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for almost leaving me. Not that he regrets saving you. He doesn’t, but his almost dying hurt me very much, and for that he’s sorry.”
    “I’m sorry he was hurt,” Alec said. He stopped pacing. “He offered his life for me, to protect me, and I will be forever grateful.”
    “And you saved him with your blood, so I consider us even,” she said, smiling genuinely. “There isn’t a human on the planet that would have offered his blood to save a vampire.”
    “Except me,” Alec answered. He started pacing again, taking calculated steps and deep breaths. “Although look where my blood has gotten Cronin….”
    “We don’t know for sure,” Jodis said. “We must research what we can.”
    “Isn’t there some vampire doctor elder we could ask?” Alec suggested. “Surely somewhere in the world, someone knows something.”
    “We can’t ask anyone,” Jodis said. “Alec, it would put Cronin at risk. If word got out that he was vulnerable, or if another coven thought him to be a risk to our kind….” She shook her head. “No, we can’t ask anyone.”
    “What about Jorge?”
    “What about him?”
    “We could ask him. Everyone else on the planet thinks he’s crazy anyway.”
    Jodis considered this. “Maybe. We’ll wait to see if drinking blood that is not yours has any kind of effect on him.”
    Alec stopped pacing and let his hand fall from his chest. “Cronin,” he whispered.
    Before Jodis could question Alec, Cronin and Eiji appeared in the living room. Cronin quickly crossed the room and Alec held his arms open. The two men sighed in relief at the contact.
    Despite their sudden appearance, Jodis still looked at Alec. “You knew he was returning?”
    “I could feel it,” Alec mumbled against the side of Cronin’s head. He pulled back and looked at him. “How do you feel?”
    “Better now,” Cronin whispered. Alec cupped Cronin’s face in his hands and pressed their lips together.
    “He was anxious to return,” Eiji said, looking at Jodis. “The absence of Alec was overwhelming.”
    “Yes,” Jodis said. “Alec was no better.”
    “That’s normal, right?” Alec asked, now with one arm around Cronin.
    “Initially, yes,” Jodis said. “But the longing should have waned a little, not gotten stronger.”
    “I wasn’t too bad,” Alec said.
    “You were pacing like a caged lion,” Jodis stated flatly.
    “I’m sorry for leaving,” Cronin said, looking up at Alec.
    “I said I was fine,” Alec said, a little softer this time, whispering it just for Cronin.
    “Cronin,” Jodis said quietly. “How do you feel? Did you see any of Eiji’s talent when you touched him to leap just now?”
    Cronin shook his head. “No. I was focusing on Alec.” He looked up at Alec again. “You could feel me leaping?”
    “The ache right here”—Alec put his hand to his sternum again—“started to ease.”
    Eiji walked up to him and held out his hand, palm up. “Tell me what you see.”
    Cronin held Eiji’s hand and closed his eyes for a few seconds. “I see a timeline but it’s not as clear. I can’t define anything, but it’s there.”
    “Okay,” Jodis said, holding out her hand. “Now me.”
    Alec dropped his arm and stepped away. He cringed at Cronin. “Sorry, but I don’t want my insides frozen.”
    Cronin made a face, but with a sigh, he put his hand on Jodis’ arm and again, closed his eyes.
    “I can feel it,” Cronin said. “It’s not as strong as before.” He pulled his hand back and Alec quickly put his arms around him in a side-on hug. He just needed to be close to him, he needed to touch him.
    “It seems to have lessened with the fresh blood,” Jodis said. “We probably won’t know for certain until you feed some more.”
    “And may I suggest not from Alec,” Eiji said. He eyed them both and shook his head. “You two are quite inseparable.”
    “Hmm,” Jodis hummed her agreement. She looked at Cronin. “Have a vampire and human ever been fated