Page 14 of Salvation
“Don’t take it personally. You know I prefer the male species. Not to mention, I don’t even know this guy and certainly don’t want to be stuck with him…” She gasped, slapping her hand over her mouth. “Am I expected to change him? I mean, otherwise he will grow old and die.”
Lilith continued to glare as if she were a child and had just lied to her mother about stealing cookies from the jar. “Since I’ve never bonded with a human, I have no clue.”
Now it was Aurora’s turn to glare. “All your trips back to Hell and no mention of this happening to others?”
“It’s not come up.”
Well, shitballs. This conversation was getting her no closer to answers. “What happens if you ignore a mating mark?”
Lilith laughed. “Not possible. Eventually, the draw to your mate will become too great and you will complete the bonding. The question is, does he now have the same mark?”
“Why wouldn’t he?” She just assumed if she had been branded by fate, then he had as well. Considering she had wiped the guy’s memories, he was probably wondering how it had suddenly appeared.
“Sometimes it can take a while for the other intended mate to get a mark. It might not appear until after fucking.”
“I see.” Well, he wasn’t bad to look at and he had tasted good. She could get down with a little fun between the sheets. “I don’t have an overwhelming urge at the moment to seek him out, so I guess I have time to think about this.”
She had to admit, this was the perfect excuse to make herself known to the vampires at the hotel. If she was the intended mate of one of the men there, they might be more open to her tagging along with them to Kentucky. It was a sound plan. She just needed to think about it a little more, and since her newfound husband was off on a mission, she had a little time.
* * *
The explosion rattledthe windows and knocked a picture off the wall, causing Wolfe to jump to his feet. The sun was still high in the sky, and he had been attempting––poorly––to sleep. Now, he was jerking on his jeans so he could find out what the hell was going on.
Wolfe, you up?Xavier popped into his head.
Of course, I’m up. Any idea what’s going on?
Not a clue. I’ll meet you in the hall.
He had already stepped out and was greeted by Luna and a look of panic. “What was that?”
“I’m about to find out. You stay in your room. I’ll have a guard posted outside your door.”
She took a step toward him. “What are you planning? You can’t be thinking of going outside?”
“I can’t stay here and do nothing. You should know by now it’s not in my nature.”
“Awesome. The father of my child is about to torch himself.” Luna didn’t bother to stick around. Instead, she stepped back into her room and slammed the door, bolting it shut.
“She has a point.” Xavier approached from the other side, weighed down with blades.
“Do you sleep with those things strapped to you?” He knew his friend didn’t. Xavier was one of the fastest vampires––besides himself––that Wolfe knew. It was one reason why he hadn’t hesitated to turn him when Xavier had asked. He knew the Navy Seal would make one helluva vampire.
“I think you know what I sleep with,” Xavier responded with a raised brow.
Wolfe hardly paid the comment attention as he was busy scanning through all his mental channels, reaching out to the vampires he had sired to see if anyone had a clue to what the fuck was going on. Everyone had been in their rooms either asleep or hiding from the sun, so no one knew. So, until one of the humans came and filled them in, they were going to remain clueless.
“Fuck this.” He started down the hall, Xavier hot on his heels as he made his way down the stairs.
“What’s your plan? You can’t be insane enough to go out there?”
Wolfe approached the edge of the lobby, and while they had boarded up some windows, many remained uncovered, as did the door. He hadn’t wanted to completely close off the sun. After all, there were hundreds of humans here and it wasn’t their fault vampires had a fatal reaction to the ball of fire. He turned back to Xavier.
“Go back and guard Luna. Make sure she is cared for and she gets to Kentucky.”
“You stubborn son of a bitch, you’re going out there.”
“I’m a primordial. I can survive a little sunburn.” He hoped. He’d never tested how long exactly he could stay in the sun before he exploded into a puff of ash. It hadn’t been something he’d wanted to find out. Still didn’t, but he was their leader. Tasked by a being way higher up the chain with keeping as much of humanity alive as he could. If the angels were serious about his mission, then why would they allow him to fry?
