Her Vampire Hero (Midnight Doms Book 4)

by Nicolina Martin

  Bass lays an arm on the backrest, behind my back, close enough that I sense his body heat. I wonder if he recently fed.

  “Is the big bad vampire taking you away from us? And I just got to know you.” He pouts, making a show out of it.

  My mouth goes dry. I reach for the glass and gulp down the rest of the whiskey. “Yeah, about that… What does it take to turn someone?”

  Bass glances at Sean, then back at me, raising his eyebrows. “Blood. Death. More blood.”

  “Have you… turned many people?”

  A grin spreads across his face, his rough features lightening. “More than I can count.”

  “Why? I mean… were they all your lovers?”

  He sighs. “I’ve had my reasons. They’re my own.”

  “Of course,” I say quickly. “I’m sorry for prying. It’s just that—”

  “You’re interested.”

  A bolt shoots through me. I am. I haven’t had time to decide, to think this over, but time is slipping and I don’t know what Lou plans for me but chances are I might not have this opportunity again.

  “Maybe,” I whisper.

  Bass strokes my cheek, slowly, sensuously, down along my throat. I shudder. He’s taking liberties, but I don’t want to push away my only chance.

  “Sean has been pleading your case, young one. Convincingly so.”

  “He has?”

  “I’ve seen you,” says Sean from behind me. “How he teases you. It’s just not fair. You love him so much and he doesn't see it. He’s blinded by your blood. If you were like him, he would see the person you are, and not only a sweetblood.”

  Bass holds my gaze, and I can’t seem to look away. “That’s not how it is,” I say faintly. “We have more.”

  “Of course,” says Bass, his hand on my shoulder. “And that’s why he’s so stupid not to turn you. He loves you too. His vampirism clouds his judgement.”

  “He says he’ll never turn me,” I whisper.

  “And what do you want?” he whispers, leaning in.

  “I want to be with him?”

  “Forever?”

  And then I say it. The word that can change everything. “Yes.”

  Chapter 16

  Kat

  Bass stands and gives me his hand, pulling me to my feet. “Come.”

  My mouth goes dry. I look around me. Alaya has her back to us. Lucius has left his throne and I don’t see him. Maximus stands guard by the stairs, his eagle eyes scanning the crowd. He looks at me and greets me with a curt nod.

  “What? Now?”

  “When is your master coming back?” Bass asks.

  “I—” I glance at the stairs, my stomach knotting. “I don’t know.”

  “So, do you want to wait? Do you want him to stop you?”

  My mind spins with the implications, the possibilities, and with what I’m giving up. Behind Bass, I see Sean, his eyes eager, hungry. I wonder what his stake is in all this.

  “Don’t I need to prepare somehow? I don’t know. Pee? What time is it? Maybe—”

  Bass puts his finger to my lips. “You’re nervous. It’s understandable. You’ve been bitten, yes?” His eyes fall to my throat.

  I nod. Yes, I’m scared. My heart beats so hard that I can barely breathe.

  “Mmmm,” he growls. “Your scent. So sweet. It does me in.” He steps closer, almost nose to nose. It’s as if the room around us disappears. It’s just Bass and I, and his sugary, eerily familiar voice. “You will just feel a sting. Then you will sleep. When you wake up, the world will be different. You will never get sick. You will be fast and strong. You will see colors your human eyes have never seen, sounds you have never heard.”

  “Never see the sun again,” I whisper, dazed.

  “It’s a small sacrifice. Do you want your man?”

  “Yes.” Tears well up in my eyes. “Yes, I do.”

  “Go,” says Sean. “Hurry. The room is still vacant.”

  Room? I look up. Somehow we have moved across the floor without me noticing and we’re standing outside one of the always-closed doors. I have never been inside any of these rooms, but I have no doubt of what goes on inside. More of everything. Dirtier, nastier, rougher. My stomach clenches. Sean opens the door and inside is a small room entirely painted in black, much like the one I’ve lived in. This doesn't have a bed, though, but a bench, a cross, whips and canes, hooks and rings in the ceiling and on the walls. I stop flat.

  “Lou wouldn’t— I’m not—”

  “Shh. We’re not here for that. We just need some privacy, dear.”

  Sean hovers in the door, his gaze darting between me and Bass. I plead with him wordlessly not to leave me alone. I’m scared. I don’t think I’m ready. Then he moves away, closing the door, and Bass locks it from the inside. We’re alone.

  I take a step back, swallow. “I don’t know any more.”

  Bass steps closer. “Of course you do. Everything will change. It will be for the better, Katarina Donovan. Trust me. Let me take your blood. You smell so sweet it almost awakens my heart.”

  I put a hand on his chest, trying to stop his advances. He takes my wrist, and circles it with ease in his large hand.

  “What’ll happen? What do I do?”

  Bass smiles. Friendly. Reassuringly. “I drink from you. You drink from me. I take your human life and you awaken a new Kat.”

  My lips tremble. “Will it hurt?”

  Bass pushes my hair off my neck and gently pulls my head to the side. “Yes,” he says. “I can be gentle, but I like it rough. It will hurt.”

  “No!” I scream. He puts a hand over my mouth, holding it tight. I slam my hands to his chest, trying to push him away.

  “Mmm, there we go, sweetblood. You see, the old-fashioned way suits me much better. Pain and fear. Much sweeter.”

  Now I know why he seemed familiar. He’s the vampire from the alley! Why didn’t I see this before? Did he mess with my mind?

  I scream against his palm, wriggle and push, but it’s like fighting a rock. He looks me in the eyes as his fangs snap out, then he buries them in my neck, his hand still on my mouth, his other hand clutching the back of my neck. The pain is nothing like when Lou bites me, and everything like the first time I was torn into. It scorches as if he’s poured lava on my skin, eating its way through my flesh, the agony shooting arrows of pain to my scalp and down along my back. Then he sucks. Deep, hungry pulls, taking my blood, stealing it away.

  My heart thumps like a frightened rabbit’s, pushing my blood even harder into his mouth. The sound of him swallowing is sickening and I get fainter with each second. My legs fold. I have no strength left. He follows me down to the floor, laying me on my back, still latched on. My arms are heavy. I clutch his shirt, try to push. He growls, more like an animal than a man, the sound reverberating through my chest. The pain has faded, my head is numb, as if wrapped in cotton. Every sound is crisp and dulled at the same time. Black dots dance before my eyes as my pulse grows weaker, even more rapid, trying frantically to push the decreasing amounts of blood through my body. Tears stream down my cheeks. I gasp, fighting to breathe as my body goes slack. As my heart slows, he lets go of my mouth and sits up.

  His gaze burns into mine, a flash of red in his irises. Blood pools under my neck. Warm. My life dripping out of me. My arms and legs tingle, my attempts at moving sluggish.

  Bass licks his bloodied lips. “This was worth everything. I’ll devour your last few sips, then I need to leave. It has been a long time since I enjoyed such a meal. Your hesitation, your eagerness, your fear, your dawning realization that this is your end.”

  “Why?” I mouth, too weak to make a sound.

  He drags a finger along my neck, then licks it off with an obscene moan, his eyes rolling back. “The youngling Sean made a deal, you see. Get you alone with me. He has lusted for your master since he first laid eyes on him. Me, my dear, I have another agenda… You will be a message from the king of Louisiana, you see.”

  Wha
t?

  “No. Please!”

  “Aww, tears?” He strokes my cheek with the pad of his thumb, then drags it along my lips. He tastes of iron, of me. “I’m sorry to finish this so soon. If I had the chance, I would have taken you away, savored you, made you last for days while I reveled in how it tormented your Lou, but you were oh so guarded, and this is what I get. Goodbye, Kat.”

  Nononono!

  “Please, Bass!”

  He grins and lets his fangs descend again, puts his mouth to my neck and bites down. Hard. I arch from pain, but that’s all I can manage. My limbs lie like dead. I’ve made a horrible, horrible mistake, and I’m paying the highest price. My consciousness balances on the edge of a black vortex that swirls and grows. I think of Mom and Dad and want to scream out how unfair the universe is. I mourn that I’ll never get to tell Lou how sorry I am.

  My eyes are open but I see nothing. The pulling on my neck, the sucking, is nothing but a tickle. I’m so tired. Darkness welcomes me, beckons me, and it’s irresistible.

  Lou

  Lucius Frangelico and his young hybrid companion, Selene, have gone out of their way in their hospitality, and I hope it’s the beginning of a friendship that can last for years to come, but I can’t wait to get Kat out of Club Toxic. It is just that — toxic. No matter how enticing the BDSM themed club is, it is not what I want for my woman. The next time I tie her up and spank her sweet ass it will be in the privacy of our own home.

  Selene helped me find an interior designer who will decorate the place with the bare necessities, then I intend to share the adventure with Kat, equipping our home. I had plans for the night, stores to visit, open only for me, through the vast network of the king, but a weird feeling of urgency tugs at me and finally I tell the interior design woman to knock herself out but to finish it at the latest one hour before dawn.

  I will go to sleep this morning, with Kat in my arms, in a penthouse that touches the stars, with a view that seems to encompass the whole of Arizona. We will talk. I know we need to talk. I’m a selfish old vampire, and the last couple of weeks have been madness, but I’m not inherently evil, at least that’s not how I like to think of myself. I am not letting her out of my sight, ever, but she has a mother and a father who have already lost a child. I don’t wish unhappiness on them, and in extension on Kat, so we will need to find a way. I need to give her leash some slack.

  The designer turns her back on me, and, with one last glance around the room, I run. I’m on the balcony, then off it, falling through the night, taking aim for the next building. Darting from rooftop to rooftop, I feel the need for Kat as physical as if someone kicked me in the chest.

  I manage to make Augustus jump with surprise as I land on my feet right in front of him.

  “If I could have a heart attack, man!” Giving me a curt nod, he pulls open the door and I’m instantly assaulted by the pounding music, the smells of sweat, perfume, and alcohol.

  Maximus flashes a set of white teeth in a wide smile as he reaches for the hidden door to the dungeon. “I heard you’re leaving us.”

  “Is that what brings on the cheeriness?”

  He laughs and slaps my back. “No, no. You’re good. It’s been a pleasure knowing you.” Then he pulls open the door.

  Warm air wafts up through the shaft with the stairs. Warm air, loud screams, and… the thick, heady smell of Kat’s blood.

  I growl and dart down the stairs with Maximus right on my heels, stopping in the middle of the room. Alaya is holding the blond human, Sean, by his hair. He screams, clutching her hand. Her features are a vision of rage with her snarling and her long fangs. Lucius towers over them, a murderous look on his face. Selene darts from the corridor and holds out her arms, shaking her head. She meets my gaze, hers filled with worry.

  “She hasn’t left the club,” she says. “She’s down here.”

  In the next instant she bangs her fist at the nearest door to the private chambers. Lucius, Maximus, and I throw ourselves at the other three closed doors. All fly open except the one by Maximus. People and vampires in various states of undress come pouring out of the rooms. None of them of even the slightest interest to me. I zoom in on the closed door and try the handle. It’s locked. A shock of fear runs through my chest. My own room is impenetrable from the outside when it’s locked, making it safe for a comatose vampire. As I take a step back and kick, I pray that not all locks are the same.

  “No one’s allowed to lock these,” growls Lucius.

  “Is Kat in there?” roars Alaya, shaking the human, making him scream as his face contorts in pain.

  I kick again. I don’t need his answer. They might not be as attuned as I am, but the scent of Kat’s blood is everywhere.

  Maximus blurs past me, like a force of nature, and slams his shoulder against the door. The frame shatters. One final kick from me makes the door fly open, halfway ripped off its hinges.

  On the floor lies Kat, white as a sheet, absolutely still. Her eyes open but no one home, her cheeks wet with tears. Next to her stands Bass. He throws out his arms and grins, then he tackles us and tries to get past, but Maximus catches him as I kneel by a lifeless Kat and put two fingers on her wrist, trying to feel a pulse that’s not there. In the corner of my eye, I see the men tumble in a brief fight that is over as soon as it began. Bass roars his displeasure as Lucius and Maximus restrain him. Selene kneels next to me and lays her ear against Kat’s chest.

  “He drained her.” I’m paralyzed with a mounting grief that numbs all senses.

  “Her heart beats,” gasps Selene and looks up at me.

  I freeze, listen. I don’t hear anything. “No.”

  “Yes! It’s not too late! Give her your blood!”

  “She’s dying, Selene,” I roar. “Look at her! The brain damage! It’s too late. No amount of my blood—”

  One slow, wet thud of a beat, trembling, as if she’s clinging on just to say goodbye.

  “You can turn her,” whispers Selene.

  “No! I can’t doom her to this! I won’t.”

  “Lucius did it for me.”

  I clutch Kat’s cold hands in mine. Her dark eyes are somewhat even darker, staring emptily at the ceiling.

  “Love?” I whisper, my voice unsteady. “What do I do?”

  “She wants it, Lou.”

  “You don’t know that!”

  “I do, and so do you,” she says quietly.

  The wait for the next heartbeat is eternal and when it comes, it’s a tremble that barely pushes any blood through her vessels.

  My mind tilts. Be with her forever. Lose her now. Her life cut short. Dooming her to eternal darkness. The hunger for blood. Always on the fringes of the world. A demon. Long walks, conversations about life and love, about art, politics, humanity. Love. Her compassion. Her humanity.

  “Lou! If you don’t do it now, it’ll be too late. She’s almost gone!”

  Love.

  “I took everything from her.”

  The slap across my cheek stings, Selene’s hybrid strength too much even for my vampire indestructibility. “Stop wallowing for fuck’s sake! Yes, you did, and now you’re giving it back with interest.”

  One thud from her tormented heart. It hitches. A tear slips from Kat’s eye.

  I rip open the artery in my wrist and push it against her lips, prying open her mouth, letting my blood pour onto her tongue. I want to scream. “She’s not swallowing! Swallow it, Kat!”

  “If she has even some blood still moving, even one cell still active, she’ll absorb the blood. It’ll just take longer. Keep at it.”

  My skin heals too quick, especially as she isn’t actively sucking at the wound, and I tear open my other wrist, putting it to her mouth instead. I rock back and forth, agony ripping my chest apart. “How did this happen? Why?”

  “Just don’t quit.”

  I switch arms again. Selene is silent and we wait.

  And wait.

  “Her heart isn’t beating.”

 
“I know,” she says and grabs my arm, holding it tight to Kat’s mouth. “Don’t you dare stop, Lou.” She darts to her feet. “I’ll get you some blood. You’re gonna need it. And I’ll find out what the fuck happened.”

  I switch arms again and clutch Kat’s limp body to my chest, a primal howl of agony fighting to escape my throat. Memories from our first meeting, from when she listened for my heartbeat rage through me. How the tables have turned.

  Selene comes back and kneels by my side, putting a pitcher of blood to my lips. I drink greedily, draining it. I need the magic, the strength. “She hasn’t swallowed once. I don’t know where my blood goes.”

  “It doesn't matter. As long as her mucous membranes come in contact with your blood and absorb it.” Selene puts away the now empty pitcher. “Hey… They held a little interrogation with Bass and the human.”

  Judging from the screams I’ve mostly tuned out, it seems it wasn’t that little.

  “Kat was looking to be turned. Seems she was crossed. The human had his eyes on you and figured he’d get rid of the competition. He struck a deal with Bass. Kat thought he was going to turn her, but from the sound of it he never had plans for that.”

  I take in the lifeless form of the little doctor, my mistress, my mate. She wanted this so badly? Why did she go behind my back? Was it me? Didn’t she trust me? Why didn’t she want to live her life with me? Her human life?

  “Bass admits to this?” I growl.

  “He’s not saying anything. He knows he won’t leave this place alive either way. We’re holding him for you.”

  “Good,” I growl. “And the human?”

  “Him too.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  Selene stands and puts a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t think you can do more.”

  “I’m not leaving her until she wakes.”

  “It’ll take until tomorrow. You know that.”

  “I don’t know anything!” I roar. “We were too late. Look at her. There is nothing.”

  “No. You look. She’s not dead, Lou. Her heart has stopped, but her eyes haven’t dried. Smell her. Feel her. This isn’t death, it’s transition.”