They both knew better than to complain.
Doc chose that moment to walk into the room. “7 are happy with what they’ve been told and will pass on the message to all other Sanctuaries. I’ve told them that any questions or concerns should be directed straight to me.”
He then noticed that JD was present. “I’m glad you’re here. They want to know what happened. I do too. How did someone who is as good as you are get bitten and why did they pump you with venom instead of drinking your blood?”
They were both good questions. “I can only answer the first one I am afraid. They were hiding in the trees. I wasn’t prepared for an attack from above.”
“I have an idea about the second question,” Simon said. “It sounds like a coordinated attack, which means they must have planned it in advance. Maybe your reputation is getting around and they thought you would be a good asset if they could convert you.”
“It’s possible,” JD said.
“I’ll call 7 back.” Doc said. “The other hunting teams need to be warned to check for attacks from all directions, including above. Our enemy is getting cleverer.”
“Do you feel any different?” Simon asked.
“To begin with, I didn’t, other than having this overwhelming desire for blood. But now that I have had time to notice, all of my senses seem to be enhanced. I can see better than I have ever done and my hearing has definitely improved.”
He ran his fingers along Sarah’s arm. “Everything feels different. With just the lightest touch, I can feel every contour of her skin.”
Sarah smacked his hand away. “Stop that, it tickles.”
He licked her neck, sending a shiver of pleasure down her spine. “I can taste the remnants of the shower gel she last used mixed with a slight trace of sweat and I can pick up the scent of both her shampoo and conditioner, as well as traces of the perfume she put on a couple of days ago.”
Sarah could feel JD starting to get restless and she didn’t think it was as a result of touching her intimately. “Time for more blood?” she whispered to him. He nodded.
“The rest of this discussion will have to wait till later,” she said. “Jason needs more blood. Who is the first volunteer?”
Katie was sitting closest, so she moved her hair out of the way, revealing her neck, but JD shook his head.
“Wrist please. Sarah is the only one I will bite in the neck. It feels too personal to do it to anyone else.”
“You say the sweetest things,” she said, then kissed him and moved out of the way.
Katie nervously placed her hand in JD’s, but he made no attempt to bite her.
“Can I have some privacy please?” he asked. Over time he would probably get used to feeding in public, but at the moment it still felt unnatural so he would rather not have an audience.
Sarah ushered everyone out and stood guard by the door, waiting for JD to finish with Katie.
Craig inspected the wounds on her neck. They were healing fast, but would still be apparent for a few more hours.
“You need to think about changing your fashion sense,” he said. “Start wearing silk scarves on a regular basis. That way everyone will get used to seeing your neck covered up so won’t ask any awkward questions.”
“I have some she can borrow, until she gets her own,” Jonathon said.
“Why do you have silk scarves?” Sarah asked.
“They’re good for tying...” He paused before finishing the sentence when he realised everyone was looking at him. “Never mind.”
“I’ll go shopping later today,” Craig said. “I’m not having Sarah put something around her neck that has probably been around some girl’s wrists or ankles.”
Jonathon had the good grace to blush.
When Katie walked out of the dining room, Sarah went in and closed the door behind her.
“What are your plans for the rest of the morning?” she asked. JD noticed the sparkle in her eye.
“Why?”
“I was hoping you would go and brush your teeth. And use mouthwash. Then we can lock ourselves in the bedroom and do some experimenting. I want to see how human you still are.”
He knew exactly what she was thinking and suddenly blood was the last thing on his mind.
What the hell do you think you are doing
After the first few days, JD no longer needed blood every day, nor in such quantities. Sarah kept insisting that he feed mostly from her and it took Doc taking her aside and explaining that, as a universal donor, the others needed her to store a lot of her blood before she would accept that he still needed everyone.
Training continued as normal, other than the fact that JD was now much stronger and faster so he had to keep slowing himself down.
Doc received no calls from other Sanctuaries with concerns about a vampire living at 14 and whenever JD met other hunters while out on a hunt, they treated him no differently.
If anyone was concerned that he would start to feel empathy toward vampires, they never said and after his first hunt as a non-human, all concerns were expelled. He killed with even more speed and ferocity than before he had been turned.
Life settled down in Sanctuary 14 and, at times, they forgot that JD was even a vampire.
One morning JD was just leaving his office when Katie walked past. He suddenly froze as a scent hit him.
“Katie,” he said. “Can you come into my office please.”
“Sure,” she said, though she looked a little nervous when he shut the door. That was usually a sign that she was in trouble. Instead of taking his seat, JD began to pace the floor. He did not want to have this conversation, but he had to.
“I need to ask you something very personal,” he said. “I wouldn’t be asking you this unless it was really important.”
“Go ahead,” she said, a little uncertainly. She had never seen JD unsure of himself before.
He braced himself, then said, “Are you menstruating at the moment?”
He expected indignation or anger. Instead she calmly asked, “Why do you want to know?”
“Because I can smell you.”
“And that is my problem because?”
He couldn’t believe she was acting so rationally. He thought she would have walked out the minute he asked the question. “Because if I can smell you, so can other vampires.”
“Shit.”
“That’s one way of putting it.”
“So what do we do now?”
JD sat down. The hard part was over. “Family meeting I suppose. Then we decide whether we should let people know or not. Can I ask you one more question?”
“Only if it’s less personal.” She was smiling at him. She found his discomfort amusing.
“Would you rather I hadn’t told you?”
She thought about it for a minute. “No,” she eventually said. “I now know I’m more vulnerable at certain times so I can take that into account.”
JD nodded his head. It was the logical answer and he expected nothing less from his hunters. “Go round everyone up. Including Doc if he’s here.”
Less than ten minutes later, everyone except Simon was in the dining room; he hadn’t made it back from his date with Jane the previous night. He would have to be filled in later.
JD explained the situation and asked for their opinions. “What is it you’re asking?” Jonathon said. “Whether we should let anyone know or whether we should ban the females from hunting one week each month?”
“Both.”
Katie and Sarah both took offence to that. “I don’t care if you are our trainer,” Sarah said. “You have no right to make that sort of decision for us.”
“We should be the ones who decide if we should take the risk or not,” Katie said.
“Actually, as your trainer I have every right to dictate when you both do or do not hunt. But I won’t. I happen to agree with Katie. I think each woman should decide for herself.”
“You need to notify the other Sanctuary leaders and trainers,”
Doc said. “I’ll set something up as soon as I can. I won’t tell them why though. I’m not sure they’ll believe you unless you give a demonstration.”
The next afternoon, leaders and trainers from each local Sanctuary began to arrive at the hunter’s church hall. It was the only building with a room big enough to house them all. JD made sure he was standing by the doorway as everyone entered. He knew most of those that arrived and made sure he introduced himself to two of the women that he didn’t.
Once every Sanctuary had representatives present, he walked onto the stage. “You all know who I am. And what I am. For those of you who do not believe what you have been told, I can assure you that I am a vampire. I can demonstrate later, if you wish.”
There was nervous laughter from the audience. JD saw his father scowling at him, so he quickly moved on. He called out five ladies’ names, along with their Sanctuary number, and asked them to stand up. They did so, unsure what was going on.
“I apologise in advance for embarrassing you, but it is necessary. Right. Now for the reason I called you all here. These five ladies are the only ones in the room currently menstruating.”
There was outraged spluttering from the eldest of the five, but the other four looked at him with concern. “Am I wrong?” he called out.
All of the women looked at each other. “No, you’re right,” one of them eventually said. “How do you know and what’s the point of this?”
“Since being turned, I’m stronger, faster and more attune with the world. My sense of smell has improved, especially in regard to blood.”
Silence filled the room as they digested what that meant. JD gave them a few minutes. “So, we now know that vampires can smell better than we thought. This means that our female hunters are in more danger when they’re menstruating. Vampires will be able to smell them before they see them. What you need to decide is whether to let your hunters know and, if you do, whether you will stop them hunting at those times. At 14 we took a vote and we will be allowing Sarah and Katie to make their own decision. We will be sticking by that no matter what you decide here today.”
Then he left the stage. Talking began as small groups formed, discussing what they should do. JD went directly to his parents. It was the first time he had seen them since he had been turned.
His mother hugged him as though he was still human and, after a moment’s hesitation, so did his father.
“You still haven’t given us a full explanation as to how you are alive. How did you persuade Jonathon not to do his duty?”
“Actually it was the other way round. Sarah convinced Jonathon that it would be to his advantage not to kill me and then they ganged up on me.”
“How did she do that?” his mother asked. “Jonathon never listens to women.”
“She pointed out that 14 still needs me as their trainer and, between them all, they could provide me with enough blood.” JD smiled as he remembered the conversation. “Then she told him that if he killed me, she would kill him.”
“Was she serious?” his father asked.
“Definitely. I guess Jonathon decided that you wouldn’t want to lose both sons and 14 could not afford to lose three hunters.”
“Three?”
“Craig told Jonathon that Sarah wouldn’t survive my death. Before I met her, her fiancé died. She couldn’t cope with going through that again. We both took his word for it.”
“She loves you that much already? We really need to meet this girl,” his mother said.
“And you will. When I am ready.”
Doc tapped him on the shoulder. “It sounds like a decision has been made.”
JD kissed his mother on the cheek and went off with Doc back to the stage. “Well?” he asked once he had everyone’s attention.
Each individual Sanctuary cast their vote. All voted to let the female hunters decide for themselves what to do.
“Thank you all for coming,” JD said then dismissed them. As they all filed out of the hall, JD noticed that the leader from Sanctuary 7 was hanging back, waiting to get his attention.
“How are you Mike?” he asked as he shook the older man’s hand.
“Concerned,” he replied. “It makes me wonder what else we don’t know about vampires.”
“Which is why you want to speak with me,” JD said.
“It is. How would you feel about spending a weekend with us at 7 sometime?”
“So that your scientists can experiment on me?”
“Something like that. I don’t need an answer now. Just think about it. That is all I ask.”
“It’s a good idea. We have never had a hunter who is also a vampire before. We might as well take advantage of it. Let me speak to my team and see what they think.”
“You’re a good man JD,” Mike said, slapping him on the shoulder. “Despite the fact that you are now a blood sucker.”
As soon as he returned home, JD told Sarah about Mike’s request. She wasn’t happy about it, but could see how useful it would be. She promised to raise no objections, on the condition that she went with him. He assured her he never had any intention of leaving her behind.
Later that evening, over dinner, JD told everyone else. “Sanctuary 7 have made a request to me and I would like to say yes, but I need your approval. Anything that affects your trainer also affects you.”
“They want to experiment on you,” Simon said. It was a statement, not a question, but JD answered it anyway.
“Yes, they do.”
“What sort of experiments?” Katie asked.
“I don’t know. They haven’t provided me with any details yet.”
“I’m fine with it,” Jonathon said. “As long as you take Sarah with you. She’ll make sure they don’t do anything too dangerous.” He winked at her.
Nobody had any objections, so JD called Sanctuary 7 as soon as the meal had finished in order to make the arrangements.
Later that evening, JD was about to enter his bedroom when he noticed his brother acting furtively. He had his back to him, so he didn’t know he was being watched.
JD waited until he was sure Jonathon was going to go into Katie’s room, without knocking, then he grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into his own room, kicking the door shut behind them.
“What the hell do you think you are doing?” he asked, keeping his voice low, but menacing.
“If you hadn’t stopped me I would be doing Katie right now.”
“You think this is funny?”
“No, but I do think it is none of your business.”
“She’s one of my team. We fight alongside her. Of course her welfare is my business. I have no issue with you sleeping around, but I thought you had enough sense to keep it from under this roof.”
“Katie knows exactly who and what I am. She went into this with her eyes wide open. Stop worrying. This will not become a problem.”
“I hope for all our sakes you’re right.”
“This is not just a one night thing. Why can’t you treat me like you’re my brother instead of my trainer and be happy for me?”
He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
JD gave himself a few minutes to calm down before going to his own room.
Sarah saw the look on his face the moment he entered. “What’s wrong?”
“I just caught Jonathon sneaking into Katie’s room.”
“Oh.”
“What do you mean ‘oh’? You knew?”
Sarah nodded her head. “They’ve been seeing each other for a while now. They got together not long after my assessment. Jonathon took you dating me as approval of relationships within a fighting team.”
JD began to undress. “I thought she had a boyfriend she stays with each Wednesday.”
Sarah looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Really? Think about it for a minute. Have you not noticed that Jonathon is never home on a Wednesday?”
“To be honest, he’s home so little I don’t keep track. And I am only here
half the time now anyway. We really need to discuss you moving in here permanently.”
“Don’t change the subject. Your brother has been home every night except Wednesdays since they started dating.”
He slipped under the covers beside her. “Dating? Is that what you call it? Does everyone else know?”
“No. They’re trying to keep it secret. Especially from you.”
“So how come you know?”
“They’ve been using my place to meet.”
JD rolled his eyes. “So you’re keeping secrets from me are you? What am I going to do with you?”
“I can suggest one or two things,” Sarah replied as she slipped her arms around his neck.
The next morning, before leaving for work, JD called Jonathon into his office.
“I’ve been talking to Sarah. It appears I owe you an apology.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jonathon said. “I can understand why you reacted as you did. Maybe I should have let you know what was going on sooner.”
“You think? Sorry. That wasn’t called for. So talk to me. Is it serious?”
“Initially, no. We were just having a bit of fun. ‘Friends with benefits’ kind of thing. Then I began to realise that I had started to compare other girls to Katie and they were always coming up second best. I haven’t been seeing anyone other than Katie for a while now.”
“So it’s serious.”
Jonathon shrugged his shoulders. “For me? Yes, I think it is. For Katie? I have no idea.”
“Don’t you think you should talk to her?”
“We’ll get around to it.” He looked at his watch. “I really should be going. I would appreciate it if you didn’t speak to Katie about this.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll stay out of it. As long as you don’t do anything to cause me to get involved.”
Jonathon stood up. “One more thing,” JD said before he could leave. “I am happy for you. I hope it works out.”
Jonathon was smiling as he left the office.
————————————-∞————————————-
The following Wednesday, over breakfast, JD told everyone that he and Sarah would be spending the weekend at 7. They would be driving up directly after work on the Friday night and not returning until the Sunday night.
Vampire Hunters, #1 Page 31
