“I know, Spitfire,” he murmured and smiled softly, reaching out to cup my face tenderly. “Never the easy way, huh?”
“Never the easy way,” I breathed out, feeling like the first time he’d said those words to me on the stairs in the dorm building was an eon ago.
My how things had changed.
My voice caught as I took the leap of faith and stared into his eyes. “I love you too, Lincoln.”
His thumb brushing my cheek halted as he quickly demanded, “Say it again.”
My smile grew bigger. “I love you, Lincoln.”
“One more time,” he murmured as he leaned in close, touching our noses together.
“I—”
He pressed a kiss against my lips.
“Love—”
Another kiss and a groan.
“You.”
His tongue tangled with mine at the end, devouring me like he was afraid I’d disappear any moment. He pulled back quickly, though, resting his forehead against mine as he looked into my eyes.
“I love you, Alina Van Helsing, with everything inside of me.”
A vampire who used to burn with hatred for slayers, and a slayer who used to burn with hatred for vampires.
When it came to my mates, I was willing to admit Fate got some things right for my life.
After he fed me a few more bags, I felt sleep trying to claim me. I blinked, eyelids heavy as I asked the one question I needed an answer to before I gave in to the sweet reprieve of rest. “How’s Lo doing?”
“Drake’s taking care of her now, but she’s doing much better than you. Human blood has more of the nutrients that we need, so her feedings have sped up her healing process comparatively.”
As much as I wanted to be back to normal, I wasn’t going to compromise on my morals and the decision I’d made to not drink human blood ever again. I was relieved to hear Lo was doing well, though.
Knowing the consumption of human blood was a moot point, Lincoln easily moved on. “He wanted to be here with you, but we’re taking turns watching over you both until you’re back to normal. He’ll be next to see you.”
“Okay,” I murmured, as my head fell to the side, eyes gently closing, “I think I just need to sleep for now.”
His voice was soothing as I let myself be dragged under, burrowing into his warmth as he laid down next to me and pulled me against his chest. “I’ll be here, Spitfire, always. Sleep now.”
Throughout the night, I woke up each time they took turns watching over me. Each time I came to consciousness, I felt closer to my normal health, and knew that by morning I would be back to normal.
Everything had worked out.
Chapter20
ALINA
My eyes slowly opened, and I took in the warm, fragrant aroma of coffee wafting up from the mug on my nightstand. Blurry images of my mates surrounding me and treasuring me in my dreams trickled into consciousness with me. I savored the feeling of being wanted, cherished, and loved no matter if I was awake or asleep.
“Ugh,” I groaned groggily as I found Lincoln perched on the edge of the bed with another cup of coffee in one hand and a phone in the other.
“Morning,” he murmured, lifting the mug in his hand. “Lo said this is how you take your coffee, but if you want blood instead, I can run and grab you some.”
“No,” I quickly snapped, pushing to sit up. I was pleasantly surprised to feel completely back in working order. “Gimme,” I muttered, grabbing the cup before he could threaten to take it away from me again.
