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Nolan’s heart skipped at the sight of that soft smile. Witch or not, there was something universally addictive about putting that sweet expression on someone’s face. “If you agree to have me over for dinner occasionally so I can taste the veggies. That’d be a fair deal, right?”
“Very much!”
“Okay, okay. I can see why you don’t want him getting caught up with the Sandor Clan,” Winter muttered.
“Exactly! Isn’t he perfect? It’s obvious why Christoph wants Nolan, but he can’t have him. I saw him first!”
Nolan rolled his eyes. “I don’t understand why anyone is interested in me. I’ve got to be the most ordinary human in existence.”
Sky leaned close and brushed a kiss across his forehead. “No, baby. You pronounced that wrong. You’re the mostadorablehuman in existence.”
“Oh, Lord. Hurry and check him, Winter.” Fox shoved at his boyfriend’s shoulder, pushing him up from his place on the sofa. “These two are nearly as sickening as Bel with the wolves. Or even Rafe and Philippe.”
“All my brothers are disgusting. There’s no contest.” Winter smoothly rose and moved around the coffee table to stand in front of Nolan. The hands holding on to Sky’s reflexively tightened, and this time Sky was the one peppering his fingers with kisses.
“Where’s the bite?” Winter demanded.
Nolan pried one hand loose from Sky’s grip and tugged at the collar of his shirt to reveal where Christoph had bitten him each time. The vampire only glimpsed at it for a second before he was shuffling to his spot next to his mate.
The vampire leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, his eyes narrowed on Nolan as if he were staring straight through to his soul. “The first time he bit you. It was at Phoenix?” Winter inquired.
“Yes.”
“And you could still see the wound when you got home?”
“Yes. It looked like it was a couple of days old rather than hours old.”
“Hm.”
“What the hell does ‘hm’ mean?” Sky snapped. He got to his feet, but Nolan pulled him back down. The vampire was thinking, and Nolan didn’t want to disturb him. Of all the people in the room, Winter was the only one who could give them an insider’s view of what was happening.
“How many times has he bitten you?” Winter continued, ignoring Sky completely.
“Three.” A lump froze in the center of Nolan’s chest and he choked on the air in his lungs. “Is he turning me into a vampire this way? Is there a limit to how many times he can bite me before I turn? He keeps calling me his pet. I don’t want to be his pet, and I definitely don’t want to be a vampire.” He winced and threw up a hand. “Sorry. No offense.”
Winter snorted. “None taken. No one in their right mind wants to be a vampire. And no, he can’t turn you into a vampire by simply biting you.” He paused and there was something in Winter’s gaze that left Nolan’s stomach churning and burbling until he thought he was going to be sick. It was better when Winter was glaring at him. Sadness and sympathy were not good.
“What’s wrong?” Sky asked while Nolan was still trying to work up enough saliva in his suddenly dry mouth to get the words out.
“By not healing the wound completely, Christoph left a bit of himself embedded in Nolan. That’s why he’s able to get past your wards and how he can compel Nolan.”
“Compel him? What the hell is that?” Sky shouted while Nolan sank more into his chair. He didn’t need Winter to explain it, because he felt it as soon as Christoph was near. Just the sound of his voice made him want to obey the man, even while his brain was screaming to the contrary.
“It’s not brainwashing, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Winter replied, his voice turning grumpy. “Think of it as a hunting mechanism for vampires. Anyone we leave a bit of ourselves in means that we intend to return and use them as a source of food. Isn’t it nice when you don’t have to fight your prey a second or third time? There’s something left in Nolan to make him more malleable to Christoph’s wishes.” The vampire swore under his breath. “It’s hard to explain because I’ve never done it myself. I feed and move on. I’ve never kept a pet.”
“No, I get it,” Nolan whispered. A chill had swept through his entire body, leaving him feeling as if he’d never be warm again. His soul was frozen in his chest, and there was no thawing it. “I don’t want him to bite me. I want to run. But it’s like I can’t get my legs to obey when he’s near. There’s a voice telling me it’s better if I do what he wants.”
Someone touched his cheek, and he jerked his head up to see Sky watching him with worried eyes. “We’re going to fix this. Christoph isn’t hurting you ever again.” The necromancer turned his narrowed eyes on Winter. “Can you heal the wound? Remove whatever little bits of Christoph are left in Nolan?”
“No. The only one who can heal the wound properly is Christoph. It keeps us from stealing each other’s pets.”
Nolan jumped to his feet and paced across the room toward the windows. “I don’t want to be his pet! I don’t want anything to do with him.” He swung to Winter. “Don’t humans ever get free? Or are we just stuck until we die?”
“Pretty much.”
“Winter!” Fox snapped.
“What? I’m not sugarcoating it for him.” Winter stared at his mate and waved a hand at Nolan. “It doesn’t do him any good to lie. Most pets don’t ever get free of their vampire. We’re apex fucking predators. We have to be if we’re supposed to hunt humans exclusively to survive.”
