Page 98 of Seared Fates

I take hold of his hand. “Do you—?”

“No.” Golden’s voice is firm. “I don’t regret my choice, I love Lucero so much. So, so much. But…” He looks down, his lush, dark curls falling to hide his gaze. “I didn’t understand.”

“Golden…”

“When me and Ramy found you after Emma’s attack, your blood was fucking everywhere. I was scared. I thought you were dead. But before that…” Golden’s head drops lower, voice so quiet that when he whispers, “I was hungry,” I nearly miss it.

And I don’t like what I hear.

Grabbing his cheeks, I force his startled gaze to mine. “So. Fucking. What.”

Unshed tears swim in his guilty stare, as dazzling as scattered jewels in the clearest river bed.

I’m a fucking moron for not noticing all of Golden’s changes.

Or maybe, in my eyes, my silly best mate has always been the prettiest thing.

“First, I’m fucking delicious. So, of course, I made you hungry.”

Golden’s chin wobbles, but I can feel his cheeks struggle to hold back a smile.

“And second, you’ve been a vampire all of five minutes, give yourself a break, alright. If I were lying in a pool of veggie burgers, it would’ve made you hungry, too.”

This finally cracks him, and Golden laughs. “Stupid,” he murmurs. “So stupid.”

I smile. “I promise to think about becoming a vampire, yeah? But I ain’t letting you blame yourself because you wanted a bite of human, when all you’ve been snacking on is reheated animal blood and Lucero.”

When a tear rolls down his cheek, the guilt in him seems to spill away with it.

“I love you, dude.” And he hugs me tight enough to hurt.

“I love you too, mate.” But not all pain is bad, so I don’t mind.

Loving someone isn’t always easy, but Golden and me have gone through way too much together for it to ever go away. Change? Yeah, it’ll become something bigger and better and way fucking stronger. But gone?

Not a fucking chance.

Movement at the corner of my eye catches me, and I turn to find Vidar leaning against the doorframe, a look in his eye that has my heart filling to near bursting.

And heat sparks to life.

Golden follows my line of sight, a big, stupid grin pulls at his cheeks when he turns back. “I’ll head out to let you get somerest.” He winks like a ridiculous cartoon character.

“Mate, you ain’t ever gonna be subtle.” And it’s nice to see that something about him hasn’t changed.

Golden snickers.

He offers me one last squeeze before leaving, Vidar looking down at my friend in a way that makes me think he must’ve been a good Father. Then my mate’s gaze locks onto mine as he silently stalks forward.

I tilt my head, another realisation coming at me.

Vidar stops in front of me, his hand reaching out to play with my braids. “Something on your mind, little prince?”

“Kinda wishing the changes would slow down a bit.”

Vidar cocks a questioning eyebrow, cupping my cheek.

“Golden used to walk around like he needed everyone to hear about it.” I lean into Vidar's palm, his warmth adding to the heat low in my stomach. “But I don’t think I’ve heard his footsteps in a while.”