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I lifted a shoulder, let it drop.
“Fine, go all syndicate vampire on me. But tell me something, Talon. Do you want this kid, really? Or is he just an obligation? Because if that’s true, maybe you should just settle some money on Eden and let her go.”
I eyed her, frowning. Where the hell had that come from?
One thing I knew, no way was I ever letting Eden go—now or twenty years from now—and the same went for my spawn.
An uncomfortable thought occurred to me. “That’s what happened with you and Esposito, wasn’t it? You got married because of me.”
Mom had always said I’d been born early—a seven-month baby—and I’d never questioned it.
“Well, yeah. But I wanted you.” She took a step toward me, her expression fierce—brows lowered, mouth firm. “I wanted you more than anything. And I’ve never regretted it. Never.”
I was still absorbing the fact that I was the reason my parents had gotten married. “But…did he feel the same way?”
She lifted her chin and threw my own words back at me. “With all due respect, that’s none of your business.”
Then he hadn’t.
I swallowed sickly. It was like the cliff had shifted under my feet. I rocked back on my heels, off-balance.
So my dad had done the right thing? Or at least tried to? Until it had gotten too much for him, anyway, and he’d taken off for the mainland.
“Anyway, this isn’t about me and Marco,” Mom said. “It’s about you and Eden. I can guess how she feels right now. And Marco loved me. That was one thing I had that she doesn’t—because you don’t love her, do you?”
“I blood-bonded her,” I said. “To protect her and the baby.”
Mom looked disappointed in me. “So it wasn’t because you wanted her—Eden. It was because you thought you had to.”
A feeling way too close to shame constricted my chest. “That’s what she thinks,” I admitted.
“Oh, Talon.” Her tone was resigned and a little sad. “Don’t…”
“Don’t what?”
She heaved a breath. “Don’t push her away. Make sure she knows you really want this baby.”
“She knows,” I said, then halted. Because did she?
I remembered how uncertain Eden seemed at times, almost too eager to please. I’d thought it was because she was trying to show me that she was sorry for what she’d done, but maybe that wasn’t the only reason. Maybe she thought I didn’t really want the baby. That he was just an obligation.
Mom put a hand on my arm. “These past couple of months, after she left, you missed her. Don’t try to tell me you didn’t. I saw how you were—closed down, angry at the world. It was like you were seventeen again—at least that part of you. You hid it well, but I know you. And I can tell Eden’s more than a thrall to you. Now you’ve got her back, and I’d hate to see you blow it. She needs to know how you feel. She’s a human, and a young one. If you care for her at all, let her know. Hell, tell her you do even if you don’t. Because there’s nothing worse than feeling like an obligation when you’re in love with a man.” Mom’s voice cracked on the last few words.
A muscle jumped in my jaw. “So you want me to lie to her? Like Esposito does to you? No, thanks.”
My mother sucked in a breath and released my arm. It was a low blow, and I knew it. But I didn’t apologize because she’d earned every word.
“Love is a human construct,” I added. “It’s different for a vampire.”
“Is it?”
“It is for me.” I’d promised myself to live without love.
Loving a person meant you had to let them inside. Before you knew it, they were fucking with your boundaries. Making demands. Look at Brien and Twilight.
He’s happier than he’s ever been, though. And it hasn’t made him weaker. He seems stronger, more confident.
Still, Twilight wasn’t Eden. Twilight was an asset to the syndicate in a way Eden could never be.
