by J. D. Brown
“I didn’t think you’d come.” Her French accent colored her words.
I sighed and tried to relax my stance. “I admit Jesu didn’t really want me to.”
She faced me and her gaze narrowed. “Prince Jesu.”
My brow cocked, unsure if that was a question or a statement. “Yeah.”
“Good thing he’s not your sire.”
Her lean hips swung as she abandoned the punching bag and came toward me. Her rust-orange gaze locked on mine as she raised a brow and then pulled her waist-length hair into a ponytail.
My fingers fidgeted and I glanced around the gymnasium. We were the only two present, but I was fifteen minutes early. “Are other students coming?”
“Not any of mine.”
I sighed in relief, happy I wouldn’t have an audience to embarrass myself.
“So which clan are you from?”
“I’m not from a clan,” I blurted out. I immediately cringed at my error. Oops.
She scoffed and put her hands on her hips. “You’re not used to being affiliated with a clan, but you soon will be. It is like asking where you’re from, where your loyalties reside.”
I glanced at the ceiling for a moment and silently thanked God that she took my mistake for lack of understanding.
“I am Bridget du Loup of zee Alpan clan,” she said and then waited expectantly.
I cleared my throat and recited what was sort of the truth. “I’m Ema. Ema Marx. From the Neo-Draugrian clan.”
She smirked and shook her head. “Lose your human surname, it’s meaningless now. All Neo-Draugrians refer to themselves as dragons. Zat is your new house name.”
I knew Jesu’s and Jalmari’s last name, Korento, meant dragon in Finnish. My nose wrinkled as I tried it.
“Ema Dragon?” Nope. The name felt weirder than nailing Jell-O to a wall.
“Zee worst trois things a vampire can do are go rogue, join zee Rebel clans, or try to start your own clan. Of course, a vampire cannot do zese things without permission from their sire, but your sire doesn’t seem to be around.”
She looked me up and down. I held my breath and hoped she wouldn’t ask where my sire was. I didn’t have one because I was really a vampyre, and I wasn’t entirely sure I belonged to any clan because both my parents were human. They’d both had vampyre ancestors somewhere along the line, but where did that leave me? Growing up human and totally ignorant up until a few months ago, that’s where.
My face must have turned blue because Bridget narrowed her gaze. I was so sure the next words out of her mouth were going to be “stop lying,” but instead she turned away and gestured for me to follow.
“Come on, let’s see what you got.”
I released my breath and followed her to the boxing ring, ducking under the rope. We stood in the center, facing each other. Bridget lowered into a fighting stance that made my human side nervous and my Nephilim side excited. Combined, I wanted to throw up.
“Hit me,” she commanded.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Just hit me.”
“No.”
“Come on,” she scoffed. “You won’t hurt me.”
I glanced at her rock-solid biceps, clenched abs, and bulging calves. “That’s so not what I’m worried about.”
She rolled her eyes. “I won’t hit you back. Just try to punch me.”
“Fine.” I clenched my right fist and swung.
She leaned out of reach and I missed. “Keep going.”
I shrugged and then swung with my left. She effortlessly dodged the punch by twisting two inches to the right. “Are you putting any effort into this at all?”
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“Try to hit me.”
I sucked in a deep breath and clenched my jaw. Okay, Nephilim Ema, let’s do this. I came at her and swung harder, but she was fast and managed to duck from my every move as we danced around the ring.
“Speed is every vampire’s single most important strength. We rely on it to prevent and escape from disaster.” She said this while avoiding my fists. “Alpan vampires cannot fly or phase. So we rely on speed even more so.”
“Wait.” My fists dropped in surprise. “You can’t fly or phase?” How was she going to train me?
Bridget dropped to the floor in a blur of motion and kicked my legs out from under me. I felt the fall, felt my muscles tense, my hair float up to block my vision. My arms extended to break the impact. The floor came within an inch of my palms when a sudden force gripped my shoulders and pulled me upright. I jerked out of her grasp.
“What the heck was that about?”
“A lesson in speed,” she said simply. “I knocked you over and pulled you up again in under a second. You failed to even touch me. You’re slow and easily distracted.” Her voice grew sterner as she continued. “You walk around objects when you could phase or fly over them. You act entirely human.”
Great, I winced. She’s going to tell me to get the heck out of her class.
“That’s good.”
My eyes widened. “I’m sorry, did you just say that’s good?”
Bridget nodded. “Zee more human you appear, zee more inconspicuous you will be. Trust me, you do not want zee humans to know what you are.”
“I know,” I mumbled, still thinking something wasn’t quite right.
“You have a lot to learn,” she sighed. “Every vampire needs to know how to survive. Normally your sire would teach you, but…”
I couldn’t help glancing away when she mentioned the sire thing again.
“We’ll begin with a crash-course tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” My attention snapped. “Why not now, today?”
She smirked and then gestured at my clothes. “You can’t train in a skirt and ballet flats. You need proper attire—loose pants and a strong pair of work boots.”
Heat rose to my cheeks as I realized how right she was. I should have at least waited for Heidi to deliver my jeans and sneakers.
“Okay, I’ll get the clothes and meet you back here tomorrow night.”
She nodded. “À bientôt. See you soon, Ema of the Dragon.”
The elevator released me at the lobby. I entered cautiously, in case Kirstin and her daughter were still around, but their scents had faded; replaced by another. The night-shift receptionist, Heidi, looked like a younger, rounder version of Kirstin. Her black slacks and a matching jacket gave her a sophisticated vibe from the side view. Unfortunately, as I approached the desk, I was met with the low-cut neckline of her cherry-red blouse. It did little to keep her large bust from spilling. She had two thin lines for eyebrows and mauve-colored eye shadow that matched her nail polish.
“You must be Ema,” she said in fast, near-perfect English. “Your package was delivered to your room, Prince Jesu received it for you, I hope everything is to your satisfaction.”
“Oh, I haven’t been back to my room yet.”
“Training with Bridget?” She plunked an elbow onto the desk and supported her chin in her palm like she was settling in for a long conversation. Her cleavage bulged like bunched up pillows between her arms. I blinked to the side and briefly wondered how she knew where I’d been.
“Yes, I—”
“Boy,” she sighed. “My cousin was right about you, you’re so pretty, just look at you, a skinny thing in that skirt, you’re such a doll.”
My brow quirked. Heidi could talk a mile a minute. “Thank you. Who’s your cousin?”
“Oh, Kirstin, the morning receptionist, she doesn’t speak very good English, I know. Boy everyone was right about you, news travels fast around here. When we heard Prince Jesu was coming with a guest, there was a rumor that maybe he decided to sire a vampire, but Kirstin said Prince Jesu would never do such a thing, he’s aware of the law after all, but we all thought maybe, but then you came and I heard you were definitely not his, and now I can see it’s plain that you aren’t.”
I stepped back, not sure what to make of this information, or if I had even foll
owed her correctly. “Okay… well… I need to order a pair of sweatpants and work boots for training.”
“Oh sure,” Heidi said, but she didn’t move or do anything else to suggest she had even heard me. She just sighed and stared dreamily. Maybe she envied my waist? Well that was fine, I envied her boobs. I was about to leave when she added, “Are you dating?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“That’s one of the other rumors.” She switched elbows and cradled her chin in her other hand.
Heat rose to my cheeks. “Not that it’s anyone’s business, but no, we’re not dating. Jesu is my…” I was about to say friend, but I knew how much speculation that simple word could feed to the bored female staff. At the same time, I wasn’t sure what effect the word family would have. Jesu was obviously well-known. A random new branch in the family tree might raise questions, and I was supposed to be keeping a low profile. “He’s just helping me with a few things.”
She immediately slammed both palms on the desk, making me jump, and then leaned forward, eyes wide, grin stretching from ear to ear. “Are he and Bridget back together?”
My spine stiffened. “Bridget du Loup, the trainer?”
Heidi’s gaze brightened. “They had a thing a few hundred years ago. They were such a perfect couple, the talk of the clan, everyone thought they would mate for life, did you know?”
“No, I didn’t know.” If there was a sting in my tone, I couldn’t help it. Is that the real reason Jesu is against me training with Bridget? He doesn’t want me hanging out with his ex?
“She’s a sweet girl, too. No one knows why they broke up, they both are pretty private people, but there all sorts of delicious rumors.”
I winced, positive I did not want to hear what rumors Heidi and her friends had come up with about that.
“I have to go.” I walked away without looking back and punched the elevator button. I knew it was rude, but I didn’t care. Inside the rising edifice, I thought about the lean, muscly teenage-looking vampire I had just talked to not more than twenty minutes ago.
Jesu went out with her, of all people? When? For how long? What did he see in her? Did he love her? Why did they break up? Would they get back together now?
More importantly, why did I care? Jesu was a grown man, he could date who he wanted. It wasn’t any of my business. The doors opened and my feet carried me down the hall of their own accord. I hesitated in front of the suite door, trying to decide if I should even mention any of what Heidi said. I sucked in a deep breath and phased into the room.
Jesu sat in the center of the couch in the sunken living room. A German gameshow played on the flat screen television, but his attention was on his cellphone screen. He flipped the phone closed as I sat next to him.
“That was a short lesson,” he said simply.
“It wasn’t a lesson at all,” I sighed. “We’re starting the real work tomorrow, after I get some proper clothes to train in.”
“Speaking of clothes, a whole bag of new digs came for you. I put them on your bed.”
“Thanks. I hope you don’t mind me ordering them.”
“Not at all, order anything you need.” He stood and pocketed the cellphone. “However, I am not happy that you went to training despite me asking you not to.”
“Jesu…” I gave him a side-long glance. The topic of ex-girlfriends balanced on the tip of my tongue, but I held back and forced myself to swallow it. Not my business. “I need as much help as I can get. It would be stupid not to take advantage of what Bridget can teach me.”
He held up both hands, palms forward. “I know, you are absolutely right.”
I blinked. “I am? Well… of course I am.”
“You told her you are Neo-Draugrian?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“She didn’t question you?”
“No, she didn’t ask me anything about myself. She didn’t even ask why I was with you instead of a sire.”
“Okay,” he sighed in relief. “Then you will only get half the training you need. We can practice your other powers here.”
A smile inched across my features. “Really?”
“Absolutely.” He nodded. “You still need to work on your bat form.”
I groaned. “But a wolf can do more damage.”
He chuckled. “All right, wolf it is.”
“Don’t hold back,” I warned as I stood and took a few steps away to give myself space. Then I shifted. Cartilage and bone snapped as my limbs elongated and the joints bent in the opposite direction. My ears moved to the top of my head and grew to a point as my jaw extended into a snout. Thick tufts of gray fur sprouted from my skin, covering my entire body. I shimmied out of my clothes and kicked them into a corner with my back paws.
Wolves were color-blind and I blinked a few times to get used to the blue-green sight. My hearing and sense of smell, however, heightened further than that of a vampyre’s, and the added muscle tone gave a sense of power even as it forced me onto all fours.
Jesu backed away several steps and then crouched. He narrowed his gaze and growled playfully. I growled back, signaling that I was ready for him. The Nephilim in my blood clawed its way to the surface, begging to be released. I held it in check, not wanting to get carried away, but I listened to it—to my instincts.
Go for the throat.
All four legs launched me forward. Jesu came at me at the same time. I aimed for his shoulder and jumped, certain I had him. He twisted around and dropped through the air while wrapping his arms around my neck and pulling me onto my side. We both fell over. I tried to get loose, but he held me in a headlock.
“Yes, I see,” he chuckled. “Lots of damage in this form. A real attack dog.”
He let go. I backed away and shook myself.
“Again,” he demanded and then charged.
My instincts screamed as I went for his right ankle. He sidestepped me, grabbed the scruff of my neck, and yanked me away. Frustration burned through me. I huffed and then lunged at him. This time I kept my head up and nipped at his fingers, but he was fast and dodged my teeth. I remembered Bridget saying how important speed was for vampires. Jesu would have aced that test. My imagination conjured an image of Jesu and Bridget running through the woods together. A knot suddenly twisted my stomach. I stopped what I was doing and my butt dropped to the floor in a sit.
Jesu quirked his brow in disbelief. “Tired already?”
I didn’t know what to say, and not just because I literally could not speak as an animal.
“Come,” he said, and then slid open my bedroom door panel so I could go inside and shift in privacy. “I will fix us a drink while you dress.”
I obeyed and, as soon as he closed the door, I transformed back to my two-legged self. The scent of blood ebbed its way from the kitchen, into my nose, and my mouth watered. I scrambled to redress, ripping open the plastic bag on my bed, and pulling on the first top and pair of jeans. I paused for a moment to lavish in the comfort of denim around my legs before shoving my feet into socks and—hallelujah—black sneakers. Then I booked it to the kitchen.
“Sip it,” Jesu warned as he handed me a glass of thick red liquid.
I rolled my eyes and took a long swig, savoring the salty-metallic flavor and the buzz of energy that followed. “That exercise was fun.”
He nodded. “Maybe next time you will manage to bite me, or at least graze my skin.”
I scoffed. You’d like that. I stared at the glass for a moment while entertaining the idea, and then shook myself. Is the bloodlust in effect already?
“Is something wrong? You are not trying to inhale your drink as you normally do.”
“Oh…” I shrugged.
The urge to hunt for sexual gratification quickly took over my mind. I craved Jesu’s touch, for him to hold me close the way he had when we’d danced across the swimming pool, and in other more carnal ways. I gnashed my teeth together and fought the feelings. I thought of going to my room to put distance between us, but
I worried that if I moved it would be to pounce on him, and this time it wouldn’t be as a wolf.
“Are the effects… is it becoming easier?” He studied me and his lingering gaze only made matters worse. I shook my head in answer. “Oh.” His gaze fell and he cleared his throat. “Well… I think I will go for a swim.”
He stood and went to his room to change. The fact that he didn’t ask if I wanted to join him wasn’t lost to me. It took every ounce of self-control I could muster to stand and go to my room, bringing my drink with me. I closed the door and then waited. Eventually Jesu’s footsteps shuffled across the suite and into the hall. As soon as the latch on the suite door clicked home, I chugged the rest of the blood and then collapsed into bed. I closed my eyes as the euphoria took me.
Chapter 5
Kirstin delivered the sweatpants and work boots early the next morning. Jesu spent most of the day swimming. He was a man of the elements and I could tell he liked to be surrounded by nature, even when nature was a giant tub of chemicals.
I lounged around the suite, bored to tears until the digital clock on my nightstand showed 8:50. I hopped into the gray sweats, pulled on a black T-shirt, shoved my feet into the new boots, and then flew—literally—to the elevator. The doors finally released me in the gymnasium and I glanced around for Bridget.
“Up here,” she called.
My gaze traveled to the airborne jungle gym that could give wet dreams to a circus acrobat. Bridget stood as poised as a ballerina on one of the suspended two-by-fours with her hands on her hips.
“I brought you a few things.” She pointed to the left corner of the room. I followed her line of sight from the ceiling to the floor and noticed a duffle bag resting near the boxing ring. I went to it and unzipped the bag. Inside were several thick text books. I pulled them out one at a time and read the titles. Vampyre World History: Volumes I, II, and III, Vampire Social Studies for the Twenty-First Century, and The Reclusive Eternal Dragons Society Field Guide: Vampire Edition.
“Read them later,” she said, and then she dove off the wooden beam. My breath hitched as she did a summersault in the air before landing smack on the balls of her feet.
