Page 50 of Blood and Magic (RBMC: Helena, MT #2)

Vermillion

“K odiak told me what he suspected, but I didn’t know how it could be true,” Morwyn said once I sat. I squeezed Maeve’s hand, hoping to show that I supported her no matter what my sister said. “Most of the time, a mating bond doesn’t happen until a shifter transitions. But not always.”

Maeve furrowed her brows and glanced at me.

“What does that mean?” Maeve asked.

“November 10th is when Vermillion was attacked by vampires and died. His heart stopped for five minutes.” Wyn looked between us, her gaze imploring us to catch on. “At exactly 7:05 p.m.”

Maeve’s features dropped, realization dawning on her. “Oh my God.”

“I don’t understand,” I said. “What does that mean?”

“That’s exactly when Maeve’s heart stopped,” Wyn explained. “There was no reason for her to have gone through that, not unless…”

“We were already mated,” I finished for her. Fucking hell, that was precisely what Kodiak had hinted at weeks ago. “Is that possible?”

Wyn shrugged. “Anything’s possible. We don’t fully understand magic and never will, as much as I might try.”

“So what?” Maeve said, tightening her hold on my fingers. “We’ve been mated since I was a child? I thought shifters couldn’t live without their mates.”

“The mating bond wasn’t sealed,” Wyn replied. “It still isn’t, but I suspect Mill’s wolf had already chosen you, and the tiny bit of you that was a shifter, the part that was lying in wait until you turned, it selected him, as well.”

“But he helped Guin through her transition,” Maeve continued. “How could he have done that if his wolf was already dedicated to me?”

“The transition is a compulsion,” Wyn explained. “And since the mating bond wasn’t official, he could go through with it. But, they came out of the other side no more connected than they were when they entered it.”

“Which is why we’re different,” Maeve said.

“Exactly,” Wyn continued. “I think you crave her life force because you spent so long without it. Dying and coming back to life changed you both, but it was this connection that ultimately saved you.”

“Will it go away?” I asked, my voice hoarse with shock and surprise. “Will I ever stop…wanting that?”

Wyn shrugged. “Maybe. But if not, and Maeve is willing…”

“You need me,” she said, lifting my hand to her mouth so she could kiss my knuckles. “And I need you.”

This explained everything, and I felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. Kodiak had been right. My inner beast purred with contentment, as if he were adding his two cents in.

“And I can’t hurt her, right? I’m not—we’re not—” I didn’t want the pack or anyone else thinking we had been turned into our enemies.

Despite whatever Marx had done to her, she still smelled like her.

The ritual, or whatever it was, hadn’t been completed.

But magic like that lingered, and it terrified me.

“No, Mill,” Wyn said. “I’ve studied the difference between vampire and shifter blood. If that were true, the vampires in that nest would have recognized you as one of their own.”

“Marx said—” Maeve cut in. “He said I already had some of them inside me. He asked if I’d been drinking vampire blood.”

Wyn bit the side of her lip. “Maybe he tasted the magic. There’s a difference between being brought back to life and becoming a vampire. I’ll keep digging, but in the meantime, I’m not worried about either of you. You’re pack, and you’re safe.”

The confidence my sister had in her assessment dissipated the heavy weight I’d been carrying in my stomach since the attack.

“The more time you spend around each other, the more comfortable you get, the easier the cravings will be.” Wyn smiled in that reassuring way that made her a wonderful healer and an even better friend.

“When you’re apart, your blood changes. When I put the samples together, they attract like magnets. It makes you both stronger.”

I sighed, feeling a tremendous burden shift off my shoulders. I wanted her. Some part of me had always wanted her, and that was okay. It was all okay.

After leaving Wyn’s office, we went to my room, where Maeve shut the door and locked it with a mischievous glint.

“How are you feeling about all this?” She put her arms behind her back and strolled toward me, grinning and biting her bottom lip in an adorable tease.

I loved her like this…playful and pretending to be innocent.

I knew the truth. My girl liked to roll around in the filth with me, and based on the way she stared at me now, combined with the luscious aroma of her arousal, I suspected she wanted to get dirty.

“Better. Much better,” I said, returning her haughty expression as I sat on the bed at the far end of the room. “If things weren’t the way they used to be between our families, we might have noticed it sooner.”

She tilted her head to the side and stepped closer. “And now that you know you’re safe, will you finally do what you need?”

“Hmm.” My cock kicked at the thought of being buried in her while I took what I craved.

Wyn said it made us stronger, and I didn’t see any reason not to believe her, especially given everything that had happened.

I held up two fingers and waved her closer, opening my knees for her to stand in between them.

She put her hands on my shoulders as I grabbed her hips and leaned my forehead against her chest. Her scent intoxicated me, her skin so delicately soft and inviting.

I guided her into my lap, her knees on either side of my thighs, and I slowly drifted my hands under her shirt, inching it up her body.

“We’ll plan to do the mating ceremony at the new moon,” she said, running her hands through my hair. “Then there’s no going back.”

I laughed and leaned up to kiss her precious mouth. “There’s no going back now, sweetheart.”

“Oh, I’m sure I could run from you if I wanted.”

“You wouldn’t get far.” I preened for her, a deep rumble pouring out of my chest as she raked her nails over my scalp.

Now that I knew the truth, this seemed inevitable.

The vibrant pull to her had always existed, and I’d never been able to resist it.

She was mine before I knew she was, and now she would be forever.

It pleased both man and beast, and deep down, my soul shifted with the unbearable weight of her adoration.

We took our time undressing, worshipping each other with a reverent gentleness that soothed any lingering hesitations. I called her mine, and she called me hers, and we proclaimed our love in moans and cries and heated pants.

When I finally gave in to the impulse to rut into her like a feral beast, I let my instincts take control.

She tilted her head to the side, showing me her neck, willing me to do it—to do the one thing I’d been embarrassed about since I reconnected with her.

My canines extended, and I latched onto her throat, piercing her skin right as she broke apart around me.

The carnal taste of her blood filled my mouth, coating my body and soul as I swallowed.

The intimacy in it pushed me over the edge. I erupted inside her, spilling everything I had left to give. Ecstasy and euphoria pulled me into a never-ending abyss of paradise, my entire body quaking by the time it was through.

The craving passed. I worshipped her for hours. And when we finally came up for air, I decided marking her would be the best thing I could ever do.

She was mine. I was hers. And everyone would know it.

* * *

Despite how well things were going with Maeve, I couldn’t shake the guilt and the shame coursing through my soul.

Holden had died because I was too distracted to keep a better eye on my mate and the security perimeters.

Channing and my team had been beating themselves up since.

We later found out they’d been able to dismantle the alarms, but we still didn’t know how. It kept me up at night.

Maeve was the one having nightmares, but insomnia had started to eat away at me.

Kodiak told me it wasn’t my fault; it wasn’t anyone’s fault.

That did not change Holden’s demise. It didn’t change Marx’s ability to abduct Maeve right off our territory.

We weren’t safe anymore, not like this, and that needed to change.

I made a plan to upgrade the defenses around our territory.

It would be an expensive undertaking, but we might pull it off with the new influx of cash we received from our stake in Vanderbilt Holdings.

A few days later, Kodiak called the entire club for church. We needed to regroup and plan our next steps. Even though we suffered injuries to save both Maeve and Ginny, we got lucky in the rescue. The only person who died was Holden, and we planned his memorial for the upcoming weekend.

I sat next to Orion and Moose while Serpent smoked a cigarette across from me. Ruby, Larentia, and Talon rounded out the officers.

“Marx is gone,” Kodiak said from the head of the RBMC table. The rest of the club members clapped and whooped from their spots around us. “I watched his body burn myself.”

The amount of relief that brought me should have been illegal.

I’d been passed out when they turned that slaughterhouse to ashes, but knowing the ringleader was gone (as well as all the other vampires inside) made the future seem brighter.

None of the other Vanderbilts would have to worry about Marx coming for them, and the pack would never have to wonder when he’d try to invade our territory again.

“But there are more Scorpions out there,” Kodiak continued. “At least ten in that nest got away, including Percy Vanderbilt. They’ll be back.”

“Do we know if Marx has any relatives?” Moose asked. “Any close family that might come looking for him?”

“He’s been undead for at least three decades,” Larentia explained, twisting her curly blond hair into a ponytail. “All his real family are probably long gone, but who knows how many vampires he created in that time?”