Page 17 of All Night Long

Henry.

Gay rubbed his eyes, sighing softly. What the fuck did he do with a human mate? Why him? Hadn’t he already had this discussion with himself? He had a human mate, and he had to live with it. What was the minimum time he could spend around his mate? An hour every other day or something?

He could manage that. Turn up, fuck, then leave. That would keep his mate healthy and alive and leave Gray to do his job and forget about Henry.

His phone beeped and Gray snarled when he saw Hugo’s message. Picking his phone up, he read the message.You need to tell the council. How long do you think you have before someone scents you? Get it done sooner rather than later so we can deal with the fallout.

And life continued to go down the shitter. The fucking council. What the fuck was he going to do about them?

Chapter Eight

Henry woke and sat up, his heart pounding in his chest. A dream. A nightmare. That was all it was, but something nagged at him. Something in the back of his of mind. Something that had happened when he was young. Something he’d witnessed.

He’d been walking home after school. It was dark, raining, and he knew he was being followed. He kept glancing behind him every time he’d felt that itch between his shoulder blades, but no one had ever been there. But he knew. Everything in his body was screaming at him to run and run fast.

When a hand had clamped over his mouth and he’d been lifted off his feet, Henry had done everything in his power to fight his assailant, to no avail. The person who had him held him in a tight grip and ran. Ran so fast, and the street Henry had been walking along had disappeared as the building had shot by.

He’d been slammed up against a wall, his head twisted painfully to the side, then he’d fallen slumped to the ground, the sounds of a fight echoing around him. Lifting his head,he’d watched, stunned, as two men fought one another. Two vampires.

He’d seen their teeth, seen the speed they’d moved at, seen the way they took blows that would knock out a human but had appeared unaffected. One had disappeared right in front of him and the other had turned to face him, watching him, then did something that Henry had carried with him since.

“You should go, human.”

Henry had nodded and stood, stumbling on shaky legs. He’d somehow run to the end of the alley he’d been in and when he’d turned to look back, the vampire had been gone.

“Gray,” Henry whispered. The vampire who had saved him had been Gray. He looked exactly the same now as he had then. Why had he forgotten? Maybe because he’d seen something he couldn’t believe in then. He’d been a child, had been kidnapped, had been attacked, and his savior had been something other than human.

Made sense he’d block the memory.

Leaning back against the headboard, Henry sighed deeply. They’d met before, he and Gray. It seemed as if destiny had wanted them to have a connection. Why hadn’t Gray noticed they were mates then? Well, Henry had been twelve, so that might have had something to do with it. Puberty changed things.

Rubbing his hands over his face, Henry pulled the duvet up around his chest. He felt tired, but he also felt his body aching like it had been before Gray had arrived. They’d been apart a day now, and Henry knew he would have to see Gray again if he wanted to remain well.

Now that just made his day. Seeing Gray again, who would no doubt blame Henry for what was happening, even though Henry had no idea who or what he was to Gray. He barely remembered their time together. It had been good, he knew that, but the restwas kind of a blur. He’d had a lot to drink that night and now he was tied to a vampire who clearly didn’t like the idea.

Which made this just amazing. Not.

“How are you feeling?”

Henry almost screamed when he heard the question. His heart pounded in his chest and he glared at Gray. “Fucking come in the normal way.”

“What? So you can tell me to leave?” Gray leaned against the door, arms crossed over his chest. “I think I’ll come in this way, and you didn’t answer my question.”

“Why should I answer it?”

“Because you get ill if I’m away too long, that’s why.”

“Gee, you look so happy about that.”

Gray pushed away from the door and stormed over to the bed. Henry shrank back, the anger that radiated from Gray had him holding his breath waiting to see what the vampire would do. “I’m not happy, but we have to live with it. I need to know how long I can stay away from you before I have to come here.”

“Wow. How to make me feel all wanted and warm and fuzzy inside.”

“I don’t care how you feel, but we’re stuck together and I don’t want you dying on me.”

“Why not? Wouldn’t that set you free?” Gray glanced away and Henry realized something. “Does me dying affect you? Is that why you’re here, oh so concerned about my health?”

“Maybe,” Gray muttered, grudgingly.

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