Page 12 of Bound in Blood
“Has he fed?”
“No. You knocked on the door before we could help him,” Marco said.
“And he’s been coherent the entire time he’s been awake?” Alexei did reach out to Logan now, gently pressing down on his chin, like a request for Logan to open his mouth. Logan obeyed, of course, but he felt really weird about it.
“Yes. We thought it was a little odd, too, but neither of us has seen anyone else turn before.” Mateo replied as Alexei examined Logan’s… teeth?
Alexei’s fingers lingered for only a moment longer before he pulled back, his expression unreadable. His gaze flickered between Logan, Marco, and Mateo, the weight of his scrutiny pressing down on all of them. Logan was annoyed, sick, and running out of patience.
“Turn from what? Why are y’all all being so vague?!” His voice sounded whiny, he knew it did, but this was actual torture.
“Marco turned you into a vampire, Logan, keep up,” Mateo said dismissively. “What we’re confused about is why you’re not in a bloodthirsty rage.”
Logan’s mouth dropped back open as he stared at Mateo, waiting for the punchline that never came. He glanced over at Marco, who looked incredibly guilty, and at Alexei, whose lips were set in a thin line as he tried to contain his rage.
They’re not joking, he realized, which meant every single person in this room is insane, except for him.
“We’re not crazy, Logan, do you not remember what happened before you passed out?” Marco asked, his eyes pleading.
Logan opened his mouth to answer that no, he could not remember anything that had happened, not really, other than feeling really,reallygood, but Alexei beat him to the punch.
“How did you know he was about to call you crazy?” Alexei asked Marco, but his eyes never left Logan.
Marco paused, his expression blank. Logan could feel his confusion, like Marco wasn’t sure if he’d said something wrong. “I’m not sure,” he said finally, “I can just feel it. It’s like a tug in my chest. I figured it was a product of turning him.BecauseI turned him, maybe. Mateo and I never had a Maker to teach us these things.”
Alexei’s expression darkened as he took a step back, arms crossing over his chest. His gaze flicked between Marco and Logan, narrowing in contemplation. “That’s not a symptom of a Maker’s bond,” he muttered, almost to himself.
Mateo frowned, shifting uneasily. Logan could feel a tangle of emotions coming from the other man… othervampire?Whatever. Logan would hold space to freak out about all of this later.
Mateo was feeling confused and afraid, as if something was coming between him and his brother. Overall, though, Logan felt Mateo’s jealousy. “What does that mean? Something else?”
Alexei ignored him as the wheels turned in his brain. “Logan, do you know how Marco is feeling? Without asking him?”
Logan nodded. “Yes, since I woke up. It feels on the brink of mind-reading, without actual words. Just… concepts.”
Now that Alexei mentioned it, Logan couldreallyfeel it. Like something was wrapped tight around his chest, guiding him straight to Marco and Mateo. Something Logan had never felt before, but was synonymous with coming home after a long day.
Alexei exhaled through his nose, like everything was finally clicking into place. “Newborn vampires are volatile, Logan.” So he was sticking with the vampire story, it seemed. “When you woke up, you shouldn’t have even been able to process a coherent thought until you fed for the first time. But you’re here, completely stable, arguing with me about whether or not our kind even exists. At first, it made no sense, but now,” His eyes narrowed on Marco, “I have reason to believe you’re mate-bonded to the sad twin.”
Silence.
Logan’s brain blanked. It was like listening to someone speak in a different language. Sure, all the sounds made sense, but what did they actually mean? Marco made a choked noise, and Mateo muttered something sharp in Italian that Logan was pretty sure he should be offended about.
“No,” Marco said, shaking his head almost violently. “Not possible.”
“Notlikely,” Alexei corrected, “Entirely possible.”
“Isn’t a mate-bond like… a kink thing? Like in fanfiction? Are we circling back toTwilight?” Logan asked incredulously.
“Jesus Christ,” Alexei sighed, letting out a frustrated noise. “No, Logan, think of it more like… a tether. While the bond aNewborn has with their Maker will fade as they become stable, a mate-bond is permanent.”
Logan frowned, crossing his arms defensively. He wasn’t really even past the vampire thing, and they were already adding new rules. As if he were being taught algebra when he didn’t know addition. Life was so much simpler twenty-four hours ago.
Marco looked up at him with a softened expression, and Logan could feel his guilt washing over him in waves. Logan understood he hadn’tmeantto do whatever he had done, and, vampire thing aside, Logan felt mostly fine, so he couldn’t really be angry. Not yet, anyway.
“Think of it like a soulmate,” Marco offered, his tone resembling that of someone trying not to scare off a feral animal. “Mateo and I have only ever seen one mate-bond, and we weren’t really in a position to ever ask for the gritty details. The gist is, when you… whenIturned you, our souls recognized each other, forming a bond designed to preserve our humanity. To keep us from getting bored and taking it out on the locals.”
“Mostly accurate,” Alexei agreed. “The strings of fate bind us when we need them most. Not always to protect others.”
