Alex closed the heavy steel door and secured it with a lock. After giving their clan their rations of blood for the next few days, they’d come back to the warehouse in silence. Since loading up what was leftover the two men hadn’t said much to one another.

Chance stood off to his side, checking his phone once again. He wasn’t foolish. Alex knew quite well whose message Chance was hoping to get. And judging by the look on his partner’s face, he hadn’t received word from Blair either. Chance looked over at him and his eyes did all of the talking.

“No word yet?” Alex asked.

“No.” Chance leaned against a wall and crossed his legs. “I don’t like this. She’s been gone too long.”

“I know it seems that way, but she did ask for time. I think that’s what we have to give her.”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

Alex held up his hands. “Look, man. Don’t shoot the messenger, alright? I’m just saying that we’ve given her a lot to think about. We should let her do that.”

“Fuck!” Chance cursed, pushing himself off of the wall he began to pace. “I just wish she’d –.”

The chiming sound of both of their phones interrupted Chance from saying more. Each of them held their phones like they were precious gems. Alex was almost afraid to open the message. The anticipation was high and he was almost too anxious to see what she had written.

“On three?” Alex asked.

Chance nodded in agreement.

“Okay, one… two… three.”

Both men opened their phone at the same time. Alex’s heart was pounding by the time he began to read her message.

Chance and Alex, I hope you both know how much you guys mean to me. The time I spent with each of you holds a very special place in my heart. You both are incredible and amazing men. Any woman or Spryth would be so lucky to have you. And it is for that reason that I simply cannot choose between the two of you. I’m afraid I’m going to have to say goodbye to each of you. Hopefully not as friends, but only as lovers. You see, I’ve cared so deeply for you Chance, and for so very long. But with Alex I felt something too. So no matter how strong my feelings are for either one of you, I have to walk away. I truly cannot choose either of you. You both matter to me. More than I could possibly explain in mere words. And I know this must seem like the cowardice way to handle this, but it’s the best I could come up with. I’m torn between two amazing men. You both are so incredible and I have been blessed to have each of you in my life. I would rather be hurting myself than have either of you feel what I am right now. Just know that I love you both, and… I’m sorry.

Chance looked up at Alex. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man. It was so obvious that her choice had hurt Chance. Hell, it had hurt Alex too, but he didn’t have the history that Chance had with Blair.

Alex was torn between his feelings for Blair and the loyalty he felt to someone who had become his pseudo big brother.

“What in the fuck?” Chance snapped. “She broke up with us over a text message? What kind of bullshit is that?”

“Come on, man. Calm down.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Alex.”

“I’m just saying, maybe you should relax a little bit. I don’t know. Maybe consider things from her perspective.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, man. It’s Blair. You’ve got to know that message was hard for her to send. And you know that she cares about you.”

“But to choose neither one of us? How does that resolve anything?” Chance asked.

“She said it was the best solution she could come up with, and I believe her.”

Chance glared at him. “I’d hardly call that the best solution.”

“Well what do you propose? We go to her and suggest some sort of pseudo three way type of relationship? What do they call it, a ménage or something?” Alex joked.

Chance lifted his brow. “A ménage?”

“Yeah you know when there are three…” Alex stopped in midsentence. “You’re not asking what it is are you? You’re hinting to something else.”

Shrugging, Chance replied. “She did say she couldn’t choose between us. So what if we remove the choice, completely take that out of the equation?”

Alex wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not, but his curiosity had been piqued. “Are you serious?”

“Why not? Like you said, she couldn’t choose between the two of us.”

“Yeah, but… that’s not very…”

“Traditional? Normal? Sane?”

“All of the above.” Alex answered.

“Dude, we’re vampires living amongst humans in the twenty-first century. There is nothing traditional, normal or sane about our life. We’re the exact opposite of any of those things.”

Alex stared at Chance for a moment, wondering if he’d lost his mind. He’d had a ménage fling about a year before he’d been turned. It was something he’d enjoyed and the sharing part never did bother him. He couldn’t help but wonder though, if Chance could handle something of that nature.

“Are you sure you could handle…sharing her?”

“Yes. I mean, I think I can.”

“Yeah well thinking you can handle something, and actually handling something are two very different things. Do you not remember how you flipped the fuck out when you found out about the night I shared with her?”

“I got a little jealous, okay?”

“A little jealous? If looks could kill, I’d be dead right now.”

“Alright, so I didn’t handle it so well. I admit that. But this is Blair. Can you honestly tell me you’d rather live without her than learn to share her?”

“I know I could handle it. I’m just worried whether you can.”

The two men stared at one another for a long while. How long Alex had no idea, but he could see Chance considering what he’d said. If they were to do this, it would be a big step, and an even bigger one for Blair.

“I can handle it.” Chance said.

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah, man. I’m sure.”