Chapter 5 – Greer
Chapter Five
Greer
M y heart tries to beat right out of my chest as I fall against the front door. I’m shocked I didn’t kill that guy. I’m even more impressed that he was able to fight through his compulsion to tell me when I was taking too much.
“If it isn’t the human trying to evict me from my home.” The incubus smirks, floating down the stairs. His massive wings twitch, and it would be an impressive sight if the squatter wasn’t on my last damn nerve.
“It’s not your house,” I mutter, glancing around for a clock.
“That’s up for debate.” Seiran chuckles. “Come have a cup of tea with me. I had a few things delivered while you were out.”
“Do you know what time it is?” I ask distractedly.
It has to be four or five in the morning. I need to get somewhere without windows and hunker down before the sun comes up.
“Hmm.” He flutters his wings as he floats into the kitchen. “It appears it’s just before six.”
“Oh, shit,” I hiss. “Thanks for the offer, but I need to sleep before the sun comes up.”
I’m not sure if he catches me using my super speed, but I bolt up the stairs toward Granny Rollins’s old bedroom.
I have to find somewhere safe from the sunlight…
And fast.
I stumble out of my makeshift bed in Granny’s closet the next evening, confused about what century it is. Isn’t vampirism supposed to make me feel great? All the added strength and health benefits and whatnot… Come on, there’s no reason I should have to slog through a shower.
I have a plan.
I’m going into town to search for a witch.
If nothing else, I’ll buy a bunch of boxes of hair dye and see if they do the trick to mute my hair. It won’t help my scent, but it would probably make me look more human.
If I look like a human, maybe no one will give my scent that much thought. Except, I still don’t have a plan for how I’m supposed to register with the paranormal council.
Oh my God.
This is a damn nightmare. Really, I’m a happy-go-lucky kind of siren. All this subterfuge is above my pay grade. I’m in so far over my head, I don’t know how to even start fixing things.
Downtown Black Cove is picturesque. Like back home in Haven, the majority of stores are open. If it’s not open twenty-four hours a day, then chances are it’s open at night to cater to the nocturnal nature of most monsters.
I’ve shoved the only hat I could find in Granny Rollins’s closet down over my head. It’s hideous and reminds me a little of… I don’t even know, but it’s ugly as sin. Maybe a church hat? I think some people call them derby hats. Whatever it’s called, it’s not cute.
It flops over my forehead as I turn my music down to browse for the shop I’m looking for. Every good sanctuary city has to have a witch in a fancy little shop somewhere on Main Street.
Or they better, dammit.
I feel like an old lady as I slowly inch down the street. When did I become the type to turn down the music like it would help my eyesight?
Granny Rollins’s house and hat are rubbing off on me. I’m going to be a little old lady vampire before I know it.
If I live long enough .
Spellbound comes into view, and I let out an excited squeal. It appears that most Black Cove residents like to walk, so I have no trouble sliding into a parallel parking spot a little ways down.
There are no cars around to which I would have to do the parallel part of parallel parking, and I silently thank the sweet baby Jesus for that fact.
I’ve got limited skills, and parallel parking isn’t one of them.
Tossing open my door, I grab my bag and climb out of my car. The wind in Black Cove has it out for me. Granny’s hat flies right off my head and skids down the pavement.
Slapping myself in the face with my purse, I try to pat down my cascading waves.
Granny’s ugly hat continues on in the breeze. It really shouldn’t have that much momentum. It was heavy as hell on my head.
I need that hat, so I can hide my ears and hair color. I have no choice but to chase it down the sidewalk, muttering the entire way like a lunatic.
My eyes widen as someone steps out from the edge of the building about twenty feet down. He moves quickly, and his booted foot stops the hat. His lithe body curls toward the ground until a tattooed hand can pluck Granny’s hat from the sidewalk.
I stop dead in my tracks.
Holy shit.
It’s the smoking-hot dark fae who saved me from face-planting in the club. The one who recommended the fae spring wine. Not the human I almost drained, but the tall, rune-covered guy that I stumbled into when I first walked into the club.
Well, he definitely picked up on my fae lineage. My face gets hot as I do an about-face and stomp toward the store.
This cannot be happening .
I need to stay under the radar. He missed the fact that I’m newly turned once, but there’s no guarantee he won’t catch it this time.
“You’ve forgotten your hat,” the man calls out in his crisp accent.
Grabbing the door handle, I give it a solid tug and slip inside as my heart races.
An old woman with long white hair and a cane comes out of the back room. Her eyes widen, and her lips push together when she spots me clutching my chest.
“Well, you look like hell,” she says in a thick country accent that reminds me of Granny Rollins. “Are we running from something dangerous? These old legs aren’t what they used to be.”
“A guy,” I admit, tossing my thumb toward the door behind me. “He, um, caught my hat.”
Her brow dips down, forcing her wrinkles into a strange pattern. “That must be a euphemism. Come along, scurry into the back room if you need to hide.”
Spinning around, I peek out the window, but the man is gone. I turn back to the old woman and admit, “He appears to have left. I may have overreacted.”
“Have a seat at the table.” The woman gestures toward the back corner of the store. “I’ll put a pot of tea on and meet you there.”
“What’s your name, dear?” The old witch drops a teacup in front of me and places one down for herself before shuffling around the table.
“Greer.” I smile, holding out a hand. It takes only a second for my arm to wobble.
What the hell am I thinking ?
Dammit. She’ll be able to feel how cold my skin is, but it’s too late to yank it down without coming off as rude.
“Lisette.” She extends a hand, giving mine a firm shake. “You came in tonight for a reason, would you like a reading?” Her aged hand levitates over the tarot deck and they fly into her palm.
“Erm…” Well, shit. I don’t want to be rude, but since quitting my job, I’m on a serious budget. “So, I’m here because someone killed me, then turned me, but I can’t talk about it! Oh shit, I can’t believe I was even able to say that. Do you think it’s because I didn’t try to give you any distinguishing information? He was my—” Excruciating pain radiates in my skull, and my hands fly to cradle the ache.
A half a second later, my stomach starts to roll. It’s almost comical how my hands can’t decide what to cup. They fly between my head and stomach and back again.
“Okay, enough of that,” Lisette says calmly. “You’re a vampire now, but you were clearly fae before you were turned.”
I give a wobbly nod as the pain starts to recede.
“And you want something to fight that compulsion?” she asks, tilting her head.
“I don’t think I can afford that,” I say grimly. “Mostly, I’m hoping for something that helps me smell less siren-like. Maybe a potion to change my hair to a normal human color?”
“Hmm.” She grabs her tea, taking a long sip. “There’s ultimately no guarantee my magic could break your compulsion, but it would be a nice way to make sure whoever did that to you would pay.”
“Right, but I had to quit my job, leave my apartment, and come to Black Cove.” My head shakes. “I’m on a pretty tight budget until I can find a new job, but to do that, I need to be sure the town council won’t put me down for being unregistered. A newly turned vampire probably wouldn’t garner much attention, but a half fae changed? I’m guessing that’s a whole lot rarer. If anyone went looking, they would immediately discover that I wasn’t registered properly.”
“That would be on your maker, dear. Not you.” She gives a soft smile. “I also know how the paranormal council likes to tidy up loose ends. Even if you’ve done nothing wrong, it would be easier to simply do away with you, rather than having to find someone to take you on as their progeny.”
I nod.
That was pretty much my exact thought process in a nutshell. If I was back in Haven, I might have had a chance to beg someone, but I really don’t know many vampires, and even thinking of calling anyone I know makes my temples radiate with a dull ache.
There are no words to describe how badly this compulsion sucks.
Lisette sighs heavily, drawing my attention. “Come back in a week. I’ll have something for you then.”
“Can you give me a roundabout price range?” I ask, licking my lips.
“We’ll figure something out. Don’t stress about the money.”
Only at this very moment do I recognize that anxiety increases my hunger. Or maybe it’s being so close to her pulsing blood.
Shit.
I have to go now.
Shoving my chair back, I accidentally use super speed to run away.
The next thing I know, I’m by the door.
“See you in a week,” I slur around my fangs. “Thank you so much.”
This is such a bad look, and I’m guessing it’s a big part of why vampires are extremely particular about who they change.
My maker could be held responsible if I killed someone.
Ohmigod.
That’s not happening. I’m not a murderer, especially not of sweet old lady witches. Ripping the door open, I stumble outside and move toward my car. I dig around for my keys and click the button to unlock the doors.
I’m just in the process of tugging the handle when I catch movement to my left.
My feet actually leave the pavement as I jolt.
This is getting a little ridiculous.
I’m a badass vampire now.
Shadows aren’t supposed to scare me, but I definitely stumble back when I spot the massive Unseelie fae. His whitish-blond hair falls over his forehead as he tilts his face down to appraise mine.
Pulling a hand up, I will my fangs away. “Sweet baby Jesus, you scared the damn hell out of me.”
He chuckles a low gravelly sound. “I only wished to return your hideous hat, but now I’m even more intrigued. I’ve never heard a fae who sounds quite like you do.”
I grimace.
He’s right.
My mother would have said, “Gods, you gave me quite a fright.” Or something else sounding much more proper than me.
“The sanctuary city I grew up in had many humans. I’ve interacted with them for my whole life. Their dialect choices must have rubbed off on me,” I say, finally pulling my hand away when I feel my canines back to normal size. They’re always super pointy, but that’s because of my fae heritage. They just get a whole lot longer now.
“Ahh, well, being interesting isn’t a bad thing.” He reaches over my open car door and places Granny’s hat on my head, pulling it down a bit until it’s stuck in place. “That hat is horrid, but you pull it off wonderfully, darling.”
My eyes get stuck on his neck, watching his heartbeat pound deliciously against his skin. Saliva pools in my mouth as my fangs ache.
“Would you like to join me for a drink at Chaos?” he asks, grinning mischievously.
My friend Ember has a little brother named Chaos, and it takes me several seconds to realize he’s inviting me back to the club we originally met in.
His pointy canines dig into his lower lip, and it’s so difficult to force my head to shake.
If I was still a siren, I would have jumped at the prospect, but if I’m not careful, I’m going to fling myself at him with the sole purpose of drinking him dry.
My head continues shaking. “Sorry, I’ve got to go.” And with that, I toss myself into the driver’s seat and make a mad grab for the door handle.
“If you change your mind, stop by some time.” He chuckles and gives my door a firm shove until it clicks closed.
It’s official—Cole ruined my whole damn life when he couldn’t control himself.