“You need more time to get control of your bloodlust. Right now, you probably feel calm, but that can change in a split second.”
“Everything inside me does feel sort of … not quite unstable, but restless. Edgy.” Like my mental state could alter at any moment.
“That will fade over the next few months, and then it’ll be gone completely. You’ll live here until then. It’s not a prison. You can come and go whenever you please, just never alone.”
“I’m good with that.” I didn’t exactly like the thought of being cooped up here or anywhere else, but … “I don’t want to accidentally hurt anyone.” I’d heard stories where vampires had had to Turn humans purely because a newborn had drank so much of their blood that the only way to save them from death was to put them through the conversion.
“Ordinarily, your Sire would be at your side throughout however long it takes for you to gain control of your bloodlust and whatever gift you might develop,” Damien went on. “But, as you know, you don’t have a Sire. Still, you’re part of Castor’s nest, so Dion has offered to act as a sort of surrogate Sire.”
I snorted. “Yeah, I’ll pass. I don’t really have any interest in being part of the nest.”
Seeming pleased by that, Damien said, “Then maybe you’ll consider letting me be at your side. I’ve been where you are. I know exactly what you’re going through. I can help you in every way you need help.”
It might have been worded like an offer, but it was a damn well declaration. He intended to be here, and that was that. “But you’re part of the legion. You have training and—”
“Sam and Jared have already okayed it. If you’ll agree to it, I’ll be with you through your adjustment period. I’ll live here with you so that you’re never alone.”
“Live here for months on end? Why would you want to do that?”
His face went all soft. “Because I’m yours, Lex. Where else would I be but with you?”
My heart jumped, and my breath caught in my throat. “Mine, huh?”
“Yours.” He took my hand and pressed a kiss to my palm. “Only yours.”
I swallowed hard. “Damien—”
“I thought you might blame me for not getting to you on time. I thought you might rage at me and want me out of your sight. It would have fucking gutted me. And I’d have understood, but I wouldn’t have left you. Not even for a moment, no matter what you said or did. Because even if you’d hated me, you would still have fucking owned me. And I’ve got news for you, Lex, I own you just the same. You’re mine. So yeah, I’ll be here with you until Sam and Jared declare you’re fit to move out. You’ll be wasting your breath if you fight me on it.”
I couldn’t bite back a smile. “Do I look like I want to fight you on it?”
One side of his mouth kicked up. “No. No, you look kind of smug.”
“I feel it.”
He drew me closer, so my body was flush against his. “Not gonna lie, part of me is disappointed that I won’t need to tie you to the bed and make you come over and over until you agree that you belong to me.”
“Okay, now that does sound interesting.”
“But most of me is plain fucking relieved. For the record, now that the conversion is over, the only person you’ll drink from is me. That will go both ways. Unless one of us is ever in danger and needs blood, of course. Also, you’ll come live with me.”
My brows flew up. “I will, will I?”
“Well you can’t stay in your current apartment. That Residence Hall is for humans. And since I don’t intend to let you out of my sight much even when you’re able to move out of this place, it only makes sense for you to come live with me.” He shrugged, as if it were no biggie.
“Hmm, we’ll see how it goes,” I said to needle him.
He frowned. “You know how it’s going to go, I just told you.”
I chuckled and poked his chest. “You toned down your alpha ways when I was human. I’m sensing that that’s not going to be the case anymore.”
“You sensed correctly.” He rested his forehead on mine. “I’m sorry Castor fucked you over and took this choice from you. But I’m not sorry you’re a vampire. That makes me a selfish bastard, I know. It makes me feel like a sack of shit. But I can’t be sorry that I’m able to keep you. Walking away from the only woman I’ve ever really loved would have been the hardest fucking thing I ever did.”
Oh, my heart went and melted right there and then. I cleared my thickening throat. “Just in case you didn’t know, she loves you right back.”