by Deanna Chase
I look up and meet Rafe’s eyes. He nods. He wants me to trust Rolando and tell him what is going on. God, this rubs me the wrong way. I grit my teeth once, then release my jaw.
“We’ve got a problem up here.” I fill him in on the killing, Drew’s wife Angie being murdered, what I saw in Sheba’s head, the sabotage at the power plant, and finish with Jon’s half-wolf getting torn up. I leave off the bit about the wrong scent.
Honestly, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and sounds like a duck, well, more than likely, it’s a damn duck.
Jon and Rafe are making motions at me, trying to get me to add the part about the scent. But I’ve made up my mind and I’m not going to humor them anymore. I wave them off, focusing on Rolando on the other end of the line.
“It does sound like it could be Ivan. I’ll have to tell the ancients of these events, you know that.”
“Yes, I know.” Resignation colors my voice. I really don’t like coming up on their radar any more than I absolutely have to. “Are those old bastards Malik and Coraline still there?” Two more vamps who hate me. Damn, I really didn’t socialize well four hundred and fifty years ago. I had a big chip on my shoulder and hated most of my own kind. Which made the enforcer part real easy to do.
Rolando chuckles again at my obvious displeasure. “Yes. You really did piss off a lot of people when you were here, didn’t you?”
Jon cracks a smile at that one, doing a silent little clapping motion. He mouths Bravo at me with exaggerated mirth. Jerk.
I break into the humorous moment with the nitty-gritty. “Do I need a sanctioned kill from the tribunal, or will the ruling of ‘breach on my territory and harm to those I protect’ suffice?”
If we’re going to kill this bastard, I want to make sure I don’t have old enemies coming after me for the hell of it.
A sigh reaches me from across the line. “No, you’re good. I’ll make sure I announce your intentions with my report on the incidents.”
Sensing the end of the conversation, Rafe motions with his hand at Asa. Damn, almost forgot. “Oh, one last thing, Rolando. Tell the record keepers I have a new member in my seethe. His name is Asa Monson. We’ll send the details of his lineage in an email with Rafe’s electronic signature as witness.”
“What?” Rolando sounds incredulous. “Alexandria the Great takes a member into her seethe? First time in over two hundred years?” Genuine happiness trickles into his words. “This calls for a celebration, I’ll send you…”
I hang up the phone. I’ve said all I need to say and I’m tired of listening to the windbag. I glance at the men. Asa looks concerned. Good. He should be. Jon appears to be thinking about all he heard. That bastard is probably cataloging all the possible new enemies he heard I had. Rafe smiles at me.
Good job, love. I know that wasn’t easy for you.
He’s right. It wasn’t.
My body goes cold. Like an Arctic breeze through the door, but it hits only me. I bolt to my feet.
“Something’s wrong.”
I reach out with my senses. Closing my eyes, I extend beyond the cabin. I push my power out, down through my bloodline. I can connect with every living and non-living being on the property that has consumed my blood within the last month.
Tiny filaments of energy reach out from my core. They sweep out into the darkness, meeting a strong spark at every end. Except one. One is flickering and failing fast. It’s dying. And someone is taking that life. A life that is mine.
Chapter Twenty-three
“It’s Paul. Someone has drained him of blood.”
I bolt from the table and rip the cabin door off its hinges in my haste to make it into the night. The men’s voices sound behind me in the distance but I can’t chance stopping or slowing for a moment to allow them to catch up. I must get to Paul quickly before he’s gone.
Dria! It could be a trap! Rafe shouts in my mind.
I race down the paved paths, barely feeling my feet touch the ground. No, Ivan has left him. I sense Paul’s alone. He’s lost a lot of blood.
Where is he? We’ll meet you.
Sprinting as fast as I can, I round the last bend that leads to the hotel. Bushes and twinkling lights stream past me like a continuous beam of headlights speeding along a highway. He was heading home, to the family cabins. He’s on a snowmobile trail about a half-mile northwest of the main building.
We’ll meet you there as soon as we can. What are you going to do?
I’ll let you know the options when I get there.
No sooner do I finish that thought I hear Paul’s labored breathing up ahead in the darkness.
“Paul! It’s me, Vivian! I’m coming!”
I come upon his snowmobile first. The red machine leans on its side and the engine has stopped. Paul lies face down, very still, on the hard, ice-packed trail.
I turn him over and place his head in my lap. His skin is deathly pale, his heartbeat faint in my ears. The end is near for Paul.
Crap! We’ve run out of options. I would suggest Jon bite him, but he’s too far gone to survive the virus. Do I dare?
You’re asking me? It’s your choice. But I’d like to argue that he does have a wife and two children.
Oh God, if anything, that makes my decision harder. On the one hand, I can change him and if things don’t work out or he’s not happy with the choice, I could kill him again. On the other, he’s got kids and it should really be between him and his family to make the choice to turn.
Well, it’s always easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.
Decision made, I tear into my wrist with my teeth while I listen deep inside him. His heart grows more and more faint, and I wait for the crucial moment. A vampire can only result if you catch the human at the right point in time before death. The virus is ingested and then works its way through the tissue before the life is completely lost. I’ve never been one of those doubters, wondering whether or not vampires have a soul. If we never truly die, then how would we lose it?
Our actions before and after we turn are what will eventually damn us—not proof positive that we have souls or not. Paul must lose nearly all of his blood and have it replaced with a vampire’s blood before death in order to turn into one of us. Rafe’s mate bond is different. He donated and consumed a liter a day for ten days as part of the ritual to become my mate, but he was never near death at any time.
I’m going to need a full donation from several sources. Paul’s going to require a lot of my blood.
Shit. And you just fed from Jon last night.
I open Paul’s mouth with my right hand and lower my left wrist to his lips. I squeeze my forearm a bit to get the blood to course between his lips. Once his mouth is full, I massage his throat to swallow it.
Well, that leaves you. I can’t take nearly enough from you to sustain me for long. Damn, who would have thought this would happen? I can’t believe I don’t have a plan covering this scenario. What the hell!
I search for alternatives in my mind, fully aware that Rafe is doing the same.
How about Olivia? Rafe asks. She hasn’t been here that long. You may be able to safely drink from her and not bind her to you. We could give her bottled water during the rest of her stay.
As my blood starts to seep through his organs, Paul slowly regains his strength. His mouth latches onto my wrist and he sucks like I’ve got crack in my veins and he’s an addict.
Good idea. Call the hotel and have them find her. Tell Asa to detour to the hotel to escort her here, weapon at the ready.
Think you’ll need more?
Oh, I know I’ll need more. It’s just a matter of time.
Paul’s hands come up to grip my forearm in place. His teeth nibble on the torn skin, instinctively opening the wound to drink more. The cold of the night sinks into me. I wish we were anywhere but out here, exposed in the woods. As if reading my mind and sensing my discomfort, Jon and Rafe appear through the trees in that exact instant.
�
��Whew,” I sigh. “Am I ever happy to see you two. Paul here is a hungry little bugger.”
Without saying a word, Rafe comes up behind me to cradle my back. He picks me, and part of Paul, off the ground to scoot underneath us. Rafe’s warm arms circle me, drawing me back into the heat of his now open coat.
“How much longer, liebling?” Rafe whispers in my ear.
“Another ten minutes or so, I think. He’s sucking it down pretty fast but he lost a lot of blood.”
“We need to tell his wife,” Jon announces. “You want to tell her or should I?”
I don’t answer him. It’s pretty damn obvious I’m not going anywhere for a while, so I speak my mind instead.
“Bunny has been here ten years, just like Paul. They met on the property and married. Both were donors before that, so it’s not like they don’t know what’s going on.” I pause, lost in my thoughts, and consider the woman I’ve known for years. “I think she’ll be okay with it. Ultimately, I think the decision is hers. If she can’t live with him and doesn’t think he would want to be a vampire then I’m going to need to kill him before their kids see him.” The thought weighs me down so much, I feel like I could cry. “Please, God, let her be okay with it or this night is going to be so bad for us.”
“Us?” Jon snorts. “I think Paul has it the worst. His wife decides his fate? Shit, I hope they haven’t been fighting or anything lately.”
Jerk. Like I need anything else to make me feel bad about this situation.
“Should I have chosen differently, Jon?” I wave my free hand down to the chef sucking at my wrist. “Should I have let him die when it was my enemy that attacked him?”
“No. No!” He’s pacing back and forth on the trail. “You did the decent thing. If he hated vampires, he wouldn’t have stayed this long, no matter what you were paying him. Hell, he wouldn’t have made it through the interview process if he was pre-disposed to hating the idea.” Jon kicks out with a foot, aiming for nothing. “Fuck!” He walks into the night toward the cabins in the distance. “I’ll calm down on the walk.”
His next action belies his words. Jon punches up at the sky, letting out a horrible yell. He screams a string of expletives, ending on a sigh. When he speaks next, he’s further down the trail and his voice sounds much calmer. “I’ll break the news to Bunny. She shouldn’t hear this in a phone call.” Anger and confusion radiate off the werewolf in waves.
Yes, the walk will do Jon good. This incident right on the heels of his dog has got to be taking its toll on him. I hope for Paul’s sake, the married couple had stayed up late into the night talking about all the gruesome what-if scenarios like most of us have. I know Rafe wants me to change him one day if there is no other alternative, but with my strength added to his own, we hope that it never becomes a choice I have to make.
Liebling, you’re getting maudlin. If it ever came to that, we’d be the first to make it work. Trust me on that.
Millennia of vampires have turned their mates when faced with death, but none have made it work past a few years. Best not to borrow trouble when you don’t need to, so I force myself to stop thinking about it.
“I need your wrist. I’m getting really cold.”
Rafe removes his glove, pushes up his coat sleeve baring his skin to me.
“This one won’t be fun out here on the ice.” His silky voice caresses my ear. “But it will certainly help keep me warm.” He licks the outer edge of my earlobe in emphasis. “Bite me, baby, bite me,” he whispers, while settling me more firmly in his lap.
He’s trying to distract me from this horrible tableau laid out at our feet. Despite the cold seeping through my damp leather pants, I feel warm and tingly at the thought of his invitation. I do my best to ignore the sucking sounds coming from Paul while I lower my mouth to Rafe’s warm skin. My canines elongate in need. I lick the pulse beating strongly below the surface, trailing my wet tongue up his arm a few inches.
God, you taste good.
Rafe’s chuckle vibrates against my back, reverberating up to where our heads touch. A shudder passes through me when I think of what I’d rather be doing when I feed from my lover.
Rafe’s warmth comes through in my mind. I love that you want me, Dria. As much as I want you.
Yeah, our timing sucks right now, eh?
Minutes pass until I’m sure I’ve taken all that I safely can.
I pull back and lap delicately at the holes I’ve made, sealing his skin instantly. Rafe’s body wraps as tightly around me as he can get. I love to feel the strength of his arms as he holds me close. Light kisses touch the side of my neck as I lower his arm.
I look down at the still suckling Paul. Eww… this is taking a long time. Movement down the trail draws my attention. I push out with my senses and feel Asa’s bright energy signature. He’s consumed more of my blood than most people on the resort, so he’s easy to spot.
“Vivian!” Asa’s voice calls through the darkness.
“Here!” I call, “up ahead, on the trail!”
Deciding Paul’s feeding is complete, I gently nudge his head away from my wrist. I send a push of power his direction to ensure he complies without making a scene like grabbing my arm back for more. The newly changed need subtle direction from their makers in the beginning, until they gain control of the blood lust.
Paul’s head lifts. He meets my eyes with a confused look. “Vivian? What happened?” His big brown eyes appear lost in his round lovable face. “I feel off.”
The outline of Asa and Olivia rounding the last bend of the trail comes into view. We’re about to be alone no longer. I need to work fast.
“You were attacked by a rogue vampire. He drained your blood to kill you.” Some of my weariness seeps into my tone. “I arrived in time to give you my blood to turn you.”
“Turn me?” He raises a hand to his bloody lips. His fingertips smear a bit of red into the skin of his chin. In the dark moonlight, his hand comes away looking black.
“Oh no… oh no… oh God, no!” Panic replaces the confusion. “My children! Are they okay?”
“Shit. I’m sorry, Paul.” I grab both his cheeks, forcing his gaze to lock on to mine. “Your kids are okay. So is Bunny. You need to sleep.”
I push none too gently into his mind. It’s scattered and chaotic. Whirls of thoughts tumbling over one another, each vying for prominence within his brain. Energy vibrates from his core, pulsing with his new afterlife. I lay a calming touch over it all, to still the frantic swirls, imposing my more powerful will over his own.
Sleep.
Paul’s eyes drift close.
“He’ll be out for at least twenty-four hours. Then the hunger will bring him back.”
Rafe hands me a glove to wipe Paul’s chin and lips free of blood. I place Paul’s limp form on the ground, easing myself out from under him. Rafe scoots back as well, helping both of us to stand. Asa and Olivia walk past the snowmobile, coming to stand near us.
Asa’a sharp eyes take in the scene in a glance. “He’s turned. Is the power I feel coming off him because of your blood or will he be a powerful fledgling?”
“It’s too soon to tell what he will be.” I brush snow off my legs, giving a little shudder at the state my favorite leather pants are in. Damn. “The energy you feel is all me.”
“Why is he sleeping?”
Asa is too sharp. Thankfully, he’s also young. I can spin some bull and he won’t know.
“I’m his maker. I willed him to sleep while we figure out what to do with him.”
Olivia chooses that moment to speak up. “What do you mean ‘figure out what to do with him’?”
“It’s not your concern,” I say with a firm tone. “I take care of my own.” She casts her eyes down and away in fear or acceptance, I’m not sure.
I step forward away from Paul’s body, effectively ending that topic with my advancement on her. The hunger roils in my belly like an angry snake. Her lifeblood pulsing beneath the surface of her skin smells enti
cing. Normally, when turning someone, the vampire would have gorged on the human’s blood prior to the exchange. Ivan took Paul’s blood, leaving me down several quarts when I let Paul feed from me. Olivia looks—and smells—really good right now.
Olivia’s eyes widen and her body tenses in fright. I can smell the delicious aroma of fear cascading off her body in waves. I stalk across the distance between us like a lioness after her prey. My canines lengthen again. Anticipation swells within me to subdue the hollow pit in my stomach. I haven’t felt like this in years. Not since I turned Cy.
I want her and I will have her.
She’s the only viable choice, having arrived only yesterday. Olivia’s awkwardness in the moment comes stumbling out in her next words. “Normally, I’m in bed with the vampire.” She looks around at Asa and Rafe, realizing her choice of phrase must have come out odd based on the looks on their faces. “I mean…I’d know them pretty well and we’d be on intimate terms…” She appears flushed, trying to look everywhere but at me. “Can’t you use my wrist?”
She’s right, I could, but it would take longer. Not willing to waste any more time on chit-chat, I ignore her. I reach out to brush her long hair back off her neck, flipping it over her shoulder. We’re almost the same height. I lean in, gently tilting her head to the side with my hand. The hunger overwhelms all else.
My lips settle firmly on her skin. Something trickles through the ache within me. Her smell. It feels off. The red haze in my mind clears enough for me to register an important fact—she’s been marked by another vampire.
The scent of Antonio drifts up to tease my senses. The self-centered jerk must have given her his blood when he emerged from the gym this afternoon.
It’s considered a grave offense in the supernatural community to feed from someone’s servant without permission. The insulted vampire could issue a challenge if they felt the deed was meant to poach. Will he flex his right or will he bend, understanding my need?
I know what awaits me if I do this. I know I need to regain my strength before Ivan attacks again. Knowing all of it doesn’t change a thing. My teeth nip the taut flesh. Olivia’s blood rushes forth to coat my tongue. I greedily drink down the glorious red life force.
