“I’m fine,” she snapped, swiping the absorbent cloth over her wound.
A smear of pale freckles dusted the top of her delicate nose, which he hadn’t detected earlier. Flecks of green streaked her alluring hazel eyes. Another thing he hadn’t noticed. “What happened?” he insisted, ignoring the molten desire within.
“I have a headache. Okay, Wolfy?” She eyed him warily. “No big deal.”
Headaches resulting in nosebleeds were never a good sign, at least not for humans. Yet, this might be a common occurrence for vampires. But if that’s the case, then why did she tremble? He frowned. She seemed convinced by the rubbish she spilled earlier about having no memory. Could it be possible she told the truth? “The house is dark now.”
That protective instinct from earlier returned. Ignoring it, he stormed out of the room and cleared away the hammer and nails on his coffee table. Footsteps resounded behind him. The vampire entered the dimmed living room, gaze dancing over every closed blind and blanket-covered window as though on patrol for a trap. Incredible, the trouble he went to for a vampire who also might be a nutcase. When she lowered into his favorite armchair, her shoulders relaxed and she met his stare.
“I never got your name.”
After what they’d been through in the last several hours, he’d forgotten to introduce himself. “Not Wolfy, that’s for sure.”
As though pleased the little nickname annoyed him, she grinned.
“Ian.”
“Ian.” She tested the name on her tongue. An image microburst into his mind. Him, naked in the armchair, the vampire straddling his lap. Soft hands clutched his shoulders, her head thrown back, tits bouncing, face contorted in pleasure as she pumped up and down his length.
Rachel tilted her head, nostrils flaring as she bit into her lip. She then cleared her throat. “Do you live alone?”
“Yes.” Shame engulfed him like a thirteen year old, busted for beating off.
“I thought wolves lived in packs? So where are the rest, hunting little red?”
He bit the inside of his cheek to keep his smile hidden. “My pack live in Qualla Boundary. I have a house there too, but needed to get away for a while.”
With careful intent, she studied him. He turned toward the sofa before his face gave away more than he wanted to share. Never one to open up, he’d rather write Christmas greeting cards than talk about himself. Hell, he hadn’t even told his best friend about his scar until a few short months ago. “You don’t expect me to believe you’ve lost your memory?”
She sighed at the coffee table, then spared him a glance. “I don’t care what you believe. I want answers, to figure out what the hell happened to me.” On her feet, she stepped toward him. “What do I gain for tricking you? Nothing. Despite what you may think of me, I’m not lying.” Tears brimmed her eyes. “I wish I was. I wish I knew what the hell was going on.”
Arms folded across his chest, he took in her sad downcast eyes and the tentative way her pink tongue eased out to lick her lips. A fresh wave of heat stirred in his body. If she were not a vampire, he might find relief that he found a woman with questionable abilities attractive. But she was a damn vampire, and he despised nothing more on this earth. Liquid fire pumped through him, so intense his vision blurred. “A parasite without a clue. Well, I’ve seen everything now.” With a grunt, he marched toward the kitchen.
“Ian?” She questioned before he passed the threshold into the next room. Her hands trembled in her lap as she bit her lower lip.
The action transfixed him, especially the plump red fullness of her mouth as he imagined those soft lips wrapped around his… “Spit it out.”
Shoulders curled, she rubbed her upper arms. “Can I have a small drink from you, just a sip?” Hunger emitted through her eyes.
Ears pounding, his tensed body twitched. Hadn’t her kind already taken enough? Attacking innocents as if it were sport. Killing without regard for life. And now one of them dare ask him for a sip. The veins along his neck no doubt protruded.
Someone knocked on the door. They both jumped.
With his mouth downturned, and a roiling heat in his stomach, he looked at her. “I will never stoop so low as to feed a vampire.”
Chin lowered to her chest, she shut her eyes. If his words failed in warning to never ask him for anything again, the harsh fall of his footsteps drove the point home.
“Uncle Ian, open up.” The small, muffled voice of his niece, Ayita, froze him to the spot.
“Look what we have,” shouted his other niece, Inola.
What the hell? He assumed he’d have to usher away some delivery man or salesperson. Why were his sisters and nieces here?
“Linda, Helen?”
“Are you going to let us in or what?” shouted Helen in her typical authoritative voice, then banged on the door.
Several cuss words echoed in his mind. He spun around. “Hold on a minute,” he yelled as he sprinted toward the vampire, snagging her arm. “Hide. Right now.”
Wide panicked eyes flickered over his shoulder. “Who’s here?”
“My sisters.” He nudged her into his bedroom. With their werewolf instincts, his sisters might be able to smell her. Ian snatched his comforter and flung the quilt around her shoulders. “Leave this on to conceal your scent.” He paused in the doorway, raised a pointed finger. “Step past this door, leech, and I’l tie you to the road and watch the sun come up.”
The blunt expression confirmed she understood not to underestimate him. He shut the door, leaned against the thick wood and released a long sigh. With a fake smile, Ian stormed to the front, opened the door and greeted the jubilant demeanor of his nieces.
“Uncle Ian.” Ayita and Inola squealed in delight, jumping into his arms.
He hugged the girls and smiled for real this time. Their bright faces filled him up with warmth and suppressed his sour mood.
“What are you all doing here?” He eased the girls to their feet and squared his shoulders as though to block his sisters from entering. The plan wasn’t foolproof. After all, if they wanted to enter, they could use their combined strength to knock him down.
Helen frowned, shaking her head. “Um, hello…Pigeon Forge Winter Fest? You know we always take the girls this time of year. Since we haven’t seen you in a few weeks, they wanted to pay their favorite uncle a surprise visit.”
“See what we got,” Ayita shouted, fog puffed from her mouth as she and Inola picked up metal cages. Inside sat white fluffy bunnies with button eyes and short whiskers.
“Aren’t they so cute.” Inola cooed, making kissy-faces at her pet.
Ayita bounced with so much enthusiasm, her pigtails flailed. “We went to The Island, and ate cotton candy, and rode a ferris wheel, and we—”
“Ayita sweety, sounds great, but you can tell me about the festival another day?”
“Is now a bad time?” Linda bit her lip, no doubt picking up on his tensed mood.
“Sort of. I’m ready to head out.”
“Oh, maybe we should have called first.” Linda rolled her eyes and prodded Helen. How typical of Helen to follow her own rules. Not the first time his older sister demonstrated her intrusive nature.
“I’m sorry, and I’d love for you to stay and chat, but—”
“That’s okay.” Helen placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “Let us come inside for five minutes. As you know, we have over an hour drive to Qualla. I want to avoid as many toilet stops as possible. In you go, girls,” she encouraged, shuffling his nieces through the front door.
Dammit, he bit back a protest. As Helen led the girls down the hallway, she frowned at the coverings on the windows. So engrossed with their bunnies, he doubted his nieces listened as his sister warned this was their final stop.
The door to the main bedroom remained shut. Rachel had better stay in place.
“Ian?” Linda drawled his name as if she did so for the third time already.
“Yeah?”
“Silicone mug
s?”
A soft thump sounded from the other room. He twisted toward the girls. Inola parked herself on the hallway floor in front of his bedroom and waited for Aiyta to be done with the bathroom.
“What are you talking about?”
Linda huffed, her purple bangs blew high before descending once again on her forehead. Linda was a year younger than him. With the colored hair and grunge clothes, she convinced herself she was a cool, young mom. Helen was the oldest and the complete opposite of Linda. Whereas one acted hip, the other portrayed a more principled air in her style and attitude. Growing up, he’d feared Helen and her strict ways.
“Do you have any silicone coffee mugs? I want to make a coffee to go.” Her body vibrated with each word.
“Sorry, don’t have any of those.”
“Great, I’ll have to beg Helen to stop somewhere. You know you’ve started a debate between us since she is “convinced” coffee is bad for you.” She quoted the word convinced with her fingers.
All his life, Linda and Helen competed. Linda had once idolized their older sister, but as they grew, their relationship became more of a ‘anything you can do, I can do better’ mission. Hence the reason they married the same year, gave birth a few months apart, and since one gave their daughter a native name the other had to as well. Good thing they never involved him in their little battles. But no matter what, his sisters stuck together and always had each other’s backs.
“What’s with the darkness in here? Your windows are covered and you have the lights on.”
“I prefer unnatural light.”
The lie widened Linda’s eyes. “What a waste of electricity. Open a window.”
“Yeah, I guess.” His attention remained on his niece in the hallway.
“Ian, are you okay?” Linda’s tone softened. “You don’t seem yourself.”
After a long sigh, he pretended to glance at his watch. “I wish you girls hurried up. I’m going to be late.” Late from stopping a ravenous vampire running rampage in his neighborhood if he didn’t find a way to feed her and quick.
The bathroom door swung open. Ayita skipped out, and Helen waved over Inola. “Come on, your turn.”
One more to go, then they’d leave…
All train of thought escaped his mind as the doorknob to his bedroom twisted. Inola fed her rabbit a blade of grass, ignoring her mother’s orders to go to the bathroom. Ian rushed forward. Too late. Rachel crouched at his bedroom door, fangs elongated, ready to feast. Inola glanced up from her chore. Face pale, her high-pitched scream echoed off the walls.
Rachel grabbed the cage to tug the steel box out of the way. Inola held tight with her small, strong grip, screaming at the top of her lungs. Another tug, Inola released the little hutch and fell back. Rachel’s crazed eyes zeroed in on the metal confinement in her hands. Within a single blink, he rushed into the hallway, booted Rachel in the chest and sent her and the cage across the floor. Bedroom door slammed shut, he faced his frantic family.
Linda growled. Helen’s eyes turned aureolin, claws lengthened, ready to protect her family. “There’s a vampire in your room.”
Arms out, Ian blocked his sisters from crashing down the door. “Hey, hey. Don’t forget the treaty.”
“Screw the treaty. She attacked my daughter,” Helen screamed and clawed out a chunk of wood off the door.
“Let us at her.”
“I can’t.”
Linda’s brown eyes bulged. “Why not?”
Yes, why not? There was something different about her? He found her attractive, regardless of her unstable state? He wanted to ring her neck himself? That last one had to be the reason.
“My bunny,” Inola cried, her hand outstretched at the closed door, desperate to have her rabbit returned.
“Everyone out,” he yelled, and his niece flinched. The thunderous beat of his heart smacked against his chest. “I will not let you break the treaty. Think about your daughters.”
“Mamma, please,” Ayita sobbed, tugging on Linda’s pant leg. “I want to leave.”
Venom swirled in Helen’s eyes, but her shoulders dropped as she observed her shaking, crying daughter and niece. They scuttled out of the house, hushing and cooing the girls in a frantic attempt to calm them.
“I’m sorry.” He stood on the porch as his family bustled into the car. “Don’t tell your packs about this. I’ll explain later.”
Linda offered a sad smile, seated in the back, hugging the girls. Helen gave an angry roll of her eyes, started the engine and skidded off his property, leaving fuel and smoke in their wake. He never meant to shout at his family. The pulse in his neck beat with rapid speed. Sweat coated his palms, his breathing erratic. If only they’d never come here.
One person deserved his wrath. This was the thanks he received after helping the vampire, keeping her safe in the darkness of his home. He should have left her in the street. Fists clenched tight by his sides, he burst into the house and barrelled toward his bedroom.
Loud, harsh swallowing resonated as soon as he passed the threshold. By the door sat Inola’s cage. Empty. His stomach rolled. Rachel huddled in the corner, the motionless ball of fur clasped to her face as she drank. Failed at killing his niece, she settled for the pet rabbit instead. His insides bubbled hot with fury.
Hysterical eyes found him. The dead animal fell from her grip and flopped to the floor. With her shaky finger pointed at him, she jumped to her trembling feet. “You should have let me drink from you. This is your fault.”
“My fault? You went for my niece…a child.”
Rachel cocked her head. “I went for the rabbit. I smelt the animal and was so damn thirsty.” She swallowed, frowning at the floor. “I fought the urges back, convinced myself I was in control, that I wouldn’t step out of the room.” She fanned her neck as though the memory made her sick. “But the smell took over. I, I…”
“You gave in to instinct,” he spat out and flung his hand. “What if they’d never brought those rabbits? You’d have gone for my niece’s neck.”
Her hands shot to her belly and chest. Eyes brimmed with tears, her shoulders sagged. “I wanted the thirst gone.” Fists clenched, she swiped at the fat droplets along her face.
Unmoved by her little performance, he clasped her neck and squeezed. Strained eyes penetrated his. Maybe his sister was right, screw the treaty. The world would be a better place without this pest. He could have clutched her throat with greater strength, but didn’t. Something kept him from hurting her. And that scared him more than his family in danger minutes ago.
Her hands encircled his wrists, but not shoving him away. In fact, she held him closer. “Do it,” she whispered. “I don’t want to live like this.”
She wanted him to…kill her? Fresh tears hovered at the edges of her expressive yet unreadable eyes, eyes wide and red-rimmed. Mouth parted and trembling, her warm breath feathered his arm. A vampire who detested herself, hated her way of life. He loosened his hold. Who would have guessed? He might hate her, but did he want her dead? His throat tightened.
When she’d claimed she had no intention of attacking his niece, she seemed sincere. Rachel had been hellbent on extracting that cage from Inola’s small grasp. Once she’d seized the rabbit, she hadn’t thrust it aside to go for his niece.
Throw her out! His conscience shouted. Something twisted in his chest. If he tossed her out now, and she attacked an innocent, the guilt would destroy him. After his own encounter with a vampire attack, he wouldn’t wish the experience on anyone. Yet, if she stayed, there was no way he’d let her feed off him.
Doctor Macrom worked at the local hospital in his hometown. Perhaps Chayton might be able to ask the pack member for some blood bags. “You’re a monster,” he said with a grunt, then released her. She staggered, but stayed on her feet. Ian stormed away without a backward glance. In the kitchen, he grabbed his phone off the counter and hit Chayton’s number.
“Hey,” his friend rushed out. “Give me one sec.”
Ian exhaled, using the spare moment to release tension. Loud banging reverberated on the other end.
“Baby, please let me in. I don’t mind seeing you this way.”
“But, I do,” came a woozy response.
Chayton huffed. “Sorry, Ian. Amber has locked me out of the bathroom. I want to help her and she won’t let me.”
Morning sickness. The duo shared the great news a few days ago. Ian couldn’t be happier for them. First high school enemies to discover years later they shared the same marks which bonded his kind. Amber and Chayton’s chaotic relationship almost ended after Amber miscarried a few months ago, but love conquered their trials.
In the background, another round of hurls sounded.
“Since I’m locked out of my bathroom,” Chayton said loud enough for Amber to hear. “…what can I do for you? How’s your little getaway going?”
Terrible, and after last night…a complete disaster, but his friend needn’t know the full details yet. “I need your help. Can you contact Doctor Macrom and bring blood bags from the hospital?”
“Why on earth do you need blood bags?”
“This is too hard to explain over the phone. Please, Chayton, bring them. A lot of them.”
“Um…okay. Is everything all right?”
“I’m fine. Also, if Amber is up for the ride, bring her along.” Amber’s cousin was bonded to a vampire. Maybe she heard of Rachel’s condition. He sure had never known about vampires with amnesia or physically impervious to sunlight. Either way, the more information he garnered, the better chance of a resolution.
****
Rachel wrapped trembling arms around her legs and rested her cheek on her knee. “You’re a monster.” Ian’s words rang in her mind. Throat clogged, she wanted to scream, but forced the sound back. What if Ian was right? Without the pet, might she have gone for the small girl’s throat?
The dead animal on the floor caught her sight. Tears stung her eyes as she stared at the little lost life. When she first scented the rabbit, several scenarios of hunting the creature plagued her mind. Her skin had itched with the desperation to feed, the hunger too powerful to ignore. She’d killed a defenceless animal.
Buried Passion Page 4