21. Lane #2
He leveled a significant look in Hunter’s direction. “Is this why you asked me here?”
Hunter rolled his eyes. “Lane, meet my friend Mateo. Don’t mind his attitude. Believe me when I say he doesn’t mean it. We’ve been besties since freshman year of college. You know, pre-fang.” Hunter flashed a sharp smile so fast, Lane might have imagined it.
It was impossible to picture the pair as undergrads together when Hunter’s vampire youth gave the impression he’d be worried about finals alongside Caden.
Lane shot Mateo an up-nod, and was ignored.
Mateo glared at Hunter. “I don’t have attitude. You’re the one who brought me on some sort of date.”
Hunter collapsed onto the bench beside him and flung an arm over his stiff shoulders. “Oh, dear lord. This isn’t a date. Be nice.” Then, in more hushed tones, “Lane is the guy who was cursed.”
Cool interest washed away Mateo’s irritation. “I see. Glad to hear you’re doing better.”
Lane sat opposite them. “Uh, thanks?”
“Mateo’s my research partner,” Hunter said as if it were all the explanation necessary.
It only confused Lane further.
Mateo extended a hand. “Dr. Mateo Rojas. I’m based at the Shearwater Landing Institute.”
“Cool.” Lane had no idea there was an institute in the city or what it might do. “What did you guys do with my, uh, blood?” He was more wary of giving it than he had been.
“We were searching for signs of the curse in your blood cells.” Mateo shot Hunter a look, who still had his arm around him. “Unfortunately, we didn’t detect anything.”
“Yeah, a bit of a bummer,” Hunter agreed.
Lane wasn’t surprised. Unless he was mistaken, magic wasn’t detectable via any human scientific method. Lane sensed no magic in Mateo, so he couldn’t be expected to find evidence of the curse any other way.
Mateo checked the time on a fancy wristwatch. “I should go. Let me know if anything relevant comes up.” He pulled away from Hunter and departed.
“Relevant?” Lane asked.
“He probably thinks I want to talk to you about the curse.” Hunter chuckled fondly. “I mean, I assume the curse isn’t why you texted.”
“No, I want to talk to you about being a vampire.”
Hunter’s carefree demeanor was replaced with an eerie stillness. “In what regard?”
Lane shifted, suddenly self-conscious. Hunter seemed far older and much more vampy than he usually came across. “Rowan asked me to join him, and I’m going to say yes, but I wanted to talk to someone first. I don’t know many vampires besides the Valeros.”
Hunter nodded. “Rowan will be a good sire. You don’t have to worry.”
“I’m not worried about him being my sire. He doesn’t want to turn me himself and have any influence over me. That’s not really what I wanted to talk about.”
Hunter’s dark eyes sharpened. “It should be. Especially if Rowan isn’t turning you. Though I suppose the rest of his coven are fine. Ask for someone in his inner circle. Cecile, or Felix. You can trust them.”
Lane had taken trusting any sire Rowan chose for him for granted. He’d rather it be Rowan, but wouldn’t push, given how fresh everything between Rowan and Cris was.
“Okay, I’ll see if they’re willing.” Perhaps he should wait and see if Rowan changed his mind about siring him.
Could he hold out until Rowan’s trauma healed?
He might never change his mind. Either way, it was something to consider later.
“I wanted to ask you about more general stuff. Like adjusting afterward. The only new vampire I’ve met is Caden, and I’m sure you heard it hasn’t been easy for him. ”
Hunter grabbed the beer in front of him and drained what was left.
“Adjusting all depends on the sire. A lot does. They shape a vampire’s experience.
A vampire’s very existence. You should talk to one of the newer Valeros, someone turned by one of the other members.
They’ll have more relevant observations.
All I’ll say is, if there’s any part of you worried about regret, don’t do it. ”
“There isn’t.” Lane’s skin prickled.
Hunter seemed to regret becoming a vampire, given his uncharacteristically dark mood, but Lane couldn’t bring himself to ask why. They didn’t know each other well enough, even if Hunter was far freer with information than the average vampire.
He leaned forward, assessing Lane. “You’re not worried about regret at all?”
Lane shrugged. “You were human before, right?” Hunter nodded. “It’s different when you already know about the magic world. For me, there’s no real difference between eternal life on Earth and spending eternity in the afterlife, except Rowan only exists in one of those realms.”
Hunter’s demeanor changed like he’d flicked a switch, sudden brightness washing away his serious expression. “If it’s that simple, then fuck. Why wouldn’t you?” A sly smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Sounds like seducing Rowan went better this time.”
Lane’s face flamed. “I didn’t seduce him.”
Hunter laughed, loud and full of delight. “Sure, sure. Call it what you want.” A conspiratorial look crossed his face. “Are you the type to share details?”
“Not really.”
“Fine. Want to hear about the time I went swan diving off the cliffs north of the city?”