The woman who had bitten Ashe was lying on the floor of the kitchen as if drunk, empty pint bags of blood littering the floor around her. The other two women were sitting sullenly in the living room, having been thoroughly yelled at by Peter. They each nursed tall wine glasses full of blood, looking like they were sick of its taste. Ashe had no doubt it was the guilt that had put them off their dinner. Ashe had mixed feelings about knowing they were Peter’s sisters and was not feeling especially generous about giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Ashe sucked in a breath as the needle pierced her vein. Her father was administering blood from one of the last remaining bags to replace what had been lost earlier. Peter sat by her side squeezing her hand, his brows furrowed under his dark bangs. She pushed them out of the way for him with a gentle hand.
“I didn’t understand before, but now I do,” Ashe said. “It’s not your fault that you need to drink blood, just like it’s not my fault I need to eat food or breathe air.”
“You don’t have to—” Peter started.
Ashe waved away his protest. “No, just listen. You need my dad to get blood for you, right? I’ve seen what happens when your kind goes hungry and I don’t want to be responsible for anyone getting hurt.”
David withdrew the needle from Ashe’s arm and put a bandage in its place. “I want to make an honest living for you and your mother. I’m done with this life.”
“No, she’s right,” Peter agreed. “We can’t ignore what we are and hope it goes away. We need people like you to make sure we don’t hurt those around us. This stolen blood is the only insurance against us losing control like we did tonight.”
“It’s okay, Dad. As long as you promise the blood is clean. No harming humans to get it,” Ashe said. She was already feeling stronger from the transfusion and the color was returning to her cheeks.
David sighed and scratched his chin. He nodded. “Fine, but your mom’s not going to like us moving around all the time. In this line of work, we can’t afford to stay in one place for too long. I know you’re graduating this spring, but if I have to move to a new city before that will you be okay here on your own?”
If her father had to move, that meant Peter would go with him too. Ashe didn’t like the idea of being apart from Peter, but then she remembered that she was mere weeks from getting kicked out of the school anyway. She was still short on tuition.
“Of course, if that happens we’ll get you a place on campus,” her father continued. “Your mother already told me about the financial situation and I’ve got it taken care of with the dean’s office. I’ve been running a pretty lucrative business these past few years, believe it or not.”
Peter snorted at this and Ashe couldn’t help but smile. She wondered just how much Peter’s clan was paying her father for the blood. Judging by his old grey coat and rumpled hat David didn’t seem to be wealthy, but looks could be deceiving.
“I’d better check on the others,” David said.
He packed up the blood transfusion kit and gave Ashe a small hug. “Your mom says she’s sorry too,” he muttered into her ear as his arm wrapped gently around her.
Ashe felt a swell of warmth in her heart, the first steps towards healing that ache that had been in there for so long.
As David left, there was a lightness to his step that hadn’t been there before. Things were finally starting to look up, for the both of them.
Peter put his arm around Ashe. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere without you,” he said. “I’ve seen how much trouble you can get into when I leave you on your own.”
Ashe wiggled out from under his arm and gave a look of mock-anger. “You’re already making jokes about this? I’ve still got bite marks in my neck.”
“Well, at least you’re going to ace that final paper for Professor Sharp’s class. Vampires, right?”
Ashe made a face. Sometimes Peter’s confident attitude could be infuriating.
“But seriously,” Peter said, taking both of Ashe’s hands in his. “I’m never going to leave your side and I’m never going to let what happened tonight repeat itself. I know your lifespan and mine are on completely different scales, but I promise to protect you as long as you live. I love you Ashe and I want to be with you.”
Ashe fell into his embrace, not caring about the lack of heartbeat or the coldness of his arms around her. She felt loved, and protected, and that feeling warmed her more than anything physical could. There was still so much she didn’t know about Peter and his kind, but her heart was open and she was ready to learn. For the first time in perhaps ever, Ashe found herself looking forward to what the future held.
The End of Book 1
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The Vampire’s Embrace
The Touch of Night:
Book 2
Lucy Lyons
© 2017
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© Copyright 2017 by Persia Publishing - All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 1
It was just after dawn on a day that Ashe had thought would never come. The sun had finished its struggle over the horizon and was now battling the thick blanket of clouds that settled in over the city every November and stayed until March. The house was filled with a pale light as anemic as Ashe felt. She knew she would have to ask her father for more blood, but wanted to put it off as long as possible. After coming home, she had changed into new clothes and washed the blood from her skin, but she still felt the traces of the night before permeating her body and making her feel unclean. Only Peter’s presence by her side reassured her that she would survive this as she had survived everything else.
Ashe’s mother was downstairs crying. Her father was talking in soothing tones that drifted up to the second floor, landing where Ashe sat with her head in her hands and Peter’s arm around her. Her mother had been crying since Ashe, David, and Peter
had come to the house bloodied and exhausted from their encounter with Landon’s clan. Ashe knew she would have to go downstairs and talk with her mother eventually, but she was waiting for her father to calm her down enough for the words to get through. It was going to take a lot of explaining to justify Ashe’s decision to let David continue working for the vampires. She decided to leave the talk about her and Peter’s relationship for another day.
Peter cradled Ashe’s head to his chest and breathed in deeply, which helped to make up for his lack of a heartbeat. Ashe melted into him and slipped her arm around his back.
“Maybe we should go back down there,” Peter whispered into her hair as the voices quieted downstairs.
Ashe held him tighter. “Can’t we rest a little first?”
“You know we can’t. But I promise you can sleep as long as you want when we’re done. I won’t even wake you to finish your homework for Sharp’s class on Monday.”
School was the last thing on Ashe’s mind right now. It was almost silly that her biggest worry until all this happened had been failing to graduate.
Peter helped her up from the step where they were sitting and walked with her downstairs. Her mother was at the kitchen table with a hot cup of tea cradled in her hands and her father was in the chair opposite, regarding his wife with concern. Ashe’s mother’s eyes were puffy from all the crying. Ashe wanted to give her a hug but felt like her mom would flinch away if she didn’t explain a few things first.
“I told her what I could,” David said as he noticed Ashe standing there, wondering where to start. “She knows about Landon.”
Stevie Linfield was not known for being a strong woman, though she had weathered being a single mother to Ashe far better than her daughter ever gave her credit for. One look at the bite wound on Ashe’s neck and she had nearly fainted from shock. Ashe knew her mother’s biggest worry would be infection; that Ashe was now a vampire and would no longer be able to live out a normal life. As if any of this was normal to begin with.
“Mom,” Ashe said in a tentative voice. Stevie looked up at her with wide, fearful eyes. Peter’s put his arm around Ashe’s shoulders, giving her the confidence to continue. “It’s alright. I’m not hurt. I’m not... one of them.” She glanced apologetically at her father sitting at the table.
Her mother took a quivering sip of her tea but did not look at Ashe.
David reached across the table to grasp his wife’s hand. “Stevie, honey. Our daughter has something to say to you. I think you should listen to her.”
Ashe spoke again, stronger. “I know you’re worried about me, worried that you’re going to lose me like you lost Dad. If it’s not graduating college or a vampire bite that takes me away from you, it’ll be something else. I have to grow up eventually.”
“I know,” her mother replied quietly. “Your dad said the same thing. But he doesn't know you like I do. He didn’t watch you grow up. You’re still just a child, Ashe. I mean, look at what happened to you.” Stevie’s eyes filled with fresh tears.
“Stevie,” David said warningly, but Ashe didn’t need her father’s help with this. She knew what needed to be said and she was no longer too embarrassed to say it face to face.
“I’m sorry, okay?” Ashe said, her words coming out far harsher than she had meant them to. She forced herself to calm down before continuing. “I blamed you for Dad leaving, but it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t mine either. I love you and I’m sorry for everything. But you have to start to trust me.”
“She saved my life,” Peter said suddenly.
Ashe’s mother looked at Peter as if she had just realized he was there.
Peter explained. “When I was fighting with Landon, I slipped up and he almost got me, but Ashe saved me. Even frightened and injured, she found the strength to fight. I don’t think you have to worry about sending your daughter out into the world. She’s a fine young woman and she can take care of herself. Besides—” Peter squeezed Ashe’s shoulder— “I’ve already promised her I’ll protect her as long as she lives. That is, of course, if you’re both okay with that.”
Ashe’s father’s face immediately broke into a smile, but her mother just stared as if she’d been struck in the face.
“You’re one of them, though,” her mother said.
Ashe felt red in the cheeks.
Peter didn’t try to contradict her. “Yes, and so is your husband. Think about what he’s done to protect your family. I will do nothing less for Ashe and you have my word that my clan has made the same promise. No harm will come to her as long as I’m by her side.”
Stevie went back to staring at her tea. Ashe knew she had a lot to process and wanted to give her the time to do so.
“Why don’t you go lie down for a bit? You’ve been up all night,” David told his wife. Ashe hoped her mother would take the suggestion, as she looked just as weary as the rest of them. She must have spent all night waiting up for them, not knowing where they were and worried sick.
Stevie stood unsteadily and teetered past Ashe into the other room. When she was fully out of earshot, David said, “Peter, we need to discuss a few things. First of all, your family.”
He motioned for the two of them to join him at the kitchen table. Peter took the chair across from her father where her mother had been sitting only moments ago. Ashe, however, declined to sit, instead deciding to busy herself with refilling the pot of tea on the counter.
David cleared his throat. “I’ve been working for your family for a long time now and I like to think I know them well.” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “Which is why I worry about them. Your clan is fighting a losing battle as it is. How many years have you gone without a live feeding?”
Ashe purposely clanged the metal teapot down hard on the stovetop to mask any answer Peter might have given. It wasn’t time for her to start digging into his past. He would tell her in his own time.
“The point is,” David said, sighing. “You may be satisfying the immediate hunger with the blood I provide you, but you’re doing nothing to stop the underlying cravings. Refrigerated blood sucked out of a plastic bag is nothing compared to the warm vitality of the real thing. You have a reason to protect Ashe and the humans around you, but I don’t think your family feels the same way. They’re listening to you for now because they love you, but if they can’t find their own reasons for protecting human life, they’ll soon revert to the old ways.”
Peter ran a hand through his hair. Ashe could see the long years of his existence in his solemn expression. “My sisters can be impulsive, but they’re not a threat.”
“Even Penelope?” David asked.
The teapot started to whistle and Ashe jumped. She quickly took it off the stove.
Peter replied, “Landon manipulated her. He manipulated all of them. That’s what his clan does. I love your daughter and I barely made it out of there without making an irrevocable mistake. Penelope didn’t know what Ashe means to me, but she knows now. You have my word she won’t harm her.”
“Then I’ll keep you to your word,” David warned.
Ashe came over with the teapot and refilled her father’s mug before taking the empty seat by Peter’s side. David nodded at her in thanks. Without his usual hat, he looked almost small. His curly hair came up in wisps from the top of his head, giving him a halo under the kitchen light. Ashe thought about just how delicate they all were, the vampires, even if they were somewhat immortal. They needed Ashe just as she needed them. She would be their reminder of the importance of human life.
“Landon’s still out there, too,” David said.
Ashe had a flashback of Landon jumping out the window and running away from the house. He could be anywhere right now.
Peter frowned. “He’s hurt. He won’t be showing his face any time soon. His clan doesn’t like confrontation. They’ll probably lie low until we leave town.”
“I still don’t like the idea of them out there,” David said. “It’s too dangerous.
We can’t stay in the city.”
Ashe protested. “I’m not leaving. I want to graduate. You said you would help me pay for my last semesters here.” She was so close to getting her degree and if she moved schools now she’d lose half her credits and be stuck in school another year. Maybe it was okay for Peter to repeat classes over and over, but Ashe didn’t have eternity. She was getting older year by year and she couldn’t stay in school forever.
David looked sympathetic but shook his head. “I made that promise before I had a chance to think it through. If Landon’s clan is still around, we simply can’t risk it. I won’t put you in danger again.”
Ashe knew her mother must have said something, and that was why her dad was now second-guessing himself. It was her mother’s worry, not David’s.
“Believe me, they’re gone,” Peter said. Ashe was relieved to know he was on her side, though she knew it would take more than Peter’s word to convince her parents.
David sipped his tea. “We’ll see,” he said.
Peter nodded at Ashe to leave David to his thoughts. Nothing more could be accomplished with all of them as exhausted as they were. He got up from his chair and Ashe followed.
Once they were alone on the upper landing, Peter said, “Your mom cares about you a lot, even if she can’t say it right now. Your dad does too.”
“I know,” Ashe replied, pushing open the door to her room. Though she understood why her parents were fighting her, it didn’t make her any more inclined to listen to them.
Ashe was weary and her bones felt like lead. It seemed like forever since she had last slept. All she could think about was her nice, warm bed. She crawled under the covers, feeling her body sink into the mattress. It was like heaven.
Kissed by The Dragon: (The Dragon Lords - Book 2) Page 32