Page 65 of Protected by the Vampire

“Thanks. I’ll let you know if he needs it, but so far, I think Pops is handling things.”

“And what’s your papa think of our Dash?” Riker asked.

Monkey shrugged, but there was a smile. “I dropped in to his place, and the elf was there. They’re gettin’ along. But this is so fuckin’ different on so many levels for him.”

“Understandable,” Soren said. “At least they have time to work things out.”

“Yeah,” Monkey muttered.

Coms leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “This is all still weird, though.”

Everyone glanced at him.

“What is?” Razor asked.

“All of it,” Coms said, gesturing vaguely. “Vampires. Shifters. Fae, and the rest. All this shit just… existing.”

Riker smirked. “It’s weird in a wonderful way.”

Coms ignored him. “We’ve been walkin’ around like none of it’s real.”

“That’s the point,” Razor said calmly. “You weren’t supposed to know.”

“Yeah, well,” Coms muttered. “Now we do.”

“Do you want to continue to know?” Soren asked.

“I do,” Monkey added quickly. “Especially if Pops is stayin’ in the know and accepts his new future with the elf.” His eyes widened for a second, like he couldn’t believe he said that, and he shook his head.

“Coms?” Razor pressed. “Before you make your mind up, you gotta remember you can’t say shit to anyone. None of the other brothers, and eventually we’ll have to move away from them and the club to keep this secret. Know we mentioned about the amulet that’ll age you like the rest of us, but it does mean others around you will grow old. I know I’m willin’, but that’s because I have Riker. You willin’ to walk with us when the time comes? If you’re allowed to keep the knowledge?”

Silence settled for a second.

“I guess. I’ll have a good think about everythin’ and let you guys know when the time comes. That cool?”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding. I leaned back, letting their voices fade again as I took Razor’s and Coms’s words in from a different angle. Because I got it. Both sides. Razor’s certainty and Coms’s reluctance to accept right away.

Hell, I would’ve been right there with Coms, trying to wrap my head around everything and what had to be done to keep the information. All while trying to figure out how something this big could exist without the rest of the world knowing.

Now? Now I could hear the shift in Razor’s heartbeat when he got serious.

Smell the difference between irritation and amusement rolling off Monkey.

Feel Riker’s attention sharpen when another member walked into the compound and he quickly had to work out if it was friend or foe.

And beneath it all was Soren.

He’d always be my constant reminder that this was exactly where I wanted to be.

With him.

The bond pulsed softly, grounding me. Yeah, I wouldn’t trade this for anything.

Because without it all, without the supernatural, without whatever the hell force decided to throw me into this world, I wouldn’t have him.

Wouldn’t have this connection that sat deep in my chest, stronger than anything I’d ever known.

My gaze shifted to him again to see that he was already looking at me.