Page 39 of Promised in Blood

Oh fuck, give me strength.

You did well.Alexandros’s voice echoes in my head, and if I wasn’t sitting down, I’m sure the surprise would have knocked me on my ass. Or is he talking to Ophelia? That must be it. Not that she gives any indication that she’s heard him. Cupcake is a slut for praise, especially his.

I am talking to you, Xavier, he says, sighing.You have more patience and restraint with Ophelia than you do with yourself.

My throat grows thick with so many different emotions.She needed me.

You did well.The deep timbre of his voice resonates through my entire body, and I close my eyes, basking in the warmth of the connection that’s only for the two of us, if only for this brief moment in time.

He leaves as quickly as he appeared, and I’m left with an ache in my chest. Ophelia surely feels it because she nestles her head into the crook of my shoulder.

“You okay there, Cupcake?”

If she notices the crack in my voice, she doesn’t mention it. But she does turn on my lap and faces Axl and Malachi. Theycontinue fucking like we’re not here, and she places her warm hand on my cheek and looks up at me, her blue eyes sparkling. “I’m way better than okay. Thank you for helping me find my center.” Then she presses her lips softly against mine.

A smile spreads across my face. I helped her find her center. Well, she is my fucking center. She makes everything brighter, more vibrant—just better. “I love you, Ophelia Hart.” I murmur the words against her hair because, despite them being truer than any words I’ve ever spoken before, they sound so alien coming from my mouth. In my long life, I have never told a single soul I loved them. Not even Malachi. And definitely not Axl.

She brings her knees up to her chest, curling herself into a ball on my lap and rubbing her cheek against my bare chest. “I love you too, Xavier Adams.”

I scoot down the bed a little with Ophelia still in my arms, cherishing the gentle weight of her on my chest. I watch Malachi and Axl, and although I’ve spent nearly every day of almost the last two centuries with the two of them, the sense of belonging I feel in their presence is so much stronger now than it ever has been before. With the full knowledge that it’s undoubtedly futile, I search for Alexandros with my mind.Why does everything feel different because of her? Stronger?

To my surprise, he answers immediately.Because her bond with me is unique, and therefore her bond with my sireds is too.

But we bonded with her first. And it was like this before you two…Confusion clouds my thoughts. It’s true that our bond grows stronger each day, but this feeling of belonging has been with me from the moment I bit her.

He gives me time to process before he answers.There are bonds. And then there are other kinds of connections. I believe the one that Ophelia and I share is more, and as my blood runs through you, your connection to her is also deeper.

What kind of connection? What can be more than a bond?

“Are you talking to the professor?” Ophelia asks sleepily.

Can she hear us?I ask him. This channel is only supposed to be me and him.

She can hear us talking, but she cannot hear the words. Consider it like her listening through a wall.

I brush a lock of pink hair behind her ear. “Just talking about how incredible you are.”

She laughs softly, and I can’t help but smile, both envying and admiring the trust she places in us by not prying any further.

More than a bond?I ask him again.

It is complicated.

So uncomplicate it for me. Please.

There’s another moment’s pause before he speaks again.I have some business to attend to. Look after Ophelia.

I always do, I say, swallowingdown the sting of his rejection.

He’s quiet once more, but I feel him lingering in my consciousness like he wants to say something more.

He doesn’t, of course. He never does.

Chapter

Sixteen

ALEXANDROS

---