“Council?” Natalie lifted a brow.
“Many vampires are doctors; it’s common. We’ve mastered the believability that we can save lives.”
“Huh.” Ben snorted.
“Okay, so I will need a month.” Sam sighed. “Will your dad be okay with that?” he asked Natalie.
She scoffed. “Would my dad be okay with you taking one month off to not be dead? Yeah, Sam, he’d be fine with that.”
“I don’t want to leave him high and dry.” Sam bit his lip.
“How about a week’s time?” I offered. “You can make arrangements.”
He glanced at Ben and Natalie, who both nodded. “Yeah, okay. A week—I can do that.”
“Are you really going to leave for this, though?” Ben wiped his mouth and placed the napkin down.
“No, we will stay here. No one can get on this island without being allowed in. However, neither of you will be able to see him until he’s strong enough.”
Ben smiled and looked at Sam. “One month of not seeing you is easy. Never seeing you again, not so much.”
Natalie slammed her hand on the table, making Ben and Sam jump. “Power of three, bitches!”
The men laughed but joined her in their ritual. I knew when Natalie and Ben died years from now, it would be the biggest hurdle for Sam. He’d question why he’d agreed to this, he’d maybe even hate me for a time. He’d overcome it, though, because he was strong.
After Natalie and Ben finally left, Sam was wiped. He was still human, and cancer was tearing its way through his body. I put on a movie, and he cuddled into me while it played. He only made it about twenty minutes until his soft snores filled the room.
In the weekit took to get Sam prepared to be on the island, we’d moved pretty much all his things here. Bubbles was a permanent resident. He told Maggie, the shop, the Abbadellis, and anyone he cared about—which was a lot of people—his situation. He was dying and was going to get a second opinion and hopefully treatment.
There were a lot of tears, prayers, human things. I could tell the lie was eating at Sam, but then he’d be with Natalie, Ben, and me, and they’d wash away.
On the last day before he was to come to my mansion, the reality of Sam’s condition hit him. We were walking to theice cream shop for the last time as him being human, and he suddenly stopped.
I turned to him and when he started to fall, I grabbed him. His skin turned gray, and a trickle of blood seeped from his nose.
“Lukas.”
“It’s okay, Sam. It’s going to be okay.” I scooped him up and carried him back to the boat. He was out of time. I refused to have Sam feel another moment of pain. I’d explain everything to Natalie and Ben; they’d understand.
When I entered the house, Winston took one look at Sam and nodded.
“I’ll get things ready.”
I lay Sam on our bed and wiped the blood from his nose with a tissue.
“I’m scared,” he whimpered.
I pressed a kiss to his lips. “Soon, you’ll never be scared again, Sam. I’ve got you. Let me save you.”
He nodded and closed his eyes. After today, Sam would never live on the edge of goodbye again.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Sam
My body seemed heavy,but it wasn’t terrifying. It was as if I could fly but at the same time couldn’t move.Weird. My mind had never been so quiet, and with every breath it was as if I were inhaling pure oxygen. This was crazy.
“Sam?” The voice sounded far away, familiar, and my heart clenched.Lukas. “Hey, sweetheart, can you try and open your eyes?”
