Page 136 of Taming His Vampire Mate

“I need to get back to him.”

“If you do, you’ll come back changed,” Ian warned, watching me steadily. “You won’t just be a wolf anymore.”

“I don’t care.”

His brows lifted. “Don’t you?”

I hesitated as his meaning sank in. I might lose everything that made me what I was—my ability to shift forms, my gift for sensing magic, my tie to the earth. The hunger I experienced might be worse than what any ordinary vampire endured. I might never be safe around anyone again.

There was no way to know.

“There’s a reason this doesn’t happen often,” Ian said quietly. “It’s a risk most wolves aren’t willing to take.”

“And I have a choice here?”

He nodded. “If you cross over, you won’t wake back up. You’ll be gone from the mortal plane for good.”

“And I’ll be at peace?”

His expression softened. “I can’t promise you that. I wish I could. But some things can’t be known until they’re experienced.”

“And if I come back…”

“There are no guarantees.”

But if I didn’t come back, I’d leave Thierry the same way his brother had left him. Nicolas hadn’t chosen his fate, but that didn’t erase the centuries of agony it carved into my mate. Thierry had endured that once already.

This time, the choice was mine. That was what Ian wanted me to understand.

Could I risk everything for Thierry? Was I capable of putting someone else first?

Since Ian’s death, I’d believed myself nothing more than a monster. James’s disgusted face had confirmed it when he’d beaten me back to protect the man he loved from me. I had tried to turn someone against his will. I had run from my pack. I had chosen selfishly, over and over.

It had been easy. Because nothing mattered.

Until Thierry.

Knowing him, I realized he wasn’t what I thought he was—and he had shown me that I wasn’t only what I thought I was, either. In his presence, I wanted to be better. He held up a mirror, and for the first time in years, I saw the person I could be if I let myself. Maybe even the person I had been all along, beneath the pain.

The forest around us held its breath, waiting.

At last, I met Ian’s gaze. “Show me how to go back.”

Relief softened his features, though sorrow lingered too. “Of course.”

He led me through the trees without another word. With each step, the world sharpened—the ghostly blue drained away,replaced by ordinary night. The ground was solid beneath my feet.

Ahead, Thierry sat on the ground beside my body. Tears streaked his cheeks. The grief in him was a tidal wave, even across the faint echo of the bond. Around him gathered both our people, wolves and vampires, mourning together. Lindsey sat hollow-eyed beside Emma, her face blotchy with fresh tears.

Would grief soon turn to horror when they saw what I’d become?

There were no guarantees.

“All you need to do is place your hand on your body,” Ian murmured. “The rest will happen naturally.”

I looked at him. “I loved you, Ian. I really did. I still do.”

“I know,” he said, giving me a small smile. “And I love you too. I always will. You made me happy, Jeremy. Our love was a gift. I’ll never regret it.”