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"Killian's working on it, and we think he’s marked you, Marian.” I leaned back as if he’d grown a third eye. “Vampires have mates too. For them, they pick their mate, someone they feel a strong bond to, and when they're mated, it's forever, but Isaac turning into an untamed puts you at risk.”
“He’ll stalk you and try to turn you even against your will. Untamed vamps don’t have morals. They kill when they want and take what they want, including mates.”
I sat down.
What in the hell was he saying? Isaac marked me as his potential mate?
“How do you know?” I asked. “There has to be something.”
“His interest in you is clear to see, Marian.”
I nodded. "Yes, yes, I get that, and I already told him we can only be friends. I doubt everyone a vampire likes is mate material, so what makes you think he marked me?”
"We won't know until he comes for you," Dorian answered, and a chill went down my spine. "If he's been spying on you, that's proof enough."
I was worried about Isaac, but now I was concerned about my safety. We'd only know I was marked when he came for me, which wasn't a comforting thought.
"Maybe I can talk to him," I said more to myself than Dorian, and I saw him pull a face in my peripheral vision.
"You're thinking of the tamed man who tries to follow morality and will listen to you. Isaac isn’t that man anymore,” Dorian sat down. “An untamed won’t care what you want, and I want you to understand that, Marian. If you see him, run and call me. As a matter of fact, I think you should stay at the pack until he's found.”
I leaned forward and pressed my fingers into my eyes.
"You can't stay here alone," he added, and I bobbed my head, causing my hair to curtain my face. He didn't need to try and convince me. "Pack a few things, whatever you need and let’s go, okay?”
I looked up, and our eyes met.
My mind was stumbling over itself, trying to grasp the situation. Isaac was going to force me to become a vampire and his mate. Without a doubt, this was far more excitement than I needed. Now I wished I could go back to my boring daily routines, but I was here now and needed to do what was necessary to stay alive and breathe.
“Okay,” I got up and headed upstairs to pack.
Moving in with Dorian with the way things were between us wasn't what I wanted, but I didn't want to become the undead either.
Regardless of our personal issues, I was grateful for his help. Moving in with him, although temporary, was putting me directly in the lion's den and potentially forcing us to move faster than I wanted. I preferred being with Dorian rather than being alone, waiting to be attacked by Isaac.
With all my heart, I wanted Dorian and me to do this right, but I needed to stay alive for that.
***
One Week Later
I didn't feel like cooking tonight. It's been one week since I moved in with Dorian, and while everything was okay between us, I was constantly on edge.
Isaac hadn’t come by the supermarket either, and he usually visited several times a week even if I didn't see him during each visit. Killian was still trying to find information on him, but Isaac was like a ghost without a past. They couldn't find where he was living in Wolfcreek, and with him being absent for so long, his scent wasn't in the town anymore.
With each day that went by, I felt more and more like a fool.
Sure, I was trying to be a good friend, by being welcoming to a new person in town, trying to step away from my mundane, repetitive life and nurture new friendships, but maybe Dorian was right. I was too trusting.
Although it seemed like Isaac skipped town, Dorian said that might not be the case.
He was perhaps hiding and buying his time to strike. Isaac being missing didn't mean we could relax. It meant we needed to be on high alert. So Dorian drove me to work and picked me up every evening, and I took Mom’s advice to let someone else take the wheel for a change.
She surely hadn't meant that in this sense, moving in with someone to not be turned into a vampire, but on the bright side Dorian and I now had the chance to work on our friendship.
Living with someone was a sure way to learn all you needed to know about a person, and so far, it was great living with Dorian. I was concerned to start, but he was the one that suggested I stay in the guest room.
"Nothing will be rushed between us while you're here. I want you to be comfortable," he'd said. "I'll be able to protect you, and we'll get the chance we need to get to know each other again. I want us to do this the right, Marian.”
