Octavius actually respected that and stood outside my door waiting. And what do you do? You barge in here like you own the place!" she stomps her foot on the floor like an angry toddler.

Under any other circumstances, I would consider her tantrum cute, but I drop the nice attitude and cut her off mid-sentence. "I do own the place," I announce, reminding her where her place is. It doesn't matter how nice I have been or how friendly my brother seems to be at the end of the day; she's ours, just like the property. Sure, I can't imagine being in her place, but the world is cruel as it is, and everyone plays their part. So will she, once Ocean understands that she has no right to act like a bitchy teenager. We are not her parents or her friends- we fucking own her.

I can see the flame in her eyes - Ocean is about to fight the Octavius battle. And what's that shady bastard doing? He's standing behind a woman's back, enjoying the show. If anything, he should be standing in front of her and protecting Ocean, but he's too comfortable playing the victim. This shit wouldn't be happening if he just listened to me. I told him it was a bad idea, but of course, my fucking decision doesn't matter. One day she's going to find out who the real bad guy is here, and I am already looking forward to her reaction. I watch as Ocean crosses her arms in front of her chest and takes a deep breath. "Partially, but it doesn't matter! You have given me an entire room to have the luxury of privacy, but only Octavius has ever shown respect for it. Why can't you be more like your brother? You are hot and cold all the time, you don't give a shit about me, but you won't let me go. Then why can't I stay with Octavius? It's not like you want me at all. And even if you do, it's all for the show to piss off your brother. All you needed was a neck to put the collar upon. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have to suffer through another electric collar around my neck!" This little thing actually thinks I did this to her. This is ridiculous. Part of me wants to tell her the truth now, but the other part reminds me that there's no point in talking to her. Even if I told her who made the decision and why she still wouldn't believe me. Octavius already told her it wasn't him, and the two of them had a better relationship than Ocean and me. There's no way she can trust me.

I raise an eyebrow at her. "So that's what you think, is it?" Even though I feel like I might blow up, I do my best to appear calm and unimpressed. I'm on adrenaline caused by anger or the urge to hunt most of the time, and I'm not going to flaunt that right now. For all I care, she can put my brother on a pedestal, but sooner or later, he's going to trip, and then she'll find out who he is. Sadly, another human falls for his lies, but it's not my job to save her from his clutches. I never wanted her here in the first place.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I think!" As soon as the words leave Ocean's lips, I notice the smile on my brother's lips widens. Sure, the guy's enjoying the mess he's made, mostly because it's propelling him forward and leaving me hanging. If the fucker weren't so attached to me, I'd be lost and gone by now. Maybe if he finds his paradise with Ocean, I could get out of here for good.

"All right," I shrug and look at Octavius. His expression has changed from satisfied to nervous. I wonder why he's so anxious all of a sudden. Is he worried that he won't be able to restrain himself if I don't intervene? Well, he's either breaking the law or sucks her dry- I don't care anymore. They are a good match, both as naive as they are stupid. I walk past them and wink at Ocean, just for the fun of it. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone then."

I reach for the handle and open the door slightly as Ocean calls my name. "Kieran?"

I have always hated the back and forth game, even when it comes to talking or fighting. I want to put these two behind me so I can focus on other things. "What the hell do you want from me now? I am already leaving!" I didn't mean to be rude, but it's not like I have to hold back anymore. She didn't want the nice person I did my best to become, so she's getting an attitude that screams my name. As of now, Ocean is nothing more than another toy my brother brought home. It won't be any longer than a week before she's gone for good.

"I'll never fall in love with you." Ocean whispers. I hear the hint of pain in her words, but I immediately tune it out. I don't give a shit about her feelings. The doll got what she wanted. There's no reason for her to become a clone of Octavius and act like a fucking victim.

"I don't want to be loved by you." I laugh. The slight gasp that leaves her lips echoes off the walls of her bedroom before I close the door. Apparently, she wasn't expecting such a response. Just as I thought- naive through and through. A human who thinks she could fall in love with a vampire and vice versa? Pathetic.

Although the anger doesn't subside, I decide to drop it and go to my office. A servant brings me a glass of blood, which I sip as I sift through the paperwork. Since Ocean's arrival, my brother has decided to relinquish his responsibility for the Elite group, and I am taking care of business on my own.

Fortunately or not, I lose track of time, and the only thing that snaps me out of my trance-like state is a phone call.

"Kieran," I answer the call. I have never bothered to give my title or last name when someone has called me, so why should I change it. Elite member or not, I'm still relatively the same person I was centuries ago. I was the guy running around the battlefield counting the bodies that fell after a clash with my sword.

"Babbby, where's your brother?" She drags her voice, probably trying to sound more seductive. I've always hated it when she does that shit. Good thing I'm not that into female vampires.

I roll my eyes but tell her the truth anyway. "Busy with a new toy. But don't tell me you called me to reach Octavius because I'll call that bullshit without a second thought. You aren't calling my work phone looking for him." There's no reason to tell Octavius that we should be preparing for a mission. Not that the idiot would think of leaving Ocean.

"Guilty as charged. I have a job for you."

"When and where?"

"Will you come alone? Won't Falcon accompany you?" The surprise in her voice actually annoys me. The only reason I agreed to work with him was that we became close as brothers, and it was easier for me to take care of him when Octavius was around. I never needed his help.

It takes all my willpower not to throw the damn phone against the wall. It's starting to piss me off, the attitude almost everyone gives me. Like I'm nothing without this guy. "No, not this time. Just tell me when and where I need to be; we can discuss the rest in private." Yes, I rush her, but the sooner I get out of this madhouse, the better I'll feel.

"If you come alone, I'll need you here for two months." She adds as if that could be a problem. She actually solves any issue I had- by the time I'm back, Ocean will be gone forever, or the lovebirds will be so into each other that they'll give me an easy exit.

"It's a deal. Text me the address; I'll be there in an hour."