Conversion Book Two: Bloodlines

by S. C. Stephens

  He swallowed naturally during a break, and my eyes flicked down at hearing the sound. I drifted over the slight stubble he kept over his jaw line, dark, but lighter than his hair, making him constantly look as if he’d spent a long weekend wrapped in soft sheets, too preoccupied with other things to worry about shaving. It was hot.

  He swallowed again and I continued on down to watch his throat move with the movement. I took in his neck while he talked, the way he turned and adjusted, the way the movement of the air needed for speech crept up from his lungs, making his throat bob. I could hear the light breath on its journey and smiled again.

  Then I noticed a vein at the base of his neck move. It startled me and I focused on it. It was a thick artery, full of blood that I had to imagine was as cool as his body. It popped away from his skin, the same as all large veins did on regular humans, and I was a bit dumbfounded by it all. Experimentally, I took a finger and pressed down on it. It gave way and then bounced back. The room silenced as Teren stopped speaking, maybe curious by my curiosity.

  He shifted his neck and the vein shifted as well, sinking away to somewhere deeper in his skin, where I couldn’t see it. “What are you doing?” he whispered, running a hand down my hair.

  I peeked up at his amused face and then back down to find that vein again. “I never noticed before, but your veins are just like mine.”

  He chucked, his body lightly rumbling under mine. “No, you probably wouldn’t have noticed that. You weren’t as focused on blood before.” I peeked back up at him and he grinned. “Why are you surprised? Of course I still have veins.”

  I gave him a wry grin and rolled my eyes. “I know that.” I looked back down as he shifted again and the vein reappeared. Lightly, I stroked it with my finger. Focusing my senses, I could feel the blood moving under his skin, I even imagined that I could hear it surging through his body. “It’s moving,” I muttered, mystified.

  He laughed again and brought his hand to my back, pulling me into him. “Of course it is. Did you think my blood was stagnant? Just pooling at my feet? Or maybe suspended…like Jell-o?” He laughed again, and I could tell my ignorance on the subject greatly amused him.

  I glared when I looked back up at him. “Well, yeah, actually.” I furrowed my brows. “You don’t have a pumping heart, how does your blood circulate?”

  He smiled and ran a finger down my cheek. “I’m a vampire, Emma. Don’t try and apply the rules of human anatomy to me.” I gave him a blank look and he laughed. “I don’t know how. I haven’t exactly dissected a vampire to find out. But, something in our blood keeps it moving. We don’t need a circulatory system; our blood takes care of its own.” He cocked his head, considering. “I think that’s one of the problems with being mixed, having that kind of blood along with a heartbeat.” He looked at me and shrugged. “The two are constantly battling each other; the vampiric blood wanting to move on its own, at its own fast pace, the rest of the body wanting a slower, more relaxed rhythm.”

  I grinned at the image that popped into my head. “Like an insolent teenager, battling its parents.” I stopped grinning when I realized that my body was fighting with itself now too.

  He sighed as he looked over my changed expression. “Yeah, something like that.” He raised my jaw and made me look at him. “But in answer to your implied question, yes, it moves.” A thought occurred to him, and he gave me a devilish smile. “How else did you think I could still…perform?”

  I blushed and laughed, smacking his chest and settling down to stare at that fascinating artery again. He laughed underneath me and held me tight.

  I pictured that blood, just under the surface and thought of the blood I’d downed earlier. I wondered if Alanna would bring more with the dinner I could hear her finishing up in the kitchen. It marveled me a little that I actually wanted her to. Of course, what happened next marveled me even more.

  As I watched that flowing vein under his skin, I found my lips moving towards it. Teren resumed talking, explaining other theories of vampirism that he had, but that vein commanded all of my attention. I brought my lips to his cool skin and felt the flow against my flesh. It didn’t pulse like my blood, it was just a constant stream, a river, surging under the surface. A never-ending loop of fresh, cool, refreshing blood. My tongue came out to lightly stroke his skin and he instantly stopped talking again. I think he stopped breathing too. I was too fascinated to pay close enough attention though.

  I pressed down on the vein with my tongue, his skin still slightly salty to me, even dead, and the vein popped back up when I released it. I groaned a little bit at the pleasing sensation and my teeth instantly snapped back down into place. My tongue had been in the way and I poked right into it. I pulled back from his skin, wincing in pain. “Ow, damn it.”

  Teren rubbed my back, but didn’t laugh at me injuring myself again. Instead he looked at me with an eyebrow raised. His eyes took in my extended fangs and he furrowed his brows.

  What?” I asked cautiously, feeling a little stupid that I’d basically been thinking about snacking on him. Hadn’t I just sworn I’d never do that?

  He seemed to know what I’d been about to do too. “Were you going to bite me?” His voice came out amused and a little concerned.

  I looked down, embarrassed. “No, I don’t know…maybe.” I looked back up at him quickly. “I wouldn’t have, not without asking you.” Not that I wanted to, not really anyway.

  He shook his head, brushing aside my concern. “I heal fast, Emma, you wouldn’t have hurt me. I’m just…” He tilted his head and rubbed my back, looking worried.

  “What?” I asked again, thinking I’d just about done something really wrong. “Do vampires not feed on each other? Not that I want to,” I quickly added.

  He shook his head again. “Sometimes they do, Great-Gran sometimes likes a little… But that’s not what I’m…” He stopped again and bit his lip.

  I sighed and felt tears sting my eyes. I was doing something wrong, I just didn’t know what. I wish he’d just tell me what faux-pas I was making. It wasn’t really my fault anyway. I’d only had a day to really get used to these cravings. He was born this way, used to it from day one.

  His finger lifted my jaw when he noticed the emotion in my eyes. “Hey, you’re okay, Emma.” He smiled warmly and shook his head. “I’m not angry at you. It’s okay if you want to bite me.” He raised an eyebrow and grinned devilishly again. “I think I’d even like that.”

  I ignored his expression and felt myself pouting. “But you’re concerned…why?”

  He looked down for a second and then met my eyes again. “Your cravings.” He shook his head again. “They just seem more advanced, like when I was close to…” He stopped talking, his eyes moistening.

  I exhaled, understanding. “You think I’m close to a changeover, because of how much blood interests me?” He nodded, swallowing heavily. I looked down, absorbing that. One of the twins jostled me while I was thinking and I grinned and looked back up at him. “It’s them, Teren.”

  He scrunched his brows and was about to ask who when he stopped and looked at my stomach. Understanding, he smiled and removing his ice pack hand from my neck, snaked it down to my stomach. My hand trailed down to meet his. “All of my cravings have ramped up because of them – ice cream, pasta, hot chocolate…”

  “Sex,” he interrupted, that grin on his face again.

  I rolled my eyes and hit his chest again. “And now, blood,” I finished, ignoring him. His smile relaxed into an easy one. “It’s not because I’m close to dying, it’s just because of them.” I said it matter-of-factly, like somehow saying it firmly enough, would make it true. But the truth was, we had no idea. All of this was new territory for the whole family. He nodded and looked reassured, but my new vision could tell that he wasn’t. But he only returned his hand to my neck, encouraged me to rest against his chest, and continued stroking my hair while he talked to me about things I could do around the ranch so I didn’t get too bored.
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  This was just something we’d both pretend to believe. It was better than the alternative.

  I felt Alanna approaching awhile later. Felt her, heard her, and smelled her, and the dinner she carried. No more sneaking up on this girl. Out of courtesy, she knocked before entering our room. She smiled warmly at the image of Teren and me, snuggling together in bed, and then set a tray of food – soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, sick person food - on the night stand. The tray also held a glass of milk and right beside it, two steaming cups. My fangs were still out and they extended a little more as I watched her pick up that tall thermos. She handed one to me as Teren helped me sit upright. I started drinking it immediately, still a little grossed out, but wanting it too much to care anymore. Teren and Alanna both chuckled at me and I paused and watched them watch me; Alanna hadn’t even gotten around to handing Teren his yet. She smiled warmly at me and urged me to continue. “It’s alright, Emma,” she encouraged.

  Blushing, I continued drinking, more slowly, and Teren smiled before taking a sip of his. He thanked his mother, his fangs out as well now, and she rumpled his hair before wishing us both a good night. Teren turned back to me and smiled widely around his mug. I didn’t know what pleased him more, us drinking together, or downing what I now understood to be the best damn stuff on earth.

  I grinned as I paused. “I can’t believe we’re drinking blood together.” I laughed once and shook my head, noting that my neck felt even better as the blood acted as a natural pain reliever.

  He grinned and tilted back his cup. “Think of the possibilities now. When your neck is healed, we could even paint each other’s bodies with it and then lick it off.” He laughed, so I knew he was joking, but I stopped and stared at him at the thought. His eyes took in mine and he stopped laughing, he stopped breathing again too. That made me giggle, as I tilted back my drink.

  I sighed as I finished my cup. “I can’t believe I enjoy this. I can’t believe I’m a vampire…sort of.”

  He tilted his head as he finished his. “You’ve never thought about it? Really?”

  I sighed again as I handed the cup to him. He put them both on the nightstand and put an arm around me. I leaned into his side and looked up at him. “Well, of course I’ve thought about it. I mean, you can’t exactly date a vampire and not think about it.” He smiled at that, a little sadly, and I continued. “But, after the way you reacted when I asked for Ashley, I just sort of took it off the table and stopped thinking about it. Plus…I didn’t want to be tempted to kill my friends and family. That’s not cool.”

  He laughed genuinely at that and hugged me. Kissing my hair, he muttered, “I think you can handle it.”

  I heard Alanna laugh at that too and Jack ask her what was funny. While I heard her repeat my comment, I pulled away from Teren to give him a serious look. “I’m sorry about asking you to change my sister. That I begged you to bite her, to drain her blood when you didn’t want to. That was wrong of me to try and make you do that. It was wrong of me to even ask.”

  He sighed and shook his head, his hand going to cup my cheek. “You had a right to ask. I’m sorry I overacted. We just…we don’t do that…normally.”

  He sighed again and looked down. I put my hand under his chin, bringing his gaze back to mine. “I know. I get that now. I love you.” He nodded and kissed me. I looked over his face as I pulled back. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

  He understood my vague question about the night he gave me his blood and looked at the sheets, shaking his head. “No, not really.”

  I sighed and ran a finger down his cheek. “Will you anyway?” I whispered that, and it was quite loud and clear, even to my own ears. He looked over at the tray of food Alanna had brought in, and sighing softly, he reached over and grabbed a plate piled high with grilled cheese sandwich halves. Handing it to me, he started telling me about what was probably the worst night of his life.

  “I was by your side before you even made it to the ground.” He shook his head, staring at the sheets again. “But I still wasn’t fast enough.” I paused in picking up a still warm sandwich, to put my hand on his chest encouragingly. He glanced over at me and sort of smiled. Sighing again, he laid his head back and shifted his gaze to the ceiling. I noted the silence in the house, as Alanna listened to her son speak his pain. “Ben had already gotten him. Great-Gran pulled him off of you, and all I saw was blood. So much blood. His, yours. It was awful. Everyone was talking to me at the same time and everything seemed so loud.”

  He shook his head, his pale eyes replaying the event as a shudder passed through me. “Great-Gran was telling me that we had to get rid of the body.” He looked over at me. “At first, I didn’t know which body she meant. But then I heard your heart – it was so faint. She picked up the vampire and blurred away, telling me to get you out of sight. Ben was yelling for me to get you to a hospital. He kept pulling at me, trying to get me off of you.” He shook his head as his eyes watered. “But I was holding in your blood. My hands were on your neck, and I was holding in what little blood was left.”

  He ran a hand down his face and I set my plate on my lap, food momentarily forgotten. I kissed his shoulder and whispered that I loved him. He peeked over at me, seemingly comforted by that. “You started to shake, so I picked you up and we got in the back of my car. I yelled at Ben to drive and then…”

  He paused, like he really didn’t want to confess this part. Since I already knew it, already pictured it in my head, I nodded at him and urged him to continue. He swallowed before he did. “While he drove, your heartbeat started stuttering. All I could think was that my blood heals fast now, maybe it would heal you.” He shook his head. “I wasn’t thinking that it would change you. I just…I wasn’t thinking.” He swallowed again while a tear ran down my cheek.

  “It’s okay, Teren.” I rested my head on his shoulder. “Tell me.”

  He exhaled shakily, like he was trying not to break down. “I tore my wrist open, put the wound over your lips. You wouldn’t drink it at first. It just kept collecting in your mouth. I didn’t know what to do. I begged you…and eventually, you swallowed it.” He smiled softly and then frowned, looking down at my untouched plate of food. “Ben went nuts when he saw what I was doing. Nearly stopped the car, but I…growled at him, told him to drive to the ranch.” He sighed softly and shook his head. “I may have told him I’d kill him if he didn’t.” He looked up at me. “But I knew I couldn’t take you to a hospital, not with my blood inside of you.” I nodded and he looked away.

  “I didn’t know how much you needed, or if it was even doing anything. I wasn’t thinking about anything other than ‘more’, you needed more.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I had to keep reopening my wrist, it kept healing. I was making myself really weak, but I couldn’t stop, your neck hadn’t healed.” I grabbed his hand, his wrist. He watched me as I examined the skin. It was perfect, flawless. I grabbed the other one, but it was the same. He was perfectly healed. “I’ve never been so scared, Emma. Not even when I died. I’ve never been that scared in my life.”

  He didn’t continue talking, and I thought that was the end of the story. Then he looked up from where his wrist was still in my hands. His eyes were wet again. “I fed you the entire way back to the ranch. I only stopped when Mom pried me off of you.” He shook his head and swallowed. “I think if she hadn’t, I would have given you every drop I had.” Another tear dropped to my cheek at that admission. I wanted to say something, but he smiled at me. “It was only when she picked you up, that I realized your heart was beating steadily again. And when we looked, your neck wasn’t healed, but it wasn’t bleeding very much anymore.” A long, languid smile broke over his face. “My blood didn’t do what I’d ever have expected it to do, but it kept you alive. It kept you all alive.”

  His eyes drifted to my stomach, to the twins resting under my plate of cooling food. I smiled and brought a hand to his cheek.

  “Have I ever told you, how amazing you
are?” He grinned and I leaned forward to kiss him for a few long moments, glad I was unconscious for that, and didn’t have the memory, and wishing someone could take the memory from Teren. I couldn’t imagine how scared he’d been. Then again, I’d watched him die, almost twice. Maybe I could imagine his terror all too easily.

  After a few moments of collection, I dug into my human food. My comparatively bland human food. Not that it was bad, it wasn’t, Alanna was amazing in the kitchen, but it wasn’t what my body was really wanting. The human part of me still needed it though, so I ate everything in front of me. Teren sat behind me while I ate, playing with my hair or massaging my shoulders. He didn’t seem to want to leave me alone. I understood that, I didn’t want him to leave me alone either.

  But eventually, he had to. Eventually it was Monday morning and he, at least, had to go back to work. He knelt by my side of the bed, concern clear in his face. “Hey, I have to go. It’s going to take me longer to get to work and back now, but I’ll be here, just as soon as I can.” I nodded and he leaned over to kiss me. “I’m going to swing by the house and get some stuff for us.” He looked down, a little worried again. “I need you to talk to your mom today, if you don’t mind.” I scrunched my brow and he explained, “I don’t know how long we’re going to be here, so I thought I’d leave Spike with her,” he grinned wryly, “since she loves him so much.”