Page 7 of The Vampire's Mate

“Just start talking,” I finally said, exasperated. “You’re making me nervous.”

He gave me a soft smile. “You’ve been nervous since the day we met.”

“A fact I hid from nearly everyone else for thirty-some years. Sometimes I hate that you know me so well.” I took a sip, the alcohol burning through my system and grounding me. Slightly. “Now spill.”

With a sigh, James brushed the back of his hand along my shirt, right where my birthmark sat. “I need you to promise me something first.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.” If I squeezed my glass any harder, I was sure it would shatter in my hand.

“I knew you wouldn’t. And this might be a hard ask, but I have to at least try.”

“Um. Okay.”

“Don’t run.” He picked his eyes up to meet mine. “I know you’ll want to, but I need you to hear me out. I need you to talk this through with me.”

“I’ll try.” It was all I could promise in the moment.

“I need to explain this, don’t I?”

“Before that, you need to stop poking my ribs because I’m ticklish and if you keep at it, I can’t be responsible for any injuries you might sustain.”

He smiled and pulled his hand away. Wordlessly, he turned on the couch, brushing his hair back along his neckline. At first, I didn’t see anything on the skin he exposed, but he shifted and the light changed, and there it was.

A scar I’d never noticed. Small and pink, maybe the size of a quarter, and perfectly round—almost. There was a clear crescent shape missing from it. A space where something all-too-familiar would fit like a glove.

“Why have I never seen that before?”

James settled back into the couch. “You’ve spent the last year up close and personal with every other part of my body, love.”

“Test me on any of it. I’ll pass with flying colors.”

He laughed, and the sound warmed me more than any buzz ever could.

So I ventured, “What is it about that scar?”

“It’s more than a scar. And this,” —he feathered a touch over the splotch on my ribs again— “is more than a birthmark.”

I swallowed against a suddenly dry mouth. “What is it?”

“With some supernatural beings—vampires and werewolves, mostly?—”

“Werewolves?”

He gave me an amused smile. “There are so many more species coexisting than you realize.”

“You think I’d be less surprised.”

“With some species, fate decides who we’re destined to be with.”

My heart pounded against my ribs. “How does that work?”

“No one really knows. It’s decided by someone—something—that’s much bigger than you or I.”

I squirmed. My body itched, my muscles spasming. It felt like something sat on my chest. That familiar urge to bolt crept up my spine, but I had promised I’d at least try to fight it. “Where are you going with this, James?”

The tension in the air was thick and heavy. With each passing second it became harder to breathe.

“Ryder, we…” He sighed. “When Luke said you were my mate, he meant it literally. We’re bound together by fate.”

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