by V. Vaughn
I should have known my mother would manage to be fine. She’s always been one to make the best of a situation. My heart aches from missing her, and I hope soon I can gain control of my bloodlust to the point I can be around her safely.
Alexander gets up to pour himself more whiskey, and as the stopper on the decanter pops open, he says, “Tell me about your change. I heard you managed to run away then tried to feed on a seagull.”
I groan. “Adly is the worst. I can’t believe he told you.”
“Did he also tell you he tried to feed on a turkey when he first changed? And that the turkey won?”
“What?” I laugh. “No. He conveniently left out the part about the turkey winning.”
“He would.” Alexander comes back to sit near me, and he reaches for my hand again. “I’m sorry you were forced to feed on humans, Maggie. It was Sebastian and my hope that you’d never know what it was like so that we could keep you on bagged blood.”
“It’s okay now that I know I didn’t kill anyone.”
He rubs his thumb over the top of my hand and moves closer. “I hate thinking that Robert controlled you. That had to have been horrible.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks as I recall feeding with Robert earlier this evening. And the fact that I want to do it with him again. “I’m fine,” I say as I pull my hand away. Guilt fills me, and I drop my gaze. “I don’t remember much of it at all.”
Alexander tips my chin up and stares in my eyes. “You’re so sexy when your cheeks flush. I know it’s because you’re embarrassed, but it’s the look you get when you’ve just fed too.”
Crap. “I-I did grab some blood from the kitchen earlier.”
“Then we need to keep you well-fed, because the way you look right now reminds me of when you were human.” Alexander holds my face between his hands and moves his mouth within inches of mine. “And when I fell in love with you.”
Now I do flush in a sexy way as desire heats my insides, and my lips meet Alexander’s for a kiss. I open myself to him as he embraces me tight, and I’m glad I don’t need air any longer, because I never want to stop. Any doubts I had melt away as I fall into the vampire I was meant to have.
Chapter 9
Maggie
Alexander and I make out like teenagers, but we don’t progress past kissing. After my initial rush of sexual desire, it seems to stall. For some reason, I don’t want to be intimate, and I’m relieved when he breaks away to smile at me. He rubs his thumb over my lower lip. “My god, I’ve missed you.”
A shiver races down my spine as if Alexander’s touch is an evil I’m refusing to see. What is wrong with me? “Good. I wasn’t so sure earlier.”
“I know. But you don’t deny the king.”
I think about how I chased after the hunting party, and it hits me that crashing in on the king was a stupid idea I’m fortunate Robert thwarted. I recall the somber group Adly and I ran into earlier. I ask, “How did Lyndsey’s first hunt go tonight? I get the feeling it wasn’t as great as the king said.”
“It wasn’t,” says Alexander. He lets out a sigh. “In fact, it couldn’t have gone much worse.”
“Oh no. What happened?”
“She’s a shredder.” I frown as I wait for him to explain, although the term brings up horrible images. He says, “Her bloodlust is so severe that she devours people.”
Now I picture Lyndsey gnawing on an arm like a chicken leg. “Devours?”
Alexander says, “She has so little control that she tears away at the flesh, and… well…”
“She kills them.”
Alexander nods.
“Poor Lyndsey,” I say. “No wonder she looked so shell-shocked when I saw her leaving tonight.”
“It’s not good.”
“She’ll learn to control it, though.” I study Alexander’s face and see doubt. “Right?”
“She has to. But I’m not sure how, because we usually give up on shredders. I don’t even know of one who we successfully trained.”
“Give up?” I’m pretty sure I know what he means and say, “You mean kill them.”
“Yes. But since she’s heir to the throne—”
“You can’t.”
“So we have to figure out a way to tame Lyndsey’s bloodlust to the point she feeds responsibly,” says Alexander.
I remember the way Robert trained me to suckle slowly and to feel the human’s body go unconscious and recognize it as a cue to stop. He controlled my mind so well that I was able to do it on my first try. I wonder if the technique would work on a shredder. I ask, “Are there any vampires in the O’Kelly clan who have mind-control abilities?”
“No. That’s a Kearns trait.” Alexander stares intently at me for a moment. “Are you suggesting that’s how we could train Lyndsey?”
I nod as my stomach churns with the knowledge that I should tell Alexander what Robert and I did tonight. But I can’t. I know Robert has done terrible things to the Harts, and maybe it’s because I’m not sure what they are, but I’m struggling to hate the man who is training me to feed with control. Besides, I think he can help me be able to see my mother sooner.
“Interesting.” Alexander smiles at me. “You’re a clever girl, Maggie. I suppose it could work.” He chuckles, and he lifts his glass of whiskey. “Like that could ever happen. News like this can’t get out to the kingdom, let alone someone like Robert.”
I force a dry laugh of my own then take a sip of my drink before I say anything that might incriminate me. I try to imagine what it would be like to have your every flaw scrutinized by the vampires you rule. I say, “Lyndsey’s got to be scared right now. I sure would be.” I finish the last of my brandy and get up to pour myself more. I’m more confident now that Robert’s training technique should be seriously considered. I wish there were a way it could happen.
“I don’t think fear is Lyndsey’s problem. She—” Alexander stops himself.
“She what?”
“I forget you haven’t been a vampire very long. This is going to sound shocking, but once you’ve been around for a few years, you’ll understand how badass Lyndsey is. I watched her behead the vampire who almost killed her.”
“Behead.” I grimace as I picture blood splattering everywhere. Then I realize vampires don’t have blood pumping through their veins the way humans do. I ask, “How?”
“Saber.” Alexander grins. “It was amazing. She was put on the spot and had to do it in front of her guests at her introduction to the kingdom.” He shakes his head. “She acted as if it were something she’d done a dozen times before. You’d have been impressed.”
I recall watching Lyndsey surfing with the guys. She was good. Better than most of them, actually. “I remember what she was like as a human. I think Lyndsey’s one of those girls who is good at everything she tries.” Which is probably why I’m jealous of her.
“Except feeding.”
“Right. Are you sure you can’t find a way to use a Kearns vampire to help? They can’t all be evil.”
“Maggie.” Alexander takes my drink from my hand and sets it on the side table. “Enough of this subject. I don’t want to talk anymore.”
I give him a sly smile. “No?”
He shakes his head and leans in to kiss me. I fall into it at first, but like earlier, I become afraid. An odd sense of dread fills me again. I’m even more convinced something bad is about to happen, and I pull back. “Stop.”
“Maggie?” Alexander grips my arms lightly as his face clouds with concern. “What is it? Am I moving too fast?”
I shake my head. Being with Alexander has been on my mind for weeks, and I can’t explain why I suddenly don’t want him. “I don’t know. This feels—” The intense emotions are a little like when Elizabeth would fill me with her feelings. I move out of Alexander’s reach as I wonder if Elizabeth can still communicate with me. I clutch at my chest over my heart. “I can’t explain it, Alexander, but I think Elizabeth is trying to tell me something.”
�
�How? Sebastian told me she died when your human side did.”
“That’s what we thought, because her love for Sebastian left me.” I reach out and place my hand on Alexander’s worried face. I want to put him at ease. “My vampire is just as in love with you as my human was. But—”
Alexander grabs my hand and kisses my palm. “I love you too, Maggie. You don’t have to explain any more. I’m sure we’re soul mates. This can wait.”
“You are?”
He smiles at me as he nods, and now I’m even more conflicted. Because if the dread I feel isn’t a sign to keep me from falling for a vampire who’ll break my heart, then what is it? Am I the one who doesn’t love Alexander enough? Fear tightens my chest as a thought occurs to me. Is the vampire form of me about to hurt Alexander the way my human hurt Sebastian?
“Alexander, I—” I sigh. “I don’t know what to do.”
“I do,” he says as he stands. “I’m going to take you to your room and let you be alone. You’re a new vampire, and the intensity of your emotions is likely overwhelming you.”
I take the hand he offers and stand up. He’s right. I do want to be alone, because my feelings are overwhelming me. But I’m not sure it’s because I’m still adjusting to being a vampire. “I’m sorry. This night didn’t go as I’d hoped it would all these weeks.”
“My dear Maggie. You have nothing to be sorry for. You do realize we have decades for all of this.”
As Alexander leads me out of his room, Robert’s voice comes back to me. You did very well tonight, Maggie. More importantly, though, the way I felt when Robert said the words comes back too. If I had a heart that could beat, it would stop dead right now, because I’m afraid my vampire side is falling for something evil.
Chapter 10
Maggie
Waves crash on the rocky coastline as I hide in the shadows of the cliff and make my way along an area any human would be stupid to travel. Not only are the rocks slick with seaweed, but it’s too cold for them to be comfortable. I’ve resorted to sneaking out of the house late at night with the hope I’ll run into Robert.
I sniff the air, wondering if I can find a fresh feed. Although I don’t really want anyone to actually be here. I’m not sure how I’d control myself without Robert. Once a vampire tastes human blood, the craving for it never goes away. Bagged blood becomes merely a necessity, and while it does satisfy hunger, it does little to kill the desire to feed. It’s been so bad lately that I even heated up blood, thinking it might mimic the flavor of fresh from a vein. No such luck.
Sebastian and Alexander are aware of my need and offered to take me out and begin my training. I pretended I wasn’t ready after my traumatic encounter the first time. But I’m living on borrowed time because Sebastian mentioned again today that I need to start learning to feed.
“Maggie.”
I turn and smile when I see Robert. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Have you?” He smiles back as if we’re old friends, and he holds out his hand. “Come.”
Robert and I move at vampire speed to a remote area in the woods, where we find a fire and kids hovered around it. He says, “You’re going to need to learn to do this without the aid of mind control. You cannot attack a whole group on your own, so you wait for one to stray.”
I recall how Sebastian and Alexander always go out in a group, and now I understand why. As we wait, I wonder again what Robert’s motive might be. I ask, “Why are you doing this for me?”
He shrugs. “I like you and decided to lend you my talents.”
“Really. You don’t want anything from me?”
“Can’t a vampire do a good deed?”
Robert holds his fingers up to his lips, and I notice a guy stumbling our way. Since I’d rather not deal with him in a state of undress, I let my vampire out in a flash and pounce on him. He barely has time to struggle before I sink my teeth into his neck, and I’m tempted to suck hard, but I relax my jaw and suckle the way I’m supposed to. When I feel the body go limp, I stop.
I glance over at Robert before I lift the boy and place him against a tree so he’s slumped against it. I let out a sigh of contentment. “My god, that was good.”
“It always is, my dear. Well done. I believe you now have mastered control.”
“I’m done? But what about when you’re not here to control my mind?”
“I’m not controlling you now.”
“Because I want to do it,” I say. “Right?”
“Yes.”
“Except this control I have isn’t going to last forever.”
“It probably will, Maggie. Think of what I did as hypnosis. Much like using a meditative trance to enable a human to quit smoking or lose weight, my powers have given your subconscious the tools to maintain control.” His eyes fill with sadness. “You no longer need me.” He steps closer to me and reaches out to grab a strand of my hair and twirls it around his finger as he says, “It’s a shame we can’t spend time together.”
“You want to be my friend?”
He lets out a burst of laughter. “Not quite. The Harts are right to want to keep you away from me.”
I shiver when he strokes my cheek, and my vampire rises as if she’s arching her back like a cat being petted. I begin to tremble from a mix of fear and excitement. “Do not be afraid. I’m not capable of being evil toward you, Maggie.”
“But you are to the Harts,” I say. “What has come between you?”
“What is ever between enemies? Power. Control.” Robert leans in close enough to kiss me. “Women.”
For a split second, I feel myself lean toward him as if I want to taste him too, but then I jerk back in horror. “I’m with Alexander.” I stiffen with my resolve.
Robert raises an eyebrow at me. “I see.” He holds out his hand toward me. “Forgive me, then. Please.”
I place my hand in his. “There’s nothing to forgive. Thank you for training me. I really appreciate it.”
He lifts my hand as if he’s going to kiss it, but then he quickly yanks me close and wraps an arm around my waist to press me against his body. He whispers in my ear as he strokes his finger along my cheek. My mind goes blank. “You must never reveal to anyone that I trained you, or great harm will come to them. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I say as I lean into his touch.
“I’d like to entertain Princess Lyndsey and become her friend. If you bring her to me, I’ll release you to Alexander.”
I stumble when Robert lets me go, and I wonder where I’m supposed to bring her. I open my mouth to ask—
“Maggie! Whoa,” Robert says as he steadies me and pushes me away from our embrace. “There must have been a lot of alcohol in that boy’s blood. You may have just saved his life.”
I shake my head to clear it. “Wow. I’m sorry.” I glance down at my hand that I just extended for him to kiss, but I’m not sure he did. “I had no idea that could happen.”
“Not a problem. I’ll never complain about a beautiful woman falling into my arms.” He asks, “Do you need to sit for a bit?”
“No.” My dizziness is gone, and I have a sudden urge to return to the Hart mansion before I get caught. I say, “I should really get back.”
“Very well. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
“Thanks.”
I take off using vampire speed to get back to the cliffs, and when I get there, I climb up to sit on the ledge in the backyard of the Hart mansion. Icy wind blows around me, and I think back to when I had my first kiss with Alexander here. Being human then, I was cold, but the chill of the rocks on my bottom and legs barely registers to me now. I smile when I remember how I found the metallic taste in his mouth odd because I didn’t know he was a vampire. It seems as if that was years ago, but the reality is that it has only been months.
I gaze up into the sky and notice snow flurries dancing their way to the ground, and it makes me think of the approaching holidays. I gasp when I realize that I could see my mother. I h
ave control over my feeding, which means I should be fine around her. I jump up in excitement before it occurs to me that I can’t exactly run in and tell the Harts my news.
I trudge across the yard toward the house and decide I still might be able to see my mom if I start training with the Harts right away. I’ve been using a back entrance in the basement to sneak in and out, and when I get inside, I listen carefully for where the Harts might be. When I left, they were in the ballroom, and I walk over to stand beneath the room. I hear the crack of billiard balls, then Alexander shouts with joy. I make my way up to my room to change into sweats so they’ll think I’ve been holed up in my suite, being a broody new vampire.
I swing by the kitchen to get a cupful of blood before heading to the ballroom, and I sip on the straw as I enter and gulp as if I took a big mouthful. The men look over at me, and Alexander asks, “Would you like to join us?”
I ignore his question as I put my plan to see my mother in motion. “It’s snowing.”
“Ah, it will be nice to have a white Christmas,” says Sebastian.
“I know. This is my mother’s favorite holiday, and while I might not get to see her this Christmas, I really don’t want to miss next year.” I pause to take a sip of blood and do my best not to grimace, because the taste of fresh blood is still strong in my mind. “I’ve decided it’s time for me to start training.”
“Excellent,” says Alexander. “Would you like to go tomorrow night?”
The memory of tasting blood on Alexander the first time we kissed comes to mind, and I stay near the entrance to the room to make it clear I don’t want to be close to him. Not only do I feel odd around Alexander still, but I’m afraid he might try to kiss me and he’ll find out what I’ve done. Fear sends an icy rush through me, because I have to keep what I did with Robert a secret at all costs. I say, “Yes. That would be great. Please.”
“Very well, Margaret,” says Sebastian. “We’ll take you out tomorrow.”
I glance at the pool table between the two men and say, “Thank you. I’ll let you get back to your game. I’m going back upstairs to read.”
