Crouching Vampire Hidden Fang - By Katie MacAlister Page 0,22

not wanting to get into a discussion of our respective emotions. "But I think we both know that you're not exactly yipping for joy that I'm your Beloved."

"No more than you are," he said, his eyes narrowing on me. "You thought you were Alec's Beloved."

An unspoken accusation hung heavily on the air. I turned away, wandering over to the window, pulling aside a gauzy curtain to look out at Vienna. The sun was setting, lights starting to come on up and down the street as people, normal people, hurried to their homes and loved ones. For a moment a yearning so strong it hurt swept through me. I wanted to be one of those people. I wanted the loving husband, and happy children, and a home that radiated happiness and contentment.

But I wasn't normal. With a sigh I let the curtain drop. I wasn't a normal person anymore, and the one man I might be able to love could never give me his heart. "So here we are, bound together for all eternity, you mourning your dead girlfriend, and me having lost Alec because I'm tied to you, not him. Sometimes you have to admit that life really is the pits, but I guess there's nothing we can do about that. I take it you'll be popping in on me for a quick bite to eat whenever you're tired of dieting or drinking animal blood?"

Kristoff was silent for a moment before he rose somewhat unsteadily to his feet. I took a step forward, ready to help him if he needed it, but he kept a firm grip on the back of the chair. The blood was evidently doing its job, because he looked stronger with each passing minute. "You truly do not know what has happened, do you? You fed me, Pia."

"So? You've fed off me before."

His face was carefully devoid of emotion, but he wasn't able to stop it from burning brightly in his eyes. "I told you before that a Dark One can only feed from his Beloved."

"Which is obviously not exactly true, since you've existed without me," I pointed out.

His lips thinned. "That I was able to do so was simply because you had not fed me after the Joining was complete. Now that you have, my body won't tolerate any blood but yours. My existence now depends on you. There will be no popping in on you. From this time forward, we cannot be separated for more than a few days without the direst of repercussions for me."

I stared at him as comprehension dawned in my slow-witted mind, my heart sinking with the knowledge of what I'd just set into motion. "Hell," I said, speaking more literally than figuratively. My life was hell-as hard as it had been to not have contact with Kristoff for the last two months, at least I had managed to have some sort of a semblance of a life. Oh, he haunted my dreams, and I was prone to a strange depression when I wasn't thinking of him, but all that, I was confident, would fade with time. But now... Dear God, how was I to cope with having him in my life every day?

I glanced at him. His gaze was on his hands; he was looking, I thought, at the ring on the middle finger of his left hand. I'd seen it before, but thought nothing of it-it was just a simple silver band, a strange, sinuous design etched on the face of the ring, but with a sudden flash of horror I realized the significance of it-it was a ring marking his commitment to his deceased girlfriend. Not a wedding ring per se, but something so similar as to make little difference.

My shoulders slumped as pain stabbed through my heart, but before I could apologize to him, the door opened and Andreas entered, followed almost immediately by Rowan, Christian, and Sebastian.

"Don't even think of trying to keep me out," Allie said, hurrying in through the door with a glare at Sebastian. "And don't tell me you weren't, because I heard you telling Christian he ought to have better control over me. If there's one thing I hate, it's someone assuming I'm a frail little Beloved who doesn't have a mind of her own."

Sebastian looked somewhat abashed as he said, "I thought you would be tending to your child."

"Oh, please," Allie said with a snort, taking the hand Christian held out to her. "Josef is happily scarfing down the blood