Page 82 of The Vampire's Mate

He’d darkened his hair and cut it short, and the three-piece suit was gone. It was the first time I’d seen him dressed casually, in nothing but jeans and a light knitted sweater. A coat draped over one arm, supported by his hands in his pockets. He tore his gaze away from Kian, his striking green eyes meeting mine, shining with unshed tears. It was then that I noticed the silver cross he used to wear was gone. “I couldn’t stand to lose him. Thank you for pulling him out of there. It must have killed you to leave your mate behind.”

I didn’t respond, instead picking at my nails in my lap. For a while, the only sounds in the room were the inflations of Kian’s blood pressure cuff.

“I have dyscalculia,” Luke finally said.

My brows furrowed. “What?”

“It’s like dyslexia but with numbers.” At my confused glare, he continued. “That hunt fifteen years ago was the first time they let me lead, and I royally fucked it up. I reversed two of the numbers, and as a result, two humans were killed. It would have been three, but I tracked Kian down to a friend’s house; it was his first sleepover. Right before the house was engulfed, I saw a family picture hanging on the wall.” He paused, a tear escaping the corner of his eye. “That’s why I adopted him. Even if I didn’t disable the fire alarms or set the fire, it was mybad call that killed two innocent people—twoparents. When I laid eyes on that little boy, I knew I couldn’t let him go into foster care. I needed to right my wrong.”

“Does he know you’re here?”

“No. I’ve been careful; sneaking in and out when he and Hannah are sleeping.”

“Are you staying?”

Luke’s head slowly bobbed up and down, tears streaking his cheeks. “Even if I’m discovered.”

“You betrayed the hunters who were trying to kill James,” I told him.

“I know.”

I looked at Kian sleeping in his hospital bed, and I knew what Luke’s return would mean to him. “Let me talk to James.”

“About what? Getting rid of me for good?”

“Don’t make me regret being nice to you, Luke. James can protect you.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do. Because I’m never letting Kian go through anything alone ever again. And if that means making sure you don’t get taken down in the process, then so be it. Besides: James loves me. He’d do anything for me.”

Luke snickered. “So you two are…”

“Deeply committed,” I answered. “I’d rather not analyze it too much. I’ve learned my lesson about running from him.”

The door swung open, interrupting our conversation. “Look who came to check on you…” James’s voice trailed off as he realized who was in the room. “Wow. I thought it was you, but I couldn’t believe it.”

Hannah brushed past me to sit on the edge of Kian’s bed. I couldn’t quite turn far enough to look over my shoulder, but it wasn’t long before a third person made themselves known: Gabriel. And he wasn’t paying me any attention. Or Kian. His eyes were glued to Luke, and I’d seen that look before: it was how Raleigh looked at Angel. It was delivered with an intensity that had the poor human squirming under his gaze. Across the room, James was watching the two of them closely, and I could tell he was fighting a smile.

Did the two of them know each other? Maybe it was the pain meds, but I felt like I was missing something.

“Who’s this?” Gabriel finally asked. He kept his hands in his pockets but I knew that if he took them out, I’d see the burns from the silver chains. As much as I hated to admit it, I owed him for saving James’s life.

“I’m Luke. Kian’s brother.”

Hannah looked between the four of us. I wasn’t sure how much Kian had told her about the adoption, so I kept quiet, wondering if Kian would still accept Luke as his brother. Or as family, period.

I decided, then, that I was done. I was tired, and the room was getting way too crowded for my liking. Thankfully, I didn’t have to say a thing. James was suddenly next to me, wheeling me out of Kian’s room and back to my own. He helped me into bed and took a seat next to it, stroking the back of my hand with his thumb and peppering kisses over my skin. “It was Kian,” I whispered, just before slipping into unconsciousness. “And the hunters th-they’re?—”

“I know, love. I heard everything.” James’s lips found my forehead. “You can rest now.”

“I love you,” I whispered again, before drifting off into a deep sleep.

Chapter 29

Hospitals were meantto be a place where people rested and recovered, right?

That was the biggest load of shit I’d ever heard.

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