“No,” Devlin replied as he held the prince close to him. “Zac and I had some issues when we first mated that kept us apart for awhile. It caused Zac to become ill, and he almost died.”
Dominic’s heart thundered in his chest as he looked down at Danny. “Like Danny?”
“I believe our situation was a bit different,” the prince said. “As you were unaware of the possibility of vampires mating humans, this is something you need to know.”
106
Stormy Glenn
Dominic swallowed past the lump building in his throat. He felt like he was about to be told something that might take Danny from him. He was scared to death. “What?”
“Once you mate with Danny, you cannot drink from anyone else.
It will kill you.”
“We haven’t mated yet,” Dominic insisted.
“I believe you have,” Prince Zacarius said. “I also believe that is why Danny is in the state he is in. The bonding process has been started.”
“But he’s not a vampire.”
“True, but who can say what his reaction will be if the mating process has been started and he’s denied his mate? You know for a fact, as a vampire, that we can go feral and have to be put down if we are denied our mates. It doesn’t matter who they are, human, shifter, or vampire. They are our mates.”
“We feel the same need to mate that vampires do,” Devlin said.
“The draw of a mate is undeniable. If that draw is denied us, we can go feral just as a vampire can. In this case, since Danny is human, his body doesn’t know how to deal with it, so it is simply shutting down.”
“Danny needs you to claim him, Dominic.”
Blood Contract
107
Chapter 10
“Danny.”
Danny groaned and batted his hands at the voice that was trying to pull him from his dream. He wanted to stay in his dream. He liked it there. Nothing hurt, and Dominic was there. Danny wanted to stay where Dominic was.
“Danny.”
“Go away.”
“Please, chéri, please open your eyes for me.”
Chéri. Danny knew that word. It was what Dominic called him in his dreams. He opened his eyes and looked up. “Dom…in…ic.”
“That’s right, chéri, open your eyes.”
“Where…”
“We’re with friends, chéri. You’re safe.”
Danny wondered if that was true when Dominic’s eyes darkened, and a single blood red tear fell down his cheek. He had never seen Dominic cry before. It took all of Danny’s strength to reach up and wipe the tear away.
“What’s wrong?”
Dominic laughed, but it seemed to be a nervous laugh, not a happy one. “You’re really, really sick, chéri.”
Danny swallowed hard. “How sick?”
“You’re dying.”
“I’m dy—” Danny tried to swallow again, but he couldn’t seem to get past the lump in his throat. His heart started to speed up, pounding in his chest. “Ho–how?”
“It’s my fault,” Dominic whispered.
108
Stormy Glenn
Danny frowned when more blood red tears began streaming down Dominic’s face. He had learned a lot of things about Dominic in the time he knew him. He knew the man had a lot of courage, and his sense of honor was practically legendary. So was his temper. Dominic could be a real asshole when provoked.
But the one thing Danny knew Dominic was not was a killer.
Dominic would never harm him. Danny cupped his hand around the side of Dominic’s face. “Tell me.”
Dominic grabbed his hand, turned his head, and placed a kiss in Danny’s palm. “I’m so, so sorry, Danny. I never wanted you to be harmed. I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know.”
“Know what?”
“You’re my mate.”
Danny frowned and racked his brain for a definition of what that meant but came up blank. “What does that mean?”
“It means that fate decided we belong together.”
Danny was so confused. “And that’s why I’m dying?”
“Yes and no.”
“You say that a lot. Could you be more specific?”
“I didn’t know vampires could mate humans, Danny. I believed we could only mate other vampires, so I didn’t act on the need I had for you. I tried to convince myself that it was only due to your blood.”
“It wasn’t?”
A broken chuckle fell from Dominic’s lips as he shook his head.
“No, chéri. The need I have for you is because we’re mates.”
“But you still need my blood, right?”
Danny’s heart started to sink when Dominic’s eyes dropped. His blood was pretty much the only thing he had to give Dominic. He wasn’t rich. He didn’t even have a college education at the moment.