Page 98 of Bound in Blood
“...his mate,” Logan finished, the words settling into the air between them like something sacred.
Mateo’s mouth fell open slightly, both in awe and disbelief, the betrayed feeling fading away into the background. Marco inhaled softly, his arm tightening around Logan’s waist like he needed something to ground him. Logan felt a bit bad. He’d only known Alexei for six months. Marco and Mateo’s history with him spanned most of their immortal life. He could feel the gears turning in their minds, going over eighty years of history with a new lens.
August wasn’t some feral prowling the streets looking for humans to target.
He was looking forAlexeithis entire time.
Hismate.
The ache in Logan’s chest deepened, because he couldn’t even imagine it. Alexei, to Marco and Mateo’s knowledge, had been without his mate for at least eighty years. Eighty years with half of his soul out there, scared and alone.God,what if Logan had…
“Don’t let your mind go there,amore,” Marco muttered, leaning down and turning his face into Logan’s hair.
“Why did he become feral?” Logan asked anyway, looking up at his mates.
“I’m not sure,tesoro,” Mateo sighed, wiping away a couple of stray tears that had made their way down Logan’s cheeks. “But it isnevergoing to happen to you. We’ll make sure of it.”
Logan found himself pulling both of them closer, pressing into the twins so tight that he wasn’t sure they wouldn’t morph into one person. He trusted them to keep their word. Trusted that even if shit hit the fan, they weren’t going to abandon him.
Alexei was still whispering to August, whose eyes looked much clearer now. Like he was in the present. He almost looked more human than Logan, who was arguably the least vampire-looking vampire on the planet. Now that he didn’t look like a caged animal, Logan saw the softness in his features. The way his breath hitched with every gentle word of affirmation from Alexei. The way his body trembled because the way he’d acted as a feral did not add up with his own moral compass.
The weight of it all sat heavy on Logan’s chest.
Despite all the bloodshed, and murder and ferality. Despiteat leasteighty years of separation, and all the confusion that came with it. Despite the poor boy being a ghost of what he once was. Alexei still loved August. StillneededAugust. Deeply and unshakably.
Alexei whispered something too soft for Logan to hear, and August nodded in response. His fingers curled tighter into the fabric of Alexei’s coat, and for just a half a second, his lips quirked up into what might have been an attempt at a smile. Alexeibeamedlike August had just given him a precious gift, and to be fair, he probably had.
“It’s not fair.” Logan sniffled before he could stop himself.
Marco hummed against his hair, “What isn’t?”
“They lost so much time,” Logan said, turning his face into Mateo’s chest.
“Alexei told me once that when you live as long as we do, you can’t dwell on what might have been,” Mateo said, his fingersgripping Logan’s shoulder just a little tighter. “You just keep moving forward.”
Logan swallowed past the lump in his throat, tilting his head back to look at Marco and Mateo. Toreallylook at them. The way they stared back…
The way they looked at him.
The way theyalwayslooked at him.
It hit Logan all over again.
Mateo and Marco weren’t just standing at his side because they had to. Sure, they had been bound together by fate, but it wasn’t just an obligation or a convenience to them. The mate-bond may have brought them together, but theychoseto be with Logan. To stand with him. Every day. Every second. If he ever got lost. God forbid he ever disappear into the dark like August had, they would tear the world apart to find him again.
Like Alexei, they would never stop looking.
Logan blinked up at them, throat tight. God…God,how had he ever doubted this? When they looked at him likethat?Who cares if nobody else ever stuck around.Theywould always be there for him.
Logan swallowed hard, ducking his face back into Marco’s chest. “I love you,” he mumbled against the fabric of Marco’s coat. His words were barely more than a breath, but they were met with a sharp inhale from Marco, and a quiet, stunned sound from Mateo.
For a long moment, neither twin spoke, the only sounds in the room were the quiet buzzing of the still-open cooler and the murmured affirmations from Alexei to August.
Then, softly, Mateo whispered, “Say it again.Per favore, amore mio.”
Logan lifted his head, “I love you,” he said. Stronger this time.
“I’ll never get used to that.” Marco laughed, cupping Logan’s face with his free hand, his expression something beyond tender. He leaned in, brushing their lips together. Slow, and steady andright,before pulling away, tipping Logan’s chin toward Mateo, and letting him kiss Logan the same way.
