Written In Stone

Now."
    "Of course," his mother replied. "The blood-bond is what happens when our kind meets their true mate; it is the deepest, most sacred union we have with another, and it only happens once. When it happens between two vampires, like your father and I," she looked lovingly at her husband, "we both knew instantly what it was. However, between one of us and a mortal human, it is a little different. You have the desire, and you will be the one to initiate the blood-bond, but once you do, you will be bound to her for all time. If she doesn't return the blood exchange, she will not experience the bonding."
    "So I would be bound to her, but she would not be bound to me?"
    Gav took a deep breath. "Not exactly, son. Once you bite her, take her blood into your body, you must give her your blood. When you do, she will not only be bound to you, she will be whole, again. Her body will heal almost instantly."
    "And she'll be one of us," his mother added.
    Shocked, Gavin poured another drink, tossed it back, then poured a third. Alcohol had little, if any, effect on him, but it gave him something to do while thinking about what his parents just said. He could make Angela whole again. He could give her back her life, the use of her legs, and bind her to him for all time. He inhaled deeply, blew it out, and then drank the brandy. He would also be bound to her for all time, and Gavin wasn't quite sure he was ready for a forever kind of commitment, even if Angela was his mate. He'd been quite happy with his life for the past one hundred and fifty years, and he wasn't one to fix something not broken.
    He turned back to his parents. "What if I'm not ready to be tied down? What if I don't want a mate?"
    Mattie gasped. "Of course you want a mate. That's where all my grandchildren are going to come from. How can you say you don't want a mate?"
    "Now, now, dear. Don't get upset." Gav soothed his wife.
    "Mother, I'm just asking questions. I haven't given a single thought to marriage in my whole life…"
    "I know," his mother muttered under her breath.
    Gavin exhaled loudly. "As I was saying, I haven't given a thought to marriage, but what happened with Angela never happened before. I need time to absorb all this."
    "Son," Gav said gently, "finding your true mate is a wonderful thing. It's not something to fear, and it's not something you will ever regret. Nevertheless, should you decide Angela is not what you want, that is fine with us." He cocked a brow at his wife and silenced her before she could comment. "But you must know that what happened with the two of you will never happen to you again with another woman, so make sure you consider the consequences carefully before deciding."
    Gavin poured another shot of brandy and swallowed it. "So all I have to do is convince her she's supposed to be mine, get her to let me bite her, then let her bite me, and she'll have the use of her legs again?"
    "Mmm, not exactly," his mother said. "Perhaps you should take this one, Gav."
    "You cannot convince her of anything. She has to be the one to ask you for it. She has to declare her love for you first."
    "But once I tell her what I am, and that her legs will heal, won't she ask for it?"
    "You can't tell her what you are, or that her legs will heal. It must be her declaration. She has to fall in love with you and tell you she wants to be with you forever. Only then can you reveal to her what you are and bite her."
    "You aren't serious?" Gavin was incredulous. "Why does it have to be that way? Why can't I just tell her I love her?"
    "Do you love her?" his mother asked.
    "That's not what I said, Mother. I'm just supposing, trying to see this from all angles."
    Gav shook his head. "She's not one of us, son. If she was, you could just pull her head back and bite her, but she's pure human. The rules are different. You are going to make her what we are, and that means she will know all that you know. Therefore, if she doesn't love you forever, there is no telling what she could do with that information, endangering our entire line. It's a safety measure, so to speak. Men of our kind are very passionate, as you well know. Would you want any of your past women to know all of our family secrets?"
    Gavin sat down and shook his head. "No, I guess I wouldn't. So what do I do?"
    "Make her fall in love with you," his mother said simply.
    With that, Gavin could only kiss his mother's cheek and go home.
    "Good night, son," his father called after him, but the only