Sentinel (Vampire Conclave: Book 2)

by S. J. West

  I pull the car up in front of the house and shut the engine off. Just as Julian pushes his door open, Helen quickly makes her way down the stairs from the porch and walks toward him.

  “Don’t you ever worry me like that again,” she chastises him before wrapping her free arm around his waist and burying her face against his chest.

  I hear her begin to cry and see Julian wrap his arms around her shoulders to steady her. I get out of the car and walk over to the pair to rescue the plate of cookies before Helen forgets she’s holding them. I can’t, in good conscious, just stand by and allow good food to fall to the ground by accident. Considering it’s a plate full of her yummy chocolate chip and cinnamon cookies, I feel as if it’s my sworn duty to begin eating them right away.

  Just as I reach for one of the cookies, I see Viktor leap out through Julian’s still-open car door and stretch the sleep out of his lithe body. He looks pointedly at the plate of cookies in my hands and then looks up into my eyes with an accusing glare before meowing rather loudly.

  “Hungry?” I ask him, cautiously removing a cookie from the top of the pile with a small amount of guilt and a little bit of remorse that I can’t share one with him. I can’t help it if I’m constantly hungry or that he’s in cat form and can’t consume chocolate. Eating is practically like breathing to me now, and sharing my food with others has gone way down on my list of priorities.

  Viktor meows once again and begins to prance his way up to the house with his head held high. Apparently, he expects me to follow him and do his bidding, no questions asked.

  “Spoiled much?” I grumble as I follow him up to the house, giving Helen and Julian a moment of privacy. I know she needs reassurance that her best friend is all right, which immediately makes me think about Kaylee.

  I called my sister before I left for my day with Gage to make sure she didn’t need my help. She assured me that Ben was more than capable of taking care of her and little Em while I was away on my coastal adventure. I shouldn’t worry about her like a mother hen, but I do. I make a mental note to call her first thing in the morning, just so I know for sure she isn’t overexerting herself.

  I end up following Viktor straight into the kitchen and find him standing on the counter top directly underneath the cabinet where I keep his cans of Fancy Feast.

  I fill one small bowl with his food and one with water. He immediately pounces on the food as soon as it hits the floor.

  As I lean my back against the edge of the counter and watch him eat, I feel a need to warn him that I’ve told Julian about his secret.

  “Julian knows that you can transform into a human,” I say in a rush of words that are barely decipherable, but from the way Viktor’s head snaps up from his bowl, decipher them he did.

  Surprisingly, he transforms into his human form right then and there.

  “You did what?” he demands heatedly, not even pussyfooting around the issue that he’s extremely angry with me.

  I’m just about to reiterate what I said when I see Viktor’s face go completely slack, like he’s just suffered a great and terrible shock. He runs over to the sink and immediately spits out the cat food that’s in his mouth.

  “Is store bought cat food poisonous to humans?” he questions me with a look of utter disgust on his face. He immediately turns the faucet on full force and places his mouth into the stream of gushing water to wash away the remnants of the Fancy Feast food.

  “I don’t think so,” I say, trying my best not to laugh at the picture he makes. “It just doesn’t taste good to us.”

  Viktor stands up straight with a mouthful of water in his mouth. He holds up the index finger of his right hand, indicating that he has something to say to me but needs a moment. I watch him swish the water in his mouth around and then spit it out into the sink before he continues.

  “I would have to say that is the understatement of the century,” he declares with a shiver of utter repulsion. “Remind me never to transform while I’m eating my food. Now my favorite meal is forever ruined for me. I’ll never be able to eat it again without remembering this horrifying moment.”

  “I’m sure I can find you something just as good to eat,” I tell him, feeling as though I need to comfort Viktor in his time of distress. “What did Shael feed you?”

  “Oh, she had the chefs at the palace prepare me special meals,” Viktor says, like it’s the most natural thing in the world for a cat to have a host of chefs at his beck and call. “But the canned food you gave me was just as delectable, if I’m being honest. Now, I’ll never be able to eat it again,” he says disappointedly, as if his one joy in life has been snatched away from him for all time.

  “I promise we’ll find you something else,” I reply, trying my best to soothe him.

  “Goodness gracious!” I hear Helen exclaim.

  I look toward the entryway of the kitchen and find her and Julian standing there now. Both of them are staring directly at Viktor. Helen’s eyes immediately drop below Viktor’s waist and widen. I can’t tell if she’s shocked, impressed, or both.

  “Wonderful!” Viktor says, throwing his arms up into the air in exasperation. “Now even the vampire’s maid knows what I am.”

  “She’s not the maid,” Julian and I both say in unison, defending Helen’s place within our household.

  “You get my meaning,” Viktor says, resting his hands on his hips as he looks at Julian and Helen with a touch of anger and a smidge of superiority. “I assume I don’t have to tell you both that my ability to transform into a human is to be kept a secret. A secret,” Viktor emphasizes, turning his gaze toward me, “that some people seem to be unable to keep.”

  “You showed yourself to Gage and Nathaniel,” I point out. “I just assumed that it wasn’t that much of a stretch to tell Julian the truth. I didn’t tell you to transform and show yourself off to Helen. That one’s on you.”

  “Wait,” Helen says, putting two and two together by herself. “He’s Viktor, the cat?” she asks me in surprise.

  “Yes,” I say, since the cat is literally out of the bag. “He can transform into a human.”

  “Well, that’s certainly unexpected,” Helen says, raising a hand to her throat to pull together the collar of her white button up blouse as she continues to stare at Viktor in surprise. “If I had known that little fact, I certainly wouldn’t have let him come into my room while I was taking a shower and getting dressed the other day.”

  “Viktor!” I say admonishingly. “That was rude!”

  “I’ve seen countless people naked within my lifetime,” he tells me with a roll of his eyes, as if his invasion of Helen’s privacy is no big deal. “I assure you, Helen didn’t show me anything that I haven’t seen before.” He looks over at my friend and smiles appreciatively. “Although, for a woman your age, you are in exceedingly fine shape, if I do say so myself. Your body was much firmer than I expected it to be.”

  Helen raises her eyebrows, looking slightly shocked by Viktor’s oddly put compliment.

  “Thank you for that, I guess,” she replies uncertainly. “But you won’t be getting another peep show from me, young man!”

  “I was simply following you around to determine where your loyalties lie concerning Sarah. Now that I know you are a true friend to her, I don’t need to keep an eye on you anymore.”

  “I suppose I can understand that,” Helen begrudgingly admits, continuing to eye Viktor warily.

  “Sarah only told me about your ability to change forms because we decided it would be best not to keep secrets from one another,” Julian informs Viktor. “People who love each other shouldn’t be secretive.”

  “It wasn’t Sarah’s secret to share,” Viktor fervently points out. “It was mine.”

  “And I’m sorry about that,” I tell him before Julian can make a reply that will escalate matters. “I really am, but if we’re all going to be living in the same house together, don’t you agree that it’s better if he knows the truth about you?”

&
nbsp; Viktor’s lips twitch to the side as he realizes I make a good argument.

  “I suppose,” he concedes rather reluctantly. “But don’t tell Nadia yet. Until she proves herself as someone worthy of being in your service, she doesn’t need to know. After she earns the right to become your sentinel, then you can tell her my secret.”

  “Sentinel?” I ask. “She’s already my guard.”

  “In alfar society, the queen or king’s sentinel is the highest ranking Valengard officer. It’s similar to the rank of general in a human military, but there can only be one sentinel assigned to each member of the royal family. Within the ranks of the Valengard, only your sentinel is supposed to know my true nature.”

  “So why is it that you allowed Gage and Nathaniel to know that you can transform?” Julian asks.

  “They were attempting to figure out how to rescue you, and I knew of a simple way to get into the house without causing much of a fuss. I was trying to keep Sarah protected as well as I could under the circumstances and didn’t really have much of a choice in the matter. Under normal conditions, I wouldn’t have transformed in front of commoners so readily.”

  I truly did love Viktor, but his superiority complex when it came to talking about himself left much to be desired in the humility department.

  “Anyway,” I say, attempting to change the subject, “we’re all safe and sound now. Maybe we should just all go to bed and get some rest. We can discuss what needs to be done next in the morning. Gage, Petru, and Nathaniel will be coming over so we can all discuss what happened.”

  “It has been a trying day,” Helen says. It’s only then that I notice the shadows under her eyes from the stress of the day and staying up way past her normal bedtime to welcome us home.

  “I’ll escort you upstairs to your room,” Julian offers, providing her with a crooked arm not only out of old-fashioned politeness, but to help our elderly friend when she’s so visibly tired.

  Just then, we all hear the blades of a helicopter and see its lights shine through the glass of the French doors. Far out on the back lawn, Nadia’s helicopter lands. Viktor instantly transforms back into his cat form.

  “Who in the world is that?” Helen asks worriedly.

  “It’s Nadia,” I tell her. “The Valengard Viktor just mentioned. She’ll be staying with us until I can talk Shael into taking her back.”

  “Well, good luck with that,” Helen says without an ounce of confidence that I’ll be able to work such a miracle.

  “Doesn’t hurt to ask,” I mumble, wondering why everyone seems to think it’s such an impossible task. It probably is, but can’t someone give me just a little hope that it might be possible? It’s obvious encouraging words won’t be coming from this crowd.

  I see Nadia walk up to the pool area toward the French doors while her helicopter lifts off the ground and flies away. Before she reaches the back of the house, I walk over to open one of the doors to welcome her inside.

  After I make the perfunctory introductions between her and Helen, Julian suggests, “Why don’t you show Nadia to her room while I help Helen get settled for the evening?”

  “Which room will be hers?” I ask.

  “Any of the ones upstairs will do, besides the ones we use, of course.”

  “I would rather have one next to Sarah’s,” Nadia requests.

  “Then she can have the one on the other side of yours,” Julian tells me.

  Well that put a damper on what I was actually going to do. My plan was to place her in the room at the end of the hallway. It was the farthest one from mine, but I guess I can’t do that now without it looking suspicious.

  We all make our way upstairs. While Julian helps settle Helen and assures her for what seems like the hundredth time that he’s fine, I walk Nadia to the door of the room down the hall from mine.

  “Do you need anything?” I ask her. “I have some clothes you can borrow to sleep in.”

  “That’s all right,” she tells me. “My things will be delivered here in the morning. I’ll be fine sleeping in my own clothes for one night.”

  “Okay,” I say, wondering why she won’t at least take a pair of pajamas from me. “How about a toothbrush and some toothpaste? Or do alfar not brush their teeth, because that’s really something I should know about before I deal with any more of you.”

  A miracle happens, and Nadia smiles at my joke. “Never fear. We are very particular about our oral hygiene, but I will be fine for tonight, Your Highness.”

  “Is there any way I can make you call me Sarah instead of ‘Your Highness’ all the time?”

  “No.”

  Well, that was certainly a definite answer. If there is one thing I can appreciate about Nadia, it’s her bluntness when asked a direct question.

  “Let me know if there’s anything you need,” I tell her. “And that’s an order.”

  “I will,” Nadia replies, bowing to me at the waist before she turns around and enters her room.

  As I pass Helen’s bedroom, I glance in and see Julian sitting on the side of her bed, holding one of her hands in his and speaking to her in a quiet, soothing voice. I decide not to intrude on their discussion and make my way into my own bedroom. When I open my wardrobe, my eyes are drawn to the white nightgown hanging inside. It’s the one Julian left on my bed to wear one evening before one of his feedings. At the time, I felt it was far too sexy to wear in front of him. Now I see it as an excellent tool to use in my plan to seduce him into my bed and have my way with him once and for all.

  I quickly shed my clothes and slip the rather revealing piece of lingerie on. I walk into the bathroom and brush my teeth, not wanting to offend Julian with any lingering remnants of greasy diner food in my mouth. In fact, I begin to second-guess not bathing first and decide to hop into the shower for a quick rinse off. At least that’s what I think it will be. The more I rub soap onto my skin, the more I realize I need to do more to prepare for my night of carnal bliss with Julian than just rinse the day off. There is definite stubble on my legs that needs to be shaven off. Otherwise, he might come out of our first love making experience with a rash from rubbing against it. I know Julian said he wanted our first time to be spontaneous, but he obviously didn’t take into consideration that I would want to be as perfect as possible for our first time together. At least stubble free anyway.

  Once my body is properly smooth in all the right places, I step out of the shower and look at myself in the mirror. I look like a drowned rat and decide to blow my hair dry before going back out into the bedroom. I haven’t looked, but I know Julian is in there waiting for me. I can feel his presence and take comfort in the fact that he’s giving me some time to prepare for our night.

  After my hair is dry, I slip the nightgown back on and study my reflection to check my appearance. The gown is just as see-through as I thought it was the first time I saw it laying on my bed. At the time, I assumed Helen had left it there and wondered why she would leave something so revealing for me to wear. Then I found out Julian had actually been the person who picked it out. If I had known that little fact beforehand, it could very well be that we would have already made love for the first time. Yet a part of me is glad that we’ve waited. Knowing that he loves me makes the upcoming experience much more meaningful.

  I take in a deep breath and exit the bathroom. When I walk into the bedroom, I immediately look over at the bed and see Julian lying on his back, dressed in only a pair of silky black pajama shorts.

  “I hope I didn’t keep you …” I say as I begin to make my way to his side of the bed. I only stop speaking because I notice Julian’s eyes are closed. “Julian?” I whisper, wondering how someone who said he only needs to sleep a couple of hours a day is asleep again after a lengthy three hour nap on the car ride home. “Julian?”

  When I still don’t get a response, the excitement in my heart dwindles to the pitter-patter of nothing. I sigh, knowing I’ll have to wait at least one more night before I can have my way with my va
mpire companion. I walk over to the chair by the window and retrieve the black throw blanket there. It’s only then that I notice Viktor curled up on the chair’s seat in peaceful slumber.

  I go back to Julian and cover him with the blanket. I’m not really sure he can feel the cold, but the blanket can’t hurt him. I stand there and gawk at him for a full minute, wondering how someone so perfect for me can exist in the world. I can’t say I’m mad that he fell asleep. It was partially my fault for taking so long primping in the bathroom. Stupid vanity.

  Since my plans for the evening have officially been ruined, I turn off the lamp on Julian’s nightstand, casting the room in dark shadows, and crawl into my side of the bed. I lie on my side and face the window. If I watch Julian sleep, I might be tempted to wake him up, and it’s obvious he still needs to rest after being tortured by the woman in Destin.

  I’ve tried not to think too much about her or the fact that my mother is now a restless spirit called a shade. As I close my eyes to find some sleep of my own, I send up a silent prayer that we’ll be able to figure out a way to end Julian’s curse and free the soul inside him so she can finally find some peace. I also pray that we’ll find a way to figure out why my mother’s soul is still roaming the earthly plane. Why hasn’t she moved on yet? Why is she following me around, and what wrong was done to her in life to cause her to stay here as a vengeful spirit?

  So many questions and so few answers. But like any mystery, you have to know the right questions to ask before you can solve it.

  We now know the questions. All we have to do is figure out how to answer them.

  Ever get the feeling that you’re being watched? Just as my mind is shaking off the lingering effects of a deep slumber, I begin to realize that someone is giving my face a bath with their tongue. When my eyelids open, Viktor stops licking my face and stares into my eyes meaningfully.