by Kate Wendley
“I’ll get some more lights and cleaning supplies if you want to keep your eye on him.”
Sebastian nodded and looked around, having no idea where to start with this mess. He sighed in frustration, way too exhausted to deal with cleaning up the entire apartment tonight.
And Zach hadn’t been gone even a minute before he heard voices in the hall. Sebastian stepped into the living room just as a vampire came flying in. He grabbed the woman before she had a chance to zoom past.
Her eyes were wide as she looked him over. “No! What have you done to my Master?”
He grumbled, “Nothing. He’s sleeping.”
She nearly sobbed, “I want to see him.”
“Why?”
Zach asked, “Are you Echo?”
She nodded tearfully.
Sebastian looked into her eyes, the woman all kinds of gorgeous, but very, very weak. Like Jade. At least like Jade used to be. She was a little stronger now.
He exchanged a look with Zach, who just shrugged. “Anthony said a while ago that we could trust her. I think he used the word ‘implicitly’.”
Sebastian kept his eyes on Echo as he let her go, and she immediately made a beeline to Anthony’s room. He briefly wondered how she knew where she was going.
They followed her in, watching curiously as she climbed onto Anthony’s bed. She jerked back when glass crunched under her knee. “Why is there glass in his bed?”
Zach studied her in confusion. “He destroyed a bunch of stuff. Didn’t you hear him?”
She frowned as she looked around, then swayed unsteadily. Zach caught her before she fell.
“Whoa, whoa. I’ve got you. Here, sit down. Do you need more blood tonight?”
She trembled in his arms. “Maybe. I don’t know. He needed my energy last night. I’m not sure how to heal that.”
Sebastian rolled his eyes to himself as Zach oh so nicely put his arm around her and helped her sit on the bed. “You’re ok now. I texted someone to come let you feed. You’ll be all right.”
Sebastian found it a little hypocritical that Zach flirted so much with women since he never actually got serious with anyone. Not that Sebastian should talk. Him and Jade… well, he supposed that wasn’t exactly going anywhere, either.
He frowned at that thought and turned to go to his own room to start the clean-up effort.
Echo startled him when she blurted out, “Wolf. Is that your blood or someone else’s?”
He slowly turned back around to face her, not liking her tone with him. “Why?”
“If it’s yours, you should shower immediately.”
He frowned even harder at her.
She sounded a lot less frail and naïve than he imagined her to be when she said, “Your alpha blood is an incredible temptation to all magical creatures and would be much easier to attain while it’s on the outside of your body. For those not interested in drinking it directly, it’d fetch a handsome price for anyone willing to pay for a spell using it, and a powerful spell it would be.”
He froze, anger creeping up his spine. “Are you a witch?”
“No, but I’ve seen what they can do. Please, you should burn your clothes as soon as possible, personally, and wash yourself.”
Zach casually said, “Go. I’ll watch her and wait for her volunteer to come.”
Sebastian stared at them for a brief moment, then grumbled under his breath and left.
Chapter 37
Once Torin told everyone in the club things were safe again, Jade knew she had to see Sebastian right now, her nerves be damned. She stoically padded down the vampire hall, then a little less stoically went downstairs to where the vampire rooms were.
Where Sebastian was.
The door to their apartment was open and there were flickering lights moving around in the pitch darkness.
“Jade?”
“Sebastian, are you ok?” She wanted to run to him, but things were crunching under her feet everywhere she stepped. And when she finally made her way into the apartment, something about his body language felt wrong.
“I’m fine, but Echo says I need to shower and get all this blood off me before someone tries to take it.”
“What?”
He grumbled, “I don’t know. Something about spells or whatever.”
She edged closer to him, but he didn’t welcome her into his arms like usual. Dread filled her as she spit out, “Honey, I love you.”
He went still and stared at her in the dim, hodgepodge lighting. His expression wasn’t what she’d hoped for.
He finally sighed and said, “Jade, I know I’m not the person you wish I was. Some of that I could maybe change, but most of it I can’t. The parts that you don’t like, well, they are what they are.”
He shook his head, and before he could convince either of them of what she knew was coming next, she said, “I don’t want you to change. I want you to keep being the incredibly scary, ferocious, brave, sweet and respectful man that you are.”
He flinched and looked like he thought she was about to make him the butt of a pretty hurtful joke.
She continued, “You’re so completely different than I ever imagined you’d be. You have so much more depth to you, more dignity, character, morals and loyalty than I ever realized, and I’d be stupid to ask you to change.”
He frowned in confusion as she kept stepping closer.
“Sebastian, I know I’ve been a ridiculous scaredy cat with you. I want to be stronger for you and for me. I want to grow and learn how to be by your side.” She waited to see if he’d say something, but he didn’t, so she kept on self-consciously spilling her guts to him. “I’m not sure I could ever do what you did tonight when you were fighting with those men, and then Anthony frying you up inside, but−”
He hoarsely whispered, “I’d never expect you to fight anyone. And Anthony−”
“Shhh. What I mean is, I want to do what I can while I’m by your side. I want that, Sebastian. I’m ready.” She stepped right up to him, and he warily let her snake her arms around his waist. “I want to be with you.”
His face was bloody and she could smell it everywhere on him. If she thought too hard about it she supposed she should be grossed out, but dang it she was going to lose him if she didn’t get over her squeamishness.
He didn’t move as he watched her. The only encouragement she got from him was that he was absently toying with the back of her shirt, and his arms were slowly embracing her, though maybe not on purpose.
“I don’t want to fight, Sebastian. I want to make this work. Please tell me what you want from me.”
He tensed, and as silent seconds ticked by, she worried she’d said the wrong thing again, then stupidly remembered he couldn’t tell her what he wanted. He couldn’t face her rejection.
She hoped she was reading him right when she innocently asked, “Can I mark you as mine? Would you let me?” More quietly, she said, “Do you still want me to?”
He let out a rushed breath, then audibly swallowed, and it wasn’t the reaction she was expecting. She almost started freaking out that she’d pushed him too far and had lost her chance to make things right when he sharply nodded, just once.
She froze. She’d been expecting more of a fight. Some discussion, maybe even a heated argument. Or maybe she’d been secretly hoping for it. Instead he was simply agreeing, and it was now very real that she either needed to go through with what she claimed she wanted, or turn away and abandon him for good… just like a ton of other important people in his life already had.
She refused to do that to him. She wanted him in her life, and she wanted him to truly believe how much she cared for him because it was obvious he didn’t.
She snaked her hand under the back of his hair and nudged him to arch his neck for her, just like he’d done to her in their first embrace. He kept his eyes on her as she moved closer, and the intensity of his gaze was unnerving. His hands rested lightly on her hips, though, letting her know he fully expected her to
pull away and not go through with this.
His emotions intensified as she pressed herself against his body. When she was so close she was breathing on his neck, he trembled. When she touched her lips to his skin, his breath came out in short gasps. And when she opened her mouth and put her teeth on him, his heart raced and he gripped her tightly, then instantly let go.
Her own heart was beating like crazy now, and it was worse because they hadn’t worked up to this with sexy kisses and other passionate stuff. She was going into this cold, and she realized this was going to hurt him like a son of a gun.
And yet he didn’t push her away. He wanted this.
She felt shaky as she took a deep breath and bit down. Sebastian’s grip on her instantly tightened, and when she finally tasted blood in her mouth, he quietly whimpered and embraced her like she was used to. Like he loved her.
He relaxed and swayed in time with her swallows, and she swore she could literally feel his blood as it rushed throughout her body. It woke up every part of her and made her feel more alive than she ever had in her life.
Maybe too alive. The room was suddenly awash in sounds, Sebastian’s breathing nearly overwhelming to her hypersensitive ears. And her skin… she felt everything. The warmth Sebastian gave off, the scratchy tag in her shirt rubbing her neck, the feel of Sebastian’s hard muscles under her hands…
He murmured in her ear, “Shhhh… it’s ok. You don’t have to do this. You can stop.” She made herself quit whimpering, the overwhelming feel of Sebastian’s disappointment making her all the more determined to drink her fill.
His excitement quickly grew again and she liked being able to feel it, both from her new heightened ability to sense his emotions, and from the way he held her. He was gentle, his hands lovingly kneading her flesh, but she knew he wouldn’t let her go until he was ready to.
When she finally felt his body start to slump against hers, she immediately released him. She tried to tell him she was sorry for taking too much, but she couldn’t stop panting.
His tired smile washed away her worries. “You’re going to need some time to get used to… things. You should sit down.”
She managed to pant out, “I love you, Sebastian.”
His droopy eyes and satisfied smile made her heart beat even faster. He nudged her towards the arm of the sofa, probably the only safe place to sit in the apartment, then wrapped his arms around her to keep her steady. When he whispered, “I love you too, Jade,” she swore it was the best thing she’d ever heard in her whole life.
She couldn’t stop panting and had to close her eyes when she got light headed. Sebastian kept his arms around her, cradling her head against his chest as he pet her back and occasionally asked how she felt. She eventually heard and sensed people all around her, an impromptu group effort to clean the apartment up, but Sebastian never left her side once.
As she relaxed against his body, trusting in him to keep her safe around all the people she could hear in the apartment with them, she realized the only thoughts in her head were her own. But was she touching his bare skin anywhere? It seemed like too much work to open her eyes and see, so instead she snuck her hands under Sebastian’s shirt. She spread her fingers wide and pressed her palms to his bare skin, then focused on what she heard.
With her head pressed against his chest, the sound of his beating heart was heavy in her ears along with the steady in and out of his breathing. Other than that, and the sounds of people moving around in the room, it was only her in her head. No one else.
She eventually realized a tear was slowly falling down her cheek, and she was confused about whether she was happy or sad that she hadn’t gained Sebastian’s mind reading ability. She should be happy she hadn’t, but the bigger pain in her heart was the realization that she’d hurt her and Sebastian both by being so afraid when it turned out there was nothing to be scared of after all.
**
Sebastian held Jade as her body adjusted to his much, much stronger blood. He felt overwhelmed that she’d taken such a big step just to be with him, but wasn’t sure what to say to her about it. He just knew he didn’t want to let her go.
Within a little over an hour, when Torin and the small group of vampires that surprisingly offered to clean up the place finally left, the reality of his situation hit home. Jade was his and she was going to be a lot stronger than before… and she chose all of it on her own.
He carefully said, “You’ll stay with me?”
She looked up at him and said with confidence, “I’m not going anywhere without you.”
He wanted to say so many things to that, wanted to tell her how much he loved her, how much he thought of what she’d done this morning, and how much it meant to him that she wanted to be by his side, but he couldn’t get the words out. He wasn’t used to saying things like that, wasn’t used to even feeling it.
He helped her to her feet instead. “Do you feel ok? I still need to shower.”
“Yes, let’s take a shower.”
She purred and he couldn’t help his instant lust for her. A coy smile crossed her face and it was all he could do to keep his hands off her on the way to the bathroom.
Shower time turned into play time back in his room, which turned into their first time making love. He tried to be so careful with her, like he always was, but she very quickly let him know she wasn’t fragile anymore and didn’t want to be treated that way, either.
He was still careful with her, though, as he got a feel for how much of his strength and power she could handle. By their third time making love, he realized he’d forgotten to hold anything back.
And she was fine. More than fine. She smiled and tiredly snuggled into his body, both of them cozy under the covers in the cool basement air. “I love you Sebastian.”
He gave her a squeeze. “I love you, too, Jade.”
They were both quiet for a time before she eventually asked, “Do you think Anthony will be ok?”
For the briefest of moments he wondered how much to tell her, then thought better of it. She’d already made her decision about what she wanted by taking his blood… his blood that she’d always been too scared of.
He looked at her in admiration. She’d done something scary this morning. Not just scary for her, but scary to lots of people. She’d stuck by his side all night, then drank his blood. Maybe she wasn’t as delicate emotionally, either, as he’d always imagined she was. The thought of that would turn him on again if he wasn’t so tired. “I think so. Open your senses wide. Do you feel him?”
She slowly said, “Yeah.”
His voice felt tired, but he’d talk forever if she wanted him to. “That’s how he normally feels during the day. He didn’t feel like that earlier. I think he healed himself while he sat out in the grass.”
“How?”
They held each other under the covers, her naked body feeling nice against his. “I don’t know, but when I was standing out there next to him, it felt like something… I don’t know what.” He trailed a finger down her arm. “Can I tell you something? Something about things here?”
She gave him an innocent look and cautiously said, “Yeah.”
It felt weird talking so openly about things with Jade, but it was also nice. “There’s more than just vampires and were-animals in our world. I think Anthony’s starting to tap into that. When I was out in the grass with him, it felt like he was calling on power… from the earth. From something… or someone.”
She looked sharply at him in the dim light of his new bedside lamp. “Who? What?”
He again wondered if he was telling her too much, but decided she was his so he would eventually be telling her a lot of things she didn’t know. Just maybe not this morning. “I don’t know. I could be wrong, but it felt like there was a world of stuff going on under my feet. Honestly, I’ve never felt anything like it before.”
She was quiet while it looked like she was thinking that through. Finally she whispered, “Sebastian?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for telling me that.”
He kissed her forehead and had trouble keeping his eyes open.
He yawned and she said, “Time for bed?”
“Yeah.” He nuzzled into her and fell asleep feeling like life was finally welcoming him with open arms.
Epilogue
Ethan spent a few nights contemplating his predicament. Cory almost died and Anthony had been the one to save him. Hell, how many times could Ethan see that Anthony was a decent person and still think he wanted to kill him? In reality, Anthony wasn’t the one he wanted to take revenge on for killing Sonya, the love of his life. His father, Isaiah, was the one who’d killed her over three hundred years ago.
He snarled in frustration as he tried yet again to beckon the bastard back to Atlanta. Ethan was the one to turn Isaiah vampire, thinking it a fitting punishment to turn the vampire hunter into something he obviously hated. It also let him honor Sonya’s fervent insistence that killing was always wrong.
The man was supposed to commit suicide once he learned he’d been turned into a vampire. Ethan had no idea how badly that would backfire on him. Why would the murderer turn around and create a community where vampire and shifter helped each other live and thrive when all he originally wanted to do was kill them all?
It was maddening that Isaiah had led such a peaceful existence in this nirvana community he and his son created, and Ethan was tired of waiting for him to return. And he was tired of looking at Anthony, who was nearly the spitting image of his father.
His mind played tricks on him now that Anthony was dating Kaia. Anthony was around too much, besides Ethan having to see him these last seventy years since he’d moved to Atlanta, so whenever Ethan thought of Sonya, his head inserted Anthony into his photographic memory. His horror replayed over and over in his mind of waking up to the love of his life with a gaping hole in her chest where her heart had once been, the monster with the long black hair just finishing up cutting her head off.
Ethan clenched his jaw in remembered agony of that night, then focused again on beckoning Isaiah back, just like George had been teaching him how to do. He’d be ashamed that he’d never learned how to beckon vampires before now, but he’d never wanted to be a Master over a family in the first place.
