Drawing Blood

by Mary Lou George

  Holly sneered. “And make obscene amounts of cash as well.”

  He looked surprised. “We’ve kept humanity pure. Surely we deserve to be compensated for the heavy burden we bear. We’re the world’s leaders, its champions. We’ve allowed the rest to chug along blissfully ignorant of the danger vampires pose except in movies or television series. We’ve protected humanity…done the dirty work.”

  “Dirty is a good word for it.” Holly kept her eyes on Alan. Beyond him she could see Stryker retching, ridding his body of the blood forced upon him.

  At the sound, Alan turned his head and smiled greasily. “I’ve never seen one do that before. Interesting. I suppose he resists the pull of his nature for your sake, Holly. He must love you very much. Just like your father loved your mother. Interesting.” His eyes shifted to the doorway. “Hello, Alison. What perfect timing.”

  Holly turned just in time to see her sister enter the room. She looked lovely in a soft yellow dress and pearls, so out of place in the dank and damp chamber of horrors. Gliding gracefully towards her father, she spoke before Holly could react.

  “It’s all done now, Daddy.” She moved into his arms.

  Holly tried to warn her off. “Alison, don’t…”

  “Shut up, Holly,” Alison snapped. Her voice was hard and brittle when she spoke her next words and she looked at Holly with disgust. “You never understood. This is my birthright. I am a true Seaton, a bloodstalker and proud of it.”

  Chapter 31

  Alan laughed at the shock on Holly’s face, “Matthew turned out to be such a disappointment. Too much time spent with his mother when he was a babe, I suppose. I didn’t bother to bring him into the fold. Not ruthless enough. He’d never have the strength of character to inherit real responsibility, the kind he’d need to carry on my work.” He nuzzled Alison’s neck then bent to grab the branding iron again.

  Alison gazed up at her father, hero worship in her eyes. “I knew she’d been hooking up with a vampire, Daddy. Bloodmates, I could see it in her face when she talked about him. And Stryker is such a unique name.”

  His lips against Alison’s ear, he said, “You have done your duty, my sweet. There’s just one more thing I’m going to ask of you. A sacrifice.” With his arm around her, he walked his flesh and blood daughter over to the place where Stryker strained against the chains that bound him. Reluctant to get too close to the struggling vampire, Alison hesitated, but one look at her father and like an automaton, she went willingly.

  “That’s my girl.” Alan said gently as she smiled adoringly at him.

  Holly felt the revulsion rise in her belly. She had a sick suspicion of his next move and prayed she was wrong. He was planning the unthinkable yet Holly knew she was powerless to stop him.

  One moment Alison was held gently in her father’s embrace. The next, he took hold of her hair and thrust her toward the panting and resisting Stryker. Alan forced Alison’s head back and offered her pale, white throat to Stryker.

  “Take her. It’s what you want. Feed! Her blood is warm and rich…Seaton blood, a bloodstalker’s!” He ran a fingernail down his daughter’s neck, drawing a deep red line on her skin. “Do I have to draw first blood, give you a whiff? Is that what’s needed to tempt you?”

  Holly could see the war Stryker waged within himself and tried to distract him, calling out, “Stryker, it’s Holly, listen to me! You know it’s me. You have to fight it. You are not a savage. You’re the man I love, my bloodmate. Think of me and don’t do it. Please, for me…”

  Alison stood motionless, her throat inches from Stryker’s blood smeared, snarling mouth. The pain of her father’s betrayal left its stain on her face. Her terrified eyes begged him. Deathly pale, she whimpered pathetically. “Daddy? Daddy, please. What are you doing?”

  At another time, the sound of Alison’s pleading would have broken Holly’s heart, but she hardened her heart and ignored it, concentrating on Stryker alone. She didn’t dare break eye contact with him for a second. Inch by inch, by sheer force of will, she helped pull him from the edge. He still looked wild and savage, but underneath that, in his eyes, Holly could see her bloodmate at last. He was there inside, fighting the age-old hunger that had brought disaster to his kind.

  “Look at me, Stryker. Look at me!” Holly cried as Alan pressed Alison’s throat to his full lips. For a split second, Holly could see a flicker of savagery in his eyes. The overhead light reflected off his razor sharp teeth as he prepared to bite down. Then it was gone and Stryker violently wrenched his body away from Alan and Alison and the tempting call of her blood sacrifice.

  At last, as Stryker retreated, Alison started to struggle against her father. Sadly, her resistance surprised him. He was forced to drop the branding iron to control her, but she slipped away from him. Keeping her eyes trained on Stryker, Holly hoped Alison would make a run for the door at the top of the stairs. But she was mistaken. Alison chose not to make good her escape. Instead she grabbed a gleaming object from the wooden table in the corner. Too busy concentrating on Stryker, Holly had no way of anticipating Alison’s next move. Turning to facing them all, Alison cocked a gun and aimed it at her father.

  The tears dried on her delicate face as she pointed the weapon. She handled it with an easy familiarity that made Holly shudder.

  “I did it all for you, Daddy…all for you. And you offer me to this…this creature as…as food? Food! I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked of me.” The gun still trained on her father, Alison sneered at Holly. “I was the perfect Seaton, but it was always you…always about you…don’t you know it was me who did all those things? I did it. I did it all!”

  Ignoring Alison, Holly fought an entirely different battle. Still she held Stryker’s gaze. Was he coming around? Brief recognition flickered in his eyes and she caught a glimpse of the man she loved then just as quickly the savage came back. She didn’t dare break eye contact again for fear of losing him altogether.

  Alison continued to speak, her voice hollow, weedy. “I told Daddy about your friend Nicole, you know. She had an aura that you could see. She wasn’t pure. Daddy praised me for providing the information. He was so proud. Nicole had to die because she wasn’t pure…I knew it. He got the order from above and ran her down. I understood that it had to be done and told no one. That day I proved myself a Seaton. I was Daddy’s good little girl. I impressed them all at such a young age.”

  Holly gasped in reaction. Her gaze faltered, but only for a second. Stryker held on.

  Maintaining eye contact with Stryker, willing him to fight, Holly let Alison babble on. “I was the one who carried on the family tradition. I’m the bloodstalker. I killed those women in your precious Muskoka.” Alison spoke the words proudly in an almost conversational tone. “The cops can be so naive sometimes. I even left puncture wounds like a vampire. Clever, huh?” She giggled. “The murders were so heinous they never dreamt a woman could commit them. But I’m a hell of a lot stronger than I look. I called Irene O’Neill and told her that I simply had to have a reading. Stupid old woman didn’t have a clue. I met her at the gas station during one of my monthly visits and she told me that she read tarot cards. That information alone was enough to make us take a closer look at Muskoka population trends. You creatures tend to attract one another.” Alan Seaton tried to take advantage of the momentary distraction and escape, but Alison stopped him.

  “Stay right where you are, Daddy. Can’t you see it’s all over? After everything I’ve done for you, to you I’m still expendable. You made me a killer…you made me a kidnapper…lovely little Connor came towards me so willingly. It was easy to get my hands on him. And his bodyguard, filthy vampire, never suspected little ole’ me. It’s up to me. I’ll kill them all! And precious Holly first!”

  Stryker growled. “I won’t let you hurt her, you bitch! It was you! You took that child. You murdered my people! I will rip you apart!” In a lightning quick motion, he took hold of the iron Alan had discarded and with super human strengt
h, used it to break his bonds. Naked, his skin deep red, painted with the blood Alan had force fed him, he lunged for Alison.

  She fired. The bullet caught Stryker in the chest, throwing him off balance. He fell to the floor and Holly ran to him. She cradled him in her arms, urgently, begging him to hang on.

  Alison ignored them. She only had eyes for the man she’d idolized her entire life. “Stay where you are, Daddy! It’s over. I worshipped you! I would have done anything for you, yet you threw me away! And for what? This vampire? This half breed? What would you have done had this monster drank me dry? Would you even have cared?” She moved closer. “No…no, you wouldn’t have, would you? What there was left of me after it sucked me dry you’d have thrown out with the garbage without a backward glance. Do you feel nothing for me? After all I’ve done in your name?”

  In a wheedling voice, Seaton tried to save his skin. “Alison sweetheart, I know you won’t hurt me. Give Daddy the gun, darling. You don’t have it in you to kill me. I…”

  “Shut up!” This time her aim was true. She shot her father smack dab in the middle of the forehead. He was dead before he hit the floor.

  For a long moment, Alison stood perfectly still as her father’s blood painted the floor red. At last, as if finally realizing what she’d done, she ran to him. Cradling him much like Holly cradled Stryker, she started to keen. Madness twisted her tear-drenched face as she rocked back and forth talking gibberish to her father’s lifeless body.

  Stryker panted. “Holly?”

  “I’m here.”

  “You’ve got to get out of here. I can control this for only so long. He glanced down at the bullet wound bleeding freely. “I’m losing blood now. I’ll get worse as I weaken. The blood I’ve consumed…”

  But Holly refused to be pushed away. “We’ll get you to a doctor.”

  Stryker shook his head. Through clenched teeth, he said, “You don’t understand, my love. You’re not safe here. This is something I can’t fight. The more blood I lose, the more I’m going to need to feed. Don’t you see? I could kill you!”

  “I don’t believe that for a second.” There had to be a way to save him. Holly was prepared to do anything.

  “Go!” He tried to push her away, but for the first time in his long life, he was weak. And Holly wasn’t budging. Instead she looked at him with a deadly determination, the likes of which she’d never felt before.

  His eyes followed her gaze and he understood. “What are you thinking? Holly, no, stop!”

  Ignoring his pleas, she reached up and grabbed one of the knives on the table near them. With it, she cut deep into the purple vein in the crook of her arm. Thick, red blood poured from the wound. Stryker watched, despite himself, mesmerized by it. But still he made no move towards the torn vein that pumped out her blood.

  “My blood will make you strong. It’s given freely.” She offered her crimson soaked arm to him, but he turned away.

  “I could drain you. It won’t stop. I still feel the savage inside me. I won’t be able to control it once I get a taste of your blood.”

  “You can control it. I trust you.” She offered him her arm again. “My blood is yours. You could never hurt me.”

  He tried to move away again, but she pressed the pulse in her arm to his lips, forcing him to drink. One taste and he was lost. He needed no more invitation.

  As he drank, Holly felt a pleasure so sharp it was almost painful, but not quite. His hunger was so sensual, so erotic, she longed to lie down, spread her legs, expose her neck and let him take her there on the cellar floor. Nothing else mattered. The feeling was exquisite, unlike any she could possibly imagine. All those dreams she’d had were right. They’d foreshadowed it. She became liquid as she flowed into him. Joyfully, Holly gave him everything, all of her. She lost the will to fight against it.

  Miraculously, it was Stryker who pulled away. As his strength returned, so did his ironclad control. With a deep moan, he dropped Holly’s bleeding arm. Grabbing a cloth he wrapped it around the wound and put pressure on it until the bleeding abated.

  Holly lay on the damp floor limp, useless, still in the throes of the pleasure she’d felt when he’d sipped from her. At last she understood. The gift of blood offered to a vampire, need not be about violence. My God, how wonderful it could be when given freely.

  Stryker tore himself away from her and staggered over to the concrete sink in the corner. He let the water run over his face and chest until he was washed clean of all traces of blood. Desperately weak and dreadfully ashamed, he wrapped a towel around his waist to cover his nakedness. He staggered to Holly.

  “Are you all right? Did I hurt you?” His voice was filled with self loathing. “Please forgive me.” He hung his head.

  His voice snapped Holly out of her sexual stupor. With a cry, she put her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. The reassuring beat of his heart was music to her ears.

  “Oh, my darling, you didn’t hurt me. You could never hurt me,” She cried.

  In a voice filled with anguish, Stryker asked, “Is Connor okay? Seaton…he…he told me that he’d let the boy live, let him go home to his family unharmed if I gave myself up without a fight. He forced human blood down my throat. I think I went mad. I didn’t hurt anyone else, did I? I tried to fight it. I tried so hard. Seaton told me it was Connor’s blood he fed me. Please tell me I didn’t…”

  Holly swept a hand over his face and smiled. “Connor’s home thanks to you. Not a scratch on him. You never sampled his blood tonight. You didn’t hurt anyone, Stryker. You are the one who has been hurt.” Her keen eyes examined what she could see of his body. The evidence of the torture Alan had inflicted made her swallow hard, but thankfully, her own blood had given him enough strength to survive.

  “You have a bullet in your chest and it has to come out. You’re still bleeding. Even if you do have super recuperative powers, I’ve got to get you to a hospital.” She looked over at Alison and in a firm voice spoke her sister’s name.

  “Alison, stay right where you are! I’ve got to get Stryker out of here and if you try to stop me, I’ll go right through you.”

  Beyond reason or hope, Alison had started tearing at her beautiful hair when all attempts to revive her father had failed. Holly made a slow move towards her.

  Through her madness, Alison caught Holly’s movement. She looked up and smiled sweetly. It was the ugliest smile Holly had ever seen.

  “Don’t worry, half breed, I’ve got him now.”

  With a lightning quick motion, Alison pressed the gun to her own chest and pulled the trigger. She was gone before Holly could get to her. Her body lay lifeless and bloody, draped over the man she’d lived for.

  With no time to waste, Holly couldn’t afford to indulge her emotions. She forced the shock of the past few minutes aside, promising to revisit it later. She had to get Stryker to a doctor and fast. She helped him into his torn clothing. One look at her cell phone told her there was still no signal and she cursed out of frustration.

  “Get me to Dakota,” Stryker murmured.

  She turned to him, confused. “Who? Oh, you mean your horse?”

  He closed his eyes and nodded almost imperceptibly.

  “You don’t need the horse, I’ve got my car. I’ll drive you to the closest hospital.”

  “No…a hospital won’t do. Get me to Dakota. He’s faster than any car and knows where to take me.”

  Holly decided not to argue and helped him to cross the room. The going was slow, but when they made it up the stairs and out the kitchen door, Dakota was waiting for them. Miraculously, the majestic stallion kneeled to assist Stryker in mounting.

  From atop the horse, Stryker said, “He’ll take me to a doctor who knows how to help me.” He slumped against Dakota’s neck. “I’ll be okay, Dakota knows what to do. Get in your car, lock the doors and drive. When you can get a phone signal, call Stephen. Stephen will know where they’ve taken me.” He was gone. Holly didn’t even see what directio
n they’d taken.

  “I guess Dakota is faster than any car…” she murmured and made her way to the car.

  As she drove, she kept an eye on her phone. The second she picked up a signal, she placed her call to Stephen. He understood immediately and gave her directions to where he figured Dakota had taken Stryker. Before he hung up, he reassured Holly.

  “Don’t worry. Vampires don’t have to die from bullet wounds to the chest. It sounds like he fought the worst battle right before your eyes. From what I’ve learned about his kind, large amounts of human blood like that should have driven him insane…feral. It should have been impossible for him to resist taking Alison and you too, eventually, bloodmate or not.”

  She’d told him nothing about her own blood sacrifice. Holly caught a sob in her throat and Stephen handed the phone over to Avery.

  Chapter 32

  He was back in her home the next day. Holly kept touching him to make sure he was real. Stryker didn’t appear to mind in the least. As always he welcomed her touch.

  “I love you Holly,” he said as they snuggled on the couch. “I loved you even before that day in the supermarket. I just didn’t know it. I think I’ve loved you since the day you were born. That’s the way it is with bloodmates.” He kissed the long length of her neck. “It was your voice, your scent that gave me the strength to fight the hunger, the madness. Through it all I could sense you. I didn’t want to lose myself…I didn’t want to lose you.”

  “You’ll never lose me.” She sighed. His teasing lips sent shivers through her body. “We’re bloodmates, remember? I have no choice. When I saw you chained to that wall, I thought I’d go mad.”

  “Good thing you didn’t. Had you broken down, shown any kind of reaction, I’m not sure I could have controlled myself. I would have felt your emotions and let my own go. I couldn’t have come back, Holly. Seaton would have succeeded.”