Sabrina's Vampire Series Boxed Set

by A. K. Michaels

  Boyd took a break and took a sip from a cup that was on a side table next to his chair. His obvious abhorrence of this Raige was clear for them both to see. The way he called the Vampire a ‘thing’ made her think he was very angry indeed. He took another sip from his cup then placed it back on the table before continuing.

  “He has offered his help, but I’ve turned him down. I really don’t like all the rules and regulations that come with accepting help from the SEB. So...back to why Kyle was a little annoyed, I have advised him that I will deal with Raige, he didn’t like that....”

  “No, I do not! It should be me that deals with him, wherever that may be,” Kyle’s voice was tight with anger, but she held firm to his hand.

  “I understand that you feel it is your responsibility, that responsibility is something I also feel, my boy. You are one of mine, it is my responsibility to deal with this being. He is the worst of the worst of our species. The sort that were at the root of horror stories centuries ago. When humans hunted our kind mercilessly, it’s a miracle we survived at all. So, Kyle, it is my responsibility to deal with this Vampire, and I think that here will be the perfect place to do that. We have no neighbors close enough to either get caught up in the conflict or to witness it.”

  Boyd reached for his cup again and drank some more. Sabrina was actually relieved, Boyd was even more powerful than Josef, and she much preferred the idea of him taking on this lunatic than her mate, even if Kyle was angry.

  “As you managed to get out of Vegas presumably without him knowing, we will have to orchestrate some sort of ruse. He has to know you are here, so that he will follow, I have already spoken to Josef about this and he has instructed his Head of Security to get that information out. I have no doubt that this Raige will be keeping close tabs on any leads he can get, so hopefully he will get this snippet of information and make his way here. I have others I can call on, if the need arises, but I am confident that I will deal with him alone. Ronan advises that he is older than you, Kyle, but not nearly as old as myself, which means he does not have my power.”

  Boyd stood up and walked to the wall, between two of the large windows, where he pulled a long piece of material, which hung down from the ceiling. Sabrina thought it looked like the old-fashioned bell thingies that would summon staff in the olden days. As he turned back to his seat, he smiled at her, bugger, she bet he could read her, too.

  “It is indeed that mechanism. In a house as large as this, it actually is quite useful. Cook should be here momentarily to take your order for breakfast,” he sat back down and resumed drinking from his cup.

  She could still feel Kyle’s annoyance and anger, but for some reason he had stayed quiet. She wondered if it was the calm before the storm.

  There was a slight knock at the open door and a woman walked in. She was elderly, rotund, with a friendly face and a big smile. She walked in and stood beside Boyd's chair.

  “What would you like for breakfast, Miss?” she asked, in what appeared an excited voice.

  “Oh, I don’t want you to go to any trouble. I eat most things in the morning, some cereal and toast would be fine, oh, and orange juice, if you have it,” Sabrina didn't want to put the woman out, she must have her hands full looking after this house.

  “No trouble, no trouble at all. I have to confess I love having someone to actually cook for. What about some bacon and eggs with toast, coffee and orange juice?”

  Sabrina smiled, realizing that even though she was a ‘cook’ she probably didn’t get much opportunity to actually do it, cook that is. “That sounds lovely, could I have the bacon crispy, please?”

  “Certainly, Miss, I won’t be long, there’s fresh coffee, if you want some in the meantime,” she pointed to the back corner of the room, where a coffee machine was set up on top of a chunky sideboard.

  “Thanks,” Sabrina got up and moved to the machine, pouring herself a large cup of black coffee, and returning to sit beside her mate.

  “She seems lovely,” she commented, as she sat down, sipping her very nice, very strong coffee.

  “Yes, she’s been with me for...oh...must be about seventy years or more...."

  “What?!” Sabrina exclaimed, that would mean he had the woman working for her in her infancy or before.

  “She is a Vampire, one of mine. I came across her at the beginning of World War II, she was working for me when the Germans invaded and shot her. I didn’t have a choice really, if I hadn’t changed her she would’ve died. Needless to say, the soldiers that attacked our home were all disposed of. Kyle was actually visiting me, my place was in France at the time.”

  A Vampire? That lovely woman was a Vampire. She would never have guessed that, not at all. Now she got why she was so excited about cooking food, there probably wasn't anyone around that she could do it for.

  “That was not a good time. We managed to get out and spent a lot of the time in Switzerland with little forays all over Europe on various little escapades.” Kyle was actually smiling, and she wondered just what these two got into during that War, and then thought she was probably better off not knowing.

  “So she likes to cook.” Sabrina stated the obvious.

  “She does indeed, however, I rarely have humans visit, so she doesn’t get the chance very often. I do sometimes have Wolves stay over, though, she loves that, they do eat a lot.” Boyd was still sipping his coffee, as he spoke, and she wondered why he would have Wolves here.

  Kyle obviously heard her thoughts, “Boyd sometimes holds...what to call them? Peace talks is probably the best way to put it, there’s a few Wolf packs nearby and they sometimes get into skirmishes and Boyd will have them here to sort things out - with him as mediator. That usually means there’s a lot less bloodshed in any kind of conflict. He’s the oldest, most powerful Supernatural in the area, which means he sorts out a lot of the stuff that can escalate and get out of hand.”

  Sabrina looked at Boyd with a new set of eyes, the cop in her appreciated him being willing, and able to sort those things out...without anyone getting hurt or killed. The man just sat in his chair with such a calm demeanor, sipping his coffee.

  “So, are we agreed about what’s going to happen with Raige?” As soon as she asked, she felt her mate’s body tighten, like a piece of hard steel.

  “Yes,” Boyd answered, “there is no argument on the matter. It is my decision. I am not averse to you helping, Kyle, but I will be the one to take out Raige. Sabrina, until we have dealt with this maniac you should stay close to the house - that way I will be able to hear you, if you get into any kind of trouble. I have also ordered a Witch to come later today. She is going to place some wards around, not to keep him out, but to alert us of his presence, in the unlikely event that I don’t detect him. Of course there is also Petre, he is very strong and he has been instructed to protect you at all costs, even if he has to sacrifice his own life.” Boyd looked as if he was talking about the weather, not about having someone die for her.

  She was pretty uncomfortable with that, but she would be more uncomfortable with the thought of Raige taking her somewhere to torture and kill her.

  “Now, I understand you wish to learn how to use a firearm, I have instructed Petre to set up an area in the rear of the property for that purpose. It will be ready tomorrow, so your lessons can begin then. Kyle, are you happy with teaching Sabrina?” Boyd looked pointedly at Kyle.

  “Yes, I want her to use my Ruger, get her used to that, however, I will need more bullets. I can use ordinary bullets for practice, but I would like more silver ones made up, just in case.” Kyle had a frown on his face, he should've thought to bring an extra supply, but with everything that had happened in the days before they left Vegas, it had slipped his mind.

  “That’s not a problem. I have a similar firearm that I have a supply of silver bullets for. You can try them and if they work, you will have a large supply, if they don’t, I can get the man I use to ma
ke some up for you, but that will take a few days.” Boyd was still totally relaxed and spoke as if he was talking about a book he had read rather than special bullets to take down a Vampire.

  She looked between the two - wondering how they could take such things in their stride “When you have lived as long as we have, you tend to not get too excited about things. I have lived so long that I sometimes forget my youth. It seems as if it was another person, another life, and not my own.” Boyd's voice now held a wistful tone, and she wondered what it would be like to live for so many centuries.

  “We’re only starting, baby, you’ll find out for yourself. You’ll be at my side for a very long time,” with a smile on his face, Kyle moved closer and kissed her on the nose.

  She guessed he was right, she was now his mate, and she knew he put some of his blood into her food at times, to keep her young and healthy. It was only now that the realization that she would, in fact, live for centuries struck home.

  Centuries...she would live for centuries ...with her mate at her side.

  Cook took that moment to walk back in carrying a large tray, one that a woman of her age really shouldn't be carrying, if she were human that is.

  “Come, eat,” the woman said cheerily, as she placed the tray with food, plates, cutlery, and fresh coffee and juice onto a table near where the coffeemaker was.

  As she set up the plates and cutlery, Kyle stood and walked her over to the table, Boyd joined them, and she sat and began to eat. Her thoughts tumbled around her head about everything that was happening in her life - living for centuries, being hunted by an insane Vamp called Raige for Christ sake, learning to shoot...it was a lot to take in.

  She would live it to the full extent, all of it, some of it she would love, some she would endure, some of it she would hate, and she would be scared at times, but she would do it, all of it.

  She smiled at Kyle and continued to eat her breakfast.

  Chapter 13

  After breakfast, Boyd said he had some business to attend to, but told Kyle where his guns were kept and to go and check the ammunition to see if it was going to work okay with his Ruger. He gave him the code, his guns were kept in a secure safe with electronic code entry. It was a rather long code, and even though she had a good memory, she was sure she could never remember all those numbers. She wondered at the smile that Kyle gave his Sire, as he had recited the number.

  They followed Boyd's directions from the room they were in, out the door, turn right, the safe was in the last room on the left. She got to see more of the house as they went, and it was all the same, antiques galore and lavish surroundings.

  Kyle opened the door and walked in, she followed. The safe was in the middle of a small room that she suspected was constructed solely to hold Boyd's weapons securely. She gasped at the size of the safe. She had expected something smaller than the six-foot high, ten-foot square space it took up, it was the size of a bank vault. It was just as secure, too, the base was cemented into the floor. Jeez, safety conscious or what!

  Kyle moved to the keypad on the front of the safe, input the series of numbers, and a green light came on. He pulled on the large steel handle to open the door that was over six inches thick that she doubted she would be able to move at all. The inside was large enough for two or more, but she had no intention of going in.

  Kyle looked around at her from his place inside the steel safe, “You don’t like enclosed spaces?”

  “I wasn’t even aware of it ‘til now, but there’s no way in hell I’m stepping foot inside there,” she actually took a step back, even as her curiosity at the amount of weaponry made her want to look in. There were guns of every size and caliber, from small handguns to large shotguns (or so she thought), crossbows, knives, daggers, swords and throwing knives, from small ones to ones that looked almost as tall as her. Who the heck used a sword that large and where the blazes did Boyd get all of this?

  “I’ve used a sword similar to those, centuries ago swords were massive, baby, but not many have survived. Some of these Boyd has actually used in battle, I think even one or two are mine.” Kyle found the bullets he wanted and picked up two small boxes, one of 9mm luger and one of silver bullets, and joined her outside the safe, closing the door and pressing a button on the keypad that locked it again.

  “Hey, how did you remember that number?” she asked, as she remembered how long it was.

  “Easy, the number is 210215024942, which is the date that Boyd found me and turned me, 21st February 1502 and then my name Kyle. He can be quite sentimental at times.”

  Kyle moved to walk out of the room, and she followed with her mouth agape. She knew her mate was old, but in 1502 he had been turned, and she guessed he must've been an adult at that time, which meant he was born in the late 1400’s! Then she thought about Boyd, he was much older still. She couldn't quite grasp the immenseness of it all. No wonder he had sounded wistful talking about a youth he could barely remember. Kyle was watching her.

  “I see you’ve figured it out, does it freak you out? How old I am?” Kyle asked, with a smile on his face, he knew that as soon he told her she would realize how old he was, or near enough.

  “Hmm, sort of, I mean for Christ’s sake, you were born in the 1400’s, Kyle. I know you told me you were centuries old, but it didn’t really compute until now.” Her mind was still whirling around and then it landed on something.

  “Kyle, when we met and you explained about a Vampire mate, and there only being one, did you ever love anyone else? Before me?”

  Kyle now looked sombre, shaking his head slowly, “No, I’ve never loved another being since I was turned. I’ve had some lady friends over the centuries, but to be honest, it was just for sex, there were never any true feelings involved, other than passion and lust. I cared for some on a higher level, but never love.”

  She watched his face intently, saw that not only was he telling the truth, but also, he seemed quite sad. She couldn’t even imagine living without love, even misplaced love. The thought of living for centuries without that feeling, she wasn’t sure she could’ve done it.

  “It’s strange, I’ve always felt something akin to love for Boyd, he’s my Sire, and I would fight to the death to protect him, but it’s not like what we have. Not even close. Now I’ve got you, I have no idea how I managed without real love for so long.”

  He started walking again and she had to move to keep up with him. She guessed she had raised some emotions in him that he wasn’t comfortable with. She didn’t realize where they were going until they were outside. The warm sun had begun to break through the clouds.

  Looking around, she saw they were at the back of the property and saw how large it was in the light of day. That only a few folks, possibly four, lived in this enormous space was surprising, to say the least. What was it Petre had said? Oh yeah, ‘Master Boyd liked his peace and quiet,’ or something like that.

  He would definitely get that here, there was nothing around for miles in any direction. There were apple and peach orchards going on for quite a distance before it morphed into lush green fields. On one side of the house, there were some outbuildings that blocked her view of what lay beyond, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t a neighborhood.

  On the other side, there was open ground with flower beds closer to the house, and then a large grassy area, and then trees, lots of trees - looked like a forest, a pretty large one.

  The property was pretty remote, and she wasn’t sure if she could stay somewhere like this permanently. She loved the hustle and bustle of city life, having lived in the middle of Glasgow her entire life and then Vegas, so this was not her ideal location for living. A holiday would be fine and quite fun, but not for any length of time. She wondered how long they would need to stay here, hoping it wouldn’t be too long. Already she was missing their home and her pool. She loved swimming every day and knew she was going to miss it.

  Kyle still had the ammo in
his hand, he turned and looked pretty serious, as his hand reached under his t-shirt at his back and pulled his gun from the waistband of his jeans. She hadn’t even realised he had it on him.

  “Why are you carrying that in the house?”

  “Danger doesn’t make appointments, Sabrina. We have no idea where this guy is, for all we know, he could already be here in Italy. We don’t know. So until he’s dead, one of us will have this on them at all times. I will keep it until you've become proficient in using it and then you will keep it with you at ALL times.”

  His tone was the most serious she had ever heard it, as was his face. She guessed she was in for a hard time with him training her.

  “Yup, it’s not a game and guns aren’t for playing with, there’s Petre, he’s setting up some targets, so I’ll shoot these bullets and see if they’ll work with this gun then we’re all set to start your training tomorrow. If not, we’ll need to get Boyd to give me the address of the man he uses. I’ll need to take the gun to him with my silver bullets so he can reproduce them. Hopefully these should work, especially for training with the ordinary ammo.”

  Kyle was walking in the direction of Petre, as he spoke and she trailed behind, not sure now about the whole using a gun thing. It had seemed exciting at first, now it just seemed scary.

  Petre saw them approach and he did a parody of a smile, “Good day, I hope your rooms were satisfactory?”

  She smiled up into his hard face, “Yes, they are beautiful, thanks.”