Page 81 of The Vampire's Seduction

“I can always hope.” After a few seconds of silence where they both sipped their drinks, Olivia said, “There’s actually another reason I came to find you.”

“Oh? What is it?”

Olivia pulled her tablet out of her purse, opened the translation document, and handed it to Andrea. “I found this spell in the grimoire.”

Andrea’s eyes got progressively wider as she read it. “Wow, I guessed your family’s grimoire might have some heavy hitters, but this is legit incredible. Does Marek know? Wait, no, he doesn’t. Or you wouldn’t be showing this to me.”

“You’re right. He doesn’t,” Olivia confirmed. “I found it after he left. Do you think it’ll work?”

“I mean, I haven’t heard of something like this. Probably? Are you planning to use it?”

Olivia chewed her lips. “Yes. Things between Marek and I…”

“So, you ran into some relationship trouble, and now you’re looking for a way out.”

Olivia resisted the urge to squirm, Andrea’s words making her sound like a coward. “It’s not just relationship trouble. Marek’s only interested in me because of the mating bond. If I don’t use this…”

“Then you don’t know if his feelings are real,” Andrea finished for her.

Her breath hitched as she realized the truth of those words. She could produce a slew of excuses—that she and Marek weren’t compatible, that they had nothing in common, that he was a killer—but it all came down to this.

Did he only want her because of the mating bond? Would he even look at her twice without it?

She nodded with an audible swallow.

“If the mating bond makes you fall in love with each other, if it makes you happy, why fight it? Why not let fate have its way?”

Olivia let out a trembling breath as she considered her answer. “I don’t want him to love me with rose-tinted glasses.”

“The mating bond draws two people together. It makes you mad for one another, but it doesn’t stop him from seeing the real you,” Andrea said gently. “You don’t think Marek is perfect, do you?”

“No. That’s part of the problem. I don’t want to leave him even after everything he’s done. He’s… he’s not my type. I just want to think about this with a clear head.”

“A clear head. Right.” Andrea snorted. “Never mind. I’m not here to consult you on your love life. What do you need from me?”

She was thankful Andrea dropped it and gladly changed the topic. “Can you find the ingredients? And help me cast the spell?”

Andrea read the translation again, frowning. “Some of these are rare. It might take a while. I’ll have to ask around.”

“How long?”

“A week? Two? Do you need it sooner?”

“As soon as you can.”

“Right, so you can leave him,” Andrea said dryly. “Anything else?”

“Nope. Thank you. I know this is probably not what you meant when you stayed to help me.”

“You never know.” A mysterious smile. “How’s the translation going? I assume you haven’t found the life-transfer spell yet?”

“Not yet. I hope it’s there.”

“It is. Since Marek’s gone, do you need help translating?”

“No. I’ll finish it tonight.” Olivia drank the last drop of her coffee. “Speaking of which, I should probably head back and get started.”

“Sounds good. I’ll start working on this. Let me email this to myself.”