This does not normally mean a romantic relationship, as the male heirs will only be able to create new life with chosen female humans. We need our children to thrive and keep our legacy alive. If there are no originals left to walk this earth, our legacy will end, and our kind will become something the world isn’t prepared for. We cannot allow this to happen.
As I read the last few paragraphs, I realized there was no mention of female heirs, as if they’d never existed before. Maciah had mentioned that the vampires who attacked my family assumed my brother to be Darius's heir, but if I was reading this correctly, they’d been wrong only because I wasn’t supposed to exist.
I glanced at Rachel. She was sitting up, waiting patiently for me to speak. “This is about more than killing Silas, isn’t it?” I asked.
“It didn’t start that way, and I don’t think it will end that way, either. Though, he is a problem to be dealt with,” she answered, calmer than normal.
Viktor, Silas, and being a vampire were my top three problems. I also had to consider what it meant that I was a female heir and how I was supposed to navigate this protector relationship with Maciah.
“This book is older than dirt, right?” I asked, and she nodded. “Have there been any other female heirs before me?”
Rachel shook her head. “Not that we know of. Maciah made friends with Darius before the original met your mother. Darius saved him from Silas and showed him the old ways of vampires, telling him stories of how we used to live in peace with the humans. This is what Maciah is trying to bring back.
“Darius was the last original heir left. His nine brothers and all of their children had been hunted and killed. Vampires with the taste for human flesh rebelled against their creators and found ways to end their existence by working together to eliminate them, one by one.”
“How did Darius die?” I asked, because it seemed like something I needed to know.
Rachel’s lip downturned. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait on some of this? You’ve already learned a lot tonight.”
The vampire was concerned for me. That was an odd thing to see and believe. I was trying not to doubt her sincerity. She’d done nothing to deserve my distrust. If I considered the woman before me a monster just because of her makeup, that made me just as bad as the bloodsuckers I hunted. I needed to remember that, even if I didn’t like it.
“I need to know, Rachel,” I said, sure of my choice.
“Darius volunteered his life to save yours. Rumors had begun to circle that the last heir had found his breeder. Harsh description, I know, but that wasn’t how Darius saw your mother. When he learned they were coming for him, he beat them to it. Your mother was already pregnant. He did the only thing he could think of to keep the two of you safe.”
“He sacrificed himself,” I said, already seeing where this was going.
Rachel nodded. “He was centuries old and tired of fighting. Very few vampires supported the old ways, or at least would speak out about their beliefs. He went to the group hunting him and told them he was tired of living alone. That he hadn’t found his breeder as people had thought, and he was ready to give up. Darius was old and very convincing. The group bought it and publicly executed him.”
Pain struck my chest for a man I’d never met. For someone I wasn’t even supposed to care about. A vampire. My father.
“Why didn’t he fight? Aren’t originals supposed to be the strongest of your kind?” I asked.
“He could have fought, but at what cost? He had little support in our world. Darius did what he thought was best at the time, and I can’t say I blame him. You shouldn’t, either.”
Between Rachel and the book, I’d been given a lot to consider. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do next.
“So, now what? I’m the last heir. Someone figured out I still exist and they’re after me, which created the bond Maciah feels toward me?” I asked, making sure I understood the situation correctly.
“It’s more than a bond, Amersyn. It’s an instinct Maciah can’t ignore. The moment he scented you, his purpose changed. He knows exactly who you are to him, and he’d lay his life down for you. Maybe take that into consideration before you play with his heart.”
My head shook. The book had said the bond between heir and protector wasn’t a romantic one. Maciah wasn’t supposed to feel anything toward me outside of a sense of duty, and I said as much to Rachel.
She grinned. “Oh, girl. How can you be so smart, yet so one-sided? Maciah doesn’t want you because he’s been chosen as your protector. He wants you because you’re you.”
Could I say the same? Did I feel drawn to Maciah because a deeper part of me knew he was there to keep me safe, or because he was sexy as sin and could kiss like nobody’s business?
Rachel reached for me, grabbing on to my arm and pulling me from the chair I’d finished reading the book in. “Come on. You’ve had information overload. Let’s watch a chick flick and get your mind off all this.”
“I think I’m just going to go to bed.” I knew she wanted us to be friends, but there wasn’t much I enjoyed besides killing vampires. There wasn’t a point in getting close to her.
She sighed, dragging me toward the couch. “You might think we’re different, but I want the same things as you do. Our whole nest does.”
“You want to expunge vampires from the earth?” I asked.
She grinned at me. “If that’s truly what you wanted, I’d already be dead.”
11
After staring mindlessly at the ceiling, trying to come to grips with everything I’d learned since meeting Maciah, I finally fell asleep around four that morning. When I awoke, I hoped the new day would have me in a better mood.
There were no unwanted guests in my condo, and I wasn’t craving blood. I was just a normal twenty-one-year-old who hunted vampires, enjoying her whiskey-enhanced coffee while gazing over the city from her million-dollar home. Yep, totally normal.
Maciah didn’t have all the information I’d hoped he would. We needed to figure out what brought Silas back into the game and why Viktor may or may not have resurfaced, and how much any of those answers had to do with Maciah becoming my protector. Then, maybe I could better understand what this all meant.
As I stood at the window thinking about working with the vampires, an excitement filled me that I didn’t expect. Rachel was more than I expected. I couldn’t deny that. I liked her enough. Maciah, though? I didn’t know what to do about that situation.
I’d never been a fan of leading people on. I preferred to say things as they were instead of beating around the proverbial bush. The hard part about doing so with Maciah was that he only thought I was kidding myself.
Maybe I had been, but I knew who I was. I knew my purpose in this world. Knowing who my sperm donor was and having a magically bound protector wasn’t going to change that. Not ever.
What I really needed to worry about was Viktor and the possibility that I hadn’t killed him a few years ago. I considered reaching out to Simon, but he’d see through whatever reason I came up with. Everyone knew I worked alone, and any changes would draw attention. I had to be careful.
There was a chance this wasn’t the same Viktor—I was sure there were plenty of vampires with that name—but my gut was screaming that wasn’t the case here. I’d been new at hunting when I’d happened upon him. Too eager and too emotional. I’d acted without proper training.
After five years of hunting under my belt, I knew better. The next time I saw Viktor, I’d make sure he was nothing more than ash floating in the wind.
My stomach growled, distracting me from murderous thoughts. My house was only stocked with coffee, whiskey, random frozen foods not suitable for breakfast, and canned goods I could survive off if I was in hiding. But I wasn’t, so I wanted real food. Like bacon. Yeah, I needed steaming hot French toast and a full plate of bacon.
I finished off my coffee, enjoying the buzz from the caffeine before heading out the door. Then, I remem
bered it was only twenty degrees out, so I doubled back and grabbed my favorite hoodie I’d bought in Montana. Warmest sweatshirt ever.
I even made sure my boots carried a couple of stakes and blades in case anyone had found out where I was. A hunter could never be too careful.
By the time I got to the garage, I was already feeling better. Whatever was in my DNA didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to let this new information stress me out. With a grin on my face, I unlocked my car as it came into view.
My smile fell, and I instantly regretted not slipping a stake up my sleeve before I left my condo when I saw a vampire leaning against my driver’s door.
“Going somewhere, Amersyn?” Zeke said. He was the vampire I’d stabbed two nights ago and hadn’t seemed very happy with me when I’d shown up at their nest.
“How’s the shoulder?” I asked instead of answering him.
He grinned, showing off perfectly straight teeth that stood out against his dark skin. “Just fine, thanks to my vampire healing, but you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”
Smartass bloodsucker.
“What do you want?” I had no qualms about stabbing him again if he tried to get in my way.
He leaned forward, glanced around, and fake whispered, “Didn’t you hear? Vampires are real.”
My arms crossed. I didn’t have time for games. I wanted my bacon fix. “Move, Zeke.”
“No can do, hunter lady.”
I took a step closer, narrowing my eyes at him. “Why is that?”
“Boss’s orders. Someone has to watch your back at all times. We heard some news, and if your protector is unavailable to do his job, he has back-up plan after back-up plan to make sure someone else is. If you have a problem with that, don’t take it out on me. My face is too pretty for that.”
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing and groaning at the same time. Why did these vampires have to seem so normal? I wasn’t sure how I was going to get around having them appear all the damn time, but at least they were somewhat tolerable.
I was tempted to stab him anyway and get my brunch, but I was tired. The more I fought them, the more reason they had to be up my ass where they didn’t belong.
“I’m going to get breakfast. You can silently get in the back seat or run alongside the car. I don’t really care. I just want food.”
He chuckled, then opened my back door. “Rachel is going to be so pissed.”
I didn’t care why, so I wasn’t going to ask. These people weren’t my friends. They were vampires who happened to not kill people. Or at least, it seemed that way. I wouldn’t ask why Rachel might be mad. Absolutely not.
I got in my car and pressed the ignition. French toast and bacon. That was all I needed to focus on until I figured out a way to strike a bargain with these vampires that didn’t have them around me all the damn time.
As I headed out of the garage, Zeke popped his head between the front seats. “Can I turn the radio on?”
“Don’t touch my stuff,” I muttered. French toast and bacon. French toast and bacon.
“You know, a few months ago, I helped save the supernatural world—possibly even the human one—when we teamed up with wolves and witches. It was pretty badass,” he said randomly.
“Why would I care about knowing that?” I asked.
“Because maybe you’d stop inching your hand closer to the knife sticking out of your boot. I can forgive you for stabbing me once, but twice? We’re going to have problems.”
French toast and bacon. The restaurant was only two more blocks away, but I wasn’t sure I was going to make it that far.
“How are you in the sun?” I asked, hoping he hated it enough to stay in the car while I ate in peace.
“My favorite time of the day,” he said, then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a contact lens case.
“What are those for?” I asked, hoping they were exactly what they looked like.
He began putting a contact in as he answered. “We can’t have the humans freaking out. Not all of us are like Maciah who can force his eyes to go darker when the need arises.”
With both contacts in, he turned toward me. His eyes were a dark brown. Nothing out of the ordinary. Good for them for thinking outside of the box.
I parked and got out of my Lexus without waiting for Zeke, but he was at my side before I opened the restaurant door anyway.
There was a sign up stating we could seat ourselves. I found a table on the back wall and took the seat facing the door. I was never comfortable not seeing who was coming and going.
Zeke tried to sit next to me until I snarled at him. “Damn, girl. Are you part shifter, too? You know, I have this friend Sam. You’d like her. She hates people, too.”
I didn’t reply. I didn’t want to be friends with his friends.
“What can I get you two?” an older woman asked. She was short, wrinkled, and swayed a little as she stood waiting for us to respond.
“French toast and a plate of bacon,” I said.
Her brow furrowed. “A plate of bacon?”
“Yes, a plate,” I replied slowly.
She sighed, scribbling on her little notepad. “And for you?” she asked Zeke.
“I’ll just eat some of her bacon. You know, since she ordered a plate.” He winked at the senior citizen, and she chuckled while walking away.
“Touch my bacon and I will stake you right here where we sit,” I said.
He folded his hands on the table and leaned closer. “You take food seriously. I like it. I love food, too.”
I bet he did. Just not the same kind as me.
“So, my friend Sam? She’s a shifter. Her pack is in Texas, but she hunts people like you do, too. Besides being a…you know, the two of you have a lot in common.”
Still, I ignored his attempts at conversation. I didn’t care about a wolf shifter. I had no business with them. Vampires were all I hunted, and that was enough.
“At our house, we have all kinds of food. It helps the newborns settle in, even though things don’t taste the same as they did before. I like to cook sometimes, but don’t usually have time for it. Maciah keeps us pretty busy doing things like you do. I’m surprised we’ve never crossed paths before.”
He had a point with his last comment, but Portland was a big city. It was easy to miss people when they weren’t stalking you, but I didn’t bother to say that.
Zeke stared at me, but I kept my eyes focused past him and on the door. My nails thrummed on the table as I waited for my food, something I needed even more after being around Zeke. My earlier buzz was wearing off, and the butter knife next to my hand was making me think stabby thoughts.
My breath caught in my throat as Maciah walked into the restaurant. He searched the room, not stopping until his eyes landed on mine. They were darker than normal, almost the same mahogany as my own, making me forget for the briefest of seconds he was a vampire.
For that one second, I allowed myself to see the man behind the fangs. The man whose eyes saw me and softened, whose hair fell from behind his ear from the incoming wind, and who wore a suit like nobody’s business.
“Like what you’re seeing?” Zeke said with a waggle of his eyebrows.
I’d done a good enough job of ignoring the vampire, and I wasn’t stopping then. Not even if I’d been caught staring. It would only validate what Zeke thought, and I wasn’t about to do that anytime soon.
Maciah approached our table, unbuttoned his suit coat, and took Zeke’s seat. The other vampire was walking out the door before I could say anything.
The server arrived then as well. “Is this plate enough for you?” she asked, sliding my bacon to me.
There were probably thirty pieces piled up, and I nearly drooled. “It’s perfect.”
She nodded, setting the French toast down and pointing to the three small cups in the middle of the table. “Maple, raspberry, and caramel syrup. Let me know if you’re one of those devils who likes ketchup with your bacon and I’ll b
ring you a bottle for your plate.”
I chuckled. I liked her. “The maple syrup is perfect. Thank you.”
She cast a wary glance at Maciah. “You weren’t here before. Do you want food?”
“No, ma’am. I’ve already eaten.” He smiled at her, and the old bitty blushed. At least I wasn’t the only one affected by him. That made me feel moderately better.
She slipped away, humming happily, and I grabbed a fork, pointing it at Maciah before taking a bite of my food. “I left my house in a good mood. Zeke nearly ruined it. Say one word before I’ve finished my bacon and I’ll show you what happens when I’m hangry.”
Maciah grinned and said nothing.
I drizzled my plate in syrup, then dug in. I wasn’t sure how long Maciah’s silence would last, and I wanted to at least be full before I listened to what he had to say. I had hoped for more time to figure out what I wanted to bargain with in order to get them to back off, but I was good at winging things, too.
When I was done eating my four pieces of French toast and two-thirds of the bacon, I wiped my mouth with a napkin and looked back up at Maciah, who was still smiling.
“All done now?” he asked.
I reached for another crispy piece of deliciousness. “Not quite.”
“I’d love to say we have all day, but we really don’t,” he said.
I fake frowned. “Does someone not like to be out in the sunshine?” There really wasn’t a ton of sun showing through all of the cloud cover, but daylight was still rough for most vampires. I had no problem rubbing that in his face.
“The sun has nothing to do with this, Amersyn. I’d thought when I heard you were a hunter with an impressive kill record that you’d be more mature about this whole thing. I don’t like to be wrong, but I always admit when I am.” He challenged me and I wanted to smack the smug look off his perfect face.
“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t fall right into line when you told me I’m an heir of an original vampire. Does free will not exist in your world? Because it certainly does in mine,” I retorted, tossing my bacon back onto the plate, then pointing my finger at him before he could respond. “I am not your property. You can’t just insert yourself into my life without my permission. I don’t care what protectiveness you feel toward me. I have done fine on my own for the last seven years, and I’ll continue to do so.”
Vampire Heir (Scorned by Blood Book 1) Page 8
