Page 145 of Vampire so Virtuous

“You have fed from her more than once?” Belle asked.

“Three times.”

“Then yes,mon amour,” Belle said. “It is likely the bond has formed.”

And Cally hated him—or at least, she seemed to half the time. The other half, he wasn’t quite sure. He remembered how she’d bitten his neck, and the recollection made his skin prickle.

Even now, she was glaring at him. As she usually did.

“I am sorry,” he said to her. “I didn’t know.”

Belle tutted. “It is you that are to blame,mon amour—even though, asyou say, you didn’t know.”

“What? How?”

“Once you had fed on Minh, your power was great enough to awaken Cally’s dormant witch blood.”

“You mean to say,mypower awakenedhers?”

“Just so.”

“Because I fed on Minh?”

“As I have just said.”

Then it hasn’t been three.He narrowed his eyes at Belle. “How many feeds until the bond is irreversible?”

“Who knows? We are discussing matters largely lost to the passing of history.” She shrugged, then answered him. “More than one, but whether it is two, three or more…” She fixed him with a look. “The question you should be asking is whether or not your craving can be sated by any blood, or only hers.”

The fleeting hope died as fast as it had come, and both women saw it in his face.

“We’re screwed, aren’t we?” Cally whispered. “It’s like learning I’m pregnant, only so much worse.”

“A vampire cannot get anyone pregnant,ma fillette,” Belle chimed in with a hint of amusement.

Antoine hadn’t known that, either. It was turning into a night of revelations, and he wondered what else Belle had been remiss in not passing on.

“Hardly relevant.” Cally stood abruptly, her gray eyes flashing with anger. She paced across the room before spinning on her heel. “I can’t believe I’mtiedto a goddamn vampire. There must be a way to reverse this! Don’t you people have libraries for researching solutions to this sort of thing?”

“Is it so bad?” Belle asked, her tone almost playful. “You will grow in power, live far longer, be the consort of a vampire who—”

“‘Consort?’” Cally spat.

“Not helpful,” Antoine murmured.

“—of a vampire who will be one of the most powerful to have lived in modern times,” Belle continued, ignoring the interruption. “If not ever.”

He stiffened. “That much?”

“Oui,” she said. “Oh, it will take time to reach such heights, and in the meanwhile, you will be vulnerable. There will be those who will try to stop you.”

“Great,” Cally said sarcastically. “All this, and we’ve painted a goddamn bullseye onbothour backs. There’s no way we can keep this secret.”

“Only those in this room know,” Belle said calmly.

“Yeah?” Cally shot back. “And what if the vamp who owns this house bugs the rooms of hisesteemed Curia guests?” Her words dripped with scorn.

“Then I expect my thralls would’ve informed me after their sweeps,” Belle replied casually.