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“Tak.” No shame. My vampire has no shame. “You’re the most precious thing in the world to me. I’ll do what I must to keep you safe.”
See? That’s the problem right there. He’s protecting me like a good mate should. But what am I doing for him?
I sigh. “I know. I just wish I could do the same.”
“You do.” At the incredulous look I give him, Aleks’s expression turns earnest. “Honestly. Just knowing that I have you to return to every night makes me careful. One traitor, three traitors, five… no one will stop me from getting back to you.”
Aleks always knows the right thing to say. And maybe the lavender tea is finally kicking in, but I feel much better now.
Hang on—
“Five?” I squeak. “Have you had to fightfiverebels all intent on taking your head?”
His pale green eyes glitter. “Not yet. But I promise you, if they try, when I’m triumphant, the first thing I’ll do is let my beloved know that her male is safe. How’s that for a compromise?”
I nod. Fair enough. “Sounds good to me.”
* * *
Aleks istrue to his word. For the next week, he keeps me informed on every sneaky move the rebel vamps make. They haven’t made an attempt on his life again since, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t making life difficult for him.
Based on intel gathered by Cadre patrollers, there are only a handful of true rebels in Muncie. The ones who were bought off by Jack Walker while he was trying to track down Gem first, then me, were sympathetic with the cause, but money was their true motivation. The vamps who attacked Aleks? They’re the ones who believe Muncie would be better off with a different leader.
I asked Aleks why he doesn’t just have the identified traitor executed. It’s basically a challenge, right? In a shifter pack, anyone who challenges the Alpha is disciplined. Depending on the slight, they might lose their place in the hierarchy or even their spot in the pack if they get exiled. If it’s a challenge to their death, they could lose their lives.
Way I see it, anyone trying to go for my mate’s head deserves to lose their own. My wolf, bloodthirsty when it comes to her mate, is champing at the bit to help.
But that’s another difference between shifters and vampires. While Aleks understands where I’m coming from, they do things differently in the Cadre. As head vamp, his word is law, but he’s not a dictator like Marcel Claret. Following in Roman’s footsteps, he won’t just execute a rival for the sake of it. They need to earn their deaths.
As far as I’m concerned, the second they decided Aleks wasn’t worthy of leading Muncie, they had.
The upside to that, however, is that far more of his people approve of the job he’s doing so far. Though Aleks misses his evening patrols, there are plenty of vamps who volunteer to keep Muncie safe. Roman’s death sent a shockwave throughout the entire community, from the vamps to the donors, even to the humans who just thought of him as a prominent Russian businessman. To turn on Aleks was a slap in the face to Roman’s memory, and most of the vamps were eager to pledge their loyalty to my vampire.
Then, one day when I’m home alone and desperately bored, I discover just what some of the Muncie vampires think about Aleks—and me.
CHAPTER6
TWO VAMPIRES AND FIVE UNFAMILIAR WOLVES
The aftermath of the last attack on Aleks is that I spend a lot more of my time inside.
At this point, I’ve completely given up on my idea to take a job down at Charlie’s, and doing Tarot readings lost a lot of its luster when I know that Aleks might just interrupt if he wants to make sure that I’m doing okay. I think he’s more worried about someone going after me to get to him than he lets on, and if it’s one less worry for my mate, I figure it’s the best for me to hang around the apartment until the two of us are a little more settled in our relationship.
Maybe if we were fully bonded things would be different. Sometimes, when Aleks looks at me, I get the idea that he’s waiting for me to bolt. And, honestly, sometimes I don’t know why I don’t. As much as I love him, there’s nothing tying us together except for the promise of a forever bond. Until it’s cemented, though, either one of us could reject it.
I wouldn’t. But Aleks… what if he did? He says he loves me. He calls me his. If that was true, wouldn’t he want to bond me to him?
It’s only been two months. Humans would think I’m being ridiculous. Only I’m not a human. I’m a shifter. The Luna wanted me to make Aleks my bonded mate last summer. If she was still there, listening to me, offering me advice, she’d be disappointed that I hadn’t yet.
I think about bringing it up to Aleks, and then I don’t. He has so much on his mind right now. As the new leader, his attention is on Muncie. I get that. When he’s with me, he’s as attentive and loving a male as I could ever want.
I just… I wish he was with me more.
It’s the middle of the afternoon. I slept in after Aleks slipped out to head to the Cadre building, and after getting up, preparing something for Aleks to eat for a change, and doing some light straightening up, I borrowed one of his paperback and sat down to read.
It couldn’t hold my interest. With Aleks’s scent filtering through my nose, calling to my wolf, I can’t concentrate. Tossing the paperback down on the couch, I decide to head out onto the balcony to get some air.
The balcony outside of Aleks’s apartment is technically part of the fire escape. Each floor has a grate landing just outside of the sliding door, plus a flight of iron steps that lead from level to level until it reaches the behind of the building.
