Tendra

Brex’s familiar weight was pressed to my side. I yawned and ran my hands down my face. I hadn’t slept that well in…forever.

I opened my eyes, expecting to see my lavender sheets and old familiar dresser and instead I saw…a large man with dark eyes staring right at me.

Oh, right. I was in an underground bunker thing sleeping in the bed of another large vampire. I rolled onto my side to face Athan. He sat sprawled on a chair, wearing only a pair of black jeans. He was heavily muscled, his veins a map of blue beneath his skin. His feet were bare, and for such a large man, he had pretty feet, with a high arch.

I let my gaze travel back up to his face and met his eyes. In the soft light of the bedroom, his features were less sharp. Now that I didn’t think he was going to chop me to pieces, I could appreciate he was damn nice to look at. His friend had been, too. Maybe that was a vampire thing: must have high cheekbones, strong chins, and a Calvin Klein model jawline.

This was all a head trip, to be waking up in an underground apartment while my vampire bodyguard watched over me. I didn’t have the energy last night to freak out over this—I’d fallen dead asleep. And even this morning, I waited for the panic to come, the resistance. But my heart and my mind were slowly coming around to accepting my fate. Even if I didn’t fully understand what my future held.

Athan pointed to the bedside table. On the surface was a toasted bagel with cream cheese and a mug of coffee. “Thanks,” I muttered, sitting up and reaching for the bagel.

As soon as I took a bite, my eyes widened. “Hey, this is from Fran’s!”

His lips twitched slightly and he nodded.

I took another huge bite, then swiped a finger through the cream cheese and offered some to Brex.

Athan shifted in his chair. “I sent Zeb out.”

“How’d you know to go to Fran’s?”

“I noticed your trash can was full of her shop’s paper bags.”

That was the truth. And surprisingly thoughtful from a…species who sucked blood. I polished off the first half and reached for the other. “You went through my trash?”

“I needed to know as much about you as I could.”

I picked at a bubble on the top of the bagel. “Oh.”

He spoke up again after I’d finished the bagel. “How are you?” He said the words haltingly, like he didn’t ask that often.

I blew over the surface of the coffee. “I’m…okay.” I was sure there’d be more freak-outs, but right now I was focused on eating and getting in some caffeine. After taking a sip, I tilted my head. “Did you watch me sleep?”

His eyes strayed to my bare shoulder, where my large T-shirt had slipped down my arm. Then he dropped his gaze down and away. “I only came in here a couple of hours ago. I’m anxious when you’re out of my sight.”

Well, that was comforting. I took another sip of coffee. “So…I get the drift you don’t talk a lot and stuff, but I’m going to need some help here. I have questions.”

He focused on me, straightening in his chair. “You can ask questions.”

“Am I on a need-to-know basis here?”

He frowned. “I don’t know what that means. Is that human slang?”

Vampires probably didn’t watch a lot of movies. Okay, then. Just ask your questions, Ten. “First of all, how did we get here? You…made a door. Through solid wood. That was some kind of magic shit.”

“We have ports leading below ground at various points in the city.”

“Ah, so kinda like the Matrix and phones.”

He blinked at me.

Oh, right, the movie thing. “Never mind, go ahead.”

After a hesitation, he kept talking. “Only the Gregorie clan can access them. We have a special chemical in our somnus that reacts with the ports we installed.”

“So the bad vampires…what were their names?”

His lips twitched, as if I amused him. “The Valarians.”

“Right. They can’t get down here?”

He shook his head. “No. Neither can the Quellen.”

“Okay, yeah, so let’s talk about them.”

“Okay.”

“What the hell are they?”

“The Quellen are a vampire clan. They are very old, and very excellent at killing.”

“This is not instilling optimism in me, Athan.”

“I’m also old, and I’m also excellent at killing. Does that make you feel better?”

I held up a thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “Little bit.”

He made a sound in his throat that might have been a laugh. “Historically, they follow money and blood. Since they have been running out of both lately, they’ve been siding with the Valarian, who will supply it to them. With a price.”

“And that price is?”

“Helping to enslave humans, and never, ever let the Gregorie clan gain the Sanguivita.”

I pointed a thumb at myself, and tried to control the trembles. “That’s me.” My voice shook slightly.

He caught it, because his eyes dipped to my hand. “That’s you.”

I clasped my hands together to cover my visible nerves. “And if they get me, what will they do to me?”

A muscle in Athan’s jaw twitched. “They could kill you immediately, but most likely they will take you to the Valarian stronghold and keep you there to test your blood.”

“That sounds bad.”

“It will not be pleasant, no.” He sounded so matter-of-fact.

“So now that you have me, what will you do with me?”

“We will go to the Gregorie home located past the Mission Woods.”

That was miles and miles outside the city, in what was considered protected land. “Who lives there?”

“The immediate ruling family. And our guard and soldiers. It’s our home base where we train our soldiers, who live in barracks on the compound. That’s where you’ll meet Idris. You’ll be protected and well taken care of.” His voice was firm, like he wanted me to understand this was the best alternative I had.

“And if I refused?”

He was quiet for a moment. “There’s nowhere for you to go. The Valarian and Quellen know you exist, and as long as you are alive and not bitten by a Gregorie, they will seek to kill you.”

Fucking great. “So what’s the plan? Why can’t we just…drive to wherever we have to go?”

He tugged on his ear before clasping his hands over his ripped stomach. The man had abs on top of abs. Damn vampires. “A car is an easy target. I don’t trust it. We’re better off on foot underground until we reach the end of the city and get into the Mission Woods. More ways to hide and harder to detect us.”

“So the Quellen and Valarian can’t get us down here?”

He shook his head. “Underground in Mission is Gregorie territory. Our home base is the undeveloped area outside the city. Valarians have safe houses above ground here.”

I gulped my coffee now, and set down the mug, my stomach unsettled. I had gone from being completely self-sufficient to relying on this man to keep me alive. “Look, I have to admit, I’m trying to adjust to this news, but it’s hard.”

Athan stood up slowly, and I peered up at him as his frame towered over me. He had to be at least six-six or six-seven. His jaw worked, before he spoke slowly. “This is new for me, too.”

“Are you around humans much?”

He shrugged. “To feed, but other than that, no.” He jerked a thumb at the closed bedroom door. “Zeb loves human women.”

Loves them? “Like, loves to eat them?”

Athan’s eyes bulged. “Tendra, we don’t eat humans.”

“Drink! Drink from them.”

“Oh, he likes that, too, but mostly he likes to fuck them.”

Athan looked away, and I studied his profile. His straight nose and full lips. What would he look like when he was aroused? When he was…fucking? Maybe it was my delirium because I found myself asking, “Do you?”

He turned to me. “Do I what?”

“Do you like to fuck human women?”

He didn’t speak for a solid thirty seconds, and those dark eyes bored into me. His chest heaved, his breath leaving in a gust, as his fingers tightened and then relaxed at his sides. My blood was heating up on the inside, the warmth pooling in my belly. I gripped the sheets tightly because despite everything, my body was drifting toward him, like I was a ship on the tide and he was the shore. When Athan spoke again, his voice was somewhat garbled. “Sometimes.”

With that one word, he left the room in two strides and shut the door behind him. I slumped forward, breathing hard. A headache bloomed in the center of my forehead, and I rubbed it. What the fuck was that? Why was I so drawn to Athan? I was going to have to ask him about that. All I knew was that I had to get control of myself. My sole focus had to be getting out of this city alive.

I slipped my fingers into Brex’s fur as he purred. I wasn’t sure what to think about being given to Idris. My mother had instilled in me a pride in my body, in my femininity, in everything that made me a woman. To be reduced to the blood I was carrying in my veins was dehumanizing and went against everything I valued about myself.

But how could I sit by and allow the Valarians to change the entire future of the human race when I could have done something about it?

My mom’s note proved what Athan was saying. So I had to trust the big vampire and once we reached wherever we were going, I’d continue to fight to be more than my blood. I straightened my spine. That was it. It was my blood. I held the power. If they wanted it, then I’d demand proper treatment.

With a newfound sense of confidence, I climbed out of bed and opened the door. Beyond the living room, Athan and Zeb looked up from where they sat at the kitchen table. Athan’s gaze was heavy on my skin, and Zeb made a whistling sound through his teeth as he took in my bare legs. “Well, ain’t Idris lucky?”

I propped a hand on my hip. “This Idris is lucky because he gets to guzzle my blood. That’s it.”

Zeb slapped his hand on the table and laughed. “Sure, right. That’s all.”

“What’s so funny?”

The man kept laughing before shaking his head and standing up. “You explain, A.”

Athan was quiet for a long time, and I stepped closer. “Athan?”

“Being Sanguivita is more than just giving blood,” he said slowly.

I hesitated. “I need to sleep with him, too?”

Zeb stayed silent, watching us closely.

Athan nodded once. “Yes.”

My jaw dropped. “What the hell—”

“Hey, first of all,” Zeb broke in, “Idris is a good-looking man. He looks like A, so you know he’s fine. Second of all, when he drinks from you, you’re going to be horny as fuck and begging for his dick, I can tell you that.”

I glared at him. “There will be no dick-begging.”

“Uh-huh,” Zeb said. “You tell yourself that.” He sauntered toward me, and the side of his mouth kicked up into a smirk. “You don’t know what it feels like to look into a vampire’s eyes when he’s hungry, to see their eyes go red. You don’t know what that sting does to you when he slices into your veins.” He was close now, leaning over me as he ran a tongue over his upper lip. “As soon as he starts drinking and your body gives up that sweet, red life, you’ll be on fire. You’ll be moaning and panting, begging for him to take you, to fix that pulsing ache between your legs. You’ll be spreading ’em—”

A hand wrapped around Zeb’s throat and his voice cut off when his body was ripped back and slammed onto the kitchen table.

I scrambled out of the way, my back hitting the couch while one pissed-off, hulking Athan bared his fangs in Zeb’s face where he held him down. “This is the Sanguivita, and if I ever hear you talking to her like that again, friends or no, I will mark you. Do you understand me?”

His back heaved with every breath, and the muscles of his biceps bulged. Zeb didn’t struggle, though, he only stared up into Athan’s face. He swallowed beneath the hand squeezing his throat. “I’m sorry, Athan. I forgot myself.”

Athan waited a beat before removing his hand, and Zeb didn’t bother hiding the redness and nail marks in his pale skin. He turned to me, and I braced myself for resentment, or anger, but instead, Zeb’s face was flushed with embarrassment. “Sorry, Sanguivita. I got carried away.”

I didn’t care about Zeb’s words. His ribbing had been nothing compared to what I dealt with on a nightly basis at work. “Yeah, yeah.” I waved a hand at him. “It’s fine.” Instead, I turned my scorn to Athan. “Was this something you forgot to tell me or conveniently omitted? I thought it was just my blood, now you’re telling me I got to put out?”

Zeb’s eyes bulged, and he covered his mouth. I didn’t miss the way his shoulders shook and eyes crinkled, like he was trying to cover his laugh.

Athan continued that thousand-yard stare. “At the time I didn’t think it was important.”

I marched up to him. “You didn’t think it was important? This is my body. My vagina. It’s kind of important to me what goes in it.”

This time, Zeb lost it, as laughter bubbled up his throat and escaped behind his hand. He doubled over, and Athan growled. “What’s so fucking funny?”

Zeb pointed at me, his eyes wet. “Her! Man, they should have given you some human women training before this shit.”

“What do I need training for—?”

“Can we get back to me, please?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You can trade human stories or whatever anytime. I’d like some more information on what exactly I’m going to do when we reach our destination.”

Athan focused back on me, and his nostrils flared once before his face returned to its impassive default. “Our saliva contains an aphrodisiac. When we drink, we want to fuck, and so will you.”

He said it so matter-of-fact. “I don’t have a choice?”

He frowned at that. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…if I’m influenced by the drug or whatever in your saliva, how is that my choice?”

Athan flicked his eyes at Zeb. “Leave us.”

“Aw, man, this is just getting good—”

“Leave. Us,” Athan said through clenched teeth.

Zeb rolled his eyes. “Fine. I have to go help Zara fix her sink anyway. I’ll be in her place down the hall if you need me.”

I didn’t take my eyes off Athan as Zeb left, closing the door behind him.

Athan gestured to the couch, and I sat down stiffly, unsure what he needed to tell me that couldn’t be said in front of Zeb.

Athan sat on the table in front of me, so close our knees touched. And when he spoke, his voice was softer. “You’re human, and I have to remember that you don’t know our ways, our customs. I didn’t mean to deceive you.” He glanced up, and for the first time, I swore I saw a little bit of warm humanity in his eyes.

I swallowed. “Thanks for saying that.”

He started to reach for my hand, paused, then grasped it. I didn’t want to think about how affected I was by his touch, the way my skin soaked him in. “I forget how much humans love their free will. Their choices. As vampires, those are luxuries. We have to drink blood to live, hide our existence from humans, and protect our clans. We are often assigned jobs at birth, and that is what we do. No questions asked. Remember what I said about duty?”

I nodded.

He leaned closer. “This is my duty, and unfortunately, this is yours. I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry that you can’t find a man of your choosing to marry and have babies or whatever you wanted to do. I wish I could give that to you, Tendra. But I can’t. All I can tell you is that Idris is a good man. He’ll treat you well. You can say no but from experience…you most likely won’t. That’s one evolutionary advantage we have that enables us to get the blood we need. It’s pleasurable for humans to give it to us. Do you understand?”

Tears pricked my eyes, and I took several shuddery breaths. I ran the words he said through my head again. It wasn’t what he said. It was that he said it. He could have drugged me again until I passed out and dragged me home. Instead, he took the time to explain it all to me. And though my purpose in life now wasn’t ideal, at least I had Athan, who seemed to understand how hard this was.

He was a vampire, and he’d just communicated and empathized with me better than most humans. I placed my other hand on top of his. “Thank you. For taking the time to explain that to me.”

Those dark eyes studied my face. The silence stretched between us, and I started to get uncomfortable. I shifted in my seat and nibbled my lips. His gaze dipped to my mouth, and the smallest rings of red appeared around the outsides of his eyes. Again, my belly warmed, and I squirmed, releasing a shaky breath.

He blinked and jumped to his feet, breaking all connection between us. He walked away, his back to me, hand running through his hair. Finally he turned to me, all traces of Warm Athan gone. He jerked his head toward the bedroom. “Pack up, we need to get moving soon.”

Right. This wasn’t the time to get all moony over Athan’s biceps and dark eyes. This was about staying alive. About keeping my blood inside my body so I could be fed from and fucked.

That was my place. My duty. I couldn’t forget that.