Vampire Heir (Scorned by Blood Book 1)

by Heather Renee

  We got back to the house. Nikki pulled in behind us, and Maciah immediately got out of the car. He stood in front of Nikki’s and addressed both of them in an eerily calm voice. “You two made a decision you had no right making tonight. You know the rules, and you broke them. I want both of you packed and out of here within the hour. You can take the cars and your personal belongings, but nothing else.”

  My jaw dropped. I was in legitimate shock. He couldn’t kick them out for going to a club. I’d had the choice to say no. This was not their fault.

  “Maciah!” I yelled after him, but the slamming of the house door was his only reply. I turned to Rachel and Nikki. “I’m sorry. I’m going to fix this.”

  Rachel sniffled and wiped her cheeks. “We should have known better. Maciah is right. I just wanted you to feel welcome here and a part of something. Not like you were forced to live with vampires.”

  Nikki wrapped an arm around her. “It’s going to be okay, Rach. We’ll figure something out.”

  “I know it’s been trashed, and it’s not exactly safe, but you can stay at my condo tonight. Maciah just needs some time to cool off.”

  He also needed a threat or two from me. I wasn’t going to let him kick Rachel and Nikki out of his nest. We could each have the night to calm down, but tomorrow we’d be setting some ground rules for all of us.

  19

  After giving Rachel and Nikki the card to get into my condo, I went straight to my room and locked the door. I didn’t want to yell at Maciah. I knew why he was mad, and he was justified, but not to the extent of kicking out the others. That was unacceptable.

  Instead of trying to solve things immediately, I went to sleep. Or at least tried to. Most of the night, I’d stared at the ceiling and walls while I tossed and turned.

  I didn’t want to fight with Maciah. I wanted us to be able to work together.

  When the sun rose, I took the chance that Maciah would already be up. I got dressed in jeans and a green long-sleeve shirt. There was snow coming down outside and vampires apparently didn’t mind the cold, because I was freezing once I got out of the warmth of my bed.

  Heading to the office, I passed by Zeke. He had his head down and paid me no attention. My mind told me that I didn’t care why he was upset—that his problems weren’t mine—but my heart had other opinions.

  I reached out to him, grabbing his arm before quickly letting go. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Nikki and Rachel are gone. They were part of what made this nest feel like a home instead of just somewhere to live.” Zeke’s eyes held a longing in them I could relate to.

  I didn’t know his past life, but something told me he’d had a family that he hadn’t been able to let go of yet.

  “They’ll be back today. Don’t worry,” I said.

  Zeke eyed me. “How do you figure? Maciah was furious with them for taking you out.”

  “If he wants me to remain here and not be a prisoner fighting for a way out, then he’s going to invite them back this morning. Rachel and Nikki did nothing wrong. We were perfectly safe, and nothing happened,” I said.

  The vampire smiled brightly. “I wasn’t sure about you at first, but I think you just might be the very thing we needed in this house to make it a family.”

  I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, and I didn’t really want to know. Instead of continuing the conversation, I nodded and walked toward the office.

  The door was cracked, so I pushed it the rest of the way open. Maciah was standing at the window behind his desk, his back toward me. There was tension in his shoulders that were covered by another one of his suits. The only time I’d seen him dressed somewhat casually was when he’d found me in the alley.

  “Amersyn,” he addressed me without turning around.

  “Maciah. We need to have a chat.”

  I closed the door behind me and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. He turned slowly toward me. Strands of his dark hair hung in front of his burning eyes, and he kept his hands in his pockets while looking down on me.

  “About what?” he asked.

  “About how things are going to work here if we’re going to hunt these vampires together,” I replied.

  His head lifted slightly. “Do you think you can come in here and make rules for my nest?”

  “No, but I know that I’m not okay with being told what to do, and I do want to find a way to work with you. I understand Silas and Viktor aren’t to be perceived lightly. I take their threat toward me seriously, but I also won’t hide away, living my life in fear until they’re dead. You shouldn’t ask that of anyone. What happened last night shouldn’t be made into as big of a deal as you’ve made it.”

  Maciah stepped closer to his desk, placing his hands on the surface. His eyes darkened. “Do you really understand, Amersyn? Did you think going out to a very public club wouldn’t put you in any danger?”

  “I thought that spending some time with the vampires I need to learn to trust was a good thing. I expected them to have my back if anything went wrong. They never left me alone, and I didn’t take off like you probably would have expected me to. Everything was fine.”

  He slapped the desk. “But it might not have been. That is what you’re not seeing.” He was seething, and I could hear the fear in his voice.

  “I didn’t think you were the kind of man who let other people dictate your life. I’m certainly not. There is risk in everything we do in this life. Every day, we wake up not knowing if it will be our last. Don’t ask me to live in fear, because if that’s what you expect, then we’re done. Right here, right now, I’ll walk away.”

  Our gazes locked. I wouldn’t budge from this. I made a choice seven years ago to live this life knowing I might die. I was okay with that risk, and while I took precautions when necessary, I never once stopped living and doing what I wanted.

  I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. I still didn’t want to fight with him. I just needed him to understand where I was coming from, but from the creases forming around his eyes, I wasn’t sure he was capable.

  The silence around us became heavy. He was waiting for me to break or act out, but that wasn’t going to happen.

  A knock sounded out the door. “Not now,” Maciah snarled without looking away from me.

  Footsteps retreated quickly, and we continued our standoff.

  “I can do this all day, but you only have until tonight to agree with me or I’m out of here,” I said finally.

  His lip lifted in a snarl, and he turned away from me. I might not get exactly what I wanted, but Maciah had broken first. I was going to win this small battle.

  “Rachel and Nikki can come back under the condition that the three of you are not allowed to leave this house alone,” he said, staring back out the window.

  “We aren’t alone when we’re together,” I replied with a grin.

  He was in my face before I could blink. His hands braced against the arms of the chair I occupied. “You know what I mean, Amersyn.” His voice was low and lethal, which should have caused at least the smallest spike of fear to run through me, but it only made me want to challenge him more.

  “I won’t be your prisoner,” I said.

  “I didn’t say you couldn’t leave. I just said not alone. If the three of you want to go out again, then I will go with you.”

  “Like a fatherly chaperone?” I joked.

  He leaned closer, his breath mixing with my own. “If that’s what you need, then that’s what I’ll be, but I’d rather be the man behind you than some wolf shifter I wanted to murder.”

  He was referring to the guy I’d been dancing with the night before. I wouldn’t lie to myself and say I hadn’t pretended it was Maciah behind me more than once.

  “Fine. We work together as a team. We go places together. We end this together,” I said, trying to keep my breathing steady and ignore his closeness.

  “Together,” he agreed softly.

  We stayed close for
several more seconds, and this time, I was the first to break. Yes, I’d admitted my attraction to him the night before, but we were discussing a business deal and I wasn’t about to jump him just when we started to agree.

  I moved out of the chair and headed for his window, curious as to what he saw when he stared outside. He chuckled as I walked away, but I didn’t care. He could have that win. I’d gotten what I wanted.

  There was a small courtyard below his office with more rose bushes planted in varying colors of red, white, yellow, and orange. The grass was cut perfectly and bright green, and there was a water feature in the middle with koi fish swimming around.

  A couple of small canopies were set up with two or three chairs beneath them. A vampire, or so I assumed, was reading a book in one of them. He looked completely at peace and normal. Not at all what I was used to.

  “These people just want safety, and they’re willing to fight for it. I plan to do my best to give that to them. Even if it’s in the smallest of ways, such as providing a comfortable spot to enjoy a novel,” Maciah said from behind me.

  He had his rules and made sure the vampires lived by them. He was feared yet respected. I admired that about him. Among many other things.

  As I turned back to him, Maciah was closer than I’d realized. Our chests brushed against one another, and his hand cupped my cheek. “I just want you to be safe, Amersyn.”

  “I know. That’s the reason I’m still here,” I replied.

  He closed the distance between us, his lips brushing against mine softly. “Why don’t you call Rachel and tell them to come back?” he whispered.

  They were safe enough in my condo. They could wait just a little bit longer.

  I kissed Maciah first this time. Our business talk was done, and I had no problem picking up where we’d left off before.

  I gripped the front of his suit jacket, pushing the material off his shoulders. “You’re always wearing so many layers,” I complained.

  “Maybe I’ll do something about that.” His fingers gripped my chin, and his tongue moved over my lips. I opened to him, not having succeeded at getting his jacket off.

  He pressed me against the window, reminding me of our fight in my condo. I’d known then I was in trouble. Maciah was too tempting. Too different and patient. He was a man willing to do whatever it took to get what he wanted.

  I should have been more cautious with him, but I had bigger battles to fight.

  He leaned back, rubbing his thumb over my swollen lips. “I need to go check on the newborn.”

  “I should call Rachel,” I replied, but didn’t remove my arms from around his neck.

  “Have dinner with me tonight,” he said.

  I nodded in reply as his tongue swirled over my collarbone, making me unable to speak.

  “I’ll see you tonight, then,” he murmured into my ear.

  When I opened my eyes, Maciah was gone. I tried to be irritated over the fact he disappeared so easily, but instead, I grinned and headed back to my room.

  I had vampires to call.

  20

  After I called Rachel with the good news that they could come back, I checked my phone for hunter updates. There was an app some of us used for passing along information. I didn’t bother with it normally, but given I hadn’t been on the streets as much as usual, it was probably good to check.

  Scrolling through the feed, I searched for anything about Silas, Viktor, or vampires with black rings around their red eyes. Nothing popped out at me, which was weird. I would have thought there would be something exciting—a group kill at a big nest or stopping a blood party—but there was nothing of the sort. Just mentions of vampire sightings.

  Dave was next on my list. When I opened my messages with him, I could see he was already typing something to me. I waited not so patiently for his text to come through.

  Dave: I’m at the bar doing inventory and a deep clean. I found something you’re going to want to see.

  Me: What’s that?

  A picture came through of a hand drawn portrait of me. Underneath the eerily accurate drawing was a price tag of one-million dollars.

  Dave: Do you know what this is about? Does it have to do with the group of vampires I told you about?

  Me: I don’t know. Thanks for the heads up.

  Dave: Amersyn, are you okay?

  Me: I am. For now.

  Someone had officially put a bounty on my head, and it had nothing to do with the original one that Viktor had claimed. My first thought was to show Maciah and see who he thought it might be, but then I worried that he would renege on the deal we’d only just agreed to.

  Crap, I had no idea what to do. Just as I considered going on a walk to clear my head, Rachel and Nikki burst into my room without knocking.

  Rachel threw her arms over me, holding on tighter than necessary. “Thank you so much! I was pretty sure he’d let us come back home eventually, but I had no idea how long we’d be on our own. I couldn’t sleep last night, so I cleaned your condo and ordered all these things for it, thinking we were going to have to live there. I don’t think I’ve ever been so stressed in my life.”

  Her words were rapid-fire. I grabbed her shoulders. “Calm down.”

  She took a deep breath and was nearly in tears. “I’m just so glad we met you.”

  Nikki gave Rachel a gentle push to the side and hugged me as well. “Girl has no control over herself when she’s emotional. We’re both grateful for you. We should have known better than to go out last night.”

  I scoffed as she backed away. “We’re not prisoners, and I told Maciah that. We can come and go as we please now, but I did agree to allow him to chaperone under the assumption that if he was busy, he’ll probably send Zeke instead.”

  Rachel’s eyes widened. They were hazy, and I wondered if they’d been able to eat since they were kicked out.

  “You got Maciah to agree to that?” she gaped.

  “It was either that, or I left to go live with you two at my condo and figure things out on our own,” I replied, then glanced at Nikki. She had the same glazed-over look in her eyes as well. “Do the two of you need to eat?” I asked.

  Nikki sighed. “Badly.”

  I pointed toward the door. “Get the hell out of my room before I have to stake you for thinking I’m a snack.”

  They both stared at me, horrified. Then I grinned. “I mean, I really would stake you if you tried to bite me, but I know you’re both smarter than that. Seriously, though. Go get some proper breakfast.”

  “Yeah, you have shitty food in your condo. There wasn’t even anything appealing to attempt to eat,” Nikki complained before they both headed toward my door.

  I shrugged. “I’ve survived just fine on frozen food.”

  Rachel laughed. “Survived is one word for it.”

  They left, and I was once again alone in my room, realizing I had no idea what I was going to do about the information Dave sent me.

  Two days had passed, and I hadn’t seen Maciah once. He’d texted me from somewhere on his property stating he was still having issues with the newborn that required his complete attention. Rachel and Nikki assured me that was normal with about half of the new vampires.

  Apparently, weaning yourself off fresh human blood wasn’t an easy task. I hoped I never found out why.

  I hadn’t heard anything else from Dave and tried to get into a new routine while waiting things out at the mansion. They had a full gym in the basement that I began using to keep myself in shape. The vampires steered clear of me, probably because I practiced with a stake just like I had at Pete’s gym when I was alone

  When I wasn’t working out or hanging with Rachel and Nikki, I found myself drawn to the courtyard I’d seen from Maciah’s office. The tables were spread far enough apart that I could relax there without being disturbed. Anyone who came and went was quiet, and I appreciated that.

  The sun was out, so I was enjoying the courtyard again. I had nearly started dozing off when I s
ensed someone standing over me. My instincts had me reaching for the dagger in my boot and jumping up.

  The metal was an inch from Maciah’s heart as he grinned at me. “Still on guard, I see.”

  “Pretty sure I’ll be this way until my death,” I said, sliding the weapon back into my boot.

  “As you should be,” he said, then reached out to gently grab my arm. “I’m sorry I had to cancel dinner. Has everything been okay around here?”

  “Well, I haven’t killed anyone,” I joked. He didn’t find my words funny. “Everything has been fine. All of your vamps are surprisingly well-behaved,” I added.

  “I would expect nothing less. They know the consequences if they act up,” Maciah added confidently.

  I raised a brow. “Do you enjoy kicking vampires out of the nest?”

  “No, but if there aren’t severe consequences what would keep these vampires from continuing to kill humans? They have everything they could want here. In exchange, I ask for very little. If they can’t respect that, then they’re gone. I won’t have one ruin all this for everyone else.”

  Okay, he had a point there.

  “Are you all done with the newborn issue?” I asked, realizing he wasn’t wearing a suit. Instead, he was in dark jeans, a dark grey t-shirt, and black boots.

  “Yes, I actually just left there and came to find you first before showering and changing.”

  I grinned and teased him. “Can’t go too long without those fancy suits of yours.”

  His hand wrapped around my neck and pulled me closer. “I was under the impression you liked my fancy suits, even if they have too many layers.”

  Maciah’s voice was a whisper against my ear, and his lips pressed to my cheek before I could respond to him.

  “Let me shower and change, then we will have that dinner I had to cancel,” he said, pulling away.

  Damn, this vampire was going to ruin me with his sex appeal.

  He turned back with a grin on his face. “I’ll meet you in my office in five minutes?”