Page 19 of Walking in Darkness

“Dragons don’t do that, though. We don’t bite and scar our mate in that way. The soul bond is invisible, but the tie can be sensed by other paranormals,” Hudson said. “Once you are our mate, your life force will match that of a dragon. You also won’t age, as Connie mentioned.”

“With your blood, right?” Kit asked.

“Yes.” Connie squeezed Kit’s knee. “You have to drink it.”

“Fuck.” Kit winced. “Okay, that’s gross. Not gonna lie, but at least there is no biting involved. Right?”

“Not unless you want there to be,” Hudson said. “Ingesting the blood is the important part. Biting is the fun part.”

“Right.Quick question. Do I have to drink blood from both of you?”

“I…” Connie looked at Hudson. “I think so? I mean, we’re both your mates. Doesn’t he need to drink blood from both of us to establish a mate bond?”

“We need to get Beckett to look for an answer on that too. But it would make sense that yes, Kit needs to drink from both of us. At least once to establish the bond. Then I would imagine he needs to drink from at least one of us to continue his lifespan.”

“But there isn’t a bond established between us yet. Because of that, another mating bond could be forced upon you.” Connie scowled at his hand on Kit’s knee. The tips of his fingers tingled, a sure sign his claws were trying to extend. He willed them to stop.

“Shit. Does that happen a lot? Forcing a mating on someone?” Kit asked. “Because that’s freaking horrible.”

For a split second, Connie thought Kit noticed he was struggling to control his claws.

“Hundreds of years ago, yes. Not so much now, though. If it is forced, and being forced can be proven, there is a way to break such a bond, but it’s ugly,” Hudson said.

“Gruesome,” Connie added.

“The one who forced the bond is killed,” Hudson said. “The person who the bond was forced on will suffer through the breaking of the bond, even if it was something they didn’t want. As I said—ugly.”

“And Lennox wants to do that to me.” Kit shivered.

“According to Gaura, yes,” Connie said.

“Fuck. That’s fifty shades of fucked up. But it’s something I needed to be told, even if Connie did just blurt it out there,” Kit said.

Hudson grimaced. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

Kit turned to Hudson and rested his palm on Hudson’s cheek. “While I appreciate that, I can’t protect myself against danger that I don’t know about. Or understand.”

“You are our mate. It is our duty to protect you,” Hudson protested.

“And that might have been swell in the Middle Ages, but I’m a modern man, Hudson. No, I can’t turn into a dragon like you, and I can’t breathe fire, either. But leaving me uninformed leaves me at a disadvantage. Do you see that? Not a paranormal, remember?”

Hudson turned his head and kissed the inside of Kit’s hand. “You’re right.”

“I usually am,” Kit quipped, running his thumb across Hudson’s lips.

Hudson nipped Kit’s thumb. Kit licked his lips, and Hudson groaned.

“Um. Ah…” Connie cleared his throat. “Guys?”

Kit laughed softly and lowered his hand. “Later,” he promised.

“We will definitely remind you of that,” Hudson replied.

“Okay, so.” Kit discreetly rearranged his cock. “What are our options? I need to talk to my parents—that hasn’t changed. Do we go there? Do we do it at my apartment? Or do we do it here? Is here even an option?”

“Well, first off, have you told your folks that you’re living with us?” Connie asked.

Color crept into Kit’s face. “About that. The answer is no. And before either one of you gives me dirty looks, I haven’t told them anything about the attack and everything that followed.”

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