Chapter Five

I t took Gray far longer than he thought it would to access the club’s CCTV system and find the man he’d fucked. He’d then had to track him until he located where he lived. From there he’d accessed all the occupants of the building and got finally got a name.

Henry Boulder.

Apartment 4C.

From there, he’d performed a thorough background search while tracking two of Maxim’s men who were following a woman. Hugo, one of the enforcers, had managed to intervene, but he was alone, so when the two vampires ran, Hugo remained behind to ensure the human got home safely.

Maxim appeared to be up to something which, for now, Gray could only guess at. Years of hanging around the fringes of vampire and human society without being noticed had now changed. Maxim and his vampires had always been there committing various crimes, but there had been an escalation in recent months.

Gray needed to dig deeper and pinpoint exactly when their behavior had changed. The attack on Key wasn’t the first time Gray had seen Maxim’s men, but it had been the first time Maxim had been captured on CCTV.

This led Gray to believe they were up to something, or in the planning stages at least, and he had to find out what. He might not like humans much, but no one needed to be involved with Maxim and his merry band of fuckwits.

Checking the time, Gray closed his eyes and attempted to reach out to his mate. He got nothing, which could mean, well, nothing. What the fuck did he know about this mating mind linky thing? Shit, and now he sounded like Key. The human was rubbing off on him.

After searching social media, Gray had an idea of the layout of Henry’s place from pictures he’d posted. Concentrating, Gray closed his eyes and ‘saw’ Henry’s apartment and the next second he materialized in what was the living room and kitchen area. He didn’t move, but let his senses drift outward, assessing the area. When he picked up on nothing, he tilted his head, listening. There. The bedroom. Soft breathing with the occasional moan. Was his mate fucking someone?

A flash of anger coursed through Gray, his hands clenching, and he stormed over to the bedroom, ready to barge in and demand what the fuck was going on, then he stopped. The human wouldn’t understand why he was there, and he didn’t want to have the cops called.

The moaning reached him again, but this time he detected something he hadn’t the first time he heard it. Pain. The moan was underlined with pain. Stepping carefully into the bedroom, Gray focused on the bed, seeing his mate curled up in a fetal position.

He sniffed the air and grimaced. His mate was ill. Shit. Kelvin had mentioned something about human mates needing the vampire mate during the initial days after mating had occurred. Taking those few steps to reach Henry’s side, Gray crouched and watched his mate’s face contort with pain. He reached out a hand and touched his forehead, hissing at the heat he felt.

This wasn’t good, and he shouldn’t give a shit about a human, but this was his mate, even if he didn’t want him. Running his fingers over Henry’s cheek, Gray gasped softly when Henry turned into his touch and appeared to settle.

Pulling his phone free from his pocket, he called Kelvin and as soon as he answered, whispered, “He’s sick.”

“Who is?”

“Henry.”

A pause then, “And who is Henry?”

“My mate.”

“Ah, so he has a name other than human. Nice.” Gray was about to swear because he had told Kelvin Henry’s name, when Kelvin added, “From what I read, he needs touch. Your touch and not just your dick.”

“Wonderful. I have to be all touchy feely with him.” That was the last thing he wanted.

“Or you could leave and your mate may die. Not too sure on the dying part, but he will be ill, so if you don’t care, leave now.” Kelvin hung up and Gray ground his teeth together. Great. Just fucking great.

Sitting on the floor next to the bed, Gray took Henry’s clammy hand in his own and held it. How long he was going to sit there was anyone’s guess, but as soon as Henry woke up, Gray was leaving. He wasn’t going to hang around and talk. They’d fucked, and now Gray was living with the consequences. He didn’t want a human for a mate. Why the fuck did this have to happen to him, of all vampires?

Growling, Gray dropped his head and exhaled heavily. He had to be realistic and accept he had a human mate. It didn’t matter how fucked up that was to him, he wasn’t going to get another mate, so he had to deal with what fate had given him. Gray wouldn’t be surprised to find fate laughing its head off at him.

Looking up at his mate, Gray watched him sleep. He could barely remember him from the club. He’d been a human to fuck, and now he was tied to him for the rest of his very long life. The thick red wavy hair that first caught Gray’s attention was a deep auburn colour and suited Henry’s olive toned skin. He couldn’t remember what color his eyes had been. He hadn’t been interested then, and now that Henry was asleep, Gray still couldn’t see them.

His plans to disappear when Henry woke up were disappearing as reality set in. He had a human mate, and he had to accept that, even if it made his skin crawl at the thought. When everyone found out… The council. He had to inform the council he’d broken the law on mating. He didn’t think explaining to them that all he had meant it to be was a fuck would go over too well.

What would his punishment be for failing to follow one of their most important laws and one that had only been changed in the past year? Yeah, fate was being a cruel bitch to him and Gray had to suck it up and get used to the fact he was in deep shit with the council and no doubt his mate when he woke up.

How the hell was he going to explain to his mate that he’d fucked him, and mated him? Oh yeah, and he was a vampire and vampires existed and had forever? Hidden among humans, coexisting on occasion. Several humans worked with the vampires to keep them safe, and Gray didn’t like it, but he accepted it.

And now he had a human mate and he couldn’t stop going back to that thought, that reality that he had fucked up.

What if he hadn’t gone to the club that night? They would never have met, and Gray wouldn’t have mated with him. Maybe they would never have met and Gray could continue to live his life the way he had been. Then he would never have met Henry and he would never have…

Fuck.

His head was a mess now that reality was right in front of his face. A mate. A human mate and Gray couldn’t escape it. Escape reality and he was fairly certain he was going around in circles. The same thoughts running through his mind.

And he couldn’t move on from the fact he had a human for a mate. A fucking human. Him. Of all vampires… yeah, he was going around in circles, but his mind wasn’t ready to move on from the human mate that had been dropped in his lap.

Letting go of Henry’s hand, Gray stood and stared at the apartment his mate was in. Just thinking about the word ‘mate’ had him growling softly. Sighing deeply, he moved around Henry’s bedroom, noting the family photos. Parents and a brother who appeared younger than Henry. Two women and a young girl.

Gray could see Henry took after his father, not that he was concerned about that. Wasn’t like Gray was going to meet Henry’s family… shit. Would have to do the whole family thing? Meet them and pretend to be human? And he couldn’t forget the no aging thing, could he?

“Fuck,” he muttered. He somehow managed not to say ‘why me?’ but only just.

He picked up a picture of a man with his arms around Henry and noticed how close they stood together. Boyfriend? Ex? He glanced at Henry asleep in his bed and arched an eyebrow. Who was this man and what relationship did he have with Gray’s mate? Whatever it was, it was over now. Gray might not be impressed with his human mate, but no chance in hell would he have his mate fuck another man.

Henry was his. Reluctantly.

Barely resisting the urge to drop the photo to the floor, Gray placed it face down then wandered around the bedroom. Quickly bored, he stuck his head in the bathroom, grunted at the ordinariness of it, then left the bedroom. In the living room, Gray walked over to the cream sofa and dropped onto it.

Fuck his life. Fuck.

Exhaling heavily, Gray let his head drop back and closed his eyes. Could he break the bond between them? He would have to do some research to find out if anyone had successfully broken up with a mate and been able to move on. This wasn’t for him. He wanted to fuck and move on, not have a mate.

He was too set in his ways, preferring his life the way it was now, and he had no time or space for a mate. A fucking human… opening his eyes, Gray swallowed, then tilted his head, hearing soft murmurs from the bedroom.

Standing, he walked over to the doorway and watched Henry. He wasn’t as peaceful as when Gray had left him, so he made his way over to the bed and sat on the edge, taking Henry’s hand in his own again.

As soon as Gray did that, Henry settled. Great. Just great.

Knowing he had no choice but to remain close to his mate, Gray kicked off his sneakers and moved to lie next to Henry, maintaining contact with him. He was tired and the last place he wanted to be was where he currently was, but this was his life now and he had to suck it up and get on with it.

Henry hadn’t asked for this and he was going to have one hell of a shock when he woke up and Gray filled him in. That’s if Henry didn’t immediately call the cops and have Gray arrested. Not like that would happen. Gray would simply go home and leave Henry staring at the spot he’d occupied. Good thing vampires could ‘poof’ whenever they wanted, and now Gray was using Key’s word for it.

Moving around to find a comfortable spot, Gray settled and closed his eyes. The hand he was holding tightened for a second, then relaxed. Gray squeezed it back, then furrowed his brow at the move. Why him? Nope. Didn’t matter, and he was done with that now. He’d had his pity party, such as it was, and now he was dealing with it.

Life had thrown him a curve ball and he would adapt. Somehow. Reluctantly.

His cell beeped and Gray pulled it out of his pocket and read the message from Kelvin. Has he settled?

Grunting, Gray typed out his reply then switched his phone off, a small satisfied smile on his face. Telling Kelvin to fuck off was petty, but he needed some pettiness right then. Sighing softly, Gray decided it was time to sleep. Whatever happened when he woke, he would face in his usual way.