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Did she want Felix? What an unfair question. She yearned for him with the fires of a thousand suns. If she could, she would spend every waking moment with him.
She’d always thought it was the mating bond. And maybe at the beginning, it was, but the feeling had changed as she’d grown into her power. On those nights when she’d lain awake right before sunrise, she’d coveted his presence, longed to share her life.
The things she had done. The people she had met. The crazy stunts she had pulled.
He was the one foremost in her mind. She’d imagined how his lips would turn up in a smile at a silly story, how the smile would soften his harsh countenance, how the stress of his day would dissolve as they lay next to each other, whispering sweet nothings, words only lovers understood.
Their mating bond had weakened as their time apart increased, until only a worn-down thread connected them. Yet her fervent yearning for him hadn’t lessened.
He was forever stamped in her heart, in her soul.
“Even if I want to give it another try, he might not,” Gabby said, thinking of the way Felix blocked her out.
An unbelieving scoff from Nikolas. “That’s the only thing he wants.”
“What he wants is a fantasy. He still thinks I’m human, like I’m a piece of glass that will break from a single stone. I can’t get through to him.”
“He doesn’t always know what’s best for him.” Nikolas raised a challenging brow. “Are you going to give up after one try? You are the only one who can help him move on. Or you can wait another few centuries and see if he figures it out by himself.”
Nikolas was right. Her realization of the truth and Felix’s rejection had muddled her mind. If she didn’t push, he wouldn’t let her in. If she hadn’t pushed centuries ago, she wouldn’t have escaped from him. Or rather, he’d let her go. After her first century of freedom, she’d come to understand that fact. He must have realized she had to leave; she only had to take matters into her own hands.
“When did you become an expert at relationships? What happened to killing him?”
“Life would be infinitely less interesting if we can kill everything in our way.” His smile was pure, arrogant male. “Also, you forget, I’m much older than you.”
“So is Felix. He does not know what he is doing.”
“Because he’s too involved. He can’t see past his emotions, which is why you must aid him.”
“How do you suggest I do that?”
Nikolas was quiet for a few seconds before his lips curved up in a sly grin. “He is an Ancient. What is the one thing he respects above all else?”
Her eyes widened as it hit her. “You think… I can…?”
He nodded, the determination in his cloud gray eyes fueling her own. “You can do it.”
Could she? Her vampire rose to the surface at the challenge.
The one thing Felix respected above all else.
Strength.
If he didn’t wish to discuss it, then she’d have to make him.
This time, she would not run away, and she would not allow Felix to take the easy way out, either.
Chapter Twenty-Five
WhenFelixreturnedtothe house, Gabby waited for him at the door. She’d changed out of her bloodstained clothes to a muted green shirt and a pair of black pants tucked into knee-high black combat boots. Someone had braided her hair and coiled it atop the back of her head. Completing the ensemble were the sabers in each of her hands.
He raised a brow at the sight of the swords. He hadn’t forgotten how she had wielded them against their attackers earlier. Something told him he was about to receive another display of her skills up close and personal.
“Come with me,” Gabby said in a tone that brooked no argument and spun around without waiting.
He followed, part morbid curiosity, part churning dread. His walk hadn’t improved his mood. His head reeled from Gabby’s revelation. Could Alistair truly break the mating bond? Why would Gabby lie about it? But more importantly, Gabby had made such a request.
In the past centuries, even when he’d fallen into the deepest pit of despair, the thought of breaking the bond had never crossed his mind. Was it possible for him to return to a life without a mate? Without his soul?
