His mind fragmented with apologies that might never be said. “Don’t leave me,” he whispered.
The door creaked, but he would not take his focus off his mate.
“Is she breathing?” The Bishop’s long legs approached and Adam tightened his protective hold of her, angling her body toward the corner. “Adam, what have you done?”
He choked back a sob of outrage. He needed no admonishment for his actions. “I can’t lose her.”
The bishop crouched at his side. “May I?”
Desperate, Adam nodded and the man felt her wrist for a pulse. “She’s alive.”
He lowered her arm and lifted the hair away from her face. Adam’s blood smeared with hers, hiding her lily-white skin.
“She’s not drinking,” the Bishop assessed, resting his hand over her head. “Drink, child.”
Her lashes twitched as her lips tightened on his wrist. Adam’s breath caught. “She’s started.”
“You must bond. Now.” They didn’t have much time. The Bishop knelt beside him, assessing the damage. “Take her blood.”
This wasn’t how it was meant to be. He lifted her frail arm. His thumb traced the pale vein at her wrist, the flutter of her pulse hardly detectable. So much blood still seeped from her temple.
“Adam,” the Bishop said sharply. “Drain her now. Your blood will sustain her and the bonding will heal this. You don’t have time to hesitate. Humans are fragile.”
“Marry us.”
“We can see to that later—”
“Now!” He panted, meeting the Bishop’s eyes. “And if I am a widower by morning ... end me.”
The Bishop’s wise eyes measured the dire situation. He gave a stiff nod. “Take her blood, my son.”
Adam sank his fangs into her wrist. Spasms tore through her, as he pulled with heavy swallows from her contracting veins. She hardly sipped from his wrist, but his own blood would replenish her cells and return her strength.
She convulsed with tremors. The more he drank the colder her temperature dropped. Her body seized in his arms and his grip tightened.
“I require her full name.”
He couldn’t speak once the bonding began. Grace lowered to the floor, her eyes holding his as he drank.
She brushed a hand over Annalise’s hair. “It’s Annalise Erin Snow.” Her gaze reflected worry. “Her mind is quiet, but unguarded.”
The Bishop placed a hand on Adam’s head. Sharp panic knifed through him. What if this wasn’t what she wanted? He broke his promise to help Cain. She might hate him for his actions.
“She loves you, Adam,” Gracie whispered, reading his thoughts. “I’ve seen it in her mind.”
His heart pounded a mixture of fearful relief and hope, as her pulse thrummed to a rapid beat, a battle of life and death beginning in her veins. His blood slowly replaced hers as he drank from her, his body churning her blood into nourishment that returned his strength.
It was happening. He could feel the frayed ends of his nerves weaving with hers, his senses resurrecting to a clearer perception, as her breathing slowed to a calmer pace.
“Today we enact the union of Annalise Erin Snow and Adam Hartzler, called mates by the decree of God, whose everlasting bond will sustain their connection for ewichkeit. Adam, do you vow to honor this calling and proceed with humility and gentleness, protecting your mate above all else, including yourself.”
He nodded, opening his mind so all could see the purity of his intentions. When Grace did not respond, he understood the Bishop’s superior abilities allowed him to witness his thoughts first hand.
“And as your eternal partner in this world, does Annalise promise to submit to Adam in obedience and grace?”
Adam’s breath held. His sister’s worry reflected his own. His gaze shifted to the Bishop.
“She must agree, Adam.”
“She agrees,” Grace announced, her deceit pelting him like ice.
Adam’s eyes widened and the Bishop paused. There could be no lies kept in the presence of such a seasoned Elder.
“She told me,” Grace announced. “Just a few hours before.” More lies. “She loves him.”
Adam’s heart kicked at his ribs. Her last words tasted of honesty. He looked at Gracie and she nodded.
His gaze dropped to Annalise, his heart bursting with love and his need to wed her tripling. Their fates would be forever sealed after this day, their family made of love and unity, and a bond no other could break.
“Very well,” the Bishop said. “By the power vested in me, I sanction this marriage in the eyes of God. Let it be recorded by the Immortal Amish Order that from this day forward, Annalise Erin Snow shall be known as Annalise Hartzler, wife of Adam Hartzler, bonded in blood, sealed in eternal life. Nothing short of death shall divide the two.”
The Bishop rose to his full height. “She is yours, Adam.”
The last drop of human blood passed his lips. He lifted his mouth, overwhelming emotion choking him and delaying his gratitude.
The Bishop nodded his understanding. “Send word when the bond is complete. I must go see to your brother.”