by Livell James
Yeah well, he has no idea how my dad really is when he’s in full hunter mode. He has one thing on his mind and that’s taking out his prey. Yes, I said prey. It’s just the same as hunting anything else in the world you all live in. Okay, maybe that sounds a little harsh, but at least the Elder brothers are with him, since it’s up to them what their judgment will be. I reach into my pocket to pull out my phone again.
“I’m going to call Stacy to see if she can pick us up and take us to my place to grab our things. I think I’ll just grab food while I’m at home also. The smell of the burnt grease made me hungrier at first, but now it’s making my stomach churn. I’m sure you’re not loving the smell either,” I say to him.
“It smells a-fucking-mazing.” He laughs. “Yeah, I’m good with that, hopefully she isn’t busy and can help us out. Maybe she’ll have some news from Rob, about my car. Will I even need a car anymore? Maybe I should just talk to him about selling it,” Austin says as he stands up from the bench to pace from one side of the walkway to the other.
“Stacy said she’s on her way. I’m so glad I have a friend like her. I don’t know what I would do without her,” I say.
Austin stops walking “That reminds me. She said she was sent to the store to keep an eye on me. I wonder who the person was that sent her to do so?”
I can no longer feel the cold of the night—it feels the same to me as it did before we came outside. Haley, however, claims she’s freezing. Maybe it’s my nerves or adrenaline from the whole vampire thing. So many questions, so many things to learn. Stacy pulls up while I’m in deep thought, and we get into her SUV before I notice Rob was driving and not Stacy. I knew those two were a thing the whole time they were trying to play it off. I wait until we start moving and after we’ve thanked them for picking us up, before I have to ask.
“Stacy, I’ve been thinking since the other day when you told me you were sent to work at the store to keep an eye on me. Can you tell me who sent you, and how did they know you would get a job at the market?”
“I was sworn never to tell you, but from what Haley’s told me, I’m sure you’ve already met your grandmother. She sent me when she felt that you were in some kind of danger. Her and Mr. Jones have been friends for years, but she threatened his life if he told you she was alive. She’s also the reason you got the job there. She knew you were in a safe place and the Jones’ have been keeping watch over the Shreveport coven for many, many years.”
“Your grandmother tried to keep you away from the coven in hopes you would stay protected. It wasn’t until she knew the Thompsons were after you, and she found out you and Haley were fated mates. She knew you two were fated before anyone else. Once all of this came to be, she realized she had no choice but to bring you into the coven. I was just talking to her earlier today before she flashed without warning and left me standing on the street. I have no idea where she had to be in such a hurry,” Stacy replies.
“We have a good idea where she had to be. I’m sure she told you that Austin is changing and his vampire is taking over. Well, he’s at the point when he needs to feed on blood. I had to call her to come help, because I couldn’t get my parents to respond to phone calls or to me telepathically. I didn’t know it was blood he needed. I thought he was going to die, so I freaked out,” Haley tells her, turning to look over at me with a slight grin on her face and a blush in her cheeks.
I smile back and kind of just slide down in the seat, not responding to what Stacy just said. I still wish my grandmother hadn’t stayed hidden for so many years, even if she did it to keep me safe. I feel like I’ve missed out on so much in my life by not knowing her, or the vampire and coven side of my family. All the shit my parents kept hidden from me just to keep me safe, and they still had to die—only for me to be chased by some rogue ass vampires and become a bloodsucker myself.
I have to push all of that behind me, and let the past be just that, the past. As hard as it may be, it’s something that has to be done. I have a new life now.
My new life is with Haley. I’m not sure where that’s going either, but one thing I do know is I never want to spend another day without her by my side. I never thought the girl I spent the rest of my life with would become my “mate” within just a few days of meeting her. It’s not a bad thing, since we’re fated. The world knew we were meant to be mates. Fate brought us together, even though I wanted to run that first day. Now I only want to run to her. Not away from her.
Okay, that’s enough of my mushy ass thoughts for now.
“Stacy, I thought the two of you were just friends. Seems like you and Rob have been spending a lot of time together,” I say jokingly.
“I don’t remember ever saying just friends, Austin, I think I may have just said my friend Rob. We’ve been talking for a while now. We’ve just never officially said boyfriend or girlfriend yet. Right, Rob?” she says while putting her hand on his thigh.
“Well, who the hell needs labels, anyway?” He replies while laughing under his breath.
Stacy laughs, knowing he was only joking, and Haley and I join in, as well.
“Well, I guess the two of you have a label, huh? Seeing that you’re now mates, according to the Elders.” Rob looks at me and the laughing stops.
I just give him a blank stare for a few seconds before I start laughing again. “Hmm, mates, Haley. How do you feel about being the fated mate to a guy from the streets who’s destined to become a vampire?” I look at her and grin.
“It’s all still a little weird, but I think I could get used to it. Besides, I’m half vampire myself. What about those two up there, dhampir and werewolf. Does that mean if you two ever have kids, they’ll be hybrids?” Haley says with a stunned look on her face.
“It means it will be a bad ass mofo,” Rob turns to tell her.
We finally make it to Haley’s apartment complex, after what seemed like hours riding in the backseat of this car. I walked up the stairs that I ran up the last time we were here. If my strength is supposed to be enhanced, why do I feel so tired, just from climbing up a few flights of stairs? I have to stop and sit on the bottom step of the last flight.
“I’m not sure what’s going on, guys. I feel like I’ve used all of my energy.”
Haley turned around and came back down to where I’m sitting on the hunter green steps. They feel like a block of ice under my ass. Now that I think about it, I feel like a block of ice. My body’s freezing now. An hour ago, I couldn’t tell it was even cold out.
“Athena said you should have had enough blood to get you through a few days.”
“Athena, as in his grandmother?” Rob asks.
“Yes, my grandmother, why do you ask?” I reply.
“Because her blood is your family’s blood. Which means the blood you drink from her is the pretty much the same blood already inside your body. You burned through it faster than you would any other blood. You need to feed again,” he tells me.
“How did she not know that? She off all people should have known,” I say in a panic.
This vampire shit is a lot more painful and drawn out than I ever imagined it would be. I guess my change is different than one who has been bitten by a bloodsucker. Not that I know how any of this shit works, but if I need to feed to get my energy back up, then so be it.
“Just what or whom am I supposed to feed on, Rob? I can’t take blood from Haley, and Stacy doesn’t look like she’s willing to offer up her wrists, seeing how she’s walking backwards up the stairs.”
“You can take my blood,” he says as his fangs pops out to bite his wrist. “Go ahead, I’m man enough to handle it. Besides, I’m a shifter and it’ll heal within minutes. We claim our mates by biting each other, so you drinking my blood is no big deal. I will warn you, though. Whoever you feed from, you’ll always have some kind of connection with them. Once you feed from my arm, it may or may not create a bond between us.”
He’s full of information, but all I am worried about in that moment is the bloo
d pouring from his wrist. The smell of copper and wet dog fills the air. He bends down to place his arm in front of me. I can’t control myself once the smell of blood is stronger, and I grab his wrist and begin to suck. The warm blood coats my throat and I can feel the power of his wolf running through me. I feel my strength building back, and the energy pouring from him is almost overwhelming. I see flashes of his werewolf running through my head, and suddenly he says, “Enough.”
“You were enjoying that a little more than you should have. You were playing inside my head. Austin, you have powers beyond anything you can imagine. I could feel you in my thoughts,’’ he says while I’m still holding his arm to my mouth.
Shit just keeps getting weirder.
“I have no idea how or why it happened. After I started drinking from you, I could see you changing into your wolf. You were running to someone, but you stopped me before I could see who the person was,” I reply.
“It was my mom. I could see you there, Austin. They took my mom away from the pack when I was younger. I haven’t seen her since. I was running to try to stop them. I ended up running away from our pack soon after and came to Louisiana. Looks like we did bond. You’re stuck with me for the rest of your life now, whether you like it or not. Even if we’re miles away, we’ll still be able to read each other’s thoughts.” Rob looks down at me before taking his arm from my hands.
“How come you never told me this, Rob?” Stacy asks with a look of disbelief on her face.
“It never came up in conversation, and I’ve always enjoyed our time together. I didn’t want to ruin it with sob stories of my old pack,” he tells her while wrapping his arm over her shoulder. “We’ll talk about it later, okay. I love you, Stacy.”
She blushes, laying her head on his chest with a smile. “You’ve never said that Rob, not even after I told you I love you.”
“First time for everything.” Rob grins and turns to walk up the stairs with her still on his arm.
“Now, let’s focus on why we’re here. We have to get their things and get Austin back before his change is complete, and from the looks of it that won’t be long. Maybe just hours even,” he tells us.
It seemed for a moment those two had forgotten that Haley and I were even here. I stand, pushing myself and holding onto the rail. Haley reaches to help me, but pulls away once she remembers yet again that we should not touch until my change is complete—and that can’t happen soon enough.
Climbing the last flight of stairs is a breeze. Haley walks over and unlocks the door, letting us all go in first, and she follows behind, making sure to lock the door as soon as it closes. She walks into the small kitchen and opens the freezer.
“I have a couple of pizzas in here if you guys are hungry.”
“Pizza. That sounds so good, but can I still eat pizza? I mean, I just had werewolf blood and I’m pretty full,” I joke.
“I don’t know if you can or not, but I sure as hell can. I’ve also had this tasty were blood you speak of. What? Why are you two looking at me like that? I’m part vampire too, you know. My fangs work just the same.” Stacy laughs.
“Wait, you have fangs, too? I thought I was the only dhampir with fangs,” Haley says while taking the pizzas out of the freezer, placing them on the pan, and then into the oven.
“I sure do, and I love the taste of blood during sex. It’s my weakness. I’m sure you’ll feel the same once you and Austin get to mate, fuck, screw. Whatever it is that you two will do once he turns full vampire.” Stacy smirks, throws her hair over her shoulder, and walks over to sit beside Rob on the couch.
The thought of Haley drinking my blood sends a shockwave straight to my cock. Then the thought of her sucking my cock after drinking my blood quickly followed. Fuck, I have to stop thinking this shit in front of Rob and Stacy. I’m sure these pants I’m wearing won’t cover my massive hard on. As a matter of fact, I already know they don’t hide anything after seeing the look on Haley’s face back at the lair.
I turn my back to them, facing toward where Haley’s standing in the kitchen, and she looks at my eyes first and then my crotch. She blushes, and then a grin spreads across her face.
“I need to grab my clothes out of your dryer,” I say to her as she comes as close as she can without touching and whispers in my ear.
“I think that may be a good idea, and I can’t wait to take care of that problem you keep having when the time comes.”
Damn it, Haley. I just want to grab her by her neck, kiss her, taste her, and take her right here on the kitchen counter. I wouldn’t even give a shit if anyone else was in the room at this point. But I think it’s best I just get my clothes from her dryer and let my cock ache with need. This change has sent my sexual desires into maximum overdrive. My senses are hyped more than I could even express to anyone who hasn’t been through this. Maybe once the change is complete, I’ll have better control of it all.
Austin can’t seem to control his manhood lately. Not that I want him to control it—hell, I want to order him to release his pent-up sexual frustration. On me.
Okay, stop with the dirty thoughts, Haley. Pizza, yes, check the pizza.
“Hey guys, the pizzas are done if you’re hungry,” I say while placing them on the small, round, wooden table I have in my dining space before sitting a stack of paper plates and napkins down beside them.
“I hate to rush everyone, but Austin and I need to be back as soon as possible. I have no idea when he’ll have another episode or when he’ll complete his change. I just think it may be best if we are back underground before he does so,” I say, placing my plate of pizza on the bar.
Austin returns from my bedroom with his clothes in one of my gym bags. Sadly, he doesn’t have any more than that. I wish I could say the same. I have two-bedroom closets full of clothes. I have to make a choice of what to take with me back to my parents’ place.
He tries to eat the pizza, but it doesn’t go over very well.
“Well, pizza still taste amazing, probably even more amazing than before. But once it hits my stomach, I feel like I’m going to throw it back up,” Austin tells me.
“You’ll be fine, your body is just rejecting food. You’ll soon only be able to eat raw meat, or blood,” I reply while I put the rest of the pizza in a couple of Ziplock bags. I’ll take it back for my brother, lord knows that kid can put away some food.
“Let me grabs some things and we’ll get going, if you guys are ready to head back, Stacy?” I ask them while I’m walking into my bedroom, not really giving them time to reply.
I know Austin will complete his change soon, and I have no idea how it’ll affect him. The city is not the best place for us to be when it happens, just in case he freaks out or goes on a rampage. I really don’t see that happening with him, but when humans turn, they all react in different ways. Just because I think it wouldn’t happen doesn’t mean it can’t.
Either way, it’s best to be safe in our part of the city, instead of being out where humans could see him change or possibly become his next meal. He’ll need to feed again once it’s complete. I’m hoping I’ll be the one he feeds on next. The thought of him digging his fangs into my neck while his cock is deep inside me makes me blush. I walk back into the kitchen after grabbing my things from my room and picked up the pizza I had bagged for Jonah, stuffing it into the bag with my clothes.
“I’m ready when you guys are. We need to get Austin back underground before his change is complete.”
I walk toward the door, again without giving them a chance to respond. Maybe I’m being a little pushy or even an asshole. But if this happens out here, it could be much worse than me being a little bit of an asshole towards my friends. I’m sure they understand, as they’ve both seen the change from human to vampire, as well to shifter. So, they both know as well as I do that we can’t predict what is to come of his change.
This is my first time seeing a dhampir change without first dying. I guess it’s like I was thinking before—Austin
is dying and the vampire is living. He’ll still have the mind and body he’s always had, but he’ll now be thinking and acting as a vampire. The dark side of him will come forward, even if it’s not evil. We all have a dark side—some of us just keep it hidden better than others.
“I hope you have a jacket Haley. You’re in such a hurry to leave, but you know it’s cold out there,” Austin informs me while almost placing his hand on my back. The heat can be felt even with him being inches away from touching me.
I turn to look over my shoulder at him. “I knew I was forgetting something. I just want to make sure you’re in a safe place when the time comes. I guess I have too much on my mind,” I tell him, grabbing my jacket from the coat closet next to the front door. I also grab a hoodie for him to use, as I know that long sleeve plaid shirt he has on isn’t enough to keep him warm.
Does he even feel the cold anymore? I know my parent have always told us that temperature changes didn’t really affect them unless it was extreme heat, much hotter than our summers in Louisiana. And they’re already pretty extreme if you ask me or any other human that has to live with the humid heat in midsummer.
“As soon as we’re on the road, I need to call Hunter.” I look over at Austin, noticing he doesn’t look very pleased with the idea.
“Can we really trust him, Haley?”
The worried look eases from his face once I look him in the eyes. “He did give us a lead to find where his cousins were hiding out.” I grin with a shrug.
“He did indeed, but he also asked for something in return, am I right? We’ll just have to keep a close eye on that guy. Something still doesn’t sit right with me,” Austin tells me as he turns to look out the window at passing traffic.
I let him have his moment to think for a bit while I call my dad. The phone never rings more than three times before he picks up, even with the shit service we have under the city. This time it rings at least six before he finally answers.