Page 67 of Visions of You
"Don't get me wrong," Mordyn cut him off. "I'd love to blame you and Keegan for everything and tear your heads off. That would feel really good for a minute or two, but it wouldn't change a thing, would it?" He shook his head. "Apollo would have found a way to place himself in the path of danger whether you did your job or not. That's what he does, and I will save him as many times as I can. That's what I do."
Jaron shifted uncomfortably, at a loss for words. "I'm sorry," he said again, the words feeling hollow and inadequate. "I'll do anything I can to help."
Mordyn studied him for a long moment, as if debating with himself. "There is one thing you can do."
Jaron nearly jumped at the chance. "What is it?"
"Complete your bond with Keegan."
Jaron blinked, confusion washing over him. How would that help Apollo and Mordyn? "I don't understand."
"You didn't know?" Mordyn asked. "When a vampire drinks from their bonded mate, it makes them much more powerful. If you and Keegan were fully mated, he might be able to see who took Apollo and how to get him out."
Jaron's mouth went dry. No, he had not known that.
"It's the least you two can do for us," Mordyn continued, his voice taking on a hard edge. "Pull your heads out of your asses and get mated already."
"I would love to do that," Jaron admitted. He wasn't the problem. He would have claimed Keegan as his in a heartbeat if the damn vampire had let him.
Keegan must have his reasons for refusing, though, and Jaron was never going to take him against his will.
He only wished he understood those reasons.
"I'll talk to him," he promised Mordyn, his voice coming out a little rougher than he'd intended. He'd wanted to talk to Keegan anyway.
He needed to know what the vampire had seen that was making him hold back, and he wasn't going to leave this building again before he did.
"Good," Mordyn said, eyeing Jaron for a moment longer. "If nothing else helps, get your blood on his lips while you fuck. That'll do it."
Jaron stared at Mordyn, that was certainly a piece of advice he hadn't expected to get.
"He needs to drink from you while you have sex to seal the deal," Mordyn explained. "And you need to drink his blood at the same time. Don't let him tell you anything different."
That sounded needlessly complicated to Jaron. "Dragons just have to fuck." At least, that was what his instincts were telling him to do, to sink his cock into Keegan's ass.
Mordyn shrugged. "That's how a blood bond is established." He turned to the door, then left through it without another word. The sun had set.
Jaron stared after Mordyn for a long moment, feeling stupid. He'd never really given much thought to the intricacies of vampire mating rituals before, but now that he was faced with the reality of it, he realized just how little he actually knew.
It was no wonder Keegan had been able to keep things from him so easily.
No longer.
With a sigh, Jaron turned and made his way back to Keegan's room. The vampire was still fast asleep, his face peaceful and untroubled in a way that it never was when he was awake.
Jaron sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled out his smartphone. He dug a pair of earphones out of his pocket andput them in, then brought up a search for informational videos on vampires and vampire mates.
The latest magitechnology allowed his phone to project a screen in the air in front of him for easy watching.
The first video he tapped on featured a serious-looking woman with dark hair and pale skin who introduced herself as a vampire historian.
"When a vampire finds their fated mate," she began, "the bonding process is not as simple as it is for other species. While dragons, for example, need only engage in sexual intercourse to seal their bond, vampires must exchange blood during the act of mating."
Jaron nodded to himself, remembering what Mordyn had said. He clicked on the next video, titled "The Power of the Blood Bond."
This one featured a male vampire with silver hair and a regal bearing. "When a vampire drinks from their bonded mate," he explained, "they are able to draw on the strength and power of that bond. It enhances their abilities and makes them far stronger than they would usually be. There are, of course, downsides to this. A vampire who has bonded this way can never drink from another person as long as his mate is alive. They are also incapable of harming their mate or forcing them into giving up their blood, which puts them in a difficult situation should their mate choose to deny them."
Jaron's brow furrowed as he took this in. He glanced down at Keegan's sleeping form and gently ran his fingers through the red hair, marveling at the softness of it.
