Embrace The Dawning (The Covenant Series Book 1)

by Betty Shreffler

  As she exited the elevator, the signs directed residents to a work-out facility, swimming pool, spa, and salon. The extravagance of this place continued to amaze her. As she scanned her surroundings, she spotted a young, skinny blond woman standing behind a tall desk counter, in a uniform of a white button-down shirt and black slacks.

  “Can I help you?” she asked kindly.

  “Yes. Do you know how I can get to the fifteenth floor?”

  The blond woman’s eyes narrowed. She studied Kayci closely.

  “I’m sorry. The owners live on the fifteenth floor. Access to the fifteenth floor is by invitation only.”

  The blond woman looked away from Kayci and went back to clicking on the keyboard in front of her, obviously expecting Kayci to walk away. Kayci tilted her head in surprise at the woman’s sudden rudeness. She stood up straighter, more confidently.

  “Actually, I was invited. I’m here to see Adrian Spade,” Kayci declared.

  The blond woman looked back at Kayci. Her eyes narrowed once more.

  “My apologies, ma’am. I’ll have to phone in your name and confirm the invitation.”

  Kayci chuckled slightly. “Okay.”

  “Your name, miss?”

  “Kayci Pierce,” she replied, trying not to laugh at the woman’s smugness and the odd process.

  The blonde picked up a black office phone and clicked a few buttons. Kayci could hear someone answer on the other end.

  “Sorry to bother you, sir, but there is someone here asking to see you. Kayci Pierce, sir. Uh-huh. Okay, will do, sir.”

  The blonde hung up the phone, furrowed her brows, licked her lips, then glared back at Kayci. “He said he’s on his way down to meet you. Come with me, please.”

  The woman stepped out from behind the counter, looked back at Kayci, then led her through an office door across from the desk. The door opened up into a long corridor. At the end, the hallway expanded into a room with an elevator on each side.

  “Wait here,” the woman insisted, then abruptly walked away, leaving Kayci standing there alone.

  Kayci watched as the blond woman walked back down the hall. She glanced back at Kayci once. As soon as she did, Kayci noticed the gold eyes.

  “Clever,” Kayci mumbled.

  She stepped back when she heard the elevator door ding. Would another vampire or vampires exit the elevator instead of Adrian? When the door cracked open and she saw Adrian’s face through the doors, her nerves settled. The doors slid all the way open. Adrian walked up to her with an inviting and charming smile. Kayci’s stomach fluttered the moment he came toward her.

  “It’s nice to see you again.”

  She blushed before returning the same happy smile he had. “It’s nice to see you too. It really is.”

  Adrian clearly understood the special emphasis, with what had happened the night before.

  “I’m glad you came,” he said with sincerity in his voice.

  “I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to. It’s quite the fortress you live in,” Kayci teased.

  Adrian smiled. “It keeps any humans from walking into vampire living quarters. It keeps both humans and vampires safe.”

  “That’s clever, having a vampire work the desk.”

  Adrian nodded in agreement. “Perfect for the night shifts, and she does her job well.”

  “Clearly.”

  Adrian grinned.

  “Shall we go up?”

  “Sure,” Kayci replied, unsure of what to expect.

  She and Adrian stepped into the elevator. He clicked the only button available.

  “Kayci.” Adrian waited until he had her full attention. “What you’re about to see is going to be startling. We have to walk through the communal area before entering the corridor to my condo.”

  “Communal area?” Kayci asked.

  “It’s a large room that vampires socialize in. I live alongside a vampire coven. I don’t spend much time with the vampires in the coven, but even independent vampires like me prefer to live alongside other vampires. We need the socialization.”

  “Okay… What should I expect to see in there?”

  “There may be vampires feeding on humans. There’s a party going on in the communal area right now. I didn’t know they were having one tonight, or I wouldn’t have invited you here.”

  The elevator dinged. Kayci’s nerves exploded. The doors slid open to an array of fresh and unfamiliar stimulants. Adrian wrapped his hand around hers. He leaned in closely and whispered, “Stay close to me.”

  Kayci looked around the dark, dimly lit room. The walls were thick, with dark cherry-red wallpaper with black designs. Heavy maroon curtains covered any and all windows. A massive black marble fireplace nearly filled the right side of one wall. The large fire made the room uncomfortably warm. Cream and gray-colored Victorian couches and large black leather chairs filled the center of the room. To the left in the corner was a small stage with two large speakers surrounding a small sound system that pumped out fast-moving dance music. Vampires were scattered into pairs and small groups, some dancing, some talking. Two were making out against the wall. She was aware she caught their attention. Adrian casually pulled her along right through the center of the room. Why did he take her through the center and not inconspicuously along the edge?

  As she passed the vampires, golden glaring eyes followed her movements. As she walked by the couch, two golden-eyed female vampires sucked on the neck of a guy who appeared human. Kayci cringed when she saw the blood running down his neck. The man passionately rubbed the breast of the vampire in front of him while the female vampire behind him had her hand tucked under his pants. It was obvious what she was doing as her hand moved and caressed. Kayci’s throat went dry. Her palms dampened. A shiver trickled down her spine. She was quickly becoming edgy with the amount of vampires around her and the pungent scent of sexual tension filling the room.

  A female vampire dressed a bit punk-like with pixy dark hair caught Kayci looking at the threesome on the couch. She immediately replaced her expression with a casual one—too late though. The female vampire nudged another vampire standing next to her. He turned to see what she wanted. She nodded her head and pointed in Kayci’s direction. She leaned in and said something that made him smirk. As Kayci passed, the dark-haired female vampire reached out and grabbed Kayci’s arm. Kayci tensed.

  The female vampire was about to say something, but Adrian stepped toward her, eyes golden and a fierce expression on his face. The vampire quickly released Kayci’s arm with a childlike look of having just been rebuked, then returned to socializing.

  Kayci finally exhaled once she and Adrian reached the other side of the spacious room.

  Adrian didn’t say a word, only continued to lead her down a corridor. He stopped in front of the third door on the right and placed a key into the lock. Once inside, he let go of her hand and locked the door behind them. Kayci rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans.

  “I apologize you had to see that. Their parties can get wild at times.”

  Kayci furrowed her brows and nodded casually, though she still reeled from all she had just seen. “Might as well jump in head first, right?” she replied, trying to ease her awkward tension with humor.

  She tried to relax as Adrian studied her.

  “Would you like a drink?”

  “Yes!” Kayci nearly shouted. She brought her voice down a couple notches. “Yes, I would.”

  Adrian smiled and walked over to his kitchen. He pulled out a bottle of whiskey, poured some into a glass, and then opened his fridge, pulled out a jug of what looked like sweet tea, and poured some of that into the same glass as the whiskey. Adrian brought the glass over to Kayci and handed it to her.

  Kayci sniffed before taking a sip. “Sweet tea and whiskey?”

  Adrian nodded. “I hope it’s good. The cashier at the liquor store suggested it as an easy mixed drink. Making alcoholic beverages isn’t exactly a common practice for me.”

  “So yo
u don’t entertain humans at your condo very often?”

  “No, can’t say that I have. The whiskey and sweet tea are brand new bottles. Bought them just for you tonight. Figured you’d like something to drink at some point.”

  Kayci took a swig, impressed.

  “Chivalry doesn’t die just because you become a vampire,” Adrian jested.

  Kayci let out a genuine chuckle of laughter, finally starting to relax. Her eyes were transitioning back to their dark-blue color.

  “So this is your place?” Kayci asked after another sip of her drink. She looked around the condo, admiring his decoration choices. He had an open-concept design, where each room was visible except the bathroom. The floors were beautifully aged hardwood, yet shined from whatever sealant they had on them. He too had thick maroon curtains, but his were pulled to the sides, revealing the beautiful night sky and large windows that covered one side of the condo. In the center of the windows were sliding doors leading out to a balcony.

  In front of the windows sat a moderately sized TV facing a comfortable-looking tan suede couch and matching chair, sitting on a dark-green rug with thick, fluffy fabric that Kayci desperately wanted to rub her toes in. Farther into the condo on the left was an office area. The far side of the wall was completely covered in bookshelves, with books overflowing on each shelf. A small and simple wooden desk sat at the center of the office space, with only a laptop, a leather-bound journal, and a lamp on the desk. In the corner of that space was a large night jasmine. She thought the nocturnal plant quite befitted a vampire. The fragrance it released was sweet and delightful. It provided his condo with just the right amount of liveliness.

  To the right of the office was his bedroom. He had a large, lavish rug with intricate designs and color variations of red, green, brown, and pale yellow intertwined. On the stylish rug sat a solid-wood four-poster bed. The posts had designs carved into the wood, but she was too far away to make out the intricate patterns. The bedspread had neutral tones of dark brown, bronze, and tan, with two soft and comfortable-looking pillows piled on top.

  She wasn’t able to see into the bathroom with the door closed, but she imagined it was just as beautifully decorated as the rest. A large oil painting covered most of the wall leading to the kitchen. The painting depicted a Civil War–era scene. In the background, a large tree free of fall foliage stretched crookedly outward toward the sky. To the left of the crooked and barren tree was a large wooden cross atop what appeared to be a church in the distance. In the foreground was a man buried by the winter snow. Only visible were the man’s knees, leather boots, and military hat protruding out of the snow. To the man’s right was a loyal horse with his pack still filled with the man’s gear. The horse stood waiting, frozen in the painting with everything else. The painting didn’t match Adrian’s decorations but somehow still seemed to belong. The painting’s display of cold, unforgiving death was overshadowed by its beauty. Kayci found herself mesmerized and wanted to admire the painting more closely, but now wasn’t the time. She finished checking out his condo with its stunning pine cabinetry, marble counters, and modern appliances that looked as though they’d never been used.

  “Your home is beautiful,” she told him. “I love everything about it.”

  Adrian smiled wide. “Thank you.”

  Kayci took another strong sip of her drink. “The vampire at the desk said the owners live on the fifteenth floor. Does that mean your coven owns the whole building?”

  “Yes, you could say that. There is a corporation that owns this building and two others. This coven and myself are large investors of the corporation. As investors we have a say in what the business does as well as how the building layout was formed. We took the top floor as our home and created the spa and gym on the fourteenth floor as a barrier between us and humans. It ended up being a profitable business plan. The residents of the condos pay a little extra for the convenience of having a gym and spa in their building.”

  Kayci’s eyes widened. “You vampires continue to surprise me.”

  “Vampires do enjoy taking part in society one way or another. Some vampires even have jobs. Gives them something to do. Although those jobs usually are working for other vampires. Vampires can only hide their identity for so long, with the fact that we don’t age and sometimes can’t control our vampire appearance.”

  “I’m blown away with the level of social and economic hierarchy amongst vampires. It makes sense that vampires would be financially well off, considering they can live more than one lifetime. Gives you the opportunity to build a substantial amount of wealth.”

  Adrian blushed, as if his wealth wasn’t something he was used to sharing.

  “I’m surprised this is news to you, Kayci, with the fact that you’ve had to hide your own identity as a half-breed vampire.” He sounded accusatory.

  Kayci blushed. Did Adrian feel betrayed, as if she’d been hiding her identity all along and yet judged him for being a vampire?

  “Adrian…” She struggled to find the right words.

  “I didn’t know I was a half-breed vampire until two days ago. I didn’t know when I first met you or at the Blue Moon when we ran into each other. I found out on Saturday when I went looking for information about vampires. I met a witch, and while I was in her shop, I reacted to the same talisman that now hangs on my door. She ran some kind of blood test, and it was positive for vampire blood. The witch told me I was a mix between human and vampire. It wasn’t a complete shock—it actually made sense somewhat. All my life I had strange abilities, which it turns out I share with vampires.

  “When you told me that the vampire Danika was after me, I asked the witch to create a spell that would help release more of my vampire nature so I could defend myself. You came the night that I had the spell done. Thankfully, you did come, because I may be strong, but not strong enough to fight all three vampires alone. I wanted to come here tonight to apologize if you thought I was hiding anything from you and to thank you for saving my life last night.”

  The guilt in Adrian’s stomach coiled. She wasn’t hiding anything from him after all. This was all new to her, and that was why Elise had said he was the only one that could help her. He didn’t want to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t arrived when he did. He lowered his head and took a deep breath. Her nervous and expectant gaze told him all he needed to know. He pointed to the new necklace around her neck.

  “The necklace. It harnesses the spell?”

  Kayci instinctively reached up and touched the necklace, running the rough edges across her fingers. She had forgotten that she’d been wearing it. It felt that much like a part of her.

  “Yes,” she responded nervously.

  “Good. Don’t take it off,” Adrian replied. He motioned toward the couch and chair. “Would you like to sit down? We have a lot more to talk about, and I’d like to start with my apology.”

  Kayci nodded before moving to his couch. She was relieved to feel his hand on her lower back, once again guiding her. Maybe he wasn’t upset with her and still held affection for her. They sat facing each other, both prepared to share what the other didn’t know.

  “I’m sorry for sounding accusatory when I asked about you being a half-breed vampire. I assumed you knew what you were. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

  Kayci smiled at his humble apology, at him showing his softer side. A side she had a feeling others didn’t see often.

  “You don’t have to apologize. I probably would have assumed the same thing if I was in your shoes. It’s strange, but I’m actually relieved to have an explanation for all the strange traits I had growing up, but I’m also terrified. I don’t know anything about vampires other than what the witch told me and what I’ve experienced so far, which hasn’t been good. Every vampire I’ve met except you has tried to hurt me.”

  Adrian caught his breath. Her experiences with vampires had all been situations where her life had been threatened. No wonder she tried to get rid of him the other
night. He felt a strong desire to show her a different experience, but her safety was still a concern, with the Covenant wanting to meet her and as long as Danika was alive. He could control at least one of those issues…

  “Would it help if I answered any questions you have? I’m sure you have many. When I was first transformed, my mind raced with questions.”

  Kayci reached over and gently placed her hand into Adrian’s.

  “Yes. I’d like that,” she said with an appreciative smile.

  Adrian looked at their hands intertwined and then back at Kayci’s blue eyes. He saw a flicker of gold shining through the blue. He enjoyed being able to read her emotions now. She was too skilled at hiding them. Once he felt the familiar humming of their energies, he sat back comfortably into the couch cushions and smiled at the fascinating creature in front of him.

  “Was it difficult transitioning from your human life to your vampire life? I mean, I’m not sure what to expect, being the only half-breed vampire that exists. I wonder if I’m going to age slower, if I can always survive on human food. I even wonder if I’ll be able to have children. Not that children are something that I want, but I want to know if I have the option. You know what I mean?”

  Kayci took a breath. She smiled out of embarrassment.

  “You’re right. My mind is racing with questions.”

  Adrian gave her a reassuring smile. “Believe me—I understand. Unfortunately, my answers to those questions can only be guessed. If you were a vampire, I would know the answers. You’re the first of your kind, so all your abilities and experiences are yet to be discovered. I can, however, tell you that my transition was difficult. I went through denial of the creature I had become. I saw myself as a monster. I withdrew from vampirism and treated it like it was something I could avoid. I refused to drink blood and nearly starved myself, which only caused me to go mad. Fortunately, the vampire that had turned me had developed a liking toward me and would not let me kill myself. I learned everything about living and hunting as a vampire from them. They helped me create a new life as a vampire. From there I learned I had abilities that not all other vampires had.”