by K.N. Lee
Koa thought of how disappointed Halston would be once he found out. He had worked hard to help her fight the hunger for blood. They had a strict feeding schedule, but once again, an intense battle had ruined it.
Koa shook her head and sucked in an agonizing breath as tears threatened to break free. She didn’t care what Halston thought anymore. She didn’t care about any of it.
Koa was out. She was free. She already hated it.
She knew Halston would be livid, and she welcomed it, he deserved to feel guilty for shoving her aside. She lifted herself into the air and flew towards that wall of glass and kicked it with all of her strength. It crashed into thousands of pieces of glass and Koa flew out, into the sun and as high as she could go.
She’d find a new home and a new family. Wryn Castle called out to her.
Chapter 12
Ian Pratt came when called. Koa smiled when he came to the door of her usual room in the Wryn Castle. His large, puppy dog, hazel eyes lit up when he saw her.
He had a quiet, geeky quality. There was an undeniable intelligence that she could see in his eyes. That was what made Koa choose him out of all the others that had been presented to her three years ago at her membership meeting.
Ian was smart, very smart, and equally attractive. The thing that drew Koa to him though, was that he didn’t know he was hot. That made her like him even more. His black hair was unruly, but it was soft and clean whenever she ran her fingers through it.
Koa watched him as he stood outside the doorway. He gripped the handles of his green, graphic print backpack and smiled at her.
Koa did something she hadn’t planned. She pulled him into the room, closed the door, and hugged him tightly. She almost sobbed into his chest but she bit the tears back. She breathed deeply.
Ian was so warm. He smelled so good. He smelled like youth. Real youth, not a young mask hiding a hundred year old creature. His scent was fresh, like freshly washed clothes. She held him close and nearly melted when he wrapped his arms around her back.
“What’s this?” Ian asked when he felt the blood on her side. He looked genuinely alarmed. “Are you okay? What happened Koa?”
Koa didn’t speak. She was grateful to have someone care about her. All she wanted was to feel cared for…to feel loved. She simply held him. She liked that he was thin. She liked that he was tall. Ian rested his chin on her head and sighed. He loved her. That fact didn’t make Koa feel good.
His wasn’t real love. There was no way that it could be…the glamour made him think he was in love. She wished it was real.
Halston’s face haunted her. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block the disappointed look he had given her out of her mind.
“I’m fine, Ian, but you can make me all better.” She gently grabbed the back of his neck and planted a soft kiss on his supple, human, flesh. He nearly trembled with glee.
Koa gave him a gentle nudge, but it was enough to send him falling backwards. She grabbed his collar, lifted him from the ground, and led him to the bed. The instant his head fell onto the plush black comforter, she was on his chest. She tied her hair back, getting it out of the way. Every vein and artery pulsed in her body. She needed him.
Koa moaned and plunged her teeth into his neck. She drank, greedily. She knew why she was so hungry, so out of control, and she yet she didn’t care. Halston could abandon her. Her mother could keep secrets from her. She would have a new family, one that wouldn’t lie to her or hide things from her.
The blood gushed into her mouth and that familiar euphoria radiated throughout her entire body. She could feel his blood rushing and meeting with her own.
She felt powerful. She felt invincible. Koa could feel herself healing as she drained the blood from Ian’s neck.
She nearly cried out from the intense pleasure. Her heart was breaking. Halston had hurt her, but Ian was sustaining her. He was rebuilding her. Koa sucked the blood until Ian was nearly dry.
Dry? Koa paled. No!
Ian let out a whimper and Koa froze. She realized what she had done and ripped her mouth away from his neck. Alarm overcame her when she looked down at his pale face. She grabbed him.
He was cold.
She screamed the most horrified scream she’d ever heard leave her lungs.
“Ian!” Koa tapped his shoulder. “Are you all right?” She shook him. He was limp and unresponsive. Koa’s eyes widened. Terror overcame her.
Ian’s eyes fluttered closed and she squealed.
“Ian!” She grabbed his face and shook his head from side to side. He groaned.
Koa slapped him. She couldn’t let the young man die. She loved him, in her own way. He had been her pet for nearly three years. She was paying his way through the University. She couldn’t lose him. He meant more to her than the blood.
There were nights when they would talk for hours after her feeding. She knew everything there was to know about him. She knew that his mother had died of cancer when he was in high school, and that his father had killed himself shortly afterward. He had been sent to live with an aunt until he was of legal age, and left the states as soon as he graduated.
Ian was smart. He studied chemistry and archeology of all things. He’d always wanted to be like Indiana Jones. Koa nearly smiled at the memory of him telling her that. She couldn’t let this good young man die.
An idea came to her. It hit her full force and wouldn’t back down. Koa had no choice. She would set him free.
She leaned down to his ear. “Ian… do you want to live?”
Ian’s head lolled to the side. He weakly opened an eye and stared at her drunkenly with it. Koa could feel her heart racing.
What have I done? I’ve become a monster. Koa swallowed. Halston was right to fire her. She had become the very creature they fought to stop.
His life was hanging from a thread. She could see the luster start to leave those hazel eyes.
She felt her heart skip a beat when he mouthed the word, yes.
Koa swallowed. She licked her lips of the blood and nodded. “Are you sure?” Koa whispered. “You know what I mean, don’t you?”
Ian nodded and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.
Koa shot up and bit her wrist. She shoved her bleeding wrist into his mouth and squeezed her eyes shut the moment he started to drink from her. She’d never, ever, turned someone before. She had no idea what it meant. She hadn’t a clue what this would change. She was contributing to the vampire population, the very beings that she and Halston and his organization strove to decrease.
Koa almost forgot. She wasn’t a part of the organization anymore. She could follow her own rules. Besides, Ian wasn’t a bad person. Therefore, he would not be one of the bad vampires that she had once been sent out to kill.
She felt a pang of guilt the instant Ian withdrew his mouth and cried out in pain. She rolled off of him and onto the floor. Like a frightened child, Koa scrambled into a corner. She watched him with wide, horrified eyes and drew her legs into her chest. She held her legs close with both arms wrapped around them and tearfully watched as Ian’s human body died.
Ian writhed and cried as his body was thrown back and forth across the bed. He begged in agony for help. Koa couldn’t control her sobs when he cried out for his mother. He was delirious with pain and it hurt her to hear him suffer.
Koa wished she could help him. She’d never seen this before. His cries cut into her very soul.
His cries continued for far too long, and then, there was silence. The silence was so thick that Koa realized that she was holding her breath. She looked at his body through a blurry film of tears.
Did I do it right? Timidly, Koa crawled onto all fours. She peeked over the side of the bed at his body. Ian lied there, sprawled across the bed, as if frozen…or lifeless.
His black hair was wild and covered his face. It was soaking wet from his sweat.
Koa sucked in a breath. Tears choked her. “No,” she whispered. She climbed onto the bed. Somet
hing was wrong. “Ian. Please.” She touched his face. It was cold as ice, even colder than before she fed him her blood. She buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook with her wracking sobs.
Koa was devastated. Ian had been more than a pet. Ian had been a friend. Koa felt her heart breaking. She’d never had many friends in her life. She began to hate herself for what she had just done.
The bed creaked. Koa moved her hands from her face. She was almost too afraid to look… too afraid to hope.
Through tears, Koa looked at Ian’s face. It was blurry, but she could see, with delight, that he was looking back at her.
Koa gasped and tackled him with glee. She littered his face with dozens of kisses. She laughed maniacally.
“Ian! You’re all right.”
He nodded and smiled. He hugged her tight and Koa could feel that he was stronger. His arms no longer felt weak. His grip on her felt as hard as stone. She felt safe. She felt relieved and joyous.
“Yes, mistress. Thank you.”
Koa pulled back. She held his face in both of her hands and gave him a serious look. “No more mistress. Understood?”
His smile widened. “Yes mis--.” He paused and laughed. Koa couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, Koa.” He ran a hand over her side again. He looked up in surprise. “You’re all healed!”
Koa smiled warmly. She gently kissed his forehead. “Thanks to you.” After all of the inner turmoil she experienced only seconds ago, she felt at peace.
A knock came at the door. Koa glanced at it. She knew who was there. She knew her scent. Cinnamon and sugar.
“Come on in Lexi.”
Lexi opened the door and peeked inside. She smacked on her cinnamon flavored gum and looked at the two of them. She sighed and shook her head. The door closed behind her.
“You two are getting a bit loud, don’t you think?” Lexi looked at Koa who sat on Ian’s lap in nothing but what she left Halston’s loft in. Her panties and bra.
Koa came to her feet. She walked over to the nightstand where she kept a few of her belongings in case she actually wanted to stay longer than a night. Koa pulled out her credit card. She nodded to Ian. “Welcome Ian Pratt to the club. He’s my sire.”
Lexi looked at Koa in disbelief. “You sired someone?” She stared at Ian and smirked. “Not a bad choice.”
Ian was on his feet and looking at himself in the mirror. Koa and Lexi watched as he checked himself out. He smiled as he fixed his hair which seemed to have a bit more luster. His eyes were a little brighter. Ian examined his neck, which was smooth and clear of fang marks. He looked over at them.
“Sweet!” He turned and looked at his profile and held his shirt up. “Call me crazy but is it just me, or did my abs become more defined?”
Koa shook her head with a smile glued to her face. It had worked. Lexi took her card.
“You know what this means, right. You sire him, you have to take care of him.”
Koa looked at her and shrugged. “I have been taking care of him for the past three years.”
Mischief danced in Lexi’s eyes. “Oh no, Koa. That’s not what I mean. He has to live with you now. He’s like a baby, and you have to watch over him until he is prepared to go off into the world on his own.” She mocked a curtsy and winked before leaving. “Have fun,” she sang as she left the room.
Koa stood there after Lexi left and felt something new. She thought of what Lexi had said and it didn’t bother her. She had purpose. This was just what she needed to take her mind off Halston.
She felt proud. After twenty-one years as a vampire, she had created something. She watched Ian, who turned to her with a sweet, childlike smile.
Then, she thought of her mother, Raven. She was still cross with her, but after all, Raven was still her mother. She had cared for her all alone for years, and it hadn’t been easy. Koa felt a little guilty for being so vengeful all of the time. She had left Halston’s loft with hopes of hurting him. She wanted him to feel the way she had felt.
Koa almost wondered if what Raven and Halston was keeping from her really was for her own good. She frowned at the thought. She wasn’t prepared to let Halston be right about this too. Still, she had to go home or Raven would go insane with worry.
What will she think about Ian? Koa cringed. She could already imagine the scolding she’d receive. She remembered bringing home a stray kitten when she was a child.
Koa almost laughed at the memory. It was ironic that as a human, her mother had been allergic to cats. Raven had found the kitten hiding under her bed in a small shoebox, and made Koa get rid of it.
Koa leaned against the door and closed it. She watched Ian. She felt a little motherly love for him now.
Her mind was set. She would bring him home, and she would have a real family again.
Her smile returned when she realized that she had just made herself an eternal companion. She didn’t need Halston anymore. Koa sighed and fought tears. If only that were true.
Chapter 13
Koa was ready to move on from the disappointment of losing her place in Halston’s crew. She waited in eagerness for Ian to shower and change and they checked out of the Wryn Castle. Now, they would both need charges. Lexi would set up a meeting for them to pick their new charges the next night.
Koa could wait at least a week to feed, but Ian was now a full vampire and would need to drink blood each night. Koa wasn’t sure she liked the idea that they would have to be apart each night. She didn’t really like the thought of him spending time away from her with a young beauty.
Koa shook her head as she drove Ian’s car. She was already being possessive. Ian wasn’t her pet anymore. Koa frowned. Now she knew how Halston felt about her spending just one night with a young attractive human.
She drove as quickly as she could, but Ian had an old piece of junk that barely got over 50mph. She wanted to make it to her home before the sun rose and make preparations in the cellar for Ian’s living quarters. Koa already had tons of ideas for a lovely space just for him.
She was surprised by how excited she was to bring him home. She was excited to be able to train and teach someone else for a change. Now, Koa would pass along everything her father, and Halston, had taught her over the years. She imagined Ian just soaking up the information like a sponge. She could tell that he would probably be a better vampire than she was.
Ian was full of energy just like a hyper child. She could only imagine just how much energy he’d have after his first full feeding. She wondered what special skill he’d acquire. Netherworld vamps were born with special skills, and sometimes even the New World vampires would inherit a small measure of such skills.
Koa grinned. Her imagination went wild. She was excited to find out if Ian would be so lucky as to have a skill. Koa and Halston sometimes talked about her ability to fly, and that perhaps she had inherited it from her father. Koa wondered if that was her skill, or if it was something else.
“Can we stop and grab some of my things from my flat?”
Koa gave him a sideling glance. “You have a flat now?”
He nodded. “Yeah, that money you put in my account let me leave the hostels and find a roommate. This kid named Robert. He’s from the states, too, and we get along all right.”
Koa shrugged. “Do you really need anything? I was going to buy you new stuff. New clothes and shoes. Whatever you’d like.”
Ian laughed. “Um, ok. Is there something wrong with my clothes?”
Koa glanced at what he was wearing. Jeans that were torn at the bottom from dragging beneath his shoes and an old Super Mario t-shirt. She cleared her throat and looked away. “No, that’s not what I meant.”
“I think you want me to be your new toy.”
Koa blushed.
Ian put a hand on hers. He gave her a sweet smile. “I don’t mind. Honestly. I kind of like that you have an interest in me, even if you want to change me a bit.” His smile widened. “It’ll be like Beauty and the Geek and you can give me the
whole makeover deal.”
Koa laughed. “What’s that?”
Ian shrugged. “Just some cheesy show that used to come on back home.”
“I guess that does sound like fun.” Koa’s mind raced with ideas. Hair-cuts, and a new wardrobe. Koa was afraid that she’d create a monster…a vampire that the women couldn’t resist. It was an intriguing thought. She’d always wanted to do something like this. She felt giddy.
Ian nodded. “It does.” He looked out the window and became quiet for a while. Koa glanced over at him. She wished she knew what he was thinking.