by D. C. Gambel
My whole body was tense at his words. How could I have been so stupid to think he could just return to the human world like nothing had happened? Shawn had been right. This wasn’t Grayson’s place anymore. His pain, the agony he went through was on me.
Shawn, seeing my discomfort, halted Grayson in his explanation. Grayson hadn’t even looked up until then. When he saw the tears I was struggling with, he was on his feet and had me in his arms in seconds. “Gaby,” he sighed.
“I’m so sorry, Grayson,” I muttered through my sobs that were wrenching through me.
His hands cupped my face on either side, tilting my head to look at him. “What did I say, Gaby? No more apologizing. You couldn’t possibly have known this would happen. And I should have told you when it first started. I just didn’t want to give you anything else to worry about.”
“I think the question is why is it happening in the first place?” Shawn mumbled.
I looked at Shawn. I could see the underlined thought on his face. I knew where he was going, but after pissing me off with his unsavory comments lately, he didn’t want to overstep. What was worse was I knew he was right.
“What’s different with Grayson from other vampires?” Shawn challenged, leaving his unsaid statement alone. His gaze settled on me almost like he was reading me.
“I think what we need to worry about at the moment is how are we going to explain this?” I gestured around the room.
CHAPTER SEVEN
We all left Alexander Holdings Incorporated right after we finished cleaning. Shawn had stepped up barking orders, making me thank god for his clear headedness. He had us cleaning the room and then sent Grayson into the shower. The only spare clothes he had at the office were his gym clothes, but anything was better than the blood soaked suit he was wearing. The ride back to our apartment was one of the longest ever. Traffic wasn’t particularly heavy. Just the fact that we had to wait to discuss anything since we couldn’t talk about it in front of John, Grayson’s driver, was complete agony. Eventually we did arrive.
We burst through the apartment door and I headed straight to the kitchen while Grayson went to the bedroom to change.
“Gaby?” Shawn called out, when I quickly vanished. He heard my clattering around and followed the sounds. He walked in on me throwing back a shot of Grayson’s bourbon. It burned as it flowed down my throat. It wasn’t the type of liquor you shoot, but I needed the alcohol in my system, quick. If I could have set it up on an IV, I would have.
“Gaby,” he sighed.
“Don’t Shawn, okay? I already know what you’re going to say. I know you’re right, but I don’t want to hear it. Right now I just want to live in my fantasy world where I don’t have to track down the man who abandoned me to help the man I love.” I poured myself another shot and tossed it back. It burned a little less this time. I was so grateful for the effect alcohol had on me. It was strange. I had always attributed my lack of alcohol tolerance to my human side, since vampires couldn’t become intoxicated, but since my mother’s great reveal to my origins, I wondered why I was able to get drunk when no other vampire could. I wondered if Grayson could.
Like I summoned him with that thought, Grayson walked into the kitchen. He looked down at my hands holding the shot glass and the bottle of bourbon before taking it from me and pouring himself one.
I watched him adamantly for some sign of the alcohol taking its toll. He startled slightly when he saw me openly peering at him.
“What?”
“How do you feel?” I asked while still trying to read his body.
“Gaby, I’m fine; really. Your blood is in my system right now.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s great, but that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“The alcohol!” Shawn gasped when he realized what I was aiming at.
“What?” Grayson was unclear.
Shawn shook his head. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. Grayson, vampires don’t drink. I mean they can, but the alcohol has no effect on them.”
“So I can’t get drunk anymore?” I could hear the disappointment in his voice. Yes, it was a small thing, but to never be able to do it again, I’d feel disappointed too.
“Well you shouldn’t be able to go out in the sun either, yet…” Shawn gestured to the open curtains that were allowing the sunlight to drape the room.
“Take another,” I nudged.
“Gaby, if I can still get drunk, I’m not trying to do it before lunch.”
“It’s just a test Grayson. The average human can begin to feel the effects of alcohol after two shots. It’s not enough to get you drunk just enough to test the theory,” Shawn explained.
With a heavy sigh, Grayson poured himself a second shot.
“Well?” Shawn and I asked in unison after a few moments had passed.
Grayson’s mouth pulled up in a sexy smirk. “I think it’s working,” he sounded bewildered.
Shawn started laughing while I stood there staring at Grayson. He must have seen something in my expression because he walked up and wrapped his arms around me.
“It must be her blood,” Shawn explained not realizing Grayson and I were having a moment. “I’d bet all my designer clothes on it. I wonder if you stopped drinking from her if the effects of her blood would all wear off.”
“You think that’s it. He can walk in the sun and get drunk because he’s been drinking from me?”
Shawn nodded. “I know you don’t want me to mention it, but I have to Gabs. I really think you need to find your dad. He’s the only one that can explain it.”
“We don’t need to do that,” Grayson interjected. I looked at him speechless. I was sure after this morning’s episode that Grayson would be more inclined to find my father to get answers about why he was the way he was. “We know I need Gaby’s blood to be able to live a normal, human-like life, so I’ll drink Gaby’s blood.”
“And turn her into your personal Gaby flavored juice box? Please tell me you’re joking.”
“I don’t have to do it all the time, but Gaby shouldn’t have to find her father. We know what the problem is and we have a solution that doesn’t involve forcing her to do something she doesn’t want.”
I listened to the two most important men in my life as they continued to argue back and forth while I sat silently racking my nails through my hair. They both had valid points. I didn’t mind Grayson feeding from me. I thought, at first, that it would be awkward and uncomfortable, but the pleasure of it masked the initial sting of the bite. The problem was that Shawn was right too. We needed to know what was going on. Was Grayson like this because I sired him? Would the effects of my blood always work? Would it work if other vampires fed from me? That thought frightened me. If others knew what my blood could do, it could put me in serious danger.
“Stop,” I commanded loud enough to silence them both from their bickering. They turned in unison towards me. “As much as I don’t want to, Shawn is right. I need to find my father.”
“Gaby…” Grayson tried to cut in.
“It’s not just for you Grayson. The bulk of my reasoning is I want you safe. I want you to have as normal of a life as possible and if that was just it, I wouldn’t mind you feeding off of me until the end of time. The truth is we need to know ‘the why.’ Not just for you, but for me as well. What if my blood is the secret to day walking? Can you imagine the danger I’d be in and, by association, subjecting you to? ‘Cause I don’t want to think about it. We need answers and he’s the only one who could possibly have them.”
They both just sat there silent for a moment before Shawn cleared his throat. “Do you even know where to start looking for him?”
I closed my eyes, exhaling a deep breath. “I think it’s time we went and talked to me mother again.”
It was after dusk when Grayson and I arrived at the nest of the New York vampires. It was odd going back there, especially with Grayson by my side. It felt wrong bringing him there. This was my wo
rld before him. I once had considered it my home, but that seemed so long ago. Grayson was my home. The last time I had been at the nest was the night I went looking for Anton. I had torn through the place wrecking anything in my path.
As we walked up the steps to the stoop, I noticed the door was different. Then I remembered, I had shattered the old one.
“It’ll be okay,” Grayson reassured me thinking my hesitation was from my desire to not be here. He rubbed his hand up my arm trying to calm my nerves. I did hate the idea of coming back here, but my mother was the only source I had for trying to find my father. It wasn’t like I expected him to have a Facebook. It just so happened that she too had requested to see us. Tonight they were holding a vigil for their fallen leader. The leader I myself had killed. I thought it was in poor taste having his killer show up, but my mother wanted the pretense that both Grayson and I were a part of the nest, as I had claimed, even though we lived away from them. All members were required to pay their respects.
Without knocking, we entered the building and were met with an eerie silence. The first three floors always felt abandoned. They were the only floors in the building that allowed sunlight, so they tended to be a vampire free zone. Plus the sun had only set within the hour, which meant not everyone was awake yet. I clung to Grayson’s hand as we moved across the floor, like he was my lifeline.
Crossing the empty space to the stairwell, I led Grayson in a blur to the fourth floor where the main dining hall was. I knew my mother’s first stop would be there as soon as she woke. She wasn’t old enough to avoid feeding after waking. She would require blood to function.
The silence that had met us when we entered paled in comparison to the sudden ominous stillness we encountered when we stepped into the dining room. All the vampires fell hushed. Not even a whisper among them. It was like someone hit pause on the room and everything froze.
All the vampires sat like statues. Grayson and I stood there for a moment glancing around the room. I knew this was a bad idea. Refusing to let the deathly calm intimidate me, I set my shoulders back, gripping Grayson’s hand tighter in mine we advanced into the room. As we passed, whispers began trickling behind us. Once at the table across the floor, the room erupted and became alive once more.
“What the hell was that about?” Grayson leaned in close to me.
“Don’t know.” Grayson shot me a look that said he didn’t believe me. “Okay,” I rolled my eyes. “It might be because the last time I was here, I kinda made a bit of a scene looking for Anton or the fact that now everyone knows my lineage so…” I trailed off letting him draw his own conclusion, but he continued to stare at me, so I went on. “Or it could be that I just walked The Grayson Alexander, New York’s most eligible bachelor into the lair and they were all just star stricken.” Grayson glared at me with a humorous smirk that forced me to grin in return.
“Gabriella.” I turned and saw my mother. I was grateful she was here already. She came strolling towards us with an eager nervousness. Her dark hair laid straight down her back while her green eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Grayson. I am glad to see you both here, but the vigil is not for another few hours.”
“We know, but we hoped to talk to you before.”
“Gabriella,” her voice turned stern. “I already told you that your attendance is nonnegotiable.”
I wanted to roll my eyes like the rebellious child she made me feel like sometimes, but I refrained, reminding myself that I was an adult. No matter how my mother treated me, it didn’t mean I needed to behave like the adolescent she pretended I was. “I know. It’s not about that. Perhaps we can talk in private?” My tone practically begging.
“Whatever it is, speak now. I have to go make sure everything is ready so once all the vampires are awake and feed, we can begin.”
I looked around the room. Even though the vampires were conversing, several of their gazes still rested on me. Speaking in front of all them wasn’t what I wanted. “It’s about my father.”
For a brief moment, puzzlement graced my mother’s features, before they smoothed showing impassiveness.
“After,” was all she said. She turned on her heals leaving us there.
“Well, what do we do while we wait?” Grayson seemed just as confused as I was by my mother’s reaction.
“Are you hungry?” I teased as a new vampire passed us holding a tray with what appeared to be red wine, even though everyone there knew it wasn’t.
“Gaby,” he sighed. “You know I can’t drink…” His words fell silent when I gave him a knowing stare. “Oh…?”
“I never had a boy in my room before,” I couldn’t help but grin, which Grayson returned.
“I firmly believe that is one experience everyone should have,” he smirked with a wicked gleam in his eye.
I bit my lip, before tugging him out of the dining hall.
The vigil was what you might expect. Everyone was dressed in white in a room brightened only by candle light. I huddled into Grayson who had his arm firmly around me. If it was hard for me to be there being the one that killed Anton, I couldn’t image the difficulty it was for Grayson, since Anton had been the one to kill him. Nevertheless, we stood by each other as the memorial in his honor was held for his many, many years as nest leader. There were times when I’d tense and Grayson would rub circles in my back silently letting me know it was alright. Some people stepped forward to share a fond memory. I was sure some of them had taken privilege with their recollection, changing them to make Anton appear worthier than he was.
“Anton was an amazing vampire.” My entire body tensed and became alert recognizing the voice. Grayson looked down at me confused before recognition crossed his face. I was surprised it had, since he had only heard her voice once and it was while he was still human. “Not only was he my maker, my sire, but he was also the love of my life. He turned me as a kindness having found me quite alone in this world. He took me under his wing, teaching me the necessary traits on how to be a vampire. His death,” she emphasized, her eyes catching me in the crowd, “was causeless. His life taken for a worthless reason.” This time, I felt Grayson become rigid. “And I will grieve him for an eternity or until his death is justified.”
Everyone was looking around at each other. Ava had rescinded her right to be there. She no longer claimed to be part of the nest. For her to come in and spouting off the way she did, after being told vengeance wasn’t being taken against me, was a slap in the face to the entire nest, not to mention, my mother as the new leader.
She stepped off the platform at the front of the room before a young boy took her place. “That will be all,” he spoke to everyone. “Please continue your grieving on your own.” He fidgeted, his voice was shaky. I think he was just as stunned by Ava’s words as the rest of us. I looked up and saw Ava making a beeline to me. The room had begun clearing out, but the people who stood near me paused when they saw her approach. I’m sure it was to eavesdrop and to have their curiosity sated.
“You dare show your face here!” she spat as she approached me.
“I have every right to be here. I’m still a part of this nest,” I spoke trying to keep my temper from flaring.
Her eyes widened, anger dripping from her body. “You killed him!” she screeched. “For a HUMAN!”
“Ava,” my mother approached her trying to defuse the scene that was forming. “I allowed you to be here to pay your respects to the man you loved not to make a scene in front of the entire nest. You are disgracing his memory.”
Ava turned her icy glare onto my mother. My mother’s eyes shifted to me and with a quick tilt of her head she silently told us to leave. “How dare you tell me I am disgracing his memory when you allow his murderer into his memorial!”
“I have told you before; Anton brought his death on himself. You know the laws. You do not kill someone else’s mate. It did not matter that he was human.”
“They are food, Persephone. Nothing more. The fact that your daughter fell in
love with a cow should not have condemned…” I don’t know what else she was going to say because her words were cut off as I slammed her against the wall with such speed she never saw me coming and with such force that the brick wall dented in. Before she recovered, I had her by her throat pinning her to the wall.
“Gabriella!” my mother yelled, but I ignored her. My rage was overwhelming my better judgment.
“Are you really that dense, Ava?” I spoke in a hushed tone, but my words were drenched in the animosity I felt towards her. “You fight for a dead man that wouldn’t even be mourning you if your roles were reversed.”
“That’s not true,” her words constricted by the force of me hand. “Let go of me!”
“It is true. He desired me. He made it abundantly clear to everyone. He didn’t care that it would hurt you. He used you. And when I refused him, he came after the man I loved out of spite. That is the man you are fighting for, not the romanced version you’ve made up inside your head. The craziest part is, that if I were him, I’d rip your head off for just insulting my mate.” I released her. Her knees gave out landing her on the ground with a thump. Her hand went to her throat as she coughed. “But I’m not a monster.” I took a step back watching Ava try to right herself. “You’re not even worth it. I refuse to have your blood on my hands over something so petty as misguided grief.” I turned and walked away. I approached Grayson who pulled me against him and led me from the room.
