Page 8 of All Night Long

“But you do that because it’s us vampires causing the problems. If it didn’t involve vampires, you would walk away.” Kelvin scratched at the short beard on his jaw. “I thought you might be mellowing with Key being around you. Maybe I was wrong.”

“I like your mate, even if he is human. He’s responsible and smart and doesn’t put up with my shit. Gotta respect that, but all the other humans can fuck off.”

“Except your mate.” Kelvin sat on the edge of the sofa. “You need to find him. Did you even get his name?”

“What do you think?” Sighing when Kelvin stared at him, Gray added, “Got his first name.”

“Then you need to go back to the club and find him.”

“He’ll be fine.”

“No, he won’t.”

Gray shook his head. “What are you trying to tell me without telling me? I don’t have telepathy with you, so I can’t read your mind.”

“He’s human and is bonded to you. His body will be changing. Key was fine because I was with him, but mating a human had me curious about our past, so I looked into it.”

“And? Spit it out.”

“Humans need to have regular contact with their vampire mate during the first few days after mating or they become ill. I don’t know why and our histories weren’t sure why either. Maybe with technology today we could figure it out. Maybe hormones changing or how their biology alters so they have some of our abilities.”

“You’re saying he’ll be ill without me being around?”

“Yeah. From what I was able to find.”

“Fuck.”

Kelvin gave him a close-lipped smile. “Hack their CCTV and find him.”

“It’ll have to wait. Maxim’s men have been seen scoping a few human places out. They’re up to something.”

Standing, Kelvin stared at him. “Don’t leave it too long. I couldn’t find anything about what the long-term effects arefor humans who aren’t around their vampire mate right after mating. What I did find wasn’t good, though.”

“Kelvin. Keep this quiet.”

“Don’t come into work, either. I can scent the changes on you and if I can…”

Nodding, Gray clenched his jaw. “Everyone can. Fuck.”

“I know a human mate isn’t something you want.” Kelvin spoke quietly, “But you have been given one. You know how rare it is now to find a mate. Don’t throw this chance to find true happiness away.”

“You can leave now. Head to Slater St. That’s where I’ve seen the most activity.”

Ignoring Kelvin’s sigh, Gray stared at the monitor until Kelvin had left, then leaned back in his chair, rubbing his hands over his face. He had no choice. He couldn’t let the human become ill, but he didn’t want to be around him, either. Sure, he’d been a good fuck, but that was meant to be it. One quick fuck, then gone.

Staring at the words on the screen, Gray saw nothing. He knew he was going to struggle until he’d decided what to do and the fact he was even considering finding his mate had him questioning his sanity.

But, if what Kelvin has said was true…

“Fuck.”

Standing, Gray walked over to the window and stared out. It was night now, so he didn’t have to be cautious where the sun was concerned. Why they had to hide from the sun eluded him. They burned, and Gray had experienced that pain when he was younger and determined not to let a bit of sunlight stop him from going out and having fun.

Yeah, he wasn’t going through that again. He’d healed but the pain had been intense and now he was careful to avoid the sun, but he wanted to know why it affected them the way it did. Theyhad scientists looking into why, but so far nothing. That annoyed Gray.

He wanted to feel the warmth on his skin, feel the heat prickle his skin in a way that didn’t cause immediate intense pain. One day he would have it, but when he didn’t know.

A low hum in the back of his head had Gray tilting it. It triggered a memory of Kelvin saying that after mating Key he had a murmur, a hum that was a constant reminder of his mate. It had taken time to become used to it, but now that he was, he never wanted to be without it.

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