Page 22 of Hunting His Vampire Mate

He was transitioning.

The female vamp had turned Danny into a vampire.

The world suddenly stopped spinning around me and righted itself. But it was like someone had taken an etch-a-sketch and shaken it violently. Nothing looked the same anymore.

Nothing at all.

But that was alright, wasn’t it?

Very abruptly, the only thing that mattered at all was making sure Danny was going to be okay. Which meant making sure he didn’t turn into athing,like the monster who had done this to him. Like one of the creatures we hunted.

A year ago, I would’ve had no choice but to destroy his body, so he didn’t turn. But I hadn’t known any better then. And now I did. There was a chance that Danny might be okay.

He wouldn’t be human anymore, but so what? Did that even really matter, if he was stillDanny?

My grief drained away into a mingled mess of relief and wariness. I could hunt a vampire until the cows came home. But could I—someone who had loathed vampires for years and years—somehow help Danny become a better sort of monster? One who wasn’t really a monster at all?

It seemed unlikely.

But I also knew that I would do anything for Danny.

I was done being a coward about shit that mattered.

And this mattered, more than anything.

Danny and I had a pact. If one of us ever got infected by the supernatural, the other one would take care of it. I didn’t know about Danny, but I had apparently lied.

Because, as it turned out, I was going to do exactly the opposite of what I had promised him. I wasn’t just going to not destroy the body. I would facilitate this. I didn’t care what Danny came back as, so long as he was Danny. And I was hell-bent on being there for this—allof it. It wasn’t even a question anymore, but my answer was right there anyway.

For Danny, yeah, I could do just about anything. Even something that would royally piss him off. Maybe even especially that.

And I only knew one vampire who could help me.

I wiped my chin with that backs of my hands and I felt my face settle into familiar grim lines, like it did before every battle. I pulled my phone out and dialed Bryan.

He answered on the fourth ring.

“Michael? Is everything okay?” He sounded confused. But that made sense. I’d never called him before. That was Danny’s thing, not mine. He paused for a long moment, then added, sounding doubtful, “Um. Do you need to talk to Tobias?”

I couldn’t blame him for being a little hesitant. After all, wehadtried to kill each other only four months ago. And he had no idea that I was now totally willing to set aside years of fear and loathing to hop on board the vampire pride parade, so long as Danny was going to be its new grand marshal.

“No,” I replied, not even caring about what this might end up meaning in the long run. Hell, I’d be Bryan’s bestie now too, if that’s what it took. If it meant helping Danny. After all, he wasn’t such a bad guy, was he? The fact that he drank—ethically sourced, mind you—fresh blood on a regular basis was entirely beside the point. He didn’t kill anyone for it, did he? And Tobias didn’t seem to mind being his feeding partner in the slightest. And I couldn’t help how ragged and desperate my voice sounded, either, when I added, “Bryan, it’s about Danny. I need your help.”

CHAPTER SEVEN || DANNY

My throat hurt like a motherfucker. That was the very first thing I noticed, when my awareness returned to me. It was dry and scratchy, for one thing. For another, it burned like I had one of those ridiculously hot peppers—the ones that are illegal in the United States—stuck in my windpipe.

I sucked in a gasp and then stopped abruptly.

I froze.

There was no automatic sensation of relief that accompanied the breath. The movement was fine—I could still do it no problem, on a purely mechanical level. But it didn’t mean anything to my body anymore. I didn’t need it.

Case in point, I held my breath.

One minute elapsed. Then two. I was afraid to move so much as a muscle.

The entire time, I expected to feel the familiar, instinctive panic rising up in me at the withheld breath. But as two minutes turned to three, I finally exhaled.

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