by T. A. White
He bent and picked me up, cradling me to his chest as he walked toward a leather daybed I hadn't noticed before. Probably for all his donors, the snarky side of me said.
I blinked, a little more of the contentment I'd been feeling fading away as he laid me down. His hand brushing against my cheek as he took a seat beside me.
"Now, let's test this connection of ours, shall we?" he asked, his fangs denting his lower lips.
I gave him a sleepy smile, my thoughts fogged and seeing no problem with that. Why would I? A connection to my sire would only strengthen me and him. It was a sacred thing. I didn't know why I had fought against it for so long.
"Who helped conceal you from me?" he asked, his voice all I could hear, drowning out the rest of the world.
"Hmm. I'm right here." What an odd question.
Amusement glinted in his eyes. "I could grow to like this version of you."
My smile widened. "Because I don't challenge you?"
"No, because you look happy. It's a look that agrees with you." His expression was soft.
"Happiness is an illusion. Short and fleeting. Here one moment and gone the next."
He brushed back my hair. "Who is it that instilled in you such a dark outlook in life?"
"Someone who no longer matters," I said, the dark memories threatening to steal more of the cloud I floated on, making my perch in this drowsy dream world even more precarious.
"He must have meant something at one time, macushla, for you to hold tight to such a sentiment."
I shifted, my eyes falling from his as the contentment faded until it was no more than a wisp across my senses.
"Who was it that helped you hide what you were after your making? Who instilled such fear in our kind?" he asked, his voice pulling at me, tugging at me until I wanted to reveal my deepest secrets.
"Why do you need to know that?" I asked, trying to think past the cloying cloud in my mind, actively fighting it now.
"Because, macushla, that person did you a grave disservice. I would have his name," Thomas said, the gentleness falling from his voice as a hint of steel threaded through it.
I winced and shook my head, the movement becoming violent as the words surfaced in my head. "No, no. He helped me."
"Did he?" That silken voice twined around me. "He left you knowing nothing about your new state. Not how to protect yourself or how to navigate the world. My enforcer tells me you had not seen sunlight since your making. What kind of monster deprives another of the sun?"
"It's not like that." The mental forest trembled around me, disturbed by my inner turbulence much as a storm would have rustled the trees and thunder shaken the ground.
"I can make you tell me," Thomas said.
The world around me froze, time standing still at that one statement. My mental forest settled and a calm similar to the contentment of earlier took hold, but this time deeper and stronger.
"Do your worst. Sire."
He drew back, his eyes narrowed, his fangs turning his handsome face into something out of this world. I sat up on the couch taking advantage of the space as he stood, pacing from one end of the room to another.
The fact that he hadn't already compelled me, told me he couldn't. It made hope leap in my chest. Hope that Liam's advice had given me some semblance of freedom, that my free will hadn't been subsumed under his.
He grabbed the bloodwine off his desk then set it down without drinking it. While he was distracted, I threw my legs over the side of the day bed until I was sitting upright. My first instinct was to put distance between me and the item that had been privy to my weakness. I forced myself to wait, knowing that his blood had affected me in ways I did not fully understand. The only thing worse than staying seated, confined here, was standing and chancing falling flat on my face.
I did not want to show weakness. Baby vamp I might be, but I was a badass infant capable of keeping my feet under me at all times.
"Aileen, one day you're going to see I'm right—that this world you are now a part of is not the worst fate you could bear, and that I saved you from a life of mediocrity," Thomas said, his back to me as I pushed myself to standing. I wobbled but somehow managed to remain upright.
"Hell will freeze over before that day comes." Confidence rang in my voice.
He turned to me, whatever emotions, whatever frustration he'd felt, masked by the confidence in his expression. "I am sure all children tell that to their parents."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "I've already got parents. You're not among them."
I didn't wait to be dismissed, making my way toward the door knowing my time upright was limited. Already my muscles wanted to collapse like wilted leaves of lettuce.
"I'll expect you to report for weekly feedings from now on. You're weaker than you should be," Thomas said.
I stopped with one hand on the door, turning back to him with a scathing glance. "The deal was one feeding for one interview with one of Brax's wolves. This experience will not be repeated."
His words pelted my back as I stepped out. "I believe you have said that you would never take my blood before tonight. Keep telling yourself those lies if it makes you feel better."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I MADE IT as far as one of the sitting rooms before I collapsed into a chair, my legs unable to carry me any further. Without Thomas watching me, I gave up on trying to present a strong front, content to just rest for now. His blood was still playing havoc with my system.
If it didn't settle down, this would have been for nothing. There was no way I'd be able to talk to the wolf in this condition. I refused to let that happen, not after what I risked.
My eyes closed, and I slowed my breathing, in and out. In and out. Forcing my heartbeat to slow with it.
Silver lining in all this—I got the sense that the connection with Thomas didn't allow him to compel me, or at least not to the extent that I feared. I'm sure if he exerted enough raw power into the compulsion I wouldn't stand a chance, but that had been the case before as well. I'd learn eventually how far this connection extended, whether he'd have access to my thoughts and innermost self. I'd have to deal with that when the time came. Not now. I had more important things to worry about.
Liam walked around the corner, his focus on where I was sprawled in an armchair. His lips quirked with a trace of amusement, and I fixed him with a hard stare. Nothing about this matter was funny.
"I'm surprised you made it this far," he said.
I grunted. "Me too. I feel like half my bones went on sabbatical."
"Only half?" he asked, arching one eyebrow.
"The other half is too stoned to move."
"Ah." His chuckle wrapped around me in a warm embrace. He moved to the armchair across from me and sat down, his body as lithe and sinuous as a cat's. His sprawl was nothing like mine—which was more of a boneless flop. His was a thing of beauty. One that seduced and spoke of dark pleasures.
"Thanks for the advice," I said in a stilted voice.
He inclined his head.
"Why'd you help me?" I asked, unable to resist. His warning about staying separate made a difference. I just couldn’t tell how much of one yet. "I doubt Thomas would appreciate your interference."
The look on Liam's face was thoughtful. "Perhaps not immediately, but I have faith he'll see the wisdom in my actions eventually."
He was either naive or just stupid. I couldn't tell which. Thomas, in my eyes, was a power-hungry asshole who wanted things his way now. I doubted he would ever appreciate the fact that Liam had helped me maintain some distance in the connection.
"I don't know what you see in him," I said.
Liam rubbed his finger against the arm of the chair as he tilted his head. "You see him through the lens of a few interactions. Perception is rarely reality. I have the benefit of centuries of exchanges to pull from."
I made a sound of disgruntlement. If he said so. I didn't plan to take his word on it, though. What I'd told Thomas was the truth, t
his had been a one-time thing. I didn't plan on giving him any further opportunities to sink his hooks into me. Not unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Do you know when Brax's wolf will get here?" I asked. Sunrise was less than two hours away, and my experience last night had made me wary of cutting it too close.
"She's already here. That's why I tracked you down."
I struggled to sit up. "Why didn't you say so?"
"You looked so content sitting there, I didn't have the heart to disturb you," he teased. His expression turned serious. "You need to remain still for a while longer to let your body acclimate to the blood. Thomas has a lot of power and his blood packs quite a punch."
"I don't have time for this," I said, finally fully upright.
Liam was next to me in the next moment, pressing me back into the soft cushions, his face close to mine. His eyes flicked to my lips before he gave me a wicked smile. "You have more time than you think. Consuming Thomas’s blood has the nice benefit of enabling you to resist the sun once it rises."
I paused and gave him an intrigued look. "You mean I won't be tied to its coming and going?"
What would it be like to have so much more time in my life? I could finally take on more runs, which would mean I could stop living hand to mouth and finally make some decent money. It wasn't too bad with the long nights of winter, but during summer my hours were seriously curtailed. Shortened hours meant less runs, which meant less money.
"For a short time." He gave me a meaningful look. "Unless you make it a regular habit."
I grimaced at that statement. Tempting though it was to be free from the prison of the sun, I didn't think it was enough to make me come over to the dark side.
"What's with your sudden insistence that I tap his vein regularly?" I asked. My bones felt like they had a bit more substance. Liam was right, much as I hated to admit it. The few minutes we'd been talking had gone a long way to restoring my strength.
He studied me with a thoughtful expression as if he was trying to decide how much to tell me. "I've said before that you're not a typical vampire, even for a yearling. One of the ways your making is different than others is the fact you were not given regular access to your sire's blood, or any other master's blood, for the first year of your making."
"And you're trying to make up for that now," I said.
He inclined his head.
"Why?"
There was a pause. "There are certain benefits that come with drinking from your master for the first few years after the turn."
I nodded, pretending to understand even though his answer left as many questions as it answered.
I rested my head against the back of the armchair and watched him from under veiled eyes. His was the sort of face I could watch for hours. That is, until he opened his mouth. Then, I just wanted to punch him, more often than not.
"You two were made by the same sire," I said, tired of my own drama. They'd called each other brother once, which I'd learned didn't mean they were actually related but had shared the same sire.
"Yes, our sire was very old at the time of our making." His expression turned distant.
"Were you made at the same time?" I asked, curious in spite of myself.
"Near enough by vampire standards. In reality, we were turned thirty years apart." His eyes came back to me with an odd light in them.
"Which of you is the oldest?" I asked, my lips stretching in a playful smile.
His eyes glinted in the light, his expression turning seductive. "Which one do you think?"
A non-answer. I should have expected that. Still, it was a challenge I couldn't resist.
I tapped my lips thoughtfully as I studied him. It would make sense if Thomas had been the elder, but something stopped me from making that assumption. There was just something between the two of them that made me think differently. Liam was almost protective of Thomas, much like an older brother would be of a younger one.
"You're the eldest," I said, taking a chance.
His lips curved, but he didn't confirm or deny. "You should be feeling better now."
I frowned at him, knowing a subject change when I heard one. I couldn't argue with his statement since I was feeling a lot better. Actually, even better than I would feel normally, now that I thought about it. My body felt like there was a current running through it, like I could do an Iron Man and then go for a nice hike up a mountain afterward.
"Fine, have it your way," I told him, letting him know I was on to him. "Where is Brax's werewolf?"
Liam slid to standing in an otherworldly movement that had me blinking. Sometimes I forgot that he wasn't quite human until he did something to remind me.
"I had Nathan show them to one of our interrogation rooms," he said.
He kept pace with me as we made our way through the mansion. I kept an eye on the halls we turned down, wanting to better understand the layout so I wouldn't keep getting lost.
"Wow, not my first choice for questioning someone," I said. "Would have preferred to keep them comfortable so they were more likely to share."
People tend to clam up the warier they were.
"I've found fear is a powerful motivator in convincing people to talk," Liam said, humor in his voice.
I gave him a sidelong look. Hm, I could see how that might work for him. He'd scare the piss out of them, and they'd fall over themselves trying to say whatever it took to get him to go away. It was something I was unlikely to ever pull off, though. I lacked the necessary scariness that would make such a maneuver effective. Perhaps it had something to do with being a baby vamp.
"This is us," he said, stopping in front of a heavy wooden door, one just like every other door on this corridor. Nothing marked it as an interrogation room.
"You coming in with me?" I asked.
"Yes, I'm as curious you are to see what drove your friend to such desperate actions."
I thought as much, but the confirmation was nice. Perhaps I could use his presence.
"Let me take the lead," I said. I’d paid a steep price for this and wasn't willing to have him take over.
He nodded. "For now. If I feel the need, I will take control of the interview."
"Guess I'll just have to make sure you don't feel the need," I muttered.
There was a light touch on the small of my back, and then he reached past me to open the door, pushing it open. I took a deep breath before stepping through.
The woman waiting was not what I was expecting, nor was the room. Instead of an austere, grungy interrogation room straight out of a TV or movie set, it was a warm and welcoming sitting room. There was a dark gray couch and other comfortable looking chairs around the room. The coffee table had an array of bright magazines, and the room was painted a pale, sunny yellow. Everything was designed to put you at ease, to say come in and have a seat while we have a conversation.
I gave Liam a dark look over my shoulder, and he grinned un-repentantly at me, knowing exactly what I had envisioned when he said interrogation room. A dungeon this was not. Tricky, tricky vampire.
The wolf was a petite woman with wavy, blond hair and a pixie face. She wore a bright green sundress and greeted us with a happy smile, standing when we entered. This was the woman Caroline attacked? That didn't seem right.
"Are you Aileen?" she asked in a light, high voice, giving me a nervous smile. "They told me to wait because you had questions for me." She fidgeted, twisting her hands in front of her as she waited for my answer.
I smiled, hoping it didn't show how off balance her presence put me, and held out a hand for her to shake. She took it with a grateful smile, and I felt a smidgen of relief that my people skills hadn't completely deserted me.
"I'm Aileen. Sorry to keep you waiting so long."
She smiled again, the expression lighting her face. Her makeup was flawless, understated and elegant. This was a woman who had probably never been unpopular. She was all sweetness and butterflies, and I could easily imagine her in a sorority be
fore making a graceful transition to adulthood. It wasn't a combination that should have set Caroline off. Granted, the two would probably have never have become besties—the woman in front of me was too normal for that and would have bored Caroline and inspired reluctant distaste, but not antagonism. Caroline would have just consigned her to being unworthy of her notice.
"I'm Lisa. It's nice to meet you."
"How long have you been a werewolf?" I asked.
She blinked and sputtered out a laugh. "That's a personal question."
I forced myself to give her an answering smile, even as I felt impatient. She must know Brax sent her here to answer my questions, most of which would be personal on some level. "Sorry, I'm new to the whole vampire life myself, and Brax led me to believe you were in a similar situation. I apologize if I overstepped."
"No, no. That's perfectly understandable. I remember when I first transitioned I was always looking for others in a similar stage as I was." She clasped her hands in her lap and shared a conspiratorial smile. "It helps to have someone who understands what you're going through."
"Exactly," I said. Not really. At least for me. I was too much of a loner for that.
"I've only been two natured for about a year and a half," she confided.
"Really?" I asked. A year and a half and she was still at the farm? I'd been under the impression from Caroline that they usually only secluded wolves for a year, so they could gain control over their other self. That this woman had to stay longer meant either there was something about this process I didn't understand or her control was very shaky.
"How'd you become a werewolf?" I asked, curious how the wolves went about choosing the people they planned to change.
She got a sheepish look on her face. "It was a bit of an accident."
How does one 'accidentally' become a werewolf? I thought Brax had more control over his wolves than that.
"My boyfriend is a werewolf," she said as if that explained everything.
The look I gave her was blank. I didn't understand.
Seeing my confusion, she blushed before leaning forward and confiding, "We were intimate a little too close to the full moon, if you know what I mean."
