Page 73 of Property of Mako
Zeus firmly nodded, then grabbed the keys from the key box behind the bar.
“Zeus and Thing Three are on the way. He’ll be calling you soon to get your location,” Killswitch informed him.
They took off, and everyone sat there slightly stunned.
Chapter 35
The Calm After the Storm
Mako
The room was too damn quiet after the chaos.
Zeus and Thing Three had taken off to fetch Dexter and Lily from wherever the hell they’d actually landed, and the clubhouse was a flurry of activity—patches moving and torching Thane’s body, cleaning blood, reinforcing security. My brothers would handle it. They always did.
But right now, there was only one thing that mattered.
Lyra.
She sat on the edge of my bed, shoulders hunched, hands clenched tight in her lap. Her eyes were fixed on the floor, haunted, like she was trying to scrub the memory of Thane’s blood from her hands even though she’d washed them clean.
“Lyra.” My voice was low, rough. I sat down beside her, close but not touching. Not until she let me.
She flinched, whispering, “What have I become?”
That question cut deeper than any blade.
I reached out, catching her chin, making her meet my eyes. “Mine. That’s what you’ve become—what you’ve been from the start. My mate.”
Her brows furrowed. “You keep saying that, Calix. Mate. Like I should know what it means.”
I swallowed, the words heavier than I expected. “It’s not just a word, baby. It’s a bond. Soul-deep. It’s rare as hell, and once it’s there, it doesn’t break. It’s why I changed you, even though it was the last thing I wanted to force on you. It’s why I couldn’t let you go.” My throat tightened. “But I should’ve told you. Should’ve asked. I’m sorry.”
Her breath hitched. “You didn’t give me a choice.”
“I know.” I dragged a hand down my face. “And I’ll carry that. For the rest of my life if I have to. But I won’t lie to you. If I hadn’t done it… you’d be dead. And I’d be walking around with half my soul missing.”
Her lips trembled, but her eyes didn’t leave mine. “What if I don’t want this life? What happens to Lily now? What if I hurt her?”
My heart actually clenched as I brushed my thumb across her cheek, gentle, steady. “You won’t. We’ll figure it out. Together.” Then, softer, “Tell me the truth, Lyra. About Lily. Please.”
She froze. “Wait a minute… You go out in the sun. You sleep. You eat food. I thought vampires slept in coffins and only drank blood.”
Laughter burst free. “Oh, baby… I have so much to teach you. Always remember that a lot of the shit you’ve grown up hearing was spread by people who didn’t understand us. For one, we don’t go hunting people down to feed from them anymore—well, not often anyway. One way we get blood humanely is through our research company that takes donations from humans under the guise of research for bloodborne pathogens. I mean, they do that too, but it requires such a small amount of blood from each bag.”
Her brows shot up.
“I don’t want to drink blood at all,” she said with sad, sad eyes.
“I know,” I murmured. “I’m sure it doesn’t help at this moment, but you will get used to it. We also mix it with a lot of everyday things that make it more palatable for new vampires.”
For a long moment, I thought she’d shut me out again. But then her shoulders sagged and the dam broke.
“She’s not my sister.” Her voice cracked. “She’s my daughter.”
The words hung heavy in the air.
She buried her face in her hands, tears slipping through her fingers. “I was a stupid kid. My parents covered it up, told everyone she was theirs. She doesn’t know. God, Calix, she doesn’t know. And I don’t know how to tell her.”
