However, once he had told her, she’d become one of his regular sources of nourishment, and he missed the closeness that he’d shared with her. It had been such a relief to be honest with her and not have her go running for the hills. And when she had offered her own blood to him? Well, he was speechless. At first, he had refused, thinking that the boundaries were being pushed too far, but she had accepted that element of his life and wanted to be part of it.
The first time he drank from her, they’d both been shaking that badly that they nearly had to call it quits. He didn’t want to hurt her and she was fearing the unknown. Would it hurt? Jackson couldn’t say for sure, because he had never bitten a human who hadn’t experienced it before. He knew that there were people out there who relished the bite. It was the whole pleasure/pain thing. A vampire bite was often described as one of the most sexual highs you could ever achieve, that blissful buzz that lingered longer than any physical sexual satisfaction could ever hope to.
Sure, before that first bite, they had had a purely platonic relationship. But after? Things changed. For the better. They both agreed on that. It was what brought them together, but she would always be his best friend for life, no matter what. They had both promised to keep in constant (or at least as constant as his training allowed) contact by phone and email, and he knew that they always would. If she needed him, she knew that he would be there in a flash, and vice versa.
That was what he wanted right now. He wanted the familiar. The known. He didn’t want to be walking down this hallway to some stranger. He wanted what he knew. He wanted what he was comfortable with.
But, he had no choice.
Heading down the main corridor, which seemed to lead to a sitting room, he saw an older woman get up from the lavish sofa and turn to smile at him before he had even had a chance to announce himself.
“Hello? Jackson? Good afternoon, I’m Sofia. We were told to expect you.” she said, smiling in a way that instantly softened his shoulders. She was a homely looking woman, with a short brown bob, average height, and average figure. She kind of reminded him of Jackie, the mother of the human family that he had grown up visiting for nourishment.
The humans here worked on a nocturnal schedule, because it wouldn’t do for them to be sleeping when they were called on. It was just common sense really. To someone on the outside, it may sound a little strange to hear someone saying ‘good afternoon’ in the middle of the night, but that was just how things were when you hung around with vampires. They had their morning when they woke up at sunset, afternoon in the early morning and evening shortly before they retired before sunrise. It didn’t seem at all weird to any of them, after all, it was normal for them, as it was for the humans who served them.
“Yes, thank you.” he replied politely. After all, it wasn’t their fault that he wasn’t comfortable with the situation, and he appreciated this woman trying to make him feel at home with her winning smile.
“Louisa Mae will be out with you in a moment, would you care to take a seat while you are waiting? Perhaps I could bring you something to drink? Tea? Coffee?”
Jackson smiled and thanked her again as he sat down, but declined anything to drink. He didn’t want to appear rude, but he didn’t think his stomach could cope with anything but blood right now. The craving was worse than ever, and it took quite a bit of effort for him not to double over with the pain.
Waiting was even worse. If only he could just get it over and done with, then he could get on with the rest of the day and forget about all this. A door opened and a young woman who appeared to be around his age emerged. Looking over at Jackson, she smiled also. They sure were a friendly bunch down here, all smiles.
“Hey, you must be Jax. Welcome to the Sons.” her voice was as soft as cotton candy and as she noticed his reticent, she smiled wider and beckoned him forth with her hand.
“Yeah, thank you. And you are?” There was something vaguely familiar about her. At first glance he couldn’t put his finger on it, but up close, he now realised that her eyes were the same shade as Maria’s. He didn’t know if that was a comforting factor or not at this present time.
“I am Louisa Mae, I will be your host for this evening,” she tried to make light of the situation. She could tell that this one sure was nervous about coming down here, “Come on, Jackson. Come on through. We don’t bite.” they both laughed at that.
It was ridiculous. Here he was, the one who was nervous, and she didn’t bat an eyelid and she was about to get bitten by a vampire. Where was the logic in that?
“It’s okay, honestly. Please come in. It won’t be half as bad as what you think, I promise.”
Jackson took a deep breath and followed her through.
Well, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Louisa Mae chattered all the time while he entered the room and got himself as comfortable as he could manage. She was such a refreshing breath of fresh air after being cooped up with all these males since the moment he set foot in this place. He calmed down considerably and in the end it felt quite natural for him to take what she was offering.
After all, it was only a personal thing if you made it that way. None of this had to be in any way sexual. She was a professional (not meant in a derogatory way) just as the family he had connected with growing up. Look at what had happened between him and Maria. That had only gotten personal between the two of them because they had decided, mutually, that they wanted to cross that line.
Being here with Louisa Mae, he realised that this could be done without any emotional torment. He was a grown ass man now and could deal with it rationally. Plus, she knew exactly what she was doing and he wasn’t out there preying on unsuspecting innocents. Not that he would ever dream of doing such a thing, but he knew others that did. Not in a menacing way. They didn’t lurk in the shadows of the night or anything. But, there were plenty of fetish clubs out there that welcomed what the Lamia brought to them. It just wasn’t Jackson’s scene.
Thanking her again, he left the room with a small smile. He’d done it. That was another hurdle that he had managed to overcome. He knew that the next time he had to venture down here, that it wouldn’t be so excruciatingly awkward.
Chapter Fifteen.
“Who was that?” Ash asked Kayleigh, as she watched the boy who was dripping milk in a trail behind him, quickly exiting the cafeteria.
“That’s Jackson. He’s one of our newest trainee. He’ll be in your combat training year.” she looked a little distracted for a moment before saying, “Will you excuse me for one minute, please, Aisline? If you would like to get whatever you want to eat and head over to where Warrior Kelton is sat, I’ll be back with you as soon as I can.”
As Aisline nodded, Kayleigh strode away, heading for another boy who was laughing hysterically. Ash kept one eye on what was happening with Kayleigh, who was berating the guy who had apparently been the one to pour a glass of milk over the other cute guy. As she piled her plate high with an assortment of delicious looking things, before turning to make her way over to Kelton.
Then she stopped.
Just because she was the only female warrior trainee in the place, it didn’t mean that she had to have her own security detail and go and sit over with the faculty. There was no way she was going to do that now that she had stopped and thought about it. Spotting an empty table over the far side of the room, she carefully made her way to it.
Every single pair of eyes in the place were glued to her every movement. She had to take extra care where and how she walked to make sure that she didn’t fall flat on her face in front of the entire student body. That was not how she wanted to start things out here. She could feel herself blushing at the mere thought of it.
Finally, she made it to the table and sat down quickly, glancing around to find that everyone was still staring intently at her. Kelton caught her eye and she thought that she saw the corners of his mouth turn up slightly as he gave her a small nod. She hoped that that meant that he approved of her choice
of where to sit, of her little stand for independence.
Without thinking about what she was doing, Aisline dropped her head forward and let her hair fall freely into her face, creating a security blanket between her and all of the inquisitive males in the room. Then she realised that she didn’t want to appear to be weak. She didn’t need to hide from anyone or anything. She’d already made her first stand by eating alone, despite the murmur of speculation that surrounded her. She didn’t need the protection of the teachers here. She didn’t need the protection of anybody. She was going to be the protector now. She was sitting here, in the midst of all these trainee male warriors, and she hoped that she was making the right statement. Ash didn’t want to be seen as just a pretty piece of ass or a bit of eye candy to brighten up their day. She wanted to be seen as their equal.
So, she flicked her hair over her shoulder and sat a little straighter in her regulation plastic chair and concentrated on eating. Which was a pretty hard task when there are a couple of hundred pairs of eyes trained on you.
Kayleigh smiled as she walked over to her, “Is everything okay for you?”
“Fine, I’m good, thank you.” Aisline hoped that she hadn’t offended Kayleigh by not following her instructions, but her smile seemed genuine enough. Ash thought that Kayleigh would understand what she was doing and why.
“I’m just going to grab some breakfast for myself and then the three of us will meet back in Kelton’s office when you’ve finished up here.”
With another cheery smile, Kayleigh turned and left her to it again.
All those eyes were still on her.
Great.
After consuming a vast amount of food, probably more than she had ever had in one sitting, she sat back with a full stomach. Her mother was always on at her for eating like a pig. It was apparently more lady like to leave some of your meal unfinished, and not to eat like a gannet, but she was bloody starving. Plus, she was out from under the watchful eye of her mother - how liberating. Ash saw Warrior Kelton and Kayleigh stand up to leave, so she quickly grabbed her tray and followed some of the other guys over to where the dirty plates were stacked.
She was happy that she had exerted her independence already, but feared that she had forgotten the way back through the maze of corridors to Kelton’s office, so she wanted to catch up with the pair of them if she could. Ash did not want to get lost today.
Not that any of the other trainees made that very easy for her. As soon as she had gotten up from her table, each male that she passed by tried to stop her, to ask her name, to enquire as to what was up with her unusual mark, to see what she was doing at the school. But, all she could do was smile politely at them and dodge their questions as well as she could and push her way through the crowd before she lost sight of Kayleigh and Kelton.
Arriving at the main doors, she was just in time to see them strolling around the corner. Ash sped up and tried to follow them at a discrete distance. They really did make a gorgeous couple. Looking at them objectively, they complimented one another. They seemed so at ease with each other, and that flowed through to their working relationship. Ash had already witnessed how well they gelled together.
But, Kelton was truly a warrior of worth and nobody could sneak up on him, and he all too soon turned around to smile at her and beckon her forward to walk alongside them.
“So, how did you find it?” Kayleigh asked, waving a hand back towards the dinner hall.
“I felt a bit like a monkey in a zoo, to be honest with you.” Aisline replied with a wry smile. It hadn’t been all that bad, but it wasn’t the most comfortable meal time she had ever had.
Kelton laughed out loud at that, “Yeah, I can understand why you’d feel like that. You are a bit of a novelty around here. You’d better get used to it.
After about a thousand different twists and turns, they arrived at their destination and Kayleigh quickly fussed over her like a mother hen before turning all business like. Ash was glad that she had had the sense to catch up with them - she would have still been wandering aimlessly around the corridors this time next month. The academy was huge and the flowing colour scheme of pale greys and ivories did nothing to distinguish the areas of the place from one another. Truly, if someone else stumbled upon this place, they’d be walking around in circles, never to emerge in daylight again.
Sitting in Master Warrior Kelton’s office, once again with her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of tea courtesy of Kayleigh, Aisline watched as they both took in turns clicking away on his laptop. There wasn’t much else for her to do but glance around at the sparse décor of the room.
It was all very manly and functional. The only personal item in the whole office was a photo of Kelton and Kayleigh standing together in the moonlight, laughing, looking young and very happy together. It was a nice thing to see, especially seeing as all people ever saw of him was the great Master Warrior, The Fighter. It was nice to know that he had a softer side to him.
Ash continued to sip on her cup of tea and waited as patiently as she could. It wasn’t easy, though. She was ready to get on with it and all this sitting around was a waste of time. It must have been part of the effect of the mark, but she knew that it wasn’t just that.
She had always felt different. It was just something that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Even with her friends as she was growing up, it often felt like she was an outsider. Always looking in on the things that she should have been enjoying and participating in, but never quite feeling it. She had never really fitted in, like a puzzle piece that just wouldn’t click right.
And now she was here.
It felt like she finally fit.
“I know that this is all very strange for you. It’s a brand new situation for us to be in as well. So, for now, if you can just bear with us, we need to work out where to go from here. It’s been proven very hard, near on impossible, in the past to work against the warrior mark, but we’ll try to do whatever we can for you.” Kelton said.
Aisline looked over at Kelton and Kayleigh, trying to understand what they meant, when it suddenly dawned on her what they were saying.
“I don’t want to work against it. I want to fight.”
There was a stunned silence that filled the little room. Kelton looked like he’d been slapped around the face with a wet fish. The shock was almost comical.
“Pardon?” Kelton’s voice sounded harsh with shock. He was sure that he hadn’t heard her correctly. Or at least, he hoped that he had heard her incorrectly. Did she say what he thought she’d said? No, there was no way that that could be right.
“I said, I want to fight.”
So, yes. She did say it.
There was a solid tension in the room. Only the loud ticking from the wall clock punctuated the tense, awkward silence. She hadn’t expected this reaction from them, and Aisline couldn’t help but fidget in her chair. She had the warriors mark, so why was it so unbelievable that she wanted to continue on her new path in life and fight? She’d have thought that would have been the obvious choice for them anyway. Apparently, not.
For a moment, Ash wanted to take back what she had said. She was now witnessing Kelton looking his most ferocious self. Anger radiated from him, the warrior within him rushing to the forefront. But, really, she couldn’t see what was so wrong with what she had said. She had the mark and now she wanted to run with it. With a little bit of training, she could be just as good as any of the boys in this place. She just knew it.
“No.” he growled.
Aisline decided that since she had started this, she may as well carry on with it and stand her ground. She’d thrown the words out there and there was no backing out now. Sucking in a breath that hissed through her teeth, she squared off her shoulders and narrowed her eyes.
“Why not? Because I’m a girl? Well, I’ve got the mark just like you so that should make me an equal. I‘m not weak. I can be stronger.”
Silence. Again.
Kelton still looked fit
to burst and Kayleigh simply looked thoughtful. Ash thought that Kayleigh would have been shocked or stunned by what she had said. After all she was female and clearly hadn’t expected her to fight for her right to, well, fight. But, there was a faraway look in her eyes, like she was running through the possibility of the first real, honest to God, female warrior. Aisline hoped that she had her on her side. She knew her argument would be so much stronger if she had a bit of back up. She wanted to make history here.
“I said no.”
Silence. Again.
“I could mentor her. And it’s not like the other trainees have a specific warrior all to themselves. I can help out with the rest of it. That was the original idea anyway and I’m free, see? That way, she will always have someone available to her to talk to. Seeing as I’m not one of the warriors, I will have more time to spend with her. To give her a different outlook on the way of the warrior.” Kayleigh pointed at the laptop again, showing Kelton something on the screen.
With visible restraint, Kelton was clearly trying to hold in his temper and he glanced up from the laptop and looked Aisline in the eye. It took all of her strength and confidence not to shrink away from his intimidating glare. He was beyond furious.
“Miss Kellerman. Would you mind stepping out of the room for a moment?”
It wasn’t a question or a request, it was an official command.
Aisline nodded and rose to leave the room, making sure that she held her posture tall and sure and kept her head held high.
Before the door had even clicked shut behind her, she heard Warrior Kelton roar, “You do not ever contradict me in front of a student like that. I know what is best for the warriors and-” the door closed, not just muffling the conversation but blocking it out completely.
Aisline sat and waited on the uncomfortable wooden bench out in the hallway. And waited. And waited. Nervously, she began to tap her foot to an unheard beat and she glanced around for something to do. Anything to keep her occupied. But there was nothing. There wasn’t even a poster on the wall that she could read and re-read over and over again until the words started to blur into one. Nothing. This was probably scarier than being in the office. It was kind of like when she was back in school, waiting outside the head teacher’s office. But, this time she didn’t know whether she was going to be reprimanded or if a life changing opportunity would present itself.
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