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to make the claim and to kill anyone who challenges him, then that's that. According to
vampire law, she belongs to him. The one advantage in this for me is that any vampire
with an ounce of intelligence will leave me alone, because if they attack me, they answer
to Victor. Of course, not all vampires are smart. A few others have tried to claim me.
They're all dead now. Victor's actually saved my ass a couple of times, as much as I hate
to admit that.
 Then you're& I mean, you and he, are you, or were you&  Will trailed off.  I'm not
sure how to ask this.
 Just ask.
 Never mind. It s none of my business, anyway.
 You want to know if Victor and I have ever slept together.
 Well, yeah.
 I ve managed to avoid that so far. She rubbed her arms, feeling suddenly cold.  I
was sixteen when Victor laid his claim on me. I was asleep in bed. He broke in through
the window and bit me.
He placed a hand over hers and squeezed.  I m sorry, he whispered.
 Since that night, I ve slept with a gun beneath my pillow. Before tonight, though, I
don t think Victor believed I would really shoot him.
 Why? You ve killed vampires before.
 Yeah, but the situation with Victor is complicated. She took another drag on her
cigarette.  Like I said, his claim gives me a measure of protection from other vampires. If
he were dead, they'd come after me. He knows that I know that, and he s counting on my
fear to keep him safe.
Will studied her face.  I don t understand. What is this claim you keep talking
about?
 A mating claim involves a ritual exchange of blood. The only reason I'm still
running free now is because Victor never completed the exchange. He took my blood on
the night he attacked me, but I never drank his. It has to happen both ways to form a
blood-bond.
 And what s a blood-bond? he asked.
 It's like a telepathic link, I guess. But it works mostly one-way. The one who
initiates the bond the male, that is has more power. Victor would be able to read my
thoughts, and he'd always know where I was, always be able to control me. She
shuddered.  There's no way to escape a blood-bond, except death. It's permanent.
 So what stopped him from completing the ritual?
 My mother. It was& strange, really. The door burst open and there she was, aiming
a pistol at Victor. She told him to get off me or she d blow his brains out. He said,  Don t
interfere, June. It was so weird to hear him call her by her first name, as if they knew
each other. I guess that s the only reason she didn t kill him on sight. It s harder to kill
someone you know.
 What happened then?
 She ordered him, very quietly, to come into the other room with her. She told me to
wait in the bedroom, so I waited for almost an hour. I could hear them talking, but I
couldn t make out the words. I don t know how my mother did it, but she made Victor
agree to wait ten years before making the claim official. Ten years of freedom for me, ten
years in which he wasn't allowed to interfere with my life or my choices. She stared at
the cigarette smoldering between her fingers.  For a vampire, a decade isn t a long time.
We aren t immortal, but we do live longer than humans. Still, I don t know how my mom
convinced him to wait. Victor doesn t respect humans, or women. She must have
blackmailed him or bribed him, though I don t know what she possibly could have given
him. Victor s already richer than God.
 She wouldn t tell you what happened? Will asked.
She shook her head.  I asked her if I d really have to be his mate in ten years, and
she said no, that she d just made the agreement to buy us time while she figured out a
better plan. Said she d tell me everything someday, but she never got a chance. She died
a few months later.
 I'm sorry. He squeezed her hand again.  So now your time is up?
She nodded.  He showed up in my apartment a few months ago ten years, on the
dot, right down to the hour he attacked me that first night and told me it was time to
finish what he d started. I told him to go fuck himself. That seemed to surprise him. I
don t know what he expected. At first he tried to play nice, said he d give me time to get
used to the idea, to get used to him.
 Gee, how generous, Will said dryly.
 The thing is, he believes he is being generous. Things aren t done this way in his
world. Most female vampires wouldn t think to refuse someone of his power. He doesn t
understand that I m not like them. Maybe he still thinks he can win me over, but he s
getting impatient. He won t wait much longer.
A muscle in Will s jaw twitched, and his hand tightened on hers. He stared coldly
into space, his pulse drumming visibly in his throat.
 Don t get agitated, she said.  It s not worth it.
 I'm not agitated.
 I hear your heart pounding. And I smell your testosterone level rising. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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