Page 3 of On the Run with His Vampire Mate

“That’s rough,” Derek said, wincing. “Did you mean to?”

“I thought I did,” I replied. I couldn’t bring myself to lie to him. “Now… I’m not so sure.”

“Are you planning to hurt me?” he asked. He didn’t sound afraid in the slightest.

“Definitely not!” I exclaimed, staring at him with wide eyes. How could this lovely, beautiful, perfect mortal imagine a world where there was even the remotest possibility I might harm him? But the memory of before him surged up. It had only been a few moments ago. I had been planning on hurting him. I’d been planning on hurting him very badly. The thought made me feel sick inside. But it felt necessary to add, “I wouldn’t.”

The vampire beside me drew in a breath he didn’t need. It hitched in his throat. He stood beside me, blinking rapidly.

“It’s okay to let yourself be happy sometimes,” the sandy-haired man said softly. He seemed to be speaking to the vampire. “You know that, right?”

“Stay out of my head,” the vampire replied. I could feel his gaze on Derek and me.

I monitored him with a portion of my attention—just in case he intended Derek harm. But their exchange—which made zero sense to me—registered as unimportant.

I couldn’t let myself take my eyes off Derek. Because there was a possibility that whatever these two—my captors—planned to do to me would ensure I’d never see him again. I needed to make every moment with him matter.

Derek looked deep into my eyes—despite how monstrous I must’ve looked to him—and said, “You can’t change anything you’ve done in the past. No matter how much you might wish you could. Trust me, I know I would do a lot differently, too.” He sounded so sad. Why did he sound so sad? He added, “But you can choose to do better next time. That’s all you can do now.”

Every word he spoke was a gift. One I didn’t deserve. But one that I would treasure, no matter what came next.

I stared at him intently, memorizing the shape of his face—he had a defined jaw, but a kind face overall, framed by dark hair. His lips were masculine, but there was something tender about his mouth, almost vulnerable. A hint of boyishness that time hadn’t quite managed to destroy yet.

I had to keep him safe. Even if it was from me. Because I had wanted to hurt him. What if I did again? What if I couldn’t stop myself? Since waking up as a vampire, I hadn’t tried to stop myself. Not after my first kill. I had no idea if I even could. What if I did something to Derek I couldn’t take back?

“I’ll come with you,” I said at last, looking at the vampire and his companion.

“No!” Derek thundered, launching himself to his feet. He immediately staggered. He was still intoxicated.

I steadied him without even thinking about it, putting my hands on his shoulders.

Derek didn’t draw back from my touch—he didn’t even flinch. Instead, he looked to the other two. “What the hell do you intend to do with him?” He clearly knew these people—was even friendly with them—but his voice still carried more than a hint of steel. “You’re not going to hurt him. I know you won’t.”

“No,” the sandy-haired one said gently. “I promise, we’re not going to do him any harm. Quinn just isn’t safe around most other people yet. We need to make sure he doesn’t want to hurt anyone else.”

Did I want to hurt anyone else? I had no idea. The thought was repulsive to me, but what about when I got hungry again?

Derek looked to the golden-haired vampire for confirmation.

I followed his gaze—after all, this was quite important, wasn’t it?

The vampire nodded back at him, confirming his companion’s words.

Derek relaxed immediately, the tension draining from him. Which meant he trusted the vampire.

Perhaps I could, too.

“Quinn,” Derek said, drawing my attention back to him. He smiled at me. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Oddly, even though I was going to have to go with these two—including the vampire—I felt no fear. If Derek had no cause to fear them, I didn’t either. I returned Derek’s smile.

Derek glanced back at the golden-haired vampire. “You’re not going to keep him forever, right? I’ll be able to see him?”

Warmth spread through me and if my heart still could’ve beat, it would’ve been pounding in my chest. He wanted to see me again, too?

The vampire rolled his eyes. But he looked suddenly conflicted. Which made sense, right? Because how on earth did they know I wouldn’t hurt Derek? If I didn’t even know, they definitely didn’t.

“We’ll get the logistics sorted in the morning,” the sandy-haired one said. Then something seemed to occur to him because he added, “Hey, when did you get here?”