Page 40 of Protected by the Vampire

“Pops,” Monkey yelled, falling next to him. Dashiel staggered over to the two as Landon dragged his sleeve up to reveal a glowing tattoo that was starting to fade.

The design matched the one on Dashiel’s skin.

He’d just found his fated mate.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Spade

Leaning into Soren, I asked, “Did what I think happened just happen?”

Soren, who had gone unnaturally still beside me, snapped his lips closed and nodded once before saying, “Dashiel has found his fated mate.”

The words had barely settled when Dashiel dropped. One second, he was standing and the next, he was on his knees in front of Landon, bowing low, pressing his forehead to the floor.

“My beloved,” he said, his voice thick with something that sounded a hell of a lot like adoration.

The entire room went dead quiet.

Landon blinked, clearly thrown, his body tensing like he didn’t know whether to scoot back or reach out.

Instead, he looked at Monkey. “W-what’s going on?”

Monkey looked just as lost, his gaze darting between Dashiel and his dad while they were all still kneeling on the floor.

“I—uh—” Monkey scrubbed a hand over his face. “I think… I think he’s sayin’ you’re like… his soulmate? Or something?”

“That is… a very simplified version of it,” Dashiel said, lifting his head.

Slowly, he straightened his spine but remained on his knees. When I’d first seen his eyes, they’d been calm and distant. Now they were anything but. They burned with intensity, and it was all focused on Landon, like nothing else in the world existed.

“Fate has chosen you for me,” Dashiel continued, his voice steady as he spoke, though the emotion beneath it didn’t fade. “Across time, across worlds… you are mine as I am yours.”

Landon’s mouth dropped open. He glanced at the tattoo on Dashiel’s neck, then down at the one wrapped around his wrist.

“Ah… right,” he said after a beat. “And what exactly does that mean for me?”

That was a fair question.

Dashiel rose and held out his hand for Landon, who just stared at it. Monkey stood next, then helped his father to his feet.

Dashiel tucked his hands behind his back and went on. “It means that if you accept this bond… if you accept me… I will spend the rest of your life at your side.” He paused, like he was choosing every word with precision. “You will be cherished beyond measure. Protected. Respected. Loved in a way that is written into the very fabric of what I am.”

The weight of that settled over the room.

Heavy and unavoidable.

“I will treat you as the gift you are,” Dashiel finished quietly. “Because that is what you are to me.”

Landon’s throat worked as he swallowed. “You don’t even know me. I don’t know you. And I’m not even into guys.” He moved his attention to Monkey. “Is this some prank?”

Monkey shook his head.

Landon made a strangled sound in the back of his throat. “You talked about vampires before. Rio and Kieran spoke about shifters, and now there’s bodies and blood everywhere and….” He made another strained noise before he drew in a shaky breath. “This is… a lot,” he admitted.

“No one is saying you have to decide right now,” Razor cut in. He was holding onto a bouncing and excited Riker and had his hand over Riker’s mouth.

“Yes,” Soren added beside me. “A fated bond cannot be forced. It must be accepted freely, or it won’t hold as it’s meant to.”