Varick
“Do you want to be human again?”
I'd been asked that question three times in my immortal lifetime. Once from Nirena, once from Mercy and now from Selena. Of course, the answer had always been yes. But the reasons behind that had only been driven by a need for the thirst to stop, for the blood-lust and the rage to be gone. I wanted rid of the curse. But now I didn't just want rid of something, I craved the human life I could have. What humanity could offer me now was far greater than it ever had before.
Selena; I could love her as she deserved to be loved. I wouldn't have to sink my teeth into her anymore. I wouldn't fear that my strength would accidentally overwhelm her, break her. For as much as I loved her now, it was all lived enduring the struggle of letting her love me like this. But I could be so much more for her as a human. I could give her what she deserved.
I carried Selena down to the beach. Ulvic had lit a row of burning torches buried in the pebbles, his wolves lined up between them. His calm demeanour told me he trusted Selena's father. But although I wanted to do the same, I couldn't let my guard down too soon. Not after all we'd been through.
Ulvic glowered at me as I arrived and dropped Selena down beside him.
“Where's Cass and Kodiak?” she gazed around.
I angled my ear toward the woodland, hearing them there, talking in low murmurs. Evidently Ulvic had asked them to keep their distance. I pointed to where they must have been standing, just out of sight.
I located Jameson in the line-up of wolves, his black snout lifted into the oncoming breeze that guided the boat to shore.
It was still a fair way off and Selena continually glanced from the boat to the trees behind us.
“What's wrong?” I asked.
She bit her lip for a moment before sprinting off up the beach, leaving me confused and about half a second away from following her.
I heard her speak with Kodiak amongst the trees, my curiosity piquing further. What she asked him made my heart soften like a marshmallow over a fire. She returned a moment later and I kissed her without a moment's warning. I could name a hundred reasons why I loved her without ever stopping to catch my breath. And now she'd somehow added an extra reason.
After a minute, Kodiak appeared on the beach, having fetched Thames from the cabin as Selena had requested, carrying her down to join us, a blanket hanging over her legs.
“I didn't think you'd want to miss the fun,” Selena said brightly as Kodiak moved to her side, as quiet and obedient as if he were nothing more than Thames's steed.
“Thank you,” Thames muttered to Kodiak, glancing around the beach, her dreadlocks tangling in the wind.
He gazed down at her, looking mildly perplexed. “You're welcome.”
Ulvic shot Kodiak a glare, but he didn't ask him to leave.
As the catamaran drew in to shore, Selena stepped anxiously forward, tugging up her coat collar around her throat.
“Don't be nervous,” I said, taking her hand.
“I'm not.” She glanced over her shoulder.
“I can hear your pulse even over the wind.”
She dipped her head, smiling. “Maybe that's because you're getting hungry.”
I pulled her to my side, locking her under my arm. “Hm. Interesting theory.”
She laughed, the light, chiming sound calming my worries. The catamaran moored alongside the pier, bumping into Ulvic's vessel, much to his muttered discontent.
Selena's father, Brendan, disembarked, flanked by a tall man with deep, ebony skin and unusually fair eyes for his colouring.
No. Not a man. A Vampire. I tensed, keeping Selena crushed against me despite her obvious desire to move to greet her father.
“Good evening to you all,” Brendan spoke, his commanding voice carrying across the beach.
“It's good to see you again,” Ulvic said, walking forward and taking his hand. “I have high hopes that you'll soon be taking these Vs off my hands.” He jerked his chin in my direction and I offered him a snarl in response.
Selena hushed me, giving me a stare that told me to let her go. I reluctantly did so, squaring my shoulders toward the Vampire accompanying Brendan. He gazed easily back at me. He was strong, well-fed. That was good...and bad. His hunger was currently quelled, but his strength in a fight would be fierce.
“Darrell is a friend,” Brendan said, eyeing me as he gestured to the V.
Selena moved to greet him, holding out her hand. My muscles bunched as Darrell took it, inhaling at her scent but making no move to hurt her. Brendan smelt almost as good as Selena as I caught his scent on the ocean breeze.
I stole a glance at Kodiak and was glad to find he didn't seem tempted to make a move toward either of them.
Brendan scanned the group, his eyes landing on me. “Varick.” He approached me, his palm outstretched. “I have many thanks to offer you.”
Guilt swept through me. “Forgive me, but I cannot shake your hand. I should be offered no thanks. It's my fault Selena ended up in the games. I worked for the Helsings for many years.”
His hand came down on my shoulder, his eyes warm and full of an acceptance I'd only ever seen in Selena's gaze. “You were their slave as I understand it. I witnessed what you did, how you protected her.” He glanced toward Selena who was smiling admirably at me. My throat tightened as I hesitantly took Brendan's hand, feeling entirely undeserving of the man's gratitude.
“Good.” He released my palm, smiling around at the group, his gaze lingering on Thames before his eyes wheeled toward Ulvic. “We should talk.”
Ulvic nodded, gesturing to the track that led up to his cabin. Darrell stepped forward and a grey wolf jumped into his path, baring his teeth.
“I'd ask that no more Vampires are brought into my home,” Ulvic said stiffly, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his trench coat.
“I see.” Brendan rubbed his chin. “Then no wolves either. Let us speak on equal ground. Perhaps Selena could accompany us, though?”
Ulvic nodded stiffly and Selena moved to follow them. My heart thumped hard three times in a row. I instinctively moved after her and Ulvic glared at me.
“No Vs,” he said through his teeth.
I didn't stop until Selena turned to me, giving me an apologetic look. “I won't be long,” she breathed.
Anxiety scattered through me as I watched her disappear into the trees with Ulvic and Brendan.
“Will you be alright out here a while longer?” Kodiak asked Thames and she nodded, her eyes pinned on the sea.
“Yup. Just fine.”
I approached Darrell and the shadow of Jameson followed me, sniffing the air around the V's legs. Darrell folded his thick arms, gazing at me calmly. “We're here to help, so it'd be a real good idea to stop acting like you wanna fight me.”
“I'm just letting you know who's in charge here,” I growled, not backing down. He was as tall as me and nearly as broad. But with Selena's blood in my veins, I reckoned I could take him in a fight if I had to.
“We're not on different sides,” Darrell said, his tone impassive, evidently unaffected by my display of aggression. Darrell raised a palm, his eyes slowly travelling over us. “This is a meeting of peace. We have no trouble between us.”
“Good, let's keep it that way.” I bared my fangs as Darrell's eyes steadied on Thames.
Kodiak bristled, his arms curling tighter around her. Cass appeared from the trees, moving down the beach to investigate the newcomer.
“The humans choose to be amongst you all?” Darrell raised a brow.
“It's a fairly new alliance,” Thames replied, producing a pistol from beneath her blanket. “But we're working on it.”
Darrell chuckled softly, turning back to me. “We're not all that different. You'll see.”
My eyes slid to the boat behind him, listening for any sound of life within it. But all was quiet. They had come alone. A move which had given us the advantage. It seemed they really did mean us no harm.
“When did you last feed?” Kodiak asked Darrell through tight lips.
“More recently than you from the looks of your eyes.” He broke a mocking smile, before heading back to his boat.
Jameson padded toward Cass who brushed her fingers over his head. He planted himself down, sitting beside her. The other wolves snarled their disapproval, but he didn't seem to notice as Cass continued to brush his ears, her eyes trained on the boat.
When Darrell reappeared a few moments later, my throat tightened at the scent of the bottled blood he was carrying, the lid open and the scent calling to me.
But I'd fed recently enough, and there was only one person's blood I desired nowadays.
Kodiak was rigid, his pupils dilating as Darrell approached. Thames watched him warily as if she feared he might drop her at any moment. Somehow, he managed to restrain himself long enough for Darrell to approach and hand him the blood. He downed half of it, holding Thames with one arm before Cass yanked the bottle from his lips and polished it off.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, thrusting the bottle toward Darrell with a look of disgust. “Where did you get it?” she demanded. Evidently she hadn't come to accept her need for blood yet.
Darrell tucked the bottle into a backpack he was carrying. “From home.”
“And where is home?” she hissed.
“That's not something I can speak of. However, if Brendan sees fit, he will extend an invitation to you. Depending on how well his talk with your people goes.”
Either way, me, Selena and the other Vampires would be leaving this island tonight. But I didn't like the idea of putting our lives in the hands of strangers. I only hoped Selena's conversation was going better than ours.