Consumed: The Vampire Awakenings, Book 8

by Davies, Brenda K.

  “Hurry,” he whispered, gesturing her inside.

  Mollie scrambled past him and into the secluded space no more than seven feet deep and four feet wide. Careful to avoid the thorns that could take out an eye, Mollie shrugged the rifle over her shoulder before resting her back against the tree trunk. She held the weapon before her as Mike crawled into the tiny space; he moved the branches and vines back into place.

  She couldn’t see him, but she listened as he crept toward her. His body warmed hers when he settled against the tree next to her. Mollie remained rigid as she waited to see what he would do.

  He’d saved her life; did he expect something from her in return? After he’d almost kissed her, would he expect sex? Could a vampire have sex; weren’t they dead or undead or some such thing?

  When she found herself hoping it was possible for him to have sex, she decided she’d officially lost her mind.

  “What now?” she whispered.

  “Now we wait until sunrise.”

  “What happens then?”

  “Most of the Savages, the vampires who enjoy killing others, can’t tolerate sunlight.”

  “But you can?”

  “Yes.”

  “You said most, why just most?”

  “Some of them haven’t killed enough to completely lose their ability to walk in the day,” Mike answered. “If these bastards have any Savages like that working for or with them, then they’ll probably hunt us in the daytime too. Also, these woods are so thick, there won’t be as much direct sun, so some of them will be able to move through here without an issue. Sometimes, humans also work for Savages, and they can hunt us too. We’re going to have to find a way out of this forest tomorrow, if we can.”

  “And find Aida,” she stated.

  “And find Aida,” he agreed, though he planned to get Mollie somewhere safe before looking for her sister.

  “Why would humans work with these Savages?” she asked, appalled by the idea of anyone agreeing to help these monsters.

  “Some people will do anything for a chance at immortality.”

  “And vampires are immortal?”

  “Yes.”

  The possibility of never dying boggled her mind. What must it be like not to fear any of the millions of ways humans could die every day? Probably empowering and more than a little overwhelming. She also suspected eternity might get a little boring after the first thousand years or so.

  “So, will you ever age beyond what you look like now?” she asked.

  “No.”

  Mollie blinked at him. He looked a little older than her, but only because there was a sad wisdom in his eyes that most twenty-something-year-olds didn’t possess. However, he could be two thousand years old for all she knew.

  “How old are you?” she asked.

  “How old was I when I was turned, or how old am I now?” he inquired.

  “Both.”

  “I was twenty-one when I became a vampire; I’m fifty-two now. I’ll be fifty-three July eighth.”

  Mollie’s breath sucked in; he wasn’t two thousand, but he was over double her age!

  Her grip tightened on her gun as she debated braining him with it and bolting out of here and away from this insanity, or staying here and letting it play out.

  In the end, she had no choice; she wouldn’t make it on her own out there. She had no idea what she was up against, but he did, and she would do anything to find Aida.

  “And what about you, Mollie? How old are you?” he asked.

  The deep baritone of his voice warmed her to the tips of her toes.

  “I turned twenty-three on October thirteenth,” she murmured before stifling a yawn.

  “You should rest.”

  “I can’t.”

  How could she possibly sleep next to someone who would drink her blood? But then, maybe he didn’t drink blood. She’d seen the other vamp drinking the blood from the assmunch who shot at her, but maybe Mike was different. He hadn’t tried to suck her dry yet, after all.

  “Do you drink blood?” she blurted.

  “Yes.”

  Mollie huddled closer to the tree and shifted her hold on the gun.

  “I won’t drink yours unless you offer it to me,” he murmured when he detected the increased beat of her heart.

  “Offer it to you?” Mollie croaked.

  “Yes. If you offer me your blood, I will gladly accept.”

  Mollie jumped when his finger caressed the side of her neck. She should knock his hand away; instead, she found herself breathlessly questioning what he would do next.

  Then his finger stilled on her throat. “I bet you taste better than you smell.”

  She hadn’t realized he’d moved so close to her. Other than his finger, no other part of him touched her, but his breath caressed her neck when he spoke. What would it feel like if he did drink her blood? Or what if he kissed her as he almost had earlier? As disgusting as having him drinking from her sounded, her skin tingled at the possibility, and she found herself feeling more alive than she’d ever felt.

  “And what do I smell like?” she managed to ask.

  “Apples, but not just any apples, you smell like the apples that match your eyes. Granny Smith, I believed they’re called.”

  His nearness was making her head spin, or maybe it was spinning because there was nothing in her stomach and she’d been through Hell these past two days. Either way, she needed distance from him. His finger fell away when she turned her head to the side.

  Mike buried his disappointment when she shifted away from him. When her stomach grumbled again, he sat back from her. “I’ll get you some food in the morning,” he promised.

  “It’s okay; I’m used to going without eating.”

  “What do you mean you’re used to going without eating? Why?” he demanded.

  Mollie lowered her head into her hands and rubbed at her forehead. She must be more drained than she realized if she’d said those words aloud. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m tired.”

  “You’ll feel better with something to eat.”

  “Okay,” she muttered in the hopes he’d drop the topic.

  She rested her head against the tree and closed her eyes. Sitting still, the brisk air seeped through her clothes to caress her skin. Back home, it would have been warmer at night, but this far north in Canada the nights were still cool. Then she recalled she had no idea how far north they were or if they were even still in Canada. With a sigh, Mollie set the rifle beside her and hugged her knees to her chest.

  “Will you let me hold you?” Mike inquired. “It will keep us both warmer.”

  Mollie almost said no; she both liked and feared the way he made her feel, but freezing to death wouldn’t solve anything, and though she could be stubborn, she wasn’t stupid.

  “Yes,” she said.

  When his arms swept around her and he pulled her against his chest, Mollie realized she’d agreed to this for more reasons than to stay warm. She’d missed the feel of his arms around her. She was too tired to analyze her feelings as she cuddled closer and closed her eyes.

  There was a chance he could kill her while she slept, but she couldn’t bring herself to care as his warmth enveloped her. Though she’d been certain she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep next to him, she was out almost instantly.

  Chapter Twelve

  Mike found himself staring down the barrel of Mollie’s rifle when he crawled back into their tiny alcove the next morning. She stared at him for a minute before lowering the gun. The circles shadowing her eyes before she fell asleep last night had eased, but she stifled a yawn as her shoulders slumped warily.

  He’d brought something back with him that he hoped would revitalize her. Peering out of the alcove, he scanned the area and scented the air before dragging the two rabbits he’d caught and roasted inside.

  “What is that?” Mollie inquired when the enticing scent of cooked meat wafted to her.

  Mike turned and held out two tiny, blackened ca
rcasses. Saliva rushed into her mouth, and for a second, her vision blurred. She had no idea what they were, but they smelled delicious.

  “Rabbit,” Mike said, holding them toward her.

  Now that he’d said it, she could tell they were bunnies. “Thumper?” she murmured, uncertain how to feel about eating the cute creatures with their oversized ears and twitching noses.

  “No, not Thumper,” Mike replied with a smile. “Do you want them?”

  Under normal circumstances, she would have turned down the meal—she didn’t even like chicken on the bone—but this was far from normal. Besides, the rabbits were already dead; making the trip into her belly couldn’t be any worse for them, and she couldn’t let them go to waste.

  “No,” she said. “I mean, yes! Yes, I want them.”

  When Mike held the bodies out to her, she stared at the back legs dangling from his large hand. She reached for them, but she didn’t know how to take them.

  “Here,” Mike said.

  He handed her one, and she closed her fingers around it. The rabbit was still warm in her hands as she picked off a piece of meat. She would have given anything for something to wash down the meal as she was unbelievably thirsty, but she didn’t dare drink from the stream. She didn’t know what kind of bugs and parasites it might contain.

  “How did you catch, skin, and cook them?” she asked then moaned when the meat hit her tongue. It was difficult to chew but delicious. Sorry, Thumper.

  “I’m a hunter by nature, and it doesn’t matter if the prey is human or animal,” he replied.

  Her fingers hesitated on the rabbit before she pulled off another piece of meat. “I see.”

  “I cooked them over a mile away, so the scent of fire and meat wouldn’t bring any predators near you.”

  “But they could have found you,” she said. The possibility of him going out there and not returning made her skin crawl. He’d left after daybreak to scout the area and hunt, but she hadn’t expected him to take such a risk.

  “I was counting on the sun driving most of the Savages away, and I found a small alcove, like this one, to cook in so the scent and smoke were kept to a minimum. Before I left, I set another fire outside and placed another rabbit over it to cook. If there are any Savages still hunting for us, they’ll be searching in an area we’re heading away from.”

  “Smart.”

  The grin he flashed her did funny things to her insides and caused her to freeze in the middle of chewing.

  “I’m more than an extremely handsome face,” he said and winked at her.

  Mollie gulped her rabbit down as she tried to think of some response, but his smile rattled her brain. “That’s still up for debate,” she finally said.

  He laughed. “So that means you think I’m handsome.”

  Was he flirting with her? Vampires flirted? The idea was preposterous, but she couldn’t deny that’s what he seemed to be doing as his blue eyes twinkled in the light filtering through the branches and vines.

  “It means I’ll have to see if you’re more brains or brawn,” she muttered.

  “I’m both,” he assured her. “And just so you know, I’m okay with you finding me handsome as I find you quite intriguing.”

  “I bet you say that to all the girls,” she snorted, but she couldn’t stop a blush from scorching her cheeks.

  He found her intriguing? She wasn’t sure what he meant by it, but the idea pleased her more than she would have believed possible. She resisted tugging at the collar of her shirt as her blush spread to her body.

  His amusement vanished as his eyes held hers. “I’ve never said that to anyone but you.” Sensing her increasing discomfort, Mike decided to change the subject. “Where are you from?”

  “Where are you from?” she retorted defensively. She was still trying to get her blush under control and had no idea what to make of him.

  Mike hesitated as he contemplated how much to reveal to her, but he could give her enough of the truth to retain her trust in him while also keeping his loved ones protected. Messing with her mind and taking her memories from her was not an option for him. He didn’t know what he would do when the time came for Mollie to return to her life; it wouldn’t be safe for her to retain her knowledge of vampires, but that was a problem for another day.

  He also had the problem of the memories of the other humans they freed. Some of them might not know who imprisoned them, and might not have seen much, but some of them had seen enough to be aware of what captured them. He would have to figure out a way to locate those people and change their memories; but first, he had to survive.

  “Originally, I’m from Massachusetts. Then I moved to Oregon, and now I live in Maine with my friends and family,” he said to Mollie.

  “You have a family?” Mollie held her breath as she waited for his answer. Please don’t be married.

  “Yes; they’re not blood relatives, but they’re my family all the same. My parents both died in their fifties. My mom from a heart attack, and my dad had an aneurysm. Going by my genetics, it’s probably a good thing I became a vamp, or I might be dead by now. I never had any siblings, but my friends are closer to me than any brother or sister could be. My friend Liam’s children, and their children, are my nieces and nephews. We’ve all been together for many years, and we’ve been through a lot more than most families.”

  His strange life fascinated her, but so many questions tumbled through her mind that she couldn’t settle on one.

  Finally, she asked, “How did you become a vampire?”

  Mike sighed and draped an arm over his knee. “When I was in college, a vampire named Beth fell in love with Liam, or at least she claimed to love him. After everything I’ve seen when it comes to vampires and their mates, she most definitely was not in love with him. Beth changed Liam, but when he rejected her, she hunted down his best friends and decided to change us too. She thought it would make Liam fall in line with her and we’d be one big, fucked-up family.”

  Mollie set the remains of the first rabbit aside and picked up the second. Her stomach still rumbled, but she was starting to feel a little fuller. “What a strange thing to do.”

  “Beth was more like the ones hunting us than like myself and my family.”

  “And you and your whole family are good vampires?”

  “I’m not sure you could call us good. We’ve killed to protect those we love, but we don’t kill humans or innocents, and that is what turns a vampire into a Savage.”

  “I see.”

  Mollie munched on the rabbit as she contemplated what he’d revealed to her. Outside, the song of the birds became increasingly louder as the morning crept onward. “Wait, you said Liam’s children and their children, vampires can have sex?”

  Mike snorted before flashing her a cocky grin. “Quite well, I assure you.”

  That damn blush was back again as she recalled how his body felt against hers and the way it had made her react. Despite what she knew him to be, she couldn’t help speculating what sex with him would be like—mind-blowing.

  “So you’re not, like, dead or the living dead?” she asked.

  “No, we have heartbeats, blood, and sperm. During the change, there is a second when our mortal heart ceases to beat and our immortal one takes over.”

  “Wow,” she breathed. “And you can all have kids?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are they vampires too?”

  “Depends on the parents. If both parents are vampires, then they will have a purebred offspring. If one parent is human, then the offspring will be human but can be stronger than a normal person.”

  “I thought the only way to become a vampire was to die or exchange blood or something like that.”

  “An exchange of blood while dying is one way to become a vamp, but purebred vampires are born, and they’re stronger than a turned vampire, such as myself.”

  “What a strange, fascinating, creepy world.”

  Mike laughed. “You don’t know the half of
it.”

  “No one ever knows the half of anything.”

  “Very true. You can never tell anyone what I’ve revealed to you.”

  “Who would I tell? Who would believe me? The existence of vampires is safe with me until the day I die.”

  For some reason, her casual mention of her death caused his fangs to lengthen. He’d caught and fed from two deer earlier, it should have been enough blood to keep him sated for at least the next couple of days, but hunger scorched his veins as his gaze traveled to her neck.

  I will not allow her to die! But he had no choice; as a mortal, her life would run its course until the inevitable end, unless he changed her.

  Never before had Mike considered creating another vampire. It wasn’t a fate he’d wish on anyone. Yes, he had a large, loving family he would die to protect, and Mike cherished every one of them, but he’d experienced far more death, violence, and uncertainty in his life as a vampire than if he’d remained human.

  In some way, there was also more loneliness in his life as a vampire. He’d known a lot of women over the years, but he’d never gotten close to them, and none of them had been his mate. When he watched his friends, nieces, and nephews finding their mates and falling in love, he was happy for each of them, but a part of him was also jealous.

  One day, he wanted to find someone to share his life with, and he wanted children. He didn’t require a mate to have a child, but he wanted to be bound to someone before he shared kids with them.

  “Your shoulder looks a lot better,” Mollie said.

  She licked the rabbit juice from her fingers as she tried to hide her unease over the fact he’d been shot yesterday, but no blood trickled from the injury anymore. What she could see of the bullet hole through his torn shirt appeared to be healed.

  Mike rolled his shoulder back. It was still sore, as was the rest of him, but most of his injuries healed during the night, and the rest repaired themselves after he fed. “It is better,” he said.

  Mollie gulped. “Um, is accelerated healing a vampire thing?”