The Reluctant Vampire taf-15

by Lynsay Sands

  “Hi,” Drina said, and frowned at the sound that croaked out of her parched throat.

  “You need more blood.” He rolled away and sat up, then stood and moved around the bed and out of sight. Drina had to shift onto her back to follow him with her eyes as he moved to a set of coolers by the window. He opened one, retrieved a bag of blood, and returned, but, when she realized they were in her room, she turned her attention to the bed beside her own.

  Seeing Stephanie sleeping in the next bed, she half sat up, whispering with confusion, “What are you doing in here?”

  “You don’t remember the accident?” Harper asked, sinking to sit next to her on the mattress.

  Drina opened her mouth to say no, but paused as memory came crashing in. She sucked in a breath as horror washed over her in the wake of the memories, and then fell back on the bed with a guttural sound, her eyes running briefly over Harper to be sure he was wholly intact, and then to Stephanie again. She looked fine. Unmarked and pink-cheeked, her breathing even.

  “She’ll probably wake up soon too,” Harper murmured, offering Drina the bag of blood he’d retrieved.

  Drina sat up and shifted up the bed to lean against the headboard, then accepted the blood.

  “What happened to the brakes?” she asked, recalling Stephanie’s saying something about them just before the accident.

  Harper waited until she popped the bag of blood to her fangs before saying grimly, “The brake lines were cut.”

  Drina frowned around the bag in her mouth.

  “There’s some worry it’s Leonius playing nasty games before he tries to take Stephanie,” he admitted. “So everyone’s on high alert. Lucian wants you and Stephanie on your feet and Tiny turned as quickly as possible. He called Alessandro and Edward and asked them to bring their mates and come help out till the turn is done,” he added, and then seeing her confusion, explained, “Edward and Alessandro are the other two immortals who came in answer to the ad Teddy and a friend of Elvi’s named Mabel, put in the Toronto papers for a vampire mate for her.”

  Drina immediately nodded. Harper had told her how he’d landed in Port Henry during their twenty-four hours in Toronto. While she hadn’t recognized the names when he’d mentioned them a moment ago, she knew who the men were and knew that they’d become good friends to Harper this last year and a half.

  “Alessandro, Edward, and their mates arrived a few minutes ago,” Harper informed her. “Teddy, Tiny, and Mirabeau went downstairs with Anders to greet them and coordinate everything. Until then, we’d been feeding you and Stephanie bag after bag of blood, trying to rush you through the healing. They were administering it intravenously before that.”

  Drina grimaced, suddenly understanding the dry mouth. The slower the blood entered the body, the slower the healing was, but it was also less painful. When the blood was fed through the fangs bag after bag, it hit the system fast and sent the nanos into a frenzy of healing that hurt like hell. She’d probably been screaming her head off until the worst of the healing was done.

  She turned and glanced toward Stephanie again.

  “They were pouring it down her throat,” Harper said quietly. “It seemed to work just as well.”

  Drina nodded and pulled the now-empty bag off her fangs.

  “Do you want another?” Harper asked, getting up.

  “No.” Drina smiled wryly. “I think I’m probably good for blood, but water would be nice.”

  He leaned to the side at once and picked up a glass of the clear liquid from the bedside table.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, accepting it. Drina was very happy to see that her hand didn’t tremble as she raised the glass to her lips. She wasn’t suffering any lingering weakness. At least she didn’t appear to be, she thought as she drank half the water down in one go. Drina paused to breathe and smile at him, and then downed the rest of the glass before handing it back.

  Harper set it on the table, then reached out to slide his hand into the hair at the back of her neck and pulled her forward to press his forehead to hers. “I’m sorry.”

  Drina nodded solemnly, bumping her forehead on his nose as she did. “You should be. You should have spun the wheel so your side of the car took the impact and saved Stephanie and me all this.”

  Harper pulled back with amazement. “Crap, I didn’t think of that.”

  “Idiot,” Drina chided, rolling her eyes. “Honestly! I was joking. I wouldn’t have wanted that any more than you wanted my getting injured to occur. This wasn’t your fault. And we’re all fine. That’s the important thing.”

  A small smile tugged at his lips, and Harper suddenly leaned forward to kiss her. Afraid her breath was less than pleasant at the moment, Drina froze, but if it was bad, Harper didn’t seem to care. When he deepened the kiss, she sighed and allowed him to ease her back on the bed.

  “Geez, guys, really? Right there in the bed beside me?”

  That husky growl from Stephanie made them both stiffen, and then Harper straightened, bringing Drina upright with him again. They turned to peer at the girl together.

  “How are you feeling?” Drina asked quietly, as Harper released her.

  “Thirsty,” Stephanie said on a sigh, sitting up as well and rubbing sleep from her eyes.

  “Blood thirsty or water thirsty?” Drina asked at once.

  Stephanie hesitated, and then sighed and admitted, “Maybe both.”

  Harper immediately stood to return to the cooler and brought back a bag for the girl, only to pause. “We don’t have straws. Mirabeau was just stabbing the bag and letting it pour down your throat.”

  Stephanie immediately tipped her head back and opened her mouth, apparently willing to go that route to get what she needed. When Harper hesitated, Drina realized what the problem was and stood to take the bag from him. He had no nails. She did. She positioned the bag over Stephanie’s mouth and quickly stabbed the bag, then squeezed to force the liquid out more quickly as the teenager swallowed over and over.

  “More?” Drina asked when it was empty. When Stephanie paused to consider, but then shook her head, Drina tossed the bag in a garbage pail that had been positioned between the two beds, picked up a second glass of water from the bedside table, and offered it to her.

  “That was some crash,” Stephanie muttered as she accepted the glass.

  “The brake lines were cut,” Drina said quietly as Stephanie took a drink.

  “Nice,” the girl said dryly, and glanced to Harper. “So who have you pissed off besides Drina?”

  “He didn’t piss me off,” Drina said at once, and when Stephanie snorted, added, “Well, perhaps I was a bit frustrated after we returned from Toronto when he seemed to be avoiding me, but I wasn’t pissed off. . much.”

  Harper chuckled and slid his arm around her. “Well, don’t worry. I’ve come to my senses. I won’t be dragging my feet or avoiding you from now on, so you won’t be pissed off or frustrated again.” He smiled wryly, and added, “At least not about that.”

  “So you’re ready to accept her as a life mate?” Stephanie asked with a grin.

  “Do I have a choice?” he asked dryly. “She just is.”

  “Hey! You’re blessed to be my life mate,” Drina snapped, punching him in the stomach for the crack, and with more than just a teasing force behind it.

  Harper winced and shook his head. “I don’t know. A lifetime of your fiery Spanish temperament? I think it’s more a curse than a blessing.”

  “Don’t listen to him, Dree,” Stephanie said with amusement. “He’s just winding you up. It used to bother him that Jenny was such a cold fish. He likes your passion.”

  “Really?” Drina asked with interest, but her eyes were on Harper, noting the way his eyes had widened with surprise, as if he’d just realized the truth of those words himself.

  “Oh, good, you’re up.”

  Drina glanced over her shoulder to see Mirabeau entering the room.

  “How are you two doing? Do you need more blood?”
Mirabeau asked.

  “I think we’re good at the moment,” Drina answered for both herself and Stephanie.

  “How about food then?” Mirabeau asked. “Alessandro and Leonora brought a big batch of spaghetti and a bunch of garlic bread for everyone, and we’re going to eat before we start Tiny’s turn.”

  “Is there Parmesan cheese?” Stephanie asked.

  “Freshly grated,” Mirabeau assured her.

  “Yum.” Stephanie was off the bed at once and hurrying for the door.

  Smiling wryly, Drina started to follow, but slowed, her smile widening when Harper caught her hand in his. It seemed he’d meant what he’d said. He’d come to his senses and wasn’t going to fight their being life mates.

  Drina paused at the head of the bed in Mirabeau and Tiny’s room, and then glanced around to watch the rest of the crew file in. There was Mirabeau and Tiny of course, Stephanie, Anders, and Teddy Brunswick, and then came the people she’d never met until little more than half an hour ago-Alessandro and Leonora Cipriano, and Edward and Dawn Kenric.

  Alessandro and Leonora, both olive-skinned and sporting long, dark hair, were similar enough in looks that they could have been brother and sister, but a brother and sister would never find any and every excuse to touch each other. Nor would they look at each other the way these two did, devouring each other with bronzed brown eyes full of love and desire.

  In contrast, Edward and Dawn Kenric were fair-skinned and fair-haired. They were also more conservative in behavior. They still shared the same touches and exchanged passionate looks, but only when they thought no one else was looking.

  Harper had told Drina that Edward had been the most arrogant, annoying bastard he’d ever known, until he met Dawn, but that finding her had changed him considerably, and he now actually called him a friend.

  Altogether, what they had was a small army in that room, Drina thought grimly as she took in their numbers. That being the case, she wasn’t terribly surprised when Tiny suddenly said, “Surely it isn’t necessary for all of you to be up here? Shouldn’t some of you be downstairs watching the doors and windows?”

  “Most of us will go downstairs once your turn is under way,” Edward said, reminding the mortal of what they’d apparently decided earlier. “Then we’ll take turns watching over you until it’s finished.”

  “Yeah, but why are so many here for the start?” Tiny asked with a frown. “We don’t need this many people, surely? Even little Stephanie here could probably bench-press me with one hand.”

  Seeing the distress on Mirabeau’s face, Drina said, “Maybe, but you’re a big guy, Tiny, and pretty strong for a mortal. Once the nanos hit, you’ll be even stronger. And in pain. .” She shrugged, leaving the rest unsaid but thinking they’d be lucky if he didn’t toss someone out a window in his distress.

  “Don’t worry, son. It will be all right,” Leonora Cipriano crooned and moved over to hug the big man and pat his back as if he were a five-year-old who needed soothing.

  Drina glanced to Harper in question, and he murmured, “She’s eighty-six or thereabouts, just turned the summer before last.”

  Drina nodded with understanding. The woman might look twenty-five now, but in her head, she was still the grandmotherly old woman she’d been before her turn. To her, Tiny was just a boy.

  “Well, let’s get to it,” Teddy said bracingly, as Leonora released Tiny and stepped back to Alessandro’s side.

  “Right.” Tiny glanced to Mirabeau, and seeing the worry on her face, reached out to caress her cheek. “It’s all right, Beau. By this time tomorrow, it will be over. Or maybe the next day,” he added with a frown. “Marguerite told me that different people take different lengths of time to turn.”

  “That’s true,” Harper murmured.

  Tiny nodded and glanced around. “So, you’ll need some rope, right?”

  “All taken care of,” Kenric announced. “We brought chain. Speaking of which, we left it in the garage. I’ll go get it.”

  “Chains?” Tiny asked, eyes widening as the Englishman hurried out of the room.

  “Si,” Alessandro began, nodding. “The Lucian, he say is best we-”

  “Rope is sometimes used, but chain is better,” Leonora interrupted, slipping her hand into her husband’s and giving a shake of her head when he glanced to her in surprise. She then turned back to Tiny, and added, “They used rope for me and I snapped the tie on my right wrist before the end of the turn and I was just an old woman, so when Lucian suggested chain, it seemed a good idea.”

  “Right,” Tiny repeated weakly, but he was starting to look a bit gray around the gills, and Mirabeau was beginning to wring her hands with worry as it was brought home to her what a dangerous endeavor the turning could be.

  Edward hadn’t dallied about collecting the chain. Leonora had barely finished speaking when he returned with several lengths of heavy-duty chain made up of large, thick links. Even Drina had to bite her lip when she saw it. An elephant would have had trouble snapping them.

  “Well, let’s get started,” she said with forced cheer, thinking it was better just to get it done than to delay. The more time he had to think, the more anxious Tiny would get.

  “Do I need to change or anything? Or do I just lie down?” Tiny asked, and the uncertainty in his voice caught her ear.

  “You might want to take off your shirt if you’re especially fond of it,” Drina murmured. “And change your pants if you like those as well.”

  Tiny didn’t ask questions, he merely shrugged out of his T-shirt. Apparently he wasn’t overly fond of the joggers, though, because once his shirt was off, he simply lay down on the bed.

  It was Teddy who asked, “Why? What’s going to happen to his clothes? He’s not going to hulk out or something, is he?”

  “No,” Drina assured the older mortal with amusement. “But the nanos will force out any impurities through his skin. It’s hard to get the clothes clean afterward.”

  “I’ll say,” Stephanie muttered with disgust. “I was wearing my favorite top when I turned. I washed it six times before I gave up trying to get the stink out.” She grimaced, and then added, “The bed I was on was ruined too. They hadn’t thought to put one of those bed-protector things on before laying me in it.”

  Tiny was immediately hopping off the bed as if it were hot coals. Without a word, he tugged the blankets and sheets up at one corner to reveal a bed protector underneath with one side plastic, the other cloth. He didn’t return the bedding then, but pulled the sheets off completely and tossed them in the corner of the room, leaving only the protector, muttering, “No sense ruining Elvi’s sheets.”

  Edward immediately moved forward with the chains and quickly half tossed and half slid the first under the metal frame. Alessandro pulled it out the other side, and then moved to the foot of the bed as Edward repeated the process there. Once done threading chain under the bed at both the top and bottom, Alessandro straightened and nodded with approval. “Bella. Is good.”

  Tiny grunted something of a response and climbed back onto the mattress protector.

  Drina moved toward the two coolers Anders had moved to the room earlier. “Did Lucian send any-”

  “The green cooler,” Anders interrupted before she could finish, and Drina closed the red cooler she’d just opened, which held only blood, and moved to the second, green cooler. Opening it, she nodded as she spotted the little medical case inside. She knew it would contain needles and ampoules of various drugs. They wouldn’t prevent Tiny’s experiencing the pain, but would dull it somewhat and keep him from getting too active during the worst of it. Unfortunately, they couldn’t be administered until after the turn had started. The dosage would kill a mortal without the benefit of the nanos in their system. She straightened and opened the case to reveal the items lined up inside.

  “Are those the nanos?” Tiny asked warily.

  “No,” Drina answered. “These are drugs to help you through the turn.”

  Tiny frown
ed, and Stephanie-obviously reading his thoughts-piped up, and said, “Oh believe me, you do want the drugs. They don’t do much, but they’re better than nothing at all.”

  Leonora and Dawn nodded in solemn agreement. They were the only immortals there besides the teenager who had been turned. The rest of them had been born immortal and avoided this necessity. Tiny knew that as well and peered from one solemn face to the other, before clearing his throat, and asking, “So what can I expect here?”

  When the older women hesitated, Stephanie grimaced, and said honestly, “It’s gonna hurt like the dickens, Tiny. It feels like you’re being torn apart from the inside out and I guess that’s kind of what the nanos are doing.” She breathed out a little sigh, and then added, “But the nightmares are the worst part.”

  Tiny raised his eyebrows. “Nightmares?”

  “Or hallucinations or whatever,” Stephanie said unhappily. “I was in a river of blood. It was burning, the flames leaping all around me, and I was caught in a current and being dragged downstream. I couldn’t get out, and these mutilated and bloated corpses kept floating by while I just screamed and screamed. And then the current pulled me under, and I was choking on the burning blood.” She shuddered at the memory. “And then I woke up, and it was over.”

  “I had the same nightmares,” Leonora said with surprise.

  “Me too,” Dawn announced. She then murmured, “I wonder if it’s your brain trying to understand what’s happening inside your body.”

  Drina didn’t comment but thought it a possibility. Every turn she’d ever talked to had had the same, or similar, nightmares. Rivers of blood, fire, corpses floating past, and then being pulled under either by the corpses in the water with them or by the current itself, followed by the sensation of drowning on the blood they inadvertently swallowed as they screamed. It was always the same with little in the way of variation.

  “Why don’t we just leave it for now and do this another time,” Mirabeau said with a frown.