by Primo, Jaz
“Why’s everyone clustered around here?” Caleb curiously asked after sampling the food on his plate. Everything tasted amazing to him. In all the excitement of their arrival, he had almost forgotten that he hadn’t eaten since before their plane landed that afternoon.
“Are you kidding?” Chloe asked as if he were daft. “Smart fish don’t swim in chummed waters with sharks, my friend. My Isaac told me to sit quietly unless called for.”
Caleb easily detected that she seemed unsettled by the growing quantity of vampires in the room.
Ryan agreed, “Sabira told me much the same thing. She said to mingle with the humans, so here I’ll stay. I’m no chancer.”
Caleb appeared perplexed, and Aiden supplied, “Someone who pushes their luck.”
“Oh,” Caleb said while glancing over at the other humans gathered nearby. Many spoke with each other in hushed tones with wary expressions.
These people honestly look like they’re afraid of getting eaten or something.
He continued to eat and engage in pleasant conversation with Aiden and the others and made a follow-up trip to the buffet and drink table. To his surprise, the humans continued to nestle in their corner while the vast majority of the room was interspersed with crowds of vampires who mingled back and forth between the groups like a giant chat-fest. Every once in a while, a vampire would glare over at the gathering of humans, mostly with a hungry, longing expression one might expect from a predator sizing up its prey.
After Caleb finished eating, he focused on Aiden in silent question. The curly-haired man responded with a brisk nod, and they both moved in unison away from the table. Aiden appraisingly looked at Caleb as he quickly surveyed their surroundings.
He spotted Alton talking to two male vampires on the far side of the room, also accompanied by an attractive brunette woman wearing a red dress, who stood next to him with her hand gently draped across his left arm.
“You humans have a good evening,” Caleb remarked as multiple people looked up to stare at him and Aiden.
“You two are daft,” Ryan chastised in his thick Irish accent.
“Good luck,” Chloe called to them.
“You’re kidding,” one woman commented loud enough for Caleb to hear.
He strode purposefully through the room with Aiden in tow. Some vampires briefly noted the two of them as they passed, others falling silent as they sensed a human approach. Barely halfway across the room, Aiden’s mate, Talise, grabbed his arm to pull him aside, leaving Caleb by himself as he purposefully completed the final distance to where Alton stood. The dark-haired vampire immediately focused his full attention on the young man.
“Ah, Caleb, my dear boy,” Alton began with overt approval. “It’s so good to see you. I’m happy that you agreed to accompany Katrina to Slovenia.”
Caleb reached out to shake his hand. “Me too. And it’s always good to see you, Alton.”
The vampire shook his hand and pulled him into a fraternal half-hug as the woman on his arm stepped aside with a shy smile. Caleb suspected that the two other vampires were taken aback by Alton’s unusually warm greeting, though he wasn’t certain. As he stepped back, Alton immediately gestured to the beautiful brunette to his left.
“Caleb, I’m pleased to introduce my companion, Dorianne Rousseau,” Alton offered with a sparkle in his eye.
The woman was about Caleb’s height and appeared to be about thirty years of age. However, her most striking feature was her violet eyes. Though such vivid eyes were normally a telltale sign of a vampire, he was momentarily uncertain if the woman before him were a human or not.
“The Dorianne Rousseau?” Caleb inquired with a hint of awe.
She seemed caught off guard by his hint of reverence and curiously considered him.
“I fear that you have me confused with someone else. I’m not anyone of notoriety,” she politely countered.
Caleb demurred, “Ah, but surely someone with as beautiful a visage and name to match deserves to be greeted as such.”
She laughed in a delightful manner as Alton shook his head and muttered, “Silver-tongued scamp.”
“Please, call me Dori,” the woman introduced herself as she reached out her hand to shake his.
“Caleb Taylor. My pleasure, Dori,” he offered while accepting her hand and gently grasping it.
The woman stared back at him with a look of approval.
“Ah, so you’re Caleb Taylor,” she slyly assessed. “I see what Alton meant regarding your charming sense of humor.”
He was genuinely caught off guard by her, and he looked to Alton.
“I might have mentioned you to her, actually,” the stately vampire hinted.
“Indeed. I’ve heard enough about you already, Caleb, that I feel I know you,” she complimented him. “It’s nice to finally put a face to a name, though.”
Caleb didn’t quite know how to respond once the tables had been so expertly turned on him, so he merely nodded politely.
Alton smoothly introduced the two vampires next to them, but later Caleb honestly didn’t recall their names. His attention was repeatedly distracted by Dori and how remarkable the woman seemed. If she were human, she was the most comfortable-looking human in the room.
Why hasn’t Alton mentioned her before?
His focus quickly returned to Alton.
“I’m afraid I must circulate the room a bit more to try and greet everyone before the evening passes, Caleb,” Alton apologized. “However, I think it important that you and I make some time in the near future. There’s much for us to discuss.”
“Certainly, I understand. And I’d like that very much, Alton.”
“We’ll talk more again soon, Caleb,” Dori promised as Alton led her away towards another group.
The two remaining vampires momentarily looked at Caleb curiously. Then each made the gesture of shaking his hand again before also gravitating to other groups of vampires. Caleb surveyed the large room until his attention focused on where the majority of humans were still gathered together.
You know, they actually look like sheep huddled together in a flock for protection, he determined. Suddenly, he was glad not to be there with them.
His eyes momentarily met Aiden’s across the room, and the young man winked before returning his attention to Talise and another vampire. Caleb couldn’t help but feel quite pleased with himself. Amidst the politics and hidden agendas of those around him, he felt that he had discovered a kindred spirit in Aiden Henderson.
“Hey, kiddo,” Paige’s voice announced, startling him slightly.
He turned to greet his surrogate vampire, noting the curious expression in her bright blue eyes as she studied him, still attired in her official security outfit.
“You looked like you were in a trance for a moment,” she observed. “You okay?”
“Me? Oh yeah, I’m fine,” he assured her. Then he recalled his earlier promise to Ethan. “Are you off duty now?” he asked.
“Ha! Are you kidding? The major’s had me running around non-stop after the lobby incident –” She stopped midsentence, afraid it would sound like she was blaming him for what had happened.
“I should’ve let it go and just apologized to the jerk,” he lamented. He didn’t like hearing that the event had caused problems for her.
She took his chin between her fingertips, much as Katrina had done on occasion, and turned his face towards hers.
“Stop,” she quietly ordered. “You did nothing wrong today, and I’d do it again without hesitation. The major’s just being...well, the major. Nothing more.”
“Understood,” he said.
She released her grip on his chin, though her serious expression remained.
“Do you have quick minute?” he asked.
Her features relaxed somewhat, and she slyly grinned. “For you? Always.”
“Great, because there’s someone I want you to meet,” he explained as he took her hand and led her around the groups of visiting vampires
.
She followed behind him with a curious expression.
Ethan Reynolds had his back turned and was passively listening to two other vampires converse when Caleb reached out to tap him on the shoulder.
Realizing that interrupting a vampire was a bad idea, Paige started to intercept Caleb’s arm and snapped, “Don’t do –”
Sensing someone behind him, rather than reacting aggressively as some vampires might have, the doctor turned very slowly and surveyed them with a curious expression. Ethan’s features quickly brightened when he realized it was Caleb.
He’s awfully well-tempered, Paige observed.
“Ethan, I’m proud to introduce you to Ms. Paige Turner, my surrogate vampire,” he formally announced.
He quickly turned to Paige and offered, “Paige, this is Dr. Ethan Reynolds.
She warmly smiled at the doctor, sizing him up and noting that his hand was already outstretched in an immediate gesture of greeting.
Well, aren’t you just Doctor McDreamy-looking?
Ethan’s face appeared to light up even further as he beheld Paige. “It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Captain Turner. I’ve only been here for a few days, so we haven’t been formally introduced yet.”
“No, we haven’t,” she agreed. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Reynolds.”
“Please, Ethan,” he insisted.
Paige immediately liked his smile, among other physical attributes. But while the vampire seemed sincere, she was nevertheless always on her guard.
“Well, Ethan,” she began, “I suppose that you can call me Paige.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that,” he sincerely replied. “I look forward to working with you during the conference.”
“Hopefully we won’t need your services too frequently,” she countered.
He shrugged. “True, perhaps. But then, I’m helpful for more than accidents and injuries, you know.”
“Really? Such as?” Paige suggestively pressed.
“Well, why don’t we discuss that over a drink?” he asked, chivalrously extending the crook of his left arm towards her.
She caught Caleb’s attention, and he encouragingly winked back at her.
“By all means, lead on, Ethan,” she replied with a gleam in her eyes.
Caleb watched them wander off in the direction of the blood bar.
They could end up becoming very interesting.
His attention quickly shifted to a dark-haired vampire standing a few feet to his left who was glaring at him with slightly glowing blue eyes. He immediately recognized the vampire from the earlier lobby incident, and his body tensed slightly.
The vampire moved slowly towards Caleb, stopping less than two feet from him and displaying a thinly veiled grimace.
“Enjoying the evening, human?” the vampire curtly inquired.
“It’s just wonderful, thank you,” he courteously replied, not wanting to create another scene reminiscent of the lobby.
Suddenly, Katrina appeared by his side, asking, “Care to introduce me to your friend, Caleb?”
She had been casually observing her mate from a distance and immediately sensed his tension upon viewing the vampire before him. Despite never having met him, she already had an idea who he was based upon her mate’s earlier description.
“We’re only briefly acquainted, actually,” Caleb calmly explained despite the tension he felt inside. “We met in the lobby earlier this evening.”
Katrina’s left arm possessively wrapped around Caleb’s waist, and she stepped forwards to address the vampire before them.
“I’m Katrina Rawlings.”
The tall vampire politely inclined his head, though with a smug expression, and grandly announced, “Dominic Ambrogio.”
“Caleb’s my mate,” she firmly noted, ignoring his air of self-importance.
The vampire’s eyes widened slightly with a degree of recognition as he surveyed the tall red-haired woman before him.
“He’s your mate and not the short blonde’s?” he demanded with some surprise amidst a slightly perplexed expression.
Katrina’s eyes momentarily flashed bright green, and she answered in a lethally calm voice, “Correct. My mate.”
He tried to appear unshaken by the revelation, but was doing a poor job of it.
“An unfortunate misunderstanding earlier this evening, of course,” he assured her.
Caleb had the impression that Katrina’s reputation had preceded her and noticed that the room had fallen silent save for the ambient symphonic music playing as numerous eyes observed the quiet exchange. He momentarily realized that with a room full of vampires, no conversation was truly private. Then he spied Paige standing just to his left with a stern expression as Ethan stood beside her.
“I thought that might be the case, but one never knows nowadays,” Katrina levelly replied.
“Too true,” the vampire agreed. “I bid you both good evening,” he added before quietly making his way towards the room’s exit.
Katrina took a moment to mark the vampire’s faces in the room deliberately, content that her declaration had been made to all. Some looked on in silent acknowledgement, while others dismissively looked away. Already she was getting a sense of where a subtle polarization was beginning to occur among her kind.
Although none of that matters where Caleb’s safety is concerned.
Paige raised a silent toast to Katrina with a wine glass of blood, while Ethan nodded supportively before turning his full attention back to Paige. Conversations quickly began to strike up again in earnest, and everyone returned to their former distractions.
Caleb’s arm reached around his mate’s slim waist with pride, and he looked up at her adoringly. “I so love you,” he whispered.
“You better…troublemaker,” she teased as she bent her head down to kiss him once on the lips. However, her cavalier exterior was merely a façade for the love that welled inside her for the young man in her arms at that moment.
My safe mate.
Thankfully, the remainder of the evening continued uneventfully for everyone, and Caleb remained close to Katrina as she introduced him to more of her peers.
By the time they returned to their suite, it was well after two o’clock in the morning, and Caleb was nearly exhausted. Even the sugar and caffeine from the colas he liberally consumed at the reception failed to curtail his incessant yawns. He noted that he wasn’t the only human in attendance who had problems keeping his eyes open. Many of the vampires conceded the evening only after viewing the pitiful state of their human companions, while vampires without human charges lingered to continue their conversations.
Katrina slipped from her dress and high-heeled shoes as Caleb likewise removed his clothes. Despite multiple glasses of blood at the reception to curtail her thirst, Katrina was looking forward to partaking in some of his blood. However, it was quickly becoming apparent by his lethargic behavior that he was simply looking forward to going to bed.
He slid beneath the covers of the bed, and she joined him after turning off the lights. Snuggling next to his warm body, she kissed him on the soft skin of his neck.
“Somebody smells wonderfully tasty.”
He groggily acknowledged her and suddenly realized her intentions.
Oh, but I’m so tired, he guiltily thought.
It wasn’t as if she asked for much from him, and he felt like a heel for being so tired. Taking a deep breath with a sense of fortitude, he opened his eyes to see her green eyes slightly glowing back at him.
“Want a nibble?” he asked with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.
She scrutinized him in the darkness, her vision plainly seeing the tired expression on his face and reflected in his pale blue eyes.
I should just let him go to sleep, she reasoned as she kissed him on the tip of his nose while starting to lie down.
“Never mind. Good night, my love,” she offered.
But he managed to reach out and grasp her arm, stopping her from moving
away from him.
“Wait. Please, take a little nightcap first,” he gently insisted.
Watching him with an endearing expression, she shook her head. “You’re amazing, my love,” she complimented before warmly kissing him on the lips. “I’ll make this fast.”
He turned his head away from her, cleanly exposing his neck. He felt her lips part as they formed a seal over his skin, and he sensed her silky warm tongue press against his flesh. The numbing sensation quickly formed and before long he felt her fangs extend into his neck with only the slightest pressure. The euphoria he normally felt when she drew blood from him seemed stronger, and his thoughts quickly drifted on a soothing sea of near unconsciousness. And for the first time since he met her, he drifted off to sleep as she drew blood from him.
She sensed him slip into unconsciousness, which momentarily alarmed her until she measured his steady breathing in conjunction with the strong beat of his pulse.
My dear, thoughtful Caleb, she silently mused as she continued to draw an additional mouthful of his blood.
She loved him totally and once again was impacted by his giving nature and how he strove to meet her needs. After pressing her tongue against his skin to seal the wounds on his neck, she curled up next to him and held him close to her while listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
* * * *
Chapter 5: A Walk in the Woods
Paige stood in the lobby watching the bustling activity as vampires filled the area either to chat or to make their way towards the large conference room where the primary meeting was scheduled to take place. It was still early morning, and very few humans were around, mostly hotel staff.
Her thoughts drifted to the previous evening’s reception and the interesting and attractive Dr. Ethan Reynolds. He had surprised her with his disarming charm and good looks, which was exactly why she needed to keep her guard up.
Could be a mole trying to glean information concerning Alton’s plans, she suspiciously pondered. But then, what if he’s simply a nice guy trying to get to know me at a purely social level?