Page 75 of Blood and Magic
“I’m not sure I can live without you,” I said, tucking my forehead against the base of her head. “I think…I think I need you, Maeve, and it scares the shit out of me.”
“Sometimes, the things that scare us the most are what’s best for us.” She sighed and twisted her upper body so she could kiss me much sweeter than I deserved. “We just need to agree this life is worth living. Me and you. You and me. Together.”
“Together,” I agreed, but I didn’t feel better about it. The words I said next slipped out of me with no restraint, like our time together in the shower and her forgiveness had unleashed a barrier from my heart to my mouth. “I think I might be in love with you, Maeve.”
She leaned back to look me in the eyes, a cold shock slipping through our bond followed quickly by a potent warm relief.
“Is that okay?” I asked, horrified that she might say no. After what I’d done this morning and the way I’d just handled her, she’d be well within her rights to slap me and tell me to get out of her sight. Instead, she leaned in to press her soft lips to mine in a delicate embrace.
“I think I might be in love with you, too, you big stupid wolf.”
My heart pounded, and I smiled as I kissed her again. Yes, mating me…loving me… might turn out to be the worst thing for her, and the bastard that I was didn’t care.
CHAPTER 23
Maeve
He loved me.
He really loved me.
And fuck, I loved him.
It had been only a month, but I knew in my bones that I adored him with a ferocity I’d never experienced. I had for a long time. Was that love? I didn’t have other words for it, and I couldn’t explain it any other way.
Despite this rare moment of honesty, I knew he still craved me in ways he thought were deplorable. According to Guin and Kodiak, drinking blood wasn’t normal for shifters. Some enjoyed a good blood kink, but that wasn’t what was going on with Mill. He said he couldn’t control it, that the urge nearly overwhelmed him. We hadn’t had sex since the morning in the shower three days ago. He hadn’t outright said it was because he wanted to drink from me, but we were still connected on a metaphysical level. I felt his urges like they were my own.
It had been four days since the full moon, and we still hadn’t done anything about the vampires who attacked Vanderbilt Ranch. They’d brought what remained of our livestock to the homestead, but knowing they were safe did not erase the memories of the countless more we’d lost.
Guin had insisted they would call in reinforcements before we went after the Scorpions, but it didn’t make me feel better. In the meantime, we tended to the people who had died on the ranch. We paid our respects to Ellen and the others, even if we couldn’t attend their memorials. Her loss ached in the pit of my stomach like a void, one I would never get over.
When I felt up to it, Mill and I went to his sister, the pack’s healer, for blood tests. She wanted to find out why he was reacting this way. Even still, I felt like he was keeping something from me, holding something back.
After all these days cooped up in the homestead, I felt like a zoo animal, poked, prodded, and stared at by everyone who passed me. They whispered to themselves, giggling and pointing at the strange new thing. I was sitting in the cafeteria, minding my own business as I picked at a bagel and ignored the gossip, when someone plopped down onto the bench in front of me.
“Cheer up,” came the familiar voice. “It’s not that bad.”
I glanced up at the big emerald eyes of my sister, Sol. She looked tanned and bright, her ginger hair pulled back into a ponytail. Relief flooded my body, and I stood, sprinting around the table so I could pull her into a hug.
“God, I missed you,” I said.
“Yeah, I bet.” She let me go so she could grab my shoulders and run her gaze over the length of me. “Well, you look like you made it through the transition and the full moon in one piece.”
“Barely.” I sighed and shook my head. “I should be furious you kept this from me, but I’m just so damned happy to see you, I could cry.”
She laughed and ran her fingers over the bite on my neck, which had turned into a pink mark that would heal in a few days.
“So Mill, huh?” She raised her eyebrows.
I returned to my side of the table and sat, continuing my breakfast. “It’s a mess.”
“Go on.” She sat opposite me and crossed her hands, seemingly ready for the entire tale. I glanced around at all the other packmates in the cafeteria, all the other ears and eyes ready to spread more gossip.
“I’ll tell you later,” I said. “How was your honeymoon?”
“Much shorter than I planned,” she answered. “But completely amazing.”
“That’s wonderful.” I grabbed her palm and squeezed, hoping to send reassurance her way. I was happy for her. She and Orion seemed good for each other, and now that I was a shifter, I sensed her joy through the bond between us.
