Page 45 of Loved to Death

Finding Shen’s bold statement difficult to accept, Thomas swallowed hard and slowly nodded. “I know I can’t. I don’t want a slave, Shen. I want a partner who follows my orders because theyenjoyit, not because they’re forced to. I’d like the chance to make up for lost time. If you come with me, I can teach you how to feed without killing. And maybe with time, you can find it in your heart to forgive me. And eventually we could pick up where we left off.”

Shen stared into Thomas’ eyes for a few moments before answering. “If that’s truly what you want, then put the rifle down.”

Thomas thought about it for several seconds while the words,Do the right thing for once in your life, reverberated in his head. Clenching his jaw, he put the rifle on the floor by his feet. “Fine.”

Shen turned Polly to the side so he could look her in the eyes. “Give me your word that you’ll be calm if I let you go.”

“You have my word,” she agreed.

He let her go and she backed away from both of them.

“I’m going to go with Thomas,” Shen said. “If you want to come with us, you have to promise not to become violent ever again.”

“There’s no way inhellshe’s coming with us!” Thomas said vehemently. “Just because I agreed not to kill her, doesn’t mean I can stomach being around her.”

Shen shook his head. “She turned you, Thomas. As a vampire that makes her your sire.”

“Sire?” Thomas scoffed. “I don’t care! She tortured me for years.”

“I would never go withhim,” Polly said, locking eyes with Shen. “And you shouldn’t, either. If you do, you’ll regret it. If you leave witnesses everywhere you go, eventually someone will hunt you down and end your existence.”

“That’s simply not true,” Thomas argued. “I’ve been aboard the same ship for the past two years. They all know what I am, and they willingly help keep me fed. In return, I help them smuggle goods from port to port.”

Polly shook her head. “If that’s true, it will never last. They’ll eventually turn on you. Mark my words.”

“They won’t!” Thomas glanced down at the rifle and wondered if Shen would eventually forgive him if he used it.

“Enough,” Shen said. “No more arguing.” He gave Polly a small bow. “Goodbye, Miss Polly. Thank you for teaching me how to survive.” He turned to Thomas. “Let’s go before either one of you does something you can’t take back.” He pointed to the open door of the shack.

Thomas glared at Polly. “Don’t follow us,” he warned.

“I wouldn’t,” she countered. “You’ll see. Your friends will turn on you and kill you the first chance they get.”

“You’re wrong,” Thomas insisted once more before picking up the rifle.

Shen stepped between them again.

But instead of aiming it at Polly, Thomas held it at his side. “I’m not leaving this here. She could shoot you in the back of the head and attack me.” Focusing on Polly he said, “If you follow us or ever try to attack me again, Iwillkill you.” Having said that, Thomas turned on his heel and walked out without looking back.

He paused in the snow long enough to make sure Shen was behind him and then led the way back the way they’d come.

***

Shen followed Thomas through the snow, mentally cataloging all the new information he’d learned while trying to get past his shock. He was following the man who had changed the course of his existence forever. The man who had turned him into a vampire without explanation or permission. The man who’d run away and left him with Polly for two years. The man who’d turned him into a murderer. And apparently the one man on the planet who could seriously hurt him with very little effort.

But on the other hand, Thomas was also the man who’d helped him realize what he truly wanted in a lover, and Thomas embodied all the qualities Shen desired. Thomas was the man who’d made it possible to escape the life he’d been destined to have with a wife he couldn’t love romantically and responsibilities to children that he didn’t truly want. Thomas was the man who’d increased Shen’s lifespan ten times over. Thomas was the man who’d inadvertently given him the passion to learn everything he could about being a vampire, which was a field of study Shen hadn’t even known existed before becoming undead. And Thomas was the man who’d put his own life on the line to rescue Shen. His sire.

“Thomas?” Shen asked.

Thomas turned and took a breath with a wince before answering. “Yes?”

“Thank you.”

Thomas’ eyebrows furrowed. “Don’t thank me for finally doing the right thing.”

Shen stepped into his personal space. “That first week after you left, I was shocked and confused. Shock quickly turned to anger once I realized what I had become, and if you’d come back for me during those first three months, watching Polly hurt you would have been satisfying. But my anger went away a long time ago.” Shen took off the scarf he’d been wearing and gently clasped Thomas’ right forearm above the broken bone. He looped the scarf around Thomas’ neck and under his forearm, before tying a knot to make a sling. He let go of the arm and let it rest against Thomas’ chest. “So thank you. Not just for coming to find me tonight, but for saving me from the miserable life I would have had as a human.”

Thomas put his left hand on the side of Shen’s face. “I’m not sure what became of you is any better than your fate as a human. Besides, I turned you without asking, and left you there with Polly, even though I knew she’d turn you into a killer. I don’t deserve your forgiveness or your kindness.”

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