Page 94 of Feral
“I just want to finish this report. Why are you rushing me?”
He ignores my question, still shoving me towards the double doors that lead to the main club. I give up, letting him guide me.
As I step through the doors, it takes me a second to process what I’m seeing. In front of me are my brothers and their mates, standing in a semicircle. Next to them stand Dimi, Tiago, Hemsley, and Willow.
“What’s going on, guys?”
Yves, Damiano, and Thorn move to the side and Yannis steps forward. He’s wearing a black velvet suit and a huge smile.
“Yannis? What are you doing?”
“What I should have done a long time ago, but thank you for being patient and giving me the time and space to work through everything.”
“I don’t understand.”
“A little over a year ago, I walked into Lair for the first time, and my whole world changed. I had no idea what I was in for, but I wouldn’t change any of it. Meeting you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
I glance around, still confused by the gathering around us. “You know I feel the same.”
“I know. You’ve always told me how you feel, how much I mean to you, how much you love me. When I met you, I didn’t even know what romantic love felt like. I didn’t know what desire or attraction felt like. You showed me and you taught me through your actions.” He steps forward. “Over a year ago, you invited me to join you on your eternal walk, and I accepted.”
“Yes.”
“I wanted to show you somehow in a mortal way how committed I am to you and this life we’re making, and there’s one thing you told me you’ve never experienced in all your years on this planet.”
The meaning of all this starts to sink in. “Are you serious right now?”
“Yep.” He turns to our friends and family. “Guys?”
My brothers step to the side while Rhett and Tiago hurry behind the bar. The club is decorated with black banners and balloons and a huge sign that says ‘Happy Birthday, Hale.’ Rhett and Tiago wheel a table out with a huge cake on it and several pitchers filled with deep red liquid.
“This is incredible.”
Smiling, Yannis steps forward. “But first, my gift to you. It’s not eternal life, but I hope you’ll like it just the same.” He pulls a small box out of his pocket then opens it to reveal a shiny gold ring. “It’s very mortal of me, but, Hale, will you accept this ring as a token of my love and commitment to you?”
My eyes sting and I’m sure if I could cry I would. I’m so touched. My heart feels too big for my chest. “I’d be honored to wear it.”
“Whew.” He takes it out of the box and slides it onto my left ring finger, then shows me his. “Matching.”
I throw my arms around his neck, kissing him so hard he stumbles backward. Thorn whistles at us while Raphael yells, “Get a room” as everyone erupts with laughter and applause.
I press our foreheads together. “Gods, I love you. This is amazing. I can’t believe you remembered.”
“Of course I remembered. Last year, I had so much going on with just learning how to be a vampire, but I wanted this for you. I know your life wasn’t conventional by any means, but you deserve to feel special sometimes. We all do. You make every single day incredible for me. The least I can do is throw you a birthday party.” He kisses me softly. “And I have some ideas on how we can celebrate privately later.”
“I like the way you think.”
We join our friends for drinks and cake, though most of us won’t eat it. We’ll share it with our patrons later.
“So how many years you got on you, old man?” Rhett asks, patting my shoulder.
“Too many to count. Besides, my life started over when I found Yannis.”
Rhett makes a gagging noise. “You lovesick vampires.” Shaking his head, he points at Thorn, who’s slow dancing with Kyson even though the music is fast. “Look what it does. Turns a monster into a mouse.”
“Thorn is still plenty monster.”
“So is Hale,” Yannis says, wiggling his eyebrows. “In fact, I’d say he’s downright feral sometimes.”