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I’ve heard about matings many times and saw what the bond did to Ryker, but I still didn’t fully grasp the implications. The power of it is consuming. She is all I think about. I wanted to fight it. I tried to deny it. Her light didn’t allow it.
“Are you going to join the party?” Ryker asks.
“I am,” I say. I was too wrapped up in watching my mate to notice his appearance at my side. That’s how far gone I am.
“You’ve been sulking in the corner for thirty minutes.”
“I’ve been thinking,” I say.
“That’s never a good thing for you,” he says dryly.
“Fuck off,” I say but smile.
“Where’s Bishop?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t answer his phone. Somethings going on with him.” I frown, concerned for my new friend.
“He’ll reach out if he needs help.”
“I’m not so sure.” I watch as Marie twirls in a circle and almost falls. She is the clumsiest vampire I have ever seen.
“How is she?” Ryker asks.
“Adjusting well, I think.”
“How are you?” he asks.
“Adjusting well, I think,” I say, grinning. “I love her.”
“No shit,” he snorts.
“Asshole.”
“We all fall, brother,” he says softly.
“It’s hard to believe.”
“I still don’t believe that Serenity is mine. She’s so much better than me,” he says, watching her.
“I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and she’ll be gone, that she’s just a dream,” I muse. “I don’t deserve her.”
“None of us deserve what the universe gave to us, but that shouldn’t stop us from grabbing on with both hands and never letting go. They plan it that way, so we will always be grateful,” he says.
“I’m too selfish to ever let her go,” I whisper.
“I’m glad you found her. This is what I have always wanted for you. Out of all of us, you deserve to be happy,” he says.
“I didn’t want to be. She changed me.”
“She didn’t. She allowed you to show what the rest of us see,” he says.
I feel his eyes on me, but I can’t look at him. This emotion is new. Marie’s words of lovering in my head. “I do love you.” He stills. “I’ve never told you. I’ve always made a joke, but what if someday, I won’t have any more chances to tell you? Marie and I were talking about Micah. I told her how we met and what he meant to me, but I never told him. I admitted to her that I never spoke the words to you. She suggested that I should.” I turn slowly towards him and see his intense eyes on me. “You gave me this life. I know I haven’t valued that gift as much as I should have. I’ve been pissed and angry for years about the past and forgot to live in the present. You have always pushed me to live, and I appreciate that. I appreciate what you have done for me, all of it.” I take a deep breath and struggle to look into his eyes. “I love you.”
The weight of my words washes over his features. “I love you too, brother. I have always been thankful for the day I met you. It was my privilege to give you another shot at the life that was waiting for you. I’ve watched you struggle, and it has been painful, but to see you now, embracing your mate, is all the thanks I need.” I shift uncomfortably. “Maybe you won’t be so fucking grouchy now.” He laughs.
“Fuck off, asshole,” I say, smirking.
“You're going to have your hands full with your mate. Being a vampire should have cured her clumsy nature.” We both chuckle when she almost falls over again.
