Page 63 of Hunting His Vampire Mate

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Less than an hour later, we stood at the mouth of an abandonedmine in the foothills less than five miles outside the city limits of Ontario. Because Tobias had cast a spell to make our vehicles undetectable to anyone but us, we were able to pull almost right up to the mine entrance.

Thierry was already waiting for us there.

What the fuck?Michael traded a glance with me as we stepped out of the car.How?

“Your sister let me out of the boundary spell,” Thierry said to Tobias when we approached. “She was rather alarmed when I called her and explained the situation. She, at least, has the good sense not to detain the only vampire willing and able to control a hotheaded newborn. She’s by far my favorite, by the way.”

“We’re doing this,” Michael gritted out. He was armed to the teeth. He had his machete, two guns, a pocket full of powdered silver, and a wickedly sharp dagger, also made from silver. I only had a single gun, filled with silver bullets, and a machete in a holster slung at my side. He added, “You’re not stopping us.”

Thierry glared at us. And if looks could have killed, Michael and I both would have been goners.

“Fine,” Thierry snapped, his eyes flashing with his fury. “But mostly because we’re already here and I don’t trust either of you enough to let you out of my sight!”

“We’ll be fine,” Tobias told him. He held up his hand and electric-blue sparks of magic flashed between his fingertips. “We’ve got the magic touch.”

Thierry rolled his eyes and glowered at him. Then he turned back to us, his pale blue eyes sparking with barely controlled fury. “If either of you ever pull anything like that with me, ever again, I will gut you both and decorate my bedchambers with your innards. Got it?”

“Yup,” Michael said, his lips twitching. I could feel his amusement ripple through the bond.

“I’m not going to kill anyone,” Bryan said, interrupting the furious looks Thierry gave us. He cast the mines a nervous glance. “I’m on rescue duty, in case there’s anyone still alive in there.”

Tobias extinguished the magic in his hand and then rubbed Bryan’s back soothingly. “It’s okay, babe. You never need to do anything you don’t want to. No one expects you to hurt anyone. We’re there to protect and heal, just like always.”

Bryan nodded at him, looking relieved.

“The rest of us will do the dirty work,” Thierry agreed grimly. But I didn’t miss the flash of concern on his face for the younger vampire. Then, with his eyes still on Bryan, he gestured in my direction. “Stay to the back and keep an eye onhim. You do not need to participate in this if you don’t wish to.”

Bryan flashed me an unreadable look before turning back to Thierry. “Right.”

Michael hesitated, casting me a strange look. I felt his ripple of unease. Then he turned back to the others. “Wait. Danny and I need a moment alone.”

I stared at him.We do? Now?

Michael stared back.Yeah, we do.

Tobias and Bryan looked completely unsurprised while Thierry glowered at Michael.

“We’re about to walk into battle,” Michael told him, completely unfazed. “Danny and I need a moment. We can wait five minutes.”

With that, he took me by the hand and towed me away from the others. He led me fifty feet down the unpaved road that slanted dangerously into the canyon below.

I let myself be led, feeling apprehension at the storm of emotions I belatedly sensed from him.

The nearly full moon was partially covered by clouds, and in the diffuse glow, Michael looked hauntingly handsome when heturned to face me, like he wasn’t quite real. But his gaze was intense when it locked with mine.

“If something happens to me—”

“I’ll protect you with my life,” I replied, cutting him off. The idea of anything hurting him was too much for me to even wrap my head around. And if things went south, Michael’s last memory of me would be me fighting to save him.

He gave a little half-smile at that. “Obviously. I know that, Danny. And I’ll do the same. Andyouknow that. Which is why you need to give me your blood.”

I took a step back from him, jerking my hand away from his. I had been prepared for him to say anything, but I hadn’t been prepared for that.Not even a little bit.

Michael, what are you saying?

“I’m saying that I’m not letting anything get in our way, ever again. If I get hurt—if one of the vamps gets the jump on me—then at least you’d know that I would come back to you.”

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