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To anyone who thinks they have to limit how much love they’re allowed to accept. Open your heart and let it all in. You deserve it.
I meant what I said. I would never love another the way I loved her. Not as long as I lived.
Her scent was thick, it invaded every single one of my senses, holding me in a vice grip. Wintergreen. Fresh, vibrant, and cozy. Sensual. Her blood called to me like a siren song, I’d welcome the depths of the ocean if it meant I could have a taste of the blood that ran in her veins, and the woman who owns my soul.
I knew then for a fact, a confirmation of what my soul already knew, this human was my mate.
I was slipping into a frenzy, different from the one from before. This one was the flailing dance of a man who felt his whole heart being ripped away from him.
The wooden stake that rested on my side felt like it was burning me alive as it brushed against my bare skin.
“This world is full of monsters, and not all of them look like me. They’re not always so obvious, with large claws and fangs. No, some monsters are hiding in plain sight, pretending to be the heroes,” she seethed. “You’re better off not trusting a single person besides yourself.”
“After all, you’re the only one you can trust.”
No harm will come to Athena Landry. Not while I’m alive.
“In order to reject a mate bond, you have to create a new vampire.”
Shockgrove was proving to be a significant problem, and for the first time in my entire existence, I had no idea what to do.
Orpheus was right to be worried. If we run out of blood before they accept the bond there could be an accidental bloodbath on its way to Shockgrove, Maine.
It didn’t matter to me. though. I had already made up my mind. I had to reject the bond. I made a promise and I wasn’t going to go back on my word.
Watching her, I felt my chest burn with want. My hands begged to touch her. My lips yearned to brush against hers. I wanted Athena. I needed her.
Athena might be the future I was promised by whatever fates there are, but if I dive headfirst into a new future, I’m betraying the one I promised to Alora.
“We kill monsters, Athena. Evil people who hurt others, who take what doesn’t belong to them as if it is something they are owed.”
“We would never hurt you, Athena.” Samara was the first one to speak, her eyes full of care, adoration, and sadness.
“We would all rather die than to see any harm come to you, by our hand or another’s.”
“It means you are our fated mate, Athena. We were crafted by the stars to belong, mind, body, and soul to you.” Laz wiped a tear from their eye as they explained it to me. “And you were forged to be ours.”
“If you don’t accept the mate bond, we will need to either reject it…or we’ll die,”
Tackle one problem at a time, Athena. One breath at a time. One step at a time. One date at a time.
The memory of her I crafted was so vivid, so incredibly perfect that a small part of me worried I was putting too much pressure on the real Athena to live up to this indescribable version of her in my mind. But all it took was one glance to know nothing I could ever create would hold a candle to the perfection that was Athena Landry. My mate.
He was on cloud 9, or whatever the supernatural equivalent might be.
I wanted her to be mine. Finally, and formally. I wanted her to wear my bite on her body like a promise.
“Did you know only oysters that are wounded in some way can produce pearls?”
“Your pain will always be with you, Athena. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be a beautiful part of you. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth carrying.”
Suddenly, her lips crashed to mine and everything around me exploded into vibrant sounds and colors.
“I will erase every kiss he ever stole from you. I will wipe away every memory of his selfish hands on your body. I will eclipse his hold on your soul, Athena. Because you are mine. Mine to worship. Mine to command. Mine to protect.”
“Snakes are misunderstood. They’re not aggressive creatures and they won’t strike out of malice, they don’t go looking for trouble. But if they, or anything they care about, is threatened, they’ll defend themselves till their last breath.”
“I want you more than anything I have ever wanted in this existence. I want to sink my fangs into your perfect skin and mark you as mine and mine alone. My body fucking burns for you, Athena.”
“If you’re going to ask me to say goodbye to you, I want you to make me scream it.”
I could never have sex again, and the memory of the way her face twisted in desire would sustain me for the rest of my existence.
A dark red brick, sitting amongst the shattered glass, with white painted lettering. ‘Lying Bitch’
“And you know as well as I do that one human life in exchange for millions is worth it every time.”
“I will wait my turn, I will watch you ride all three of them for hours if that’s what you want. But when it is my turn, you’re mine and mine alone.”
She is everything I never knew I could have. And now that I have her, I would do everything in my power to keep her safe. I would burn down this entire world for her.
