Page 77 of Forever Midnight

“Go on,” I say.

“Okay,” Bowie says. “So it’s not like the whole soul picks a body and jumps in,” he explains. “It’s just a portion. Some say the higher self. When the body dies, the soul or consciousness scatters into the stars. The bad parts die away with the body, leaving only the purest essence of that soul. When a new person is born, all the parts of scattered consciousness come together, along with new energy from the stars, and they create that unique person.”

“Isn’t it cool?” Tru asks.

“Yes,” I say. “Is there more?”

“Yep,” Bowie says. “Most people don’t realize their soul is made up of others, but there are theories that’s where hobbies, interests, and talents come from. Déjà vu is another example. It’s a memory.”

“Interesting,” Yves says.

“Yeah, but the important part to know is that even though we’re all made up of bits and pieces of the consciousness of people before us, we’re still us. We’re not them.”

“I’m all me,” Tru says, his smile soft and sweet. “Even if part of me came from him.”

“Benedict said the same, but his awareness…the ability to speak to me directly. How did that happen?”

Bowie smiles. “Well that was all just supernatural stuff. No one writes books about that and if they do, they aren’t taken seriously in our society. They don’t know vampires and witches exist either.”

“Good point,” I say.

“It’s such a neat idea,” Tru says. “When we die, our souls join the stars they came from, waiting for the day when part of us sprinkles down and lives again through new people.”

“Except for those of us who defy life,” Yves says.

Tru nods, shifting his gaze from Yves to me. “We never have to scatter to the stars again, hoping to find each other through time.”

“If you choose to join me.”

Smiling, he cups my cheek. “Like I could ever leave you.”

I swallow hard as my body immediately reacts to his words, my beast pushing to the surface. My chest swells with joy, my fangs dropping into place, ready to make it so.

Tru pats my chest. “Patience, my dark prince. We have business to attend to.”

“Wouldn’t you rather be a badass vampire first?” Thorn asks, lifting his head. I didn’t realize he was listening.

“No,” Tru answers earnestly. “I want Midnight to know I’m choosing him with no ulterior motive. He’s waited a long time for this.”

Ignoring my brothers around us, I scoop Tru into my arms and claim his pretty mouth in a heated kiss. That is, until Thorn makes gagging noises.

“Get a room,” he groans.

“Oh please,” Syn says. “As if you wouldn’t fuck on the couch if we allowed it.”

Laughing, I release Tru. “This is what you’re signing up for, you know.”

“Yeah, I know. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

ChapterThirty

TRU

“So what’s it like?” I ask Bowie as we return to the window seat. “Becoming a vampire.”

Bowie shrugs, chuckling. “It’s weird because it feels so normal now. It’s like you forget what it felt like to be mortal.”

“Yeah?”

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