Page 34 of Blood Moon Bound

Stefan chuckled. “That’d be a first, brother.”

Females fell all over the cold male when he was in The Vault, all wanting him to feed from them, fuck them, except for his bonded, apparently.

“He’s never had to work for it in his very long life. I’d say the fates knew what they were doing when they sent her,” Rainer said. “Nothing worth having comes easily.”

“Is that right? And have you mated your female yet?” I asked Rainer.

“I took Lucinda last night,” he said, surprising the hell out of me.

“You did?” Rainer had been as against taking a mate as I was. “What changed your mind?”

“The beast made the decision for me,” he said, his mouth twisting to the side.

“The beast?” My brother had an inner beast he’d been fighting his entire life. When it reared up, they were at odds, always.

“Yes.”

“It didn’t frighten her?” When it came to the fore, he completely transformed.

He took another sip of his drink and shook his head. “No, she…tamed it, Con. She fucking tamed the beast. And he’s been quiet, content since, for the first time in my entire life.” He turned to me. “I think…I think mating with Lucinda is the best thing I’ve ever done. Don’t resist,” he said to the four of us sitting around him. “The fates chose those females for us for a reason. Denying them, denying the bond between us, is denying the kind of happiness we’ve only ever dreamed of.”

I didn’t know what to say. I sure as fuck didn’t want to hear it. I tightened my fist around my glass. “You know why I can’t mate Delphine. You fucking know.”

“Samara wasn’t your mate, Con,” Rainer said. “She didn’t deserve the end she got, and Douglas Albertan deserves to die in agony for what he did. You were friends, and that’s how you loved her and she you. There were no tearful goodbyes when you left for months on end. She was free to fuck who she liked and so were you. Don’t throw away your chance at peace, at happiness, in favor of revenge. And if anyone would want to see you happy, it was Samara.”

He didn’t understand. How could he?

“No, she wasn’t my mate,” I said to Rainer. “But she’d been there for me when I needed her, since I was old enough to pick up a sword, and she deserves better than to be replaced by the daughter of the male who brutally murdered her.”

“And what about Delphine?” Rainer asked. “What does she deserve? Like all our females, the moment we sensed them, the moment we claimed them, they’ve suffered. They’ve been alone and sheltered for years. We’re the reason they became prisoners in their own homes, but we’re supposed to be their escape from it as well. Now is that time. What will you do if you don’t mate her? Go back to the border? Abandon her when she needs you most?”

His words struck a direct hit right through my sternum. “It’s for the best,” I said, even as everything in me roared against it.

“And you’re okay with her being alone in that big house. Seeking out others to feed from, to find her pleasure with, because her mate refuses to meet her needs? Refuses to give her what was promised the day you found her and staked your claim?” he said.

Every word was like another slice to the unbeating muscle in my chest, twisting more and more. “I’m going to kill Douglas, the male Delphine loves like a father, you think she’ll forgive me for that? It’s the way it has to be. I’m done with this conversation.” I’d never leave her without blood, I was still letting, storing blood for her to feed on when I was gone. As for the rest, I couldn’t bear to fucking think about it.

“Not hearing the truth won’t change it,” Rainer said.

Delphine’s laughter drew my gaze back to her. Joy flowed from her, reaching out to me, wrapping around me so tight I suddenly had trouble drawing breath.

Rainer was right. She was owed that joy.

But I wasn’t sure I could ever be the male to give it to her.

Ten

DELPHINE

Constantine held my hand as he led me from the club. I spun back and waved to my friends, and they waved back. I grinned, so incredibly happy.

We walked out onto the pavement. Morgan opened the car door and I got in, sliding across the seat. Constantine climbed in after me, and I threw my arms around him as soon as he pulled the door closed. I couldn’t stop myself. “Thank you so much. I never knew it was possible to be this happy, and it’s all because of you.” I pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“I’m glad you had fun,” he said.

“Fun? This was the best day of my life.”

He did that thing he often did, where he went impossibly still.