Page 80 of Abiding Blood

He pulled away and propped himself on one arm to look at me. He was just as I remembered—a bit older, perhaps. Within moments, this version of Julian overwrote my memories, and the two became one. This was the man I knew, the one I loved.

“You’re awake,” Julian said with a smile. “You still reach for me in your sleep, you know.”

I smiled back. “Do I?”

“Yes,” my mate replied.

The sight of Julian’s face filled me with such joy that I felt I might burst. I’d never felt better in all my life. I was positively humming with energy. Glancing down at my body, I suddenly felt cold all over.

My chest was filled out, my arms thick and muscular. I raised a hand; it no longer looked like the skeleton I’d walked around in for years. My heart beat faster.

“Julian, what’s happened? What have I done?” I asked, afraid to hear the answer.

“Calm down. You didn’t do anything. I fed you while you were asleep.”

My eyes shot to Julian’s neck in alarm.

“No. Not like that. I had some help, and everyone volunteered. It was surprisingly easy to insert a feeding tube while you were unconscious. I hope you don’t mind. I wasn’t going to let you die just after getting you back.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. I’m grateful. I am; I just didn’t expect it. How long did I sleep? What time is it?”

“You’ve been unconscious for almost twenty-four hours. When you didn’t wake up, I got scared,” he said. “You were clearly starving. Feeding you was all I could think of.”

I picked up his hand resting on my chest and kissed his fingers. “Thank you,” I said. “Truthfully, I haven’t thought about feeding in a long time.”

“When did you last eat, Vincent?”

I smiled at him. “You were there. I haven’t broken my promise to you. You were the last one I fed from.”

Julian gasped, his expression going blank. He furrowed his brows. “You haven’t eaten in over five years?”

“Has it really been that long?” I knew it had been a while. I’d seen several winters come and go, but I had no idea it had been five years.

“Yes, it has,” he replied.

“I’m really sorry, Julian. It took longer than I expected.”

“I heard about what you did,” Julian said.

I nodded. “I just couldn’t live knowing my kind were out there destroying what little life remained on this planet. And Julian, it was terrible. So much worse than I had imagined. Some were harder to kill than others.”

I swallowed, recalling Jonathan’s dark curls and warm, wide smile. But I also remembered the horror I found locked in a room in the house where Jonathan had been living. “I couldn’t stop until I knew they would make it. The humans, I mean.”

“I understand. I do,” Julian whispered.

“Do you still want me to be with you?” I asked. I’d been away for so long, and though Julian was curled around me in bed, I felt I had to ask. “I would understand if you didn’t, or if you had someone else.”

“Of course, I still want you. There’s no one else for me. Just you.”

I opened my arms, and we embraced. It felt wonderful to hold him again. “Do you want me to take you home?” I asked.

“We are home. You are in my house, or rather, our house, if you want. I built this room for us. I’ve waited for you all these years, but I’ve also built a life here.”

“What has it been like?” I asked, more than curious.

“I did what you asked. I took care of the humans we found and more. I’m the human member of the council. They didn’t tell me Lana and Wren found you or about last night’s meeting. You aren’t the only overprotective creature I’ve encountered,” he said with a smile.

“How did you know I was here?”