Blood Vine

by Amber Belldene

  “Start from the beginning, then.” Zoey lowered herself into an armchair facing him on the bed.

  “For vampires, an emotional tie has power. Any desire that goes beyond lust—if a vampire feeds from a person he or she truly desires, a blood bond is formed.” He looked down at his hand, where he had worn a wedding ring for just a sliver of the years in his long life. “It is like a marriage, but more intense. It is biological. It ties two people together in every cell.”

  “You think that would happen if you bit me?”

  “Yes. I knew it from the moment I saw you on Monday. And I know neither of us wants such a bond.”

  “You shared one with your wife, Mila?”

  “Not shared, no. I was bonded to her, but because she was not a vampire she was not bonded to me.”

  “That’s what you’re afraid of? Being bonded to someone who can’t reciprocate?”

  “Do not make it sound trite, Zoey. The bond is primal, physical. To share it with a human is a terrible burden.”

  “I don’t understand.” Zoey tilted her head slightly, intent.

  “Before she killed herself, I lived in constant fear that Mila would die and leave me suffering. When she did, it was even worse than I feared.” He scrubbed his hands down his face. “It felt like I was being ripped apart cell by cell. The pain is both bodily and psychic. It persists still…as a dull ache. More than a hundred years later, I feel something like phantom limb syndrome—she is always missing.”

  With his thumb and forefinger, he rubbed his eyes through closed lids. When he opened them, her chocolate brown ones drew him in with their compassion. She came to stand in front of him.

  “Did she understand what it would do to you when she killed herself?”

  Of course she would ask that. Andre relaxed under her focus; she understood. “I do not think so…not really. I tried not to pressure her to turn, so I did not fully explain. The only thing worse than losing a bonded mate would be an eternal bond with someone angry at you for turning them.”

  “Why did you bond in the first place? Was it an accident?”

  “No.” She was already looking at him, but he reached up to where she stood and gently held her chin in place. “I am old, Zoey. Very old. She was the first woman in nearly two thousand years that I desired. I had grown bored. When she appeared with little Kos in hand, both of them so vibrant and alive, I could not resist them.”

  “Two thousand years? No wonder you wouldn’t tell me your age.” She dropped to a squat and rested her elbows on his knees with her legs slightly parted. “If it was so unusual for you to feel that way, why do you think you’d bond with me? You can’t think we’re soul mates.” Her front teeth rested on her full lower lip.

  “I can smell that you want me.”

  “What?”

  “I can smell that you’re sweet and wet between your legs, Zoey. When Susan moaned, it poured out of you.” He grinned. “She was really hamming it up for you.”

  Pink faced, Zoey stood up and took a step back. “Okay, setting aside how weird it is that you can smell me, why does that matter? The night we met, lots of other women in that bar wanted you.”

  “You growled at Susan when you saw how much she was enjoying my bite.” He couldn’t help it; a little pride crept into his voice.

  “I did not.” Her ponytail wagged as she shook her head.

  “Yes, you did. You watching me feed was already…arousing, but when you growled—”

  “You’re saying I’m jealous?” She started pacing. Probably the same path she had trod when he had listened to her footsteps the day she arrived.

  “Yes. I was jealous too when you went back to Ethan Bennett.”

  She turned to him. “I like you; I like being with you. You make me feel…”

  He waited, longing to know what he made her feel.

  “Just feel. You make me feel.”

  A thousand times better and worse than if she had named an actual feeling. “It’s the same for me.”

  “What do we do?”

  “Simple. We keep away from each other. The only reason you are not underneath me on this bed with my fangs in your neck is Susan’s blood. I am guessing it will keep me satisfied for another hour.” Another wave of her sweet scent assaulted him. Apparently that had not scared her the way he’d meant it to.

  “You need to feed that often?”

  “No, I am not hungry, Zoey. I am craving you.”

  Her delicate throat rippled with a swallow.

  “If I am near you, I will bite you. And it will be decided. Regardless of what either of us wants, you will be mine.” He stood and stepped close to her. It was always handy to have such an intimidating stature. “If that happened, I could not let you leave. You would have to stay with me, forever. Do you understand?” He put his palms flat against the wall on either side of her head, caging her. “I won’t go through that again. If we bond, I’ll turn you whether you like it or not.”

  Davo. No quickening pulse. No sour odor. Zoey did not reveal a trace of fear. Instead, her eyes were soft and her mouth sad.

  “I like you, Andre. But I don’t want to be a vampire, and I don’t want to hurt you the way Mila did. I know something about what that was like. So, I’ll keep to myself.”

  He went back to the bed and sat in silence while she looked out the window.

  Eventually, she said, “Andre, what will I do when it’s safe to leave?”

  “Kos has prepared for us to escape. There is cash and more than a dozen new identities. You’ll have one of those, whether my household stays or goes.”

  She came to sit next to him. “I don’t have many friends, my family’s all dead, and I don’t have a pet. I don’t even have a job anymore. But still, I don’t want to walk away from my life.”

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and she put her head on his shoulder. “I know, sweet.”

  “Andre?”

  “Mmhmm.” He smelled her: her hair, her skin, her breath.

  “Is it safe enough for you to hold me for a while?”

  “Not entirely,” he said. “But enough, I think.” He picked her up and laid her on the bed; she turned on her side and he curled around her. She nestled back into him, creating as much contact between their bodies as possible. Again, her round cheeks cradled his erection in a way he was getting accustomed to. “By the gods, Zoey, do you know I have thought about your luscious little ass every day since I first set eyes on it?”

  “Funny, I’ve been imagining giving it to you for just as long.”

  It would have been pure torture to stay like that with her, so hard against her curves, if she hadn’t fallen asleep almost instantly. He stroked her hair and the soft skin of her inner arm. His fingers grazed over the bluish veins visible under the thin skin there. Her blood pulsed under his fingertips, and he admitted the inevitable truth to himself—if she would turn for him, he would bond with her, no matter the risk. She was worth it.

  Chapter 28

  ANDRE ONLY ENJOYED A FEW MINUTES curled around Zoey before two cars screeched to a halt in his drive. What on earth?

  When he stood, Zoey stirred. “What is it?”

  “I don’t know. I need to go downstairs and investigate.”

  Below, the front door opened and Bel shouted. “We’ve got Pedro, Father!”

  Andre dashed out the door.

  “He’s in bad shape. Andre! Get down here. He wants you to turn him.” Andre was standing next to Pedro by the time Bel finished calling out. Kos was already there too.

  Pedro’s feet looked like ground beef. “Davo. Fuck and davo.”

  Bel uncovered the seeping gunshot wound. “This is the real damage.” Andre sucked down a breath; Bel had gotten Pedro to him just in time.

  The reek of Hunter grew stronger, and Kos growled. He turned toward the open door, bared his fangs, and hissed at the Hunter who stood there.

  “That’s Lucas Bennett. He freed Pedro. He was trying to save him when we showed up. Pedro wanted
us to protect him from his family.” Bel spoke quickly, before Kos pounced. “Deal with him later. Pedro’s pulse is weak. You have to act fast.”

  “I’ll do it,” Kos said.

  Andre put his hand on Kos’s arm. “Kos, please. He is already like a son to me. Will you have him as your brother instead?”

  “Of course.” Andre had asked kindly, but it wasn’t really a request. Kos owed Andre obedience in matters such as these.

  “Who will feed him when the blood hunger comes on?” Andre looked around for a volunteer. In a vampire household, it was an honor to feed a newly made vampire. But his household wasn’t present. The only humans there were Bel’s crew, Lucas, and Zoey watching from the bottom of the stairs. He looked at Vania.

  “No way,” Vania said. “We have a no biting rule on the crew. Keeps things less complicated for all of us.”

  “But it is life or death, his heartbeat is fading—” He was beginning to panic and it came through in his voice.

  “I’ll do it,” Zoey said.

  “No, you won’t.”

  She looked surprised. He didn’t have time to explain the extent of his possessiveness.

  “Me. It should be me. I couldn’t protect him. It’s the least I can do.” It was Lucas.

  Andre would have rejected him too, but they were out of time. “Come here.”

  Bel applied pressure to Pedro’s bullet wound. Soon more blood would be in his veins, and they needed it to stay there. Andre sliced his left wrist open with his fang and began to bleed into Pedro’s open mouth. Kos handed him a sharp blade to keep the wound from closing.

  Zoey was mesmerized by the dark ruby liquid dripping from Andre’s wrist into Pedro’s mouth. The entire scene was beautiful. Andre’s fatherly care moved her, stirring a longing to belong somewhere, to have a family like his. He gave something of his own life to this man, whom he already considered a son.

  It was like a birth. She’d never been squeamish about blood, but certainly it was meant to stay inside one’s body. Yet, a warm feeling crept from her stomach up her throat, reassuring her—there was nothing wrong with Pedro drinking the blood. It was only nourishing him.

  What the blood did to Pedro was astonishing. First his color returned, then the swelling in his face and feet eased. The wounds on his legs and toes closed and new skin formed. In a matter of moments, he looked as good as new, minus toenails.

  “Get ready,” Andre said to Lucas. With his right hand, he lifted Pedro’s upper lip to look at his teeth. Then he tilted Pedro’s head back so he could open his jaw. Using the knife Kos had given him, he sliced Lucas’s wrist open and placed it under Pedro’s nose. The smell of the blood caused his new fangs to descend. He still seemed unconscious to Zoey, but when Andre brought Lucas’s wrist to Pedro’s mouth, he clamped down on it hungrily. The movement of his Adam’s apple showed how quickly he was sucking down the blood. Lucas let out a cry of surprised pleasure.

  Andre mocked him. “They never told you about that part?”

  Wide-eyed but tight-lipped, Lucas shook his head. Suddenly, Pedro released his wrist and threw him down, rolling on top of him so he could bite Lucas’s neck.

  “Damn,” Bel said. “I’d say your blood is as strong as ever, Andre.”

  “No kidding,” Kos said. “Should we worry he’s taking too much?”

  “I’m inclined to let him drink him dry,” Andre replied. Lucas was watching the men discuss his fate, but it was obvious that Pedro’s bite was demanding most of his focus.

  “That’s not what Pedro wanted.”

  “Fine. You tend to Bennett, I will get Pedro off him.” Andre bent down next to Pedro and whispered in his ear. “You’ve had enough, Pedro. Let him go. There will be more blood, plenty of blood for you. We’ll find you some pretty boys for dinner.” He rubbed Pedro’s back up and down his spine soothingly. Finally, Pedro released Lucas’s neck and lifted his head.

  A gaping tear marred Lucas’s neck, so unlike the clean punctures Andre had pierced in Susan’s neck. Kos spit on his palm and pressed it to the wound. Under his splayed fingers, the torn flesh repaired instantly, smooth and caked with clotted blood.

  “Kos, call some of your women over here,” Andre said. “He will need more blood soon.”

  “Of course.”

  Andre helped Pedro to his feet. Disoriented, the new vampire toppled over Andre’s outstretched arm and stumbled into the wall, knocking a framed photo askew. He was like a newborn animal, and Zoey wanted to coddle him. Kos crushed Pedro to him in a bear hug, and Pedro let out a grunt that turned into a sigh of comfort. In Kos’s arms, his spine straightened. With his back to Zoey, Andre waited for his turn to embrace his offspring.

  When Pedro opened his eyes, Andre said, “What the hell?”

  Once a gorgeous aquamarine, his eyes had gone the yellow-gold of a Hunter.

  Zoey gasped in time with several others in the room. Everyone turned to stare at Pedro. The silence was thick until it became clear their stares were frightening him. He hadn’t spoken yet, but his hands were moving over his face, trying to feel what everyone was looking at. He caught his fang with a thumb.

  “What?” he croaked, sounding like he had just woken from a long sleep. “What is it?”

  Lucas stepped forward. “It’s your eyes.”

  “What about them?”

  “They look like mine.”

  Pedro returned Lucas’s stare. Finally he said, “I owe you a debt. I will ask Andre to protect you. But, Lucas, I do not forgive you. You gave me no choice. I hate you.” On confident feet, Pedro stepped toward the stairway. Kos strode to catch up, proffering an unneeded arm. Pedro gently pushed it away and climbed the stairs.

  The beauty of the scene lingered with Zoey, even as the emotional currents in the room set her teeth on edge. Poor Pedro. Poor Lucas.

  Chest high, Andre looked like a proud papa, grinning as he traced Pedro’s slow, stiff progress up the stairs. When Pedro and Kos moved out of sight, Andre pulled her into the parlor.

  His green eyes shone feverishly, manic with joy and something else. Bending toward her ear, he whispered. “I am sorry my one chance to hold you was interrupted.” Instead of meeting her eye, he looked down to where he traced a circle on the inside of her wrist with his thumb.

  The touch sent sparks up her arm. It might be the last time he would touch her.

  “I am also sorry you had to see that all that horrific scene.”

  Did he mean turning Pedro? “Horrific? It was beautiful. It was like the time I saw a foal born. He was gangly and awkward, then suddenly graceful…” The image replayed in her mind, wonder stealing her breath.

  “Beautiful?” His eyebrows drew together and his lips parted.

  “Don’t you think so?”

  “I have seen many vampires made and it has always seemed gruesome to me. Death is so near.” He wiped at his mouth, tugging the lines of his face out of shape so that he looked haunted. “It is traumatizing to both the sire and offspring. If there had been time to keep the old customs, to seek the comfort of the prayers…” He shook his head. “But I have not observed those traditions since I turned Kos. They are no longer meaningful to me.”

  The emotions that played across his face fascinated Zoey. Inside him was an entirely new world, with rules and beliefs and feelings she couldn’t begin to comprehend. God, she wanted to peer in there, to understand him. But his strange world wasn’t only internal—it was real, and it had ruined her life and swallowed up Pedro too.

  She glanced over her shoulder, to where the new vampire had vanished into the hall.

  When her attention returned to Andre, he was staring at her with that same manic expression. “In a few minutes, I need you to go to your room and lock me out.”

  It was intoxicating to be wanted like that—and a little frightening, in a good way. “Can’t you can break down a door?”

  “Yes, but it is likely to slow me down enough to think straight.”

  He deserved a kiss for being
both honorable and honest. She stood on her toes to brush her lips against his warm cheek. He gripped the back of her head to deepen the contact, and she wanted to melt, to surrender to him.

  “Andre, please don’t test my resolve.”

  For a moment, he looked ready to insist, but then he squeezed both her arms gently and let her go.

  Chapter 29

  LUCAS CONTEMPLATED PEDRO’S WALK up the stairs alongside the blond vampire. He closed his eyes and pictured documents from the Hunters’ dossier on Marasović. Kos must be Kosjenic, Andre’s son. Pedro held himself upright, but his shoulders leaned slightly toward Kos. They seemed close, brotherly, even.

  By contrast, he was utterly alone and a sharp feeling of loss stabbed him. He had betrayed his brother. But the version of Ethan he was close to hadn’t been real, even if he had pretended to be Lucas’s protector and friend.

  With hushed conversations echoing in the foyer, the group of vampires and humans disbanded. Alone and with nowhere to go, he dropped into a straight-backed chair. After a few minutes, Zoey came out of a sunny doorway down the hall. When she saw him, she headed his way.

  “Come down to the kitchen with me. I’ll fix us a pot of coffee. Then you can keep me company.”

  He followed her wordlessly. When the coffee was brewed, she let him carry the tray, probably just to give him something to do. Zoey held the door to her room open for him and then locked it behind him.

  “You lock your door?”

  “Andre asked me to.”

  “Why?” Sliding knickknacks across the dresser to make room, he set the coffee tray down.

  “So he doesn’t try to come in.”

  “I don’t understand.” He poured Zoey’s coffee. She took it black with sugar. Mugs clinked together in his trembling hands.

  Taking her mug, she put a palm over his hand to still it. “It’s complicated.”

  “Yeah, well, I suddenly find myself with a lot of time if you want to explain.”

  “Damn it, Lucas. I want to be angry with you for getting me into this, but you seem to be in worse shape than me.”

  He looked down; Pedro’s blood stained his clothes. On both hands, his knuckles were split open and swollen.