preceded the bad. And last night had been amazing. The fallout was gonna be a doozy.
While I sat cross-legged on the counter and demolished my sleeve of cookies, Jake filled me in. He knew everything about his Family. He knew when they were moving and their plans for adjusting. Their past, their present and their future were all tied up in his brain. He didn’t keep notes. As the Protector, his memory was enhanced through the magical miasma of his Family. Leaving the Family meant the miasma would be taken from him.
This isn’t like returning an overdue library book. When the miasma finds the host, it bonds. Permanently. Or at least for a lifetime. Not to mention the fact that since it is tied to the memory—a.k.a. the brain—the only way to remove it is, you guessed it, full-on lobotomy. Might be hard to stay bonded with my mate when his brain was separated from the rest of him. Just because we were supernatural, didn’t mean we could operate without a brain. We leave that to politicians.
“So first of all, eewie.” I licked my fingers again. I liked the chocolate, but I liked the way Jake’s eyes flashed at me even more. “Second, does this mean we are going to go full-on Fugitive style? I don’t want to jump off a waterfall.”
“I can’t leave. But you could join my Family.”
“Yeah. There’s the problem. We don’t know if I can be turned into a vampire since I have already undergone one change.”
“If a similar ritual has been performed, it is not in my knowledge base.”
Since he had the entire history of his Family in his brain, his answer was a pretty good indication that it was rare.
“So my options are…” I ticked up a finger with each point. “Run and live our lives in fear of you having your thinker ripped from your neck, making you dead. Try and turn me, which we don’t know is possible, and risk a supernatural supernova of bad magic banging around my body, making me dead.”
“Not how I would put it, but yes. Assuming you still claim me as your mate.”
Well crap . I had been so worried about all the other stuff, I had completely ignored the possibility of not being with Jake. But I looked at the first piece of vulnerability he had really shown, and any doubt about our mating fled my mind.
Anyone hearing about this would think I was crazy. Hell, anybody who knew me already thought that. This was the first time in my life that I could ever remember seeing something so clearly. I might not know what his favorite cereal was yet, or what size shoes he wore, other than big—and those rumors about big feet are totally true—but my wolf knew his. The human in me was screaming that this was nuts, but my wolf laid it out in black and white.
Great sex. Strong and responsible man. Great sex. Level-headed despite the smack from the pheromones. Great sex. He was trying to give me support and options, when we had a severe shortage of either. And did I mention the GREAT SEX?
My wolf was horny.
“Do you know how to change a wolf?”
“That is part of being my Family’s Protector. I know of all past turnings in my Family. Changing a born-were has been done. And wolves and vampires have mated.”
“Obviously.”
“But I am not sure, at least not to my satisfaction, what would happen were I to try and change you.” He rubbed his hands together and began to pace.
“Does it feel different being a vampire than being a wolf?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“What do you mean?”
“I get the feeling that the shared skin experience is different for you. I feel like there is always a part of me fighting for dominance. My wolf and I share my body. Kind of like having a part of me that is more tangible than a personality trait. You are reacting like you’re just recognizing your wolf. Kind of like a kid coming of age, or someone just turned. It’s a strange sensation when you haven’t felt it before. So I am guessing the whole vampire thing is different?”
I was going over my
While I sat cross-legged on the counter and demolished my sleeve of cookies, Jake filled me in. He knew everything about his Family. He knew when they were moving and their plans for adjusting. Their past, their present and their future were all tied up in his brain. He didn’t keep notes. As the Protector, his memory was enhanced through the magical miasma of his Family. Leaving the Family meant the miasma would be taken from him.
This isn’t like returning an overdue library book. When the miasma finds the host, it bonds. Permanently. Or at least for a lifetime. Not to mention the fact that since it is tied to the memory—a.k.a. the brain—the only way to remove it is, you guessed it, full-on lobotomy. Might be hard to stay bonded with my mate when his brain was separated from the rest of him. Just because we were supernatural, didn’t mean we could operate without a brain. We leave that to politicians.
“So first of all, eewie.” I licked my fingers again. I liked the chocolate, but I liked the way Jake’s eyes flashed at me even more. “Second, does this mean we are going to go full-on Fugitive style? I don’t want to jump off a waterfall.”
“I can’t leave. But you could join my Family.”
“Yeah. There’s the problem. We don’t know if I can be turned into a vampire since I have already undergone one change.”
“If a similar ritual has been performed, it is not in my knowledge base.”
Since he had the entire history of his Family in his brain, his answer was a pretty good indication that it was rare.
“So my options are…” I ticked up a finger with each point. “Run and live our lives in fear of you having your thinker ripped from your neck, making you dead. Try and turn me, which we don’t know is possible, and risk a supernatural supernova of bad magic banging around my body, making me dead.”
“Not how I would put it, but yes. Assuming you still claim me as your mate.”
Well crap . I had been so worried about all the other stuff, I had completely ignored the possibility of not being with Jake. But I looked at the first piece of vulnerability he had really shown, and any doubt about our mating fled my mind.
Anyone hearing about this would think I was crazy. Hell, anybody who knew me already thought that. This was the first time in my life that I could ever remember seeing something so clearly. I might not know what his favorite cereal was yet, or what size shoes he wore, other than big—and those rumors about big feet are totally true—but my wolf knew his. The human in me was screaming that this was nuts, but my wolf laid it out in black and white.
Great sex. Strong and responsible man. Great sex. Level-headed despite the smack from the pheromones. Great sex. He was trying to give me support and options, when we had a severe shortage of either. And did I mention the GREAT SEX?
My wolf was horny.
“Do you know how to change a wolf?”
“That is part of being my Family’s Protector. I know of all past turnings in my Family. Changing a born-were has been done. And wolves and vampires have mated.”
“Obviously.”
“But I am not sure, at least not to my satisfaction, what would happen were I to try and change you.” He rubbed his hands together and began to pace.
“Does it feel different being a vampire than being a wolf?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“What do you mean?”
“I get the feeling that the shared skin experience is different for you. I feel like there is always a part of me fighting for dominance. My wolf and I share my body. Kind of like having a part of me that is more tangible than a personality trait. You are reacting like you’re just recognizing your wolf. Kind of like a kid coming of age, or someone just turned. It’s a strange sensation when you haven’t felt it before. So I am guessing the whole vampire thing is different?”
I was going over my
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