A Bead of Blood

by R. E. Butler

  Lowering slowly, the bear returned to his position with me as the other three vampires began pleading for their undead lives. “You need to question any of these guys?” Lit asked, gesturing towards the three.

  “Nah. The Doc was the one we were after. Do what you want with these three. The captives are free, and their abusers are dead. When it’s cleared out, Red will destroy the building so it won’t ever be used for anything like this again.”

  Lit nodded and Red, the bear, and I headed out of the private box to survey the arena. A few spectators managed to make it outside, but they were taken out by the wolves standing guard. All the cages were empty. Many of the captives had shifted, but all appeared to be werewolves except for the bear with me. I glanced down at him. “Are there any more bears?”

  He shook his head.

  Red said, “We need to get these captives back home.”

  Lit appeared next to us suddenly, apparently done with the remaining vampires in the box. “They’re wolves; we’ll make sure they get home. Some are mine, those that aren’t will find haven with us until they can go back home. I have a feeling that some of these wolves are from out of state, possibly even out of the country.”

  “If they need any financial assistance in getting home, the Council will pay for it. Just call or text me, and I’ll make sure everything is covered.” I gave him my cell number.

  “The bear probably belongs to the den west of here, they’re the only ones around. Whoever he is, I’m sure his family misses him a great deal. Do you want us to help him get home?”

  The bear growled a warning at Lit who snorted. “I guess he would rather stay with you. If you don’t mind, we’re going to steal a few of those nice cars in the other warehouse to get our people home.”

  I shook his hand, grateful for their timely arrival. “Have at it.”

  “Be safe, little vampire.”

  “Watch your tail, dog.”

  The warehouse cleared slowly but steadily as the captives and the rescuing werewolves left. We swept the building from floor to ceiling for survivors and found none. After a short call with Etienne, the bear, Red, and I exited the building. Red had some serious demonic powers associated with his true self, and one of them was the ability to manipulate fire. I moved far away from the building with the bear at my side and watched as Red’s entire body pulsed and glowed with flame. His hands shot out in front of him, and fire licked across the building as if it was chasing a trail of gasoline. He used the fire like rope, winding it around the building from the outside in until everything was burning. He made a grunting sound, and the fire burned hotter, turning blue. The warehouse fell in on itself, disintegrating into a pile of charred beams and blackened bricks.

  Red went to one knee in exhaustion as his powers faded, and I waited for him to join us. I found myself absently stroking the bear’s back as I surveyed the empty warehouses. A long line of cars — a convoy of freedom — exited from the nearby warehouse onto the street. My thoughts returned quickly to the bear. When he had been in his human form and our eyes locked, I’d felt at once as if I’d known him forever, like we were kindred spirits, destined to meet. I hadn’t ever felt so strongly towards anyone before. Vampires weren’t like bears; we didn’t have truemates or that instant click of love-at-first-sight that some were-animal groups had. Like humans, we fall in love, except for those times when the object of our affection is a supernatural creature that has a truemate. In those cases, if a were-animal and a vampire were truemates, then the vampire’s nature reflected those feelings on a muted level. I searched my heart and felt a caressing tug, a connection to the large creature standing guard next to me. He was my truemate. I was certain of it.

  Red broke my concentration as he came up to us. “You ready, Sabrina?”

  “Definitely.”

  We turned as a group and walked out of the warehouse district towards my parked Escalade. After putting down the second row seats, the bear was able to climb inside and wedge himself into the space. We drove towards my hotel, stopping at a 24-hour department store so Red could run inside and get clothes and shoes for the bear when he shifted back.

  I turned from the front seat and looked at the bear. “I just wanted you to know that you’re safe now.” I felt kind of silly talking to the bear, even knowing that he was a human. I stared into his eyes, my stomach fluttering at the connection that flared between us, and I said quietly, “Who are you?”

  Silence filled the SUV for several moments and then the bear stretched forward and pressed his nose into my neck with a curious, humming growl, and shivers raced down my spine. The door to the SUV opened and Red sat down, effectively breaking the spell between the bear and I. Red placed a few bags in my lap, filled with several sizes of clothes along with packages of thick steaks from the meat department.

  As we left the store, I glanced back at the bear and saw him looking out the window, and once more I wondered, who was the man inside the bear? Fortunately, the hotel had outside entrances, so we were able to park in front of our door and take the bear straight inside the room which was at the corner, the farthest from the office. I was pretty sure that their pet-policy didn’t include large bears.

  The bear climbed onto the bed causing it to creak and moan under his heavy weight. He settled down, and I opened one of the packages of steak for him, and he took it gently from my fingers with his teeth and tucked it between his paws to eat. I licked the blood from my fingers and made a face at the grassy taste of it.

  “You need me anymore tonight?” Red said, leaning against the door, his thumbs hooked into his pockets.

  “No. How long do you think he’ll stay in that form?” I looked back at the bear as he gnawed at the meat, ripping chunks off with his thick, sharp teeth.

  “Well, I think normal is three or four hours, but I’m guessing that they weren’t exactly taken care of so he might need a full day of rest before he’s strong enough to shift back. Dawn’s in a few hours; you want me to stick around?”

  “No, thanks.”

  I tore my gaze away from the bear and looked at Red. His sunglasses were perched on top of his head, and he regarded me carefully. A small smile played across his mouth and he said, “It’s never a dull moment with you, doll.”

  “Thanks for your help, Red.”

  I shut the door behind him and leaned against it, meeting the bear’s eyes. I felt kind of silly talking to him, but he was a person inside, even if he was furry on the outside. Deciding to save the introductions for when he was in his human form, I said simply, “I’m going to take a shower.”

  I gave him both remaining steaks before grabbing my overnight bag and heading to the bathroom. By the time I came out in my pajamas, he was asleep, deeply breathing and taking up more than half the bed. Typical male.

  I made sure the curtains were securely closed, and then I joined him on the bed, stretching out on the narrow strip he’d left for me. I hugged the pillow and turned to my side to look at him. His fur was as black as his hair had been, and I ran my fingertips lightly over his ruff and was surprised at how soft it felt. The fur was thick and luxurious on top, thin and velvety underneath.

  I suddenly missed Lara. If she were still alive, I could call her right now and tell her about the strong feelings I had for the were-bear. She would have giggled and told me I was in love with my knight in furry armor and I would have rolled my eyes and enjoyed her teasing. But she was gone and I hadn’t been around any other naturally born vampire females other than my mother in the last fifty years.

  Even naturally born males were difficult to find in the states nowadays. They always seemed to favor Europe, even after the werewolf uprising. If my love life was up to my mother, I would have married a natural vampire as soon as I turned eighteen and popped out a few heirs right away. She told me it was the duty of every naturally born vampire to ensure the race continued, but since we lived forever it was kind of a moot point for me. And I wanted to marry for love, not out of a sense of duty. I
wanted a man to look across the room at me and possess me with one look. I wanted a man who would protect me and kill for me.

  I wanted...the bear.

  Chapter 4

  The sun came and went and the bear slept on. I popped into the hotel office and extended my stay and grabbed a few things from the vending machines for him to snack on. When I returned to the room, the bed was empty and the shower was on. My pulse quickened as I realized that I’d soon get a chance to see him and talk to him.

  My phone buzzed as the shower turned off, and I answered on the second ring. Etienne was checking in, and I paced a little by the window after the conversation. Stopping, I stared through the dirty glass into the tree line that edged the parking lot. A tall street lamp illuminated a chain link fence. A warm hand touched my shoulder and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

  “Sorry,” the bear said, now in his human form. He looked at me curiously as I pressed my hand to my chest and gulped in a few breaths.

  “It’s okay.” I smiled and noticed he wore the clothes Red had picked out — a long sleeved shirt, a pair of jeans, and tennis shoes. The shirt was a little tight, the jeans a little loose, but at least he was dressed.

  “I’m Griegs Stalking Horse.”

  “Sabrina Chalice.”

  “Where are we?” Standing at least a foot taller than me, he peered over my head out the window.

  “Downtown Cleveland. Your last name is Stalking Horse? I was given a contact with the bear den, and she had your last name. Elizabeth I think? Is she your sister or something?”

  He frowned deeply, his eyes shadowing from lovely dark brown to nearly black. “She is mated to my brothers.”

  “You want to call her? I have her number in my cell.” I moved to go around him, and he stopped me with his large hand on my arm.

  “If you don’t mind, I’ll hail a cab.”

  “Are you serious? It’s like an hour from here, isn’t it? That’s an insane drive to pay for. I’ll take you, no problem.”

  “That’s not necessary.” His voice came out tight and unhappy, and the fuzzy feelings I’d had earlier seemed silly in the face of his current state of mind. He wanted to get away from me and go home. I was being stupid. I should just let him go do whatever the hell he wanted. My foolish heart had clearly imagined the connection to him.

  I pulled my hand from his grip and stomped over to the dresser. I fisted the keys to my SUV in my hand and tossed them at him. He caught them easily, looking at me in confusion. “It’s the Escalade out front. Just take it, and I’ll make arrangements to get it back another time.”

  I turned my back to him, feeling like a teenage girl unable to deal with rejection. I thought we had a connection, but I had clearly been wrong. I’d mistaken his relief at being free for something more, even though my gut twisted at the thought of him walking away. I had clearly taken his natural protective instincts for something more than it was. Good grief, I was pathetic!

  The keys dropped to the dresser in front of me, and I looked back at him as he came to stand behind me. “I’m sorry. If you would like to give me a ride back to the den, that would be really nice of you. I just don’t want to put you out. You saved my life tonight...it’s hard for me to trust people, you know, after everything.”

  I picked up the keys and my purse. “No, it’s my fault. I should be more understanding. Come on, let’s get you home.”

  Although he was mostly quiet on the drive to the den, he did ask me about being a vampire and a Hunter. I wanted to ask him a thousand questions about his captivity, but having just declared in the hotel room that he didn’t trust people, it was hardly my place to push him.

  “Pull over,” he said when we were thirty minutes into the drive.

  “What?” I looked at him in confusion, wondering if he felt ill.

  “Just...pull over, please.”

  I pulled off the stretch of old highway at the earliest opportunity, stopping in the parking lot of a gas station. I turned to look at him. He didn’t look ill; he looked panicked.

  “Griegs?” I touched his hand that rested on his thigh, and he flinched and then apologized under his breath.

  He turned his head slowly to face me. “I can’t do this.”

  “Do what? Go see your family? Why not?”

  “Because.” He swallowed hard and then looked out the windshield. “When I left, it was because the woman I was sleeping with, a powerful wiccan, cast a collaring spell to bind herself to a permanent were-bear guard. The spell chose my twin brothers, Ash and Axe. I was furious. I’d been with her for a few years and always assumed we would eventually be more than fuck buddies.”

  “So you challenged your brothers? Is that why you left?” Griegs was an incredible fighter. I had watched in awe as he tore apart a man in the ring. If he had fought his brothers and lost, then they must be forces of nature.

  He shook his head. “No, I wasn’t allowed to fight for Elizabeth. The collaring spell chose them as her guards because they were the right fit for her. And she went to them so willingly without even giving me a second glance.”

  I frowned. “What was the collaring spell for?”

  “To unite the den to her wiccan coven.”

  “She couldn’t have just chosen you on her own?”

  He turned back to me, and his eyes were glossy with pain. “No, she didn’t want to. I was such an idiot. I thought there was love between us, but all that time I was in captivity I could see how clearly I’d mistaken the casual affection for more. I never loved her, she never loved me. If I hadn’t stormed off, I wouldn’t have gotten taken. I would never have been through that hell.”

  “We’re all idiots about love at one time or another, Griegs. But if she’s moved on, then you can, too. They’re your family. Mine sucks, but I’m sure your family will forgive you no matter what you did.”

  “Would you?”

  “Would I what?” I asked.

  “Would you face an old lover and apologize for being a jealous prick?”

  “I don’t really like apologizing. But I see where you’re coming from. Look, we’re a half-hour into the drive. We can keep going, and I’ll be with you when you meet your family if you’d like, or we could go back to the hotel and you could call, tell them you’re okay over the phone first.”

  “You, ah, you want to stick around with me?” Wary curiosity mixed with desire in his pretty brown eyes.

  “Sure. I feel...I don’t know, connected to you in some way that I haven’t felt connected to another before. If you want to go home, I’ll go with you if you want the company. If you want to go back to my hotel and call and hang out, I’m okay with that, too.” More than okay, actually. In truth, I didn’t want to let him go. Something stirred in my brain and my heart about this broken man. Leaving him behind was the very last thing I wanted to do. Hope flitted through me that maybe, just maybe I hadn’t imagined that connection after all.

  His jaw worked as he stared at me in the darkness of the car and then said quietly, “Let’s go...back to your room.”

  I pulled out of the gas station and headed back to the hotel. He was tense and silent as we drove towards the city and away from his den. I wanted to ask him about his family, himself, but I couldn’t get over the prowling voice in my mind that demanded I pull over to the side of the road and tear his clothes off. Well, that was a bad idea. He could hardly stand to be touched. He flinched every time I came close to him, and although it was kind of pathetically endearing, it was hardly conducive to a good fuck. I mentally stopped the sex train in my head, trying to soothe my hormones so my body didn’t start to smell like a horny teenager.

  Easier said than done.

  He waited quietly while I fished the hotel key out of my back pocket, and then he opened the door and took the key, holding the door for me. When I stepped inside, the door slammed shut and I was pinned against it, off the floor, with his face in my neck.

  His voice was a barely contained growl that vibrated along my body. “
You smell so good, Sabrina.” His tongue lit fire up my neck as he blazed a trail from the crux of my shoulder to my ear, my body shuddering as my legs wrapped around him and my hands dug into his shoulders.

  “Uh, th-thanks?” I stuttered.

  I felt him smile against me, and then he ground his hips into mine. I felt the length of his erection as it pressed into the apex of my thighs. “Oh fuck,” I groaned, tightening my legs around him.

  I felt his fangs teasing my flesh, and I closed my eyes, wanting nothing more in the world than to have him sink them into me and...wait! I shoved on his shoulders, coming back to myself for a moment. “No, no! Don’t bite me!”

  He lifted his head slowly, his fangs peeking from his parted lips, his eyes full of disappointment. I smoothed the back of my hand across his cheek. “I want you, too, Griegs, I swear, but it’s different for my kind. We don’t let people bite us for fun.”

  His eye ticked. “I wasn’t playing.”

  Now I was really confused. “What?”

  “You’re mine. I’m more certain of that now than I was when we first met. Your scent...it calls to me. I was going to mark you and then fuck your brains out.”

  I liked that last part. “You didn’t think you might want to ask me first?”

  “You want me.” He ground himself into me again, and my brain stopped.

  “I do,” I managed weakly. “If you bite me, I’m going to want to bite you and then I’m going to want to keep you forever, which is a whole different thing than your average marking.”

  I felt him relax slightly, and confusion scattered his handsome features. “Keep me forever as in immortal? I’d become a vampire? I thought that involved a lot of blood draining.”

  I stroked my fingers through his roughly chopped short hair. “You wouldn’t become a vampire. It’s impossible for were-animals to be turned. We would make love and you would bite me, drink some of my blood, and I’ll bite you and drink some of yours. Sharing my blood will make you my beloved, my immortal mate. We’ll be tied together for all eternity; when I die, you will follow.”