Page 21

Roman

W hy did humans insist on making certain types of buildings so unpleasant to look at?

The one Roman and Danny were entering was drab in that particular way of hospitals, government offices, and correctional facilities: beige-gray walls on the outside, beige walls on the inside, vomit-colored carpeting throughout. But it otherwise seemed pleasant enough, as far as these places went.

It was clean, the furniture and art were of a certain quality, and the staff looked alert and friendly. Roman couldn’t imagine how much money his mate was spending keeping his mother here. He took a mental note to convince Danny as soon as possible to let him foot the bill instead.

Danny had told him after breakfast about his mother. She had a type of dementia called early onset Alzheimer’s. She had been diagnosed when Danny was in nursing school.

Roman placed his sunglasses on top of his head—they kept the demon from getting too irritated on sunny days—and looked over at the boy walking next to him, who’d been tense and nervous the entire car ride there.

Roman reached out and took his hand, and Danny looked up and gave him a small, appreciative smile.

Roman was so proud of his mate for standing up to his boorish brother. He’d clearly been shouldering too much alone for too long.

Not anymore , Roman vowed. His demon purred in agreement.

A short, stout woman with a cap of brown hair called out a greeting to them as they approached the main desk. Roman saw her do a small double take at the sight of his and Danny’s joined hands before giving Danny a wide-eyed look and a big smile.

“And who is this?” she gushed.

“This is Roman,” Danny answered shyly. “He’s, uh—”

“I’m Danny’s boyfriend,” Roman cut in. “Boyfriend” felt juvenile compared to his true title: mate . But he wanted some sort of recognizable bond out there for the humans.

Roman wanted everyone to know this man belonged to him.

The woman’s smile grew bigger, if that was possible. “You didn’t tell me you were seeing anybody, Danny,” she chided gently.

“It’s pretty new,” Danny explained. Roman didn’t have to look over to know that his mate was blushing but glanced over anyway, just to enjoy the way the pink stole over Danny’s freckled cheeks.

Danny cleared his throat. “Roman, this is Mary. She’s the backbone of this place.”

“Oh, psh.” Now Mary was blushing. She turned a mock-stern look to Roman. “You better be good to this one. He’s got a lot of people rooting for him.”

“Believe me, I am one of them,” Roman reassured her.

“Oh, I like you.”

“You two can flirt later,” Danny huffed, although he was clearly pleased with Mary’s approval. “How is she today?”

Mary’s face grew more somber. “I’m afraid it isn’t the best day. She hasn’t been feeling up for a lot these past few days. She’s due for a shower this morning, but so far any attempts have made her…unhappy. We’ve gotten her out of bed, but that’s the extent of it.”

Roman felt Danny, who’d relaxed a bit at the beginning of the conversation, tense again.

Roman had read up a little bit on his mother’s condition while Danny was in the shower that morning, to better prepare for the visit.

He knew the mood swings that could occur, and he had a feeling “unhappy” was putting it lightly.

Danny looked up at him with worried brown eyes, and Roman could tell by his expression he was thinking of postponing this visit for another day, but that wouldn’t do.

Danny had to know that Roman would be there for him in every respect, in any situation, no matter how difficult.

Besides, Roman and his demon had a better idea.

“It will be okay,” he reassured his mate. “Let me meet her. We can leave if it is all too much for her.”

Danny nodded, gripping Roman’s hand tighter, and turned back to Mary. “We’d still like to see her, please.”

The look Mary gave Danny was so warm and empathetic that Roman immediately decided she was on his approved list of Danny’s associates. She could join Chloe’s name there.

Gabe still had yet to prove he could make the cut.

A short walk down a few hallways later, they entered a room where a woman Roman thought to be somewhere in her midfifties was hunched in a recliner, looking not directly at but instead somewhere past a television set in front of her.

Another woman, this one young and in scrubs and clearly some kind of nurse or attendant, was sitting beside her.

“Hello, Gladys,” Danny greeted softly.

The older woman turned sharply toward them, and Roman could see bits of Danny both in her features and in the fierce expression she shot their way.

“Jack!” she exclaimed, voice harsh. “What am I doing here? This girl here”—she pointed at the younger woman sitting with her—”keeps watching me. Always watching me. I don’t understand. Who even let her in here?”

Jack . Danny had told Roman that was the name of his father, that sometimes his mother confused him for a younger version of his own father despite the differences in their appearances.

Danny approached his mother, smiling gently. “I know, Gladys. She’s just here to help you get ready for the day. Do you want to do that? We could go outside for a walk.” He looked over at the younger woman. “We can take it from here, if you want to take a break.”

Danny’s mother watched the girl in scrubs closely as she left, then looked over to where Roman was standing, clearly unappeased. “Who’s that? Someone else to watch me? Like I’m a criminal!”

“This is Roman.” Danny was keeping his voice soft and calm. Roman was proud of his patience. “A friend of mine. I wanted him to meet you.”

“Why would you do that?” Gladys’s voice took on a petulant tone. “I’m not even dressed! I look terrible. Get him out.”

Danny turned toward Roman, and the sorrow in his mate’s eyes was like a knife to Roman’s heart. “Maybe today isn’t the best—”

Roman squeezed Danny’s hand gently. “I would like to try something first. Would you close the blinds?”

Danny seemed taken aback by the request. “Um. Okay? But this could get much worse very quickly.” His mother was looking back and forth between them, eyes full of suspicion. But Danny, his sweet, trusting mate, went over to the blinds and shut them, leaving the room much dimmer.

Just how Roman’s demon liked it.

Roman let it out as Danny walked back over to him, trusting now that his demon would always behave itself around Danny, look out for his best interests just as Roman did.

Danny’s eyes widened as he watched Roman’s eyes turn to pure black. “Are you—are you hungry? Now ?” he whispered incredulously.

Roman just shook his head, stepping around Danny and closer to Gladys. He leaned down over the woman until their faces were inches apart. He really, really hoped this would work.

And that Danny would trust that he wasn’t going to take a bite out of his mother.

“Hello, Gladys,” his demon purred. Roman heard Danny give a little gasp.

He knew his voice was different when his demon came out to try compulsion—a little softer, a little rougher.

Subtle, but of course his quick-witted mate would pick up on it.

“I know you’re having a bit of a rough morning,” he continued, not breaking eye contact with his mate’s mother.

“Yes.” She still sounded petulant but no longer quite so panicked. Good.

“I want to remind you that you are safe and cared for. I think you know that already. I am a good friend of Danny’s here. And I know he loves you very much. I want you to look at him there and think very hard and very deep about Danny. Your son. You remember, I know you do.”

“Roman, you can’t just—” Danny’s voice was anxious, and Roman momentarily regretted not warning the boy what he was going to try. But he hadn’t been positive compulsion would work in this case, and he hadn’t wanted to get his mate’s hopes up.

Roman had used his skills on delirious or panicked humans before, and he knew his demon could help people access certain parts of their brains, including their memories. But he’d never tried it on a person with dementia before, and Danny seemed on the verge of stepping in.

But then they both watched as the tension left Gladys’s body. She was looking at Danny, and for the first time Roman could see the woman—the mother—she was underneath the confusion.

“Danny, sweetie.” Her voice was soft and bright now. “I’m sorry. I got—I got confused. I didn’t realize you were here. I’ve been getting forgetful again, haven’t I?” She gave a small, rueful laugh.

Roman released a sigh of relief and looked over at Danny, whose expression was hopeful and yet also so terrified.

Roman knew that feeling. Hope was terrifying.

He turned his black eyes back to Danny’s mother. “Now, I believe you were about to take a shower and get ready for a walk with the two of us. Do you think you’d let someone help you? You’ve been ill. We don’t want you falling.”

Gladys nodded at him sweetly, and Danny quickly called the attendant back as Roman’s demon receded.

A few moments later, as Roman shut the door, leaving the two women to their task, Danny turned to him, grabbing his shoulders and pressing him—none too gently—up against the wall. “What did you do to her? Are you—are you hypnotizing her? Controlling her somehow?”

His sweet, fierce mate.

Roman didn’t fight against Danny’s hold, just lifted one hand to caress the boy’s face.

“I am sorry, little king. I did not warn you because I was not sure of the results. I told you we vampires can compel. I have used it before, to cut through a person’s confusion or panic.

I thought—I thought it would be worth trying.

Perhaps not if she were further along. But at this stage—yes, I thought it worth trying. ”

“Worth. Trying,” Danny repeated the words, still looking stunned and a little angry.

Roman had another moment of doubt. Had he truly done wrong? He was so out of touch with this aspect of humanity—families, emotions, love, and loss.