Aleksander leaned back comfortably on the couch, easily falling into conversation with Bonnie.
They stuck to trivial family stuff—talking about distant relatives, his life in New York, and the long drive down.
He made sure to completely avoid the topic of magic.
He knew Aunt Sheila hadn’t told Bonnie the truth about their bloodline yet, and it wasn’t his place to break the news.
Caroline jumped into the conversation every few minutes, eager to ask about his car and his life in the city.
Aleksander was polite, answering her questions with an easy, charming smile.
Elena, on the other hand, stayed mostly quiet.
But Aleksander noticed her subtly eyeing him from across the room, clearly curious about the mysterious older cousin who had just rolled into town.
The sound of footsteps coming down the hall suddenly made all three girls look up.
Lexi walked into the living room, looking refreshed from her nap.
But the moment her eyes landed on the teenagers, she froze dead in her tracks.
The color drained from Lexi’s face.
She stared directly at Elena, her hazel eyes wide with absolute shock.
“Katherine,” Lexi whispered.
The name slipped out before she could stop it.
Elena blinked, looking confused.
“Excuse me?”
Lexi didn’t answer right away.
Her vampire senses immediately flared to life.
She listened closely and heard the steady, rhythmic thump of a fragile human heartbeat coming from the girl’s chest.
She didn’t smell a drop of vampire blood, and she didn’t sense any dark magic.
This girl wasn’t a centuries-old vampire.
She was completely human.
Lexi’s shock quickly turned into deep confusion.
She looked over at Aleksander, silently demanding an explanation.
Keeping his expression perfectly calm, he caught Lexi’s eye and subtly patted the empty spot on the couch next to him.
He gave her a steady, knowing look that silently said, Sit down.
I’ll explain later.
Lexi swallowed hard, quickly masking her shock.
She offered a tight, polite smile to the girls and walked over to take a seat beside Aleksander, though her eyes lingered on Elena for just a second longer.
All three girls couldn’t help but stare.
With her long blonde hair, striking features, and effortless confidence, she was undeniably gorgeous.
Never one to hold back a thought, Caroline leaned forward.
“So,” she blurted out, unable to hide her curiosity.
“Is she your girlfriend?”
Bonnie immediately elbowed her hard in the ribs.
At the exact same time, Elena stomped on Caroline’s foot.
”Oww!” Caroline yelped, rubbing her arm and glaring at her friends.
Lexi let out a delighted laugh.
The teenagers’ awkwardness completely erased the shock of seeing Katherine’s exact double.
Highly amused, Lexi shifted her gaze to Aleksander and leaned against the back of the couch.
”That is a very good question,” Lexi teased, a playful smirk on her lips.
She tilted her head.
“Tell me, Aleksander. Am I your girlfriend?”
Aleksander didn’t miss a beat.
He flashed Lexi a smooth wink before looking back at the three teenagers.
“Yes, she is,” he answered easily.
Lexi’s smile widened, and she blew him a playful kiss.
Watching the undeniable, easy chemistry between the two of them, Caroline let out a quiet sigh, pouting slightly.
Despite themselves, all three girls felt a sudden, unmistakable twinge of jealousy.
The mysterious, incredibly handsome older cousin was definitely taken.
Lexi leaned comfortably against Aleksander’s shoulder, highly amused by the teenagers’ pouty reactions.
But beneath her playful smirk, a deeper, more practical thought crossed her mind.
She was genuinely happy he had claimed her so openly.
It sent a warm, electric thrill straight through her chest.
But Lexi was over three hundred years old—she wasn’t a naive high school girl.
She knew exactly what it meant to be with a man like Aleksander.
He wasn’t just a powerful witch.
He was the Avatar of Nature.
The Prince of Witches.
A bloodline that rare and absolute couldn’t just end with him; Nature would eventually demand that he pass it on to future generations.
For a being of his godly status, taking multiple lovers or having more than one partner wouldn’t be looked down upon—it would be entirely expected.
And honestly?
Lexi was completely fine with that.
Vampires weren’t exactly known for their traditional morals or strict rules.
They lived forever, they loved intensely, and their instincts definitely tended to get wild from time to time.
Monogamy wasn’t exactly a strict rule in the immortal world.
The idea of sharing a man this incredibly powerful didn’t threaten her at all.
If anything, she found the idea pretty exciting.
She shifted her weight slightly, sliding her hand high up his thigh and giving it a soft, claiming squeeze.
Aleksander paused his conversation with Bonnie and glanced down at her.
He immediately caught the wicked, knowing glint in her hazel eyes.
Lexi didn’t say a word, just offering him a slow, sensual smile.
She was his, but she was more than ready for whatever wild, unconventional ride being with the Prince of Witches would bring.