Reborn to Bite (Vampire Shadows Book 1)

by Mark Gronwald

  "I guess. I'm not sure what to tell you except that maybe just try to concentrate on something real. Try anchoring yourself to the world."

  "Okay, ready."

  She pushed a little more power at him, listening to his thoughts as that barrier disintegrated.

  Trent strained and fought the pull. Submit and everything will be fine. What did she say? Think about something real. He broke eye contact, moving his eyes to Sabine's outfit, gravitating to the cross over the turtleneck, and the swell of her chest over the leather bustier. God, she's beautiful. I want her.

  He growled as he took in her scent and concentrated on it. He thought about how teaching him to resist her power was the ultimate gift. Surrendering her power to him. His heart sang, and he felt in that moment that he owed her something in return. She gave without wanting anything back.

  His eyes met hers again, and he smiled as he overcame the influence and shut her out of his mind.

  She smiled back. "Well done!"

  He took her hand. "My turn."

  "Your turn for what?"

  He leaned towards her, keeping eye contact. He stopped a foot away. He gently pushed her hair back from her face.

  She started to get nervous, feeling his warmth so close. His strong shoulders, simmering eyes, and his annoyingly handsome face filled her field of view. She swallowed. "What are you doing?"

  "I'm going to use werewolf glamour on you. See if you can resist it."

  She smirked. "Okay Wolfie, bring it."

  His smile disarmed her. "The more I learn about you, the more I like you. My pride got in the way at first and I woefully misjudged you. I want to apologize, and tell you how wonderful I think you are."

  She melted against the hand the he ran through her hair. His fingernails felt so good against her scalp that she had trouble concentrating. "What brought this on?"

  "You. Just giving of yourself here. Teaching me like this. It's not something an adversary does; it's something a friend does. I've been an ass and treated you like crap, and still you help me."

  Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wished it could be Doug saying all this. What if things were different? What if Doug found out? Would he feel the way Trent seemed to? "I..."

  "You're a kind, beautiful woman who deserves love and someone to lean on and take away some of the pain."

  She tried to see deception in his face, but he looked totally sincere. She lowered her eyes, staring at her hands in her lap. She felt the weight of all the horrors she'd been part of in the last year, the blood, the hunger, and living in a constant shroud of deception. Who would sign up for that? "Nobody is crazy enough to be that person for me."

  He raised her chin gently with his hand. "You wouldn't want a crazy person. You need someone who's got the guts to stay and the heart to make it mean something."

  Again Doug sprang into her mind. How he'd left her when she was sixteen. The scene in her living room as she got the courage after ten years of friendship to try to kiss him. The look on his face of sheer terror as he got up and bolted out of the house. She shook her head to clear that memory and look up at Trent. She looked into his eyes, the longing for what he was offering so powerful.

  He moved his face closer, touching his forehead to hers. He slid his arms around her, and drew her to him. She melted against him, into a hug that felt like it could literally save her.

  His pulse was like a song in her ears, but she was lost in his warmth. She needed to feel connected to someone. Trent was strong and protective, smart and sexy, and he cared. He really cared! It wasn't a Renfield thing. She knew he could block her powers now. This wasn't that psycho attraction Chad had fallen into.

  He nuzzled her ear, his breath light and soft as he whispered. "You want to kiss me."

  She drew back and looked in his eyes, searching. "Please tell me this wasn't just a bunch of lies to prove your mojo."

  "No lies. Read my mind, see for yourself."

  She probed his mind, looking for signs of deceit. He opened his thoughts to her, and she saw an honest attraction and appreciation. How had his attraction happened? The werewolf in him craved the challenge she represented. The man in him craved the honest loyalty she displayed, so unlike his previous girlfriend. He possessed an endless wellspring of willpower to resist becoming a Renfield.

  Sabine forgot her doubts and brushed her lips against his.

  Trent grabbed the back of her neck and slanted his lips against hers. He opened her mouth with his tongue, invading her with months of his own pent-up need.

  She lost herself in his kiss, caressing him with her tongue and sucking his in. Almost by accident, she transmitted her pleasure to him and he moaned into the kiss.

  Sabine felt her fangs descend on their own during their sensual dance. She pulled back, not wanting to hurt him.

  "It's okay Sabine, I know what I'm getting myself into." He held her face and kissed her deeply, deliberately pricking his tongue on the end of her fang.

  They both almost blacked out from the pleasure that flowed through them. Sabine sucked at his tongue like it was the nectar of the Gods, and her body went into overdrive. Her saliva and his metabolism combined to close the wound almost immediately, but his lycanthrope blood had already sent her brain into space. She forgot where she was, and kissed her way down to his neck. She could feel his pulse thrumming under her tongue, and the desire to press her fangs to his neck almost overwhelmed her. She was so close to the nectar flowing there. Just a little prick of her fangs was all that stood between her and Nirvana.

  Feed from him.

  No! She took deep breaths and tried to concentrate. With each deep calming breath, she felt herself move back from the brink.

  Then he reached into her hair and pushed her into his neck. Her fangs sank in, and his blood filled her mouth.

  Sabine's mind drowned in a sea of energy and she forced herself through the riptide that threatened to engulf her. She licked the wound shut and groaned as she brought her mouth back up to Trent's.

  His kiss drove her wild, and the feeling flowed through their shared connection; taking him with her.

  She was in his lap, grinding against his leg as his hands roamed over her body. He cupped a breast in one hand while the other helped her hips move as she gyrated against him.

  She was so lost in him that she almost didn't hear the knocking on the window of the car. She suddenly remembered where she was, and closed her eyes, burying her face in Trent's chest. They both pulled back reluctantly, and his chest heaved with the effort.

  Someone pounded on the passenger window again.

  Sabine turned, her whole body tingling and her mind in a haze, to see the disapproving stare of an elderly Asian woman with an umbrella, muttering something in a foreign language.

  Sabine fell back into the passenger seat in a daze, and lowered the window. She heard the woman's thoughts like subtitles as she cursed them in Cantonese for their wanton behavior. Sabine laughed to herself, thinking about wonton soup and wanton behavior. Squinting against the reflection of the setting sun in a nearby window, and trying to speak closed-lipped so as not to show her aching fangs, she said "I'm sorry, I don't speak Chinese."

  The old woman smacked the car door. "You get room! And it Cantonese!" She repeated some of the curses in Cantonese and stormed off down the sidewalk.

  Sabine turned back to Trent, too high on werewolf blood to care about the old lady.

  Trent was smiling and nursing a bulge in his jeans while staring at her. "That was... incredible. Mind-blowing."

  She let her head fall back against the door, her fangs still out. "That's some awesome werewolf mojo you have going for you. Should I be worried about becoming your love slave more than the other way around?"

  Trent laughed. "You bit me." There was no heat behind it. His pupils were dilated like hers, but the effect was more primal, more animalistic.

  She cursed. "You can't blame me when you impale yourself on purpose, fur-ball. It's not fair."


  He had an infuriating smile on his face. "I was curious what the pleasure thing would feel like."

  "So all that buildup was for a taste of my pleasure power?" She hadn't read that in him, and suddenly worried that he had fooled her somehow. Maybe werewolves could block her mind reading in a way she didn't understand.

  He shook his head and reached out to caress her face. "You know it wasn't. I wanted to do something to show you how much I trust you. I got a little swept up and couldn't resist... and it was definitely worth it."

  "Believe me, it's never been that great before. If my life was like this all the time, it would be heaven." Her face melted against his hand, her body begging for more. She smiled at him with glassy eyes, wondering what she had disliked before.

  "So... you like me," he said, smirking again.

  She smiled faintly, her fangs back in hiding after a moment of concentration. "What's not to like?"

  "I snore, and I turn into a furry creature at least once a month. I might tear you apart on the full moon."

  "Well, at least you're honest."

  "You know, most people would be scared. Relationships between shape-shifters and non-shifters are extremely rare and dangerous."

  She stretched to get the tingling out of her muscles. "Esmerelda and Mike seem to be happy. You trying to scare me off, Miller?"

  He raised an eyebrow. "You probably read my mind and know about my previous relationships."

  "I didn't look on purpose. When you stabbed yourself on my fang, I saw a flood of memories. Mostly pain and frustration, but it was kind of a haze... like you blocked out details from yourself."

  "Well, you should know that Val and I were an item a few years ago. She's the only one that's still in my life, but just as a friend."

  "I didn't know, but okay. I guess it ended amicably?"

  Trent adjusted himself. "Talking about her is a definite buzz kill. Yeah, we had a knock-down drag-out fight and shook hands after."

  "She seems really tough."

  "She's a raving bitch, but I have to deal with her because she's the Alpha's daughter. Mike and Esmerelda tried to set us up because I'm Mike's second, but it didn't work out."

  "And your other ex-girlfriends aren't around because...?"

  "I left some behind in Michigan when my family moved here, and my last ex-girlfriend moved in with another pack."

  Sabine suddenly recalled a painful memory of Trent's. "She's with Tony Diamato now. The Tony I beat up."

  "Thanks for that, by the way. I wish I could have been there to see him bleed a little." He smiled.

  Sabine bounced in her seat. "Oh! It was so great. You would've loved it. He had Doug tied up and his gun aimed at me, and I flipped him before he even knew what hit him and he was face-down on the roof and I smacked his head against the roof and knocked him out and took his gun!"

  "You realize you just said that whole thing without pausing to take a breath?"

  She arched an eyebrow, her smile from ear to ear. "Yeah, so?"

  He shook his head. "You're beautiful when you smile."

  She checked her watch, suddenly nervous. "Oh, damn! It's after five. We need to go into the restaurant."

  "We? So I'm invited?"

  She rolled her eyes. "As long as you don't use that mojo of yours on any of the vampire hunters."

  "I can keep it in check as long as I get to practice it on you later," he said with a lascivious smile.

  Sabine suppressed a shiver at the thought of a repeat of what had just happened and got out of the car, her hand shaking slightly. She leaned back against the open car door and tried for a sultry look. "You drive a hard bargain, mister. I'll think about it and get back to you."

  "Back to me, front to me, whatever way you like."

  She laughed. "You're bad."

  They walked to the restaurant with matching smiles, occasionally glancing at each other. Sabine couldn't believe how this day had turned out. Had she completely misjudged this handsome werewolf? For some strange reason he seemed to care about her.

  She chewed her lip as they walked, worried about what this thing with Trent meant, and what she'd find in the restaurant.

  Trent held the door for Sabine, and they walked in, taking in the ambiance. The smell of garlic and spices and cooked food filled their nostrils. Sabine sneezed, and rubbed her nose. The tickle persisted, and Sabine decided to breathe through her mouth if she needed to speak. She could swear she heard Trent's stomach rumbling, but the sound was covered by a perky blonde hostess greeting them.

  "We're meeting a group here," Trent said.

  The hostess took in Sabine's outfit. "The vampire slayer party? I'll show you to their table. This way please."

  Sabine took off her sunglasses and looked around as they walked, comparing the restaurant to the photos she'd seen on their web site. A world-record strand of garlic cloves wound throughout the place along the roof, sharing space with strands of corks. Her nose tickled, and she pinched it to keep from sneezing again.

  As they turned a corner, the vampire hunters' table became obvious. The restaurant had several rooms with multiple tables per room, but the vampire hunters had arranged for a small walled in section to themselves, with a beaded curtain blocking out the rest of the patrons. She wondered if the manager was a friend or wanted to keep them from scaring people away.

  Their table had room for six, with four people already seated. There was a man in a leather hat and black duster coat, a fairly good reproduction of Van Helsing from the same movie Sabine had used as inspiration for her own hat. Another man was dressed like a Sherlock-Holmes-era gentleman. A blonde woman dressed like a cheerleader with a bandolier of stakes sat with her back to Sabine, and the last man was dressed in a black suit with a white T-shirt under it.

  "Hi everyone," Sabine said, taking in their faces. These were the four! The ones from her first night after the resurrection. The ones that got away.

  Their expressions were welcoming and friendly, without a trace of fear. They didn't recognize her as the dirty wretch from a year ago. So far, so good. Considering she'd been covered in a layer of caked on soil a year ago, it wasn't surprising. She matched their faces to their online stories. Her movie Van Helsing was 'VanHelsing451', and the blond cheerleader was 'Charity1980'. 'DarrenWRX' was the guy in the black suit, and 'Shaman' was the nineteenth century character.

  "I'm 'MourningGirl', AKA Sabine, and this is my friend Trent."

  VanHelsing451 stood up. "We weren't expecting you, Trent. Are you on the site?"

  "No." He glanced sideways at Sabine, a small grin on his face.

  "Gabe, be nice! There's always room for more." The blonde cheerleader said, standing. She adjusted her bandolier of stakes before offering a hand to Sabine. "Hi Sabine, I'm Kim, AKA 'Charity1980' and I'm glad you made it. I was feeling outnumbered."

  Sabine shook hands with Kim and returned her smile, noting Kim's glance to the men.

  "I love that outfit! You're like a female version of Gabe," Kim added.

  Sabine felt relief coming off Kim. Relief was better than fear. Kim showed no sign of recognition as they shook hands. "Thanks! That's an awesome Buffy. I love the stakes."

  VanHelsing451 offered his hand next. "I'm Gabe, AKA 'VanHelsing451'."

  Sabine shook his hand, giving him a warm smile. "It's a pleasure, Gabe. Thanks for the invitation, and I apologize if bringing Trent was a faux pas."

  Gabe glanced at the group. "It's okay. As long as he understands why we're here."

  Trent shook Gabe's offered hand. "Hunting vamps. I get it."

  "I'll let the others introduce themselves. If you'll excuse me, I need to get us another place setting," Gabe said, then stepped away towards a waitress.

  Sabine noticed a crossbow strapped to his back as he walked away. It looked real.

  The guy in the suit stood and offered a hand to Sabine. "Hi Sabine, I'm Darren, AKA 'DarrenWRX'. Love the outfit." His eyes drifted over her body and almost back up to her face as they shook hands. Sh
e felt his lust like a grimy taste in her mouth, and she felt glad she was wearing gloves as she pulled away.

  Sabine glanced at Trent when she heard his low growl.

  Darren shook hands with Trent and grimaced, pulling free and rubbing the pain out of his hand.

  Trent smiled. "So what's you're costume, Darren?"

  "Clooney's character 'Seth' in From Dusk Till Dawn. I'm a huge Tarantino fan."

  Sabine nodded. "Didn't he have a gun or two, if I remember?"

  Darren opened his jacket, showing the handle of a large revolver in his waistband. "Got a carry permit last month."

  Sabine raised an eyebrow before turning her attention to the last one of them.

  He had been watching patiently and stood, extending his hand. He smelled of cigarettes and strong coffee. "Sabine, it is a great pleasure to meet you. I'm Sam, possibly known to you on the site as Shaman."

  She shook his hand and met his gaze. "Sam, nice to meet you. Did you come armed as well?"

  He released her hand and shook Trent's, smiling. "I brought a small bag of tricks such as one might expect of Bram Stoker's original Van Helsing."

  Sabine sat next to Kim the cheerleader and Trent chose the seat across from her and next to Gabe, who had returned during the introductions.

  A waitress and busboy attached another table and brought an extra place setting at Sabine and Trent's side of the table. The waitress added glasses of water for everyone. "I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order."

  Gabe looked up. "We're still waiting on one more, but I'd love a garlic hot tub to start us off."

  Kim waited for the waitress to leave before she turned to Sabine. "So I hope it's not too bold of me to ask, but why 'MourningGirl'? We're dying to know."

  Sabine looked from one to the next, reading their expressions without reading their minds. She was afraid that they might recognize the sensation and realize who she was. Her gaze landed back on Kim. "Is there a pool or something?"

  Darren choked on his water. Gabe patted him on his back.

  "I'll take that as a 'yes' then."

  Gabe regarded Sabine. "We have a small wager going, since you're new to the group. We've all heard each other's stories, but I searched your posts on the forum and didn't find any story. Did someone you know die from a vampire attack?"