You never will. Macklyn closed his eyes and let the words ring through his entire being for a few beats of his heart before opening them again. They had seen much together already, and they had a literal forever to look forward to. Macklyn knew there would come a time when Eric wanted independence and solitude, but it would not necessarily be because of anything that had gone wrong between them. It was just something that happened to all vampires. They got the urge to go it alone for a little bit. The bond would still be there, and Eric would come if Macklyn called for him - and vice versa, really - but he'd want to be alone. And that was okay. If Macklyn had not killed his maker, he knew that he would have felt the same. Hypothetically.
Of course, in his own situation, he'd felt the need to end her before the need to be apart had come.
He ran his hand over Eric's face once more before letting it fall to the side and grasp his mate's hand. He stepped away to look for the kitten.
"Saucer. I can see it. Quite fitting. I suppose you got him some real food? I've been giving him milk and bits of meat to tide him over."