by Anjela Renee
“I don’t know what you talking about.” Sally walked past him toward the door; he stepped around her blocking her path.
“Sally, please tell me what happened with the wolf.” Javon scowled.
“His name is Connor. Why are you acting this way? I thought you liked him.”
“I did until you started dating him.”
“We’re not dating, exactly. Well, honestly, I don’t know what we are,” she said, sounding exasperated. “We have been spending time together. Then last night I had a blood cocktail, you know, the kind that makes you drunk.”
Javon put his arm around Sally reassuringly. “Let’s go sit down; you can tell me everything.”
“Okay,” she croaked out, trying her best not to burst into tears.
Javon and Sally sat down on the couch in the upstairs sitting room. It also served as a mini library, holding all of Sally’s recent romance books. It was a small cozy room with oversized furniture and no TV. He walked over to a mini fridge in the corner by the window overlooking the front yard. He pulled out two bottles of blood.
“Warm or cold?”
“Warm please,” she replied.
Javon placed both in the microwave and two minutes later, the bottles were warm and ready. He sat next to her and they both took a sip. Sally relaxed a little; she knew talking to someone would be best. She needed to figure out her feelings and there was nobody better than her fledgling.
“Start from the beginning and tell me everything.”
Sally took a deep breath, looked at her bottle, and took another long sip. “After Abby got rescued, I started seeing Connor as a friend. We would go to dinner sometimes; a movie, stuff like that. I don’t have many really good friends so I was happy to have a new friend. Well, he asked to be more than friends; he wanted to date. I said no. Vampires and werewolves don’t mate—it’s not done.”
“Sally,” Javon interrupted. “That’s not exactly true, it has happened in the past.”
That was a complete shock to Sally. She had never heard of any Vampire-werewolf mating. “When... how?” she demanded to know.
“Last one I heard about was about eighty years ago in New Orleans. A female werewolf and a Vampire mated in an official Vampire ceremony. Of course, the female’s pack was upset; they hate to lose breeding stock. They have six kids last I heard. All six are hybrid Vampires who can transform to wolves. The official term is Lycan-Vamps.”
“Why have I heard nothing about this?”
“The Council doesn’t want it to be a commonly known fact that we can successfully find an Eternal Mate with the Werewolves and other Lycan species.”
Sally was beyond stunned and almost speechless at everything Javon was telling her. There was no way there were actually half breeds out there. The Vampire Council couldn’t allow such a thing, she thought to herself.
“Then what happened, Sally? How did Connor end up in your bed?” he asked patiently.
“I never said he was in my bed,” she said defensively.
Javon’s eyebrow went up in an ‘I know what you did’ look. “Come on, tell me the truth.”
“I called him from Bloodlust. I had a few Red Wine Good Time drinks and I was basically drunk.”
Javon burst out laughing. “You drunk-dialed Connor the werewolf. Oh my, wait until Abby hears about this.”
Sally slapped Javon upside the head, reprimanding him. “You will not breathe a word to anyone. You are still my fledgling. You will obey me.” Sally stood up to leave, but Javon stopped her, bringing her back to sit on the couch.
“I won’t say a word. I’m sorry. I want to hear what happened. Really.”
“I basically jumped him; I took advantage of him after he brought my drunken Vampire butt back here. I’m so embarrassed. How will I ever face him again?”
“Don’t be silly. He wanted you. You know that. Just talk to the guy. It will be fine. We all do stupid things when we’re faced with a possible Mate.”
“Javon, don’t say that. You know I can’t mate with him. I just don’t know if I want things to change. We have such a good time together; I don’t want anything to change.”
“It sounds like it already has. Like it or not, you can’t take back what happened. The big question is what are you going to do now?”
Chapter 7
Connor arrived at the VC office after a quick stop at home to change. He was finally able to be with Sally, but at what cost? She was drunk and would probably never forgive him for it. He should have had better will power and resisted her drunken advances. He just sat down in the office when his phone immediately started ringing.
“Yes,” he responded.
“Mr. O’Connor, there is a Mr. Randall from Detroit Vampire Relation on the line for you.”
“Put him through.”
“Mr. Randall, this is Malice O’Connor. What can I do for you?”
“Mr. O’Connor, thank you for taking my call. I wanted to get in touch with you concerning the Vampire situation.”
“Mr. Randall. The Vampire situation, as you put it, won’t be any different than it’s been for the last millennia. The only difference is that now I have government officials such as yourself breathing down my neck.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, Mr. O’Conner.”
Connor took a deep breath, realizing that he was taking his frustration over Sally out on Mr. Randall. He needed to regroup and save the situation. The last thing he needed was to have this weasel tattle to the Vampire Council that he was less than accommodating.
“I’ll tell you what, Mr. Randall. Why don’t you stop in my office tomorrow night at 2:00 am? I can go through all our procedures and rules and you can ask all the questions your government office may have.”
There was a brief pause before there was a response on the other end of the phone.
“Thank you, Mr. O’Connor. Is there a possibility of making it a little earlier? I work daytime hours.”
“First thing you need to do, Randall, is change your schedule. You need to keep Vampire hours—dusk until dawn. I’ll see you at 2:00 a.m.”
Connor hung up the phone with a smirk on his face. He could have made the meeting a little earlier, but didn’t want to make it too easy on the man. He checked his emails and had more than the usual amount. Several from the Vampire Council concerning hiring additional Vampire enforcers to keep the Vampires in line, as well as setting up additional offices in Lansing and Grand Rapids. The whole coming out business certainly wasn’t going to make his job any easier.
Dakarai sat in a Vampire bar—the kind he never went to—the kind that only catered to live drinking. It was called Red Stuff. It was a small dimly lit building. Vampires had excellent night vision so any light was optional, mainly for the humans. This wasn’t anything like Bloodlust where Mary worked. This was a horrible place. The walls were a dingy grey with cheap wood chairs and tables; he could smell the misery and desperation emanating off all the humans. He could sense most of the females who worked there. The blood whores took drugs, alcohol, or just didn’t eat enough.
Maurice sent him a message that he was going to meet him there. He waited patiently at a table until a man walked up and sat down.
“I am Brian; Maurice sent me.”
“Where is Maurice?”
“On his way from Europe; it’s a long trip. Maurice is my sire; you can be open with me. I couldn’t betray him even if I wanted to.”
“Why did he send you?” Dakarai asked in a menacing tone, like he would rather be slitting Brian’s throat than talking to him.
“I know you are upset. You want to find Salihah; Maurice told me.”
“Do you know her?” he asked in a hopeful tone.
“I don’t know anyone by that name, but that doesn’t mean much. I’m a new fledgling. I can tell you this: Maurice is obsessed with getting Mary back. Help him and he will help you.”
“And what do you think about your sire’s obsession?”
“I think he’s bat
shit crazy and should move on, but that’s not my place.”
“Have you ever lost someone you love, Brian; someone you want so bad you can feel it in your soul?”
Brian looked at him and then looked down in admission. “I have and it hurts everyday she’s not with me, but I don’t let it make me crazy.”
“So you think I am crazy, too?”
“It’s not exactly sane to chase after a woman that long. If it’s meant to be, it will happen. You can’t force love.”
“You are young. Live a hundred, perhaps a thousand, years without your love and you may change your opinion.”
Brian stood up, and Dakarai followed. “I will tell Maurice things went well and we should proceed as planned. Maurice may be crazy, but he’s my sire and I will protect him with everything. Don't think about betraying us. It would end badly for you.”
Brian left abruptly without saying goodbye.
It was nearly dawn when Maurice and Jacquelyn arrived in Detroit, and they were tired and hungry from the long trip. Maurice had arranged to rent a furnished apartment in Farmington Hills, a suburb of Detroit. It wasn’t fancy by any means, but much better than the abandoned crack house he lived in with Brian the last time he was in Detroit. It was decorated with neutral colors and comfortable furniture. There were two bedrooms and a kitchen with a small dining room. Maurice checked the fridge and found many bottles of blood as ordered.
They settled into the apartment, checking all the windows for light. There was nothing worse than waking during the day because you missed a spot.
“Maurice, this is such a cute apartment, but why don’t we stay in a hotel?”
“Hotels are risky, this is safer. You never have to worry about housekeeping barging in during our death sleep.”
“Oh, okay,” Jacquelyn replied.
She looked at Maurice with wide eyes and a desire that he either ignored or didn’t notice. As her sire, he could easily have her; she had more than once implied she was more than willing. He had not taken her up on her offer. She even arranged for him to accidentally walk in on her in the nude; he just walked away without a word. She just couldn’t understand why they had to travel halfway around the world chasing a woman who didn’t want him.
“Maurice, are you sure this is a good idea? Why chase a woman who can’t see the wonderful man you are?”
Maurice sat on the modest couch, patted the seat next to him, and waited until Jacquelyn sat next to him. “Because I love her,” he said with sadness in his eyes. “I’ve loved her since before I was Vampire. I wanted to marry her and have a family. That didn’t happen. When I was turned, I thought she was lost to me forever. Then when I found out she was also turned, it was like I was right back in France again looking forward to a future with the woman I loved. I need to get her back to make all this worth it.”
“Okay, Sire, I understand.” Jacquelyn ran to her bedroom and quickly shut the door. She didn’t want Maurice to see her reaction, the hurt on her face.
Chapter 8
Connor stood outside Sally’s house. It was only about twenty minutes until dawn. He tried to get to her house earlier, but the day after the Vampire reveal was just a crazy day. He rang the doorbell and knocked. A few moments later, the door cracked open; it was Sally looking like she was ready to crawl into bed with her silky pink baby doll nightgown that barely went past her thigh. She had the most perfect brown skin, as smooth as anything he had ever felt. Her hair was straighter than it used to be, but she was gorgeous no matter what she did. Her full and pouty lips just begged to be kissed. She pulled her robe tighter around herself, covering up her exposed skin. He came to talk, but all he could think about was taking her to her room and making love to her until neither of them could move.
“Connor, what are you doing here? It’s almost dawn.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Can I come in? We need to talk.”
Sally stood there thinking about it. Connor finally took it upon himself and pushed past her into the house.
“Hey!” she yelled. “You can’t just barge in here.”
“I think I can. If this is the only way I can get you to talk to me, then this is what I will do.”
He watched as Sally’s canines lengthened into full on fangs. She hissed. “Please have a seat, Connor.”
He sat close enough that he was almost touching her leg with his. He wanted to take her in his arms again, but knew one wrong move and she would probably refuse to ever see him again and maybe even move. Vampires were never in the same place very long—twenty years was probably the most they would stay in one place. Moving before the neighbor’s got suspicious that you never aged was a requirement when you were one of the undead.
“Sally, I want to start by saying I am sorry. It was wrong of me to take advantage of your inebriated condition. I knew better but I did it anyway...”
Sally cut him off and put her hand on his knee. He looked at her hand—her perfectly manicured hand—and wanted it to caress his cock like she did last night. “I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to do. Yes, I was drunk off my ass but that just allowed me to be brave and do what I’ve been dreaming about.”
“You dreamt about sleeping with me?”
Sally suddenly looked down instead of at him. “Connor, you are the hottest man I have ever seen. I would have to be blind not to see it. I take that back. Even if I was blind, I think I would still want you.”
“Than what’s the problem? We both want to be together.”
“It’s just too much, Connor. I need time. I just want to go back to being friends. I need time to process everything.”
Connor stood up and took a deep breath. He wanted nothing more than her in his arms. He sat down again, but this time leaned over her and claimed her with his lips in a kiss that took her breath away. She only resisted a moment before opening her mouth for him. He penetrated her with his tongue, tasting every inch of her. He stroked her fangs with his tongue as they descended. He pulled away and could see that he had brought on the blood hunger in her. Impulsively, he offered his neck to her. As she struck his neck, it hurt only a moment before the pain was replaced with intense pleasure and desire. His cock was hard and more than ready for her. He could hear her drinking his blood down and then he felt her tongue dart out of her mouth as she licked his blood to seal the wound. He looked at Sally with blood on her tongue and fangs and it turned him on even more.
“You are so fucking hot. Please don’t send me away,” Connor said in a husky voice.
Sally stood up and Connor followed her. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have bitten you. It was wrong. It’s just that, well... I got carried away. You offered. And your blood; it smelled so delicious and I was hungry.”
Sally knew she was lying to herself and Connor. It was much more than that. Connor was everything she ever wanted and she was scared shitless.
“We both did things. I’m going to leave and let you rest. I will pick you up tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. I’m taking you out, my choice this time, and don’t ask, yes it is a date. A real date. Don’t bother fighting it and wear something sexy.” Connor leaned over her and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek and left.
Sally slowly sat back down on the couch. Connor was so bossy and demanding. She smiled. She liked it a lot more than she ever thought she would. On their friendly dates he was so easygoing. This was different. This was Dominating Alfa Connor. Was she wrong looking for subservient men all these centuries? Maybe what she needed was to be controlled, to be dominated? The thought of all the dirty ways he could dominate her in the bedroom put a fangy smile on her face. Unaware of her surroundings, she looked up to find Abby standing there with a bottle of blood in her hands.
“Sally, are you hungry?” Abby asked with an upturned smile. She looked like she was going to burst despite having a few more months to go in her pregnancy.
“No; I just ate.”
“Oh, so those are dirty thoughts that are making you fangy? Been there more than
once.” She laughed. “So embarrassing when we are out and it happens. Most of the time, I’m so lost in my dirty thoughts I don’t realize it’s happening.”
Sally immediately looked down. What was wrong with her? She was normally so confident. Why was she embarrassed to be fantasizing about Connor?
Abby sensed Sally’s discomfort and took her hand and hugged her. “I know how you feel; when I met Javon and fell in love, I was blushing all the time. Luckily, you can’t blush, but your face still shows your feelings. When you fall in love, everything is amplified. Especially being a Vampire. We are intense creatures. You should know all this better than anyone.” Sally knew this from other Vampires but never felt like anything was amplified. Well maybe the sex with Connor. It was better than anything she had ever experienced.
“Thank you, Abby,” Sally said. “I think I need to go rest and think about things; I’m a little confused right now.”
Abby took a big gulp of her orange flavored blood. “Mmm, that’s good. I’ll see you this evening and we can talk, okay?”
They both walked upstairs together, and then turned in opposite directions to their rooms. Sally couldn’t help but envy Abby. To be turned by your eternal mate must be amazing. To search for thousands of years for someone to share your life with was frustrating, to say the least.
Chapter 9
Ebo knocked on the door to the hotel room and waited patiently for an answer. The door cracked opened. Dakarai scowled at him before opening the door for him to enter. Ebo was Egyptian, with tan skin, shoulder length straight black hair, and dark emerald green eyes. He was tall, broad, and muscular. After Salihah took off, Dakarai kept him around for a few years, eventually turning him.
“Do you treat all your progeny this way, Sire?” Ebo said in a condescending tone.
“Only the ones I regret turning; I should have staked you while you were young and weak.”
“Yes, there are things we all wish we could have done. I wish I had stayed with Salihah. Instead, I stayed in the cave and became your blood whore, and then your slave until I grew up and escaped from you.”