Page 37 of Vampire Pack

There was a slight strain on the pack link, like a string connecting me to King that had been pulled tight now that we were apart. It wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't painful. I assumed it was because the bond was so new.

"Don't start," I warned Mallory.

"I think our air-conditioning might be broken. It's hot in here."

I rolled my eyes at her, but there was no hiding my blush.

CHAPTER EIGHT

carmen

Paige came out of her room a few minutes after King left, and started the popcorn while we all ate dinner.

I focused on the romance movie for two solid hours. It made me feel things that I refused to acknowledge.

The credits eventually rolled, and Paige and Mallory both looked at me.

I sighed. Heavily.

"So…" Paige trailed off. "What happened?"

I reluctantly explained what went down when we were in bed together.

The accidental mate bond.

The physical therapy.

The endless meetings about King and I being mates.

The conversation in the car, about him giving me space.

"It feels surreal," I admitted. "Like I'm going to wake up, and it will all have been a bad dream."

"How bad of a dream?" Mallory asked. "A horror-movie-style-nightmare? Or one where you just feel disturbed for a few hours?"

"I'm not really disturbed. Just… off balance. Uncomfortable. Kind of foreign. Like, we've been apart for two hours, and I'm already itching to have him snuggled up with me again."

Paige scooted closer, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me in. "Maybe it's not a bad dream. Maybe it's just new."

I gave her a look that said she was betraying me by using logic.

She gave me a small smile. "You knew the risk. How many times did he stop you from biting him before?"

"At least a dozen."

"If you'd been really against mating with him, you would've ended things after the first close call, regardless of how hot the sex was."

She was right.

I knew that.

I just didn't want to accept it.

"Even if that's true, where do I go from here? I think he wants everything. Me, living in his house. Sharing his life. Snuggling with him every night, and celebrating with him after games, and just… being mates. Real, genuine mates."

"What do you want?" Mallory asked.

"I have no idea." The words were completely and utterly honest. "I know I don't want to move away from you guys completely. I love our pack. One vampire and his asshole friends isn't enough to replace you. There are already too many men in my life, and I'm not about to give up my family." I gestured between us.