“I need to think about this,” Allie said finally. “And talk to Liam. It affects him too.”

“Of course,” Magnus agreed solemnly, and turned to open the door. “Let me know what you decide.” He’d barely finished the last word before he had the door closed between them.

Magnus started down the stairs, shaking his head over the fact that he’d agonized over how to bring this all up while he was shopping, and then had returned to find that Stephanie had done all the heavy lifting for him. She’d scared Allie with the knowledge that Liam would control her and she would lose her son. Which was true and what he thought would hold the most sway with her. She loved Liam. Allie would probably marry the devil himself to keep the boy. Magnus was quite sure she’d agree to be his life mate and turn. He just hoped she didn’t take too long to tell him so, because he couldn’t risk touching her in any way and having the life mate passion explode between them until she gave her promise and they were married. Hell, he couldn’t even sleep near her until then for fear of their having shared dreams. That was another symptom of life mates: shared sex dreams that were apparently powerful. He wasn’t doing anything that might scare her off until he had her promise and was sure she wouldn’t run.

Which meant he needed to find somewhere to sleep tonight that was far enough away they couldn’t have the shared dreams, he thought with a frown, and wondered how far away Teddy and Katricia’s house was.

Allie stared at the closed door, her mind in a state of chaos. Part of her wanted to grab Liam and flee. But aside from the fact that she was broke and without a vehicle, she suspected it would be harder to hide from the Enforcers than it had been hiding from Abaddon. And that had been impossible, she thought grimly. She’d spent the last four years running, not hiding. Abaddon and his people had found her every time she’d stopped running and it was just pure good luck that she’d managed to evade them this long.

A life on the run wasn’t good for Liam.

Neither would his being raised by a mother he could read and control. What kind of person would he grow up to be without parental guidance? Because that’s what it amounted to. He would end up circumventing her authority when he chose until she was altogether ineffectual.

Becoming immortal seemed to be the only way she could keep her son and raise him. Something she wanted desperately. And not just because of the promise she’d made to Stella. Allie loved that little boy with every fiber of her being.