Page 15 of Destined for Dreams
He bowed his head. “That’s not enough, you know.”
“Why do you need me to agree to immortality right away?” Her voice came out exasperated. “We have plenty of time to worry about that later and wouldn’t it be better to get to know each other more before making a commitment that will last centuries or even millennia?”
Bartol kept his gaze averted. “We are bound together either way, but this mating is tenuous. There is a chance that if we stay away from each other now and do not deepen the bond any further, it might break and we can move on with our lives. I recently discovered one example from long ago where such a thing happened. But if we allow ourselves to get any closer, that chance will be gone forever. I do not want to risk becoming more attached to you than I am if it will not last.” He clenched his fists, hating to admit his weakness, but knowing she had to hear the truth. “It’s all I can do to hold onto each day without breaking altogether—losing you if this goes any farther would destroy me.”
Cori didn’t reply, and the silence lasted so long that he finally turned to look at her. A tear ran down her cheek—one for him. He’d opened up just enough that she’d felt the inner turmoil and pain he usually kept bottled tightly where no one could detect it, no matter their mystical powers.
“We make quite the pair, don’t we?” she asked with a wobbly smile.
Bartol cocked his head. “How do you mean?”
“I’m screwed up because of Griff and afraid to commit. You’re screwed up because of Kerbasi and need commitment to trust me.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t know how to fix this or make it so we can both get what we want, but I know I want to try.”
If he was honest, so did he.
Bartol ran a hand through his hair, finding it damp from the blizzard outside. “Whatcanyou give me?”
“Whatever you want. A chance to prove we can work together and be in a committed relationship.” She swallowed. “And if it works out, I’ll let you make me immortal.”
It was a concession. He’d give her that, but it wasn’t all he wanted and not without risks. “Taking that chance will likely bond us forever, whether we accept it or not.”
“Does it truly mean we’ll never want anyone else no matter what?” Cori asked, cocking her head.
He’d heard a lot over the years in his travels, and he’d contacted a few old friends in recent weeks to gather more information. As far as he could tell, with only one exception, no couple ever sought a relationship elsewhere.
In fact, not many survived more than a couple of years if one mate died. It was likely the reason Melena had been willing to risk the wrath of the angels to infiltrate Purgatory and rescue Lucas. Living without him for more than a year had been beyond what she could handle. Caius was proving that theory as well by his willingness to confront a demon who could very well kill him—assuming it was real. But that would give him an out where otherwise he might not have a way to die without an archangel’s assistance. Bartol and Cori were not as tightly bonded as the others at the time of their separation, but Bartol had already felt the strain of them being apart.
“If we take this much further, it will be permanent—even if one of us dies,” he replied.
Cori flinched. “You gotta wonder who makes up these rules.”
He had thought about that as well.
“The mating bond is an extremely rare thing. From what I can tell, there have only been a few dozen cases over the last few thousand years.” He stood and reached for a blanket on his couch, settling it over Cori’s shoulders. “While there is always a chance a rule can be broken, or at least bent, I don’t want to rely on such a remote possibility.”
She huddled into the blanket, silent.
“What brought you here today?” he asked, thinking it best to change the subject.
Cori cleared her throat. “There has been a side effect of ingesting Melena’s blood that none of us could have foreseen. It’s caused me so many problems that I’m losing a lot of my business at the shop and might have to shut down if this keeps up.”
“What sort of problems?”
Bartol had been so wrapped up in himself lately that he’d completely missed she was in trouble. If she’d been in danger, hemighthave sensed it despite their weakened bond, but this sounded like something different. Still, he should have known and watched over her more closely. It was the job of a mate. And she might not realize it, but it worked both ways. If not for the issues between them, they’d each be looking out for the other.
“Sometimes when I give tattoos…they become more than just tattoos.”
He furrowed his brows, unable to imagine what she meant. “Such as…”
“In one case, I gave a human a tattoo that made her immune to compulsion—or at least from her vampire boyfriend since I don’t think she’s tested it with anyone else. In another, I gave a tattoo to a werewolf who can now shift during the day. The weirdest one of all came yesterday when a vampire claimed he’d lost his craving for blood and ate a steak for the first time in over a century.” She gave him an anguished look. “I can’t explain how I’m doing it.”
Bartol could not believe what she was telling him. He’d never heard of such a thing, but then again, Melena was the only sensor who’d been turned immortal, and Cori was the first full human to receive a dose of her blood. They’d known there might be unforeseen consequences. “No pattern at all?”
“Well, I have a theory,” Cori said reluctantly.
He lifted a brow.
“With the human, I was worried about how her vampire boyfriend was treating her and controlling her. I’m wondering now if some of that concern somehow fed into the tattoo. With the werewolf, he was worried about his family and protecting them during the day against hunters because he is from Washington State where things are worse for them there—he was just visiting a friend here for the week. And with the vampire, he might have mentioned he missed some human foods while I was working on him. It made me think how much it would suck to never get to eat anything, especially with how I love to cook.”
