Yearn For Blood (Blood Origins Book 1)

by Tiffany Heiser

  “I am right here, you know,” I said, glaring at them.

  Drake nodded. “I apologize. You should know as well.

  The drink Cryder is preparing for you is what’s kept you alive

  and well during recent days.”

  “Okay,” I said. “I get that. I mean, I do always feel better

  after I drink it. But what is it? Vitamins?”

  “Not exactly.”

  Cryder joined us at the table and placed a cup before

  me. “I don’t know if she’s ready to hear this, Drake.”

  “She has to,” he said evenly. “It’s time.”

  Cryder nodded slowly. “Rena, that cup contains a blood

  mixture. It’s half human blood and half my blood.”

  I stared.

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  “It’s important that you drink it,” he said anxiously.

  “Human blood?” I could barely form the words on my

  lips.

  “Rena…”

  “How did you get that? Did you kill someone?”

  “No. No, of course not. And I promise I’ll explain

  everything if you give me time, but right now, please, just

  drink. You’ll get sick again if you don’t.”

  “Drink blood.”

  Cecile, who was standing with her back to the wall,

  spoke up. “It’s what you’ve been drinking this whole time,” she

  said, softly.

  I lifted the cup slowly to my lips, tipped it, and let the

  liquid touch my tongue. I was prepared to gag…

  But it was delicious.

  Suddenly I was ravenous. I swallowed the drink in great

  gulps, consumed by how wonderful it tasted and felt going

  down. It was only once the cup was empty that my thoughts

  returned to the fact that I was drinking blood. I shivered a little.

  Cryder’s hand covered mine gently. “Good job,” he said. “I

  knew you could do it.”

  “You didn’t know she could do it,” Drake said. “You

  thought she wasn’t ready. I knew she could do it.”

  “Guys,” Cecile snapped. “Tell her the rest now.”

  “The rest?” I looked from one of them to the next.

  Cryder sighed. “Rena, you’re one of us now.”

  “One of you?”

  “A vampire.”

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  I pulled my hand back. I knew it. “You’re vampires.”

  “I don’t think you’re surprised to hear that.”

  “The fangs. The speed and strength.”

  “Yes,” Drake said. “All of that. But some of what you

  might have seen and read isn’t real.”

  “What, you don’t turn shiny in sunlight?”

  “We don’t do anything in sunlight. Sunlight doesn’t

  affect us. We can go into churches, and into private homes

  without being invited. You don’t need to stake us in the heart

  to kill us. We don’t sleep in coffins. We aren’t monsters.”

  “Bristol?”

  “He’s a murderer. There are human murderers, too.”

  “But you drink blood.”

  “There are ways to acquire blood without killing,”

  Cryder said. “Donors, for example.”

  “But—but you eat food,” I stammered. I was

  remembering our date. “I’ve seen you eat food.”

  “Sure,” Cryder said. “I like food. But I require blood to

  survive.” He met my eyes. “And so, do you, Rena.”

  “No,” I said automatically. “I’m not a vampire.”

  “You are,” Cecile said. “We all are.”

  “You are?”

  “You’re the one who let it happen. You gave Drake

  permission to turn me. He told me all about it,” she said,

  registering the look of surprise on my face. “You gave him

  permission because you knew I would have died otherwise.”

  “Cecile…”

  “It’s all right. I told you before, it was the right choice. I

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  would have done the same thing. But I do wish he had been

  clearer with us about exactly what would happen.” Cecile

  glared at Drake, but there was no heat behind it. She wasn’t

  really angry. If I knew her, she was just planning to hold this

  against Drake long enough to make him feel that he owed her

  one.

  “But wait,” I said, as the realization hit me. “I wasn’t

  bitten, was I? How did I become a vampire?”

  Cryder’s hand found mine again. “You’ve always been

  one.”

  “What? No. I can’t have. I’m a human.”

  “You were born to a human father and vampire

  mother,” Drake explained. “As you’ve come of age, your

  vampire side has developed and is now fully manifested. That’s

  why we came looking for you.”

  “To get me to join your. .coven? Den? Whatever?”

  Cryder and Drake looked at each other and laughed.

  “We aren’t bats,” Drake said. “Cryder is the heir in a royal

  bloodline. I am his cousin and bodyguard.”

  “You’re royals?” This was too much. Not only was

  Cryder a vampire, he was a prince?

  “And so are you,” Cryder said.

  “What?”

  “Your family, too, is extremely powerful. And from the

  day you were born, Rena, you and I have been intended for

  each other.”

  I blinked at him. “We’re betrothed?”

  “Something like that,” Drake said. “Your families have

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  been great allies for millennia. You two were destined to unite

  your houses and rule together. As such, your blood is

  extremely powerful.”

  “Our blood is powerful? Is all vampire blood powerful?”

  “Not in the same way. For example, I am not destined

  for anyone, even though I share Cryder’s royal lineage. My

  blood doesn’t contain the power his does. That’s why I was

  able to use it to change Cecile. Cryder’s blood is too precious

  and dangerous for such a task.”

  “Charmed, I’m sure,” Cecile said sardonically.

  “That’s also why Cryder’s blood is able to revitalize you,

  Rena. And that’s why Bristol was here.”

  “He wanted my blood,” I remember.

  “Your blood contains tremendous power. He would

  have been able to access it.”

  Cecile shuddered. “I’m glad he’s dead.”

  “Others will come,” Drake warned. “Now that Rena is

  fully vampire, many will hunt for her.”

  “So, it’s just going to be like this from now on?

  Forever?” I ask. “Vampires showing up wherever I go, trying to

  kill me? What am I supposed to do? We barely escaped this

  time! God forbid the next one brings a friend.”

  Drake nodded. “I wanted you to understand all this

  because there is a solution to the problem, and I believe it is

  vital that you accept it.”

  “What’s the solution?” I couldn’t believe there could be

  anything I wouldn’t do to extricate myself from these

  circumstances.

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  Drake looked to Cryder.

  Cryder scooted his chair close to me. “The only way for

  us to stay safe is to join together,” he said, taking my hands in his. “We must fulfill our collective destiny, assume the thrones, and rule together as King an
d Queen.”

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  Chapter Fifteen

  ALL I COULD DO FOR SEVERAL MINUTES was stare.

  “You’re saying my choices are risk death at the hands of violent

  beasts like Bristol or else marry you and

  become...Queen of the Underworld?” I finally managed to

  stammer.

  “It’s hardly the underworld,” Drake said softly. His air

  was that of a doctor telling a patient that she’s not going to die of the terrible thing that’s wrong with her, and I could see why

  he would be a good person to have around. “We live

  aboveground. The life vampires live day-to-day is surprisingly

  similar to the life you already know, Rena.”

  “What about the life of queens?”

  “Well,” Drake chuckled a little, “that would probably

  be a bit of an adjustment.”

  “It could be pretty great, right?” Cecile said. I could tell

  she was trying to look on the bright side. “We always used to

  pretend we were princesses, Rena, remember?”

  “That was you. I was always the knight.”

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  “Because I made you be the knight. Now you could be

  the princess.”

  I closed my eyes. Did I want to be a princess? It seemed

  so...unreal. But then, what about everything else I’d just been

  told?

  My mother was a vampire.

  I was becoming a vampire.

  Cryder had been watching me my whole life. Keeping

  me safe. Ever since the car accident that had changed my life

  forever, he’d been ensuring that I would be protected, that I

  would be ready when the time came. And now he was ready to

  marry me, to share his life and his world with me. All I had to

  do was say yes.

  I wanted to.

  But how could I know what I wanted so fast? It didn’t

  make sense; I knew that much. I’d barely known Cryder for

  weeks, and we’d only had a few significant conversations.

  Today was probably the first time he’d been truly honest with

  me. How could I be ready to say yes to his proposal?

  I didn’t know. I only knew that I felt something deep

  within me, something I was powerless to resist. Maybe it was

  the blood connection we already shared, coursing through my

  veins and filling my heart. Maybe it was the knowledge that he

  had always been a presence in my life, even if I hadn’t realized

  it. Maybe it was just those gorgeous blue eyes, watching me

  from across the room. They pulled me in, magnetically, and

  before I could even consider what I was doing I was crossing

  the room, closing the distance between us, reaching up for him

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  and bringing his lips to mine.

  It was the most amazing kiss of my life. It was the first

  kiss I’d ever initiated myself. Cryder seemed momentarily

  surprised, then kissed me back with a gentle force that seemed

  as if it belonged to nature, like the current of a river. I reached up and cupped his face with both hands, standing on my toes

  to give us a better angle. His arms twined around my waist. He

  could lift me off the ground, I knew, but he didn’t, and I was

  glad. In this moment, possibly for the first time since I’d

  known him, we were on a level playing field, each of us giving

  and taking in equal measure.

  Yes. I could be with him.

  As we separated, our eyes met and I laughed a little,

  awkwardly. Cryder wiped a tear from my cheek with his

  thumb. I hadn’t realized I was crying.

  “Was that okay?” Cryder asked, concern in his eyes.

  I nodded, at a loss for words. We’d kissed before, of

  course, but something was different now. I couldn’t put my

  finger on it. “I’m just emotional…with the whole idea of

  agreeing to marry you. Everything feels stronger, deeper, now

  that I’m…what I am now.”

  Vampire, my mind whispered.

  Could it be? I knew I must be more vampire—less

  human—than I had been at the time of our last kiss. After all,

  look what had happened to Cecile. A few drops of Drake’s

  blood and she was as much a vampire as any of them. My case

  was different than hers, of course. My transition had been

  more gradual. I assumed that was because of my human father.

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  But now I had been drinking Cryder’s blood for weeks.

  I’ve been drinking Cryder’s blood. To my astonishment,

  the idea didn’t make me shudder. It actually made me feel

  more bonded to him. I must be a vampire.

  Regardless, I decided, whatever was making me feel this

  way toward Cryder could only be a good thing, particularly if

  it brought this extra element to the kisses we shared. I felt the love and the bond between us like a current, impossible to

  resist, and I gave in and let myself drift back into his arms. “I’m good,” I whispered. “Everything’s so good.”

  He smiled. “I think so too.”

  I rested my head against his chest, unable to get over

  how natural this felt. It was like coming home. It was more

  than that. It was like discovering a home I’d always longed for,

  but never known I had.

  I could have stayed here forever. I felt utterly safe in his

  arms, indifferent to the world around me, to the dangers

  Cryder and Drake had just outlined. I even found myself

  forgetting the other people in the room. But all too soon,

  Cryder released me and stepped back. “There will be time,” he

  said softly, and I understood what he meant. Now that we had

  found each other—or, more accurately, now that I had found

  him—we could spend as much time as necessary getting to

  know each other. Learning each other. We didn’t have to cling

  together in this room in front of our friends. Starting today, we would be together no matter where we were.

  “What do we do now?” I asked him.

  “What do you mean?”

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  “I’m assuming we don’t...you know. Go on a date.” I

  felt myself blushing. I didn’t even know how to ask a guy out

  under normal circumstances, and these were anything but

  normal. I had to admit, though, that the idea of a date was

  incredibly appealing. How wonderful would it be to attend

  prom with Cryder on my arm? How great would it be to go

  out to a movie and share a tub of popcorn, cuddling together

  and whispering about the actors and plot? Or a walk through

  the woods? Of course, with other vampires chasing us for the

  value of our blood, we could hardly go walking in the woods.

  “I’m guessing we have to do something more official than that,

  right? Go back to your home country? Or, do you even have a

  home country? Are you American?” I realized how little I knew

  about him. He certainly sounded American. Was all the

  foreignness I picked up from these two simply a function of

  their inhumanity? America didn’t have kings and queens,

  though. That much, I was sure of.

  Drake stepped forward. “You’re right in thinking we

  have to leave the country, Rena. But it
has nothing to do with

  making things official. As far as the customs of our people are

  concerned, your acceptance of Cryder’s proposal is all that’s

  needed. But now that the word is out that the two of you are

  here, it’s no longer safe to put down roots on this continent.”

  “Where will we go?” I asked. My mind was racing.

  Leaving the country would mean leaving behind everything I

  knew. But did I really have that many attachments here? The

  few friends I’d made throughout school, I knew, would be easy

  to leave behind. Cecile was the only one I couldn’t stand to say

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  goodbye to, and as a new vampire, she would likely be coming

  with me. When I thought about it that way, suddenly the

  future seemed full of hope and possibility. It was exciting.

  Traveling to a foreign land, learning new customs and meeting

  new people.. it was the kind of thing many high school

  students dreamed about, but few were lucky enough to

  experience. And I would be royalty, welcomed by the new

  people I would meet. I would be their queen.

  “You can finish out the school year,” Cryder said. “The

  security measures we have in place ought to be enough to

  protect you. And it will take time for word of Bristol’s death to spread, and for his clan to send more out after him. You have

  only a few weeks left, right?”

  “Yes,” I said. “I could probably leave now.”

  “There’s no need. Graduate. Get your diploma. You’ll

  be glad you did.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “Do I need a degree to be a

  vampire queen?”

  “You never know when your education will come in

  handy,” Drake said with a serious look.

  “Okay, so fine. I’ll finish school. What happens after

  that?”

  “After that,” Cryder said, “the four of us will return to

  my ancestral home.”

  “Me too?” Cecile asked.

  “Yes,” Cryder confirmed, and my heart soared a little. I

  wouldn’t be alone in the days to come. “It’s not safe for you

  here either anymore, now that you’re a known associate of

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  Rena. And you belong among other vampires. We can guide

  you as you learn to live your new life.”

  “My family is here,” Cecile said, biting her lip.

  “You’ll have a new family with us.”

  “What happens when we get there?” I asked.

  “You will undergo the dhampir rituals of our clan.”