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Alexei considered it—considered how much he truly fucking hated the idea—but he ultimately shrugged, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“If it’s what Jay really wants…if it’s what’s necessary to keep him safe…

then I don’t care about that.” He narrowed his eyes at the smug look on Wolfe’s face.

“As long as you have no plans to consummate, that is.” Alexei honestly had no idea if consummating a marriage was still a fucking thing, but he wasn’t taking any chances with this archaic den and its archaic arrangements.

“You sure you’re not in love with him?” he asked again.

“Even if I were capable of such an emotion, he’s most assuredly not my type. That kind of sweetness leaves an unbearably saccharine taste in my mouth, I’m afraid.”

Anger bubbled in Alexei’s chest. “He’s the most perfect vampire to ever exist in the fucking universe, asshole. You would be so lucky.”

Wolfe’s gaze hardened. “I’ll forgive the rudeness, just this once. Clearly emotions are running high.”

Despite his words, Wolfe stalked a few steps closer to the door, and it took everything in Alexei not to take a step back in return.

More than any of the other vampires he’d met so far—Soren and his creepy grin included—Wolfe had the primal, animal part of Alexei’s brain signaling, Dangerous. Predator. Stay back .

“You would have to join us as a companion, of course. We wouldn’t be informing the den about the mate bond. Mate trumps husband, in vampire circles, and I might end up left out in the cold. I can’t allow that.”

“You really care an awful lot about leading this vampire den.” Alexei had the brief, possibly stress-induced thought that Wolfe and Ivan would probably get along like a goddamn house on fire.

Wolfe shrugged, somehow making the gesture look classy as hell.

“I care about quality of life. My quality of life . When looking toward an eternity of living, one has to plan ahead. It’s not as easy these days, to acquire wealth the old-fashioned way.

” At Alexei’s questioning look, Wolfe waved a hand.

“Killing a rich victim and taking their money, for instance. Compelling someone, or many someones. There are too many electronic trails, too much surveillance. And with that kind of technology, with facial recognition software, for example, how long before vampires are outed? There is strength in numbers, even if those numbers may be…odious.”

So not just a power-hungry vampire psychopath. A power-hungry, conspiracy theorist vampire psychopath? Jay really knew how to pick his friends.

But what it came down to, as it ever did, was that Alexei would do anything to stay by Jay’s side.

Alexei didn’t care about his title, the legalities of their arrangement (or okay, he did care but not enough to make it the deal breaker that kept him and Jay apart).

So he nodded like Wolfe was making sense.

“Okay. Yes, I’ll be Jay’s companion, if that’s what he wants. ”

“What Jay wants…,” Wolfe mused, taking another step closer.

“You see, I’m afraid that’s the thing. After many years of friendship”—Wolfe managed to make the word sound ironic—“I know how Johann thinks. And I fear he may…dillydally, you could say. Because of your humanity. He would fear bringing you to the den in your fragile condition. Likewise, he would be afraid to turn you and take away that which makes you so precious in his mind. And while killing you would invoke grief I’m not equipped to deal with, turning you, on the other hand… ”

Now Alexei did step back. He knew running into the house would be a stupid fucking move, but there was a back door to the apartment. If he could just get there in time.

But of course he couldn’t. Didn’t.

Because Wolfe moved just as fast as Jay did when Jay was trying to get closer to Alexei. And what was so charming in his sweet little vampire was fucking terrifying in Wolfe.

Alexei was on his back in an instant, the breath knocked clean out of him, Wolfe straddling his thighs, pinning Alexei with an ease that would have been insulting had he not been supernatural.

“You know,” Wolfe said softly, squeezing Alexei’s wrists to the point of pain.

“ You’d really be much more my type, under ordinary circumstances.

How big you are. With all those delightfully complex emotions hiding in that fragile little skull.

Lucky for you I have no interest in someone so devoted to another, hm? Now, wrist or neck?”

Alexei didn’t waste time pleading. He could tell it wouldn’t do any good and might, for that matter, serve to aggravate Wolfe instead. All Alexei could do was hope Wolfe was speaking truly about his intentions. That he would turn Alexei, not drain him dry and leave him for dead.

“My wrist,” Alexei said, voice like gravel.

His neck was for Jay. Only ever for Jay.

Wolfe grimaced. “How predictable.” But he did as Alexei asked, raising Alexei’s right wrist as his fangs dropped down, those flat brown eyes turning black. “You smell strangely sweet. I wonder if your blood will match.”

He bit down.

Wolfe drank quickly, much more quickly than Jay ever had. Alexei only felt a momentary spike of unwanted pleasure before he was already drowsy, fading, barely able to swallow the drops of warm liquid he felt dribbling into his mouth.

And then everything was fire.