Page 9 of Protecting His Treasure

She was a country girl, born and raised. The city life would’ve driven her crazy. Crazier than the country life had been close to driving her. And if she wasn’t careful, the compound life was going to do the same. She couldn’t share that information with Lee. Lee fit in here perfectly.

The chick loved it there. She got along with everyone. She didn’t mind the fact that everyone here knew her business. Lee was okay with them asking her personal questions about her and Nachik. She was okay with the way life worked here. Sin wanted to be okay with it. She was trying to be.

This place reminded her too much of home, and not the good parts. It reminded her of the parts she’d wanted to escape. The nosiness was the main part she disliked. One of the reasons she was okay with being sheltered in her cabin was that she didn’t have to deal with compound life.

That was an upside to having an overprotective mate. When they reached the main compound, Lee used magic to open the door. They strolled into the main building, which was basically a large rundown condominium where all the single creatures lived. Those who were mated or married, lived in cabins outside the main building.

“Rhen said this building reminds him of a prison,” Sin told Lee.

“Yeah. A lot of people say that. It reminds me of an old apartment building. Or an old condo building.”

“Me too.” They turned a corner and headed to the kitchen.

“You still chat with Rhen?”

“Sometimes,” Sin admitted.

“Kaede lets Rhen come over?”

“I won't say he lets him cover over. Sometimes Rhen stops by. And if Kaede isn’t there, I chat with Rhen from the doorway.”

“You don’t let him in, right?”

“Rhen isn’t a bad guy. Not really.”

“He’s a vampire.”

“You’re a witch. Your mate is a phoenix. My mate is a dragon. We’re all creatures of the lore. What makes him worse than us?”

“You know vampires like fire witches because of their blood, right? You are a fire witch. You should be more careful around him. Just saying.”

“If Rhen wanted me dead, he’s had plenty of chances to kill me.”

“You never know when a vampire will switch up on you.”

“Are you speaking from experience?”

“I’ve heard tales…”

“You’re stereotyping. As black women, we should understand how horrible it is when people judge us by how we look…”

“I’m not judging him by the color of his skin.”

“By how we look,” Sin continued. “Or on where we live or how we wear our hair. Remember back home, when a guy told you that you weren’t allowed in his store because of your dreads? Or have you forgotten that you used to sport dreads.”

“I remember. I also remember that my dad had a fit on his ass in that store.”

“That’s what you’re doing to Rhen. You’re treating him the way that guy in that store treated you.”

“I’m not. I’m just saying…”

“You’re judging him based on what others have encountered with other vampires. Has Rhen done anything to you or anyone here?”

“Well…”

“Right. So, judge him by his actions. Not by the actions of others.”

“When did you become a vampire activist?”