Eleven
Lysander
He hadn’t heard from his friends since they’d left the office. It wasn’t unusual for them to vanish like that, but something didn’t feel right. The drive home was awful as always, but unlike his two blood-loving companions, he couldn’t just speed home every day.
As soon as he stepped through the front door, he knew something was wrong. The metallic scent of blood tinged the air and made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. With tense muscles and his fingernails already turning to claws, he followed the iron stench to the closest and only unoccupied bedroom of the house.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Marcus whispered.
“You don’t think I know that?” Varos snapped, his voice dripping with guilt.
“ You’re supposed to be the level-headed one.”
“I couldn’t let her go.”
Did they do what he thought they did?
He stepped into the room, his eyes landing on the tiny, lifeless body laying on the bed. Avalon was naked and covered in blood, her skin as pale as the moon and her chest no longer heaving. Her eyes were closed, and her heart no longer beat. She was covered in burns, bruises, and cuts, the latter spelling the name ‘Troy’ over her chest.
“What the fuck did you do?” he growled.
Varos and Marcus whipped their heads around. For the first time since he’d met them, he had managed to sneak up on them. Varos, who knelt on the floor next to Avalon, looked horrified. Marcus paced by the edge of the bed, anger rippling through his body.
Before either of them could explain, Avalon’s eyes opened. With her body massacred and her eyes a bright red, she looked like the stuff of nightmares. Goosebumps pebbled his skin as her eyes searched the room and locked on him—on his neck.
Avalon launched herself off the bed, knocking him into the doorframe and latching onto his neck. Her fangs sank so deep that they scraped his collarbone. He winced at the pain, hissing as the venom dripped into his body.
“Shit!” Marcus called, rushing across the room.
“No, Avalon,” Varos pleaded as the two tried to pull her away.
But the more they pulled, the harder she bit, her claws now anchoring her to his skin. The blood loss made him lightheaded, though the pain was replaced by a sweet, floaty feeling.
“Fuck,” he groaned, her antidote erasing the burn of her venom. He couldn’t help himself, needing more of that addicting drug. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his body. “Shh,” he hushed, trying to reassure her that she and her antidote weren’t going anywhere.
“She’s healing,” Marcus pointed out as Lysander’s legs buckled. He slid down the doorframe, collapsing to the floor.
Varos knelt next to him with a glass of blood, brushing Avalon’s hair away from her face. “Here, drink this. You can’t drain Lysander like that.”
“At least not today,” Marcus chuckled, earning himself a scolding glare from Varos. “Fine,” Marcus grumbled, approaching her. With a quick flick of his hand, he jerked Avalon’s mouth away from Lysander’s shoulder. She tried to fight him, but Varos was already pouring the warm blood down her throat.
If it weren’t for her antidote still pulsing through his body, he would’ve thrown up. The donor blood poured onto him as Avalon tried to gulp it down, losing more than she drank. He rested his head against the doorframe, his arms still around her naked but now warming body. Broken ribs cracked and shifted under his fingertips as they grew back together.
“What happened?” he asked lazily, still far too high to care for anything but the warmth spreading through him.
“Her former boyfriend tracked her down. By the time we got to her she was basically dead,” Marcus started. “Varos was turning her before I could do anything to stop him.”
“I just couldn’t let her go,” Varos repeated in a hushed whisper.
Blood endlessly dripped onto him and when he opened his eyes to see why, Varos was pressing a second glass to her lips.
“I couldn’t let her die like that.”
“So you’d rather turn her into a blood-sucking monster surrounded by millions of victims,” he snarled through the fading high.
“She won’t hurt anyone.”
“I didn’t take you for someone who made promises he couldn’t keep. What will happen once you run out of blood?”
He knew far too well how thirsty fresh vampires were. And Avalon had far more healing to do than most newborns.
“If need be, we’ll lock her up.”
“Fucking fantastic.”
He was more than angry with Varos for not thinking things through, but that didn’t extend to Avalon. He gently stroked over her spine, trying to soothe her. She hadn’t asked for any of this and from what he could see, she’d been through hell and back. With each glass of blood poured down her throat, she calmed. After what felt like a thousand glasses, Marcus loosened his grip on her jaw. When her confused gaze drifted through the room, he could see her natural honey-toned brown replacing the angry red.
When she saw the shredded flesh that had been his shoulder, she gasped and tried to wiggle out of his hold.
“It’s alright,” he said, trying to calm her.
“Look.” Marcus came to his aid and dripped some of his own blood onto Lysander’s shoulder.
It healed easily, the skin itching and tickling as it fused back together. He grinned and rotated his shoulder, showing her that he was good as new. “All good again.”
Avalon looked down at herself, eyes widening when she realised she was naked. The fact that she was naked and sitting on a man she barely knew likely didn’t help the panicked feeling coursing through her veins.
Varos appeared behind her, slipping a large t-shirt over her head and helping her arms through the holes. Then he helped her to her feet and wrapped a large, lightweight blanket around her shoulders, covering her even more.
With wide eyes, she looked around still confused and seemingly unsure, but when her lips parted no words came out.
“Take a conscious breath and try again.” Varos demonstrated, taking in a deep breath and expelling the air. “Just like that.”
“What…” she started, unable to finish her sentence.
Marcus took her hand and led her to the edge of the bed where he gently urged her onto the mattress. “Troy found you. We didn’t know you were missing until after we came back from our trip. We found you with him in the storage unit.”
Her hands shot up to her chest where moments ago the letters of his name had been carved into her skin. “I… He…”
“Avalon,” Varos hesitantly started. “We have been keeping a secret from you.”
“We are vampires and Varos has turned you into one too,” Marcus spat out the truth much like one would rip off a band aid.
Her eyes flickered between the two vampires, who were standing before her. He stayed in his spot against the doorframe, feeling the blood loss far too much for his liking.
“You were basically dead,” Varos continued with a gentle, patient tone. “I just couldn’t let you go. You were too far gone for our blood alone to heal you. All I could do was turn you and hope you would come back to us.”
“I’m…” Avalon started, seeming to be processing her thoughts.
“A vampire, yes,” Marcus confirmed.
“Your injuries are likely healed already—or will heal soon. The more blood you drink, the more your body will adjust and rebuild itself to what it was before Troy’s assault.”
Her palms rubbed over her chest again, where his name had been moments ago.
“Yes, that too.”
“The burn you’re feeling in your chest and throat is your thirst. Your body will want to feed a lot to reach your full potential,” Marcus explained further while Varos seemed to be at a loss for words.
“Potential?”
“Being a vampire means that you’ll have certain strengths and powers that humans don’t.”
He pushed himself to stand while Varos had found his voice again. “Controlling that thirst will be hard, but we will help you.”
He couldn’t explain why he did what he did next. Perhaps it was to prove a point, or maybe show her how dangerous she truly was. He stood and slashed his own wrist with his claw, blood splattering to the hardwood floor. Avalon’s head snapped towards him at the scent, her eyes flashing that deep red. Then she shot off the bed towards him, embedding her fangs into his wrist without realising what she was doing.
Venom burst through, burning his bloodstream before she relaxed and his high returned.
“Lysander!”
“You’re a dick.” Marcus frowned, but both men were already next to her.
Once again, Marcus grabbed her jaw and ripped her from Lysander’s artery while Varos poured blood down her throat. That time, it only took three glasses before she returned to clear thought.
Avalon shrank into herself upon seeing what she’d done to his wrist.
“Don’t worry,” he chuckled, taking her hands in his. Using one of her fingers, he cut her palm and then held her dripping blood over his own injury. “See? Already healing.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what…” she broke off, mesmerised by the rapid healing of his skin.
“It’s your thirst,” Lysander explained. “It makes you forget your human side. Nothing but blood is important to new creations like you.”
“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” she cried.
“We won’t let that happen,” Varos assured her, handing her another glass of blood.
Now that she was thinking clearly, she hesitated with the glass in her hand.
“Taste it,” Marcus chuckled. “Rest assured no one died for this—it’s donated blood.
Avalon stared into the glass for a moment before bringing it to her lips. Once the first drop touched her tongue, she gulped down the rest of it.
“Told you,” Marcus laughed.
“We know this is a lot to take in. Maybe you’d like to clean up. Then we’ll answer all of your questions,” Varos suggested .
She nodded, though her mind seemed to be wandering again.
Varos was the one to step forward and take her hand, leading her to the attached bathroom. Lysander took his leave, his body weak and hungry. Though he kept a close ear as Varos filled the tub with water, assuring her lovingly every step of the way. Starving, he went to the kitchen and stuffed his mouth with anything he could find. He didn’t care much what it was as long as he could find his energy again. Marcus trailed behind him, watching as he ravished the fridge and pantry.
“How much blood reserves do you still have?”
Marcus shrugged his shoulders. “Not much, but I’ll go out and fill up as soon as she is stable.”
“She’s not going to be stable for months, maybe even years.”
“We’re going to watch over her.”
“You should’ve just let her be.”
“Sure, let the girl be raped, stabbed, and beaten to death.”
“Thousands of people go through that every day.”
“You’re such a fucking asshole.”
“I’m just realistic. What happens if you run out of blood, or she decides she wants a real meal? The more you feed her, the more dangerous she becomes and once she figures out her true strength, she’s going to use it.”
A high-pitched screech, and Marcus was gone. When Lysander stepped into the bathroom, Avalon stared into the mirror with horror. Her face was streaked with blood— her blood. Her tears no longer ran like water. Varos and Marcus stood to either side of her, cleansing her face and attempting to console her.
Shaking his head, he left the room once again. Turning Avalon was the stupidest thing they’d done. It put all of them at risk. They’d been hiding in plain sight for years now but with her having the ability to wipe out half of Houston, that was coming to an end. The moment she figured out what warm flesh under her tongue felt like, she wouldn’t settle for anything less .
With a full plate in his lap, he sat in his favourite armchair that overlooked their garden. Though the house had primarily been bought for the basement, the garden had been the second selling point. Settled in the middle of Houston, it was private and secluded—just like they wanted.
After a while, Varos and Marcus joined him, each holding a “meal” of their own.
“You think it’s wise to leave her alone?”
“What would you like us to do? Take away her right to privacy?”
“Yes! She’s dangerous and since you two idiots thought it was such a good idea to chase after her, she is now your problem.”
“She can hear you,” Varos reminded him.
“And?”
“You’re being rude.”
“And you were a fucking idiot, Varos. First you saved her, then you let her back into your lives, and now you’ve turned her into a blood-sucking beast without her consent. Still think I’m the rude one here?”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“Yet here we are. You could’ve held her until her last breath, made sure she was comfortable in her last moments. Perhaps you could have even shown her that her murderer wouldn’t survive either. But no, you had to sink your goddamn fangs into her and pump her with your fucking venom!”
“Leave him be,” Marcus interjected.
“Go to hell.”
“I thought we established that we all were already there, only that they refurbished it a little.” Marcus gave an ominous laugh.
“Great. Now you’ve dragged an innocent woman down with you.”
Movement by the door caught their attention. Avalon stood there, barely covered by a black towel that made her look even paler. Her gaze flickered between the three of them, bloody tears threatening to fall.
“I-I…” she stuttered. “I don’t have clothes.”
He couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
Varos stood, retaining his human speed as he crossed the space and took her hand. “I’m sure we can find you something to wear until we can figure things out.”
As she walked down the hallway with him, she softly asked, “When will my throat stop hurting?”
“It will take a while.”
“I don’t want to drink anymore,” she whispered.
Furious with his friends, he shot to his feet.
“Where are you going?”
“To get that poor woman some clothes.”
“I’m coming with you,” Marcus insisted.
“No. You’re going to stay here and make sure she doesn’t leave the house.”
And then he grabbed his keys and stormed out, needing some fucking space to breathe.