Chapter 12
Severin
With Claire safely in her new room, I guided Felix back to our bedroom. I sensed he needed some peace and I selfishly wanted some alone time with him, too.
Felix fell onto the bed, groaning as he did so. It seemed my assessment had been correct. He eyed me where I still stood in front of the closed door. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking away from me.
I walked over to the bed and sat next to him. “What for?”
“For bringing trouble into your life. You didn’t deserve this mess.”
Was that truly how he felt? Like he was only trouble to me?
“Felix, my heart. I have not felt as alive as I have been feeling since you came along. Yes, you have some witch problems we need to deal with, but you were forced to deal with them yourself for far too long. I am glad to help, truly. Selfishly so. I want to protect you, care for you. It is now my main priority in life; one I cherish very much.”
“You… You like caring for me? You don’t feel burdened by it? By me?”
“Not at all,” I assured him, taking his hands in both of mine.
“As a vampire, I never truly feel like I belong anywhere. No matter where Peter and I live, we are never a part of this world. Or at least, that is how I feel about it. I cannot work a normal day to day job and feel satisfied doing it, because why bother? What is the point in working for coin when I have enough to never run out? What is the point in trying to live a “normal” life when I live forever?”
“Is it a lonely life?” he asked, his tone soft.
“Very,” I admitted. “I have lost many friends and lovers over the years. They always leave me. At some point, it is easier to stay away from people, to find comfort in my own presence, and Peter’s when I feel like it.” He smiled at that.
“You seem fond of Dina, too,” he added.
“I am,” I admitted. “She somehow forced my affection and now I cannot seem to function without her.”
He laughed, it was soft, beautiful, and most importantly, it was real. He was real.
“Thank you for distracting me,” he said his tone earnest. “I feel so powerless, but you somehow managed to make me laugh despite it.”
The pride I felt was almost enough to burst out of me.
“It is no hardship, I can assure you of that. I took you in here for selfish reasons. I fear I like having your full attention too much to share you.” It was a big admission, but I had to trust I could be open about such things with Felix.
He was my fated, after all. Mine to keep forever.
The one person other than Peter who would never leave my side.
Once bonded, he would live as long as I would.
He grinned at me. “Oh, what plans do you have for us, then?” he purred.
I knew what I really wanted, but I also knew that one kiss would never be enough with Felix. When I finally felt his lips on mine, I would devour him. One kiss could never sate my hunger for him. So, I tried to be good and answered instead, “I want to teach you about vampire bonds.”
“Huh?” he questioned, looking both disappointed and confused.
I laughed. Goddess above, he was too precious. “You wanted to learn more, yes?”
“Um, yeah. But we don’t have to do that now,” he muttered, sitting up and crossing his arms adorably.
I smirked, oh so pleased I was not the only one affected by our bond.
“My heart, I wish for nothing more than to ravish your body until we are both sated into a slumber.” His eyes widened and a smile began forming on his lips.
“But,” I quickly added and he pouted in response.
“I cannot stop myself once we start, and your body needs time to heal after all the blood I took from you.”
He sighed, loudly. “Fiiiine, be all responsible and cute.”
Smiling, I grabbed his hand again, placing a tender kiss on the back of it.
“I promise, as soon as I can, I will have you. All to myself. Without anyone disturbing us. I might even banish them from the castle, just so no one else has your attention for a while.” He seemed to like that thought, though he tried to hide his satisfied smile from me.
“I can accept that,” he said, acting unbothered.
I grinned. “I am glad,” I said, still smiling like the love sick fool that I now was. “Now, let me tell you about the bonds.”
We got comfortable against the headboard, me sitting up and leaning against it, while he lay down and snuggled into my side. His perfect scent surrounded me; a mix of his sweet blood, arousal, and the scent of my fated. I sighed, feeling truly at peace for the first time in my life.
Clearing my throat, I began, “So, as you probably know, we can share our blood with someone while having their blood in our system, making us bond them to us for eternity.” He nodded.
“This is what most vampires do when they meet someone they fall in love with. Some do it because the blood of that certain human is just so good they want it forever. Then there are those, like me, who have been blessed with finding their fated. Our bond is not like theirs. If their bonded dies, then nothing happens to the vampire. Some even kill their own bonded if they desire a new one, because they can only have one bonded at a time.”
“Wait…” he said, sitting up. “They kill their bonded partners?”
“Yes,” I replied, my tone telling him how disgusted I was about it. “Vampires tend to get bored with their bonded after about one hundred years.”
“Assholes,” he muttered.
“I wholeheartedly agree. But many only do so when they find their fated. After all, their bonded is in the way of them claiming their forever person, the one they will not ever want to part from.”
“I mean, I sort of get that, but still.”
“I have not bonded to anyone myself, but Peter had one around six hundred years ago.”
His eyes were full of curiosity as he asked, “What happened to them?”
“He wished to die,” I replied simply. “Not many enjoy living forever, and Frederik—that was his name—had simply had enough of life. Peter could not do it himself, for he loved Frederik. So, Frederik found someone who would.”
“I know it was his choice and all, but it still sounds horrible.”
“He had lived for two hundred years,” I replied. “And he found that he had lived enough.”
We were silent for a bit before he asked, “What is the difference between their bonds and ours?”
“They can be apart for as long as they wish without either of them feeling pain. But the vampire can still locate their bonded, their blood is like a beacon. They can never run away if the vampire does not allow it.”
“I have to be honest, the vampires don’t sound too good from your point of view,” he said, his tone so neutral, I laughed.
“I do not wish to hide anything from you. I simply tell it as it is. When vampires bond with a human, or witch, they can still feed from others, but no one else can feed from their bonded. Their blood is only for their vampire.”
“What happens if another vampire drinks from another’s bonded?”
“The vampire gets sick from the blood. It is only made for their bonded vampire at that point, making it dangerous for other vampires to drink.”
He smiled. “That’s handy. Then the bonded doesn’t have to fear that part.”
“What part?”
“Being attacked if another vampire is having a fight with their bonded vampire.”
Frowning, I said, “My heart, they can still kill the bonded, just not drink from them.”
“Oh. What about us and my blood?”
“With fated bonds, I die if you die,” I replied, matter-of-factly.
He shot me a wide-eyed look. “What?! You’re putting yourself in danger if we bond?”
“When,” I corrected him. “And yes, I guess you could say that. But with our bond, you will get stronger and more resilient, since you were made for me, a vampire.”
He made a go-on gesture with his hand. “Explain.”
“You were born to belong to me, my heart. So, your body will change when we bond, making you stronger and less breakable. It will be harder to kill you.”
“Okay, that is… so much information. Let’s go back a bit. When we bond, can other vampires feed from me?”
“No.” Just the thought…
“Will they know upon seeing me, that I belong to you?”
“Yes. I will mark your throat,” I growled, already picturing it.
He smirked. “Good.”
I grinned in response, showing off a bit of fang. He shivered and the scent of his arousal filled the room.
Okay… putting the fang away.
I cleared my throat. “I will not be able to feed from anyone else once we bond, and you will replenish your blood faster, making it possible to feed from you daily.”
The scent of arousal peaked again and I groaned. This was not going well.
Then he asked, “Will I like tasting your blood?”
“It will taste like blood does to you, so likely no. Why?”
He smiled shyly. “Because I might find the idea… hot.”
Goddess. A groan left me.
He was trying to kill me.
“Okay, one last question before I take a cold bath. Alone,” I said, giving him a stern look.
“Fine,” he replied, sitting up straighter to look at me. “Can I decide how you feed from me each time?”
I frowned. “Yes, of course. Do you not like feeding from the neck?” I would hate to bite his wrist all the time, it seemed so… impersonal.
He grinned, his eyes full of mischief. “Perfect. Then I want your cock inside me every time you need to feed.”