The mansion I own far out deep into the woods is a lonely life, but I can’t let others know about what I am. It doesn’t exactly look good on applications.
“And this is a problem because?”
“You’re the one that told me to stay away from Ms. Mitchell, remember?” I try not to sound too exasperated with Valdine, besides, I had woken her up from an otherwise deep sleep.
“Right. Right.” Valdine mutters and stifles a yawn. “Honestly, if you haven’t jumped her bones to get to her blood I’d say your patience over the decades has panned out.”
I grip the cell phone tighter, scowling even though I know for a fact that Valdine can’t see it. “Not exactly helpful here Val. I can’t exactly do this for much longer even with your potion.”
“Max, I understand your frustration but?—”
“Shh.” I sit up straight in my chair.
My senses are tuned out past the mansion and into the woods.
Valdine growls out, “Don’t you shush me?—”
My insides are squirming. Pulse racing and the blood is calling to me. I don’t know how, but I can’t exactly ignore it. Not when I hear a scream from a couple miles away. Dropping the phone, I’m on my feet in a flash, racing out the door, and out of the mansion within a blink of a human eye.
The scream cuts off abruptly and I stop just short of where I hear a couple of voices. “Don’t worry, I’m sure there’s plenty to go around.”
“He’s been sucking her dry for a full minute. The least he can do is share…”
I step into the clearing and my eyes take in the scene. Three men, two are already charging me, and one has Dakota Mitchell pressed up against a tree. Snarling, I let the two come at me, holding up a hand each to knock them away. They fly through the air and smack into a couple of trees, one hits the ground and curses.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave.” The guttural growl has the other two vampires clambering to their feet. Their eyes are a mixture of red and silver. No doubt mine are the same.
To humans we are deadly and dangerous. But to our kind? We are monsters that prowl the night.
“Unless you prefer to meet your end?”
The tall gangly vampire and his short companion tuck tail and turn, making a break for the trees. They won’t get far, because I’ve already caught their scent and I’m not in a forgiving mood.
Turning around, I’m already behind the other vampire, and grasping his shoulder. Digging my claws against his skin, he rears back, letting out a snarl.
He releases his hold on Dakota and she slumps to the ground, the back of her head smacking against the tree she’d been pinned against. Throwing the vampire away like a rag doll, he lands with a loud crack on the dirt, but I whirl on my heels before he can get a chance to stand. I capture his face with my hands and give his head a swift twist to the right.
The vampire’s eyes widen in surprise, his jaw goes slack, and his body goes limp as I toss him away. He’ll come to, and I’ll be able to hunt him down properly once Dakota has been taken care of.
Moving to crouch in front of her, I reach behind her head and gently touch the scrape. The blood is minimum, but she’s gone pale from the loss of blood. Seething with rage at someone daring to touch what is privately mine, I cradle her in my arms and stand, whisking her away to the mansion.
In the blink of an eye, I’m already shouting for Alexa to call Valdine. When her voice echoes from the speaker in the mansion, do I bother to shout, “Get over here asap!” The line immediately goes dead.
I lower Dakota gently onto a guest bed, propping her head up on a couple of pillows. Her face has gone ashen white and the two puncture wounds at her neck are pooling with blood. “I’m sorry.” I whisper gently, tracing a finger down the length of her neck. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. Her pulse is growing weaker and if I don’t think of something fast, she’ll die.
Snapping open my eyes, I place my wrist against my mouth and bite down. Wincing at the sharp pain, I twist my head to the right, and tear off a section of my flesh. Spitting out the dead skin, I move to support Dakota’s head by putting an arm around her shoulders and lifting her up slightly. I place my wrist at her open mouth, her head jerks at first then relaxes once my blood goes down her throat.
Dakota swallows and I pull my arm away once color has returned to her cheeks. She’ll live and hopefully the blood will make up for that which had been taken away without her permission.
Those men will die by my hands tonight.The dark unbidden thought comes to mind but it’s short lived when I hear Valdine’s voice calling for me down in the foyer.
“Up here, Val.” I stand out in the doorway, afraid to leave Dakota alone in case her body rejects my blood.
It won’t cause her to turn immortal, for she would have to decide on whether to become a vampire and I won’t do that to her or anyone else for that matter.
My gaze remain pinned on the bed as Valdine comes up the stairs, nearly out of breath by the time she reaches the third floor.
“I’ve said this once and I’ll say it again, you need to think about a two bedroom farmhouse, not a mansion.” Valdine gasps out. I dart a quick glance over my shoulder at her. She’s leaning heavily against the stair rail, glaring over at me.