Page 76

Gabe

G abe had felt helpless before. He’d lost people he’d cared about. But he’d never felt this pure fury, this all-consuming frustration.

Hendrick had taken Soren.

Soren, who was just learning to open up again. Soren, who made Gabe feel safe and comforted for the first time since his childhood. Soren, who had stayed in this town, after over a century of running, just to remain close to him.

Hendrick had taken him.

And Gabe hadn’t been able to do a single thing about it.

Had been taken out of the running in an instant, Hendrick overpowering him without so much as a misplaced hair for his effort.

The vampire had snapped Jay’s neck, and before Gabe could even process that, his leg had been bent, his face smashed.

It was like Lucien’s attack all over again.

Except this time, Soren hadn’t been able to swoop in and save him.

Soren had been taken instead.

Gabe panted from his prone position on Danny’s porch. Fuck. He needed to get up. He didn’t know if walking was possible, with whatever Hendrick had done to his leg. But he could at least sit upright.

He pulled himself up into a seated position, his right leg stretched out as best he could in front of him.

It hurt. Everything hurt. But it was nothing compared to the pain he’d felt at seeing Soren walk away.

Like having his heart ripped out of his chest. It was exactly what Gabe had been fearing these past three weeks. Soren leaving. Soren leaving him .

And Gabe realized he might have been able to handle it, under any other circumstances.

If Soren had left because he’d realized he’d needed more, realized Hyde Park wasn’t enough—realized Gabe wasn’t enough—Gabe could have survived that.

Could have watched Soren go back to his globetrotting and club-hopping and lived to see another day.

It would have hurt, yes. It would have broken Gabe’s heart. But he could have handled it, for Soren. He could handle Soren leaving if it was what Soren needed. But this. Soren going with that piece of shit slimeball, putting himself into that psycho’s hands…

Gabe hadn’t been fooled by any of the bullshit Soren had spouted at Hendrick. Soren’s words about Gabe being a pet, an easy distraction. Gabe knew better. Soren had been protecting him. His vampire had thought he’d had to go with that fucking monster to protect Gabe.

Well, fuck that.

Gabe hadn’t been able to stop his dad from dying. He couldn’t prevent his mother’s dementia from progressing. He couldn’t keep Danny from turning against his will.

But he could sure as shit do something about this.

So he hadn’t been able to protect Soren because he was human—fragile, weak, mortal. Well, then he wouldn’t be human anymore.

He couldn’t stop life from changing. He clearly couldn’t keep bad things from happening. But he could choose what in life he wanted to focus on. He could choose what to strive for rather than against.

Gabe wanted love. He wanted belonging. He wanted to be understood.

And Soren—weird, unhinged, fantastical Soren—understood him. He let Gabe be the real version of himself, not just the superficial golden boy.

Gabe would fight for that.

“Jay,” he called, shocked by how hoarse his voice came out. “Jay!” No answer. Gabe tried to move over to the vampire, to bend his right leg, but gasped when the sharp pain hit him.

Right, no moving. He had to be patient, even if it felt like he was ready to crawl out of his skin. The little vampire wouldn’t stay down. Soren had said only beheading or fire could kill them.

Gabe could scream—it was so frustrating, that none of his extensive medical knowledge was any fucking use in determining the time it takes for a vampire to heal from a broken neck.

But surely it wouldn’t take long, right?

Considering how quickly Soren’s broken ribs had healed.

So Gabe sat on the porch in the weak morning sun, waiting for Jay to wake up.

Gabe’s phone was broken, smashed by Hendrick in the shuffle, so he couldn’t see how much time was passing.

He briefly regretted not being able to call Danny.

Or even Roman. But what good would that do anyway?

They were due home the next day, but even if they moved their flight forward, left Bali that instant, they were still a full day away—who could say they’d get there in time to help?

So Gabe sat and waited, and tried not to think about the gutted look on Soren’s face when he’d opened the door to find Hendrick holding Gabe on the porch.

Or the sight of Soren kissing that slimy douchebag.

He marveled briefly that his anxiety wasn’t taking over.

But this was kind of like what happened during codes at the hospital.

Gabe could be calm in an emergency. He could put his emotions on the back burner to save a life.

And he would save Soren’s life.

Gabe brought his mind away from the trauma of the past half hour.

He tried to remember only the good. How beautiful Soren had looked at the club, dancing freely under the flashing lights.

How peaceful it felt to be held by Soren on the couch.

In Soren’s bed. He tried to channel the inner calm he felt when he had Soren in his arms. He didn’t come close to it, but it helped, if only a little.

When Jay finally stirred, after what felt like an eternity, Gabe at last felt like he could take a full breath.

Beyond the frustration of waiting helplessly, he’d been terrified one of the neighbors would walk by, or someone would call the police.

Gabe couldn’t have any outside interference, not now. It would only slow him down.

Plus, how the fuck did you explain when the dead body with a broken neck suddenly revived itself?

It seemed to take Jay a minute to orient himself, and then he was up, leaning over Gabe in an instant. “Gabe! Are you okay? What happened? Where’s Soren?”

“I’m fine.” Gabe wasn’t, but he would be. “You were ambushed by Hendrick. Soren’s gone.”

“Oh God.” Jay looked around them frantically, as if Gabe was pulling a prank and Soren was just hiding in the bushes. “I’m sorry!” the little vampire wailed when he couldn’t find anything. “I’m so sorry!”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Gabe tried to comfort him. “He attacked you from behind.”

“Your leg,” Jay said, reaching toward Gabe’s bent extremity, stopping just before he touched it.

“Listen, Jay,” Gabe said, not wanting to waste any more time. “I need you to do something for me.”

Jay stopped his flailing, peering at Gabe with anxious eyes. “Do what?”

Gabe took a deep breath. “I need you to turn me.”

“And you’re sure about this.” Jay wrung his hands, brows furrowed. It might have been adorable, if Gabe weren’t so fucking impatient to get this show on the road.

“I’m sure,” he answered from his spot on the couch. He’d had Jay drag him in here—almost passing out from the pain—not wanting to push their luck any further than they already had by lying out on the porch for everyone to see.

They’d found Ferdy locked in the living room, barking frantically. They’d taken him to Soren’s bedroom for now. Gabe could only hope none of the neighbors called the cops on the loud puppy, but he didn’t want him in here when whatever had to happen…happened.

“I’m not leaving him to do this on his own.”

Jay didn’t look reassured. “But I’ve seen it take days for someone to turn. You might— You might be too late.”

“Do you think Hendrick will kill him?” Gabe didn’t want to think of that possibility, couldn’t bear it, but he needed to know.

That made Jay pause. He shook his head reluctantly. “Unlikely. And I think he would want to…draw it out, even if he did.”

Fuck. Gabe couldn’t let himself dwell on the thought. Soren would be okay. He had to be.

“I could go after them,” Jay offered.

“And how will you find them?” Gabe countered.

“Um…”

“When my brother turned, he said he could… feel Roman. Mates can sense each other’s emotions. They have a bond. A palpable bond. I know I can find him. I just need you to turn me.”

Jay’s gray eyes bore into him. “It’s permanent, Gabe. Forever. You’ll never be human again.”

For the first time since they’d met, Gabe could feel Jay’s age. There was regret there, underlying Jay’s statement—had this vampire been given any more choice in his transition than Soren had?

Gabe tried to put all his sincerity into his words. “I would do it anyway. To be with him. I wasn’t sure before, but…I know that now. I would. So just do it.”

He’d let fear and resentment hamper him all his adult life, and what had it gotten him? It had almost ruined his relationship with Danny permanently. It had taken away time with his mother he’d never get back. It had made him a…well, just a worse person overall.

But Soren. Soren had made Gabe better . More open, less fearful. Gabe could accept magic in his life, if Soren came with it.

“Soren’s gonna kill me,” Jay protested. But the hand-wringing had stopped. He seemed to be getting used to the idea.

“I’ll take all the blame,” Gabe reassured him.

Jay took a deep breath, clearly bolstering himself. Gabe tried not to scream in frustration. He’d made his choice. He wouldn’t regret it. He wanted this conversation over and done with.

He held up a hand when Jay finally leaned over him. “Not the neck.”

Jay blushed. “Oh. Um. Sorry. Of course.” He gently picked up Gabe’s right wrist. “Is this okay?”

Gabe nodded. “That’s fine.”

He watched the dark head bend over his wrist. A sharp flick of pain, a surge of that now-familiar pleasure, and then a strange…

lightheadedness. Gabe realized now how little Soren had taken from him, those two times, compared to the speed with which Jay was draining him now.

He could feel himself slipping quickly into unconsciousness, only vaguely aware when liquid started dribbling into his mouth. Jay’s blood? And then…

Pain. Fire. Burning .

Gabe heard screaming. He was pretty sure it was him, but he was too delirious with pain to register the source. He coughed, choked, screamed some more.

Who knew dying would be so painful?

And then only darkness.

Gabe woke up quickly—apparently much more quickly than Jay had anticipated, judging by the little vampire’s startled, wide eyes.

The pain was gone. Like it had never happened at all. Maybe Gabe had dreamed it.

“I—I’ve never seen it happen so fast,” Jay stammered. “It’s only been a few hours.”

Gabe didn’t have time to wonder over it all. He’d woken with a hole in his chest. An ache. A pull.

Soren.

His mate was in trouble. Gabe felt a pulsing under his skin, a drive to find him, to help him.

Soren had been taken. Taken from Gabe.

Rage and anger rose quickly. “Going now,” he growled. Jay protested. Gabe cut him off. “I wouldn’t try to stop me.”

“What if you kill someone?”

Gabe scoffed. “Hendrick? He’d deserve it.”

Jay gave him a strange look. “No — I— Aren’t you…hungry?”

Hungry? Oh, for blood.

Feeding was the farthest thing from Gabe’s mind. “I don’t want blood. I want Soren .”

That was the only thing Gabe was craving—to touch his mate. To hold him. There was a new beast inside him, and it needed soothing.

He needed his mate.