by Celia Kyle
A glance at the ground revealed his location. If she was coated in blood, he was drenched in the fluid. The scrubs he wore were covered in the dried burgundy liquid and any hint of her fatigue vanished with the sight of him slumped against a set of cabinets, head lolled to the side and eyes closed.
I give you life on this eve of death…
Did that mean to give her life he had to give her his blood? Which begged the question—was it his blood or hers that soaked his clothing?
She immediately slipped from the bed, legs crumpling beneath her, but she didn’t care. She’d spent her life making sure others lived. The last thing she wanted was for someone to sacrifice himself for her.
“Joce,” she rasped once more, calling for him, hoping he opened his eyes. She crawled toward him, hands slipping from beneath her when she encountered a sticky puddle. Then her fingers dug into plastic and she glanced at what she held. A blood bag. Oh. Thank God. The blood wasn’t hers or his. Or at least, not all theirs. He’d hunted down a bag of blood for himself.
“Joce, please,” she wheezed, scrambling to reach him, to touch him. Everything inside her screamed, demanded, she feel his skin beneath her palms.
That’s what she fought for. She battled the need to sleep and fought her way across the tile, slipping and sliding. She pushed forward, crawling up his body until she knelt in front of him between his spread thighs. She scratched and scraped at his tattered shirt until skin met skin.
Warmth. Pure warmth heated her from inside out in a soothing blanket. She pressed her palm over his heart, feeling it beat and found that hers quickly matched his rhythm.
“Joce,” she sighed, relief overtaking her. “Joce,” she whispered.
The hunger threatened to rise once more, the distraction of finding him now defunct and allowing the want to push forward, but she tamped it down. Her training as a doctor, her innate need to care for others, took over. She immediately checked his pulse and then ran her hands down his body, searching for wounds to explain his unconscious state.
“No obvious injuries,” she murmured and palpated his abdomen, hunting for anything out of the ordinary. Her fingers went to his head, running them over the smooth skin. No lumps, or bumps. He was simply covered in blood.
I give you life on this eve of death…
How much blood did a vamp have to donate to Change someone?
“Joce,” she tapped his cheek, her breath catching when a moan left his lips. “Joce, wake up. What do you need?”
He huffed and shook his head.
Another couple taps. “Wake up, now.” It wasn’t just her human mind that wanted him awake. It was something else, some feral part of her needed him to open his eyes. “Joce.”
The snarl was new. As were the fangs. They sprouted from her gums, springing out with the rush of fear and anger.
“Katherine!” More banging, this voice deep and masculine.
“Silence!” She shot her gaze to the door once more with yet another hiss. Then she refocused on the unconscious man. “Joce,” she purred.
Purred.
Her.
She. Purred.
She shook her head. Weird.
“Hmm…” he slowly lifted his head, and his eyelids fluttered, parting to reveal his bright eyes. “Kate?”
“I’m here,” she whispered and snatched up his hand, clutching it tightly. Unfamiliar emotions clouded her heart, bouncing from joy to need, desire and hunger. The worry clouding her mind wasn’t over his physical well-being but of how long she’d have to wait before she could taste him again.
She licked her lips, tongue teasing one of her fangs and slicing into her flesh.
That had his attention, his nostrils flaring as he breathed deeply and then those glowing eyes focused on her mouth.
“Mine.”
A new round of pounding reached them, the sound booming and echoing off the gleaming walls. “Joce Magli, son of Narciso.”
Power lived and breathed in those few syllables, each one resonating in her bones and demanding she listen to the speaker even if he didn’t require her attention. He spoke, she listened.
Joce shook his head, the movement luring her back to him.
“No,” he growled and turned his head to face the doorway. “No,” he snapped at the speaker.
Not simply the speaker. He yelled at Carac.
“Open the door, Joce.” That strength consumed the words once more, but Joce’s conviction overrode them.
“No,” he barked back.
If Joce wasn’t listening, then she wasn’t either. Instead, the gnawing hunger pushed forward once more and she licked her lips, nicking her tongue again.
“Katherine,” he trilled her name. So sweet and tender.
“Joce,” she whimpered, hunger making her uneasy. She needed, and she didn’t want to need. That didn’t keep her from flicking her attention between those bright eyes and his throat where she knew a lush vein pumped full with his blood.
She was ruled by the need and didn’t have the strength to deny the desire.
“Hungry, chéri?” he pulled from her grip and bared his wrist, arm outstretched. “Feed.”
Kate whimpered and edged forward. Yes. She’d feed. Just a little. Just one small sip and…
And a thick arm wrapped around her waist, snatching her close. But it wasn’t Joce’s. No, it was some stranger—some male’s. A male that didn’t belong to her because his touch froze her with the depth of his ice-cold skin. Two others ran forward and tackled Joce to the ground before he could chase after her—free her.
Then Galla was there. Galla. She liked Galla. Galla hurt her, but it wasn’t on purpose and her grandmother was strong and her grandmother could…
She hyperventilated even in her thoughts.
“Galla. Help me.”
“Of course, I shall help, dearling. This will only hurt for a moment.”
And then Galla bared her fangs.
Chapter Six
Weakness dragged at him, but a sudden spurt of adrenaline had Joce on his feet. Fangs bared and fingers curled into sharpened talons, he squared off against the males who dared touch his Katherine.
“Mine,” he hissed at his fellow protectors. They took Kate, his fire, his one.
Griffin and Liam faced him, tense and vibrating with suppressed energy.
“Joce, take it easy.” Griffin spoke first, his deep voice grating Joce’s nerves. He only wanted one tinkling voice to fill his ears.
Katherine’s.
I have a fire. I will burn for another.
“Joce…” A warning filled Liam’s tone.
Joce had his own warning. “You will step aside.”
“No, they won’t.” Carac’s strength slithered over him a spare moment before the elder vampire came into sight. The power that came with age wrapped around him like a cloak. “And you won’t move.”
His muscles froze, tightening and forcing him to remain in place. He flexed and jerked, willing his body to move, but it listened to only one master: Carac. “I need—”
“You’ve done enough. Now it is time for Galla to care for her charge.”
“Kate will need—” Me.
“Her needs will be met. By Galla.” Carac strode forward, fangs bared. “I should end you now for Changing a human against her will.”
“She agreed,” Joce snarled. “She said yes. She became mine.”
“Even so, I must now clean up the mess you’ve caused.” The elder didn’t stop his approach until they stood chest to chest, old eyes boring into his. “I must convince all that you have not become one of the Broken. Not a single protector in all history has ever fallen off the path and now you…”
He wasn’t one of the Broken though. He had transformed Katherine without Carac’s permission but he hadn’t violated laws, he hadn’t tried to claim Katherine as a slave or used his bite to control her, he’d simply…
May the fire in your heart ti
e us for eternity.
Should he tell them?
He wasn’t sure. Something similar happened to Liam’s mate Tory, her injuries requiring the male to Change his fire in order to save her. Yes, those events were similar yet very, very different.
He doubted the male uttered the last vows, the ones that Brom discovered and kept hidden, but Joce saw. What had he done to Kate? What were the consequences?
“I’m not one of the Broken, Carac.” He shoved the words past gritted teeth, still fighting the male’s power. He needed to find his fire, discover the results of his actions.
Tory hadn’t gone into a Hunger and had continued with her human-like existence. She craved Liam’s blood but no other’s. She lingered in an in-between that suited the couple, allowing Tory to continue her vegan existence with occasional sips from Liam.
Carac spoke again. “Yet you attacked—”
“Galla injured Kate. I saved her.”
“You nearly killed yourself pouring your blood into her,” Carac snapped. “The tie is so deep I do not know if Galla can break it.”
Break it? Break it?
Never. He would destroy any who threatened his connection to his fire.
Freedom began with the twitch of a finger, the jolt of a hand and a tightly curled fist. He curled in on himself, stretching the invisible bonds of the elder’s strength. Then he exploded into movement, straightening with a deep roar as he threw off the ethereal ropes.
“Mine!” he roared the single word, letting it boom through the air and shake the very foundation of the house. Plaster rained down from the ceiling, tiles falling and slamming to the ground to break into a million pieces.
“What the—”
“Fuck!”
“Joce…” Carac’s warning was unmistakable, but he didn’t care. The elder had made up his mind. Joce was a Broken and Katherine would be tied to her grandmother. Galla would do something to Katherine that took her away from him.
Unacceptable.
Panting, breath heaving in and out of his lungs, he bared his fangs at Carac. “Mine.”
A scramble of booted feet over debris-ridden tile drew his attention and he snarled at the newcomers. Trewe and Tybalt slid to a stop, but Trewe spoke. “What the hell happened to him?”
“He’s gone feral,” another voice whispered, dancing through the air. It was soft and sweet and grating to his nerves.
“Victoria…” Liam growled and Joce snarled at the male. Joce did not like the female’s presence but she was still a female. They were meant to be protected, not threatened.
Tory eased into sight, red hair a beacon in the bright light. She held out a hand forestalling her mate’s approach, and Liam remained in place, his narrow-eyed gaze bouncing between Joce and the female.
“It’s fine, Liam.”
“You just said he’s feral,” the male growled.
“Maybe that wasn’t the right word.” Victoria rolled her eyes and Joce relaxed slightly. The female may not like him, but he knew others liked her. If she was standing up for him, perhaps he would live long enough to stop his fire from being stolen from him. “How about he’s gone back to his base nature, then?” Her gaze became intent, her attention sliding over him in a quick sweep. “What are you feeling, Joce?”
“You don’t need to know how he’s feeling to know—”
“No disrespect, Carac, but I’ve read the books in the library. Not you,” she snapped, baring her tiny teeth at the elder, and Joce found himself liking the ex-human even more.
“Joce?” she barked out his name and he found himself answering.
“My skin crawls. My fangs ache. My body screams.” The words were hard to say, difficult to push past his overriding need for Kate. He felt all of that and more.
“What else?”
What else?
“What else changed? From when you came in here until Galla took Kate?”
He snarled and curled his lip. “Galla,” he spat. He hated Galla. She took his fire from him. “She took mine.”
“Why is she yours? Because you changed her?” Tory took a step toward him and he backed away. He didn’t want her near. She didn’t feel right. Her skin wasn’t warm like Katherine’s. It wouldn’t be sweet and soothing. Her blood wouldn’t…
“My…” he shot a look to Carac. He should say the word. Liam was allowed to keep Tory after he did the same thing as Joce. Perhaps the fight could easily end and they would allow him to go to his fire. “My fire.”
“You don’t like humans.” Tybalt pointed out the truth.
“He obviously liked that human,” Trewe countered. Another truth.
“If she was your fire, she wouldn’t have reacted as she did. The need for blood wouldn’t have been so fierce,” Carac murmured. “She would have done as Victoria did when she awoke after the Change.”
Tory had craved vegan enchiladas.
“I made the vow,” he growled, stepping toward the elder even if it meant getting closer to the female who left him cold. “I said the words.”
The others spoke as one and Tory’s low growl silenced them in an instant. “What words?”
Liam interrupted his fire. “Nothing would make a human—”
Victoria turned a fierce glare on Liam and he was thankful the small female wasn’t his fire. “What words, Joce?”
So he said them. He repeated them aloud for the gathered vampires.
“May the fire in your soul burn away the midnight shadows. May the fire in your blood destroy all who threaten. May the fire in your heart tie us for eternity.”
No one made a sound. All eyes wide and focused on him. Except for Tory. The ballsy ex-human’s eyes sparkled with laughter that remained locked by her lips. “When you go big, you go big, huh? Balls to the wall, right there.” She stepped closer and he backed away, causing her to raise her empty hands to show she was no threat. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
She couldn’t hurt him. He was too strong, too fast, to be captured by the half-vamp female. But she could freeze him with her touch. “Cold.”
“Huh.” She tilted her head, confusion marring her features.
“Victoria?” Carac’s soft murmur had them both turning to him. “What do they mean?”
“Oh! I forgot that you people don’t read, like, ever. And, as an FYI, reading is fundamental. There’s this whole big campaign about making sure our youth are literate and—”
“Victoria,” the warning came from her mate once more, drawing a grumble from Joce.
“Hush,” she waved at Joce. “He won’t hurt me. He’s just annoyed.” She stepped away from the group but didn’t come closer to Joce. Instead she hopped onto the counter, ass on the smooth surface and heels banging against the cabinets. “So, way back when, you guys had fires. Somewhere along the way, some asshole snatched that knowledge from our species. We all in agreement?” When she raised her eyebrows and looked to him, Joce nodded. The truth had been stolen from them. “Brom found something else. Or a few somethings.” She waved her hand. “More details about fires anyway.”
She pointed at Griffin. “Three exchanges tied you and Wren. It’s a vamp’s way of leading his human into a permanent relationship. It’s vamp dating without the big vamptastic payoff at the end.” Then she pointed at Liam. “You and me are kind of an in between. You gave me your blood and repeated the vow, but instead of turning me vampy, I’m stuck in that middle point because you didn’t finish. I have fangs, but I’m not a true vamp.” Then she gestured to Joce. “He did it all. A ton of blood and all the right words.”
“What does that mean?” Carac put everyone’s question to voice and Joce frowned, wondering the same thing.
“It means Kate is what a fire should be. She’s a human turned vampire. A vampire who—unlike the rest of your race—is warm. She is the perfect, fierce counterpart to a vampire. She is everything Joce needs to be complete. She’s…” The woman paused and tilted her head back, eyes fo
cused on the ceiling for a moment before lowering her attention to him. “She’s perfect for you.”
The truth resonated through him, bouncing off his ribs and finally settling into the one place he needed Katherine most—his heart.
Chapter Seven
Surprise held Kate immobile. At first. Her grandmother’s arms held her captive, limbs like steel bands locking her close as she was carried down the hallway. The vampiress turned this way and that, striding through the halls. She jerked against the hands clutching her, twitching and fighting to be free. Each step Galla took drew her farther from Joce, farther from his warmth.
She was so cold now, the chill sinking into her bones and crawling into her marrow. Each stride jarred her, stretching her taut muscles and adding to the ache that consumed her body.
Her grandmother’s heels clicked and clacked over the gleaming marble tile, steps never faltering despite carrying Kate like a sack of potatoes over her shoulder.
Click.
Pain.
Clack.
Ache.
Click…
The next one stole her breath and she whimpered as dark spots filled her vision. She hurt. The greater the distance the greater the pain, and if Galla would just stop and listen and take her back and…
“Shhh, dearling. I have you.” Galla stopped and eased Kate down to rest on a bench of some sort.
They sat in the mansion’s entryway, tile reflecting the light and burning her eyes while the thick scent of cleaning supplies singed her nose. Sounds overwhelmed her, soft whispers booming and pounding in her eardrums. They consumed her mind and she snatched her hands from Galla’s grip, covering her ears.
Her stomach twisted and clenched, a new agony assaulting her as her fangs descended. They pricked her lower lip, sending a sting through her blood. When Galla stroked her once more, frozen fingers trailing down her arm, Kate jerked away and hissed at her grandmother.
The woman didn’t seem fazed by her threat in the slightest. “Do not worry. Grandmamma will ease you through your Hunger. You shall not suffer. I vow it.” Galla brushed aside a few wayward strands of Kate’s hair, fingertips grazing her skin, and she jerked away again with a growl. “After your Hunger has passed I will separate you from that animal and help you build a new life in the darkness.”