In the moment before he was about to do just that he opened his eyes and saw the stranger before him. He had been so caught up in fantasy that seeing her now was a shock. His body shook and he pushed himself away from her as fast as he could, his erection leaving him almost instantly.
Frightened she asked, “Did I do something wrong?”
“No. You didn’t do anything wrong at all,” he said, pulling his underwear back up.
“What’s the matter?”
“Please leave now,” he said, avoiding her question. With a look of befuddlement the young woman straightened what little clothes she had on and left, humiliated.
Gavin promptly lay down, turning his face to the wall and curled up into the fetal position. Everything came out. His body wracked with sobs and he cried for hours. He cried until he didn’t think he could possibly cry anymore. The pain and the anger of not being with the only woman he could ever love consumed him and he wished more than anything that she would come back. But if she would not come back to him, he wished he could die. He still held out hope that she would come home, but if the day ever came that he knew it was no longer a possibility he would end it.
There was a time when he was afraid of death. Given the things he’d done he was sure that if there was a hell he was going there, but whatever that hell would be he was certain it would be a welcome relief because it couldn’t possibly be any worse than the hell he was experiencing now. A hell of an eternity alone without his progeny, his lover, his everything, was a fate worse than whatever tortures the devil himself could dream up.
He needed to escape and decided on willing himself to sleep, even though sleep was something he feared. He knew tonight he would dream of her. He would see her more clearly than ever before and it would hurt more intensely than ever before, but he didn’t care. Tomorrow he would pull himself together and figure things out, but for tonight, he needed to be with her in oblivion. Whatever form that would take was fine with him. This suffering, he decided, would not be for much longer. He would either claim her again or die, but either way the pain would end.
Chapter Three
After dropping a very exhausted Alexander off at the house Gavin decided that a visit to see how his family were holding up was in order. It pained him to see Holly so distorted and broken and he routinely made excuses for why he couldn’t go sit with her. The truth was he was scared. Not just in that he didn’t know what to do to comfort her, but also because it reminded him of the awful possibility that he, that any of them, could potentially face. The breaking of a blood bond. Although he didn’t imagine it would have been pleasant under any circumstance, the Blood Bond Syndrome made his fear of seeing Holly worse.
He stopped outside the door to the room Holly was being held in and listened. Through the barrier he could hear a soft humming noise. Pushing the door open he saw exactly what he had expected to see. What he’d seen the few times he’d visited before. Holly was sitting, crouched in the corner of the room with her face to the wall, her mother rubbing her back in soothing circular motions as she rocked back and forth. She was crying softly, sometimes doing it for days at a time.
Her once beautiful and youthful features had aged and her skin took on the consistency of parchment. She looked like an old woman. His mother had informed him this would pass, that it was part of the sickness she had to endure, a physical manifestation of grief and that she would get through it, although it might take months or even years. He had to admire his mother’s devotion. As long as Holly was hurting she had no intention of going anywhere. She had been by her side at almost every moment since the night Daniel died. His father came and went, spending large amounts of time at the sanctuary, but not nearly as much time as his mother did. All attempts to have her leave to care for herself so she could rest and feed fell on deaf ears, and so John had taken to bringing the human food and the blood directly to her. After being together for as many centuries as they had he knew arguing would be pointless and had decided just to soldier on, attending to his wife and daughter as needed.
Holly turned around at the sound of the door and looked at Gavin with her sunken features, holding her arms out to him. He went to her and sat on the floor, taking her against his chest. He could feel her skeletal form sigh as she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He looked at the state she was in and felt his heart break all over again, it was doubly broken now for both she and Rachel.
Holly settled in quietly, never speaking but continuing to hum softly, as if trying to soothe herself. “How was your trip to the city?” his mother asked.
He shook his head. “Not the way I wanted.”
Gavin reasoned all of his mother’s empathy for her children should have been used up with Holly, but she reached out, lovingly stroking his hair and soothing him now as well. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Maybe it’s for the best.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know if she loves me anymore.”
“Of course she does. She’s just scared and confused. She’ll come around, you’ll see.”
Gavin let out a deep sigh, remembering Rachel’s revelation about Ian. “I think there’s someone else.”
“Just because she submitted to Aries doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you. She certainly doesn’t love him.”
“It’s not Aries, mom.”
“Oh? Who is it?” she said, breaking his gaze for a moment, as if she somehow knew what he was going to say.
He thought about telling her, and he desperately needed to talk to someone. He knew his mother wanted to help, wanted to listen but he couldn’t burden her that way. Not right now. “It doesn’t matter. I just think, maybe, it’s over.”
“Gavin, I know your father and I seem like we’ve never had any problems or that anything has ever come between us but we’re very old and we’ve been through a lot. We’ve done things to each other and then forgiven one another because we are better together than we are alone. We’re bonded and that bond makes us strong. It’s the same with you and Rachel. Your bond is so strong, stronger than most that I’ve seen, and you can be with her for centuries if you only play your cards right. You need to go back to her and make her understand.”
“She doesn’t want to come back, and I don’t want to force her. I tried to do that but it just didn’t feel right.”
Margie leaned forward clasping her son’s face in one hand and looking him dead in the eye with such intensity that he shuddered. “You can’t give up. You need her. She needs you. It’s important for your survival, and not just because of the Blood Bond Syndrome . She’s going to need you in the years to come. She is going to lose a child and she will need her husband. It wouldn’t be fair for her to have to face that alone. You need each other. Go back and get her, you hear me?” she said, squeezing even harder. “Go back and claim your mate. She is yours in blood and you are hers in blood. The blood is the only thing that matters, Gavin. When all else is gone, only the blood remains.”
His mother spoke with such conviction that any doubts he’d had with regard to letting Rachel go her own way were erased. She was right. Rachel was his and he belonged to her, now and forever, body and soul, and in time she would be forced by the blood to see it.
No words came, he simply nodded knowing now what he had to do. He was going to need Alexander’s assistance. The task at hand was too big for him and Alexander alone. However there was someone else who could help. Someone who had a unique ability and, as far as he was concerned, owed him a huge debt.
Chapter Four
Gavin let Alexander sleep for the remainder of the day. He needed him at his strongest for what they were about to do. At full dark he awakened the new vampire and handed him a pair of gloves. “Put these on.”
Alexander narrowed his eyes in question. “I’m going to bring Rachel home, but there’s something I have to do first. Hurry up. We need to get started.”
When Alexander was ready he took the boy to the s
hed, handed him a shovel and got one for himself. Alexander clued into what Gavin had in mind just then and began trembling, vigorously shaking his head ‘no’.
“Yes,” Gavin said. “It’s the only way. If you want to help Rachel, you’ll help me do this, Alex.”
The boy stood quietly for a moment, thinking briefly and then nodded, albeit reluctantly, and followed him out into the woods. They walked through the snow, leaving tracks behind them that glittered in the moon’s illumination until they came to the spot they had been seeking. Gavin knew exactly where it was. He had been there that day, the day Ian had been doused in holy water and shrouded in white. He remembered the ceremony well. He had felt pain for his brother at watching him scream as the water seared his flesh and the heavy dirt piled high on top of him. Had he only known the secret his brother was keeping he suspected he would have been all too happy to watch him suffer. Alexander had opted to skip it, and given everything he had been through himself everyone agreed that was a good idea. They had spared the young vampire the gruesome ceremony, but there was no sparing him this.
“Right here,” he said, “start digging.”
Both of them dug hard and deep, using all their strength and speed. Within moments they had a six foot deep hole dug and Gavin had struck the shroud. “Ok, I got him.”
Gavin jumped down into the opening and threw the blanketed body over his shoulder, the wrapped head wobbling clumsily from side to side as he did so, and pushed off, jumping cleanly out. Gavin dropped Ian to the ground and took his shovel back, filling the grave back in. In a few more moments they were home.
Going straight into the bathroom he opened up the sheets, revealing his corpse of a brother, and then picked him up, being careful not to touch his skin as he threw him into the tub. His head landed on the porcelain with a crack. From the corner of his eye he could see Alexander watching with confusion at the rough treatment. He didn’t offer an explanation, but simply turned on the water and the hose getting to work.
When he had finished cleaning him he took him into his bedroom and dropped him on the bed in the same careless way, then covered his naked body with a blanket. Ian hadn’t decayed as badly as he’d expected. It had only been a few weeks and the shroud had been tight, keeping most of the damage at bay. Alexander stared in horror at Ian and Gavin couldn’t help but feel somewhat guilt-ridden for what he was about to ask, but there was no way around it.
“Ok,” he said, taking the boy by the shoulders. “We are going to wake Ian out of death sleep. You have to feed him your blood. I’d do it myself but then you’d have to take care of both of us and plus, he and I will need to leave as soon as he is strong enough. I’ll get you well enough to drop you off at the blood den for a few days. I’m sure you can spend that time with Liev, right?”
The prospect of that was too good to pass up, Gavin could see it in Alexander’s face. Determined now to press on, he squared his shoulders and got into bed, opening his wrist to Ian. A few drops was all it took and Ian sprang to life. Even though he had no reason to believe Ian would have let himself starve to death it was a relief just the same. Watching his brother eating and growing stronger by the moment meant he was one step closer to what he truly wanted.
Rachel.
Alexander grew weak as expected and passed out just as Ian was regaining consciousness. In confusion he looked at Alex, and then over to Gavin. With a dry croak he said, “You’ve woken me up before it’s time haven’t you? Why?”
“Because I need your help,” Gavin replied. “Do you feel ok?”
“Fine, I guess. A little woozy but I’ll survive.”
Gavin smiled wide. “Good,” he said. Then he rose, crossed the room and gave his brother a very hard, and very unexpected, punch square in the face.
“Gavin!” he screamed, holding his broken nose that was already beginning to heal. “What the fuck?”
Ignoring his brother’s question he reared back and punched him again, harder this time, breaking his nose once more. “What in the name of god has gotten into you?” Ian screamed, his head flopping back against the pillow. Gavin continued to ignore him and straddled him on the bed, hitting him over and over again as Ian screamed. “Holy hell, Gavin! Please stop!”
“Rachel is mine,” he screamed back at him in between blows. “And you had no right to do what you did, and have no right to her now. Do you understand?”
Ian clued in to what was causing Gavin’s anger and began apologizing. “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry. We thought you were trying to kill her and she was lonely and scared. I was too but that’s no excuse. I took advantage of her, I know that. I was wrong.”
“You’re lucky you’re a vampire and my brother because if you were a human I’d cut off your dick and then eat you for breakfast. I’d do to you what I’m going to do to Aries if he ever shows his face again. I’d make you suffer like he is going to suffer when I get my hands on him.”
“Gavin!” Ian screamed just as his fist was about to meet his face one more time. “I know you’re angry and you have every right to be, but I suspect you didn’t wake me up just to punch me in the face. What’s going on?”
Slowly climbing off his weakened brother he sat back down in the chair, his hands still shaking with unreleased anger. “I need your help. I need you to come to Halifax with me and bring Rachel home.”
“Halifax? She’s still there?”
Gavin nodded. “I need you to blood influence her. You’re the only one that can make her come home. As much as I hate it…I need you. I need you to help me. Will you?”
Ian used all his strength and pulled himself up into a sitting position. “Listen,” he said, softly, “I know we were wrong to do what we did, but I do care for her, and of course I’ll help you. I’ll help Rachel any way I can. But you should know that I have feelings for her and as much as I regret hurting you, I can’t just turn them off.”
“I know, and that’s why I haven’t told anyone else that I’ve exhumed you. Once this is all over I’m asking you, as a brother, please, just go away and leave us. She’s my wife, and we are going to raise a child together. If you care for her like you say you do you’ll do what’s best for her and her son.”
Ian lay back down on the pillow and stared at the ceiling as if a weight had been placed squarely upon him. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“Good, it’s settled then. When Alexander wakes up I’ll put you both in the car and we’ll head for the blood den. We’ll all feed and Alexander will stay put while you and I go bring her back.”
Ian nodded absently as Gavin spoke. “Will yourself to sleep so you can be strong enough to make it to Sydney. We’ll go first thing after sundown.”
Chapter Five
“Do you feel normal yet?” Gavin asked Ian as they got in the car to head for Halifax. Alexander was happily inside the blood den and they were on the road.
“Yeah, I feel better now.”
“How many did you feed from?”
“Six.”
“Six blood whores in one sitting? You must have been hungry.”
“Starving, but I’m sure I don’t have to tell you.”
He certainly didn’t. Gavin remembered all too well the hunger he’d experienced when waking up from the death sleep. He hadn’t been able to properly feed for days however. “Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he said.
“You are? Why? You want to kick my ass some more? It’ll be a fair fight now.”
Gavin couldn’t help but smirk. “Yeah it would, but it was more fun to pummel you when you couldn’t really do anything about it.”
A nervous laugh filled the car, both of them not knowing what to say when it ended. “I’m sorry I lost my head,” Gavin said.
“No, don’t apologize. I wronged you. It won’t happen again. Are you really going to raise the baby? I mean, you’re ok with that?”
“No, I’m not ok with it. I wish it had never happened, but there’s nothing I can do to change it. An
d it’s only for fifteen years.”
“That will be very hard on her,” Ian said, his voice lowering an octave.
“I know. But when the time comes we’ll be together, and maybe we’ll have other children by then too.”
“Perhaps. Why do you want to make her come home? Why force it? Shouldn’t you just let her come home in her own time?”
“No. I just barely stopped her from killing a woman a few days ago, and the longer she’s gone the more likely she’ll kill. I need her with me so I can keep an eye on her. She’s not even through her transformation yet. And also, there is the Halifax Vampire Authority.”
Ian’s head jerked all the way around to face his brother. “Wait. What? The Authority? I didn’t know we’d be messing around with them. How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know. I watched them come and go from her motel room and I think they’ve figured out what she can do. I’m afraid if she doesn’t leave she’ll be manipulated into doing something awful.”
“Someone like Rachel would be a deadly weapon if she fell into the wrong hands.”
“Yes…yes, she would. So we can’t let that happen.”
“It’s a unique talent she has isn’t it? I mean I’ve heard of vampires shifting and being great blood influencers and mind readers, but this thing she has for setting fires, I mean, did you ever ask yourself where that came from? I’ve traveled the world and not seen anyone be able to do that.”
“Well I’ve never heard of a vampire being able to blood influence other fully transformed vampires, but you do it.”
“On the contrary brother. Where do you think I learned how to do it? It’s not a talent I was born with. I may have been a talented influencer, but influencing other vampires is something I learned. It’s a skill I perfected, not something I stumbled on by accident.”
“You never told me that. Who taught you?”
“Duncan.”
Gavin sat in stunned silence for a moment. “Duncan? How? Why? I mean I guess I’m not surprised that someone as old as he is can do that, but why would he teach anyone else? I didn’t even know that you two knew each other.”
The Vampires of Soldiers Cove: The Unborn Page 11