Perhaps if my father had found a way to reconcile his nature, there could be some peace for me.
Marcus let my hand go and I missed the feel of him. “He is. Zoey and Devinshea, they have completed him in a way I did not understand was possible. They are happy together, but you should know there is always a current of sadness between the three of them.”
“Because of me.”
“Because they lost you,” Marcus explained. “Because they want to know that you are okay, happy and well cared for. I will not be able to give them comfort in this. What has happened to you? Why are you not with your tribe? You should be at the center of a great Fae family, worshipped and loved for the magic you bring them.”
I turned away, staring at the trees in front of me. I hated the idea of telling him what had happened. He might not think so highly of me, but then I’d known that from the beginning. “I didn’t come here to tell you the story of my life. I came to offer to feed you. According to Kelsey, you could get dangerous if you’re not properly nourished.”
“Well, if Kelsey says it’s true then it must be.” There was a deep sarcasm to his words.
“You nearly killed Dean. You said that was because you’re unbalanced.”
“It’s because I’m so hungry I can barely stand it.”
I turned again and the vampire was staring at me. His eyes had gone completely dark, not a hint of white in sight. His eyes were like a starless night, black velvet that threatened to draw me in. His fangs were out, so large that he couldn’t quite close his lips. He was alien and gorgeous. So unlike any vampire I’d ever met before. He was the primal ancestor of those civilized beings. It took everything I had not to step back. It also took everything I had not to move toward him.
Because he was beautiful.
“You saved me. I owe you some blood.”
He shook his head, but his eyes remained on me. “It wouldn’t merely be blood, Summer. It would mean something to me. It would mean something emotionally, and it would certainly mean something physical.”
“They told me about the addiction. Again, that would only happen if I was a real companion, and I’m not.” I touched the charm at my neck, the one he would have to push aside to get to my vein. “This makes me human, or as close to human as I can be. You won’t get addicted to me. Honestly, I’m hoping my blood doesn’t do something bad to you, but I think it’s worth the risk because the only real human here is Dean, and I can’t ask him to do this.”
“I wouldn’t feed off him,” Marcus said, his voice rough with emotion. “I cannot feed from anyone. Go away. Let me nourish myself in the old ways. It might not be perfect, but if I gorge myself, I think I can find some calm. I will stay here close to the door until we find a way to go home. I will bother you no more.”
I groaned my frustration. “So it’s either I love you or you won’t have anything to do with me? Do you understand how irrational you sound right now? I have a sister, apparently. How can you be sure she’s not your fated wife?”
His gaze seemed to burn through me. “I tasted the water when you drowned. I felt the minute your heart stopped beating. The whole time I was under that water, your panic threatened to overwhelm me, and beyond that, I felt that you were surprised to fight so hard because you’d always thought death might bring you peace. That wasn’t me in your brain. That was something I felt in my soul. It came from yours, so if you want to know how I am certain you have a soul, it’s because I’ve felt it reach out to mine.”
“No, that’s your powers.” I hadn’t been reaching out to him with my mind and yet he’d perfectly described what I’d been feeling.
“I was shielding, Summer. I know what it means to save a woman I care about. With one I’m bonded to, I often have to shut down those connections so I can think, so she doesn’t feel my own panic. I couldn’t shut you out.” A low snarl came from his throat, the sound twisting me