Alpha's Blood

by Renee Rose

  He’s trying to make me angry. It’s working.

  “But she did obey, in the end. And you killed her. Amusing how history repeats itself?”

  “I find it tiring.” And I do. This whole miserable existence is not worth leaving the grave. It wasn’t until Selene came into my world that I had a reason to feel. To walk a new path.

  “You just need a challenge.”

  “Is that what I am to you, Xavier? A challenge?” I spread my hands. “How exactly did you think you could kill me?”

  “Do you know how the shifter auctions came about?”

  I narrow my eyes. “Some of my sired got a taste for shifter blood.”

  “Yes. do you know how?”

  I do, actually. My own research and interrogations have told me. But I fold my arms and let Xavier have his fun.

  “I’ve been at it for years. Hunting shifters, capturing them. I thought, if I can get one to complete the change, I could create an army more powerful than anything on earth. There had to be a way to do it. We tried with all types of shifters, strong ones and weak ones. But they’d rather die as shifters than live again as the undead.”

  I snort, and he nods as if I’ve agreed.

  “It is too bad. We could’ve created vampires faster than you could dream. An army of the strongest creatures on earth.”

  “So that was your plan to overthrow me?”

  Xavier smiles. “Not the only one.”

  Selene

  When I come to, I’m hanging upside down. I’m in a crushed cab, covered in glass. Windshield wiper fluid drains out of the hood. Where am I? What just happened? The road block. The car crash. The vampire--Vampire!

  I rip away the seatbelt and gravity takes over. I fall, hit the roof of the destroyed Escalade. My world tilts. Blindly, I grope for the door lock. When I find the window opener, i say a prayer and press it. It opens most of the way.

  I’ve contorted around to squeeze out of the window when hands clamp under my armpits. I save my strength and let the vampire drag me out. He tries to grab my throat but I’m too fast for him. I rear back and kick him in the gut. He falls. My speed is wearing off, but these guys aren’t expecting me to be as fast as a vampire. I still have the element of surprise. I stake my fallen enemy and scramble away from the upside down SUV. There was another one.

  I jog back to the scene of broken Escalades. Glass crunches under my shoes. I find the second vampire unconscious from the crash and finish him with one of my makeshift stakes.

  The walkie talkie crackles on the ground with someone asking for updates. Any moment, they’ll dispatch someone to check this out. Maybe they already have.

  I’ve got to get out of here, but my sickness is back with a vengeance. My vision blurs.

  Something white streaks up the road, solidifying into a Camaro. I jolt backwards, falling into a ready fighting stance, but an Irish accent makes me pause.

  “It’s all right, lass! It’s just us!”

  The doors slam and gravel crunches as I stagger. Declan and Parker appear at my side.

  “Easy, there, it’s all right.” They support me as I dry heave onto the dirt. I can’t believe my stomach is still upset. It’s been over twenty four hours that I’ve eaten anything.

  “Thanks, “ I say, using a section of my shirt to wipe my face.

  “You all right?”

  “No,” I mumble. “I’m...I don’t feel well.”

  “Come on, lass. Into the Camaro.”

  “Need to go to Lucius.”

  “You’re in no condition to get to him.”

  Laurie appears, holding something. The cooler. It survived the crash.

  “Feck, Declan mutters. “Not this again.”

  I push upright and jerk my arm out of Parker’s grip to beckon to the tall shifter. “Give me the blood. Now.”

  Declan blocks my way. “Lass, no. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Lucius gave it to me. He knows...He knows I need it to kill vampires. Xavier will hunt me to the ends of the earth when he finds out I betrayed him.” My head throbs. Whatever illness I had earlier, it’s not gone, but buried under the adrenaline rush the vampire blood gives me. When this is over, I’m going to have a hell of a migraine. “This has to end now. Tonight

  Lucius

  “You’ve wanted to kill me for what, a hundred years? A thousand? Since we were sired? You were always jealous of me, Xavier. Of course you had several plans to kill me. None of them worked.”

  “Mmm,” Xavier is back to looking smug. “I had high hopes for Selene.”

  “And she didn’t kill me. She got close, but couldn’t bring herself to do it.”

  “Are you so sure?”

  I’m here, aren’t I? And she is not.”

  “Ah yes, there is that. Tell me, what exactly happened to her?” Xavier steps onto the dais, close enough for me to make out the scars on his face, even in the dim light. He lost his eye in a fight with a she-bear shifter, and even though he always wears a black eye patch, his face is a gruesome sight.

  But his face doesn’t hold my attention.

  Behind him, in the hall, a shadow moves. A glimmer of a white blonde head. Xavier and I are no longer alone. My pet sneaked into the room.

  She’s come back to me at the best and worst possible moment.

  Everything’s changed.

  Selene

  Xavier stands in front of the sarcophagus talking to Lucius like they’re at a party. Vampires are nuts.

  I snuck through the house. It was easy. I’d lived there almost a month, after all. Xavier’s guards were alert and on edge, but they didn’t expect me. No one expects a she-wolf hopped up on vampire blood. I left a trail of bodies.

  “She’s dead,” Lucius’ voice echoes around me. “I killed her.”

  “I thought you would. How’d she taste? I’ve always wondered.” My ex-mentor’s voice makes my skin crawl. “All those years keeping her untouched, unblooded. Chaste for the auction. How did you find her blood?”

  Lucius licks his lips with an obscene flash of fang. “Delicious.”

  “Did you drain her?”

  “Yes, I--” Lucius stops mid sentence as his whole body jerks. He slumps onto the sarcophogus, suddenly gasping for breath. I freeze.

  “Ah yes. I was wondering when it would take effect.” Xavier steps forward. He’s inching towards Lucius.

  “Stay back,” rasps Lucius. I get to my feet. Something’s happening. Should I go to him? I creep further into the room and Lucius puts up a hand. “Stay back,” he repeats, even though Xavier hasn’t moved. Lucius knows I‘m here. The message was for me.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me what’s going on?” Xavier chuckles. “Right now your limbs should be feeling heavy. The poison is delayed, but once it overwhelms your organs there’s no going back. No antidote.”

  “Selene,” Lucius whispers. My hairs stand on end. I rise. “No,” Lucius orders, his voice sharp as a whip. I stay where I am, standing in plain sight, but Xavier’s focused on his enemy.

  “It’s no use,” Xavier says softly. “The poison’s in your veins. I knew you wouldn’t resist drinking from our Selene. Draining her dry. I had to be careful of the dose--enough to kill you without killing the shifter carrier too quickly. My lab worked for years to make it slow acting.”

  “When--” Lucius croaks.

  My mind is racing ahead, knowing what Xavier will say. He poisoned me. That bastard poisoned me.

  “At your club. I walked right in and gave her a drink. That’s what one does at clubs, correct? Then you both went home and I just had to wait.”

  Lucius shudders. “Go on,” he makes a chopping motion with his hand. He’s ordering me to leave. I can’t believe Xavier hasn’t realized I’m here, but he’s too focused on his enemy. “Make it quick--”

  “Oh I don’t think so,” Xavier whispers. “That’s the beauty of it. With you weak, I can take my time.” His body tenses and I know he’s going to leap over the sarcophagus and take Lucius down
.

  “No!” With my remaining strength, I blur onto the platform to grab my ex mentor.

  “Pet!” Lucius cries. “No!”

  I’m faster than Xavier, but only just. I pull him back from attacking Lucius and he whirls, hissing. Too late, I see the stake in his hand.

  Lucius

  For an awful second, Selene and Xavier grapple, the huge vampire’s body covering hers. I seize the stake she left at my feet a lifetime ago and leap over the stone coffin. I rip Xavier off Selene and slam the stake into his chest. He arches, stiffening, and falls. The stake isn’t quite in his heart, but it’ll hold him for now.

  I whirl and crouch beside Selene.

  “Hey.” Her smile lights her entire face. Her small hand pats my bare chest. “He didn’t get you.”

  “No.”

  From her shoulders up she’s beautiful, her hair falling around her face, silken silver. It spills over her chest and when I brush it away, the locks come away stained with blood. Xavier buried a stake in her gut. I place a hand on her chest but don’t dare tug the wood away. If he didn’t hit an artery, he came close and removing the stake will speed the blood loss. Her limbs are cold, stiffening.

  “What’s happening?” Her lips turn blue.

  “Pet…” My hands comb over her body, checking for more wounds. The stake shouldn’t slow her shifter healing. She’s fading too fast.

  “The poison,” Xavier cackles beside us.

  I blur to his side. The stake is half in his heart. I set my foot on it and press. “Where’s the antidote?”

  His head rolls to the left and right. “There is none.”

  “Lucius…” Selene rasps.

  Xavier grimaces. With his final strength, he lifts his hand and clutches my leg. “She’s alive. How--?”

  I lean over him, fangs bared. “I didn’t kill her. I made her mine.” His grip convulses on my leg, but his strength is gone. Another enemy, vanquished. But at what cost?

  “I’ll see you in hell,” I tell him and push the stake in another two inches, until his mouth slackens and his eyes go black.

  I blur to Selene’s side. “Baby. Sweet Selene. My pet.” My hands stroke over her body. I want to carry her out, move her from this place, but she might not survive.

  “Just a flesh wound...” she whispers. “Why are you...so sad...”

  I shake my head, not wanting to answer. “Doesn’t matter. You’re here. How did--”

  “Nobody expects the Spanish--” Blood leaks from her mouth and I stop her lips with two fingers.

  “Shhhh. Don’t talk.” A tremor goes through her and I answer the question in her eyes. “You’re body is shutting down. He poisoned you.”

  Her mouth works under my fingers. “Tried…”

  “Yes, baby. He poisoned you to get to me.” She’s dying and it’s my fault. It always is. My chest constricts, my body tightening with the need to roar.

  Footsteps in the hall make me jerk upright. Declan and Parker and their tall, strange friend run up to the dais and take in the scene with horrified faces.

  “Is it the blood?” The Irish wolf asks.

  “She took the blood?” I snarl. “How much did she have?”

  “All of it. She took all of it,” Declan says. The tall shifter beside him twitches. “Is that what’s wrong with her?”

  I jerk my head sharply. “Poison. Meant for vampires.” My blood won’t save her. Her shifter healing is working but her wounds are too great. Her system is overwhelmed. Nothing can save her now.

  Unless...

  “Is there an antidote?” Declan is asking. “What can we do--”

  “Get out. Leave us.” What I’m about to do can’t be witnessed by anyone but me.

  “Sire--”

  “Your debt is paid,” I snap at them, cradling Selene’s head with gentle hands. “Go.”

  “No.” Declan sounds so stubborn I tear my gaze away from Selene. No one says no to me. “We’re not leaving her.”

  Of course they’re devoted. She inspires that level of loyalty without trying.

  “I would never hurt her. But you must leave. Leave and shut the crypt behind you. Tell no one what you saw today.” The echo of my voice dies with the sound of retreating footsteps. I relax. Selene and I are alone. The only sound is the rattle of her breath in her broken chest.

  “Oh, pet, you are undone.” She’s so pale, her life slipping away with every heartbeat. By the time her body fights the poison off, she’ll die from the stake wound.

  “Worth it…” she whispers. No anger, no rancor on her face. Nothing but love. She raises a hand and I capture it, bringing it to my lips.

  “I hope you can forgive me for what I’m about to do.”

  Her eyes widen. “What--”

  “Shhh.” I stop her lips again, leaning close. “If you could choose, would you stay with me?”

  Her brow quirks. “Stay?” Her body convulses in my hold as pain wracks her organs. The poison taking over.

  “Listen, Selene.” I’m running out of time. “What would you choose?”

  Her mouth tips up under my fingers as she whispers, “You.”

  My head falls back, relief bursting in my chest. With Selene fading at my feet, I tear a wound in my flesh, right above my heart. I lift her and press her mouth to the red slash.

  “Drink,” I order. And her throat works, her lips sucking at my skin as she drinks deeply.

  It might not work. It might be too late. But there’s a slim chance and I have to try.

  She convulses in my arms and I grip her tighter.

  “That’s it, pet. It’ll be all right.” She clutches me, straining. I tip her backwards so my blood flows more easily down her throat. The transformation takes several exchanges, sire to sired. We’ve exchanged blood several times, and with the amount she drank today, it might work.

  But only if the poison doesn’t overwhelm her body first.

  A sigh shakes her body and her hands lose their grip on my shoulders. Her eyes close. This is it. Her organs are failing.

  Hands shaking, I pull out the stake. Blood spurts, and I press my hand to her chest as she breathes her last. Her body can’t survive the blood loss and the poison. But as she dies, the vampire virus will take root. I can only hope my blood will be enough to save her.

  I can only wait.

  In the stillness of my crypt, I hold her body for hours, long after she goes still. Long after the blood dries. Pressing a kiss to her cold lips, I rise and sponge her body clean. I lay her on the stone slab. In the grim darkness, her body glows with an inner light. A creature of moonlight, a beacon in the night. I could fall to my knees beside the sarcophagus and worship forever.

  Instead, I clean the crypt and deal with Xavier’s body. I wash and purify the crypt, and settle in for a long night. Over the years, I’ve held countless vigils, waiting for the vampires I’ve created to rise. The joy of their birth is always tinged with grief, their life predicated by their death. I bow my head in semblance of prayer. This crypt is now a womb.

  Close to dawn, the silence breaks with a long mournful note. A wolf howling. The melancholy sound both a greeting and a goodbye. And I know.

  Day is coming. I stretch out beside the sarcophagus and wait for the sleep of the dead. Above me, on the slab, Selene’s body lies still, but I can sense the change. She’s cheated death and come nightfall, she will rise as a vampire.

  Immortal, like me.

  Selene

  I open my mouth and air rushes into my lungs. My body is heavy as a slab of marble. I draw in deep breaths until tingles go up and down my limbs, bringing them to life.

  I must have made a small sound, because the next moment Lucius stands over me, his forehead creased as he looks me up and down.

  “Hey.” I give Lucius a half grin. My mouth isn’t working right. None of my limbs are. “What’s happened?”

  “Selene.” There’s a world of relief in his voice. “You’re awake.”

  “Yeah. Captain Obvious.”
My muscles tense as I try to rise. Why can’t I sit up?

  “Easy, pet.” He places a hand on my chest.

  “I feel weird.”

  “Yes. I thought you might.” He slides an arm under my shoulders and helps me sit up. My body feels different, and I’m not sure why. I’m naked, but surprisingly not cold. The crypt air flows around me, the cold vampire scent transformed into something warm and comforting. I touch the spot on my chest where Xavier stabbed me. The skin is smooth, unmarred. I am whole.

  Lucius’ hands skim down my sides. Blood roars in my veins, my body awakening to his touch. His chest is still smeared with blood but my own is clean. I swipe at the red stain and he captures my hand.

  “What’s wrong, pet?”

  “So much blood,” I mumble.

  “Yes. It was necessary.” He tilts his head close, his dark hair brushing my forehead. “You drank all the blood I gave you.”

  “I needed it.”

  He squeezes my hand. “You came back for me.”

  “You were in danger. In trouble. Xavier--” I push at Lucius, frantic to look past him.

  “Shhh, he won’t hurt you again.”

  My mentor is gone, the spot on the stones where he lay scrubbed clean.

  “Is he...” I look from the stones to Lucius’ shadowed face.

  “Staked. I got him while he was distracted. I couldn’t have done it without you, pet. You saved my life.”

  “Yes.” Pain twists in my temple, I rub it away. I have to remember. “I’m glad he’s gone. He killed my pack. My family. It was Xavier.”

  “Oh,” Lucius sounds as pained as I feel. “Selene.”

  I shake my head and wince. “I’m glad he’s gone.” My head throbs like it’s been clubbed. I sift through my memories, reliving what happened. Xavier, in the crypt, Lucius staggering-- “He hurt you. You were hurt. You...when Xavier was here. You seemed to be weakened…” I stop as he smiles. “You were faking it! How did you know?”

  “An educated guess. Xavier seemed so smug.”

  “He used me to try to kill you.”