Chapter Thirty-Three #2
“I would not be surprised.” Rising he reached for her hand, and then frowned. She couldn’t go hunting in nothing but her chemise. “Wait here. I will be back in a few minutes.”
She started to ask where he was going, but he was already gone.
“I’m a vampire,” she murmured, her voice tinged with disbelief. How could it be true? Maybe she was having a very long, very realistic nightmare. And yet she knew it was true. She felt different. Strange. Oddly on edge.
Rising, she went to the window and looked outside. It was dark outside yet she could see everything clearly—the trees, the rocks, a bird in its nest. And stars. More stars than she had ever seen in her life.
She felt Stefan’s presence before he appeared in the room clutching an armful of her clothing, including a nightgown, her undergarments, and shoes.
He dumped the lot of it on the bed and turned his back while she dressed. She grinned when she saw the simple black dress. Black, of course, she thought as she pulled it on.
When she was ready, he took her in his arms.
“It’s cold outside,” she said.
“You will not feel it. Trust me.”
Trust him, she thought. As if she had any other choice. Anyone else to turn to.
Stefan transported them to a distant city.
The night was still young and the streets were crowded.
Bryony clung to his arm, her senses reeling.
The lights were brighter, the conversations and the laughter, the rumble of carriage wheels, the music from a tavern, seemed overly loud.
Every indrawn breath carried myriad scents and sounds—perspiration, human and animal waste, perfume, food and drink, earth and trees, lamp oil and candles, random thoughts, raucous laughter, a baby’s cry, a barking dog. How did Stefan stand it?
“You will grow accustomed to it,” he said. “In time, you will learn to shut out the unwanted noise and the smells.”
She certainly hoped she didn’t go insane first.
“Male or female?” Stefan asked as they approached a busy corner.
“What?”
“Most men prey on females,” he said matter-of-factly. “Most females prefer to prey on men.”
Prey on? She didn’t like the sound of that at all. She wasn’t a wild animal. But she was no longer human, either.
“Bryony?”
“A man, I guess.”
Stefan found a young chap standing alone on a street corner a short time later.
Bryony watched as Stefan spoke to him then led the man into the shadows between two buildings.
Torn between revulsion and fascination, she watched Stefan bite the man’s neck and then stand back.
She looked at Stefan askance, and then at the blood oozing from the punctures in the man’s neck.
Hardly aware of what she was doing, she stepped forward and practically inhaled the man’s blood.
The scent was tantalizing, the taste warm and sweet and better than the finest wine in her father’s cellar.
She might have taken it all if Stefan hadn’t made her stop.
“You don’t want to kill him, do you?” he asked.
“Of course not!” she exclaimed, shocked that he would think she was capable of such a despicable thing. That he would even ask such a question.
“You must listen to the beat of his heart,” Stefan explained patiently. “You will know when it is time to stop.”
“You’re sure about that?”
Stefan nodded. “I will not let you take too much. Or hunt alone until you know you can control your hunger.”
Prey. Hunt. Hunger. Feed.
Vampire!
For the first time, she realized what it meant.
The next few days didn’t seem real. As soon as the sun cleared the horizon she fell into a dark, dreamless sleep.
She tried to fight it, but it was useless.
It happened no matter where she was. Stefan assured her that once she had been a vampire for a while, she would be able to make her way to her lair before the dark sleep overtook her.
But, for now, she made sure to be in close proximity to her bed before dawn.
For the time being, she took her rest on Stefan’s bed in the dungeon in the old castle in Ireland.
When she asked why he stayed there, he informed her that there were no hunters currently residing or hunting in the country.
The location didn’t really matter, she thought, since he could transport himself anywhere he wished to go in moments.
She rather liked lying beside him when she fell into the dark sleep and waking nestled against his side, her head pillowed on his shoulder.
He took her hunting every night. She wanted to feel revulsion, horror, disgust, embarrassment.
But she didn’t. The blood was warm and satisfying.
She told herself she wasn’t hurting the people she preyed on.
She didn’t take much, just enough to quench her thirst. She had been afraid she might turn into some kind of ravening monster, but she still felt like her old self, only stronger, more confident.
Stefan had told her that being turned by an ancient vampire not only made her transition easier, but it also made her stronger and more powerful than most fledglings.
On the evening of the fifth day, Stefan asked if she was ready to go visit her family. It was something she had been yearning to do, but now the thought of actually being in their company, seeing the shock and the horror on their faces, made her nervous.
“They are anxious to see you,” he said. “But the decision is yours.”
She bit down on her lip. Took a deep breath. Might as well go now, she thought. She had to face them sometime. Waiting wouldn’t make it any easier. “You won’t leave me there alone?”
“No, love.”
“Do I look all right?”
His gaze moved over her. She wore a dress the same shade of blue as her eyes. A matching ribbon held her hair away from her face. “You look lovely, as always. They will not notice any difference in you, except that your skin is a little more pale, your hair thicker and more lustrous.”
“Really?”
He nodded as he slid his arm around her waist.
“How do you do it?” she asked. “How do you get where you want to go?”
“You concentrate on where you wish to go and picture your destination in your mind.”
“What if you’ve never been there before?”
He grinned at her. “That takes practice and a bit of luck. As time passes, it will get easier and require less concentration. In the beginning, it is wisest to transport to places you are familiar with. You can try your hand at it on the way back.”
The idea filled her with apprehension and excitement. Imagine, being able to wish herself to London and be there in the blink of an eye!
A moment later, they were standing on the front porch of the house where she had been born.
Bryony was trembling with excitement and apprehension as Stefan lifted the knocker. A moment later, Alistair opened the door. A broad smile lit his weathered face when he saw her.
“Miss Bryony! It is so good to see you. Come in, come in. The family is in the back parlor.”
“Thank you, Alistair.” Grabbing Stefan’s hand, she led the way through the house to the family parlor.
As soon as she stepped into the room, all conversation came to a stop. Bryony took a step back as every eye turned in her direction. Her father’s expression was grave, her mother’s apprehensive, her brother’s wary. Only Veronica seemed happy to see her. For a full minute, no one moved or spoke.
Bryony froze. Would they reject her now? Slowly, she straightened her shoulders and lifted her head. “I’m still me,” she said, hardly daring to breathe as she waited to see if they loved her enough to accept her.
Stefan remained in the doorway, ready to whisk her away if necessary.
Another few seconds ticked into eternity and then, as if an invisible barrier had been removed, her mother closed the distance between them and hugged her close. Veronica and Eli were quick to follow.
Her father was the first to speak. “You must know we have questions, Bry,” he said, somewhat apologetically. “Do you mind?”
She shook her head, her gaze darting to where Stefan waited. He gave a faint nod.
“I don’t mind,” she said.
“Let’s all sit down, shall we?” her mother suggested.
“Come sit by me,” Veronica said, tugging on Bryony’s hand.
“I have a question for you,” Bryony said, settling on the couch. “Why aren’t you on your honeymoon?”
“We postponed the wedding,” Veronica said, with a shrug.
“None of us were in the mood to celebrate while you were…ah, not here,” her father said. “So we told everyone there had been a death in the family.” He laughed a harsh, bitter laugh. “As it turns out, it wasn’t a complete lie.”
An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
“We couldn’t have a double wedding with only one bride,” Veronica said, breaking the awkward silence. “Anyway, I couldn’t imagine getting married when you weren’t there.”
Bryony glanced at Stefan. They hadn’t discussed getting married since he had turned her.
For the next hour, Stefan watched Bryony answer their questions. She was hesitant at first, but her brother broke the tension when he asked to see her fangs. Nervous laughter filled the room, followed by genuine laughter when she said, “Only if I can bite you.”
Unable to believe she’d said that aloud, Bryony felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment.
Stefan sensed her growing stress at being in the room with her family, listening to the beating of their hearts, trying to ignore the tempting scents of their blood. For his part, he said little, all too aware that her parents held him responsible for what had happened to their daughter.
At one point, Maida asked if anyone would like tea or cakes, then blushed scarlet when Leyton leaned over and whispered that vampires didn’t eat.
Stefan felt Bryony begin to relax. All in all, her family seemed relieved that she was there and that she appeared to be much the same despite everything.
Her parents had the most difficulty accepting her changed state—her father because he had hunted vampires for years, her mother because of the death of her sister.
Eli thought the whole vampire thing was fascinating, Veronica still hoped for a double wedding.
When he sensed Bryony growing restless, he suggested it was time to leave.
There were hugs and kisses and promises to visit again soon.
Bryony breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief when they left the house and then felt guilty for feeling that way.
“It is normal,” Stefan assured her. “Being with them will get easier each time you are together.”
“I feel so bad for ruining Ronnie’s wedding. She should be married now and on her honeymoon with Robert.”
“Speaking of weddings,” Stefan said, taking her hands in his. “Do you still wish to marry me?”
“Do you still want to marry me? I’m not the same girl I was when you asked me.”
“Bryony. There will never be a time when I do not want you. Do you not know that by now?”
She felt the sting of happy tears in her eyes when he wrapped her in his arms. Stefan still loved her, and nothing else mattered.