The Night Watch: A Vampire Paranormal Romance (Blood Red Series Book 2)

by W. J. May

  “She's a vampire. They freeze at the age they’re made.”

  Again, he was avoiding. “That doesn’t explain why I look like her.”

  “Did she say anything to you? Anything about her past?”

  Kallie’s mind worked furiously, going over what Petra had told her and not told her. “She was hunted by both the Reds and the Blues. She was a witch and they wanted her power. That’s all I know.” She looked at her father, his face completely broken. “But I have a feeling you know more.”

  He stood and began to pace. “I’ve tried to protect you as best as I could. I tried to respect your mother’s wishes, but you’re in too deep.”

  “Mom? What does Mom have to do with this?”

  Her father took a breath, and looked at Kallie.

  Why did she get the feeling he was going to change everything with just a few words?

  “Petra’s your mother.”

  She stared at him, unable to say anything or think.

  “The secrets I’ve kept for too many years.” He sighed and sat back down directly across from her. “I loved her once, a long time ago. I loved her more than anything. We were happy together. I knew she practiced witchcraft, but I didn’t take it seriously. But it made her happy, so I encouraged her to do what she loved. We were wed, in a pagan ceremony she begged me to go along with, and I did. I did anything and everything that she asked.” He rubbed his eyes and stared at the table for a moment, as if reliving the past.

  “But, then she got pregnant, and you were born. We were so happy. Our life was complete. What I didn’t understand was just how deep she was involved in the magic. How much it was a part of her life. She had friends that I didn’t know about… not until it was too late.”

  “Too late?” If life had grown complicated after the accident, this had turned into a typhoon of impediments. Kallie felt as if she were inside a dream.

  “She was desired by both the Reds and the Blues, and she feared that if she did not give herself over to them, then they would hunt you and me. She would never allow that.”

  “So she surrendered?”

  “Not before she did one final spell. She convinced her sister that she was your true mother. You looked just like her… blonde hair, blue eyes, so it made sense.”

  “And you just went along with it? You married a woman you didn’t even love?”

  “I had known Helen since she was a teenager. I always loved her as I would have loved my own sister. I cared for her, and knew Petra wanted me to protect her as well. We created a beautiful life together. The best we could. After the spell took its hold, we moved here. I thought the life of witchcraft, vampires and that world of darkness was behind us, until the night of the accident.”

  “But mom… Helen… I don’t even know what to call her anymore… she still doesn’t know? She has no clue that she has a sister, who’s a vampire and my real mother?” She was not having this conversation with her father. No way Petra was her mother, the woman had been around for like a million years it seemed.

  “If you told her she wouldn’t believe you, that’s part of the spell. Only Petra can undo it, but why would she? She stole Helen’s life to give you a new one… a chance.”

  “This is more than I could have ever imagined.” Now it was Kallie who was rubbing her eyes. “Petra’s a Red Blood. She’s only been a vampire for what, eighteen years?” She didn’t believe it. “Can we trust her?”

  “I would hope so. I haven’t seen her for years. We parted ways and I started my new life.”

  “Do you still love her?”

  “I loved my time with her. I love you. But that was eighteen years ago. We can’t go back to that time. As much as I wish I could. I would love to have had you grow up in a world void of witchcraft, vampires and death. I did what I had to in order to save you.” He reached into his wallet, and from out of the hidden slots he produced a worn, faded picture. He handed it to Kallie. It was her, as a baby, in Petra’s arms. Her father had his arm around Petra. The family looked happily into the camera. “This was the last photograph we took together, before everything was stripped away. Before we had to run, and rebuild our life with secrets and lies.”

  Kallie could not understand why she was believing her dad’s story so easily. It had to be because of the vampire blood inside of her, keeping her calm and happy. “Does Caleb know she’s my mother?”

  “I would imagine Petra swore him to silence, until either you found out or she told you herself.”

  “But why now? Why is suddenly everything unfolding?”

  “I think… I think the vampires… found out about you. I think there are a group of Reds who aren’t like Caleb or your mother, and they wanted you. I think they were reckless, and the information leaked over to the Blues. It makes me think the Blues are trying to claim you before the Reds do. That’s why there was that accident that night. They were trying to kill me to get to you once and for all.”

  “But I still don’t understand how you became a vampire that night? Wouldn’t both groups want to kill you?”

  “The Reds who went rogue, did try to drain me… but one saved me. And I was reborn, as this.”

  Kallie thought of the picture from the newspaper. The one of her accident. She remembered the face of the young man captured at the scene of the crime. “Caleb! Caleb saved you, he turned you! You would have died if he didn’t!”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. I also don’t understand how you were healed. We were separated. So it couldn’t have been Caleb.”

  “No… but I know who else was there that night. Someone fascinated with our accident and the vampires who tried to kill you.”

  “Who?” her dad asked.

  Kallie looked at him, her eyes alive with conviction. “Liam.”

  “He baffles me.” Her father shook his head. “I can’t seem to understand his motives. Have you heard from him since last night?”

  Kallie pulled up his last text and slid it across the table. Her father’s eyes widened when he read it. “That could be a trap.”

  “Petra and Caleb could be a trap,” she counter argued. She didn’t know who to believe and questioned everyone’s move now.

  “What does your gut say?”

  “My gut?” She swallowed and tried to see if her gut was telling her anything. “I don’t think Liam wanted to hurt me. I can feel it, in his blood. It’s telling me. He just couldn’t turn off his vamp side that night in my room, and got lost to the adrenaline of the moment. He could have drained me dry last night again, but he didn’t.”

  “He’s in love with you.” Her father’s statement, so simple, screamed the truth to her.

  “He barely knows me.”

  “You barely know Caleb, but I saw you two tongue wrestling in my yard this morning.”

  “Dad!” Kallie shrieked as her cheeks flamed crimson. “I can’t believe you watched that.”

  “You were kissing a vampire, I had to make sure you were okay. How does he walk around outside?” He seemed more interested in that than someone kissing his daughter.

  “Petra put a spell on him. He’s protected from the sun.”

  “No wonder both the Reds and the Blues wanted her! Could she—” Her father’s eyes were alive with hope.

  She hated the thought of crushing that hope. She had already crushed the dream for Liam.

  “I think it was a one-time thing,” she spoke softly.

  “Yes. Well, it must be. Or I imagine if it weren’t, the streets would be crawling with day-walkers.” He didn’t try to hide his disappointment.

  “Yeah, not the safest gift to pass out.”

  They were quiet for a beat or two, until Kallie spoke. “Dad… another war is coming, isn’t it? Between the Reds and the Blues?”

  “I think so.”

  “And those Rogue Reds… the ones who tried to kill you… are they the same vamps who you have to meet up with each month? The ones who hurt you?”

  He hung his head. “Yes.”

 
“They’re never going to stop.”

  He shook his head. “They need my blood.”

  “I think I know how to stop them.”

  He looked at her confused, then his face was masked in horror as he knew what she had decided. “No! Never!”

  Chapter 10

  “Dad, they won’t hurt mom. She's not a threat to them, but I’m Petra’s daughter and the one they truly want. If I become a—” She stood, already trying to figure out how to change. It seemed pretty simple now.

  “Don’t say it!”

  “If I become a vampire then they hold no power over you. Liam and the Blues won’t be a threat either.”

  “This isn’t about them using me to get to you. They don’t know you exist, or that I was with your mother.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. However, a war is coming, and as long as I’m human, I can’t help anyone. All I do is put everyone at risk. You, of all people, understand that. You, mom, my friends, Caleb… everyone! I’ve been protected for too long, you got me this far. Let me join Petra and help her fight!”

  “What about your mother here? Huh? What about Helen? She raised you, Kallie! It’s bad enough she has to deal with me—but you? And what if you want nothing more than to hurt her? This is not a solution, it’s more of a problem. We don’t know what you will be like if you were to undergo the transformation!”

  “I think, I know how to not be a deadly killer.”

  “It’s in your blood to kill. You have no idea how hard it is.” He shook his head.

  “Exactly. It’s in my blood. So if you or Caleb change me… I’ll be okay.”

  “Caleb?”

  “He’s like you. He says he’s never fed on human flesh before. He’s never killed a human before. If it’s too hard for you, he’ll do it.”

  “Kallie.” A long breath escaped her father’s lips. “If either of us does it, everything’s going to change.”

  “I know that.”

  “No, you’re not thinking this thing through.”

  She reached for his hand, which was too far across the table to touch. “I have thought this through.”

  He shook his head. “If Caleb changes you, he would have to kill you.”

  “Oh.” Her mouth hung in a perfectly shaped ‘O’ as she realized what that meant. “I hadn’t thought about that.” Damn this vampire lore was complicated! “Petra will have to do it. She can drain me, and Caleb could feed me. She gave me life, let her take it away.”

  “You trust her that much? You barely know her.”

  “I’m her child, she’ll make sure the transformation takes place. It was sort of hinted at by her last night. I think they want this.”

  He did not look convinced. Fortunately, it was not his decision to make. “This is a huge risk.”

  “Doing nothing is a bigger risk. I can’t be helpless. We are surrounded by vampires. What other choice do we have? We can’t run. You moved when I was a baby and they found me. This is our best option. We have to take this shot. It’s our only chance. Only then can we live. In peace. Forever.”

  “Right now, I have you and your mother to help sustain me. If you turn, your mother can’t feed the both of us.”

  “Caleb has people. He’s got an unlimited supply of O-negative.” She had no idea if he did, but he had mentioned he had people. He would help them.

  Her father smiled for the first time. “How’d you get so smart?”

  “I had a really smart father and a loving mother to help me make the best decisions possible.”

  “The ass-kissing you learned from the street?” He chuckled before his face turned serious again. “Perhaps you should take a few days to think about it.”

  “We don't have a few days. It has to be tonight.”

  “You’re saying goodbye to the sun, Kallie. Are you sure you want to do that?”

  The thought terrified her, but she would need to be brave. She had no choice. Brave like her maternal mother who had given up her life to protect her. Brave like her father who faced the Rogue Reds every month.

  “A last day in the sun. I know exactly what I want to do.”

  “Something grand?”

  “On a small scale. You go downstairs and rest. We’ll talk again tonight. I won’t do anything until you’re up.” She kissed her father on the cheek and ran upstairs to her room. She tossed the clothes out of her drawers until she found her bikini. She slipped it on, threw a dress over and stuck on flip flops. She grabbed her sunscreen and tossed it in her beach bag, laughing at how she wouldn't need it after today. She brushed out her long blonde hair that was completely dry now and stuck it in a ponytail. Then she called Caleb.

  He answered on the first ring. “It’s been almost two hours. What’s going on?”

  “An amazing day. Pack a swimsuit and a towel. How fast can you be here?”

  “Five minutes.”

  “Perfect.”

  Kallie skipped down the stairs and packed a lunch. She knew Caleb didn’t need to eat anything but she felt guilty just packing for one. So she added extra goodies, in case he wanted something. Occasionally her father would pick at food, but she knew he did it more to make her mother happy and give her a sense of normalcy. She wasn’t incredibly hungry at the moment and blamed it on the strange blood flowing inside of her.

  Tossing on shades and a big floppy hat, she was ready.

  She stepped outside, just as Caleb was jumping over the fence and landing in her yard. He barely made a sound as his feet touched the grass.

  Like before, he swept her up and spun her around, and Kallie felt so carefree being in his arms. He placed his lips over hers and little sparks ignited all over her body. His kisses were pure magic. It made her wonder if the feeling was truly real or part of an illusion, like some kind of magic trick. Could vampires have that ability? She’d wondered about it before. Pushing the thought aside, she reminded herself that tomorrow she would know for sure.

  Aware that her father might be watching, she broke away and licked her lips. “Can you help me take this stuff to my car?”

  Caleb looked at her beach bag and cooler. “Let me guess, beach day?”

  “You’re super bright, for a vampire,” she teased.

  He smiled but it didn’t stay on his face. “Kallie, I hate to burst your bubble, but it’s only seventy degrees. It’ll probably feel like sixty down by the water. You’ll freeze!”

  Kallie snaked an arm around his neck. “Well Mr. Protector, you’ll have to do what you’re ordered to do and safeguard me. I heard body heat is an excellent way to keep warm when you’re cold and surrounded by the great outdoors…” she cooed as she placed a feather light kiss against his neck. What made her incredibly horny? The blood.

  Caleb groaned softly and spun her around. “Vixen!” He ran his sharp fangs over his bottom lip. “I swear you could make the most honest man lose control. I almost feel bad about Liam. The poor guy was alone in your room, he probably had to switch to animal instinct.”

  Kallie crushed her lips against Caleb’s to stop him from talking. She didn’t want to hear about Liam. This was her last day in the sun, and she had chosen to spend it with Caleb. She wouldn’t tell him, until the sun faded away. She didn’t want to spend her final day arguing over why she should or shouldn't do this.

  It was her decision to make. Hers alone.

  Now she just had to enjoy the few hours she had left. All she desired was to lay under the heated sun’s rays, and watch the waves crash against the shore, all the while wrapped up in the arms of her protector.

  Okay. And maybe a little kissing.

  She really wanted to do that.

  Or the blood inside her made her want to do that.

  It didn’t matter. She didn’t care.

  Chapter 11

  The beach lay completely deserted, giving the illusion that Kallie and Caleb had drifted off to some sort of remote paradise. Kallie knew she should be afraid, but she wasn’t. For the first time since the accident, her life was crystal c
lear. This change was her destiny. And although she felt a pang of guilt for not including her mother in this decision, she had to remind herself, that she wasn’t her real mother. Yes, she had loved her, and raised her. But she was Petra’s daughter. The daughter of a vampire witch, and she could no longer deny that fact.

  Maybe I have witch powers in me. She shrugged to herself. Who knows?

  It was sunny, just as Kallie had hoped. But Caleb had been right, it was chilly by the water. Having his cold arms around her should have made her freeze, but she didn’t feel anything but excitement at the possibilities. Her heart was pumping with adrenaline and that was enough to keep her warm and cozy.

  “I wish I could read your mind,” Caleb said as he brushed his lips against her ear. “I bet there is a lot going on in there. Wanna let me in?”

  Kallie sucked in her bottom lip, she could taste the raspberry lip gloss she had applied when they got to the beach. Caleb had remarked that kissing her was like kissing candy. Sweet and all too tempting. “I do have a lot on my mind, but I want this day to just be about us. About enjoying the solace of this moment. It’s something I’ve a feeling we won’t have again for a while.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Liam, and the other Blues. A war is coming.”

  Caleb straightened. “After last night, I can see why you think that way.”

  It was weird that Caleb hadn’t mentioned last night till now. Any normal human being would have been fixated on the near death experience.

  Kallie kept thinking about it. She stared down at her hand, seeing the scar on her wrist and realizing the scar was a bite mark. How she had never realized it before was strange. Someone had fed off of her at the accident. She shrugged. It didn’t matter. The scars would be gone by tomorrow. “The war’s inevitable.”

  “You won’t be a part of it. I’ll protect you. Last night will never happen again. Not on my watch.”