At the other end of the park, they sat on a bench, not because they were tired, but because they both wanted to enjoy the moment. She lifted her face towards the sun, basking in its warmth. “I’m happy you’re not confined to darkness. I couldn’t live without the sunlight.”
He smiled. “It wasn’t that bad. There was so much new in my life, many interesting things to learn, that I didn’t have time to miss it.”
“So you actually lose it?”
“Yes. For about a century, depending on the strength of the vampire.”
She shuddered, thinking of spending longer than her lifetime without sunlight. “Why?”
“The sun interferes with Might, making it difficult for the new vampires to get enough energy, so they shut down completely.”
“But they don’t die.”
He smiled. “No.”
“Well, that’s good to know.” Although it was too late to worry about him being a living dead. “You feel cool and calm to me, as if not quite alive.”
“You can sense me?”
“Yes. Toby made me realise I’m sensitive to two-natured energy.”
A frown appeared. “I’m not happy with your friendship with him.”
She rolled her eyes, although it sort of felt nice that he cared enough to be jealous. “You’ll just have to deal with it.”
The haze that clouded her mind didn’t clear until that night at work. Then she started to notice a difference in her. Her senses were sharper than before. She heard conversations even over the cacophony of loud music and hundreds of voices, and had no trouble seeing into the dark corners. She was fairly sure sex would never cause that – even the best she had ever had – so it had to be the feeding.
Something had changed when they connected, as if a gear had switched inside her. Only a half a turn, maybe, the engine not yet quite operational, but the motion had begun. What it would lead to, she had no idea. She had never experienced anything similar.
Her mind was only partially on her job that night. Most of it was occupied by Jeremy, who had taken a table at her floor, keeping an eye on her. She went over the conversations they’d had that day about ordinary things like movies and her studies, or his life as a warrior. She tried to keep her head cool about him, but it was already too late.
It’s only been a day , she tried to reason with herself. You know nothing about him so you can’t really expect anything from him other than what’s on the surface.
The problem was, she liked what was on the surface, his protectiveness and attentiveness, his physical qualities – she even liked that he was a vampire. It was impossible not to be affected by him, or not to wish that he would be equally affected in return.
But this couldn’t last. He was a known womaniser who wouldn’t settle down for her. She would graduate soon and might move away from London, and he couldn’t follow her. She should take this as a holiday fling, a mind-blowing but finite affair. That way she wouldn’t have to trouble her mind or heart with questions about feelings or happily ever after. Or happily for as long as she lived. He would go on long after her.
And didn’t that make her feel gloomy.
Having made up her mind to take each day as it came, she had no idea why she spoke up when he was driving them home in the small hours. “So, how long will this go on?”
He glanced at her, ignoring the traffic, mercifully thin at this hour. “What will?”
“This. Us. I don’t know. What happens when you’ve eliminated the imaginary threat?”
“It’s not imaginary. Renegades are very real.”
“So, you’ll spend your days and nights watching over me. For how long?”
“As long as it takes.”
“And then what?”
He made an impatient gesture. “What are you trying to get at?”
“Well, take this morning, for example.” As if there were other examples to refer to. “What was it? Sex? A start of a beautiful relationship? One thing for you, quite another for me?” He huffed, annoyed, but she wouldn’t drop the topic. “You might see this as a long-term commitment just as well, but you must know, better than I, that it will be a mere moment in your long life. You’ve lived for centuries and are likely to live centuries more. I’m human, and I’ve at most seventy years ahead of me.”
He growled, as if the idea was painful to him.
“There’s no need to get angry over the facts of life. I’ll grow old and die.”
“Facts can be changed.”
“What do you mean? And the truth this time, please.”
He sighed, heavily. “Let’s go home first.” She didn’t point out that it wasn’t her home, but let him drive to the Mayfair estate in silence. There was a miraculous free spot on the street near the gate and he parked the car there.
The main entrance was locked, but the guard let them in, unsurprised that they would arrive at that hour. With warriors in residence, odd hours were probably a given. Like the security at the club, the guy was young and fit, and when she walked past him, she felt his distinctive shifter energy. It felt stronger than before, and with a start she realised she had felt everyone at the club more clearly than usual. Probably another indication of her heightened senses.
Another indication of how she and Jeremy were connected. Could she simply let it go?
They rode up in silence. Jeremy checked the flat before letting her in, an odd action considering the level of security in the building. She didn’t say anything and just followed him to the kitchen where he began to pull food out of the fridge for them.
It was a delay tactic, so she went to him, took him by the hand, and led him to sit on a chair at the kitchen table. “Speak.”
He looked at her, pleading, as if wanting her to understand that what he was about to say wasn’t his fault. So she nodded, encouraging him to talk. He took a deep breath and shivers of premonition ran down her spine. She wanted him to hush after all, but it was too late.
“What if I told you … you’re a vampire?”
Chapter Eleven
Corynn’s legs went rubbery and she dropped on the nearest chair. “What?” Her voice squeaked, so she cleared her throat. “What?”
He took her hand that rested on the table. The warmth of his skin mixed with the coolness of his energy, the cocktail already familiar and soothing to her. “Do you know what separates two-natured from the one-natured?”
She had never bothered to learn at school – no one did – but she had made a note in her journal. Apparently she had talked about it with him. “It’s genetic, isn’t it?” And she was human, with human parents.
“Yes. It’s one gene, to be precise. One gene with three variations that causes three different kinds of two-natured.”
“O-kay….”
“The gene is recessive, but if both your parents are two-natured you can’t actually choose to not become one. Not if you’re a shifter or a sentient, anyway. But there have always been mixed pairs that pass the gene on even if their children aren’t two-natured themselves. Sometimes the gene can skip generations, only to surface at the oddest moments. If two humans carrying the recessive gene procreate, it’s perfectly possible for them to have two-natured children.” He gave her a meaningful look, willing her to understand. But for once her scientific mind was failing her.
“A shifter child is easy to notice because of the auras. Sentients are trickier, as they show no markings until the conscience suddenly appears, but they usually know it themselves, as they are able to detect the two-natured even before that. A vampire gene, however, can go unnoticed completely … unless another vampire detects it.” He paused again. She didn’t want him to continue, but she was unable to stop him.
“You have the gene. The vampire variation.”
Blood fled her face. A second later, he was next to her, pressing her head gently between her legs. “Breathe.” She tried to obey, but her lungs weren’t working properly. She felt a tingling sensation in her neck and then warmth spread from hi
s hand through her entire body. Her heart rate evened and she could breathe again.
“Thank you.” She straightened, but he didn’t remove his hand. She didn’t mind.
“Would you like a glass of water or something? Some Scotch?” He judged correctly that she wasn’t capable of making decisions so he left, returning a moment later with a glass of whiskey. A very small glass, but it was enough to get her colour back.
He took the glass again once it was empty and placed it on the table. He crouched before her, warming her ice cold hands in his, massaging them gently to get the blood flowing again. “I know it’s a lot to take in. Believe me. I was born human too. And in those days, all two-natureds were considered spawns of the devil and were not talked about at all.”
“Yet you decided to become one anyway?” She was a vicar’s daughter, and although she wasn’t religious – much to her parents’ disappointment – the idea of wilfully damning oneself was alien to her.
He shrugged. “It wasn’t a difficult choice, really. We were soldiers, mercenaries. Our life expectancy wasn’t much beyond the next battle, and we hadn’t really led lives that promised anything good in the afterlife. Jas had almost died once already, only to be saved by Lord Foley. He wanted to become a vampire and I didn’t want him to go alone.”
She tried to make sense of what he was telling her. “So … I’m a vampire? Is that why I’m sensitive to two-natureds?”
“Yes to the latter, but no, you’re not a vampire. You’re a human with a vampire gene. We call it a promise. And until it’s been triggered, fulfilled, as we say, you’ll remain human. And,” he gave her a compelling look, “you can remain human.”
“Then why did you bring it up?”
“To tell you that you have a choice.”
“A choice to become a bloodsucking creature of the night?” It came out more appalled than she intended and he looked offended.
“You didn’t seem to mind earlier.”
She felt instantly bad. “Yeah, well. This is a bit too much.”
He got up, but he didn’t release her hands. “Look, even if you wanted to become one of us, you wouldn’t have to choose right now. You have years to think this over.”
“Good. Because right now, the answer would be no.”
“It’s not so bad….” His voice trailed off, as if he knew he was telling a lie.
“Spill it.”
He sighed. “Well, the first century or so is really difficult for new vampires.”
“First century? I can’t think that far ahead.”
“Most people can’t. That’s why it comes as a nasty surprise for them.”
“So what’s the deal?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you.”
“What do you mean? Surely I must know if I want to make an educated decision.”
“It’s something only vampires are allowed to know.”
Her anger rose, banishing the stupor that had hindered her ability to think properly. “I don’t think I’d want to become a creature who has to lie constantly.”
“I’m not lying to you.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’ve done nothing but lie to me from the beginning. I’m heading to bed. Alone. Find some other place to sleep.” She stormed out of the kitchen and into his room, throwing the door closed with as much force as she could muster.
She threw herself on the bed, but shot right up again. She needed to move in order to think. She needed to run.
Jeremy took the fastest shower of his life, but it wasn’t fast enough. The moment he emerged from the bathroom, he knew the flat was empty.
“Fuck.”
Only a haphazardly-wrapped towel covering him, he ran out of the flat. Her trace led to the lift and it was still descending, so he ran the nine floors down. He couldn’t be far behind her; his shower truly had been that fast. But the lobby was empty when he got there.
Empty, save Mike, a tiger-shifter who was on guard duty. “Where did she go?”
His frantic demand and appearance only made Mike cock an unfazed brow. “The lady staying with you? She didn’t come this way.” He checked his monitors. “Looks like she’s driving out of the garage.”
“Fuck!” His car was on the street, but the keys were in the pocket of his jeans, upstairs. As were the keys to their other cars. She must have noticed them by the door on her way out. “Quick, give me your car keys.”
“And maybe a pair of trousers too,” Mike said, amused, tossing him the key. “It’s the Audi at the back.” Jeremy was already on the stairs to the car park when he heard Mike shout after him. “She took the Park Lane towards north.” A paranoid surveillance had its uses.
The right car was easy to find and Jeremy was soon on the move. But Park Lane was a wide street with some traffic even at five in the morning and he couldn’t spot her car. He didn’t even know which car she was driving. The Circle kept a few of them in the car park and they were all black, like most cars around here.
He went on a hunch and headed to Regent’s Park, less than three miles to north. Cora didn’t know the neighbourhood and would be slowed down by the endless one-way streets through Marylebone that always went in the wrong direction. But he knew the streets well, on top of which it didn’t bother him to drive against the traffic on the last stretch of Baker Street that got him on the Outer Circle that circled Regent’s Park. Mercifully, there were no cars coming at him on the one lane stretch.
Now it was only the matter of locating her. He wouldn’t consider the possibility that she wasn’t in the park after all, but had headed to her hall.
Luckily for his peace of mind, he spotted a familiar car almost immediately, parked in an empty lot outside the London Business School. He pulled over next to it and exited the car. He saw no sign of her, but a quick scan revealed that she was in the park, not far ahead of him. He was about to dash after her when sharp pebbles under his bare feet reminded him that he was wearing only a towel.
Annoyed with the delay, he opened the boot of his borrowed car. Shifters always kept spare clothes there. He pulled on the joggers and the tee he found, both of which fit him well. There were a couple of pairs of trainers too, but the first pair he tried on didn’t fit. He almost considered going barefoot, but luckily the second pair was a good enough match.
By the time he was dressed, Cora had a good head start. He scanned the area for the enemy, and even though he found no traces of life other than her and the various birds and other fauna, he didn’t slow down. He was too angry.
“Stop, you reckless woman,” he commanded the moment he had a visual on her.
She wouldn’t obey. “No!”
Growling in frustrated annoyance, he ran faster, but she sped up too. “Halt!” This time he spiced the command with charm. He wasn’t proud of it, but she left him with no choice. She stopped instantly, and swivelled to him, her face glowering with fury. Charm wasn’t as strong as a compulsion in rendering one immobile, but it made her not want to move.
“Release me, immediately.”
“I can’t do that until you calm down.”
“I won’t calm down unless I run. What do you think I came here for?”
“But why come alone?” That she didn’t want him around made his chest tighten.
“Because I can’t think when you’re near,” she ground from between her teeth.
Her admission alleviated the worst of his anger, but didn’t remove the cause for his worry. “But you know it’s dangerous here.”
“No it isn’t. You said yourself that renegades only appear in the City. As you can see, we’re not in the City.”
“There are other threats than renegades. Some of them are human, even.”
“What, here? At this hour?” The sweep of her hand contained the entire high-end neighbourhood. People who could afford to live here could pay for top range security too, which kept the lowlifes away.
“Anywhere, anytime.”
She huffed in answer. “Just release me. I need
to run.”
“Fine. But I’ll run with you.”
“Fine. Just keep out of my sight. I need to think.”
“About becoming a vampire?”
“Oh, that’s not an issue. I’m fairly sure I wouldn’t want to become one. I couldn’t live without the sun.”
“It’s not so bad. You’d get used to it. And look at the bright side, you’d have me for the rest of your long life.” He smiled, but she only gave him a slow look.
“I wouldn’t trust you to stick around for my human lifetime. You’re not exactly the type.”
It stunned him that she would believe it, but it was only natural. “I’ve changed.” It was true, even if it was the hunger that had made it happen.
No, she had made it happen, long before the hunger showed up. His heart ached to think he couldn’t have her for the centuries ahead, because she didn’t want to become a vampire.
We could change her mind.
Absolutely not. That’s not done. He would simply have to make her change her mind about it – about him. Because he wasn’t going anywhere.
Sighing, he released her and she took off again on that easy pace that would allow her to run forever. He gave her a couple of steps’ lead before following. If she wanted to think without distractions, he would provide her that.
She ran for a long time. He would be in the shape of his life in no time merely by staying with her. They went around the park twice before she was ready to head to the cars. She didn’t talk to him again, so he could only guess what was going on in her mind.
He tried to will her with his entire body to choose her second nature. He couldn’t lose her. More than once he almost spoke, wanting to tell her what it was like to be a vampire, but held his tongue after all. She had said she wanted to think in peace.
They exited the path through a small gate in the hedge that bordered the entire park. Jeremy kept his vampire sense open for the enemy, only slightly distracted by Cora’s bottom that swayed in front of him as she ran. The streetlamps were switched off already, but the sun wasn’t properly up yet so the street was cast in the grey morning light. For him, that didn’t make any difference, but she might have trouble seeing where she was going.
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