Page 55 of Protected by the Vampire

My chest tightened with anticipation.

“With one condition,” Soren added, his voice steady and controlled, telling me this mattered more than he was letting on.

I stepped closer, sliding my hands onto his hips. “Anythin’.”

His gaze searched mine as if he was looking for hesitation or doubt, but he wouldn’t find any.

“You don’t go into this blind,” he said. “You need to understand every part of it. The pain of the turn. The hunger afterward. The control that will slip.”

“I do.” We’d touched on it when we’d been writing the list, and he’d told me to put it down on the cons side.

He shook his head and said quietly, “You don’t. Not fully. But you will.”

I nodded once. “I’m all ears, babe. Tell me.”

A beat passed before he exhaled slowly. “It’ll feel like your whole body is on fire, burning from the inside out, and you’ll think it lasts forever. Then, the hunger…. It’s like nothing else you’ve felt. It gnaws at you until you fulfill it, and that could take some time.”

“I get it. But you’ll help me through it.”

He nodded once. “Theo, I’ll have to completely drain you of your blood,” he said. “As close to death as I can take you without losing you.”

My pulse kicked. He was scared of the risk, but I believed with every damn fiber of myself that it’d work. He was an elder and powerful. He would bring me back. “And then?” I pressed.

“Then I’ll give you my blood,” he said. “Enough to change you. Enough to bring you back.”

The bond flickered with unease.

I stepped closer, closing the space between us, lifting my hand to his cheek. “You won’t lose me,” I said quietly.

He covered my hand with his, holding it there. “You don’t know that.”

“I know you, babe,” I countered.

That silenced him for a moment. Until he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and said, “I’m not lying, pet. This will be agony.”

“I’ve been through a lot. I can handle this.”

His jaw flexed.

“Soren, I know you’re worried, but I’m not. I have complete faith in you and your power. We’ve got this, babe. I wouldn’t ask you to do this if there was a chance I wouldn’t pull through. I will because I’ll be with you.”

He slid his hand down my arms to take my hands so he could press his forehead to my shoulder. “I love you.”

“Love you, too, babe. Always.” I ran a hand up and down his back. “Was there anythin’ else you want me to know?”

“I want you to consider moving in here with me.”

I grinned. “Babe, I was gonna start leavin’ my shit here whether you liked it or not.”

And by the warm look he gave me and his pleased smile, I knew he clearly liked the idea.

“But,” I added, “I’ll keep a room at the compound open for me in case we have a big night there and need to crash.”

He nodded. “Perfect.”

“Speakin’ of the club and brothers… how long will I have to stay away from humans until I’m under control?”

His fingers grazed my jaw before he pressed a palm against my beating heart. “It will depend on how well you take to the change. I’ll be giving you both my blood and human blood. I have been told by other masters that it does help the newly changed gain control quicker. I’ll let your family know you won’t be around until you can handle it.”