Page 42 of Midnight Whispers
I try, and fail, to hide my surprise. “Well, blood-sharing is an intense and intimate thing. Especially if it’s done in a sexual relationship, even more so since you’re mortal. You would be inclined to feel love for me, even if it wasn’t something that came naturally to you. You wouldcraveme, my presence, my pleasure.”
“Would I become like you if I drank your blood?”
“Not necessarily, but yes it could happen. You would have to die with my blood in your system.” I crease my brows. “Then, there’s the sire bond.”
“Sire bond?”
“Really, it’s just a fancy way to explain the connection between a maker and progeny. A lot of the lore that surrounds vampires is false, but there are some things we consider important above all else, sire and mate bonds. We are unable to bring harm or lie to either our mateorthe vampire that sires us.”
“That’s really interesting.” I can see the thoughts in her mind forming.
Lillia’s expressions leave very little to be questioned. If something makes her uncomfortable, intrigues her, or makes her overwhelmed, it’s written in the lines of her face.
Her beautiful face.
“What’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours, love?” I ask, brushing a stray lock of hair from her cheek.
“Nothing. I mean, I guess a lot of things.”
“You can ask me anything. I willalwaysbe honest with you.”
“Have you ever had a… mate?” She refuses to meet my gaze, blush creeping up onto her cheeks.
“I’ve had lovers, if that’s what you’re really asking, but none of them were my true mate.”
“How do you know?”
“There are…well, there are signs,” I shrug. “Ways that our bodies respond to one another, ways our souls call to one another.”
The way my body responds to yours.
The way my soul found a home with yours.
“I see.” Lillia chews on her bottom lip. “And what about your maker, how is that relationship?”
“He is my best friend in the entire world, but also like a father or a brother at the same time. I go to him for every bit of advice that I need.”
“Did you want to change? To become a vampire?”
“I did. He gave me the choice and I had nothing else to live for.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, love.”
“Do you ever want to change anyone else?” Her eyes shift back and forth.
“Eventually,maybe. But I would want it to be their choice, like the one that was given to me. I won’t ever change anyone against their will again.” I pause before ending the conversation. “That’s a story for another time.” My chest tightens with the thought of Wren sobbing at my feet the day I turned him.
Lillia nods and changes the subject. “How long ago did you and your maker meet?”
“I was made in 1878. He had been a vampire for a long time before that.”
“So, you’re like… really old?”
“I mean, technically I’m only twenty-six,” I laugh. “I’ve just been twenty-six for a veryverylong time.”
“Like almost a hundred and fifty years?”