After Vail remained silent for a couple seconds, Adam muttered, “Well, that was clear as mud.”
Draven held up a hand before everyone could start talking and distract him. He narrowed his eyes and thought about Vail’s carefully recited words. “The first verse is obviously part of the curse itself. It’s stating that your grandfather’s family line and their chosen one’s, if they mate, they will be torn asunder, pulled apart…in this case, one of them killed.” He frowned and cocked his head as he thought slowly. “I find it interesting that there’s no stipulation that whoever you bond with has to be a true mate. This curse is truly harsh,” he muttered.
“You don’t say?” Vail snapped dryly.
Lifting a brow, he looked at his upset beloved and grimaced. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat and turned his attention to the second verse. “The last lines tell us how to break the curse.”
“It does?”
Vail looked so hopeful when he asked, Draven’s mouth dried at the sight of it. He nodded, swallowing twice to get moisture into his throat. “I told you there’s always a way to break a curse,” he said gently.
“So what is it?” Kontra asked, leaning forward, eyes narrowed.
“In essence, if I’m interpreting this correctly,” Draven said, “You have to save a stranger’s life and not get anything in return.”
“Wait a minute,” Vail said, holding up a hand. “How is that possible? If I save a life and it breaks the spell, I’m getting something from it. That won’t break the spell.”
“Well, shit,” Draven muttered. He frowned, thinking about the phrasing. With no recompense that he can see. “What a devious bitch. By the very nature of the spell, if the cursed one understands it, it cannot be broken.”
“So now that I know how to break it, I can’t break it?” Vail leaped to his feet and glared at everyone. “Look, I came to grips with not being able to mate decades ago. This…” He waved his hands between himself and Draven. “…doesn’t change anything for me.” His voice continued to rise, his tone clearly pained, as he stalked halfway across the room and back again, expressing his agitation. Vail paused and scowled at Draven. “I know it will take you time, but you’ll just have to accept it. We can’t mate. You can do your training with Tim, and I’ll stay out of your way.”
Draven slowly rose, frustration coursing through his system. “Now, wait just a damn minute. Do you always give up this easy?” he snapped.
Vail bared his teeth in anger. “Regardless of who you are, I’d rather see you alive than dead. And now that I know you’re my mate, I won’t even consider putting you in danger that way.”
Touched by the words, for just a second, Draven didn’t respond fast enough. He remembered himself just in time to see Vail’s backside as he disappeared from the room. “Son of a bitch,” he hissed, dropping back to his seat. His brain seemed to shut down as he glared at the floor.
Now what am I going to do? How do I convince him to change his mind? Give us a chance?
“I’m sorry,” Kontra said, standing over him. “It’s not you. He’s been adamant about never wanting a mate since the day we met him. Now that we know why, I can’t imagine a way to change his mind.”
Dread flooded Draven, and he swallowed hard. Looking into Kontra’s dark, sympathetic eyes, he asked, “Can a shifter really walk away from their mate?”
Kontra glanced around the group and shrugged. “It’s not easy, but we can do it. We’ll fight depression, mood swings, even rages, but with the help of family, it can be done.”
Resting his head in his hands, his elbows on his knees, Draven struggled with his instinct to hunt Vail down and force his beloved to accept him. That wouldn’t solve anything and would create many more problems. “Vampires aren’t that lucky,” he admitted finally, lifting his gaze to Kontra’s narrow-eyed look. “Eventually, I will become unable to drink from other sources. The magick on my father’s side may have made it so I’m only half vampire, but I’m still a vampire. I still require blood to survive. If I don’t figure out how to break Vail’s curse, I will sicken and die without his blood.”
“Ouch, that sucks,” Adam murmured.
“Yeah,” Draven mumbled. “Yeah, it does.”
He climbed to his feet, suddenly really wanting to be alone. He’d had a long day fielding questions and snide comments from Ricky, and really just wanted to rest.
And find a blood donor.