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Ren shakes his head. “I’m sure there are thousands of dhampirs worthy of saving, but for that thousand, there will be a handful of souls who were evil even before the madness took hold. Criminals. War starved mad-men.” He keeps his gaze locked on mine, conveying the severity of his statement. “Like most civilizations, not all of our population had a balanced moral compass.”
I shove him with my elbow before picking up one berry from my bowl. After thinking my plan through, the knot in my gut has relaxed enough for me to eat. “But the thousand will make up for the bad apples.” One of my shoulders lifts in a half shrug. “You can be in charge of punishing the outliers. You had prisons on Azure, correct?”
“Well, yes, but-”
“No buts. Everything will be fine. If a problem arises, we’ll handle it.Together.” I plop a berry into my mouth, relishing the sweetness as it coats my tongue. “Besides, I still need to learn to drain without killing.”
Ren huffs, shaking his head again. He fumes silently, his eyes never straying from my face as he watches me eat berry after berry. Finally, he uncrosses his arms and slumps. “You’ve done so already.”
This makes my hand pause mid-air. I scoff. “When?”
His eyes widen, as if to sayduh.“The male dhampir,” he says, gesturing toward the trees in the town's direction. “You stopped before killing him. If you insist on saving my people and creating adevotedfollowing, then you need to do exactly what you did a few hours ago.”
I think about his words. When I stopped consuming the male, it was because the human shocked me into awareness. Her emotion calmed my powers enough for me to spare him. An idea forms in my mind. “We’ll work together. I’ll consume for only a second, and then you’ll kiss me awake. If the maddened aren’t cured yet, we’ll go again.”
“Kiss you? While the darkness is entering your mouth?”
I glance at Ren, taking in his uncomfortable expression. “It won’t be weird. Trust me.”
The darkness dissipates as soon as it touches me. Ren’s mouth will be spared of the bitter taste. I’m sure of it.
Ren sighs and leans back on his elbows, his illuminated eyes gazing into the fire. “If your idea works, then what will we do with our army? My people are stillpeople.They’ll want to find their families, their mates. They’ll want a home base.”
He’s right. Scanning the quaint campsite, I realize it won’t be enough to comfortably house a group of healing dhampirs. We’ll need a dedicated space for each person, a communal fire, entertainment to distract them from their memories.
No matter how peaceful this pocket of land is, it will never suit our additional needs.
Even so, I don’t want to travel much further away. The humanmustlive somewhere nearby.
“That’ll be our first task, then. Tomorrow, we’ll search for another site. Somewhere large enough to build a community. It needs to be enticing, so the cured have a reason to stay.”
Ren rubs one hand over his eyes. The poor male has put up with so much from me. “Once you have your army, will you lead them to the humans?”
Something about his phrasing seems off, but I brush it aside. “We’ll find the girl and any others. I’m hopeful she’ll let us help her, especially since her mate is like you.”
With dusk comes a sense of intimacy. For the last hour, I’ve sat in quiet compilation, watching Ren as he works to prepare items for my comfort. First, he builds up the fire, then he ties back the willow’s vine-like branches and builds a plush bed out of dried leaves.
He hasn’t done a single thing for himself all afternoon. His one focus;me.
But I want to care for him, too.
Ilovethis male. More than I’ve loved any human on Earth, or any of my sisters back home. More than I even love myself.
I can’t fully wrap my head around the veracity of the statement, but I know it to be true.
Ren ismymate.Mypartner.
Before things become hectic, and before we leave this calm oasis, I want to consummate our pairing.
I bite my lower lip as I continue to gaze at his backside. Though the visibility has gone down with the arrival of dusk, his pale form stands out in the darkness. He’s ditched his shirt as he collects the softest of natural materials, his muscles rippling each time he bends to gather more leaves or moss.
Simply observing him makes my thighs clench. He drops to his knees beneath the warped tree, tucking a loose strand of his pale hair behind his ear as he lays each item on my bed, crafting it to perfection with his keen eye for design.
Every second that passes only drives my need for him. The memory of his lips on my wet cunt, the way his tongue wrapped around my clit and spun until I was coming-fuck.
I push myself upright, nearly stumbling in my haste.
Ren’s head swivels, his brows raising.
