Immortal Flame (Eternal Mates Book 1)

by JF Holland

  ***

  Leonard had dropped Jill at work and had then gone home to change, before heading out to search for Maisie. He needed the threat gone, especially as he was contemplating asking Jill to move in with him. He’d found he didn’t like being away from her. When he’d come back with no leads, he’d given up and headed back, as it was close to the time that Jill finished work. He picked her up, took her home and then had spent an hour arguing with her over food. He’d won though, so was now on his way back with steak and duchess potatoes. He’d also made sure he’d taken extra blood before he’d left his house and had packed more than a flask. He didn’t want to risk taking anything else from Jill until he was sure she had no ill effects from his oversight this morning. He’d also lost his phone, where, he had no idea, but he’d tried ringing it from the restaurant with no joy. He’d have to contact his network provider from Jill’s, to see if they could arrange for a new one for him with the same number and block the old one. He couldn’t even remember if he’d had it on him when he’d gone looking for Maisie because his head was all over the place.

  He’d started this thing with Jill, as just a means to an end, but somewhere along the line it had become more, much more. Now it had come to the crunch, he was going to have to try to read and control her, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be able to or not. If he could, it meant there was no way that he could stay with her, not long term anyway. If he couldn’t then it meant there was a chance for them, but he’d need her to accept him and the change. At this moment in time, he was unsure how it was going to go, or exactly how much to tell her because of it. If he could read her, he could tell her and if she didn’t take it well, he could wipe her, but would have to walk away. If he couldn’t, but she didn’t accept him or the change, he’d be unable to take it away so would need to call his parents or another vampire to fix it, but would still have to walk away. He found, for the first time in his long life, that he was truly scared and he didn’t like the feeling, not at all.

  “I hope you’ve warmed the plates,” Leonard shouted, as he came through Jill’s front door. He nearly tripped over the kitten as he scampered over to him and wound around his legs. He put down the food containers and scooped it up, quickly shutting the door. “Hey kitty, have you been good?” he stroked between his soft ears and was rewarded with a purr.

  “See, he’s getting used to you. I believe this is yours,” Jill said, holding out his phone as she came down the stairs.

  “Where was it?” Swapping her the kitten for his phone, Leonard took it.

  “It had fallen under the bed,” Jill replied. “I only found it because it began ringing.”

  “Thank you,” he murmured, kissing her cheek. He then scooped up the food and urged her through to the kitchen with his hand to the small of her back. “I’ve been searching for it. I thought I was going to have to phone my provider,” he explained, putting the bags on the counter. Jill put the kitten in his bed, then washed her hands and reached for the plates. With a smile of thanks as she began dishing up, Leonard pressed play on his voice mail, hitting speaker without thinking. He heard it click in as he’s just stuck his hands under the water in the sink, after handling the kitten. He heard the message and then Jaden’s voice kicked in.

  “Message received at 9.40am. Hey, runway boy, where are you, we have a bead on the psycho bitch. Call, when you get this.”

  The message clicked off and the next one played.

  “Message received at 6.45pm. We could do with your attendance. If you can make it, we’d really appreciate your help. The old psychiatric hospital, Upper Lunaton.”

  Jill froze in the middle of putting out their food. Just when Leonard thought he could probably explain it away the voice mail continued, and others could be heard talking to Jaden in the background.

  “But he’s back in Lower Lunaton.”

  “Not if he’s with his date, she lives here in Upper Lunaton.”

  They could hear movement and the rustling of clothing and then Jaden spoke up again. “Okay, we’re ready to go,” followed by lots of murmurs. Then he spoke up again, clearly.

  “Come on Sophia,” his voice muffled and then became clear again, more rustling could be heard followed by a clanking sound.

  “Are you okay, you seem miles away?” A female voice then spoke up, soft but full of strength.

  “I’m just working through my arsenal, that’s all.” Then yet another voice could be heard, and at this point Leonard had turned off the tap and wiped his hands. He closed his eyes in frustration at his own stupidity at not checking before he hit speaker, because Jill was now looking at him as if he was the devil incarnate.

  “Aunt Sophia, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing I’m fine.”

  “You were biting your thumb nail.”

  “I was wondering if I could get Maisie to tell me what sort of curse she’d used on Luc… and Adlucinor, of course.” “You know, to see if we could remove them.” By this point Jill had worked out that there were two women and a couple of men. Then the first man spoke up again.

  “I’m hoping you don’t get close enough to her to be able to ask her that.”

  “Aunt Sophia, promise me you won’t do anything stupid here?” The second female could be heard sounding worried and the first answered.

  “Fine, I won’t, but this could be our only chance to find a way to break them of their curses.”

  “I for one will live with my curse.” A new male voice could be heard now and even Leonard frowned. “I’m sure this Luc person will too. It is far more important to rid the earth of her evil than to be free from a curse. To live with the thought that other lives have been lost due to my own selfish needs would be far harder to take.” Jill gasped at this. They were talking about killing someone and curses and arsenals. Did they have weapons, and if so what did Leonard have to do with all this. Then the first woman spoke.

  “I will not give up though. I will find another way.” Then it went quiet, rustling and shuffling and then the voicemail just ended. She stared at Leonard as he finally picked up his phone and switched it off.

  “I can explain,” he told Jill, hand out, reaching for her, but she shook her head and took a step back, folding her arms.

  “Please don’t touch me.”

  “Fine, can we sit down so I can explain?” She nodded, not trusting herself to speak and headed back into the front room. Leonard followed on her heels, swearing up a blue streak in his head. He was going to kill Jaden when he got his hands on him later, because if he’d checked his phone was off before he’d carried on, he wouldn’t now be here. He’d could have explained it all to Jill in his own way at his own pace. He refused to think that he wouldn’t have to explain anything if he’d just listened to it without the speaker.

  He was an idiot.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  L eonard watched Jill’s rigid back as he followed her into her front room, but his hopes flat lined as she headed for the single armchair. Sighing, he took of his leather jacket, and sat on the edge of the sofa, hands dangling between his knees as he faced her.

  “I take it you have a few questions?”

  “You think?” she sputtered staring at him incredulously, her knees tucked beneath her chin, arms wrapped around them. In that moment, she was showing him that she needed space.

  “Jill, I…” he sighed, a hand rubbing his forehead as he tried to find the right words. She dropped her lashes, refusing to meet his imploring gaze. His eyes slit and he stared at her forehead, all he got back was radio silence, nothing, zip, he was speechless. She was a possible mate for him.

  “Fuck,” he sighed.

  “No chance buddy, now spit it out already. There is no way you are going to distract me with sex,” Jill growled, and he had to drop his head, her tone making him smile despite himself. She’d thought he’d meant he wanted to fuck her, well, he wasn’t averse to that, but he really didn’t think it was on offer. If he couldn’t sort out this mess, it may nev
er be again. His chest squeezed at the thought.

  “Do you want the condensed version or the whole thing?”

  “Condensed, if I have questions, I’ll ask, and be quick, I’m not getting any younger here,” she pointed out.

  Leonard shook his head, because never a truer word had been spoken.

  “Do you remember when we met, and you asked about the teeth and eyes?”

  “Yes, a family trait…”

  “Yes, but it’s a little more than that.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked her chin rubbing over her knees.

  “It’s a species thing,” he explained and she snorted.

  “Please, are you back to the vampire thing?”

  “I’ve told you the truth Jill, I am a vampire,” Leonard told her.

  “Fine, turn into a bat then,” she told him, eyes slit.

  “This is real life, not a bloody movie. Vampires do not shift shape, only shape shifters can do that,” he informed her.

  “Oh, so there are shape shifters now too?”

  “Yes, the people you’ve just heard talking, they are friends. Jaden is a black jaguar, as is his younger brother Balin, and Balin’s step father Sam. Maya is now too, as she’s bound to Jaden. Her mother Helena is a phoenix, but as she’s bound to Sam, I’m not sure if she’ll ever shift shape or if she’ll stay phoenix. Sophia, the other you heard talking the one about arsenal,” he stopped as Jill snorted

  “They shift shape, but need weapons,” she sneered.

  “No, shifters have natural weapons, like speed, powerful bodies, and razor sharp nails and teeth. Well as long as they are cat breads, bears and the like.

  “Of course, carry on,” she waved a hand towards him then placed it back under her chin.

  “Sophia is a witch, the arsenal she’ll be talking about are spells and runes.”

  “Of course, stupid me, and what’s Luc, a fairy?”

  “No, Luc is a gargoyle, they are earthbound angels, guardians, which is why he has wings and can fly.”

  “Obviously,” Jill murmured, with a roll of her eyes. “Are there others?”

  “There are also grizzlies, Adam and Nathan, they are twins, there are leopards, and of course werewolves, Douglas is the alpha in Lower Lunaton and married to Agatha another witch.”

  “Well, obviously, because, I mean, the witch has to be married to the alpha werewolf, that’s the law, right.”

  “Don’t be facetious, I’m trying to explain this to you.”

  “Okay, fine, tell me about vampires Leonard. How old are you?”

  “I was born January 1st 1547 in Herefordshire. My father is…”

  “Yes a Duke, a relative to the queen,” Jill interrupted him. “So, is the queen a vampire too?”

  “No, don’t be ridiculous.”

  “Okay, continue, tell me how you became a vampire?”

  “I didn’t become a vampire; I was born one.”

  “Of course, silly me. So, Vampires are born not made, so you can’t bite me and I become one?”

  “You can, but it’s not a quick thing. It takes a few months of mates drinking from each other for you to become one, but there are limits on a made vampire.”

  “And they are?”

  “A made vampire cannot bite donors.”

  “Donors, do you mean people you take blood from?”

  “Yes, but not always, most of the time we drink bagged blood.”

  “Of course, otherwise people would be screaming and coming for you with pitchforks. Continue,” she waved him on.

  “No, because a made vampire would hurt a donor. We do not harm.”

  “Biting a donor would harm them?’

  “No, but if a made vampire bit one it would hurt them, these teeth are not exactly thin. Could you imagine someone sinking their teeth into you, it would hurt. A born vampire, whether male or female is born with a pudenal gland that makes oxytocin.”

  “The chemical that is produced during an orgasm?”

  “Yes, exactly. When a born vampire bites, they excrete oxytocin through their teeth, therefore causing instant orgasm in their donors. The pleasure masks the pain, it’s a way to pay for the gift given to us, but made vampires don’t have this ability.”

  “Gift?’

  “Yes, blood is a gift, we need it to survive.”

  “You die without it?”

  “No, humans would die if we didn’t get it.”

  “Why?’

  “Everyone grows through cell regeneration,” he waited until she nodded. “We need blood for our cell regeneration. With us, the cells don’t copy they replace, like stem cells, so we don’t age past maturity.”

  “Neat trick, so why do you have this capability and not humans?”

  “We all started from the same microorganisms, it’s just that some of us evolved a little differently.”

  “So, you aren’t supernatural beings?”

  “No, just immortal.”

  “So why is it important to humans that you get blood?”

  “Because it’s painful if we don’t get it. We need it for the cell replacement. Our bodies use it to help us do everything, from eat to drink, walk, and a few other tricks we have. If we need it and it’s not available, our bodies take over, and then it can get nasty, we are then classed as rogue. Nature gave us the capabilities to get it without harming, but if push comes to shove, our bodies take over and we can kill.”

  “You said you have capabilities, like what?”

  “We are fast, I’m talking really fast. We can also read minds and alter perceptions.”

  “Have you done this to me?”

  “No, I can’t”

  “Why?’

  “Because you are a possible mate.”

  “Lucky me, have you bitten me?” He actually blushed at this, and her eyes slit.

  “The restaurant, the sofa, the bed, the… Oh, my god, how many times have you bitten me?” she growled.

  “A few,” he admitted.

  “Why? and why do I not have marks?”

  “I’d forgotten my blood and I didn’t want to harm anyone. As for the marks, in our saliva is a special kind of… glue, I suppose is the only way to explain it. It helps to seal the wound, but we need to lick first to excrete it, then sucking it afterwards really seals it up. It works like a zip lock, no marks left behind, completely re-sealed.”

  “So that’s why I’ve not seen any marks. But this morni…” she went quiet thinking about the shower incident, and the weird bleed she’d had that stopped as soon as it had started.

  “You bit my vagina?” she squealed at him and he nodded and her mouth slashed with displeasure.

  “You need to leave, and you are not welcome back in here again. I remove my offer to come here, which means you can’t get in again. You are uninvited.”

  “Jill, I don’t need an invitation, I’m human like you. I just have a few extra talents.”

  “You need to leave, you need to leave now, I do not want to talk to you. I don’t believe you, it’s preposterous, it’s impossible, and you need to make an appointment and go and talk to someone.”

  “Jill, I…”

  “Leave, leave now Leonard, I do not want to speak to you again.”

  Sighing, he pushed up and looked to her but she shook her head. He bent down and picked up his jacket, slipped his arms in and then went to the kitchen and grabbed his phone off the side. Holding it in his hand, he walked out of the door, closing it behind him.

  “Bollocks,” he fumed as he got into his car. He’d give her a few days to cool off and then he’d approach her again. Hopefully, she’d be more receptive if given time. For now, he needed to find the old asylum and try to see if he could help his friends, it was still light out, but not for long.

  He got in the car, and once again looked towards Jill’s, then turned over the engine and pulled away from the kerb.

  The first tears fell as she heard the car start up, then they fell freely after she heard it pull away.
/>   Why did she always fall for the crazies?

  Shifters, vampires, witches and gargoyles, he was obviously delusional.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Monday morning, two days later: -

  J ill sat at her desk, tapping information into her computer, using a little more force than necessary.

  “Right, I’ve had enough. I can’t think with your foul mood, now tell me what the hell is going on?” Thomas asked appearing in his office doorway with a scowl on his face. Jill jumped, scowled back, then her shoulders dropped as she saw the signs of fatigue in her boss’s face. He had shadows beneath his eyes as he ran an agitated hand through his un unruly strawberry blond hair. He’d been so busy with his patients and being called away from the office that the man probably hadn’t had time to sleep.

  “I’m sorry Thomas,” she sighed. “Can I get you a coffee?” she asked getting up from her desk and moving towards the small drinks machine in the corner.

  “Yes,” he murmured around another yawn, stretching in the doorway. “Then you are going to get in here and tell me what’s happened to turn you into such a grouch.” With that, he moved back into his office and left her to make their drinks.

  Mumbling under her breath, Jill poured two coffees, Thomas’s black and hers extra milky. She carried them into his office and found him sat on his low sofa, legs up and head resting on the arm.