Page 110 of Bewitched By a Vampire

“Bloody idiot,” Elissa muttered and grabbed his wrist, and the pain lessened and faded to nothing. She released him, but still scowled up at him.

Night paid her no heed as he stalked towards his brother. “You are not relieving me of my position. I earned that position. I won’t give it up.”

Grave shot him a glare. “You wouldn’t get a say in the matter.”

Night stared him down. “I would have told you, but you were recovering from your battle against the demon prince and being made corporeal again. I didn’t want to risk you.”

He grimaced as Grave looked less than impressed and he realised that his actions might have come across as payback for Grave not allowing Night to help him with that battle. They hadn’t been, but he could see why his brother thought they had.

Night scrubbed his nape and sighed at his shoes, and then looked his brother in the eye. “I love you too much to risk you like that.”

Grave huffed and folded his arms across his chest again, his look stern, but then he mumbled, “I love you too.”

Night knew that. It was the reason Grave had been so worried, and so angry with him.

“Don’t you have a phantom to take care of?” Elissa snapped and went to Grave, pushing his back, shoving him towards the stairs. “Scram. You’re disturbing my patients. I’m taking them to their room and they’re not to be disturbed until I say so.”

Grave glared at her, but obeyed her order, heading up the stairs.

“Come on, you two.” Elissa jerked her chin towards the stairs. “Up you go.”

“Your witch is bossy,” Night muttered to Payne as he passed the half-breed, and Payne shot him a look that said he was well aware of that.

Elissa grumbled, “I heard that. I was going to help you too.”

“Help me?” Night frowned at her back as Lilian joined him and he took hold of her hand. He clutched it as they followed the witch up the stairs. “With what?”

“I’ll tell you once you’re resting.” Elissa looked over her shoulder at him and winked.

Night arched an eyebrow at her, trying to figure out what problem he had that she could possibly help him with. When they reached his temporary quarters, she waved him towards the bed. Curious to know what she was going to help him with, and assuming it was his other injuries, he toed his shoes off and sat on the bed. Lilian sat beside him.

Elissa closed the door, turned to them and planted her hands on her hips, ruffling the hem of her black flowing camisole where it met her dark jeans. “I found a spell… in the books Grave and Isla brought with them. It’s risky, but it might work… or undoing this bond might kill you. One or the other.”

Night shook his head.

“No. I can’t risk that.” He looked at Lilian, aware this decision wasn’t only his to make. She was the one most affected by the bond they shared, the one who would experience pain if another vampire tried to touch her without his permission. It was more her decision than his and whatever she decided, he would abide by it. “What do you want to do?”

It strangely felt as if a lot hinged on her answer to that question, as if he was asking her more than what she wanted to do in regards to the bond. He was asking her what she wanted to do about them too.

Did she want to be his?

He searched her eyes, trying to find the answer to that question as she pursed her lips and frowned.

She looked at Elissa and his stomach felt heavy as he braced himself for her answer.

“I thought of something else,” Lilian said and leaned towards Elissa. “Might there be a way to alter the bond rather than undo it?”

Elissa’s look shifted towards pensive. “What do you have in mind?”

Lilian glanced at him and a hint of colour touched her cheeks. She hesitated, a flicker of nerves in her eyes and her scent, and lowered her gaze to her knees and then lifted it back to lock with his as she tipped her chin up. She was learning. The best way to deal with a Van der Garde was to look them in the eye and not be weak.

“Elves are the forebears of vampires. Could this bond be transformed into something akin to what elves share with their mates? Think about it… We exchanged blood as an elf and their mate would.” She sighed and fidgeted with her skirt, her confidence waning as she added, “I know vampires are different to elves… but they’re the same in many ways too. You share DNA. It might be possible.”

Night wasn’t sure it was, but then what did he know? He couldn’t imagine a vampire had ever tried to find out whether their species had retained enough elven DNA to allow them to bond with someone as elves did. Vampires could be fated mates of other species though. It was entirely possible that someone could be the fated mate of a vampire.

He certainly felt protective and possessive enough of Lilian to be her fated one.

“It might take a long time for us to figure out of it’s possible,” Elissa put in.

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