Exposure: Bloodlust Series Book 1

by L. L. Ash

  “Shut it. Don’t make this weird.”

  “Oh, so you’re allowed to make it weird but I’m not?”

  “Yes,” I agreed, settling my butt in his lap and shoving his wavy hair away from his neck.

  “Such a chick,” he sighed and tilted his head away from me, resting it against the wall to get comfortable.

  “Just shut up,” I laughed, smelling the blood under his skin and refusing to wait a second longer.

  He flinched when I bit down, but sat still as I bit and sucked and bit until I had a full belly.

  “It’s like the most intense hickey ever,” he murmured as he rubbed at the part of his neck I’d assaulted over and over with my teeth.

  “You ok? You feel alright? Did I take too much?”

  “No, you’re fine, Honey,” he said and smiled at me. “Though the necking and gyrating didn’t help my boner.”

  “My what?” I flopped off his lap, leaning back against my palms on the stones.

  “No, it’s just… a lot of tongue. And your hips were rocking. Not that I mind, but damn I’m gunna have blue balls after this.”

  If I could have blushed, I would have.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t even realize...”

  “It’s fine,” he assured again with another smile. “Maybe I’m just too used to that being a start to things, not the beginning and end.”

  “Yeah, me too,” I sighed.

  “You feel better at least?” he asked, still rubbing at his neck.

  “Yeah. A lot. You? Did you get enough? I wasn’t exactly paying attention.”

  He laughed.

  “Yeah I’m good. Tired though. I think I’ll go back to sleep.”

  “Sounds like a good idea,” I nodded, feeling tired myself. “You think this is going to work?”

  “Well, I don’t feel like I have a little monster in my stomach with a blowtorch anymore, so probably.”

  His description made me laugh.

  “You need to cuddle again?” I asked him.

  “Probably better if we don’t. Until the other little monster goes away, anyways.”

  I nodded, sobering immediately.

  He fussed with his shorts for the millionth time that day and I laid myself out on my stomach facing away from him. The cool stones were refreshing and the blood, though a little sour like Clarence had said, was still something warm and fresh in me.

  As I laid there on my stomach I wondered how Clarence was. I wondered if he was alive, if he was looking for me, and if he was scared for me. He was only one man, one vampire in the scheme of things, and though he was strong and smart and had good friends on his side, he couldn’t help me by himself. I had to figure out how to help myself. This sitting and waiting was driving me nuts. It was almost as bad as the torture. At least then I knew what was coming and what to expect. Though I had a big player on my side this time, and helplessness was staved off by the fact.

  Just thinking about Clarence made me emotional. I missed his face and his smell, I missed his hugs and his kisses. I missed everything about him.

  The deep rumble of breathing from across the room was nice to hear amidst the blackness around us, and it was comforting to remember that this time around, I wasn’t weak, and I wasn’t alone.

  It was an undetermined amount of time as we sat there, sleeping, talking, silent or eating occasionally when the hunger got too bad. It wasn’t until what we approximated as 3 days later that the door finally opened.

  As the heavy door squeaked open, Eddie and I shot a look at each other before standing to meet whoever it was on the other side. Rory was the first face I saw as it was him opening the door, but then a short man came into view at his side, arms folded over his broad chest.

  “Miss Harper,” his voice boomed through the little room. “I’ve had enough of chasing you down, young woman.”

  His dark eyes shifted to Eddie.

  “Mr. Rory. Please explain why they are sharing a cell.”

  “We just kinda threw them in before they woke up from the anesthetic,” was his response.

  The man, almost half the size of Rory turned to him with a displeased look on his face.

  “You just kind of ‘threw them in’, did you?” he asked with distaste.

  Rory shrugged.

  The man turned again before in an eighth of a flash, his cane unsheathed to reveal a short, skinny sword that flew out and decapitated Rory on the spot.

  “Who is second in command here!” the man suddenly screamed.

  “Me, Sir Jasper,” another werewolf approached him hesitantly, looking at the still rocking head of his master on the floor by his feet.

  “Move them. Separate cells. This isn’t a hotel! Use your head or I will remove it for you.”

  At that the man slid the sword back into his cane and werewolves flooded the stone cell holding me back as they got hold of Eddie and moved him toward the door.

  “Where is Clarence?” I shouted at the man. Jasper, evidently.

  He slowly turned back toward me with scrutiny on his face.

  “How should I know? I don’t care one whit for the young one.”

  “You had me tortured to find them. Don’t pretend you didn’t want them!”

  “I had you CAPTURED to glean where the older one was. Misha, I think. He’s the only one of importance to me. Him and your blood is all I care about. The twisted idiot decided to torture and kill you himself, without my order. If your boys hadn’t killed him, I would have.”

  I felt relief, and anxiety flood me at the same time.

  “Where are you taking Eddie?”

  “Wherever I feel like it,” he turned on his heel and clipped out of the room at an important pace.

  As Eddie was manhandled and wrestled out of the room, we looked at each other and I saw the panic on his face.

  “Be strong, Addie. They’re coming.”

  I nodded just as he disappeared around the corner.

  The heavy door slammed shut, plunging me back into darkness, but this time there was nothing to distract me from the hell surrounding me. No Eddie to make me laugh, no breath to listen to as I fell asleep, and no more encouraging words so I didn’t sink into despair.

  This time I was sinking. And I was sinking fast.

  I hummed to myself for the first while, trying to distract myself for the silent darkness around me. Then I stood and paced, then I slept, then I hummed again. I hummed and hummed until my throat wouldn’t let any more noise come out. I was so thirsty, so weak. I needed blood, and I needed it now or I was sure I would go insane. The hunger was unlike human hunger. It felt like something was eating me from the inside out. The virus eating me since I wasn’t feeding it what it needed. I would have given anything for the gnawing, numbing pain of human hunger after experiencing the pain of a vampire’s starvation.

  Time didn’t matter anymore, because every second felt like an hour, and every hour felt like an eternity. No more visits from Jasper or any werewolves. I was slowly going insane from the anxiety and hunger.

  As my mind broke down, so did my body. I knew I was getting close to day 6 because my body began to revert back to human. My heart stuttered, trying to beat and my lungs attempted breathing with a purpose. So I lay there on the stone, shivering, hungry, with my internals struggling between the fight between human and vampire.

  Eventually, blessed eventually there was a noise as the door opened, and a long haired person peeked in.

  “Addie?” a feminine voice floated into the cell.

  I knew that voice.

  “Evelyn?”

  “Thank God!” she breathed and whisked into the room, helping me to stand.

  I tried to help but she ended up dragging me.

  “Where’s Eddie?” I asked her. “And Clarence?”

  “Clarence is with me. I haven’t seen Eddie.”

  Again, relief and anxiety flooded simultaneously.

  “We have to find him.”

  “We have to get you out,” she sai
d sharply and helped me climb a long spiral staircase completely made of stone.

  “Addie!” I heard his voice, Eddie.

  I turned and he was coming up the stairs behind us with Mason in tow.

  “Mason, you need to get out of here!” I whisper shouted at him. “Jasper is here, he’s looking for you!”

  “I bloody know it. But we couldn’t get you out without my help.”

  We got to the top of the stairs and froze.

  “Evie, you little minx. I see you’ve finally come back to me.”

  I didn’t see Jasper enter the room. My eyes were focused on Clarence, on his knees with a sword at his throat.

  “So, you’ve found me,” she said with a voice far too relaxed for my understanding.

  Clarence met my eyes and I saw it.

  Fear.

  We weren’t getting out of this alive.

  “Come, Eve. You are mine. You owe me your life.”

  “I do not want life if it is lived this way,” she said harshly, her hand around my back tightening uncomfortably.

  “Then I will take it back,” he said darkly, removing the thin blade from his cane again.

  “No!” Mason shoved his way through us, throwing his body in front of Evelyn.

  “Oh, how sweet,” Jasper gave a small smile, as if touched by the scene. “Love, hate, love again. Quite the romance you’ve shared. Will you give your life for her, Misha?”

  “I would give my life for her,” he said in a low, deadly voice. “But I would rather take yours instead.”

  Jasper clapped his hands, delighted, his sword still in his hands.

  “I did not think this to be so entertaining!” he motioned to one of the bodies surrounding us adding, “Move her next to the fair one. It seems they both have significant others.”

  Arms entrapped Mason, Evelyn and Eddie, only one hand wrapping around my neck as before while they moved Evelyn to kneel beside Clarence on the wooden floor in front of us.

  “Now, the question is what is this one to you?” he asked me, pointing the tip of his sword at Eddie as he circled us.

  “He is just a friend. He’s useless to you. Please let him go!”

  “I do not release those useless to me, Child,” he came up to me, practically pressing his nose to mine. “Is he useless to me?”

  “Please! Please let them go! Take me, but let them go! I beg you...”

  Tears. Actual tears were falling down my cheeks as I begged him, falling to my knees in front of him, my arms wrapped around my empty torso as I did.

  “Have you lost your spark since you’ve regained your humanity?” he asked blandly. “Line him up.”

  Moving Eddie to the line, now it stood me and Mason, looking at the people we loved most in the world, swords at their throats ready to make heads roll.

  “Now that you are human, and you have stupidly come here to rescue her, I have everything I want. As is usual.”

  “Of course you knew we would come for her,” Mason growled. “We wouldn’t abandon her.”

  “And now I have the scientist and the subject. I’ve my own people and my own plan for this cure. If I didn’t kill you all now, you would be dead soon anyway.”

  “What do you mean?” I was the only one to ask. “The cure will make them human, not kill them.”

  “Such a small mind! Once we perfect the cure, I can use it to go back and forth, human to vampire at my will. When we’ve done that, it won’t be difficult to use the cure to not just kill the virus, but the host as well. With aerosol cans of it, I can take out entire clans. I will be the ruler of the daywalkers. And when that is done, I will morph the cure until I not only have the daywalkers under my control, but the nightwalkers too. Kings and clans will be a thing of the past and they will answer to me or DIE!”

  The glee on his face made his skin shiny, his grin spread from ear to ear.

  “You plan to take on the nightwalkers?” Mason scoffed. “They’ll catch wind of it, and whether you could actually make it work on them or not, you would be killed long before the work would be finished. Then again, it’s a great plan! I’ll let them do the hard work for me and let them kill you!”

  “The nightwalkers are so caught up with their slaves and their castles, they would hear nothing of it.”

  He waved his hand around, dismissing what Mason said.

  “Now, I shall keep these around as incentive. For you and for you,” he said pointing at Mason and I. “Displease me and I shall kill them. But you...”

  Jasper turned to me, his sword extended like an accusing finger, “Pick one. The other dies.”

  “No!” I screamed, my brain finally checking out for the last time. “I will not!”

  “Then I will choose for you,” he sneered, lifting his sword and moving toward Clarence who was closest to him.

  His arm swung but there was a knock at a door.

  Jasper froze, blade against Clarence’s neck as he looked around at his minions.

  “Who is that?” he demanded, removing the sword and marching toward a group of two werewolves and three vamps. “Find out!”

  The small group disbanded and one went to the front door, opening the large wooden doors to reveal nighttime outside. But standing in the faint dusting of moonlight stood a man, dark hair, glowing skin, body loose with confidence.

  “Sire!” Jasper shoved aside his minions to trot quickly to the door. “Have you need of me, your highness?”

  The man entered with a loose stride, hands tucked into his pockets as he looked around.

  “What goes on here, Jasper?” a familiar voice rang through the huge, stone room.

  “Oh, nothing, Sire. Just a dispute.”

  “Some dispute,” the man said, turning a slow circle around the room as he observed.

  From my spot on my knees across from Clarence, I met ice eyes set in a perfect face. Calix’s expression was stoney.

  “And what is this dispute about?” he asked, making his way slowly toward where Mason and I knelt.

  “Tis nothing grand enough to warrant your time, Sire. Have you need of me? Surely you came here for a reason, your highness.”

  “I did,” he agreed, coming close enough to lift my chin and look into my eyes. “Why do you have a human, Jasper?”

  Jasper sputtered.

  “You know it is illegal to keep human slaves without the permission of either myself or my father.”

  “I...I know, my Lord...”

  “Then why do you have a human, Jasper?”

  Calix’s cold gaze drifted over my face before shooting to Jasper, pinning him in place.

  “I...we...she...”

  “You’re wasting my time, Jasper,” Calix rolled his eyes, sounding irritated.

  “She is not just a human, Sire. When she came here she was vampire.”

  “Nonsense, Jasper. Do not lie to me. You know how I hate it when you lie to me.”

  His eyes were deadly now, gleaming as he stared down Jasper.

  “Sire, tis the truth!”

  “And you choose to keep lying instead of begging forgiveness?”

  Jasper’s mouth flopped open and closed like a fish.

  “You, people. Why are there werewolves among you? What is so important that enemies would work together?”

  “He pays well,” a voice piped up, the only brave one amidst the sea of faces.

  “Pays well? I suppose for some that would be enough.”

  Calix stood there for a second, looking around again before he whistled.

  A contingent of around twenty men came into the room from the door, lining behind Calix as he stood there. All their eyes were startling ice and their skin glowed like Calix’s. More nightwalkers, I assumed.

  “Well, does he pay you well enough to die?” Calix called out to the room.

  Every person shifted.

  “Flee, or die,” he clipped simply and within moments the room was empty, except for my party and Jasper.

  “You seem to forget, Jasper,” Calix
said wanly as he took a seat on a leather chair in what now looked like a living room. “I am your master. You answer to me, you crawl at my feet and you live for my pleasure. I do not like this collecting behind my back, and I do not appreciate your deception.”

  “No...no, Sire… There is a mistake… I would never...”

  “Let me see if I remember,” Calix rolled his hand in front of him, interrupting Jasper. “You shall find this cure, aerosol it, kill countless daywalkers, and then… Oh yes. And then you shall make it a threat to my kind. To the kind that fathered you. To the kind that lets you live in your pitiful world between worlds.”

  Anger settled over his face like a mask as he stood again, making his way over to Jasper, who was now begging on his knees.

  “Please, your highness! Please! You’ve misunderstood! What would the king say?”

  “Have I misunderstood your ambition to remove my father and me from the throne, daywalker?”

  He stuttered again.

  Calix approached silently, taking Jasper by the front of his shirt and lifting him up, much as he did to Mason at the club weeks ago.

  “My father should have killed you a long time ago, Jasper. I always knew you were a snake, but my father refused to see it in you. But I see it. And now my father is dead and I am your king. You’ve nothing saving you anymore.”

  Jasper gasped as Calix’s other hand joined the first before literally tearing the head from Jasper’s shoulders.

  I heaved, my stomach so empty that nothing came out, but it tried.

  Calix, blood dripping down his hands and arms turned, tossing the head to the nearest nightwalker by him before turning to us.

  “Now, you’re rid of your villain,” he said, looking around the room at us, still on our knees. “And I am rid of a nuisance.”

  “Thank you,” I managed to gasp out, turning his attention on me.

  “You,” he said, not entirely in anger but definitely not with happiness.

  He crouched next to me as he removed a knife from his belt, slicing the tip of his first finger before putting it to my lips. The look in his eyes left no room for questioning.

  I took the finger between my lips and sucked. As the salty and sweet blood hit my tongue I felt strength return to my limbs and my mind cleared as my stomach settled.