Page 59 of Forbidden Devotion
“He what?” Ramsey roared, then glanced around to see if there were witnesses to his outburst. There weren’t. They’d gone far enough away as to be alone on the city streets. “You’ve overstepped your bounds. That’s inappropriate at the least and a violation of our laws at most. You could be punished for such a thing.”
“You’re wrong, Ramsey. I checked. There’s no law against inviting a vampire on a full moon run. And you’re wrong about the students too. My pack is happy for me. They like Sinclair.” He turned toward him, imploring with his expression as much as his words. “You will too when you meet him if you’ll give him a chance.”
“Give him a chance?” Ramsey clenched his jaw, muscles twitching. “You said you came to me for advice. My advice is to put an end to this nonsense before the other alphas find out. You’ll be dismissed for this.”
“I won’t give him up. I wanted your advice on the claiming bite, not on my choice of who to claim. I’ll tell the alphas myself. I’d expected a more open mind from you.” Disappointment settled heavily in his gut. This was not how he thought things would go.
Ramsey sighed. “How could you possibly have expected me to accept this?” He shook his head and dropped his hands to his waist. “Look, I heard him speak last night. He’s a bright lad. I’ll give him that. But you’re analpha wolf.You owe it to your species to give him up. His elders will turn him. Have you considered that? Living today, maybe, but dead tomorrow, certainly. Do you want a corpse in your bed? Is that what you want?”
The harsh reply stunned Mitchel. He shuffled backward a step, wanting to rid himself of this entire conversation. He hadn’t given much thought to what Sinclair would be like after the turn. It didn’t seem important. Whatever Sinclair needed, Mitchel would provide.
How had this gone so wrong? This was supposed to be his loving uncle he was talking to.
“That’s Sinclair’s decision, and I won’t love him any less for it,” he argued with conviction he felt deep in his soul. “You’re wrong about this, Ramsey. I owe my species my best. My best work, my best effort, and my best life. All of that will be lessened without Sinclair by my side. I hope you’ll come around.”
“You’re kidding yourself,” Ramsey said harshly and refused to continue.
Mitchel walked away. He’d had enough.
This time Ramsey didn’t follow.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Sinclair
At twenty-six yearsold and dwelling among vampires, Sinclair rarely found himself the eldest of a group.
But here, in one of the hotel’s nicer rented common rooms, he had a good ten years on all his companions. The room had been booked specifically with the population’s living vampires in mind. It featured a catered banquet-style hot buffet for them to eat anytime they’d like.
A group was gathered, all of them snacking and chatting, Sinclair among them killing time before the sun went down and his parents woke up. It was rare to have so many in one place.
Living vampires were few in number, having grown scarce in the modern world. Fertility issues plagued the species, and even the best vampire scientists had yet to learn why. The current trend among living vampires, who beat the odds by being born at all, was to accept the turning bite in their twentieth year.
But Sinclair was in no hurry and refused to be swayed.
Their questions were numerous and began to rankle his nerves. But they were young, curious, and persistent.
“Why don’t you just ask someone to turn you?” asked a young boy of maybe twelve years.
“It’s not that I don’t have someone to do it. It’s that I’m not ready to turn. Simple as that. I like how I am. Maybe I want to grow old.”
“Gross. You’ll be old forever.”
“Would that really be so bad? I’ll have decades to spend enjoying the sun on my face, eating real food”—he gestured to their plates, stacked high with goodies—“and drinking hot chocolate. I want to collect all those memories. Besides, we’ll have forever to be undead. We only have eighty or ninety years to be alive. If we’re lucky.”
They grew quiet, faces scrunched in thought.
Liza, a child he knew from home, only nine years old, broke the silence. “But, Sinclair, what if you die before you’re turned? What if there’s an accident?” Her hazel eyes were big, glittering with genuine concern.
Sinclair gazed at Liza’s heart-shaped face and pondered her thoughtful question. It’s not like he hadn’t considered that possibility, and his parents pointed it out regularly. Despite the danger, he thought life was worth the risk. “I’m willing to take that chance, though I’m not recommending it for anyone else. It’s something that feels right for me, but it’s okay if it doesn’t feel right for you. Do you understand?”
She nodded but didn’t seem convinced.
A glance out the window revealed the sun finally sinking below the horizon. His mom and dad would already be awake, and soon they’d be up and about, ready to begin another busy night.
“If you’ll excuse me, friends, there’s something I need to discuss with my parents.” Sinclair stood to go.
A chorus of “Bye, Sinclair” echoed as he left the excitable group and made his way down the hall to face whatever consequences the looming conversation would bring.
