by Lola Gabriel
Finley grabbed a few blood bags from the refrigerator and tucked them into the front of her shirt. She climbed through the window again, but as she jumped down, one of the bags fell onto the ground.
“Shit,” she muttered. Reaching down to grab it, she glanced up and noticed a dark figure in the alley.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” she said, not even sure why she was bothering to answer the person. Maybe it was one of the men who had slaughtered the other vampires and followed her. Finley grabbed the blood bag and made a run for it, passing the man. Much to her surprise, he was in front of her quicker than she anticipated and grabbed her by the neck.
“This sure doesn’t look like nothing,” he stated, his voice raspy, reaching for the blood bag with ease. She knew she should be scared, but she wasn’t in the least. She was calm and even at ease. There was something about this guy that made her feel different, but she wasn’t sure if it was because of the amount of blood she consumed that she felt more euphoric. “It’s a little late for you to be wandering around by yourself,” he said sternly.
“I should warn you, you don’t know who you’re dealing with,” she spluttered from under his grip.
“I beg to differ,” were the last words Finley heard before a powerful punch to her skull made her lose consciousness.
Finley’s head pounded as she slowly opened her eyes. She tried to move, but she couldn’t. When she looked at her hands and feet, she saw they were secured tightly with metal shackles to a large chair in the center of a room, similar to the dungeon she had been in.
“Oh, no. Am I really back there? I thought that place burned down,” she complained angrily to herself as she struggled against the restraints, but they didn’t budge. “What the hell do you want from me? I escaped, so what? I wasn’t yours to begin with anyway!” she called out into the darkness.
It was quiet around her, until she sensed a presence in the room with her, and it overwhelmed her for a moment. She couldn’t describe the feeling—everything she felt since she had been turned into a vampire was foreign and strange to her. This feeling, however, was different. It was filled with a sense of purpose and belonging, which was probably only another vampire trying to trick her into doing its bidding.
She struggled against her restraints again and growled angrily.
“Let me go, or you’ll regret it!” she hissed, and her eyes flashed.
Footsteps sounded from a dark corner. A figure stepped into the light, and Finley froze, staring blankly at him. He was the most attractive man she had ever seen, despite being rough around the edges. He wore a white t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. His hair was longer on the top than on the sides, and it was messy in a sexy kind of way. He had a sultry manner to his walk, which both intrigued and allured Finley, making her shift uncomfortably in her seat. His eyes were fixed intently on her as he stopped a few feet away from her, and Finley noticed his broad shoulders and toned arms under his shirt. She exhaled slowly, trying to compose herself, as this guy was way too easy on the eyes and making her feel all kinds of things she didn’t know she was capable of. Finley cocked her head and narrowed her eyes at him.
“Who are you?” she demanded
He just stared at her intently without saying a word, which sent shivers of delight through Finley’s entire body, and her fear quickly turned into heated desire for this man.
Was he a vampire? And if not, why the hell was he causing her to feel like this?
“You’re a vampire.” His statement was simple but loaded with disdain and hatred, so much that Finley’s desire evaporated within an instant. If he was also a vampire, wouldn’t he already know this?
“And you’re not?”
“Oh, god, no. I’d rather kill myself,” he sneered. “What were you doing outside?”
“Since when is it a crime to be outside?” she snipped.
“In your case, you shouldn’t be on the loose. If Luka found out about this, heads will definitely roll. Pardon the pun,” he answered.
“Who the hell is Luka?” she asked.
A frown formed on his handsome face. “Where did you come from?”
“I was born in—”
“That’s not what I asked. I don’t need to know your whole family history. I just want to know where you came from. Who’s your superior?”
“My superior? What the hell are you talking about?” she demanded, struggling against her restraints. He leaned in closer to her, and his presence was so overwhelming, the room started to spin around her.
“Where did you come from, and why were you stealing blood from the blood bank? Don’t they feed you enough at the compound?”
Finley’s brow furrowed as she stared at him, his brown eyes glowing like embers. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The man stepped back, impatiently tapping his fingers against his thigh before turning away. As he walked away from her, back into the shadows, Finley started to panic. She couldn’t be alone in a dark place anymore. At least in the dungeon she’d had company. Here she was all alone.
“Wait!” she cried, desperation thick in her tone. “Please don’t leave me. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. I swear. Just please don’t leave me.”
He stopped for a second and turned to face her again. “I’m only going to ask you one more time. Where did you come from?”
“I don’t really know. There was this place, it looked like an underground dungeon or something. There were lots of us, and we were locked up in cells, and—”
“An underground dungeon?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“And where were you before that?”
Finley gathered her muddled thoughts. “I was at a club with my roommate. It was called Bull River or something—”
“Blue River. I’ve heard of it.”
Finley lowered her gaze—his eyes began to overwhelm her again—and she continued. “I went outside because the club scene isn’t really my thing. The music was too loud, and I drank a little too much. I heard someone in the alley calling out for help, and I stupidly went to offer my assistance.”
The man scoffed and took a step back. “What happened then?”
“He bit me and gave me some of his blood to drink. I passed out and woke up in the dungeon.”
“And you have no recollection of how you got there?” he asked.
“No, not at all.”
He crossed his arms. “You’re a new vampire.”
“Yeah, I was a human all my life until that night. Don’t even know how long ago that was. A day, a week. I don’t know.”
“The passing of time eludes us when we have a lot of it,” he pointed out, quite cryptically.
“I thought you said you aren’t a vampire.”
“I’m not,” he answered and stepped closer.
“Who are you? Are you going to kill me?” she stuttered.
“No, I’m not going to kill you. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with you yet. I can’t have you running around the streets, doing whatever pops up in that vampire head of yours,” he muttered, pacing back and forth for a few seconds. “How did you escape this underground dungeon?”
“There was an explosion, or something that caused the roof to cave in. A bunch of brawny men came in with swords, or giant cleavers, or whatever, and started killing everyone. All the girls, they were dead.”
“Except you,” he mumbled in a tone that seemed to question what she said.
“I hid in the shadows behind a boulder. They killed them all. Then it got quiet, and the dungeon filled up with smoke. They set the bodies on fire. I had to get out of there…” Her voice trailed as she remembered Kyra calling out to her, her desperate pleas for Finley’s help. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to vanquish the sudden guilt which crept up on her. She had not gone back to help Kyra, and she feared that she would be carrying this burden of guilt with her all eternity.
“You escaped.” His voice brought her back to reality
and a tear ran down her cheek.
“I did.”
“And these men who killed the women—were there just women?”
“Yeah, we were just a bunch of young women. I heard two of the guys who fed us say that we were made for some vampire guy for his harem. That’s the only reason why we were created.”
“What did the guys look like? The ones who killed the others?”
“They were big and brawny. They wore leather clothes, I think. They looked like soldiers, and their hair was shaved off,” she recalled. He nodded slowly and turned away. “What are you thinking?”
“I hope to god that you’re not lying to me,” he said after a long pause.
“Why would I lie to you?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” he growled and turned back to her. “I know your kind. You like to deceive, lie, and betray. You’re cunning and sly, but I could crush the life right out of you if I wanted to. And I will, if I find out that you’re lying to me.”
“I’m not lying! I’m not part of whatever you think I am a part of! I was attacked and turned into this,” she stated, motioning to herself with her head, “without my consent! I am terrified of what I have become. You think I like breaking into blood banks and stealing blood just to feed my hunger? I’d prefer a veggie burger, but I’m guessing that isn’t going to be so effective.”
He stared at her for a few moments, intently studying her, and his hard gaze softened. He took a few steps towards her. “What’s your name?”
“It’s Finley. What’s yours?” she asked in return.
“Pyrencko Veskovic, but everyone calls me Pyre.”
“Like where you burn a corpse?” she stuttered.
“It’s a long story,” he said, clearly indicating that it was not the first time he had been asked that.
“Is that what you do? Or what you’re known for? Are you a vampire killer who burns corpses on funeral pyres?” she enquired, her voice breaking.
“No, it was because of my mother’s fascination with fire,” he muttered.
“Okay, that’s a relief.”
“But your possible explanations would also work.”
Finley’s body stiffened as his words penetrated her skin like an icy rod. “Are you going to kill me?”
“Like I said, I don’t know what I am going to do with you, Finley.” Her name on his lips, the gruff tone of his voice, seductively stroked her insides, and she shivered slightly. She struggled against her restraints again and bit her bottom lip in frustration.
“I don’t know why, but somehow, you are getting under my skin in the best possible way,” she gritted her teeth, not quite sure why she was being so frank with him. She did not even know him, and he was possibly going to kill her. But there was something about him that made her want to divulge all her secrets, all her wants and needs to him. Maybe he had a certain power over her which she couldn’t explain, and just maybe, he knew exactly what he was doing to make her feel this way. Everything inside her told her that it could be a trap, but the blissful feeling was simply too great to convince her otherwise.
“Is that so?” he asked.
“Most definitely.”
Pyre walked up to her chair and leaned in closer to her. “You think we should do something about that?”
“Yes,” she hissed. His brown eyes came to life, and his gaze sent a sharp pain through her entire body. She cried out and closed her eyes. “What the hell was that?” she exclaimed breathlessly.
“Just a little reminder that you have no idea what I could have in store for you. Little vampires like you pose no threat to me,” he snarled, his eyes flashing one more time before he turned on his heel and left.
“Wait! I’m sorry! Please don’t leave!” she pleaded to him, but he paid her no notice and closed the door behind him, submerging her in complete darkness.
4
Pyre glanced down at the almost finished bottle of beer in front of him and clenched his jaw. Finley’s words kept repeating in his mind, over and over again, and he did not know what to make of it all. He was waiting on a call from Axl, who was supposed to give him more intel about this so-called harem and of the massacre of its vampires, but so far, he had heard nothing.
“Hey, are you okay, buddy?”
Pyre averted his gaze towards Eric, who sat beside him at the bar, and nodded. “I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“You’ve been really distracted the last few days. Is everything okay?” Eric asked.
“You really want to hear about my problems?”
“Those kinds of problems?” He raised his eyebrow.
“Yeah. Those are the worst kinds,” Pyre sighed. “I was out on one of my usual walks, and I managed to capture a vampire.”
“Oh, no wonder you’re distracted. You haven’t captured one in ages,” Eric beamed, trying to sound positive and supportive.
That was another thing Pyre appreciated about Eric. No matter how strange his stories were, Eric never freaked out or backed away because it was getting too bizarre. He thrived on Pyre’s tales and tended to add a little fuel to the fire.
Pyre raised an eyebrow and grinned at Eric’s overzealous answer. “Yeah, it’s been a while. I didn’t realize that you were keeping tabs on me.”
“I gotta,” Eric shrugged. “And where is it now?”
“Strapped to a chair and locked up in my basement.”
“And it’s still alive?”
“Yeah. She broke into a blood bank, and I caught her in an alley,” Pyre explained as he took a sip of beer. “I tried to get some information out of her, but she doesn’t seem to know about Luka, or anything, for that matter.”
“She?” Eric gasped.
“It’s not what you think. I mean, there is something about her that gets me a little fired up, but that must just be the adrenaline I felt from capturing her. I am sure that it’s nothing. Sure, she’s really beautiful, but…”
“But what?”
“I don’t like her kind. You know that. They’re cunning, and they lie and deceive.”
“Maybe she’s different,” Eric suggested.
“What the hell are you saying? She’s a vampire. You know what I do to those pests.”
“Yeah, you kill them, yet this one is still alive. Why is that?”
“I just want to know if she knows anything about the stone.”
Eric sighed wearily and shook his head. “Not the stone again, Pyre. You’ve been obsessing about that thing ever since you told me about the significance of it.”
“It’s really important that I find it, Eric,” Pyre stressed, as he had done many times before.
“What’s so special about this stone, anyway?”
“It’s been in my family for centuries, and it can track down any immortal on the planet,” Pyre explained.
“Who do you want to track down?”
“No one, but in the wrong hands, it can be devastating. I can’t just let it go…” His voice trailed as he ran his fingers through his hair.
“Maybe you can ask your vampire girlfriend to go get it for you. Your powers of persuasion are unrivaled with the ladies,” Eric chuckled and winked at Pyre.
Pyre glared wordlessly at Eric, but his idea wasn’t the worst in the world. His scolding expression returned. “She is not my girlfriend.”
“It sounds to me like you’ve already considered it, which is a big deal, because you never consider anything like that,” Eric pointed out.
“Why would you say that?”
“Because you never give them a chance to explain themselves. You just kill them if you don’t like what you hear, which is okay, because, damn, those things are evil.”
Pyre scowled and stared at the counter, not wanting to respond to Eric, although he was right. Pyre had felt something when he’d seen Finley for the first time. And as undeniable as it was, he knew that it was a bad idea. The feelings bubbling up inside him were nauseating yet welcoming, and much to his relief, they were real. He simply found
it quite typical that his True Mate would be a vampire, the only species he despised more than the wolves. Maybe it had happened that way because of Rhaena’s curse, to ensure that he wouldn’t dare go anywhere near her. It was exactly what Rhaena had wanted. She did not want the bloodline of the Dragon Princes to carry on, so she had made it so much more difficult for them to find, want, and keep their True Mates. Even though Pyre knew that it wouldn’t be easy, finding out that his mate was a vampire was a definite curveball.
Fucking typical, he thought to himself.
Eric was also right that he had considered overlooking the fact that Finley was a vampire, but how would he even do that? She reeked of blood and Sulphur, which only brought back terrible and infuriating memories for him. He wasn’t sure he wanted those memories back in his mind, and if keeping them away meant that he had to stay away from Finley, then so be it.
But Pyre also knew that, no matter what he did and how much he tried to convince himself that he did not want to be with her, he would always go back to her. Feeling out of control wasn’t something any of the princes enjoyed, which was why the curse Rhaena had placed upon them was so cruel and infuriating. She had known too much about them, their family, and their history, so she had used that to her advantage.
Not many people knew this, but when the Dragon Queen had been a young woman, she’d befriended Rhaena, not knowing about her evil ways. It was during this time that Rhaena was learned about the true weaknesses of the royal dragon family.
“It’s not like that,” Pyre said again, taking the last sip of his beer.
“Do you wanna know what I think?” Eric grinned.
“No, but you’re going to tell me regardless of my answer,” Pyre muttered.
Eric patted him on the shoulder. “I think you like her, and you hate yourself for it.”
“I don’t like her,” Pyre defended.
“Then why did you refer to her as ‘she’? You always say ‘it,’ but not with her.”
Pyre glowered for a moment and stood from the barstool. “I have to go.”
“Sure, run away from your feelings, don’t take my word for it. I’m just your best friend. What do I know?” Eric mumbled.