"The memories may never come back.You've been through a major trauma."
"Aren't vampires supposed to be all perfect and sexy?I think my maker didn't get the memo."
Wyatt's lip quirks up like he's fighting a smile, which infuriates me.There's nothing humorous about any of this.
"In human stories, paranormals are often glamorous, but we're flawed, just like they are.Nothing is ever truly perfect, Andrew."
Don't I know it.If things were perfect, my family wouldn't have abandoned me, and Arthur wouldn't be dead.
Arthur.
Everything snaps into place.
"They took him," I whisper."When they came for me, they took him.That's what I've been trying to remember."
"Took who?"Wyatt asks, leaning forward.
"My best friend.He wasn't supposed to be home until later.I thought he was visiting his father.Arthur saw them, so they took him, too."
I stare out the window at the night sky.Wyatt opens the window coverings after dark so I don't feel so confined, but right now the walls feel like they're closing in.
"Fuck.Fuck!"I thrash, chains rattling."They fucking killed him.He's dead because of me."
Why the hell didn't I leave those memories alone?I don't want to know this.I'm the monster who got his best friend killed.
Chapter Three
Wyatt
IknowIshouldn'tget too close, but Andrew is consumed with grief.He deserves some kind of comfort.In this moment, he's not a baby vamp with uncontrollable urges, he's a man overwhelmed by loss.
Rising from the chair, I approach him slowly, lowering myself down to where he's dropped to his knees.
Leaning against the wall, I pull him to me and settle him on my lap.He's not a large man, but right now he seems smaller than usual as he clings to me, pink-tinged tears tracking down his face.
I run my fingers through his shaggy, dark hair like I used to do with my brothers when we were young.It always seemed to soothe them, so maybe it'll work for Andrew as well.
"None of this is your fault," I say, knowing my words won't be accepted – not yet, anyway.Someday, he'll believe me.But the trauma is still too fresh for it now.
"I led them right to him."
"I'm so sorry you lost your friend."
He's lost more than that.His life is going to be completely different from now on.He'll never be able to go back to how things were.But there's no need to point it out to him.That would be needlessly cruel.
"I need to tell Richard what happened to his son," Andrew says, breaking the silence that had fallen between us.
"We can't.He'll ask questions that would reveal the paranormal world to him."Andrew gets a pass because he's one of us now.
"I can't keep this from him, Wyatt.I owe him.He took me in after my family disowned me.Richard is like a father."
"I'm sorry.I really am.But we can't.It's too risky."
He falls silent, and I continue to hold him, enjoying this rare moment of connection.It would be better if it wasn't overshadowed with grief, but I'll take what I can get.I live for the euphoria pain brings me, but I find myself learning to enjoy these tender moments as well.Is this love?
Looking down at the man in my arms, I wonder what he was like as a human.I'm envious Nicola got to see that version of my mate, brief as it was.It's something I'll never know about him.
Being down a rabbit hole of thoughts, I nearly miss the slight shift in the air.Shoving Andrew off my lap, I roll to the side, narrowly escaping his clawed hand.My wolf whines at the sudden separation from our mate, but we've communed about the situation.He understands – to the extent he can – that we're not being rejected, or doing the rejecting.It's simply a shitty circumstance that's thankfully temporary.As soon as Andrew can regulate himself, we'll be free to mate properly.
