Page 16 of A Vampire's Pain
“I don’t get at all what is happening,” Lara said.
How could she? She couldn’t understand the connection Ace and I had shared for years, or how finding Valeri would end it all. Nor could she understand just how much it hurt me to see Valeri being taken from me, and how I knew Damon would never accept me as his sister’s mate.
“Stay with him,” Dominic said. “I’m ending the party.”
I felt Dominic’s heavy hand on my shoulder before he walked away. Lara came to stand a little closer to me. I could see out of the corner of my eye the sympathetic look she was giving me.
“Don’t look at me like that …”
“I just … I don’t understand—”
”Damon hates me,” I said and looked at her.
“He doesn’t!” she said.
“He doesn’t trust me and never will,” I said.
That made Lara look so sad.
“You think he will never accept Valeri as mine?”
“Valeri is her own person.”
“You don’t know what happened to her,” I said.
She looked at me confused.
“What happened?”
“I can’t … ask Dominic,” I said.
I couldn’t speak of the whole incident that had made Damon’s and Dominic’s paths cross and what was the beginning of their friendship. I couldn’t speak of it now that I knew she was my mate. Just the thought of it made me want to revive those who had taken her, just so I could kill them all over again.
“You need to tell Damon the truth,” she said.
That made me laugh a mocking laugh.
“No!” I said.
“Yes! He will understand.”
“No, he won’t!” I said harshly. “Maybe if it was Ace or Dominic, he might, but not me.”
“Have a little faith. She is your mate. He won’t have any other choice but to accept.”
“Damon won’t listen,” I said. “I would have to kill him.”
“Gabriel!”
“I don’t want to! But right now, I am on edge! He took her,” I said.
“You can’t kill him.”
“If he keeps her from me forever, I will take her.”
“Gabriel, that is not the solution!” Lara said, looking at me like she couldn’t believe I had suggested this, but how could I not?
Damon would never accept us together. He didn’t leave me with much choice. Lara and I stared at each other though, as the ballroom was slowly being emptied of people. Dominic was sending everyone home because no one needed to see me lose my shit.
