He didn’t want to talk about this anymore. Didn’t want to listen to Albie point out his failings... Alric was already quite aware of them, “What have you learnt about this cult-like dhampyre group?” and he wasn’t above changing the subject to avoid talking about it.
Albie huffed, not pleased at the change of topic but it was the whole point of his being here with the cult-like group evading their attempts to pin down where they operated from. Even the actual structure of the organisation remained a mystery even the name of the mysterious dhampyre it all revolved around unknown. But what they had learned was that he was about three hundred years old, well-organised and well-funded. It was frustrating as the attacks began to increase in frequency and it wouldn’t be long until the Silverdale human law enforcement were drawn into it.
“They’re still elusive even with the information being shared from Jiangxue coven-” the scowl playing with Albie’s lips showed how much he was hating working with the neighbouring coven, or more importantly the dragons in charge of their security. Alric had never worked out where the animosity came from, but they’d all butted heads for the last thousand years. “-but I’ve got a dhampyre, one that fits their target demographic moving about the streets trying to find a way into their organisation.”
“No way he can be traced back to us?” It was a good plan in theory, but he wondered if it could work. Not all dhampyres within the city were members of the Silverdale coven but most worked for businesses connected to the Silverdale Corporation and that would make it hard to find one who wouldn’t draw suspicion.
“No more than any other dhampyre in the city. But he’s three hundred years old; known to have come from outside of Silverdale city – a bit of drifter until recently – and very few know that he works for me.”
Alric furrowed his brow at the tight set of Albie’s jaw, the clawed hands digging into the arms of the chair. Albie had never had an issue sending anyone undercover before or into potentially dangerous situations regardless of their species. And he wouldn’t send anyone undercover whom he didn’t trust, which made his current behaviour confusing. In the past Alric might have pushed the issue and taken great delight in watching his friend squirm as he dug up details about this dhampyre Albie obviously cared for but doing so would open himself up to questions he didn’t want to answer.
And besides, Eden was due to arrive and Alric would rather be with him, preferably in bed, than talking.
Chapter Twelve
Eden stood outside Alric’s office, stomach souring at the words that floated out; the heated argument Alric and Albie were having. Neither was as quiet. Though, as Eden glanced in the direction of Alric’s secretary, Mrs Walterson didn’t appear to notice the loud voices. He guessed she was either going deaf or their arguing at this level was normal. But he thought it might have at least garnered a sideways glance in his direction seeing as the subject of the argument was Eden. And that didn’t sit well with him either. Two thousand years of friendship versus a recent attachment, Eden knew who’d win and it wasn’t him.
Except Eden could have sworn Albie was defending him... no, not defending. Albie was demanding that Alric tell Eden something he’d neglected to do... and Eden’s guts soured even more as a ball of lead sloshed around in it while wondering what it might be.
He blew the bangs out of his face and pushed off the wall. Pacing the hallway, eyes darting back to the closed door of Alric’s office as he wondered whether it might be better to leave and pretend he’d never come here. Not possible - he lifted his head to stare at Mrs Walterson who caught his gaze and gave him a friendly smile - Mrs Walterson’s loyalty lay with Alric. And Alric wouldn’t hesitate to hunt him down. A shiver raced down his spine; his body thrummed to a new beat at the thought of Alric stalking the night clad streets. Would almost make earning Alric’s wrath worth it... maybe he’d throw Eden up against a wall, devouring him... the spot on his neck that Alric loved to bite throbbed as did Eden’s gums.
He ran his tongue over his teeth puzzled by the strange pain that hadn’t been there before. Confusion stepping up a notch as his tongue caught a sharpened edge that shouldn’t be there; certain he hadn’t broken one at some point. “How longs he got?” Albie’s words echoed through Eden’s mind followed quickly by Alric’s calmer reply, “One or two weeks,” and Eden’s blood chilled, tongue pressing harder against the tooth that shouldn’t exist.
Leaving wasn’t an option. Eden slumped into a chair and stared at the door waiting for it to open. Wanted it to stay closed, not sure he wanted to learn what exactly was happening to him.
Cradling his head, he dropped his gaze to the floor, not raising it again until he heard the door of the office open and Albie stepped out. His conflicted confusion must have shown on his face, Albie not speaking to him but merely squeezed Eden’s shoulder as he walked past. An apology or reassurance, Eden didn’t know. It did little to ease the confusion, the anger building inside him. He stood, gathered his anger and strode into Alric’s office intent on finding out what secrets the vampire still kept; locking the door as he shut it.
He paused as an unfamiliar smell lingered in the air, one that stirred a need within him Eden had never experienced before. His eyes drifted over the room trying to find the source of the heady metallic tang mixed with a pinot noir... a good vintage too, though Eden had no idea how he knew that, he was not a wine drinker by any stretch of the imagination. But the only bottles he could find were two small ones sitting on Alric’s desk. The dark glass bottles bore no labels, no identifying marks at all to suggest what their contents might have been, but Eden was beginning to realise it probably wasn’t just wine.
Eden sucked in a shuddering breath as a desperate hunger swept over him. He lifted his head and stared at Alric, lips pulled back as he swiped his tongue across his aching gums and the teeth he could’ve sworn had grown longer. The sour feeling in Eden’s guts grew worse, watching Alric’s expression flicker from one of hunger to that of guilt as he averted his gaze.
He wanted to shout, “What’s happening to me?” but he thought it was obvious, Eden just didn’t know if he wanted the confirmation. “I’m turning, aren’t I? You did something that is changing me into a vampire without me knowing.” He stalked across the floor to the desk where Alric sat.
“Dhampyre.”
“What?”
“You... you’re becoming a dhampyre. Surely the books you’ve studied at least mentioned the name given to humans who become vampires?”
“Semantics isn’t it? Vampires can only be created, or do you have to reach some arbitrary age to be considered a ‘vampire’. How many years, centuries, does it take to leave your humanity behind?” Anger, bitterness tinged his words and it wasn’t because Alric had started the process – or whatever it was happening to him – of turning him into a vampire, Eden having already accepted that if he wanted to stay with Alric it would need to happen someday. And that was the root of his anger, the someday he’d considered was now and Eden had had no choice in the matter. Alric had taken that from him.
“I was born a vampire.”
“How?” That didn’t make sense. Eden had read stories of women giving birth to the offspring of vampires; creatures that were part monster, part human and in most books, they were the ones referred to as dhampyres.
“The usual way. My parents had sex and I was the result, as were my siblings.”
Eden could almost accept that. Honestly it wasn’t that hard to believe vampires procreated like other species in addition to their ability to add to their population through other means. The theory only began to fall apart when Eden stopped to consider that the history books he’d read – no longer prepared to call them mythology – made very little mention of female vampires; only vague references that hinted at the possibility that they existed at all which meant Alric’s talk of parents didn’t make sense. But then it was strange he used the term parent instead of mother and father...
“There’s something you are not telling me... somethi
ng important Alric and I want to know what it is. I want to know how long until I’ve completely turned into a vamp-dhampyre-” moving around the desk and getting closer to Alric, Eden’s eyes darted to the base of Alric’s neck. His flicked his tongue over his elongated teeth as the urge to sink his teeth into Alric’s flesh and dr-
Eden’s footsteps faltered, and he grabbed a hold of the desk as he tried to remain standing as waves of shame, hunger, desire and horror crashed into him. Confusing waves that sent his head spinning. All he could focus on was that spot on Alric’s neck and the desire to sink his teeth into it while Alric fucked him. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down before those thoughts overwhelmed him but Alric’s close presence didn’t make it easy. Even less so when hands cupped his face and Alric’s delicious scent swamped him pulling him away from the calm he’d been trying to reach as a soft moan rose from deep within him.
“I’m sorry... No, I’m not sorry. I do regret not explaining what would happen to you. But it was always going to happen-” thumbs caressed Eden’s cheekbones and he didn’t know if he wanted to push Alric away or tug him closer. “-and I didn’t expect for it to happen this fast.”
“Well, you’re one up on me,” Eden sneered. “This isn’t how I expected it to happen at all. The books don’t describe it like this... I thought I had to die first. This isn’t that. It’s a slower, gradual process.”
“The books aren’t entirely wrong, but we’ve also worked hard to keep most of the information our society’s structure; its inner workings out of them. And this situation is one of those pieces. It doesn’t work like this for everyone, only fated lovers like we are.”
“So, what? My being around you did this?” he gestured at the fang nubs elongating from his gums, but the guilt in Alric’s eyes told him it was more than that... cold realisation of the truth hit him hard, pushing back the desire he’d been struggling to restrain. “No... it’s because we’ve had sex without condoms. I don’t know how that works... not sure if I even want to know. But fuck Alric, you never even gave me a choice!”
“I’m so-”
“Nope. You don’t get to say that... and I need you to step back-” placing a hand on Alric’s chest and shoving him away. “-I can’t think when you are close. You smell...delicious. Why am I thinking that? Fuck, all I want to do is bite you... and that’s not good. I don’t think I should even be around you right now while I think about all this.”
Breathing was hard. Each lungful dragged in more of Alric’s tantalising, distracting and very tempting scent, ramping up the urge to taste the blood he could hear pumping in Alric’s veins. A biological imperative, that’s all it was, this very unhuman-like hunger taking over his mind and it only grew more urgent, desperate the longer he stayed near Alric. He needed distance. One greater than the size of this room; this building... however much was needed for this urge to stop and his mind could finally clear enough to think.
But Alric didn’t look happy at the idea of being separated from him. An anguished pain streaking across his face as he stumbled back as though Eden stood there with a stake and aimed at Alric’s heart. He’d almost feel sorry for Alric, if the vampire hadn’t brought it all on himself.
“But I don’t think it would be a good idea to return back to my flat alone, so I want you to get Albie back here.”
Chapter Thirteen
“No! You’re not going anywhere without me,” Alric growled regaining his footing and moved toward Eden. But Eden wasn’t having any of it, ducking out of Alric’s reach and snarling. It didn’t do anything to deter Alric, spurred him on more as he saw the baby fangs descending from Eden’s gums.
“Not your decision. If you don’t want it to be Albie, then grab some other vampire that you trust... because I know you won’t let me stay on my own. But I need to think. I need to process all of this... and I need to do it alone. Please.”
Alric clenched his hands and closed his eyes, Eden’s anguished look imprinted upon their lids. Instinct told Alric to keep Eden close, to never let anyone else near him until his turning was complete. An instinct he needed to bring under control; to shove it from his mind as he tried to remember this wasn’t just about him and for once he needed to do the right thing by Eden. And if that was letting Eden think; to absorb all the changes that were happening to him, then Alric could do that.
He breathed out, opened his eyes and stared straight at Eden, taking in his barely holding it together state. Desperation. Hunger. Confusion. Emotions that rippled off Eden in erratic waves and made Alric’s restraint hard to maintain; took all his two thousand years of experience to do so. “You’re right, I don’t like it. But you’re also right, I haven’t been fair to you and Eden, if you need to think about this I’d be a jerk not to let you.”
His chest ached as Alric stepped back away from Eden. Heavens knew how much it would hurt once the distance between them grew even larger and the thought of waiting nearby in Albie’s apartment upstairs seemed like the ideal solution to mitigating the pain of separation. Except, Eden was becoming a dhampyre whether he wanted to or not, the process well beyond the point of no-return and preparations needed to be made. Plans that necessitated Alric cancelling the rest of the days appointments and returning to the mansion to organise everything. One thing those books of Eden’s had correct was a dhampyre’s need to feed after, and he’d require more than what Alric could safely provide if Eden solely fed on him. And it needed to be fresh, straight from the source and that meant hunting.
Snatching up his phone from the desk and phoned Albie, pressing it to his ear and waited for the dial tone to be replaced with Albie’s voice. And the seconds ticking past felt like hours as he watched Eden fight to stay in place; to hold back the hunger Alric knew Eden had little chance of containing the longer they remained the same room.
“Let me guess, you want me to come back because Eden is a lot further on than you thought and... actually I don’t know why you’d want me to return, but I can’t imagine any other reason why you’d be ringing.” Albie didn’t even bother with pleasantries before getting right to the annoying point. “Then again, I can feel an I told you so, coming on.”
“Sure. Fine. Say it all you want but I do need you back here. Eden can’t be left alone-” he sucked in a pained breath. “-and he doesn’t want to be around me.”
“Permanently?”
Alric flicked his gaze back to Eden, watched as he slumped to the floor, chest heaving, eyes downcast and his fingers digging into the carpet. “No, that... the ramifications of that-” he hissed softly into the phone as he walked further away from Eden. “-are not something to joke about. Twenty-four hours- no that’s too long. Twelve hours and then Eden will need to be brought to the mansion whether he wants it or not.”
“Okay. I’ll let you know if we head there sooner.” Alric nodded in reply not caring that Albie couldn’t see him.
“How long until you get here?” Clenching his hand tight enough to dig his sharp nails into his palms as a low growl emanated from Eden. Eden’s desire to clear his head might not happen if Albie couldn’t get here fast enough, as his need to bite Alric became more desperate with each passing minute.
“Well... I don’t know about that?” The snarkiness that seeped into Albie’s words infuriated Alric and his agitation affected Eden.
“Albie! This is serious. I’m trying to do the right thing-”
“For once you mean.”
“Yes. Fine. I screwed up. But Eden’s progressing faster than he should be and he’s not going fight against his instinct for much longer.”
“I’ll be there as soon as the elevator brings me there.”
“What? Hang on, you didn’t leave?” He’d half-expected Albie to take a good twenty-minutes to return to the office depending on the traffic. It wasn’t like Alric expected Albie to be at his beck and call, his friend had his own business to run.
“I didn’t like the way Eden looked when I passed him on my way out. Thought I’d-” the
phone call ended abruptly and Alric was ready curse his friend out when he arrived as the door opened, and Albie sauntered in. “-hang around just in case you needed me. Though this isn’t quite what I’d been expecting. So, where-”
“Fuck you smell delicious Alric.”
Alric switched his attention back to Eden who was pushing himself off the floor and staring at him with eyes a brilliant shade of violet. So, damn beautiful. It would be easy too- so tempting to step closer to Eden and setting the urges he was fighting free... Alric took a step toward Eden, his own eyes changing and fangs descending. But a step was all he took as Albie grabbed him and tugged him back, ignoring the warning growl that rose from his throat.
“You promised him, Alric.” The warning in his voice pushed through the heavy lust crowding Alric’s mind fuelled by the feral beast lingering close to the surface. “I’m going to take Eden out of here-” Albie glanced at Eden and shoved Alric back. “-while I still can. We’ll go upstairs... your apartment, it might help him remain calm when the pain of separation kicks in.”
Alric flexed his hands, more than ready to tear Albie apart the moment he touched Eden. Breathed deep, hoping to find some small remnant of calm that still existed amongst the clamouring crowd of emotions in his head. He took a step back. And then another, eyes still focused on Eden until the whole of the office lay between them. He could see the distance no matter how small, still effected Eden: the haze that dominated his mind began to lift, his breathing steadier and he’d finally recognised Albie’s presence in the room.
“Leave. Now.” His commanding tone cracking and his nails dug into his palms harder, drawing blood which only ignited the heat in Eden’s eyes again.
Albie squeezed his shoulder before hurrying over to Eden, but Alric couldn’t watch them leave, listening to the snarling anger dripping from Eden was hard enough. Every cell in his body demanded he go to Eden; demanded he shove Albie aside and not let him anywhere near his fated one. And he turned away, stared out the window at the city as he tried to focus on anything but what was happening behind him and the sharp pain slicing through his chest.
Finding His Eden Page 6
