Tainted Love

by Livell James

“Haley, I have to call you back!” he says as he hangs up the phone.

  Him hanging up on me is really getting old. I nudge Austin with my phone to get his attention.

  “They have to be having some problems, Austin. He sounded winded and said he would call me back. Vampires don’t get winded that easy,” I tell him.

  “I’m sure they’re fine. They’re much more powerful than the Thompsons. I don’t think your dad and the Elders would have any problems there,” he assures me.

  “I guess you’re right,” I reply, picking up my phone again to call Hunter.

  “Hello?” he answers rather quickly.

  “Hey Hunter, this is Haley. I was just calling to see how things went with Mrs. Hyde, and to ask if you’ve had any trouble from your cousins?”

  “Hi Haley. She did a spell to break the bond, but she said that I must be bonded to someone else before the blood moon or the spell would be broken. The bond from someone else would forever break my bond with those fuckers.”

  “Can you meet us back at the shop where your sister works? We’ll get you answers from Athena, Austin’s grandmother. Oh, and have you heard from those fuckers?”

  “Trust me, I know who Athena is, and I’m not sure bringing me to her will go over very well if she thinks I had anything to do with her son’s murder. As far as my cousins go, I haven’t heard a peep from them since I told you where they were. I’m hoping that means they’ve been taken care of. And yes, I’ll meet you back at the shop. See you then,” he finishes, hanging up the phone.

  The look Austin’s giving me when I turn to look at him kind of sends a shock through me, but not a good one this time.

  “Why would you take that asshole to my grandmother for help?” he groans.

  “Do you not see that he helped you, Austin? Had he not told us where to find those guys, they wouldn’t have stopped until you were dead,” I say, thinking to myself that the darkness must be fighting to take over the light in Austin. He seems so angry in the moment.

  “Sorry, Haley. I’m not sure what’s come over me. It was as if all I could think after I heard you talking to him were evil thoughts. Maybe it’s me trying to protect my mate and my family. You’re right, once again. I know he helped and it’s only right that we help him break the bond.” A smile comes back to brighten his face.

  I nod. “It’s okay Austin, you’ve had a lot to deal with today. You have to learn to control the evil thoughts. The darkness will overcome you if you don’t fight it off. Once you change, this will become harder for you to do, but you must. Giving into the darkness will forever tie you to evil.”

  I’m not sure what came over me, knowing she was on the phone with that man, offering him help from my grandmother. All I could think was I wanted to kill him and those fuckers he’s bonded to for what they’d done to my parents. But there’s a part of me that also knows if he had anything to do with it, it was to only save his own life from his shitty family. I’m sure he feared they would kill him, as well.

  I don’t like having this evilness overcome me like this. I have always been a kind-hearted guy, and even knowing what they had done to my parents before my change started, the thought of killing them never crossed my mind. Once Haley explains that it’s the darkness trying to overcome me, I totally understand. And I have an instant calmness wash over me as she smiles and I see the glint in her eyes. She’s the most beautiful being on the planet. Hell, the universe, for that matter. How the hell did a guy like me get so damn lucky to have her as his fated mate? The only catch is that the old me has to die for my vampire to have his mate.

  “Sorry, Haley. I’m not sure what’s come over me. It was as if all I could think after I heard you talking to him were evil thoughts. Maybe it’s me trying to protect my mate and my family. You’re right, once again. I know he helped and it’s only right that we help him break the bond.” I smile back at her. “What did you mean by saying my grandmother can help him though?” The smile leaves my face as I wait for her to answer.

  “He said Mrs. Hyde had done a spell to break his bond from the cousins, but if he hadn’t bonded to someone else before the next blood moon, the spell would not work and his bond with them would be unbreakable. Athena was the first person that I thought of and if anyone would have answers, it would be her. We could have gone to the Elders, but they have to deal with the problems of the whole Shreveport coven, and I don’t want to keep them busy with our problems all the time. Besides, your grandmother may as well be one of the Elders. She has as much, if not more, wisdom than any of them do.” Haley pauses to catch her breath.

  “I’m also sorry I didn’t ask you first before assuming you’d be okay with her helping him. I can understand why you’d be upset. I really do think he’s a good guy, Austin. I could feel the pain inside of him when he bumped into me earlier,” she tells me.

  We’ve completely forgotten that anyone else was in the car with us while we were having our conversation, but I don’t think they paid us any mind. Seeing them hold hands made it hard for me to not reach over and grab Haley’s. Damn this change can’t be complete soon enough. The moment I’m finally able to hold her, I may never let her go.

  “Okay guys, we’re here,” I hear Stacy say from the front seat.

  Damn, that was a quick trip back. I really must have been lost in thought the whole way.

  “Thank you, Stacy and Rob, you guys have no idea how big a help you’ve been to us. I hope that one day, I’ll be able to repay the two of you,” I tell them while helping Haley grab her bags.

  “It’s what friends do, Austin. And those of us from the Other World have to stick together and help each other. We have too much evil already. Besides, we’re bonded now. We have no other choice but to be there for each other,” Rob replies while stepping out of the car to shake my hand. “You’re part of my pack now, whether you like it or not.”

  Stacy’s standing beside him and I move to hug her.

  “Thank you for everything. You’ve got a good wolfman there, Stacy.” I laugh.

  “Ha, ha, ha, thank you Austin, he’s all right I suppose. And anytime,” she replies while getting back into the car.

  The digital thermometer on the bank across the street says it’s thirty-one degrees. It’s still not cold to me, but I know it has to be for Haley.

  “Let’s get you inside, you must be freezing. I can no longer tell the difference in temperature change.” I take her bags and motion her toward the door.

  Once inside the shop, we ask the lady at the counter if Jess was working, but she’d already left for the day. “Her brother just came in though, and he went to the back. Are you the ones he was supposed to be meeting here? Are you two vampires?” she asks us while still standing behind the counter.

  I don’t think I’m ready to admit that I’m a vampire just yet. I mean, I do still have a little of my human side—for now.

  “We would be the ones he’s waiting for, yes. I’m not sure what you mean by vampire. There’s no such thing.” I smile as innocently as I can at the lady.

  “Don’t play dumb with me dude, I know about the secret passages and tunnels below the city. I work here, remember? We see them come and go all the time,” she says as she walks around the counter, reaching out to shake my hand. “I’m Brinley.”

  I took her hand but only for a second. She’s not human, but it’s not my place to call her out. It’s a strong sent of woods, wet dog, and sunflower perfume. She has very striking features. Her dark brown hair falls to her shoulders, she has brown eyes, and a very defined jawline you don’t find on most females. The shirt she’s wearing looks like it may be a few sizes too small.

  “Nice to meet you, Brinley,” Haley says, putting herself between the two of us.

  “Oh, you must be Haley. Hunter told me about you two and the trouble you’ve been having with his shithead cousins. I’m not trying to hit on your man. It’s Hunter I’m after. I mean, have you seen those damn stocky arms of his?” Brinley swishes her hair and starts
to walk away. “He’s waiting for you guys in the back room. Good luck and be safe.”

  I look down at Haley and motion toward the back, forgetting everything the other lady just said. I pushed the curtain open, finding Hunter pacing the floor like he’s waiting for someone to give birth.

  “Thank God you guys are finally here!” he says, excitement in his voice.

  I guess I would be just as excited too if I knew I was soon going to be free of the evil his cousins have bestowed upon him. I smile, still not sure I fully trust this guy, but I’ll take it like I’m just I’m returning the favor.

  “I only have a few days. I Googled to check and the next blood moon is only three days away. I hope your grandmother can help me figure this out, Austin. I can’t thank you guys enough for this,” he says as he calmly walks to the bookshelf and pulls the book forward to open the passageway door.

  “Just remember, if we help you and you’re just leading us into a trap, I will kill you. Do you understand, Hunter? I will not let anything happen to my mate or my family,” I let him know, walking into the open doorway behind Haley.

  Again, I feel evil building up inside me. The urge to mate overcomes me. I know it isn’t long before my human side will be lost. I can tell my vampire is on edge, pushing to take over. Haley turns to look at me over her shoulder. She seems worried but before I could ask her what was wrong, I feel Hunter’s hands on my back as I start to fall to the floor yet again. How many fucking times am I going to get weak like this before the vampire is strong enough to sustain me? My eyes close and I feel myself slip away again.

  Damn it, Austin has become weak again and almost falls to the floor. Thankfully Hunter was here to catch him. Austin’s body begins to shiver and his eyes roll back into his head. I know I’m not supposed to touch him until we’re mated, but I couldn’t help myself. I push my hand behind his neck to give him comfort. The moment my hand connects to the skin on his neck—a shock, like the hottest of fire, runs through my arm and into my body, and it hits me hard enough that if a body could have an orgasm from a single touch, it just happened to me.

  Austin’s fangs burst forth from his gums, and his eyes go back to normal. Well, by normal, I mean no longer rolling back into his head. They’re an ice blue, cold with a red rim around his pupil. Stunning if you ask me, but others may find it frightening.

  “Haley, what’s going on here?’’ Hunter asks, and the look he gives me is nothing short of shocked by what had just happened.

  “Austin is becoming a vampire. I think his change has just been completed. We need to get him to his grandmother as soon as possible. Let’s get out of this passage and into the underground, and I’ll summon for her. She can help us with your problems and let us know what to do from here with Austin. You have to help him, Hunter. I wasn’t supposed to touch him until we were mated. I’m not sure why, but after what I just felt, I think it’s best that I don’t touch him again for now,” I reply tell him as he reaches to put Austin’s arm around his shoulder.

  Once we’re safe in our world, Hunter helps Austin down to sit against the dingy wall. I move away for a bit to call out to Athena.

  “Austin had another spell. I think his change is complete. If you can you hear me, please come.”

  I hope I’m not too far from her that she can’t hear my call. “Athena.” I repeat myself a few times before I hear a faint voice. “I hear you Haley, tell me where you are.”

  Just like before, she’s here before I could finish letting her know where we were. Damn, I hate that I’m not able to flash from place to place like that. Austin is sitting against the wall when she arrives. He looks like nothing has even happened. As a matter of fact, he looks even better than he did just moments before his episode.

  “I’m fine. I don’t know why she called you. It could have waited. I’m fine, I just got dizzy, that’s all,” he tells us.

  I think he’s lying, but I have to take his word that he’s fine. Athena seems to have forgotten the reason I called her here anyway and has taken notice of the other guy standing next to me. A shiver runs down my back from the look that she’s giving me. Austin stands from where he was sitting and comes to stand next to me.

  “Why do we have a Thompson in our midst?” Athena asks, eyes narrowed.

  “You must not have talked to the Elders. He helped us find his cousins. He’s always been bonded to them. He’s been to the witch at the bookstore, and she did a spell to break the bond, but it’s only temporary. He must be bonded to another before the blood moon,” I answer.

  “It was not my choice, but he helped find the ones who are out to kill me. Besides, if he wanted to harm me, he’s already had plenty of time and opportunity to do so,” Austin chimes in.

  “If you two trust him, then so be it.” She smirks, walking over to look at Austin’s neck. I hadn’t noticed that on his neck was the perfect shape of my hand where I lifted his neck earlier.

  “You touched him. I told you two not to touch until his change was complete.”

  “It was only for a brief moment to lift his neck. Once I felt the heat from him and the shock that ran through me, I let him go. I’m sorry, but I thought he was hurting and I lifted his neck to help him breathe,” I reply.

  “It’s only a minor burn, and it will heal once he has mated and fed from you. I advise you not to do anymore touching before then. It won’t be a good idea for anyone around you at that moment. His change is complete and his urge to mate will overcome him. He is to feed from you before the blood moon,” the grandmother explains.

  It’s still a little odd that she talks to us about mating, but I just nod my head in agreement. It’s also kind of embarrassing that Hunter’s standing here, listening to her talking about the two of us, and I can’t help my blush.

  “Austin, are you sure you’re okay?” I ask, changing the subject.

  “I’ve never felt better.”

  The sound of his voice was muffled by the sudden sound of gunshots, and then another voice rings out.

  “Athena, get them out of here!”

  It was my dad’s voice. I’d know that voice anywhere.

  “Grab my arm, all of you! Now!” she yells loudly.

  Before everything turned black, I heard another gunshot and a loud groan coming from Hunter.

  “I’ve been shot,” Hunter says as we are all suddenly standing in my parents’ lair.

  Athena must have flashed us all here. I had no idea I would even be able to withstand the flash without any harm, but at the moment, that’s the least of my worries.

  “Where are you hit, Hunter?” I ask him as he eases himself down to lay on the floor.

  “I’ve been hit in my abdomen. It was them. My fucking cousin shot me.”

  His voice sounds weak and threadbare. I looked down, and the blood was more than I’d expected. I run to grab towels to put pressure on it, and I glance up at Austin. He has his fangs out, glaring down at me. The smell of blood has over taken his sense and he isn’t hiding the fact.

  “I am dying, don’t let me die,” Hunter moans, clutching at his wound.

  “Austin, you must change him. It’s the only way. He has lost too much blood. Become his sire,” Athena tells him.

  “What the hell is a sire, and how the hell do I change someone?” Austin replies, a look of frustration covering his face.

  “A sire means you have control over him once you’ve changed him. He will forever be bonded to you and under your control. You must drink from him, and then feed him your blood. He will begin to heal and he will slowly change into one of us. It’s the only way at this point—otherwise he dies, and his death will be on your hands,” his grandmother tells him, leading him over to where Hunter is lying on the floor.

  “Hold on, what do you mean I’ll have control over him? I don’t want to be in control of someone, or even something for that matter. I just became a vampire less than an hour ago. I can’t even control myself at this point.”

  “Please Austin, don’t
let me die. Change me,” Hunter begs while more of his blood starts to puddle on the floor.

  I lied when I said I was okay. I’m so dizzy, I can hardly stand. I felt the change take over my body. Everything turned black, and the darkness overcame me. As soon as I come to my senses, a gun shot rang out and we’ve been flashed to the Devile lair.

  I was thinking humans couldn’t flash like vampires could, but it seems Haley made the journey just fine. But then there’s Hunter, telling us he’d been shot and it was his cousin who’d fired the shot that hit him in his abdomen. He’s crying, begging us not to let him die while Haley is pressing towels on his wound, trying to stop the bleeding. I’m still in a daze and not clear on what’s fully happened when my grandmother insists that I change him.

  “Austin, you must change him. It’s the only way. He’s lost too much blood. Become his sire.”

  I have no fucking clue what a sire is, and even after she explains it to me, I still have no idea what it is that I am to do. She tells me that I will be in control of him and forever bonded—whatever that means. I don’t even know if I can control myself at this point. It hasn’t even been an hour since I became a vampire and now, I’m being told to change someone.

  “Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be best to let him die? He’ll become a bloodsucking monster if he’s like his cousins. Besides, he’s a Thompson! How do we know he won’t turn on us once he has changed?” I ask.

  “Like I said, if he dies his death is no longer on his cousin, it will forever be on you. Austin, change him now. Before it’s too late. I wouldn’t have asked you to do it had I thought he was a threat,” Athena says, taking my hand and leading me over to where Hunter is lying on the floor.

  The towels Haley have covering his wound are no longer stopping the blood, and it’s now started to puddle on the floor around him. A look of shock covers his face, and his stare is blank. The copper smell of his blood fills my senses, it’s so strong I can practically taste the metallic bitterness, and my need to taste it overwhelms me.