“I don’t want to imagine that,” I growled. “Besides, I’d never let him get hurt.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s my friend!”
“He’s a human. A fragile one.” He waited a beat, then added, “An omega.”
“Pierce, what kind of weird questions are these?” I asked.
Pierce closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was frustrated that he wasn’t getting through to me. He opened his palm and his eyes again. “He’s not just any friend. Friendship alone wouldn’t be strong enough for you to resist your urge to kill that human.”
“Obviously, it did,” I grunted.
“No, Theo,” Pierce said firmly. “You’re underestimating your feelings. That’s what I’m trying to make you understand.”
“Well, you’re doing a crappy job!” I snapped.
My patience had worn thin. I stood, wanting to storm out and get away from my brothers for a while, but Pierce grabbed my wrist.
He lowered his voice. “Theo. This is serious. If you don’t listen to anything else I say, listen to this.”
I narrowed my eyes, but waited to hear his words.
“I don’t think it’s safe for you to be around Maxwell. Not until you get your urges under control.”
I leaned away from Pierce with a gasp. “What?”
“If you’re in another situation like the one you were in, we’re afraid you might not be able to reel back your thirst because of your instinct to protect Maxwell.”
“My thirst?” I barked. “My instinct to protect him? What are you talking about?”
“I can see it in your eyes, and your words, and your actions,” Pierce said calmly. “You would do anything to protect him. You care for him.”
I opened my mouth to object, but the true meaning of Pierce’s words dawned on me.
“Oh. I get it. You think I’m in love with Maxwell.” I glared at him. “And people in love do stupid things, right?”
Pierce chose his words carefully. “Vampires as young and inexperienced as you are doverystupid things for the people they love, yes.”
I tried to wrench my wrist out of his grip, but it was iron tight. Pierce wasn’t going to let me or this topic go until I agreed with him. I wanted to bare my fangs and tell him to screw off, but that would probably cement the idea in his head that I was emotionally unstable.
“Then how can I prove I’mnotstupid?” I asked sarcastically.
His expression was solemn. “Only time will tell.”
Frustration and anger coursed through me. “So I’m supposed to wait until I’m as old as the two of you to be around humans safely? I can’t do that.”
“No, I suppose not,” Pierce admitted. “That’s not fair to you.”
“Then what?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “For now, you should stay put. No late-night romps in the city means no chances for you to get into trouble.”
“Great,” I muttered. “So I’m stuck here, basically.”
“I’ll talk to Adriel,” Pierce promised. “We’ll work something out that pleases both of you.”
I shrugged. “What about Maxwell?”
