Chapter Twenty-Nine
“How does being stubborn effect healing?” I whispered as we headed up the steps, him at a trot and me at a limp.
“Fresh, warm blood helps us heal faster, makes us more powerful. Had you drunk from a human, rather than a bag, your healing abilities would have been heightened. This is why the blood of another vampire isn't as appealing—the heart’s not beating. As it is, what you drank was barely enough to heal your last wounds. We need to get you… ”
Before he could finish and before I could get the door of my apartment closed, Jordan appeared at the base of my steps. He stormed up them, not stopping until he reached the top, can of Campbell's soup in hand.
“What the hell happened to you?” he asked from the other side of the doorway as he noticed our blood-covered bodies.
“Nothing. I'm fine Jordan, this isn't a good time,” I added when I felt the first tickle of thirst rising up my dry throat.
“I don't care!” Jordan brushed passed me into the room, his eyes throwing poisonous darts in Nik's direction. As he slipped by, his arm caught on the busted portion of my wall, from where Josh had forced my door open. The fragmented wood dug into his arm, cutting him.
Before I saw the cut, I smelled the fresh, human blood. My fangs descended in my mouth until I felt them press against my lower lips. I gasped and lunged at him. Nik was faster. He caught me by the shoulders and flung me onto the bed. I scrambled back, barely taking stock of Jordan's stunned expression. Nik caught me again, keeping me from tearing out my best friend's throat.
“Stop!” ordered Nik, in a calm but commanding voice. He grabbed me by the head and forced me to look him in the eye. “Ash! Stop!”
I growled at him while trying to tear my face out of his grip with quick, ferocious jerks. I even tried to kick him where a werewolf had recently taken a bite. It was a low blow, but in my defense, I was hardly in my right mind. I missed, hitting him in the thigh instead.
He grunted with the blow but didn't loosen his grasp. “Ashley, I will not let you have him,” he growled through the pain I'd caused. “Stop!”
“I want him,” I snarled.
“I don't care what you think you want. You cannot kill him.”
“He's mine!”
“NO!” snapped Nik, all calmness gone. “He is not yours. Control it.”
“I can't,” I screamed, making another attempt at freeing myself. Nik's grip tightened around my face until it hurt.
“What the fuck is wrong with her?!” Jordan asked.
The sound of his voice helped me a little, especially since even I didn't use that word often. For Jordan to use it meant he was really freaked out.
“How, Nik?” I wailed, aware for the first time that not all of me want to kill him.
“Breathe. Will yourself into control.”
“What's wrong with her?” repeated Jordan.
“Shut up,” snapped Nik over his shoulder, not realizing Jordan's voice was helping. “Tell me, who's Jordan?”
“My friend,” I said, the words barely making it passed my clamped teeth.
“How did you meet him?”
“High school. He befriended me… when no one else would,” I added. Those words seemed to click in a part of my brain and I felt the craving start to ease. I took a stuttered breath through my teeth. “He's my best friend.”
“Do you love him?”
“Yes.”
“Focus on that.”
I did, repeating his name over and over in my mind and breathing through my mouth until I lost the smell of his blood.
“Jordan,” Nik said in a relieved tone. “Go open the window and stay by it.”
“Who the hell are you to tell me what to do? And what are you doing to-”
“Just do it!” Nik snapped. I nodded encouragement. I knew it would help.
Jordan obeyed with a quick hop over to the window, opening it as wide as it could go and staying in the damp draft. It helped. I took a few more deep breaths through my mouth and nodded to Nik. He let go of my face but kept himself between me and Jordan.
“Ashley,” began Nik in a calm voice. “I'm going to help you. We're going to do this nice and easy, but you need to drink some.”
It took me a moment to register what he was saying. Wasn't he just holding me back a moment ago, and now he was telling me to drink?
“I'm not drinking Jordan, I'll heal eventually,”
“Not to heal… but to control him.”
“What?” I asked.
“What is going on?” Jordan asked again. “She needs an ambulance.” Jordan dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a slightly outdated cell phone. I'm sure he wondered how on earth I was still on my feet considered the amount of blood and flesh I was missing.
Before he could unlock the phone, Nik had slapped it from his hand. It clattered to the floor and slid under my computer desk.
“No ambulance. She'll be fine.” Jordan tried to argue, but Nik ignored him, turning back to me. “If you drink from him, but don't kill him, he will be loyal to you, like my people were. Besides, you need to start building a supply line.”
“Jordan won't tell anyone,” I said, taking another deep breath through my mouth.
“That's not enough. When Mikhail finds out that someone knows about us and is not under our control, he will have Jordan killed. You need to drink from him.”
“I'd kill him… if I tried.”
“Then you need to let me.”
“What? No! ”
Nik reached up and stroked my cheek with his thumb while staring into my eyes.
“You can trust me. I have very good control. He'll be completely safe; but if I don't do this, Mikhail will have him killed.”
“Who's Mikhail? What have you gotten yourself into Ashley? You weren't sick were you…?”
Jordan rambled on, but I wasn't listening. I felt hot tears prick my eyes and roll down my cheeks as I stared into Nik's eyes. I knew I needed to trust him. I had spent the last few days disliking him because he had wanted to protect the seethe from the dangers I'd brought with me. He hadn't been wrong. Why couldn't I trust him to do what was best for me? Nik wiped the tears away, a look of pain and frustration marring his features. I didn't have enough time or brainpower to translate his look. I felt my lower lip began to quiver and quickly bit down on it. After a long, silent moment, I nodded.
Nik went to Jordan, keeping himself between me and my best friend. I closed my eyes, allowing the tears to roll freely while Jordan barraged us with a list of questions. When I opened my eyes, Jordan's questions had become those of a panicked victim. Nik was taking his time as he neared Jordan; no doubt making sure his control was in place.
I watched as Jordan's eyes grew until I could see the white all around his pupils. Nik took the last step in a blur, grabbed Jordan by the hair and gently, but firmly, forced his head to the side. Nik bent over him and sunk his teeth into his shoulder. Jordan jerked, trying futilely to escape Nik's grasp, but I knew it was no use. Nik kept him from tearing flesh around the bite location. He drank more than I had expected and I was just about to intercede when he finally did stop.
Nik slurped a little before licking his lips. In any other situation, I would have laughed. Nik pulled Jordan's hand up to his neck and used it to stem the trickle of blood seeping from the wound. Nik had been masterful in his biting—only two, tiny holes, like in the movies.
“Ashley, do you have any Band-Aids?” he asked.
Jordan was apparently too shocked to comment or run, or maybe it was his new attachment to Nik. This whole blood-sucking devout-human thing was still kinda new to me. All I knew was, in theory, Jordan would now not do anything to harm Nik. I pulled my small first aid kit out from under my bed, where I kept my dust bunnies and other random stuff that had no other home. In it, Nik found a large fabric Band-Aid that he carefully applied to Jordan's neck before bandaging his wrist with something more elaborate. While Nik dealt with the triage, I went into my kitchen
to get away from the smell and continued to breathe through my mouth.
I was still extremely thirsty after being wounded, and Jordan's puncture marks and cut wrist continued to call to me. I turned to a cabinet and pulled out a can of mixed nuts, which I immediately began popping into my mouth. I hoped eating human food would at least help, or if nothing else, keep me distracted.
“Listen to me, Jordan,” Nik was saying. “I want you to go home, eat some sort of protein, and get some sleep. Don't tell anyone about tonight. I'll call you later and explain everything.”
“'Kay,” he said without argument before leaving. He didn't look at me. I suddenly felt as though a boulder had been dropped into my stomach. I knew that my relationship with Jordan was going to be drastically different. Either he would fear me, or worse, ignore me.
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