Chapter 2
~ Alek ~
“Wear the red one, papa.” Selene’s gentle voice sounded off from his bed, where she was painting her nails, looking at a teen magazine on her e-reader and talking on her cell phone. How she managed to work in micromanaging his tie selection for the evening was beyond his ability to imagine.
Pulling off the red silk tie, he held I up. “Not that one, the dark red one.”
“Vampires wearing blood red is so last century, my dear. Are you trying to make me look dated?”
She giggled at the teasing quality of his voice. “Dakota’s wearing blood red and she’s human, so stop complaining. You want to match, right?”
Replacing the candy apple red tie with the dark red one, he began making his Winsor knot. “Thanks for the heads up, princess.”
Closing up her cell phone, Selene announced gleefully. Jared and I are going to be rich.”
Alek watched in the mirror as she sat up and turned off her e-reader. He found himself smiling as he replied. “If he’s half the hunter his mother is he’ll not only be rich but famous as well.”
“There’s that, but he also has a million-dollar inheritance or something like that from his gran. We have to see an attorney soon because he turns eighteen in seven weeks.”
“Well dear, a million dollars is a lot of money, but once you begin buying houses and cars, it won’t last long.”
“Don’t worry, dad. We’re going to put our heads together and make our million last.”
Unsure what in the world sixteen-year-old daughter was talking about, Alek decided to stay out of it. Dakota would certainly be guiding her son in such financial matters.
“I’m sure the two of you will be mature and responsible.” Of course, that was a blatant lie. Alek felt certain that left to her own devices; his teenaged daughter would blow it all on hats and balloon animals. Thank goodness Jared and Dakota were more grounded.
Alek had other things on his mind tonight. It was the first formal date with Dakota, and he’d chosen an extremely public setting, hoping to communicate that she was off the market. They would be all the buzz in the social columns tomorrow, and short of hiring a town crier or taking out a full page add in the local paper, that was about as public as he could make it.
Besides, they both liked the opera. Alek enjoyed making a good impression when he went to the opera, but tonight he was more intently focused on making a good impression for Dakota.
She’d remembered the last time he wore this tie. It was a holiday party some years ago. He could not believe she remembered exactly what he wore to a Christmas party two years ago right down to the color of his hair band. He thought about it and concluded that because she was a hunter, she was more likely to notice such details than regular people.
His suit was custom made and fit him impeccably. He decided to forgo the hair band tonight and let his hair hang down over his shoulders like she preferred. Their forced separation had left him reeling. Not only had he become accustomed to drinking from her, but he missed the companionship and the intimacy as well. In truth, he’d had been waiting all week to see her again, and it was getting difficult to quell his excitement.
Something about knowing that she’d dressed herself to lure a vampire, affected him. He imagined her wearing a red dress like the black ones he’d seen her in when they’d rubbed elbows before his abduction.
Alek often had to remind himself that he did, in fact, have an honest to goodness life before being dropped by a large animal tranquilizer, abducted and chained to the concrete floor. Alek had been a high powered businessman, was on the board of directors for a local charity and attended many formal functions that made the social pages of local papers. After being hunted and rescued by the nation’s premier hunter, his face had been splashed all over the news feeds. He was described as the reclusive, wealthy newcomer who caught the eye of a hunter. There were images of them entering and leaving the hospital. Someone had even caught an aerial shot of them the day they took the kids to the beach. Trying to have a private moment under the circumstances was proving more difficult than one might imagine.
Yet sitting cuddled and contented with Dakota in his arms was worth all the aggravation. The memory of how her blood tasted and the little sounds she made when he pleasured her sharpened his need for this night to go as planned. Finding himself a greedy bastard, Alek wasn’t content to feed and sex. He wanted her love and affection, for her to be as needy for him as he was for her.
An image of her beautiful face rose in his mind. She lifted her weapon, and without hesitation, she killed the ignorant human responsible for the worst torment of his life. The deranged human had repaired one of the old truth-telling devices. It was a small machine designed to drain the blood from a vampire and then force it back into the body repeatedly as a means of torture. The pain was unlike anything he’d known in his lifetime.
One part of the situation stuck out in his mind all these weeks later. Dakota was human, and she killed a fellow human to save a newcomer, a vampire no less. There were times when he still couldn’t get his head around that simple fact. Then he’d see Dakota’s son walk by and he knew that’s why she chose the Vampiere over her own kind. It was because Jared’s father was of the Vampiere. He must have been a prime and Jared must have taken after him, because Jared was clearly more vampire than human.
Still, did it really matter the why of it? His beautiful hunter had hunted him when no one else would. He was alive now, only because of her persistent diligence and dedication to finding him and he loved her. Hold the phone. Where did that come from? Did he love the beautiful hunter? Some small knowing in the back of his mind crept forward with the answer to that question.
Coming to his feet, he spread his arms. “Do I look presentable?”
Selene nodded like a bobble head doll. “You look fantastic. Good enough to be seen with someone famous.”
Alek’s chest deflated and his hands landed on his waist in the typical superhero pose. “I’m a famous war hero. I saved over five thousand lives and took out a mothership all by my own skill and cunning. You know that, right?”
Nodding much less enthusiastically, Selene slid to the edge of the bed. Flipping her long dark hair back primly over her shoulder, she stated politely. “Yes, you’re technically a war hero. But you are the hero we all read about in history class. The first time I saw a picture of you in my history book it felt really weird, by the way. The thing is, Dakota’s a nowadays hero. Most of my friends collect her posters and trading cards.”
“I had a poster once.”
“Jared’s been trying to find me one. He says it’s a collector’s item. The war was fifty years ago after all.”
“You’re making me feel really old.”
“You’re not old for a vampire. It’s just that most of us weren’t even born when you were a hero. Dakota, we see on the news all the time.”
Grabbing his overcoat, Alek intoned his favorite quote about heroes. “Once a hero, always a hero.”
“I suppose.”
Alek preened a bit. “The primary difference between the lovely hunter and me is I saved people en mass, while she saves the one at a time. It will take her a lifetime to save as many people as I have. You have to admit that’s true.”
“It doesn’t matter what everyone else thinks, dad. You’ll always be my hero.”
Turning to look down at his daughter, Alek’s heart melted. “Thanks, sweetheart, that’s really sweet of you to say.”
“Can I ask you something really serious?”
“Sure princess, what’s your question?”
“If anything, ever happened to Jared or me would you please try your best to find us, no matter what Dakota thinks?”
Kneeling down in front of her, worry creased his brow. “I hope you know, I’d always come looking for you. What’s this about sweetheart?”
“I can’t say right now.”
“Secrets are like weeds, darling. They keep growing until they take over all the flowers and choke the life out of everything beautiful.”
“Leave it to you to have a good old-fashioned vampire saying for every occasion.”
“I'm being serious, Selene.”
“I can’t tell you what I’m not supposed to know.”
“If you tell me, maybe I can help.”
“Please don’t force me.”
“Fine, I’m leaving you with Kindra…”
“She’s our housekeeper, not my babysitter.”
“As I was saying, I’m going to leave you Kindra tonight and set the security alarm on my way out.”
“What about if Jared comes over?”
Waving his hand dismissively, Alek frowned at her. “Just use the security pad to let him in. Don’t open for anyone else though.”
Nodding, his young daughter hauled in a deep breath. “That’s for the best, I suppose. You always were one to overreact.”
“Guess I’ve been nursing my hero’s complex for the last fifty years or so.”
Selene’s giggles were cut short after hearing his next words. “You don’t leave the house without Arianna or me.” Her mouth dropped open. “What about if I’m with Jared? He’s a hunter in training, for crying out loud.”
Alek replied sternly. “Until I figure out if this new worry of yours is connected to Jared, I’m not taking any chances with my favorite daughter.”
Folding her arms over her chest, Selene glared at him. “Don’t try to fool me with that favorite daughter crap. Arianna says that you call her your favorite when I’m not around.”
Giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze, Alek grinned. “That’s because you’re both my favorite.”
The frown dropped from Selene’s face, and she rolled her eyes. “I knew that.”
Coming to his feet, Alek struggled into his fine wool overcoat. “I gotta go, princess. Be safe and remember my words. I’ll be back soon.”
“I love you, daddy.”
“You only call me daddy when you’re trying to get on my good side.”
Scoping up her phone and e-reader, Selene headed for the door. “Maybe that’s true, and maybe it’s not. Have a nice time with Dakota, old man.”
Alek’s head snapped up in time to hear her laughing as she skipped down the hall. Old indeed, he was no such thing. He was a suave, dashing, debonair vampire in the prime of his life. And a bona fide war hero, to boot.