Page 111 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

“She’s gaining back her abilities. She’s not going to be weak and fragile for much longer. Her healing has already kick-started. The edges of her fingers were burned today, and they were already healing. Her need for blood is going to increase, and now that she’s tasted yours…” the vet makes a disappointed sound, “...she’s going to crave it. Shifter blood is addictive.”

“But she ingested my blood weeks ago, before you told me to have her drink it,” I tell him, my chest tightening with emotion. I’m so used to having Charlotte lean on me even when she doesn’t want to. She’s wildly independent, and I know she hates it that she needs someone to protect her, but I like protecting her. I like being her sword and shield. Without that, will she even need me anymore?

It’s a childish thought, and I try to brush it off, but it remains lodged in the back of my head.

“When?” Ricky’s eyes narrow, his voice urgent. “When did she drink your blood?”

“When we first, uh…” I shrug. “You know.”

“Did she drink from you during sex?” the vet asks bluntly.

I roll my eyes slightly. “Yes.”

“And what did you do?”

“What?” I gape at him.

“What did you do, Robert?”

“What do you mean, what did I do?” His question makes no sense to me.

Ricky gives me a look that has my wolf bristling in annoyance. “How did your animal react?”

“It was fi—” I pause, blinking. “Well, it came out and tried to mark her.”

“As in a mating mark?” Ricky’s face goes pale. “Did you give her a mating mark?”

“Well, it tried, but there’s no bond. I would have felt it.”

“You gave her a mating mark during intercourse, and she drank from you.” Ricky looks white as a ghost.

“I’m not following you.”

“Do you know what it means when vampires drink during intimacy?” Ricky demands.

“No.” I raise my brows.

He stares at me as if he’s suddenly encountered the village idiot and doesn’t know how to deal with him.

“I’m going to assume that Charlotte doesn’t know either,” Ricky mumbles, seemingly to himself.

“Just tell me what it means, witch,” I growl. “Is Charlotte in danger because she drank from me?”

“Well, no.” Ricky begins before pausing. “Like shifters, vampires have their own mating rituals. During intercourse, they drink from each other. The fact that you two followed the mating rituals of your own kinds makes me think that perhaps what helped dispel the poison is not that you fed Charlotte your blood when she got injured, but that you two are now mates.”

I’m stunned into silence for a few minutes. The idea of having already tied Charlotte to me is incredibly appealing, but…

“You’re wrong,” I sigh, my heart heavy. “If there were a bond, I would feel it. Besides, vampires and shifters can’t mate. It’s—”

“Who told you that?” Ricky asks, a strange look on his face.

I don’t really know what to say to that. “I’ve never heard of a situation in which they have.”

He’s about to say something when the door behind me opens. I look over my shoulder to see an older woman with tawny eyes and long, dark hair tied in a thick braid.

“We’ll talk later,” Ricky mutters to me. “Go home.”

My head is already spinning as I’m trying to absorb all this new info, so I decide to do as he says. As I pass by the woman, her head turns, and her eyes meet mine. For a moment, my heart jolts. It’s as if she’s looking into my soul.

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