Death's Servant(38)

He looks toward the window, the bright sun creeps higher in the sky, approaching its zenith. “We do communicate frequently when we’re awake, but we don’t always have the same opinions on everything. We are still individuals no matter how tightly we’re bound to each other.”
“Are you telling me this so I’ll understand what it’s like when I bond with her and become her servant?”
“No,” he rubs a hand over his face and lets out a deep sigh. “I’m telling you this because I know she plans to refuse your offer.”
I sit up and lean toward him. “What do you mean by ‘refuse my offer’? She already fulfilled her end of the bargain. I’m ready to live up to mine.”
“She won’t take you on as her servant because in the end, helping you was the right thing to do. Having you indebted to her for life to save the Weres doesn’t sit right with her.”
A cold settles in the pit of my stomach. Things were so much easier when I knew what I was getting myself into. I have a feeling this is the part he meant when they don’t always share the same opinions. “But you feel differently, don’t you?”
Rafe gets up and grabs a beer from the mini-bar. “Want one?”
I shrug. “What the hell. I don’t have a job anymore. Might as well.”
He tosses me a cold bottle and sits. “What was your impression of Dria today, when you saw her working on those Weres?”#p#分页标题#e#
“She was strong, determined, and tireless. She forged ahead with each person, never stopping to think of herself or the consequences of draining her strength too much. She proved to be a much better vampire than any of those pathetic creatures she killed.”
“My wife is not just a better vampire, or simply a strong woman, she is desperately trying to hold onto her humanity with both hands, loving me with every ounce of her being to save the goodness within her, the goodness that was hidden deep for many years.” He takes a long pull of his beer. “She needs me... and whether I like it or not, I think she needs you as well.”
 “Why me? Just for my werewolf blood?” A tiny part of me wants to ask why he doesn’t like the idea of her needing me, but I wisely keep my mouth shut. Might humble me if my wife needed another guy, too, for any reason.
“Why do you think vampires crave an alpha’s blood over another Were?” he asks.
“That’s pretty obvious. We’re more powerful.”
“Yes, but it’s much more than that. You make them more powerful, too.”
Confusion wrinkles my brow. “I get that, that’s why I offered to be her servant in the first place.”
“Jon, that’s not what I mean. You are strong enough to help her hold onto her humanity with me. She will be forced to look outside herself, and us, to see to your needs, being sure to never use or abuse you. Taking you on as her vampire servant will make her more compassionate and remind her of what it means to be human.”
“Even though I’m not human anymore?”
“Yeah, furball, even then.”
“So if she doesn’t want me, what am I to do?”
A steely edge creeps into his eyes. “You plan to fulfill your pledge, right?”
I look around the room and gesture widely with my beer. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
His face sets is a cold and unforgiving mask. “A man with honor follows his word willingly, not begrudgingly.”
I look away from his penetrating stare. God, he’s kind of creepy all on his own when he wants to be. “Alright,” I say on a sigh. “You made your point.”
“Be sure, Jon. There’s no turning back. Do you want to serve a creature who walks the edge of darkness, clings to humanity by a thread, and will kill in the blink of an eye—or will you flee into the sun while she sleeps?”
Rafe’s words give me pause. The only leader I had a lot of exposure to was Romeo. He did a fair job with the pack, but even he wouldn’t put his neck on the line to save his own kind—something Dria did wholeheartedly once she agreed to help.
Out of everyone I’ve met in my time as a werewolf, she is the most honorable. A bloodsucking vampire. Who would have guessed?
I turn back and meet his bright blue eyes. “It would be my honor to serve her.”
“Good.” He stands and offers me his hand. We shake and a genuine smile creases his face. “I’ve got an idea on how to make this work. You’ll need to buy a lot of chocolate for this to go off smoothly.”






 
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