Alexa O'Brien 03 - Only Vampires Cry Blood

by Trina M. Lee

  “I forget that you're so young. Naïve.” He emphasized the last word, and I knew it was just to enrage me. “You forget what we really are, Harley and I. You shouldn't.”

  “Bullshit,” I spat the word at him. “Whatever you are, I am, too. Only I'm the one stuck in a living body, unable to grasp how it all works. Forget it.”

  I stalked away, headed for my car. He grabbed my arm and whirled me around before I could reach for the door handle. Every time his hands were on me, I was enveloped in the swirl of our combined power. I hungered for him, his blood and his pain, along with his pleasure. I couldn't keep feeding the fire between us without leaping into the flames.

  Arys pulled me close, pressing his forehead to mine. “Do you forget that you almost killed him? Is that passion for his death dead inside you?”

  I shook my head from side to side, unable to speak for a moment as I choked on a sob. “You stopped me. You still love him, and you stopped me. So, don't you dare do this to me.”

  I reached for him, my hands caressing his face. Tears pricked the back of my eyes, hot and potent. I blinked them back, unwilling to let them fall. When he kissed me, it was bruising and rough, leaving my lips swollen. I still hungered for more of him. Just having his hands on me was enough to undo my solid resolve.

  “So I did.” His words came out on a whisper. “If only I could turn back time.”

  “You wouldn't have done it any other way, Arys, and you know it. You love us both, and it kills you because you can't have us both.”

  “That's not what this is about.” He pulled back before I could lose myself in him.

  Why was he doing this to me? It was beyond torturous. “I don't want him. Those days are long over.”

  “I just need to know how to live with this, with what you do to me.” I reached for him, and he stepped away. Panic gripped me, and I felt like I'd be ill. “Arys?”

  Turning his back on me, he started to walk away. Then, I spotted his car across the parking lot, the Pontiac that he almost never drove. Was he just going to walk away from me after going to the trouble of confronting me here?

  He paused long enough to toss a parting comment over his shoulder. “Goodnight, Alexa. If I don't leave now, I fear I'll kill us both. You need to decide what is more important to you: your search for answers or my sanity.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” I yelled the words with a new fury building. “You can't twist this around so that it suits you. My opinion is valid, too, damn you!”

  He was halfway across the parking lot when he paused. A moment later a twenty-something male emerged from the shadows, chatting away on his cell phone. I could see what was coming before it happened, but I could do nothing to stop it.

  Arys sprang on the man like a wild cat on prey. I bit back a scream, watching in horror as he bit deeply. From where I stood, I saw the blood spray. I began to gasp for air, leaning against my car in an attempt to stay on my feet. The bloodlust had no problem overtaking me as I watched Arys kill an innocent man. As horrified as I was by it, the vision before me was stirring my dark side into a frenzy. I loved watching Arys in his element, regardless of the circumstances.

  Slowly, I sunk to the ground beside my car. My entire body shook with the need to taste the hot human blood that Arys had spilled. Yet, my heart was breaking because I knew I was witnessing an act that spoke louder than words. Arys was exhibiting his true feelings in the only way that he knew how, by showing them. And, it was entirely my fault.

  When the bloodless corpse lay forgotten in the middle of the parking lot, Arys didn't so much as glance back at me. He got into the black Firebird and left as if it was just so easy. I didn't cry, not then anyway. Numb and detached, I got into my car and drove robotically. Only when I sat alone in the parking lot of a small, seedy bar did I let the blood tears fall.

  * * * *

  The shot of straight whiskey burned its way down my throat. I slammed the shooter glass on the bar and motioned to the bartender for another. He didn't say a word as he poured the honey brown liquid, but I could see the question in his eyes. I was wondering the same thing. What was a girl like me doing in a place like this? It was a small bar, not a nightclub in any way. The majority of the patrons were doing much the same as I was, drinking alone. I was the only woman in the place that didn't work there, no big deal. As long as nobody bothered me, I couldn't care less.

  I'd lost count after my fourth or fifth shot of whiskey. It wasn't that I was drunk but that I just didn't give a shit. Werewolves can hold more liquor than humans so drowning my sorrows could take a while. Last call was still a couple hours away, more than enough time.

  Alcohol is famous for numbing out, if only it would work. Rather than ease the ache of the blood hunger and the need to find Arys and slap him around, it only encouraged it.

  I knew he was out there killing and God only knew what else. I had only to focus on opening the mental door between us to know what he was really doing. Yeah, maybe after a few more rounds.

  Swallowing another satisfyingly strong whiskey shot, I jumped when my cell phone vibrated in the pocket of my jeans. Talk about heart attack inducing. It was Kale. Shit! I had totally forgotten that I was supposed to call him to let him know I'd made it out of The Wicked Kiss in one piece.

  “Hello?” I answered, making my way to the ladies room to escape the loud country music.

  “So am I riding in to rescue you or have you decided to stay all night?” Kale didn't bother with small talk, cutting right to the chase.

  “I left a while ago.” I debated on how much to tell him. Before I could censor myself, the truth poured out. “Arys was waiting for me outside. It wasn't a pleasant experience.”

  There was a slight pause before Kale replied, “Are you alright? Have you been drinking?”

  “How can you tell?”

  “Because it sounds like you need to be cut off. Where are you?”

  I scowled, but since he couldn't see it, it was a total waste. “I'm fine, Kale. Just having a few drinks to calm down. It was a nasty little argument. I'm trying to forget about it.”

  “Tell me,” he insisted. With a sigh, I gave him the address. “Stay put. I'm on my way.”

  After hanging up with Kale, I sent Shaz a quick message to let him know I was fine and no longer with Harley. I'd tell him about Arys later.

  Returning to my stool at the bar, I ordered a few more shots and settled in to wait for Kale. I was dying to know what Arys was doing. Would he even allow me to access his thoughts? He could always shut me out. The real question was, did I want to access them? Yes. The curiosity was killing me.

  I downed the first of the three shots the bartender placed in front of me. I let my thoughts wander to Arys, focusing hard on him. I slipped into his mind with ease. It was momentarily disorienting. I blinked a few times and suddenly I was seeing through his eyes.

  I could taste the blood in his mouth as if it were my own. He'd definitely been killing. From what I could feel, he did not intend to stop yet. He was creeping along through the darkened side streets, stalking a prostitute. She was suspicious when he approached her but open to any opportunity to score some cash. He didn't bother with the human banter. Ignoring her quoted hourly price, he reached for her.

  She gasped when he kissed her. I was stunned. It felt like icy cold hands grabbed a hold of my heart, seeking to wrench it from my chest. I was able to feel her lips, to taste a cigarette on her breath. Arys' thoughts were on his actions and his intent, yet he was aware of my presence. I knew it.

  He made a show of kissing his way down her neck to the pulse that beat strong and steady. A rage like no other flooded me at the desire that thrummed through Arys. He was getting off on this. His victim didn't fight. She was enraptured, totally mesmerized by him. I held my breath, waiting for him to bite her. I was mildly surprised to discover how badly I wanted him to.

  I was hungry for the kill, lured by the ease in which he went about it. Like it was all so simple. I lifted
another shot glass to my lips, barely feeling the sting of the liquor. My emotions swirled around me like a tornado, growing and pulsing. When Arys bit hard into his victim, I felt it like it was my own fangs buried in her flesh.

  A wave of pure pleasure washed over me, completely sexual in nature. My body began to respond, a hot tingle starting between my legs. The blood flowed over Arys'

  tongue, and I almost moaned aloud. The bloodlust within me shot to the boiling point, and I shoved my stool back. I had to get outside. I downed my last shot, slammed the glass on the bar and bolted for the door.

  Arys' thoughts turned sinister, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing inside him.

  He was going to do so much more than simply kill her. Our shared power was riding each of us hard. The difference was that he was openly embracing it.

  My wolf roared through Arys with a lust for death that felt so natural, so right. He never resisted the way I always did. He let it take him and guide his actions.

  I'd just made it out of the bar and onto the sidewalk when Arys tore into the woman with a frenzied snap of teeth. His fangs went beyond the punctured vein to tearing flesh away. His slaughter continued while I struggled to stay on my feet, walking steadily.

  Every person that passed me risked life and limb unawares. I couldn't hang on much longer. The need to give in to my instincts and join Arys in his tortured killing spree was too much.

  I knew I had to cut the link and vacate Arys' mind. I needed to hear my own thoughts. All I could see through his eyes was blood and flesh strewn about. His hands were wet with it. I couldn't be part of this anymore.

  What it was that really pushed me over the edge, past the point of all control, was a thought. A very clear and coherent thought that Arys had as he reveled in the bloody glory of his kill. He thought of me, and with that thought came a longing to kill me.

  Because he knew deep down, that the act of killing me would be the only way to truly make me his and his alone.

  I cut the tie between us so fast and hard that it physically hurt. I reeled from the pain of Arys' revelation combined with the ache to tear things to pieces. He'd warned me, and I hadn't listened.

  Months ago, after we'd first bonded our power, I had told Arys that he was so typically the vampire because even when he did something that appeared selfless, he always had something to gain from it. His response had been a warning that I should never forget it because once I did, I would be his forever, but I'd laughed it off like the naïve little idiot that he thought I was.

  The wolf that was my true nature along with my acquired vampire tendencies melded together, sharing the pain and the need for vengeance. After what I'd just discovered, I didn't care enough to fight it. All I wanted was to cause the same pain and terror that I was feeling. The guy walking towards me down the street would do just fine. I didn't give a damn who he was or where he was going. He was mine.

  A snarl began low in my throat. I waited for him to get closer. Perhaps if I could drag him in between the buildings … my mind wasn't thinking beyond that. This time I was saying “fuck it” to sanity and going with what felt good. The initial abandon felt euphoric.

  I timed my attack so that I came at him from one side, knocking him into the darkened space between the buildings. He let out a sound of surprised fright, but it was easily drowned out by the traffic on the street. I straddled him before he could move, wrapping my fingers tightly around his throat. Baring my fangs, I moved in to spill his blood with an unnatural eagerness.

  Strong arms grabbed me from behind, dragging me to my feet. The scent of leather and the sensation of Kale's intriguing power drew my attention instantly. My intended victim was practically forgotten. He scrambled to his feet and ran swearing and yelling down the street. My clawed nails were coated with blood from where I'd pierced his flesh. I couldn't resist bringing a finger to my lips, licking it clean while Kale watched with wide eyes.

  “Alexa? What in the hell are you doing? You know what, never mind. You can tell me in the car. Let's go.” He grabbed my wrist and pulled me along beside him. I was still trying to process the sudden turn in events.

  “Kale,” I growled. “What the fuck? Can't a girl have a little fun?”

  He swore softly, a string of curse words strung together into one. “I hate it when you're all vamped up like this. And, you are totally drunk. You reek like booze.”

  “I am not drunk.” I was vehement despite the fact that I tripped over my own feet trying to keep up with him. Maybe I'd had more than I thought.

  I let him guide me, leaning on him for support as I licked the bloody smears from my fingertips. It was such a tease. Kale looked down at me from his tall frame, a pained look crossing his face. His car was parked at the end of the street, and I protested when he opened the door and gently shoved me inside.

  “I can't leave my car, Kale. And, where the hell are you taking me anyway? Please say it's to kill something.”

  When we were both seated in the dark confines of his classic car, he faced me. “You should have called me before coming here. You could have killed that guy. Don't you think at some point someone would have noticed you tearing him to shreds?”

  I didn't respond. Instead, I slowly licked the last of the blood from my fingers. Kale watched me pensively, and I knew that he was enticed. I was so wicked in this frame of mind and knowing that didn't change a damn thing. Overcome with bloodlust, pain and the way Kale's eternally hungry power called to me, I was merely reacting. Thinking had gone out the window.

  “Oh so what?” I replied flippantly. “After the night I've had, a little fun is in order.”

  “Good Lord, you're out of your mind.” Kale started the car and pulled into traffic.

  “You need to sober up, in more ways than one from the looks of it.”

  “And, I'll bet you're just the guy to help me out with that, aren't you?”

  “You are so lucky that I fed tonight. I took care of that long before you arrived at the Kiss. It's going to take a lot more than batting your pretty eyes to get to me.”

  I grinned, loving the challenge I heard in his voice. “Oh yeah? How much more?”

  “Not funny, Alexa. This madness, this whole strange thing between us, it's got to stop.” He eased the car to a stop at a red light and fixed me with a serious gaze. “I'm here because I care about you, and you're going to get yourself into a lot of trouble out here alone. But, we have our own unspoken issues, and sooner or later, they're going to spiral out of control.”

  I pondered this, but in my drunken, Arys-influenced state, I just found it funny. The seriousness all over Kale's face got me giggling like a first time drunk. I sucked the tip of a clawed nail, delighting in the trace of blood caught beneath it.

  “I need to kill something, Kale. You know exactly what that feels like. This night has been a bust, and I don't really fucking care anymore.”

  “That's the bloodlust talking not you.” The traffic light changed, and we started moving again. There was no sign of the man I'd attacked anywhere.

  “So, where are we going? You won't let me kill anything so this had better be good.”

  I savored the taste of human blood on my tongue, aching for more. My actions tonight had proved Harley right already. I needed to accept the bloodlust as a part of me that wasn't going away.

  “We're going for a drive. Maybe a walk down by the river. And, if I have to, I'll give you my own blood to bring you back down to earth.”

  That got my attention and brought an evil grin to my lips. “Um, what? Have you lost your mind? You know that's a sure fire way to cross the line of our issues. Don't you think?” The thought of Kale's blood dripping onto my tongue was powerful enough to flood me with an erotic heat. I actually had to crack the window open to let the winter air cool me.

  Ignoring my words, he changed the subject entirely. “Tell me about Arys. What happened with him tonight?”

  I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. I didn't want to think abou
t it but talking about it was the safest bet for me right then. The memory of tasting Kale's blood during an intense and unexpected kiss was still as vibrant and fresh as if it had been yesterday rather than months ago. No, that had to be avoided at all costs.

  After stopping by an all night drive-thru to get me a coffee, Kale parked at a nice spot overlooking the river. From our location, we could see the lights from the vehicles on the bridges that spanned the rushing water, joining one side of the city to the other. I missed the stars. I knew they'd be visible in Stony. There were many reasons why I didn't live in a major city, but nature had to be the main one.

  Kale listened attentively as I recounted my whole night, including my visit with Harley. Not only did I tell him about the argument with Arys, I even confided the things I'd seen in Arys' thoughts and actions.

  It was easy to talk to Kale. He was neither my lover nor one of my girlfriends and that put him in a totally different category. I never worried about his reaction or opinions the way I did with the others that were close to me. Strangely, by the time I'd finished, I felt at ease with the many things roiling about inside me.

  “You are not a naïve idiot, and you know it,” he admonished once I'd finished speaking. “You are young and mortal. That's different. This is just the beginning for you.”

  “Not if Arys kills me like he apparently wants to.” The bitterness was heavy in my tone. “Talk about sleeping with the enemy.”

  Kale shook his head. “No, you don't understand. How can I explain this? I'm not at all surprised to hear that. For a vampire, the only way we can fully feel everything that a person has to offer is to consume them. Arys feels that way because you are so strong and independent. He longs to have all of you and tasting your death, absorbing all that you are, is the only way to do that on the deepest level possible. It doesn't mean that he actively wants to kill you. In fact, I'm sure it's the exact opposite. He's afraid of losing you.”