When I woke up in the morning, Vas was gone. He’d left me a note ordering me to stay in my apartment unless I messaged him first. We hadn’t made love last night. He’d been grieving Dean, lost in thought. And he’d also been pissed at me.
Did he really think I didn’t want to be with him? How could he not know how much I loved him?
Maybe because you pushed him away the moment he knew your secret.
Was I being an idiot? Or was I saving him from himself? Even if it was the second option, was it fair for me to even make that call?
I spent a few hours cleaning, doing laundry, and ordering groceries. My goal was to be so busy that I couldn’t think about the desolation on Vas’s face last night.
Once my apartment was as clean as it had ever been, I stripped off my clothes and turned on the shower.
I took a deep breath, steeling myself before I dunked myself under the cool water. Then I went still. Was that…steam?
I put my hand under the stream of water and yelped, immediately turning it down.
Hot water. Vas had fixed it. I didn’t know when, but he’d done it. Love and grief and hope and sadness all mingled together until my tears mixed with the warm water as I washed myself.
I hauled myself out of the shower and scowled at my red eyes.
A knock on my door jolted me from my musings. I threw on my robe and opened the door to find Evie waiting, a takeout bag and two coffees in her hand.
“You’re a goddess,” I muttered.
“Wow, this place looks good.” She sent me a knowing smile. “Burying yourself in housework?”
“Vas talked to you.”
She nodded. I wasn’t truly pissed. I was happy he had someone to talk to.
“Give me a sec.”
I slipped back into my bedroom and pulled on clean sweats. When I returned, Evie had pulled out a couple of plates and was plopping a huge blueberry muffin onto each of them.
We sat on my sofa, and I gulped at the coffee like it was a lifeline. “This is good.”
“Café in wolf territory. Coffee is courtesy of Kyla. She told me to tell you she’s around if you need her. Vas is miserable, Mere.”
“I know. I am too.”
“I don’t want to overstep here…”
I looked at her, and she shrugged unrepentantly. “Fine, I’m happy to poke my nose into your business if it makes you two get your shit together.” She sighed. “I know what it’s like. To constantly be abandoned by the people you love. Even when they didn’t want to die. And Vas is much older than me. All I’m saying is maybe you should cut him some slack.”
“I’ll cut him all the slack in the world. But how can I steal centuries of his life from him?”
She took a huge bite of muffin and chewed contemplatively. “It’s not stealing it,” she said finally. “Demons rarely live for long after their mates die. Whether Vas bonds with you or not, that’s not going to change. By bonding with him, you’re saving him from the knowledge that you’ll grow old in just a few decades.”
I chewed on my lower lip. “You really think I should do it.”
“Hell yes. You two were made for each other. But it doesn’t matter what I think. If you didn’t know about the whole reduced life-span thing, would you bond with him?”
“Of course.”
She smiled. “You know, he could’ve left that part out. He knows how you think. But he told you anyway.”
“He’d never lie to me.” I scowled. “Because he’s the best man I know. The son of a bitch.”
Evie laughed at me. “I need to go pick up Kyla. Don’t forget we need to schedule drinks. Somewhere that’s not your bar so you won’t have one eye on everything that’s going on around you.”
