The Next Generation (Conversion Book 4)

by S. C. Stephens

  He looked down at how closely I was standing to him. “Your grandmother…Halina.” His eyes returned to mine, irritation overriding his despair. “She won’t leave me alone.” Face twisting into a grimace, he grumbled, “I’m surprised she’s let me go for this long. She’s always hovering around me, watching over me…forcing me to feed.” He sighed, exasperated. “It’s…frustrating. I just want to be alone, but I’m…drawn to her, drawn to the monster who made me.”

  Swallowing the tiny ache of jealousy that flared up, I released my hands from his cheeks. “It’s the bond. She sired you, so you’re…linked.”

  His beautiful eyes got a faraway look. “For how long?” he whispered.

  I hesitated, enjoying this fact about as much as Hunter was going to. “The bond is permanent, Hunter.” His eyes closed for a moment but his face was still lit by the light emanating from my parents. Seeing his grief, I rubbed his shoulder. “But the desire to be around each other will fade within a year or two. After that, you’ll only be aware of her presence in your mind.”

  Reopening his eyes, he pulled his fangs back up. “It’s so odd to know where she is. “He lifted his hand and pointed in her direction without looking. Since I could feel her that way too, I smiled. “It’s odd to feel…where you all are.” He tilted his head at me, like he was mystified by feeling me and seeing me. I could understand why. If I hadn’t been born with this bond, I’d probably find it weird too.

  “It’s the blood…you share our family’s blood, so you’re linked to us now. We’re connected,” I said with an encouraging smile; I wanted him to see the good parts of this, not just the bad. “You’re family now, Hunter. Forever.”

  A genuine smile ghosted his lips, but it was gone instantly. “I never wanted this life,” he muttered.

  Clenching his shoulder, I nodded. “I know…and I’d like to help you through it, if you’ll let me.” Ducking down, I searched his glum face.

  “I don’t think you can, Nika,” he finally whispered. His eyes were guilty when he looked back up at me. “I don’t want to hurt anybody…” pausing, he inhaled a deep breath, and his fangs crashed back down, “but you smell so freaking good.”

  The sadness on his face broke my heart, and I wanted to reach up and comfort him. I couldn’t though. Taking his words as a threat, Dad yanked me back into the safety of his arms. Wrapped in his chilly protection, I felt his chest release a hair-raising growl. Eyes slightly wild, Hunter glowered at my father and let his own rumble fill the night. The tension in the air made Mom grab me from Dad’s arms and pull me back a step.

  Just as I started to fear that my boyfriend and my father were going to start ripping each other to shreds, Hunter blinked. Shuddering, he closed his eyes and focused on controlling his emotions. When he reopened them, he was more composed. “I wasn’t going to harm her.”

  Dad relaxed when he saw that Hunter was in control again. Shaking his head, he told him, “You don’t know what you may or may not do right now, Hunter. You’re starving yourself. That makes you unpredictable.”

  Hunter raised his chin in defiance. “I won’t kill.”

  Dad sighed. Walking over to Hunter, he cautiously extended a hand. “And you don’t have to. Nika’s right, you’re family now, and we can help you live without killing…if you let us.”

  Hunter looked down at Dad’s peace offering. He started to extend his own hand, but Halina’s presence began streaking our way. Hunter’s head shot up to glare in her direction. Dropping his hand, he returned his gaze to Dad’s. “I’m fine on my own.” He looked past Dad to me. “But I do want my sister back.”

  Tears leaking down my cheeks, I nodded. “I’ll get her to you, I promise.”

  Hunter backed up a step. His face was torn; he wanted to run from Halina and run toward her at the same time. When he backed up to the end of the hall, I jostled around my parents. Dad grabbed my hand at the last minute, but I jerked free. Blurring to Hunter, I tossed my arms around him. “I love you,” I whispered in his ear.

  He stiffened, then embraced me. His ice-cold body melted into my heat, and a sob broke free from me at the joy I felt being in his arms again. It had been so long since we’d held each other. The simple times, when we were only hiding our relationship because of Hunter’s age, seemed like a lifetime ago.

  Burying his head in my neck, I heard Hunter take a large inhale, then felt his arms around me tighten. I tensed, immediately remembering that things between us weren’t so simple anymore. I was now a source of food to a very hungry animal. Hungry and tormented. His mouth rested near my jugular, and I prepared myself to push him away. Unlike a human victim, I wasn’t exactly weak. My vampire-enhanced abilities might not be as strong as Hunter’s, but I could put up a decent fight.

  Hunter ran his nose up my neck, still inhaling me. Just as I felt my dad move, Hunter released me and fled into the night. I darted to the window he’d escaped from. Leaning my head out, I searched the inky night for him. He was gone, though, already vanished from my vision, and I dropped my head, defeated.

  The three of us slowly made our way back home. Halina joined up with us right outside the Bavarian beauty. Leaning against the porch railing, she shook her head of long, wild hair. “That boy is going to give me an ulcer.” She grunted and brought her hand to her temple. “I already have a headache.”

  Mom put a sympathetic arm around my waist as Dad told Halina, “He doesn’t seem to want to be around anyone. He thinks he can do it on his own.”

  Halina sighed and pushed away from the railing. The short dress she was wearing showed more thigh than Mom would ever let me show. I didn’t think I’d even be allowed to wear a nightgown that short. “He is stubborn beyond comprehension. He makes raising you seem easy.”

  Dad smirked at her, then indicated the house. “I’m sure he’ll be fine for a while. Why don’t you come inside?” Walking up to her, he threw an arm around her shoulders. “It’s been forever since you’ve visited.”

  Halina’s eyes were torn as she looked at Dad, then Mom and me. She clearly wanted to keep running after Hunter. Her gaze swung south, to where Hunter had run off. I searched that direction, wanting to see him, but knowing I wouldn’t. He was too far gone, and he clearly didn’t want to come back…yet.

  Bringing her eyes back to Dad’s, Halina smiled and looped her arm around his waist. “All right. For a time.” She grimaced and added, “Gabriel is visiting Starla and Jacen anyway. This will give me an excuse to not have to make an appearance over there.” She let out an exasperated groan. “That woman drives me crazy.”

  I contained my smile. Starla was more like my grandmother than she would ever admit.

  After visiting with Halina for a bit, I excused myself and trudged upstairs. Arianna tried to go with me, shooing Julian away and telling him that she needed “BFF time,” but I didn’t let her comfort me; I just wanted to be alone. How I had gone from being alone and positive that I would never find love, to being alone and positive that I would never find love again was beyond me.

  I heard the tip tap of claws on the floor and looked up to see Spike shuffle into the room. The old pup stopped at my feet and stared up at me with milky eyes. Reaching down, I lifted him onto the bed with me. He curled into my side and was almost instantly asleep. I stroked his fur as he wheezed in my arms. Well, I supposed I wasn’t completely alone. Unlike Hunter, who was literally alone tonight, I was surrounded by beloved family members.

  Later, after Arianna drove herself home, Julian came upstairs to check on me. I felt his concern for me long before I saw him. Leaning against the doorframe, he crossed his arms over his chest as he watched me. Looking up at my brother, I saw a peacefulness in his features that I hadn’t ever seen before. His pale eyes were sympathetic, but happy at the same time. He’d found what he was searching for. I thought I had too, but, things hadn’t exactly worked out that way.

  He walked over to me, sitting on the other side of Spike. Our pet let out a contented exhale as he snuggled be
tween us. Reaching over him, Julian grabbed my hand. He didn’t ask how I was since he already knew I was feeling pretty low and pretty confused. Instead, he indicated the TV tucked in the corner of my room. “Want to watch a movie?”

  I smiled at the distraction he presented. “Yeah…nothing romantic though.”

  He made a sour face. “That would be about the last thing I’d pick.” Grabbing the remote beside the bed, he turned the set on and started flipping through channels. “I was thinking more along the lines of guns and violence.” He paused, his face speculative. “On second thought, how about a comedy?”

  Relaxing back into my pillows, I nodded my agreement. “Yeah, something funny sounds good.” We’d both had enough violence to last a very long time.

  Mom and Dad caught up downstairs with Halina, while Julian and I watched an eighties comedy about a girl trying to pass herself off as a boy. We both laughed out loud, and our emotions evened out. I nodded off to sleep long before the movie was over. When I woke up, it was still dark outside, but dawn was fast approaching. I was alone in my bed; Julian was snoring away in his. I was tucked under the covers, probably by my mom. Halina’s presence was far away from me, back toward the ranch. She must have finally gone home to visit her daughter and granddaughter. Mom and Dad were in their soundproof bedroom. Even Spike was absent. He had probably plodded after Mom when she’d tucked me in.

  Feeling grimy, since I hadn’t brushed my teeth or washed my face, I tossed the covers aside and stood up. That was when my tired mind finally realized something I should have realized immediately—I wasn’t alone. A dark figure was standing beside the window, a figure I could see…and feel. Hunter. He was standing in such a way that the streetlamp outside dulled the glow of his vampire eyes, eyes that were relentlessly staring at me.

  Startled, I backed up a step. It wasn’t every day that you woke up to find someone watching over you as you slept. Recovering quickly, I took a step toward him. “Hunter?” My eyes flashed to the grayness outside; dawn would be here within the hour. “What are you doing here? You should be somewhere safe.”

  His eyes followed my gaze. “I hate running from the sun,” he muttered.

  Wondering just how deep his melancholy was, I stepped up to him and put a hand on his arm; his body was like steel under his jacket, cold and unyielding. “You have to. You’ll die if you don’t.” He looked back to me as my voice grew tight. “And I don’t want you to die.”

  A sad expression crossed his face as his eyes searched mine. I wanted him to lean down and kiss me. I wanted to feel the tenderness of his lips, the coarseness of his stubble. But more than all of that, I wanted him to smile. He didn’t, though; he merely said, “I already died, Nika.”

  I brought my hand to his face, caressing the stubble along his jaw that I missed so much. The light from the lamp highlighted his undead features, and I thought he’d never looked more attractive. His eyes drifted to my exposed wrist before shifting back to my face. “I’m so sorry this happened to you,” I whispered. “But please don’t give up.”

  He pulled back from me, and looked down at something in his hands. I removed my hand from his skin and looked down at what he held. A black-as-night urn was in his palms. In the faded light of the room, my enhanced sight could see the outline of bloody vampire fangs that extended from the top. Recalling that his sister’s urn was a rosy granite color, I felt my heart fill with lead. “What is that, Hunter?”

  Sighing, he lifted it up and tilted it so I could see the name engraved on it—his own. “It’s tradition in my family, when a hunter dies, their urn is marked with fangs…in honor of their commitment to the cause.” His tone grew harsh, bitter. His hand tightened around the urn, and for a moment, I thought he might throw it through the wall; that would certainly wake up my snoring brother.

  Calming himself, Hunter handed it to me. “I want you to keep it. Store it next to my sister’s.”

  My eyes filling, I numbly took the cold marble from his icy fingers. I couldn’t speak; I had no words. A trace of a smile drifted over Hunter’s features, and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. Like before, the smile faded instantly. “Keep my sister safe for me, okay?”

  I nodded, then found my voice. “I thought you wanted her with you?”

  His eyes drifted to my closet, to where his sister’s ashes were resting. “I don’t deserve her company,” he said in a low voice.

  Not sure how to comfort him, or if I even could, I held his urn in one hand and reached out for him with the other. He was through my open window in a flash. A ghost image of him was still in my watery eyes as I gazed at the spot where he’d vanished from me…again. Not knowing what else to say or do, I whispered, “I’ll keep her safe for you, until you’re ready to be reunited.”

  I listened for any sort of response, but I only heard the garbage trucks in the distance. Sighing, I started to close the window. A gust of chilly wind billowed into the room, stirring my lacy curtains. Faintly, in the breeze, I heard Hunter’s voice, and hearing it gave me hope—for him and for us.

  “I love you, too, Nika.”

  I smiled as I looked out into the night. Hunter had a long way to go to acceptance, but I would help him get there…if he’d let me.

  S.C. Stephens is a #1 New York Times bestselling author who spends her every free moment creating stories that are packed with emotion and heavy on romance. In addition to writing, she enjoys spending lazy afternoons in the sun reading, listening to music, watching movies, and spending time with her friends and family. She and her two children reside in the Pacific Northwest.

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