CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR || THIERRY
I just love having a middle-of-the-night meltdown. It’s so romantic.
But Jeremy just sat there beside me while I bawled, the first trickle of tears giving way to ugly, racking sobs that tore loose everything I’d spent years burying.
I’d learned long ago to cry in silence when I had to.
First under my father’s hand, then under Magnus’s even crueler tutelage.
But I couldn’t bring myself to do that in Jeremy’s arms.
He wrapped me against his chest and held me. No empty platitudes. No false comfort. Just silence—steady and solid—as he let me bleed it all out like poison at last, the tears burning hot trails down my cheeks.
Jeremy’s freshly cut-grass scent still conjured the happiest memory of my childhood, as vivid as if it had happened yesterday. For the first time in years—maybe ever—I let myself feel it fully.
Nicolas was gone.
And he had been gone for a very, very long time.
Even if those visions from Poppy’s spell were true—Magnus in chains, my brother alive and killing—even if he wasn’t dead the same way Godric wasn’t, even if he could somehow be brought back…
Eight centuries stood between us. Centuries of blood and cruelty he’d dealt out for pleasure. How could he ever come back from that and still be a person?
My brother—the boy from my best memories, the twin I’d clung to even after all this time—no longer existed.
Before Jeremy, I hadn’t cried in decades. And yet I’d already done it too many times on his shoulder to count, as if all my grief had been waiting for him before it could finally escape.
When it was over, I felt hollowed out—but in a cleaner way. Like a bone re-broken so it could heal properly. Yes, it hurt, but maybe this time it could mend. And that was because of him. I felt safer with Jeremy than with Simone. Safer than with Nathaniel.
And ridiculously grateful to him for letting it happen.
But now we were going to have to talk about it, weren’t we?
I waited for him to push, to make me lay out my heart piece by bleeding piece. But the minutes stretched in silence.
I frowned at him. Why wasn’t he speaking? Why was he torturing us both like this?
He gazed out over the city. The moonlight caressing his skin made him seem almost luminous. For a moment, I could almost believe him a dark, surly Fae king come to steal me away. Timeless, inhuman—and still driven by the desires of a man.
“Well?” I prompted.
He turned, met my gaze, and said quietly, “I know that wasn’t easy to share. Thank you for trusting me. I’ll help you however you need. Anything.”
My eyes burned again. “Fuck,” I whispered, voice rough. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to push him off the roof or kiss him some more. “Jeremy, I hate you so much.”
“You’re not used to talking to people, are you?”
I was too raw to lie. “No.”
This was the longest I’d truly spoken to anyone in… longer than I could remember.
He nodded. “If it helps, I’m not either.”
I waited for the punishment. For him to twist the knife, exploit my weakness, or cut me with my own sorrow. But instead, he said, “You know, I think I’d have done the same in your place. If I could give someone their humanity back—even a stranger—I think I’d move heaven and hell to try.”
I hissed a breath between my teeth. “I don’t know where this leaves us. I’m not good for anyone, Jeremy. I haven’t been for a long time.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Maybe I don’t need you to be ‘good.’ Or anything at all. Maybe just having you next to me is enough.”
“You say that to all the boys you’re mated to.”
He snorted, eyes dancing. “That’s actually sort of true.”
“What comes next?”
“Well, some sleep. Or food, then sleep. It’s been a while since I ate. You hungry?”
My gaze dipped to his throat, to the steady pound of his jugular. “Are you offering?”
His lopsided smile was almost obscenely adorable. “I told you we should finish the bond whenever you’re ready. I mean that now more than ever. If you want to bite me, you can. I trust you.”
“Right,” I said, staring. “Um. That—”
I broke off, my brain suddenly useless. The thought of tasting him, of giving him the pleasure of being fed from, was beyond tempting. I’d already handed him every tool to hurt me, but for the first time with anyone ever, I felt at peace in my vulnerability. Because deep down, I knew he wouldn’t.
Why not seal this and make it official?
“Anyway,” he said briskly, standing. He arched a brow at me, grinning shamelessly. “Until you’re ready, I’m hungry. Let’s get something to eat.”
Then he strolled to the edge of the roof—a four-story drop—and jumped.
Scowling, I rolled my eyes and followed.
* * *
Given it was well past midnight, nothing nearby was open—unless we wanted IHOP. Jeremy grinned at the thought, and I knew exactly what he was picturing: me in a chain restaurant under dingy lighting, surrounded by tatty carpet and sticky tables, the smell of butter and scrambled eggs in the air.
And—no. Just no.
We ended up at Nathaniel’s Place. The bar was still open and half-full, a mix of vampires and humans.
Some of the humans were donors—employees of the king, well paid to feed whichever hungry vampires needed them.
Others were friends or lovers of vampires before their turning.
And a few, like Derek, had simply wandered in one night and never left.
We’d just claimed a table near an empty pool table when Pierce came storming over, James right behind him.
“What in the ever-loving fuck is he doing here?” Pierce demanded.
“Getting some food, I hope,” Jeremy said mildly.
Pierce ignored him, pinning me with a glare. “I don’t care about your personal life, but he doesn’t get to be anywhere near James. The dungeon is one thing. But not here .”
A few regulars were watching, but I ignored them. “Jeremy and I would have ordered and left without a word. You were the one who brought James over here.”
“Pierce, stop,” James said, with his hand on his mate’s arm. “Seriously. I’m okay. We talked about this.”
“I still don’t understand it,” Pierce snapped. “After what this bloodless fuck tried to do to you? To us?”
“About that—” Jeremy began.
“You really think it’s a good idea to talk right now?” Pierce practically snarled, stepping between him and James. “What the hell are you still doing here?”
“You can back off now,” I said, my voice going dangerous. “He’s helping me, just like Nathaniel told him to. He’ll keep his distance from James. But if you lay a hand on him, you won’t get it back.”
“Okay, no !” James cut in, glaring at both of us. “I need you— both of you—to knock it off.”
“You might want to listen to him,” Jeremy said, still mild. “If I recall, James has a bit of a temper.”
James’s glare swung to him. “And you . Don’t start.”
“Actually, I should. I owe you that.”
James studied him, his gaze flicking to me—and the fact I’d edged between Jeremy and Pierce. In wolf form, it might’ve been a fair fight, but in his human form, Jeremy wouldn’t stand a chance. At last, James met his eyes and gave him a sharp nod.
My wolf took a deep breath and let it out. “Words don’t mean much, but I’m sorry. I regret that night.” His voice softened. “You have nothing to fear from me now. I swear it.”
James held his gaze, then inclined his head. “I believe you.” He glanced at me, then back at Jeremy, expression hardening. “We’ll probably never be friends, but I understand you were in a bad place. I don’t hate you for it. But if you touch my mate again, I’ll end you.”
“I always respected you,” Jeremy replied. “Hell, you faced down a pack of wolves with nothing but guts. I didn’t fully understand that before—how you could do that for a vampire. But I do now.”
James’s stare lingered, then softened. “Yeah, it’s obvious you do.”
Pierce didn’t look nearly as convinced. He glared at both of us. “You two deserve each other.”
“Indeed,” I said, letting years of mutual dislike sharpen my tone. I respected Pierce, and he wasn’t a bad person, so I couldn’t properly hate him, but I didn’t often enjoy his company either. “I expect that Jeremy and I have both gotten exactly what we richly deserve, for better or worse.”
James’s attention shifted back to Jeremy. “I know he’s your person and you wouldn’t mean to, but I’m saying this anyway. If you hurt him, you’ll answer to me. Thierry is my friend, even if he’d never admit it.”
“I won’t,” Jeremy said simply.
James studied him a moment longer, then gave him a sharp nod. “Enjoy your meal.”
He took Pierce’s hand and led him away, joining Nathaniel and Ethan, who were watching with amused expressions. Nathaniel winked at me, far too pleased to see Jeremy practically glued to my side.
I scowled back at him, though mostly out of habit.
When it was just us, I noticed Jeremy was practically vibrating with tension. “I should’ve said something,” he muttered, staring after them. “The vampire has no right to talk about you like that. Like it’s somehow bad to belong to you.”
It wasn’t bravado. I could tell.
“Stay here,” I told him, tamping down the dangerous rush of happiness. Jeremy could be oddly sweet—charming in ways I never seemed to see coming. “I’ll be back in a few minutes with food. In the meantime, try not to antagonize anyone else.”
Without waiting for his answer, I headed for the kitchen. But I couldn’t quite stop the stupid, sappy smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.