The Witch's Brew (The Witch's Brew 1)

by Brenda Cothern

  Mikael smiled at Adam and allowed himself to be turned. He started toward his office without being prompted. Mikael wasn’t concerned about being shot again, especially since bullets couldn’t kill him and he’d already healed the wound from the one that went through his shoulder. He had just looked over his shoulder to say as much to Adam when sounds of gunfire surrounded them again.

  Adam met Mikael’s beautiful blue eyes when his boss glanced over his shoulder a moment before a searing pain ripped through his side. A second later, an identical pain flared in his chest. His subconscious knew he’d been shot. Shot fatally in the chest, but his conscious mind still had to see for verification. Adam looked away from Mikael’s eyes and down to his chest. His hand was already covering his wound, but covered in blood. Adam coughed. He tasted metal in his mouth and recognized the taste of blood.

  “Run,” Adam whispered through bloodstain lips.

  However, his boss didn’t run. Instead, Adam watched Mikael’s attractive and sexy as hell face morph into one of pure rage. Mikael roared with fury and Adam clearly saw the vampire’s long fangs before his vision wavered and he crumpled to the floor.

  The bright blossoms of blood on Adam’s chest weren’t the only indication that the bullets fired had hit their target. Mikael felt the small fucker’s hit his back before he fully turned to face Adam. He didn’t feel any pain except for that associated with the thought of losing Adam.

  A man, kid really, stood behind where Adam now knelt on the floor. He still held a gun pointed at Mikael but Mikael paid the weapon no mind even when another shot was fired.

  “You are dead,” Mikael hissed and moved.

  Adam heard Mikael’s threat at the same time he fell onto his side. One second he was staring at the face of the asshole that had shot him, then the next he was looking at the back of the fucker’s head. The shooter hadn’t turned around or looked away. No, his body was still facing where he and Mikael had stood a moment before.

  Mikael stood next to the asshole, but before the fucker hit the floor, his boss was at his side again. The concern which really wasn’t the right word for what Adam saw on Mikael’s face was the last thing he saw before darkness consumed him.

  Mikael growled when Adam’s eyes closed and his heart rate slowed to the point he could barely register the beat at all. He picked up his newest employee, and with speed only his kind possessed, had them in his office in the blink of an eye. Adam’s body barely settled on his couch before Mikael was ripping off the security shirt. A raw exit wound marred Adam’s perfect pec, but it was the gaping wound at the center of Adam’s chest that drew Mikael’s focus. That was the wound that was fatal.

  “Oh God,” Rita said from the doorway.

  “Are you okay?” George asked while he approached Mikael’s kneeling form.

  “You’re bleeding,” Chris stated the obvious.

  “Drink,” Randy ordered and held out a bag of Mikael’s backup supply of blood.

  Mikael pushed the blood aside. He never took his eyes away from Adam. Adam’s wounds were too severe for him to heal with his saliva. The norm was going to die and there wasn’t anything Mikael could do to stop that from happening. Adam wouldn’t survive the wounds he had suffered from trying to protect him even if they called an ambulance.

  “Drink from me, then.”

  Rita thrust her hand in front of his face and Mikael briefly glanced at the wrist that was offered. He’d never fed from his family and had no intention to do so now. However, Rita’s offer made him aware of how injured he really was and his family’s fear for his survival.

  “No,” Mikael said around his fangs and pushed Rita’s wrist away.

  “You need to drink.” Randy’s tone was full of panic. “You’re bleeding out.”

  “I’m not fucking dying like he is,” Mikael shouted and felt his family move back away from him. “Out! All of you, get out!”

  There was only a brief hesitation from his employees before they followed his order. Silence settled around the room. The only sounds to reach Mikael’s ears were Adam’s decreasing heart rate and his own breathing. And, that of another.

  “I said out, Travis,” Mikael growled without taking his gaze away from Adam’s pale face.

  “You can save him, Mikael,” Travis’ voice was so soft that it was barely a whisper.

  “I can’t heal him. His wounds are too severe.”

  “So, turn him if he means that much to you.”

  Mikael whipped his head around to stare at his longtime friend. Travis knew he’d never Sired someone and had no desire to do so. A turned life drinker was a shame and disgrace to their kind even if Travis and Randy had never treated him as such.

  “I won’t do to him what was done to me,” Mikael declared without breaking eye contact with Travis.

  “Then he will die,” Travis stated not unkindly. “That is what norms do.”

  “Out, Travis. Get. Out,” Mikael growled again and turned back to Adam.

  He was torn. Never would he wish someone to be turned unwillingly as he had been. But to see this norm, this man he had unreasonable feelings for just leave the world when Mikael had the means to keep him in it was something else. Mikael understood that something was selfishness.

  What he didn’t know was how Adam would react if Mikael turned him. He understood there was an attraction between them, but that wasn’t likely to even the scales if Mikael made Adam one of his kind. Mikael continued to listen to the rapidly slowing of Adam’s heart. He needed to make a decision because there wouldn’t be shit he could do once Adam’s heart stopped altogether.

  Beat……. Beat……… Beat.

  Mikael traced his thumb along Adams lower lip before he leaned down. “I hope you will forgive me.”

  Mikael ghosted a gentle kiss against Adam’s blood covered lips before he cupped the norm’s chin. He turned Adam’s head with a delicate pressure and stared at the vein he had fed from the night before to heal his own grievous wounds. Adam’s heart rate was so slow that the vein didn’t even pulse. Mikael didn’t need Adam’s vein to pulse in order to turn him. No, all he needed to do was drink. Drink and then feed Adam.

  “Please forgive me,” Mikael whispered again against Adam’s neck before he sank his fangs in deep and began to drink.

  ***

  Chapter Thirteen

  Adam felt high and hungover at the same time. His body felt like it was floating in water or on a cloud. His head, not so much. It was pounding almost worse than any migraine he’d ever experienced. The pain that shot through his head was the reason why Adam refused to open his damn eyes. The last thing he needed was to feel an ice pick stabbing into his brain even if the rest of his body was feeling all floaty.

  He must’ve drifted back to sleep at some point because the next thing Adam became aware of was that he was hungry. His body still felt all floaty, but his splitting migraine had subsided to dull headache. His hunger motivated him to open his eyes.

  The room was bright and sure as hell not his. In fact, Adam had no idea where he was and this caused him to not only still and do an assessment of his body, but also to listen. He heard nothing at first, but the moment he concentrated, voices so clear the people who owned them could’ve been by his bedside came in loud and clear.

  “How is he doing?” Adam was sure he recognized Travis’ voice.

  “Better,” Mikael answered.

  “Of course he’s better,” Randy said with a grunt. “He couldn’t be anything but better.”

  “Randy,” Travis sounded like he was frustrated with the younger man.

  “What?” Randy snapped.

  Mikael cleared his throat and that ended whatever Randy was about to say. Adam wasn’t sure what to make of the exchange, but his rumbling stomach made him not care. He climbed out of the comfortable bed and stood. A look around the room caused him freeze in place before he could even take a step toward the door.

  The headboard above the bed and night tables were black marble. The s
ame black marble he’d seen in Mikael’s bedroom. He was in Mikael’s bedroom. The question was: why?

  He wracked his brain for an answer and was assaulted by the memories of what had happened. They were so strong and vivid that Adam’s ass planted back down on the side of the bed.

  I should be dead. Why am I not dead? Adam thought and took in his surroundings once more. Mikael’s bedroom. The vampire’s bedroom.

  Adam’s left hand shot up to touch his chest at the same time his right hand went to his mouth. He wasn’t wounded. In fact, there wasn’t a single scar or blemish on his muscular chest or stomach when his fingers glided over his body. Adam’s shock at this revelation only spurred him to touch his teeth. He fully expected to find fangs, but his teeth felt no different.

  The thought that Mikael had somehow healed his fatal wound like he’d healed Adam’s palm, as opposed to turning him into a vampire, briefly crossed Adam’s mind. However, the thought disappeared almost as quickly as it had formed. There was no amount of licking or spit that could have healed his fatal chest wound.

  So the only explanation for how he was currently breathing was that Mikael had turned him. A flood of emotions coursed through him. Fear and anger were the most prominent and he wasn’t sure which one would win out. It turned out it was anger.

  All three life drinkers quieted the moment they heard the faint sound of movement coming from Mikael’s bedroom. Their newest family member was awake. However, even if they hadn’t heard Adam moving around, Mikael would have known the new life drinker was conscious. He could sense Adam’s emotions as clearly as if they were his. Feeling Adam’s emotions was a strange and unnerving experience.

  “Breathe slowly.” Mikael hadn’t even realized his breathing had stopped until Travis spoke and settled a hand on his shoulder. Mikael knew Travis had Sired before and was grateful to have the man’s experience at his disposal.

  “Fuck you,” Adam muttered when he heard Travis speak. He had no idea the vampire wasn’t addressing him even if he was breathing rapidly.

  Mikael cringed and Travis chuckled. They both ignored Randy’s glare that was directed toward Mikael’s closed bedroom door.

  “You should go to him,” Travis suggested. “You know how he is feeling right now.”

  Once more Mikael cringed. He knew exactly how Adam was currently feeling. Adam was twice his size and facing him when he was pissed off was not something Mikael was looking forward to doing. Not that he had much choice in the matter.

  “I’ll fix him something to eat.” Travis squeezed Mikael’s shoulder again before heading to the kitchen.

  Adam continued to listen to Travis, who he knew had to be talking to Mikael, while he tried to reign in his anger. He wanted to be happy to be alive, but was being a vampire really being alive? Adam didn’t think so regardless, of everything he’d learned from Mikael already.

  Footsteps paused outside of Mikael’s closed bedroom door. Adam knew it was his boss. Mikael didn’t knock or enter. Adam doubted it was because the vampire thought he was still unconscious or asleep. If Adam could hear his boss and coworkers talking about him in the other room as if they were in front of him, they had to have heard him get out of bed.

  “I know you are there, Mikael,” Adam said quietly. “You might as well come in.” Adam heard his boss sigh before the door opened.

  “Yes, you would have heard me approach and our conversation.” Mikael stepped into his bedroom and closed the door behind him.

  “Might as well leave that door open then, huh?” Adam spat out and glared at Mikael. “Seems vampires have no privacy, so what’s it matter, then?”

  “There are no such things as vampires. We are life drinkers, but if it makes you feel better…”

  Adam shot to his feet and was standing in front of Mikael before he even realized he’d moved. Whoa, shit that was fast, Adam thought when he realized he was almost chest to chest with Mikael.

  “Better? Fucking better?” Adam growled out. “You fucking made me like you against my fucking will!”

  Adam’s fangs had dropped in his rage and Mikael was sure the man wasn’t even aware of them. He braced himself for what he knew was coming. Adam’s shove sent Mikael flying. He was prepared for it, but that didn’t stop his back from connecting with his bedroom door. It didn’t stop his impact from tearing the door from its hinges, either.

  Adam blinked at his boss when the man grunted and shook his head. Mikael now lay atop his bedroom door in the middle of the hall. Adam looked down at his hands as if he’d never seen them before and his shock erased most of the anger he felt. He never used his size or strength to initiate violence unless his life or that of one of his military brothers was threatened.

  Mikael hadn’t threatened him even if the vampire was a threat just by existing. However, now that he was a vampire as well, was his boss really a threat? Adam wasn’t sure, so he watched his boss carefully.

  “Shit.” Mikael sat up and ignored the creak of the wooden bedroom door beneath him.

  The last thing Mikael wanted to do was fight with Adam. Still, he would if he had to because he wasn’t about to let his newly turned, larger employee beat on him.

  “You do not want to do this, Adam,” Mikael warned.

  Adam blinked again. Mikael was standing chest to chest with him and he hadn’t even seen his boss move. Instinctively, he shoved Mikael away. There was no bedroom door to soften Mikael’s impact this time.

  Mikael felt his body dent the wall behind him and growled. It was obvious that talking to Adam at the moment wasn’t going to work. He almost wished Adam felt more fear than anger when he awoke. Fear of him would have been much easier to deal with than Adam’s fury. However, Mikael knew the rage he could see as clear as day in Adam’s beautiful emerald green eyes was fueled by fear. He would just have to let Adam’s anger run its course, then they could deal with the fear brought on by Adam’s thoughts about his new existence.

  Mikael retaliated this time and Adam felt and heard the wall next to the night table give under his body. Mikael’s arm was across his neck in a choke hold. They were practically the same height, separated by barely an inch, if that, but Adam easily outweighed his boss by seventy pounds. That gave him the advantage in this fight. Being military trained was only another advantage Adam was about to utilize.

  He ignored the arm pressed against his throat and grasped Mikael’s hip. Adam spun Mikael around and changed their position without even a thought. Another body shaped indent echoed in the room which both men ignored before the noise from a lamp crashing to the floor joined the sounds of their grunts.

  “Adam,” Mikael growled and the man hissed in reply. “Stop this before you get hurt.” The pressure on his throat increased, but didn’t persuade Mikael to stop talking. “Beating me, even killing me, won’t change the horrid and selfish thing I did to you.” Mikael’s words were more a choked out whisper than anything resembling speech.

  Adam stared into Mikael’s blue eyes. The anguish laced regret couldn’t be faked. The longer Adam looked into Mikael’s eyes the more regret and sadness he could see.

  “I’m sorry, Adam. I couldn’t let you die.”

  Had Adam not been looking into Mikael’s face and had super sensitive hearing he may not have seen or heard Mikael speak at all. But he did hear him and Adam believed his boss. Adam shoved Mikael one more time and ignored the crunch of plaster under their combined weight before he stepped away from the man. He didn’t take his eyes off his boss even despite the rage filled urge to hurt Mikael wasn’t nearly as strong as it had been only seconds ago.

  Mikael relaxed, collapsing against his shattered wall and cleared his throat. “I am truly sorry, Adam,” Mikael repeated.

  “You couldn’t let me die.” Adam echoed Mikael’s earlier words. “Why? Why are you so selfish that you couldn’t just let me die?”

  “I don’t know,” Mikael lied and finally stepped out of the cocoon his wall had become.

  “You’re lying,” Adam
accused with surety. Mikael’s heart rate, a sound Adam could now hear clearly in the quiet room, had started to calm. Now, its beat was spiking up again.

  “You are hungry.” Mikael ignored Adam’s statement and questions. “Let’s talk after you’ve eaten. You will feel better.”

  “I won’t feel human,” Adam countered.

  “Do you really feel so different now?” Mikael walked toward where Adam stood in the frame of his now destroyed bedroom door. “Aside from your increased speed, strength, and heightened senses?” Mikael stopped directly in front of Adam and dared to place his hand on the center of Adam’s chest. “Your heart still beats, Adam. Think about that and come eat.”

  Adam didn’t stop Mikael from touching him or from stepping around him. The smells of food cooking finally registered in his mind even though his thoughts were still on Mikael’s words about his beating heart. His stomach rumbled loudly and motivated him to leave the now nearly destroyed bedroom.

  Randy sat at the dining room table with a frown firmly in place on his young face. Travis was in the kitchen cooking what smelled like eggs, bacon, and steak. Mikael stood in front of his open refrigerator and seeing his boss standing there reminded Adam of Mikael saying he stored blood in the appliance. The thought of drinking blood did not appeal to Adam at all. He hated the metallic taste and wasn’t sure he would even manage to swallow what Mikael had claimed held the nutrition his kind needed to survive.

  “Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Randy grumbled and glared at Adam. “Calm the hell down. It’s not the end of the fucking world.”

  “Randy,” Mikael’s tone was full of reprimand and warning.

  Once more, Adam moved with barely a thought. He fisted the younger vampire’s shirt in his hands for only a moment before he tossed Randy away like a ragdoll. Another body shaped crater, this one horizontal and in the dining room wall, made an appearance. However, Randy didn’t stay put. Instead, he crouched and with a hiss launched himself at Adam.