Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61523 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61523 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Vampires are so physically superior, it’s not even funny.
“I know that sounds…ominous,” he confirms with a gentle nod and an even gentler face. “And I promise I’ll explain when I can. Just know…” He places a hand to his chest I swear I feel as though he’s laid it upon my own. “I would never hurt you, Romy. More than that—I would kill anyone else who tried.”
My throat burns as I swallow his words. They’re bold. They’re romantic.
They’re terrifying.
Cal
Hair down and face flushed, Romy Spencer is the picture of every fantasy I never had for a mate but absolutely would have if I’d ever allowed myself to consider the possibility of love. She’s naturally beautiful, funny, and intelligence radiates from every speck of her worried blue eyes.
Coming here was a risk in every sense of the word—with the Elite Council, with my uncle, and maybe most dangerously, with her.
With temptation, of course, but more importantly, with landing myself a spot in her favor.
Destiny only gets you so far when the woman is scared of you, and I know by declaring my intentions just now, I’ve stacked the deck against myself even higher.
But this isn’t the time for timid plans and managed expectations. This is the last-chance, Hail Mary throw right at the precipice of death.
I either win now or lose for everyone.
And I’ve never, ever liked losing as an option.
“I know that sounds…ominous,” I hedge carefully, posturing myself as a man who understands her position, though I know I never truly will. “And I promise I’ll explain when I can.” I want to reach out and touch her—to steady her with the righteousness of my intent. But I carry that to my own chest with a splayed hand instead, gripping at my heart and willing it to show itself in the tone of my voice. “Just know…I would never hurt you, Romy. More than that—I would kill anyone else who tried.”
Romy’s body folds on itself as the reality of how invested I am in her comes to a head in her mind. The obsession. The primality. The whole premise of a mate and its unbreakable need for its other half.
It’s foreign to her in ways I can’t even begin to comprehend and probably scary in half a dozen others. But I didn’t stop myself from coming here tonight. And I didn’t stop myself from tapping on her window. Didn’t stop myself from climbing through said window. And I definitely didn’t stop myself from sitting here on her bed.
And because of all those failures in control, I have no choice but to give it to her as honestly as prioritizing her safety will allow.
She swallows thickly, and I look down, hoping to offer her the space and comfort to ask more questions—to ask me whatever she wants. It takes her a minute of silence and the comfort of my best impression of a statue, but eventually, she finds the courage to challenge me for more information.
“Is…killing someone for me something that might be necessary, say, soon?”
“I hope not,” I say. It’s a lie, but it’s the answer she needs both from the man she wants to trust and for the fear she’s already battling. “But for you, for my brothers, I wouldn’t hesitate.”
“Your brothers. Yeah…you said before… You said your brothers and their…mates.”
“Yes,” I confirm. “My brothers have both mated already. I have not. I know it’s confusing with the selection process you see here, but biologically, vampires are meant for only one human mate. Their fated mate. It’s not a choice or a bidding war—it’s destiny. Some of the men here don’t think that’s how it should be.”
“Is that why you’re here? Looking for her? Your…fated mate?”
I shake my head, smoothing the edges of an answer she already knows. “I don’t need to look.” I smile sensitively. “Not outside of this room, at least.”
Her nervous laugh is consciously quiet of the guard in the hall but out of hand at the same time. Her control of her fear is rattled, and I know it’s unlikely she can handle much more.
“So, you’re saying I… That I’m your…” Eyes wide and hands shaking, she clenches the comforter in her lap.
“I know it might be startling for you, but I knew the moment I saw you tonight.” I pause. “Intrinsically.”
Surprising me entirely, her face softens in understanding, and the tension in her shoulders sinks with a renewing ease. I thought she’d be scrambling for safety right now.
“Is that…is that why I’ve been feeling this way since I ran into you outside the bathroom?”
“What is this way? How do you feel?”
“Unsettled,” she says simply, her eyes finding the ceiling as she searches for the most accurate words. “Somewhat frantic. I mean, I haven’t felt really great about the whole thing altogether, but since I saw you, I’ve felt…antsy. Until now. Right now, I feel…calm.”