“Yes, your friend Aaron. Do you remember what I am?”
My eyes bounced back and forth as I struggled to focus on his. “Mate.”
“Yes, you are my mate. But, Blake,whatam I?”
“Vampire,” I whispered. Not sure why there was so much emotion and power attached to the word but not willing to say it too loudly even out here with just the two of us.
“You are now a vampire too,” Marlon whispered to me and brushed his thumb across my lip before pulling it into his mouth and sucking off the blood he found there.
“What does it mean?”
“It means you and I will never be apart.” His voice was full of confidence, even though his eyes were shadowed with doubt. “It also means that you will have to drink blood.”
I wiped at my mouth and looked at the bear. “I—”
“I know, my love, but I will teach you. You will learn to survive without ever knowing the horror of killing a human. I promise you that.” He gathered me in his arms, and I felt safe in his powerful embrace as he held me close. “It will not be easy.”
“You’ll help me,” I said, and felt his head nod next to mine. My breath sped up as he continued to hold me, and a part of me wanted him at least as badly as I’d wanted to feed from the bear. He pulled back enough to meet my eyes, and I pushed him back down onto the rock before climbing into his lap. “I need—”
He held me back with my arms before pushing me off him and standing. I didn’t move as he stripped me bare before pulling me back onto his lap. “What do you need?” His voice was rough with need and something else I couldn’t name, but it made me want him naked too. I pulled at his shirt and ripped the neckline before he gripped my hands, stopped me, then stood. “You’re far stronger now. I’m going to fuck you, and afterward you will be tied to me. You are my mate, but I need to claim you as a vampire.” His lips lifted, showing his teeth. “I had hoped to feed from you a while longer. Your blood was so sweet and tempting,” he said as he pulled off his clothes. He stepped close enough to run his fingers through my hair before gripping it and shoving my head to the side. “You are mine.”
The feel of his fangs in my neck sent a bolt of lust through me. I was hard, and so was he. My only thought was of my mate and doing whatever he needed me to do. I was his, and if anything tried to come between us, I would die defending him. Images flashed through my mind. Of him in pain while comforting a bloody human, then I realized, that human was me.
Eighteen
Marlon
There was no time to grieve for the human Blake was. Now he would forever be condemned to live by night and drink blood to survive. There was a hole in my chest where my dead heart hurt for what he’d lost, but a small part of me was happy to not have to continually try to save him from himself. “I wanted to drain you when you firstreleased me,” I admitted as we lay on the side of the mountain still naked under the blanket of night.
“It’s hard for me to remember. Some memories are so sharp, and others aren’t,” Blake said.
“That will change soon, and you’ll have your memory back. I need you to know I only changed you because your friend wanted me to, and once he asked it was all I could think of.” I had hated this life for most of it and when I was first trapped, I’d hoped eventually I would die or cease to exist. But that hadn’t happened, and my will to live had kept me alive possibly so I could finally meet my mate.
“Josiah attacked you and made sure you’d either die, or I’d have to choose to turn you,” I said and pulled him closer into my side.
“I don’t understand how he could still be alive. He was supposed to be dead years ago. My grandfather said he left town in search of gold and never returned,” Blake said.
“They used my blood and somehow it worked. I don’t know how, but I don’t have experience with turning a human. It was never something I wanted to experience or inflict on another. It was the one rule I lived by, not to create another vampire.”
“But you fed on humans,” he said and leaned up on his elbow. Already he had changed. He was handsome before, but now the change had perfected any slight imperfection he had. Healing anything that may have been injured and preventing any harm that could ever come to him.
“I did. At first, I couldn’t stop myself, but eventually I was able to choose who I fed from and then I realized animals sustained me as well as humans. Which is how I was able to make it across the country all those years ago.”
“I don’t want to kill anyone,” he said.
“I know, love.” The pain of knowing I had to kill to live never went away. While some vampires reveled in the act of hunting their prey, I hated it. “I’m going to help you learn other ways. We’ll figure this out together,” I said.
“What about my job? I still have to pay bills, or will we live here? My family is still here; would I want to kill them?” He stood far quicker than any human wouldhave been able to move and stood way too still. He was amazing.
“We’ll figure it out, but you won’t be able to be outside in the sun, and being around humans won’t be easy.”
“Marlon? I don’t want my life to end,” he whispered, his voice so full of hurt and pain I felt it in what was left of my soul.
“I know,” I said not having any other words. “There is nothing that will make me leave you. I swear to you we’ll figure this out.” I pulled him into my arms and held him so tight I worried I’d hurt him.
“But how?” he asked as he buried his face in my neck.
“First we find Josiah and tear his head off,” I said and growled deep in my chest. Gone was the small amount of fondness I’d held onto for so long. All that was left was deep dark hate. Blake met my eyes and lifted his lip showing his fangs.
