Chapter 11
eleven
BLAIR
When I got out of bed, I realized that I had a new problem.
Damian had locked the door from the outside.
Anger blazed through me.
I went to all the effort of feeding his grumpy, starving ass, and he locked me in a hospital room?
There wasn’t even a shower! Just a toilet in the corner!
What was wrong with him?
Luckily, my phone was on the table beside the bed.
I made my way over to it slowly, pausing for a moment to grab the back of a chair when I nearly collapsed. After I was steady again, I finally got the phone and sat back down on the edge of the bed.
Considering the many intricacies of the situation, I couldn’t risk calling Zora or Izzy. They would hate Damian if they learned that he’d locked me in, and they’d refuse to acknowledge my own fault in the situation. Both of them could hold grudges like no one else.
Clementine and Zora were the closest of all of us, so I couldn’t call Clem. Zora would find out, and that grudge would happen anyway.
But I did have one sister who I could trust to keep a secret, without holding it against Damian. Considering I was going to spend my entire immortal life with him, that seemed somewhat important.
I dialed her number and lifted my phone to my ear. She answered immediately.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Avery.” My voice sounded a little weaker than it should’ve. Whoops.
Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed Damian quite so hard.
“I did something stupid but necessary,” I said. “Damian locked me in the hospital room because of it, but I really need to go for a swim. Can you swing a rescue without getting any of the other girls involved?”
“Mmhm. Give me a second.”
I heard her call out to one of the other girls that she was going to her room. A minute later, I heard an elevator ding.
“Okay, I’m on my way. I don’t think I want the full story, but I probably need it if I’m going to avoid losing my head when your vampire comes looking.”
“Kara, the doctor, told me he’s been starving himself because he’s afraid of losing control of his bloodlust. She gave me this injection to help me recover after he drinks from me. I sort of pushed him into drinking until he was completely sated, while we screwed. He said he was going to kill her afterward, told me to stay in here while I recover, and ran off.” I ran a hand over the top of my blood-crusted hair.
“So he’s coming back for you soon,” she said.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“If he’s worried enough about you that he locked you in a hospital room, it seems safe to say he is.”
“Maybe. But I don’t want to be here when he does. He’s going to be pissed.”
Avery laughed softly. “I’m not swimming with you. I’m going to hide in my room like a coward after your jailbreak. When he’s not on the warpath anymore, text me so I know I can come out.”
The doorknob twisted, and she stepped into the room, lowering her phone from her ear.
I surged to my feet, nearly crashing to the ground when my knees knocked together.
Though I caught myself on the chair, she rushed over to catch me too. There was concern in her eyes.
“How much did he drink from you?”
“Probably enough to kill me without that injection,” I said cheerfully, easing myself away from the chair and pulling her toward the door.
“Blair!” Her eyes were wide with worry. “You can’t do that.”
“It was a one-time thing,” I insisted. “If I can get him to start drinking from me every day, he won’t be starving anymore, and he won’t need to take nearly that much blood. When my magic and the medicine work, I’ll be perfectly fine. I just have to go through with a series of injections—it’s not a big deal.”
As the words left me, I couldn’t believe I was saying them.
I hadn’t even agreed to go through with it yet.
I hadn’t even told Kara I’d let her inject me again.
But some part of me knew that I would anyway, scientific studies I hadn’t read yet be damned.
“That’s literally insane,” Avery protested, as we walked to the elevator together.
“We’re mated permanently. What’s the alternative?”
“Let him starve?”
I scowled at her. “Starving is miserable. I did it too, remember? I couldn’t stand kissing strangers. It’s only been two days—or three, maybe—since I started drinking from him, but the way I feel is so much different. I’m not letting him starve just because he’s afraid of hurting me.”
“If the fear is an actual possibility, it’s reasonable,” she argued.
“I’m his blood mate. It has to work,” I insisted. “Especially with the injections.”
“I can’t keep this a secret for you. If you’re risking your life, our sisters need to know.”
“I’ll tell them myself, after I swim and recover.”
“And deal with your vampire on a warpath,” she pointed out.
“That too.”
“You can’t put it off,” she warned.
“I won’t. I’ll explain it. I just have to talk to Damian first.”
Or Kara, at the very least.
Maybe Lou, too.
They would be in on my plan even if my sisters were against it.
And as much as I couldn’t believe that was my plan, I had seen the way he physically changed. He needed blood. My blood. It would make him stronger, which meant he could protect my sisters and everyone else in the Manor that much better.
That was the only reason I cared.
…wasn’t it?
I pushed the uncertainty aside and squeezed Avery’s arm as we reached the pool.
“ Please reconsider this plan,” she said.
“I can’t, but thank you for rescuing me. I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said grudgingly, leaving me beside the most beautiful pool in the world as she headed back to the elevator.
Sitting down on one of the massive rocks at the side of the pool, I slipped my feet in the water and made a group chat with two of the phone numbers I found programmed into the device.
Me
Operation Feed Starving Vampire is a go
Lou
I know, I just got snarled at by a furious, extremely healthy looking vamp. He’s looking for you, Kare
Kara
I’m hiding in a friend’s room. He’ll calm down long before he finds me. How good does he look?
Me
Fucking gorgeous
Lou
As much as it pains me to admit, even I can’t disagree
Kara
Take a picture for the rest of us next time
Lou
According to Hale, she was too busy nearly keeling over
We may have gone a little too far
Kara
The mate bond’s magic won’t let him kill her. When his fangs are buried in her, they’re connected enough that he can sense her life force, even if he’s not conscious of it yet
Me
Well that makes me feel better
You should’ve started with that
Kara
I thought everyone knew
Lou
Not everyone took Medicine for Magical Beings, Kare
Kara
Apparently not
OOOH HE DOES LOOK HOT
Lou
Ohhh shit
My forehead creased.
Me
What happened?
I missed something
Kara sent me a screenshot of the Vamp Manor Homies group chat. There was a picture of a furious-looking Damian storming through the dining hall with a monstrous plate of food, his light skin golden with life and his hair still crusted with blood.
The message beneath it said,
Jen
Big Daddy Hale’s on a rampage. Looks like he had a little extra siren soup for lunch. Big Mama B totally took a dick for the team!
I snorted so hard, I swear I nearly choked.
Me
Please tell me I’m not Big Mama B
Kara
Girl, don’t lie to yourself
He’s about to force-feed you until you’re bloated so he can yell at you
Me
Think he can hold his breath long enough to dive to the bottom of his new pool?
Kara
*YOUR new pool
Lou
I’m not sure
Me
Guess we’ll find out
Wish me luck
And get the rest of the injections ready, I’m gonna need them
I hit the button to turn off my phone, peeled his shirt over my head, and dove in bare-assed.
If he was going to lock me in a hospital room after fucking my brains out, he was going to learn the hard way that I wouldn’t take his bullshit lying down.
Big Mama B was no pushover.
…and I was never calling myself that again.
Vamp Manor was totally screwing with my head.