Chapter 25
Will | London, present day
I’m enjoying chatting with Hester. She always looks good, but tonight, I can’t take my eyes off her; her hair is in ringlets, and she’s wearing a top with a lot of bare skin showing.
Is that to impress me? If so, it’s working.
I clear my throat and am about to comment offhandedly that she looks nice when Sadie hands me a pint.
‘Oh, great, thanks,’ I say automatically.
She tosses her hair. ‘You’re welcome. You can get the next round. This place is going to bleed me dry, no pun intended.’
We all clink glasses and say, ‘Cheers!’
Taking a sip of blood, I almost groan aloud.
The blood might be expensive here, but you get value for money.
I take a longer swallow and feel it swirling through my veins, re-energising my system.
I resist the urge to smack my lips. Hester watches me curiously.
It’s the first time she’s seen me drink, and if she was in any doubt I was a vampire (if Mr Snaky wasn’t enough of a hint), this would be confirmation.
We move away from the bar and squeeze into a couple of empty tables by the window. Hester’s leg presses up against mine, which is making it difficult to concentrate. Especially as the blood seems to be rushing straight to my cock.
Everyone guzzles busily for a few minutes. Then Elliott says, ‘Sorry to interrupt your consumption of this damn fine vintage, guys, but I’ve got intel. Three vampire bros en route to the pub and discussing the brothel.’
Sadie puffs out her chest, looking proud. My man with his long-range telepathy! What are they saying?
Elliott: That there’s some sort of pre-opening thrall party happening tonight. And they’re heading to Covent Garden after they’ve had a pint here.
Floss: OK, that’s good, I guess? It means Alexander hasn’t turned the thralls yet and is still working on his vampire Viagra?
Sadie (nodding): Yeah, so we should follow those guys and scope out the venue.
Me: We’ll need some more blood to fuel up then. My shout.
I can’t help giving Hester a sizzling look as I rise from the table, and she looks at me coyly over the rim of her glass.
Waiting at the bar for Trixie to finish serving another customer, I hear Sadie whisper to Hester: ‘Oh my god, did you see that? Will’s fucking you with his eyes. You’re gonna get some snake action, girl.’
My back is turned, so I can’t see Hester’s expression, but her whisper is amused: ‘Well, something might happen if you weren’t all commandeering my bed.’
‘You could always stay in his...’
‘We should stop talking about this out loud. He can probably hear every word we’re saying...’
I’m very tempted to butt in mentally with ‘Yes, I can’, but I don’t want to embarrass Hester.
The takeaway is that she’s feeling the same way. She wants something with me. But what about my shapeshifting? Doesn’t that bother her? I feel like I have to play it carefully, especially after what happened this afternoon.
Damian joins me at the bar when I’ve ordered. ‘Just here to help carry the pints. Haven’t been sent by Sadie to pick your brains about Hester at all.’
He grins, and I rub my jaw distractedly, feeling put on the spot. I’m not used to being around so many vampires with an interest in my love life.
‘It’s kind of private,’ I mutter, knowing the others are probably tuning in to this conversation. Jeez!
Damian holds up his hands. ‘Hey, I’m not going to read your mind about it. But if you are thinking of her in that way and you hurt her, I’m going to have to snap your neck. She’s like a sister to Sadie and Floss, and that makes her my sister as well.’
Luckily, I’m on the fence about killing her then.
‘I have no intention of hurting her,’ I say solemnly.
Damian claps me on the back.
‘I’m kidding, mate. I like you. We all do.’
Thank fuck for that!
‘I like you guys too.’ And it’s true: I do. ‘Even if you are a bit fucking nosy.’
Damian chortles.
One of the party of vamp bros slouches on the bar next to us, throwing a nod our way. He orders from Trixie, and I hear his thoughts clearly. From the way Damian’s eyebrows rise slightly, he hears them too.
The vamp bro is thinking that Trixie’s a lusty wench and if it was any other night, he’d pay for a session with her. But luckily, he won’t have to pay for it tonight as there’s going to be a free bloodlust orgy with five newly turned vampires—chosen from a lucky dip!
‘Fuck,’ mutters Damian to me. ‘This puts a new spin on things.’
Collecting the pints from Trixie, we quickly head back to the girls. Hester sees I’m frowning.
Hester: What is it?
Me: Ah, we overheard the thoughts of one of the bros at the bar. Alexander is going to pick out five thralls and turn them into newbie vampires tonight. It’s a free taster session.
I can’t bring myself to say ‘bloodlust orgy’. It sounds overly dramatic.
Sadie: Fuck, that slimy bastard! He must’ve discovered a way to create vampire Viagra synthetically.
Floss: Oh no, those poor girls. They must be terrified!
Elliott: They may not even be aware of what’s going to happen to them. Usually, being turned is a big surprise, especially if you’re enthralled. I know it was for me.
Hester is looking right at me when Elliott says this, and I stare at her, the weight of history pressing heavily between us.
Elliott’s right. I had no idea what Hester was going to do to me that night in 1560 when I walked into Elizabeth’s chamber.
I was young, dumb, and full of myself. I vaguely thought that the queen might take a liking to me instead of Robert Dudley.
But instead, I was turned into a vampire.
So, yes, joining the ranks of the undead was a big surprise, and not an occurrence that I can easily forget.