Baring his fangs, Josh was about to plunge them deep into his sister’s neck, but someone grabbed him from behind, ripping him off her.
"Get off her!" Christian slammed Josh into the floor, and Josh scrambled backward on his hands and knees, cowering under the Master vampire. He glared at Josh for a few seconds before turning to Addison.
She was distraught, her violently shaking body slumping slowly to the ground as she held her hand out to Josh, her voice thick with tears, "Josh…"
Lifting a stiff arm that trembled in rage, Christian pointed to Josh. He looked at Darien as he gritted his teeth, his breath rising and falling quickly.
Addison stumbled as she tried to stand, her tears painting her cheeks red and collecting near her pencil thin lips as she sobbed. "No!" Her words were choppy as she raised a shaky hand toward Josh, "Don’t…hurt…Josh…"
Trying to curb his anger, Christian pointed toward the door, and Darien immediately went over to Josh. Darien yanked on the front of Josh’s shirt and pulled him to his feet. Then he quickly took him from the room.
Christian switched his attention to Addison, who still holding her arms out to Josh. "Are you all right?" He bent down next to her and embraced her, as she clung to him, sobbing into his chest. She said something to him, but her words were muffled. "Hush now, my love." He lightly ran his hands over her dark hair a few times, staring down at the fresh bloodstains on her back.
Her hands moved up to his shoulders, and her grip tightened. She leapt forward, sinking her fangs into his neck. When Christian felt her bite, he cradled the back of her head, pushing it closer to him. Lowering his brow, his eyes narrowed on the bloodstains on the wall ahead of him as Addison drank. He slowly massaged the top of her head, not finding the usual pleasure he did from her bite.
After a few more seconds, she went limp in his arms, Christian’s blood putting her to sleep. Pushing her away a little, he gazed into her sleeping face, her head falling back without the support of his hand. He slowly took off her wings, setting them on the floor next to him. Unzipping her dress, he studied the puncture wounds on her back, as they slowly disappeared.
With a heavy sigh, he took her back to their bedroom. Carrying her into the bathroom, he stripped off her clothes, leaving her costume on the floor. She was now in only her bra and underwear as he moved her to the bed.
He knew why she had bitten him, and though he wasn’t angry at her, it was the first time she had ever used the taste of his blood to escape reality. She wanted to sleep, wanted that soothing taste of his blood to make her forget.
Chapter Five
A New Dawn
Waking up, Addison felt better, her whole body feeling warm and refreshed. It was still night, but Christian had left the lights on. Sitting up in bed, she unraveled herself from the blankets and looked at the time. It was eleven-thirty, still early enough to go to the club.
She looked down at what she was wearing, her fingers pulling up on Christian’s blue dress shirt. It was the same shirt he had been wearing when she last saw him, and she could still smell his cologne. Slowly, she let the fabric drop from her hands as she looked around the room. She was alone in the silence.
Getting out of bed, she walked over to the closet and put on an alternative costume. Addison sighed as she looked at her reflection in the mirror mounted nearby. Then, she made her way into the bathroom.
Her hair was a mess now, so she took out the flowers and placed them on the sink. She quickly pulled her hair up in a messy bun before fixing her smeared makeup. When she was ready, she went into the room where she’d had her fight with Josh. Her purse was still lying on the table, so she retrieved it.
Taking out her phone, she sat down on the couch to check her missed messages. But first, she dialed Josh, biting her lip as she waited for him to answer.
"Umm…" Josh paused before speaking again, "Hello?"
"Hi, Josh." Looking down at her fingers, Addison’s voice was low.
"I’m really sorry about what happened Addison. I couldn’t—"
"I know. It wasn’t your fault." Releasing a tired sigh, a single tear made its way down her nose. "You didn’t mean to hurt me. You couldn’t help it."
"I…"
"So, what happened after Darien took you away?"
"We had a long talk." From the defeated sound in his voice, she could tell he had been crying. "He told me to stay away from the Master until he cooled off. The Master was really mad about what happened, and if I wasn’t your brother—" Josh swallowed hard, pausing for a few seconds.
"I didn’t want you to be a vampire, Josh." She wiped a few tears away, pressing her lips together tightly before she spoke again. "I wanted to protect you from all this. Now you’re just like me."
"It’ll be okay, Addy." Josh laughed nervously, the sound of his voice soothing. "Once I learn how to control my hunger better, it’ll never happen again. I—"
"You like it, don’t you?"
"Yeah. No one can pick on me now. I’m not the guy everyone pushes around anymore. This power lets me stand up for myself, makes me powerful."
"Josh…." Looking up at the ceiling before closing her eyes, Addison tried to halt her tears.
"Don’t sound so sad. I’m fine." She heard Josh sniffle. "Everything will be okay. I just have some adjusting to do, that’s all."
"I guess." Opening her eyes, Addison stared into the empty hallway.
"Well, I should go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow."
"Okay."
"Bye, Addy."
"Bye, Josh." Addison hung up then opened her inbox.
Groaning, she read something from Zak.
Happy Halloween.
Shaking her head, Addison typed a reply.
Leave me alone.
She walked downstairs, but no one was there. She looked around for more people, but it seemed as if they were all out of the house. Quickly dialing Christian’s number, she waited for him to answer, but after several rings she decided to give up and call someone else. She tried Samson’s number, sitting down in a nearby chair.
"Hello?" Samson’s voice was hard to hear, loud music drowning it out.
"Where is everyone? I wanted to go to the club with you guys."
"Oh." Samson paused for a few seconds. "We left a few hours ago. Just take the limo. I told the driver to go back and pick up the rest of the group when they were done hunting. It should be still waiting outside. The Master isn’t here yet, so it should be fine."
"Okay." Addison sighed, standing up. "I’ll just meet you guys there."
At a ping, she looked down at her phone, reading a new message from Zak.
How you doin’?
Texting back, Addison’s frown etched deeper into her face.
Bad.
Striding outside, she saw the limo driver and spoke in an angry tone, "Take me to Club 66." She didn’t look at him as he opened the door for her and she climbed inside, still absorbed in checking her messages. She sent one to Christian.
You didn’t answer your phone. Where are you?
The driver slammed her door shut, and Addison looked over in annoyance. This was strange. They were always polite, especially to her. He left the window behind his head down, so Addison could see him clearly. He maneuvered down the long drive while Addison read a new text from Samson.
See u soon
Another one popped up on her phone while she was trying to type a reply, and she let out an annoyed sigh when she saw who it was from. "Why won’t he give up?" She quickly scanned it.
Do you need a kiss?
"Because I love you, that’s why." The driver laughed as he glanced into the rearview mirror briefly.
"Zak?" Addison narrowed her eyes on him when she recognized his voice, "What the hell…"
"Hey, sexy girl." Zak’s cocky smile was all she could make out. "Ready to come with me?"
"No." Crossing her arms over her chest, Addison glared at him. "I’m not going anywhere with you. Take me home." She tried to open the
door, but it wouldn’t unlock when the engine was engaged.
"Don’t push it, sweetheart. I’m still a hunter, and I won’t hesitate to kill you if you don’t cooperate."
Letting out a tired sigh, Addison laid her head on her forearms, which were resting on the space between the front and back seat where she had rolled down the window. "Are you kidnapping me again?"
"Maybe." Zak watched the road, tenseness in his green eyes, the lights lining the drive making them shine. "So what’s this I hear about your brother? The elites were talking about it when I took them to the club."
"The Master…" Pausing, Addison’s eyes got lost in the world outside the front window. "Made him an elite."
"Really?"
"Yeah." Her gaze met Zak’s briefly. "I was so angry when I found out. I…"
"You what?"
"I know an elite can’t resist the smell and sight of blood, so I…" Her stare wandered forward again as she looked out the window, "Bit my arm to test him."
"That probably didn’t end well."
Addison’s voice came out low and barely audible, "No." She watched Zak’s face as he concentrated on the road. "So, what are you doing here?"
"I’m on vacation."
"Stop joking. Tell me the truth."
"I am." Zak laughed as he glanced at her briefly.
"I need a vacation. I’m surprised the Master left me alone tonight. He never leaves me alone."
"He didn’t." Zak shoved down the turn signal with unnecessary force, before expelling an annoyed sigh. "He’s in the basement with Darien."
"He doesn’t let me go down there."
Zak pulled over to the side of the street and shut off the limo. "So, are you coming with me?"
"No." She lifted her head again as Zak turned around and faced her.
"I can help you. Just let me try." He reached into his pants pocket and took out a set of keys, dangling them in front of her. "You asked me to save you." Her jaw dropped when her eyes fell upon Kelly’s charm bracelet, which was being used as a keychain.
"Kelly’s bracelet." Addison quickly snatched the keys from his hands, her fingers running over the familiar silver charms. "You still have this?"
"It reminds me of what I want to save." He jumped into the back seat, grabbing hold of her forcefully and holding her in his arms. "I wanna save you, Addison."
"No." Addison’s lip trembled furiously as her scared gaze darted all over Zak’s face. She couldn’t break free from his grasp. Zak was pinning her body tightly against his. There was a great determination in his eyes, his love for her clearly showing on his face. "I don’t want to be saved. I’m a vampire. I—"
"You don’t want to be this way. I know you, Addison." He rested his cheek against hers, Addison now crying and desperately trying to break free from him. "Come with me. I’ll give you a new life. A new name, a new identity—Master Vallore will never harm you again. You won’t have to be scared of him anymore. I can protect you. Your sins can be forgiven. You can start over."
"I don’t want to start over." Speaking quickly, Addison was breathing heavily, her fear taking over and making her panic, "I wanna go home."
"This will be good for you, I promise. I know you can do it, Addison. I believe in you. You’re a good girl."
Addison began to sob, giant tears falling from her eyes, "I’m not!"
"Yes, you are!" Zak spoke over her, squeezing her tighter and making her cry out in pain. "And I’m going to show you! Don’t let Master Vallore make you into his puppet! You don’t want to kill! I know you don’t!"
She tried to bite at him, but he was quicker held her neck so she couldn’t move her head. He was very strong, holding the struggling Addison like she was a wily kitten. "Let me go, Zak! Let me go!"
"I won’t give up on you! You’re coming with me." He opened the back door of the limo, yanking her outside. He stuck something in her mouth so she couldn’t scream or bite him, pulling her to a nearby car.
She continued to struggle, but Zak grabbed something out of his pocket. Addison could see the syringe, as Zak pulled the cover off with his teeth. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.
* * * *
When Addison woke up, she was in a hospital room. She was tied to a bed, gazing horrified at all the wires and needles hooked to her arms. There was a machine filtering her blood.
She felt sick, really sick. Her stomach turned. She couldn’t move, all she could do was turn her head to the side and throw up on the bed. The stench made her gag, and she tried to scream as she coughed.
A nurse heard her cries and entered the room, "I see you’re awake. Good morning." She spoke in a foreign language, one Addison recognized immediately. It was Sarvonese, the same language spoken in Pargon.
The nurse went to the bathroom and wet some towels to clean Addison’s face. She wiped down the bed, leaving a clean towel over the wet spot on the sheet. Glancing up at a beeping machine, she smiled, resting her hand on Addison’s shoulder.
Her touch was gentle as was her voice, "I’ll get you unhooked from this, and then I can untie you." Pulling the needle free, she quickly placed pressure on the spot with a folded piece of gauze before placing tape over it. "One’s out. Now, one more to go, and you’ll be free of all these annoying wires." She repeated the process on Addison’s other arm.
"There." Noting Addison’s pained expression and pale gray skin, she reassured, "The worst part is over, my dear, and you got to sleep through it all." She walked over to the machines and turned them off, unhooking various things as Addison watched her closely.
Finding her voice, Addison spoke in a very weak tone, "Where am I?"
"Hanton Memorial, honey." The nurse laughed, putting a calm hand on Addison’s forearm. "I’ll be right back to untie you. Just sit tight."
After she left the room, Addison’s eyes stared up at the plain ceiling tiles. She felt weak…and hungry. It was a more powerful urge than she was used to. Her head felt dizzy. Her only thought of getting her hands on—
"I’m back, dear." The nurse came back carrying clean sheets. She set them on the nearby table before unbuckling the restraints on Addison’s hands and feet, "Now, let’s get these off you."
"Thank you." Addison’s breath was heavy as she rubbed her wrists, a small plastic band around one of them. They were covered in red welts.
"I have some dinner coming up for you. The doctor ordered some nice, plain foods for you until your stomach gets used to eating again."
"How did I…get here? What’s wrong with me?"
"You just caught a nasty little bug, but we got rid of it, and you should be just fine in a few days."
"A bug?" Looking up at the nurse blankly, Addison’s head was reeling, her dizziness making it hard for her to focus on anything.
"Yep." The nurse put her hands under Addison’s arm, "Now let’s see you stand up for me here." She helped Addison to her feet and guided her over to the nearby chair.
"Where’s my husband?" Addison began to cry, clinging to the nurse’s arm, "Please…let me see him. I need—"
"Don’t ask me that, dear, or I’ll have to tie you up again. Do you want that?"
Addison shook her head as she looked down at the bracelet around her wrist, her eyes settling on Zak’s name. It said her name was Jessica Hershey. "Dr. Monroe is my doctor?"
"Yes."
"When will I see him?" Addison tried to calm herself down. She knew she was in the hunters’ custody, and if she didn’t keep her cool, they might kill her.
"He’ll be here tomorrow morning. He was here this morning, but you were asleep and didn’t see him."
"Okay."
The nurse looked over to the door when she saw someone coming inside the room holding a tray of food. "Looks like dinner’s here." She adjusted Addison’s bed before helping her back into it. "You try and eat something. I’ll be back to check on you in a little while."
She pointed to a container she had set on the table. "Here’s a bucket for when you feel s
ick. And…" The nurse unhooked the nearby phone and took it with her, "You can’t be around one of these."
Both women exited. With a heavy sigh, Addison gazed down at the meal as she grabbed her fork. Turning on the television, she ate slowly.
She began to feel better as the night went on, and the next morning, she wasn’t craving blood, she was craving food. Real food. The thought made Addison happy, though she was terrified of what would happen when Christian found out, and despised the thought of never seeing him again. That scared her more than his anger.
There was a small part of her that desired to be human again, but an even bigger part of her that would miss Christian and her new family desperately. She was worried about Josh and wanted to make sure he was okay.
Addison was eating a piece of bacon and laughing at the TV when Zak slipped into the room. He was dressed in his doctor’s coat, holding her chart. "Good morning." He took a seat on her bed, smiling. "How are you feeling today?"
"Weird." She bit a piece of the bacon before setting it down. "But better than yesterday."
"Better?" Zak’s eyebrows raised slightly as he studied her expression.
"Zak, please don’t take this the wrong way…" Addison looked down, a small frown creeping into her face, "I’m thankful for what you’ve done for me and everything, but…" Slowly meeting his gaze, she finished with, "I don’t belong here. I’m not human. I don’t want to be human."
"What are you talking about? Of course you are." Zak gave a soft laugh. "You’re human now."
Her stare got lost in the grain of faux wood that made up her hospital table, her voice low as she spoke, "I want to go home."
"You can’t." He sat down next to her on the bed. "The vampires won’t accept you back."
Seed of the Master (Christian’s Kisses Book 2) Page 6
