CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

When my eyes fluttered open, I realized I was staring at the wood beams of Draven’s bedroom, and I was starving. How did I get here? What time was it? The room was dark, but I could see clearly. I closed my eyes again, trying to remember coming to Draven’s, but the last thing I remembered was seeing a family of deer in the road and swerving to not hit them.

“Hey.” I heard Draven’s voice, and then the bed dipped beside me.

I opened my eyes and looked over at him. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he looked more handsome than the night before. “Hey.” My voice was raspy as though I needed a gallon of water.

“How are you feeling?”

“Starving.” I tried to sit up, but he stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

“There’s something you need to know.”

“Is Athan okay?”

“He’s fine.”

I nodded. He was, of course, a vampire and I didn’t think a car accident could kill him. Especially if I didn’t die.

“He called me when you had the accident.”

“What happened? I don’t remember.”

Draven touched my knee that was under the covers and squeezed it. “You swerved to miss a family of deer, and you hit the guardrail. Instead of it keeping your car on the road, it caused your car to fly up into the air and then you rolled down the hill. You stopped when the car hit a tree.”

It was all coming back to me. As he spoke, I assessed my body, mentally. I felt fine. Better than fine. “Did you drug me?”

Draven closed his eyes for a brief second. “No.”

“Then why don’t I feel like I was in a car accident?” My head didn’t even hurt. I looked down and saw that I was wearing one of Draven’s T-shirts. It smelled like him, and I smiled at the thought that he didn’t go back to Chicago.

He stood and started to pace. “Promise you won’t hate me.”

I blinked. “Why would I hate you?”

Draven looked up at the ceiling, ran his hands down his face, and then looked back at me. “You were dying.”

“I was?” My eyebrows scrunched, and I tilted my head to the side and thought about what he was telling me. I was dying, so he what? Saved me? But I felt fine. Better than fine. As though I could run ten miles without running out of breath fine.

“When I got there, you were bleeding out. You weren’t breathing and—”

My eyes widened as everything came together in my head. “You turned me?” I took my hand out from under the covers and looked at it. It still looked the same.

Draven didn’t confirm nor deny it.

“I’m a … vampire?” I choked on the word.

He walked a few feet toward me and grabbed a glass next to the bed on the nightstand. Next to the glass was a gallon of what I assumed was blood because it was dark crimson and looked thick. “Once you drink this, you will be.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “And if I don’t?” There was always a hope in the back of my mind that one day I’d have the courage to ask him to turn me so we could be together forever, but that thought died when we found out we weren’t true loves.

“You’ll die before the sun rises.”

I didn’t know how long I had because I had no clue what time it was. His curtains were drawn, and he had no clock in the room. “Draven,” I whispered.

He set the glass back on the table. “I couldn’t let you die.”

“Why?” I asked, wanting to hear him say the three words I knew were the reason behind everything. He’d told me he’d never turned anyone before. Why would he turn me if he didn’t love me?

Draven sat back beside me and grabbed my hand after pulling my arm free from being crossed over my chest. We were finally the same temperature. “Because, sweets. I love you.”

A slow smile spread across my lips. “You love me?”

He grinned. “I do.”

“Did you fall in love with me when I was a human, or just now because—”

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine, silencing me. “I’ve loved you since my lips met yours under the Northern Lights, and I fell more in love with you when you accepted me for me despite me being a monster.”

“And you’re still going to leave me?”

“No.” He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. “I’ll never be that stupid again.”

“If you aren’t leaving, what do we do now?”

“Now …” He hesitated for a few seconds. “Now, I don’t know.”

“So, I just need to drink that blood, and then I’ll become a vampire?” I pointed to the jug.

“Yes, you’ll complete your turning then.” He reached over and grabbed the glass once again.

“Will it hurt?”

“No.” He shook his head. “The part that hurts has passed. You were unconscious for it.”

Draven passed me the glass, and the smell was overwhelming. It smelled as though it was the finest dessert I could imagine. As if every one of my favorite desserts were in that glass. Without much hesitation, I downed it, licking every surface to get the last drop before he poured me more.

“I never knew blood tasted this good.” I twirled my finger around the inside of the glass to get every drop.

“There’s a lot to learn. And before you get sucked out of the house, we need to call Martin.”

My eyes widened. “What?”

“Remember he technically owns the house?”

“You can’t extend the invite?”

“Has to be a human, so vampires don’t overtake the world.” Draven smiled.

“Oh, right. An unspoken rule.” I continued to lick every surface of the glass. “It doesn’t need to be in person though?”

“No.” Draven dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. After he hit some buttons, he held it to his ear. “Marty.”

“What’s wrong?”

I could hear Martin speaking on the other end, and my brows furrowed at his question. Did Draven only call when something was wrong?

Draven rubbed the back of his neck. “Calla had an accident.”

“Is she okay?” Martin asked.

Draven’s gaze met mine. “She is now.”

There was a brief pause before Martin asked, “What do you mean ‘she is now’? When was the accident and why are you just calling now—in the middle of the fucking night? You know I sleep at this hour.”

“It happened earlier tonight.” Draven’s gaze flicked to mine.

“Just spit it out.” I rolled my eyes.

“And she’s—”

Draven cut him off. “I had to turn her to save her.”

Silence.

More silence.

I set my glass on the nightstand and reached my hand out, asking for the phone. Draven handed it to me.

“Hey, Martin, it’s Calla.”

“Is it true?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes.”

“How do you feel?”

“Amazing. You have no idea.”

“I think Marse will be jealous.”

I chuckled slightly. “Well, it just happened, so I’m not sure yet if it’s all it’s cracked up to be.”

“For as long as I’ve known him, he’s always told me he’d never turn a human.”

“It’s because he loves me, and he didn’t want to lose me.” I grinned and met Draven’s gaze again. He smiled and looked away. I knew if he could blush, he would have.

Martin laughed. “It’s about time for that too.”

I started to feel a slight tug on my body as though there was a magnet trying to pull me to it. “The reason why we’re calling is that I’m sitting in Draven’s house while I complete my transition. Any chance you want to give me permission to stay?”

“Oh right.” He cleared his throat. “Calla, please stay in my house that you’re in for as long as you’d like.”

The pull dropped. So weird. “Thank you. Tell the girls hello for me.”

“Will do.”

I handed Draven back the phone and grabbed the glass that still had a few smear marks of blood on the inside.

“Hey, I’ll call you later. There are some things I need to talk to you about, but I’ll do it when you’re more awake,” Draven said.

“Not sure I can go to sleep now, but okay.”

Draven grinned. “I know, but thank you. I’ll call you when I wake in the afternoon.”

They hung up, and Draven took the glass from my hands. “Now, sleep. And when you wake, I’ll help you with your new abilities.”

“Where are you going?”

“Out to talk to Athan. You’ll get tired in a few seconds while the curse takes over to complete the transition.”

“Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

He pressed his lips to mine again. “Yeah, sweets. I’d do anything you asked.”

When I opened my eyes again, the room was glowing as though everything had the glow of the moon around it. A moon that would become my sun.

“You’re awake.”

I started at the woman’s voice and turned my head toward the sound, only to realize she was the source of the glow. She was almost transparent and was wearing a flowy gown. Every part of her was radiating a soft light. I tried to speak, but nothing left my mouth as if I was experiencing sleep paralysis. I knew I could move my head, but every other part of my body felt stiff.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here to help.”

Where was Draven? Was I dreaming? Was I having vampire hallucinations? Was that a real thing? “What?”

“I’m here to help you,” she repeated, but this time she reached out and touched my arm. It was cold. Too cold.

My own arm moved below her touch, and I knew at that moment that I could move. I scrambled up and slid back against the headboard, trying to get as far away as I could. I looked to my left and saw Draven was sound asleep. When I reached out to shake him, her words stopped me.

“He won’t wake up, and you’re the only one who can see me.”

Yep, I was dreaming. I blinked. “What?”

“Do you know who I am?”

Some crazy lady. I shook my head.

“I’m Selene, the Goddess of the Moon and Mother of Vampires.”

I chuckled sarcastically. “Right.”

She smiled. “Have you heard of me, Calla?”

“Draven mentioned her when he told me how vampires came about.”

“She is me, and did he say that I check on my children every night?”

“Yes, but I have no idea what that means.”

“All vampires are my children because it was me and my soulmate, Ambrogio that started the first coven until my passing. Each night I look down from the moon to check in on them, and tonight I was blessed with one more.”

“Me?”

“You.”

“Okay?”

Selene clasped her hands in front of her. “I’ve been waiting for this day.”

I blinked. “You have?”

“Since you were born.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I don’t get to pick who gets turned, but I get to choose who everyone’s soulmate is and hope fate takes over.”

“What?” I asked in confusion.

“The night Renzo Cavalli was turned, I knew it was a mistake, but there was no way I could prevent it or take care of the problem. That’s not how it works. But I could choose his fate if everything lined up. Therefore, I made Gael his soulmate when she was born and hoped they found each other.”

“They did,” I whispered, remembering the picture in my office.

“And when you were born, I made you Draven’s.”

I balked. “How is that possible? I thought vampires could only have babies with their soulmates? I’m not pregnant.”

“Because the problem with soulmates is that they need to realize they are in love with the other. Draven just grasped the fact that he loves you.”

“But I’m not human anymore. Can’t only human women have babies?”

“Normally, yes. The moment the two realize they are in love, the male vampire is able to release his seed, thus causing the human to get pregnant.”

“I’m not human,” I stated again.

“I know, and I’m here to help you.”

“Help me how? You’re saying that I can have a baby? I’m essentially dead, aren’t I?” I was so confused and knew I kept repeating the same question but in different forms.

Selene smiled. “Yes, because I’m here to gift you the ability to conceive a child on the basis that you will kill Renzo and end the terror he brings to the world. It was never mine nor Ambrogio’s idea to have one sire control most of the vampires. We wanted each one to find their true love and live forever with them, not be a killer.”

“You want me to kill Renzo? That will make me a killer.”

“Yes, but taking care of Renzo will save others.”

“How do I kill him?”

“That will be up to you.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re the chosen one.”

“And me having a baby with Draven? How does that play into all of this?”

Selene placed her hand on my stomach, and a light started to radiate against my shirt. “Because I know that is what will make you both happy. The next time you two are intimate, you will conceive a baby.” She moved around the bed and cupped Draven between his legs. The same light glowed against him.

My eyes widened. “What if I’m pregnant when we find Renzo?”

“Nothing will happen to the baby or to you. Your baby will be the first pure vampire baby and will give you the strength to overtake and kill him.”

“A fetus will do that?”

“Yes.”

“And what if I’m not pregnant when we find him?”

Selene walked back to me and cupped my face with her cold hand. “I have faith in you, my child. You’re a part of Renzo, and you have his strength plus your own. Your vampire blood is very powerful, and everything is lined up to take Renzo down.”

Before I could get any more words out, she disappeared, and the room went dark.

I’d drifted back asleep—or I’d never woke to begin with. I still wasn’t sure when I rolled out of bed and went in search of Draven. When I made it to the kitchen, he and Athan were sitting at the kitchen island, drinking from mugs. The smell of coffee was in the air.

“Vampires drink coffee?” I asked, moving closer. I’d seen him drink coffee before (when we went to see the Northern Lights), but I didn’t know then that he was immortal.

They turned their heads in my direction, and Draven spoke, “We do.”

“But it doesn’t do anything, right?”

“Sure it does,” Athan piped up.

Draven brought me to his side and wrapped his arm around me. “It works the same way, sweets. Same with alcohol. We consume it, and it gets into our blood system. The difference is, we have to feed to get it to work.”

“Oh. That makes sense.” Draven’s lips met mine. “What time is it?”

“It’s just after three in the afternoon,” Draven stated.

“Oh my God! What about the distillery? I didn’t show up.”

“The sun is up. You can’t leave for several more hours.”

“I need to call Ted then.” I moved to go in search of my things but stopped. “Do I have my phone here? Is my car okay?”

Athan scooted his chair back and reached into his pocket. He pulled out my keys. “Your keys are here, but there’s no car for them to go to. It was totaled, so I had it towed to a junkyard.”

“Did you get my stuff out of it before you did that?” I questioned.

“Of course. I’m the errand boy after all, right?”

“Hey!” Draven growled.

Athan threw me the keys, and I caught them. “I’m joking.” He chuckled. “I got your things. They’re on the table behind the couch.”

“Thank you.” I went to move, but Draven grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

“How are you feeling?”

“Good, but I’m getting hungry again.”

“That’s normal. You need to feed again. While your body is getting used to the curse, you’ll feed more often than what’s normal.”

“How often do I need to do that?”

Draven stood. “Make your phone call. I’ll heat up your blood, and then Athan and I will go over the basics with you. You won’t learn everything right away, but we’ll be with you every step of the way.”