“Okay, let’s not overreact,” Ezra said, putting on his best calming tone as the man glaring back at him stared daggers at his head.

“Oh, this is not overreacting. You haven’t even seen me overreact,” Stephen replied, pacing around his lavish study.

Bookcases lined the walls, with a large oak desk in the middle of the room. A fireplace was tucked away into one side. Stephen liked to keep it going, even though it wasn’t possible for him to get cold.

Perks of being a vampire, and all that.

The undead life had many advantages that Ezra enjoyed. But there were still rules and customs one had to abide by, which he wasn’t such a fan of. His Maker, on the other hand, took them very seriously.

Stephen was an intimidating-looking man, with harsh features and dark, slicked back hair. He wasn’t as scary as he looked, though, at least not usually. The man did have a temper, but he was very difficult to anger.

“I swear, from the day I turned you…” Stephen muttered under his breath.

“Come on, Stephen,” Ezra said, walking over to clap his friend on the back. “You know your life would be unbearably boring without me.”

“There’s fun and exciting, and then there’s just reckless and shortsighted,” Stephen replied. “I mean, Robert Belford’s wife? That was playing with fire and you knew it.”

“She approached me after we went to that party Robert threw last month. Lilith gave me the impression both she and Robert had their flings outside of their marriage, so how was I supposed to know he would blow a fuse after he found out about me and her?” Ezra tried to explain.

Things hadn’t been going Ezra’s way for a while, now that he really thought about it. Robert threatening him with a guillotine was only the latest of his troubles. The main issue was New York was starting to bore Ezra. And when he got bored, he tended to not make the best decisions.

He was always on the lookout for that next exciting thing, but not many experiences were thrilling when you were immortal. Skydiving, for example, is fun and all, but knowing that you’ll be fine even if the parachute doesn’t open makes the adrenaline rush less sweet.

“I don’t care who approached whom, you should have known better! Did you really think Robert Belford, one of the most possessive vampires we know, would be into an open marriage? Or were you too busy thinking with your dick?” Stephen scoffed.

This was as upset as Ezra had ever seen his Maker, and that was saying a lot. Usually, Stephen just rolled his eyes when Ezra rented out an entire stadium for one of his parties or insisted on a water park in his back yard. This was different, and Ezra grew more serious.

“What’s wrong? What did Robert say?” he asked, watching for Stephen’s reaction.

“It’s not just Robert,” Stephen sighed. “A hundred years we’ve spent together, and you haven’t changed one bit. I turned you because you were strong, clever, and a loyal friend, and I needed that in my line. But since you’ve been a part of my family, you haven’t chosen a single human to join us.”

That took Ezra off guard. Stephen had hinted at wanting to expand his line before, but this was the most candid discussion they’d ever had about it. As a very old, and very wealthy vampire, Stephen had been allowed to strike out on his own and leave behind the royal families that served as government for vampire society.

The most ancient families still lived in Romania, making sure the existence of vampires stayed a secret and making sure both old customs and new rules were followed. And if it so happened some foolish vamp decided the laws of their kind didn’t apply to them…

Well, Ezra wouldn’t want to be in their shoes, that was for sure.

But having his own line, as vampires called it, did leave Stephen with certain responsibilities. Turning people was still regulated, as a large population would make it more likely for them to be discovered by humans.

More than that, though, Ezra always had the feeling the royal families were very snooty and old-fashioned. They didn’t want just any old person joining the ranks of vampires, no. A certain pedigree was preferred, and Ezra was sure that if his family hadn’t enjoyed a certain title back in the day, he would not have made the cut.

The rules weren’t as strict when it came to vampires who had fallen in love with a human, but there were still standards.

“Your line is strong,” Ezra said, watching Stephen stop pacing and take a seat behind his desk. “And I don’t have any candidates for an addition. I haven’t really focused on that…”

“Yes, we all know what you’ve been focused on,” Stephen interjected.

He looked tense as he folded his hands on the desk, and Ezra went to stand in front of it, sensing something was wrong. Stephen seemed to be mulling something over, and Ezra gave him time to do so, waiting for his Maker to speak when he was ready.

“Clayton and Myron are dead,” Stephen finally said.

Ezra’s eyes widened at that, as he studied the strained expression on Stephen’s face. Clayton and Myron were the oldest members of his line, loyal to a fault, and almost as old as Stephen himself. Ezra knew Stephen still checked in with them regularly, despite the fact they rarely saw each other these days.

Many of the older vampires preferred to lead a more private life. A few Ezra would even call reclusive. Clayton and Myron were definitely leaning toward unsociable.

“What happened?” Ezra asked, a hundred thoughts whizzing through his head. “Was it another vampire?”

“It was themselves,” Stephen ground out. “Clayton staked himself in the heart and Myron bloody starved himself to death,” he said, and Ezra could hardly believe it.

“They killed themselves? Why?” he asked, shocked.

Ezra had always viewed immortality as a gift. Sure, he could still die, but it wasn’t easy to do. And even when boredom set in, the slow apathy of having more than a lifetime of experiences on this earth, he still found something new and appealing to fill his time with.

With humanity always evolving, there was always something to look forward to. Smartphones, for example, he considered god’s gift. A wealth of Instagram models to talk to and Candy Crush, always in his pocket? Yes, please. Immortality was everything it was cracked up to be, coming from horse-drawn carts to Netflix and Uber.

“They grew tired of living,” Stephen shrugged, sounding more calm even as his shoulders remained tense. “It happens sometimes. And with my line consisting mostly of old-timers, it’s going to happen more and more. That’s why our family needs fresh blood.”

With power strugglers aplenty among the older vampire lines, Ezra knew how important having strength in numbers was, he couldn’t exactly argue. But having never turned anyone, changing someone over seemed like a daunting task. Being a Maker meant having responsibilities, and he had spent lifetimes trying to avoid those.

“I can’t just go out and start making vampires, you know that. Whoever I choose, they have to be vetted…” Ezra started.

“Not if they’re your bride,” Stephen interjected.

Growing very still, Ezra wanted to laugh, but the deadly serious expression on his Maker’s face stopped him. He couldn’t be serious, could he?

“Look, Ezra, this will solve more than one problem for us. Robert is furious, and while you are under my protection, I don’t know if that’s going to stop him. It would be better if you got out of town. And, once you pick out a nice human girl for yourself, he might calm down, seeing you’re settling down and no longer after what’s his,” Stephen explained, as if his words were making all the sense in the world.

“I was never after Lilith,” he sputtered, but Stephen held out a hand.

“You could use some stability, some purpose in your life, and I need to know you can be a Maker in your own right. And to be quite frank, Ezra, this is not negotiable,” Stephen stated, meeting his gaze head on.

The reality of what was happening was starting to settle in, as Ezra stared at his Maker.

“What are you saying?” he asked, as Stephen leaned back in his chair.

“I’m saying that if you want to stay a part of this line, you’re going to leave New York and find yourself a bride,” Stephen replied.

Shit. That’s what I thought.