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“What about everything we discussed? We agreed to stay together. Or was all of that just bullshit?” Julian spat.

“No, I meant it at the time. But now you aren’t safe with me. I won’t be responsible for killing you, Julian.”

“Oh, God. Just stop. You’re not going to kill me,” he yelled.

Before Julian could react, I pinned him against the kitchen wall, holding him in place. He needed to understand what he was up against. Julian had to be afraid, and as much as it hurt me, I had to scare him.

“Yes, I am,” I growled, my lips peeling back from my elongated teeth. “If I stay near you much longer, you will die.”

Julian simply blinked at me, but the betrayal on his face said everything. I released him, turned, threw open the cellar door, and descended. Only when Julian’s footsteps echoed back down the hall did I collapse onto the dirt floor and wrap my arms around myself. I despised what I’d just done. I ached to go upstairs and apologize. The look in Julian’s eyes had ripped a hole through my chest. But I knew it was for the best. It was right. I was doing the right thing.

I fell asleep alone in the dark, listening to Julian’s muffled weeping from above.

37

JULIAN

Iwas hurting. I lay in our bed, rage warring with despair. How had things changed so quickly? Less than twenty-four hours earlier, life had been perfect—or as perfect as it could be. Now I felt like I’d lost everything all over again. The worst part was that I had no say in the matter. Vincent had made his decision. He was leaving, and that was that. We were supposed to be partners in this.

We were supposed to be together.

The memory of Vincent’s outburst made me shudder. I’d never seen that side of him turned against me before. I’d never imagined Vincent capable of such a thing. Not to me. I knew Vincent was trying to prove a point. He was trying to scare me. But all I felt was hurt. My heart was breaking for us both.

I had to find a way to convince Vincent that we would be better off together. Deep down, I believed I could help him. I was his mate. We belonged together; of that I was certain.

By late afternoon, I decided I had a better chance of reaching Vincent if I agreed to go with him. It would give us time to talk things through. Perhaps we needed to get away from the house. Things would look different once we put distance between ourselves and the scene of so much turmoil. As it stood, Vincent had already packed most of our belongings into the car, locked it all up, and taken the key with him to the cellar. I kept a spare key he’d overlooked, but there wasn’t much left to pack, so I waited.

Vincent emerged from under the house just after sunset. He looked awful, as if he hadn’t slept at all, though I knew he wasn’t capable of tossing and turning all day. His clothes were a mess, and the expression on his face told me he was ready to argue.

I took a deep breath and steadied myself. I wouldn’t engage; I’d stick to the plan.

“Hi,” I said, trying to sound friendly.

“Good evening,” Vincent said, narrowing his eyes as he watched me with suspicion. “Are you ready to head out?”

“I suppose. If you’re still set on it.”

“I am. I’ll just get cleaned up, and then we’ll leave.” He brushed past me and disappeared into our room.

Despite agreeing to go along with this charade, Vincent’s coldness cut through me with fresh pain. It didn’t have to be this way. There had to be a way through the wall Vincent was building between us. I couldn’t allow him to shut me out.

When Vincent was ready, he returned and headed out the door in silence, leaving me in the main room. I clenched my jaw, struggling to hold back unwelcome tears and words that were best left unshed and unspoken for now. An argument wasn’t the path back to Vincent, and this wasn’t the right place.

There was no fire in the fireplace, and the only light came from a single lantern on the kitchen counter. I grabbed my jacket and looked back at the place that had been our home. My stomach twisted in knots. Now that the moment had come, I didn’t want to go through with my plan. Everything in me urged me to fight, not to walk out the door. But Vincent was right; I couldn’t stay there alone. Not that Vincent would have let me, even if I wanted to. And Vincent was leaving. He’d made that perfectly clear. I sighed, blew out the lantern, and followed him to the car.

Vincent was already in the driver’s seat, so I climbed into the passenger side, and we drove off into the night.

When we reached the bottom of the mountain, Vincent turned south through the valley.

“So, where are we going? I take it you aren’t taking me to the lodge?” I asked.

Vincent whipped his head toward me, a scowl on his face. “No. I would never take you there, even though it’s been abandoned. I’m taking you to find a group that can keep you safe.”

“A place safe from vampires? Or safe from you?”

“Both, I hope,” Vincent muttered.

“Vincent, I don’t understand. I don’t think you’ve thought this through. What will you do if we find this magical safe place? How will you survive?”