Ground Zero

by Melony Paradise

  “You’re the best!” I pushed against my invisible bonds until Kat released me and threw my arms around Benjamin’s neck, muttering “thank you” over and over.

  “No problem,” he said, tugging me away. I could see the tension in his eyes that he tried to hide by looking to Edgar.

  I glanced over my shoulder to see him nod.

  “You must gain her permission before Benjamin approaches her, Mercy.”

  “I will. I promise.” I bounced on my toes, and barely suppressed the urge to clap like a child.

  “Mercy? You in here?”

  Great timing!

  “Mandy,” I sang, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and leading her down the hall to her bedroom. “We need to talk.”

  Mandy’s thin eyebrows shot up. I studied her face, noticing the lines and dryness. Her condition kept her so thin and dehydrated. She’d always looked like a child next to my bulkier body. Not so much now, I suppose, and hopefully, turning will give her a healthier appearance.

  Steering her to the bed, I glanced at the side table laden with medications and at-home medical equipment. The sight of the oxygen tank always broke my heart. Opposite the bed, side-by-side closets stood open with clothes and shoes spilling out just a bit where she’d likely been trying on outfits for possible dates, dropping what she didn’t like onto small piles inside the doors. I’d been witness to such events more times than I could count.

  “What’s up?” she asked, frowning at me.

  “Uh, how are you handling all of this? It’s a lot to take in, and you just found out your best friend is a vampire…”

  “Yeah, well, better than a vampire cult.” She snickered as I glowered at her. “Honestly, I’m just happy you’re alive—er, you know what I mean. I was really worried when I hadn’t heard from you. I had to spend two nights in the hospital with only Mom for company!”

  “Yikes, sorry.” I hugged her quickly, guilt eating at my guts. “That’s what I want to talk to you about. Your health has been much worse these last two years, and you’re spending a lot more time in the hospital. I’ve been so worried about you, and I know your parents are so stressed about losing you. I’ve spoken to Kat and Edgar, and they agreed to let Benjamin turn you.” The words just rushed out of my mouth before I could lose the nerve to say them.

  I stared at Mandy with the biggest puppy-dog eyes I could manage and poked my bottom lip out. She blinked at me as if she hadn’t quite heard what I’d said. When she looked down at the floor and frowned, my stomach clenched, knowing she was going to turn me down, possibly rage at me for even speaking so blasphemously.

  Until her grandparents had died, Mandy had gone to church every Sunday with them. Not so much since.

  “You won’t be sick any—”

  “What does it feel like?”

  My mouth opened and closed like a fish. I mentally flailed, searching for the right words to convince her. “I… don’t really know how it feels to be turned. Kat used her power to knock me out. Afterwards, I felt amazing. Almost like a whole new person.” I grinned brightly at her, hoping my enthusiasm would do the trick.

  I swept my hands down my body. “Obviously, I changed physically, as you can see, but I also gained magical powers. I have to be honest, though. It’s not all fun and games. Once a vampire turns you, there is a mental connection created by the blood bond. They can’t read your mind, but they can sense what you’re feeling, and you can sense them. They can also force you to do some things, but I don’t think the good ones do that very often.”

  “The good ones? Which one did you ask to do this?”

  “Benjamin.”

  One of her cheeks twitched and her eyes lightened a bit, but she maintained a stern frown as she searched my face. “Does he have other… what are they called?”

  “Fledglings? No, he doesn’t. Kat said you would be his first, but in the short time I’ve known him, he’s been amazing. He’s caring, protective, and sincere. I think he’d be a good sire to you. I know he’d be a much better man than any you’ve dated in the past.”

  “Mercy! You’re trying to turn me into a vampire and set me up with one?” Her face lit up briefly before shutting down again. “So, I’d be tied to him permanently? What about my parents? Will that mean I can’t ever see them again?”

  Of everyone I had ever met in my life, Mandy was probably the most loyal person I knew. Her loyalty kept her with men months longer than they deserved, but as a friend, I couldn’t ask for anyone better. And when it came to family, this tiny, fragile woman became a lioness defending her cubs. Watch out!

  I valued my best friend, Mandy, over everything and anyone else in my life, hence the efforts to make her an immortal vampire. I’m selfish, I know. I have no regrets, unless, of course, she says no…

  “I don’t know.” I couldn’t lie to her. Only honesty kept a friendship pure. “It wouldn’t be safe to go to them while the hunters are chasing us, and the werewolves. You would be tied to Benjamin forever, but after a long while, the connection fades, so he would have less control over you and you can be farther away from him. You’ll have eternity to find just the right guy to spend it with.” I smiled encouragingly.

  “Huh?”

  “Until your bond fades, you won’t be able to put much physical distance between you and him. You’ll feel an invisible rope tethering your bodies together and the tighter it gets, the more it hurts.”

  “Hmm. Well, at least he’s hot. Who’s your sire? Edgar?”

  I deadpanned. “Kat.”

  “Seriously?” Mandy fell back against the bed laughing uncontrollably.

  “Yeah,” I grumbled. “She’s been a real peach.” My comment sent her reeling with delight. “You don’t have to enjoy my misery so thoroughly. At least I’m setting you up with a hot guy.”

  “Does that mean I’ll be with him forever, like married to the same guy for the rest of eternity?”

  “No.” I shook my head thoughtfully. “Danielle is with Julius, but Edgar is her sire. They were already a couple when she was turned and he was cursed. I don’t know much about these things yet, but I think only the weres mate for life.”

  “Oh, well, I suppose that’s good. I don’t want to be stuck with someone I don’t love. You know?”

  I wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she sat up. “I think you’ll do just fine. Besides, you’re too tough to let a man control you for long.” I grinned at her playful scowl.

  “What do I tell my parents, Mercy? Mom and Dad were planning to come up here this weekend. Mom’s worried I’m not recovering from my last hospital visit as well as I should. How do I tell them I’m suddenly cured?”

  “You could tell them that I found you a miracle doctor in another country, and that we will be leaving right away for the treatment.”

  Mandy’s considering expression turned dark. “Mom will want to go with us.”

  I scrunched up my face and said, “We could only get two plane tickets last minute, and the doctor is very private?”

  Mandy peered at me skeptically. “I don’t know… You know how she is.”

  I could sense Mandy starting to shut down. “Let me talk to Edgar. We’ll figure it out. I promise.”

  Chapter 7

  The day before Mandy’s parents visited, Benjamin took her into her bedroom for nearly three hours. He insisted they get to know each other privately and without an audience that might make her more skittish than a spooked filly. His words. I think he was channeling the ranch atmosphere.

  After their closed-door session, Mandy appeared a little healthier than she had going in. Her knowing smile that wouldn’t go away piqued my curiosity to no end. Even the euphoric feeding I’d had with a beautiful, pale-skinned, white-haired male donor—Seriously, where did they find these model gorgeous people to donate blood and give up their normal lives to travel with vampires?—couldn’t distract me from wondering what Benjamin and Mandy were doing.

  When her bedroom door finally opened, I shoved past
Benjamin, pushed Mandy back into the room, and slammed the door shut, leaning my back against it so she couldn’t escape.

  Mandy stared at me with her mouth slightly open in shock and her eyes glittering with humor. “Uh… What’s up?”

  “What’s up?” I squeaked, keeping my voice quiet so the supernatural beings scattered about the house and property might not hear me, even though I’d been unable to hear her and Benjamin beyond the murmur of their voices. Maybe he’d done something to muffle the sound of their talking… “What’s up is that you’ve been in here with Benjamin for hours and you look… better than the last ten times I’ve visited! What did he do to you?”

  A knock at the door near my head made me jump with an embarrassing girly screech. Mandy shoved me aside and opened the door. Benjamin poked his head in to look at me with raised eyebrows and a quirky grin, his fringe of spiky bangs swayed with his barely contained laughter.

  “Since you’re not letting her out, mind if I come back in to explain?”

  I waved at him impatiently, plopping onto Mandy’s bed. The frame moaned a protest. Benjamin sat next to me with a bit more care and restraint. Mandy settled in across from us at her desk.

  “What did you do to her?” I turned my head and tilted it as I glared at him. I didn’t know why I was so uneasy by whatever had happened. I knew Benjamin wouldn’t do anything bad to her. He was a good guy for a vampire, always looking out for me, teaching me when my own sire couldn’t be bothered. I could only guess that I felt overprotective of the only real friend I’d had for all my adult life. My ex-husband had systematically cut me off from everyone besides my parents, but Mandy had been steadfast and determined, never letting him get between us.

  “I didn’t do anything harmful to her, I swear.” He held one hand up and the other over his heart. “Ideally, when turning a human, a vampire would share blood with someone who willing chose to become a fledgling. I would feed from her—”

  My head shot around to stare at Mandy’s unmarked neck.

  “—and she would drink a small amount of my blood to begin weaving the tether that would connect us in a blood bond. Because she is ill and too weak to endure any blood loss yet, I have given her a small dose of my blood to allow her to gain some strength.”

  I felt my body slowly relax, not realizing until just then that I had tensed up until my fingernails bit into my palms.

  “We need to convince her parents that our ‘treatment’ is healing her, but she can’t appear miraculously cured, or they might become too suspicious and refuse to leave. I’ll give her another small dose before they arrive, and hopefully, that will be enough to give her enough strength to endure the changes of turning.” He grimaced, and my heart sank just a little. “If not, I will keep dosing her until she is ready. Unfortunately, the human body can only handle so much vampire blood before it rejects it altogether. Small doses are fine for minor healing, but the process is really only intended for the turning.”

  As I processed what he’d just told me, I stared at the floor with my heartbeat blaring in my ears.

  What if it doesn’t work? What if her body rejects his blood? What if this is all a mistake? I just killed my best friend?

  “Mercy,” Mandy coaxed, “I’ll be fine. I feel great!”

  “I can’t lose you…” I sniffled, blinking back tears.

  “I’m going to die from this disease. You’ve given me a chance to live a new life. After talking to Benjamin, I’m hopeful about the chances of surviving the turning, but if I die in the process, well… I had already made my peace with it.”

  “I know I asked you to do this, but what about…?” I pointed up at the ceiling knowing she’d understand.

  “If God didn’t intend for me to do this, he wouldn’t have brought you and your new friends to my doorstep. I have faith that He will understand my choices and forgive me if they aren’t the right ones. Benjamin explained the vampire’s aversion to God, but that doesn’t mean I’ll lose my faith in Him, or my ability to talk to Him. I just can’t speak His name. I’m okay with that.”

  I jumped up with a face-splitting grin and pulled her into my arms. “This is so damn awesome! I’ve been so worried abut losing you these past couple of years, and now, we’ll be together forever. BVFF’s!”

  When she leaned away to quirk an eyebrow at me, I said, “Best Vampire Friends Forever!”

  Benjamin snorted inelegantly and strode out of the room. I waved a hand at his retreating form. Tabi lurked in the hallway, so I gestured for her to join us, and spent the rest of the evening with my two girlfriends. We gossiped about the vampires in our clans, and Tabi helped me explain the relationship between our clans and the shifters who’d come with us to the ranch.

  As morning approached, Nick brought food for Mandy and mason jars filled with blood for me and Tabi. He snickered when Tabi tilted her jar back and forth. Mandy’s grandmother had been into rustic, shabby-chic décor, hence the jars with handles.

  Nick stationed himself outside the bedroom with his back to us in faux privacy. Mandy waggled her eyes at me until I fell back on the bed, giggling uncontrollably. With the sun rising, Tabi and I agreed to a “sleepover” and stayed with Mandy in her king-sized bed. Benjamin gave her another dose of his blood before he went off to sleep in one of the guest rooms.

  Chapter 8

  By the time Tabi and I woke up the next evening, Mandy’s parents had come and gone. Rosie, a werewolf guard for the Lyons clan, had posed as the specialist physician with the miracle “treatment” for their daughter.

  Apparently, Rosie, a tall, Hispanic woman with dark, curly hair and strong, sharp features, chosen because of her commanding, yet pleasant demeanor, had been a doctor in the early 1900’s. She’d joined Chima’s pack because she was dominant enough to hold her own among the numerous dominant males. Her medical training made her an invaluable asset to any team, but her ability to lead allowed her to become second to the team leader of the sub-pack Chima had assigned to David Lyons and his clan.

  When we’d been stuck in the cabin at the mountain campgrounds surrounded by hostile frenemies, Nick and Elena had joked—in private, of course—that Efram may be the official sub-pack Alpha, but Rosie was the boss. Everyone knew it, but no one said it. There were other females in Chima’s pack, and they were assigned to sub-packs based on how dominant or submissive they were, but Elena swore that Rosie was the most dominant female she’d known, besides herself, obviously.

  “How’d it go?” I asked Mandy as I stretched after the most restful sleep I’d had since being turned. She swung back and forth in her desk chair, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

  “Flawless! Rosie knew all the right medical jargon to confuse my parents enough that they believed every word she said. Plus, my looking healthier already helped sell the deal.”

  “They bought it all then?”

  “Yep. She told them we began a low dose ‘treatment’ here, so I would be comfortable in my own home while my body adapts to the medications, but I will have to go to a clinic for the more aggressive medications, where I will need to be monitored constantly in a sterile lab environment.”

  “What did your mom say?”

  Mandy rolled her eyes. “She tried to insist on coming with me, but Rosie reassured her that I would be in the best of care, and unfortunately, I would be in isolation surrounded by specialized laboratories. Even if she did come, she wouldn’t be able to see me because I would be immunocompromised for several weeks. Mom made me promise numerous times that I would call her as often as possible, and Rosie swore she would email regular updates. I guess someone in her pack is tech-savvy and already set up automatic emails. Thankfully, Mom and Dad barely know how to turn on a computer, much less use the internet to research this ‘treatment.’”

  I giggled. “Good thing.”

  Tabi returned from the bathroom, looking fresh as a daisy with her blonde hair in a high ponytail and red tinting her aquamarine eyes. “Hurry up, Mercy. Breakfast is ready.” />
  Mandy chuckled, and I stuck my tongue out at Tabi. “It’s not like it’ll get cold.”

  “No, but you don’t want to keep our sires waiting. Kat is looking a bit impatient.”

  “Bah, she always looks that way.” I shook my head and rushed to the bathroom anyway.

  While I brushed my hair and teeth, I ignored the niggling sensation of Kat in my head. Nick waited in the hall and held his elbow out for me as I exited the bathroom. I slipped my hand over his arm and let him lead me to the formal dining room where the donors had been arranged to stand a couple of feet behind each chair. My clan sat waiting, but one vampire was missing.

  I glanced around, searching for Mandy.

  “Benjamin has already fed,” Kat said, looking bored and annoyed all at once. “He’s taken your friend to turn her.”

  “What?” I yelped. “Is she ready for that? I thought she wasn’t strong enough. I should be there—”

  “Hush,” Edgar ordered quietly. I felt his force through our faint bond, settling my near-panic. “She is strong-willed, and his blood has strengthened her enough that I believe she will survive the process.”

  “But…”

  “And, making a fledgling is an intimate endeavor that requires privacy.”

  “But…”

  “Benjamin has witnessed the process many times. With my guidance,” he said, tapping the side of his head, “he will safely turn your friend without killing her with incompetence. If she should not survive turning, it will be because her disease is too far progressed, in which case, nothing could save her. Sit.”

  With my lips pinched in a thin line, I sat down next to Danielle. Julius reached around her shoulder to pat mine gently. Danielle gave me a small conciliatory smile and offered to soothe my anxiety, but I shook my head.

  Edgar raised his hand as if he were signaling for a waiter in a restaurant. The donors stepped up behind our chairs and offered their wrists to each of us. We hadn’t done feeding in this way at the cabin. My experience in the weeks since I’d been a vampire had been drinking blood from glasses or embracing the donors from behind and biting into their necks.