Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
Marlon
After we’d finished feeding, we led the small vampire back to Blake’s truck.
He was small, but I knew not to trust any vampires.
Our strength had nothing to do with size, and he’d already proven he could overpower me.
It had to do with age, and looking at this wee one, I felt the power radiate off him.
“Don’t worry so much. If I’d wanted to destroy you, you’d be lying in the forest missing your head,” he said and pulled his lips back from his teeth.
“No vampire can be trusted. Including me,” I finally said.
“You’re right, but I’m willing to help you. And since you’ve been buried the past century, and your mate is a newborn, I’d say I’m your best chance at finding the vampire you’re searching for.”
“Josiah,” I said.
“That does not matter. Can you feel his blood?”
“Yes, he’s moving away from us to the north but he’s not so far that I cannot sense him.
” It was strange. When other vampires had spoken about the bond with their mate, most of them savored the fact they could feel the connection that was sealed with their blood, but I had not been responsible for changing Josiah, and I did not want to be connected to him in any way.
“Is there a way to break the connection?”
The little vampire stared at me for far too long. It would be so easy to believe he was nothing more than an innocent child.
“Your mate does not trust me,” he said to Blake.
“I’ll trust no vampire again,” I said and showed my teeth.
“Marlon, if he can help us, we should let him,” Blake said, making the wee one grin.
“You should listen to this one. He’s smart,” he said with a grin full of innocence and childhood mischief. I knew it was all a lie. “The connection will end when he no longer exists.”
I savored that moment so much a growl escaped me just at the thought.
“Elias, Marlon’s my mate, and I won’t tolerate you trying to get him to fight,” Blake said, and stood between the two of us.
“We should go. If your vampire has enough of a head start, he could make it to Canada before we leave Oregon,” Elias said as the three of us stood beside the truck. “If you really want to catch him, we can.”
“I will catch him.” I said.
“To destroy him,” Elias said. “It means nothing to me. He’s one more vampire who will end up exposing us all by living the life of an animal rather than finding a way that doesn’t.”
Blake opened the door to the truck, and the three of us climbed inside with the little vampire between the two of us.
I ignored the fact that he was closer to my mate than me.
His discomfort at being in a confined area with two vampires hung thick in the air.
Blake started the truck and drove back to the main road.
“So, what’s your story, Elias?” Blake asked.
“I’ll tell you, but first a question. When were you created?” he asked me.
“Long ago.”
“How long ago?”
“Sometime in the year 1300,” I answered without looking at him. “Why does it matter?”
“I can feel your years. As I explained before, my ability is related to the age of a vampire. With older vampires, I can feel their age and power. I know we all have a sense of power, but mine is more precise. While I can read the thoughts of a newborn, it does not help me with older vampires.” The way he spoke was much older than his appearance, and I didn’t question that he was more powerful than he would completely admit.
“Like you, I don’t know the exact time I was changed.
Time was different then and not measured as accurately.
But my life began in a small village in what is now Romania.
Long before you were created.” He grinned up at me.
“How did you end up here?” Blake asked.
“That is another story for another night. Tonight, we find the vampire who murdered your mate,” he said to me.
Blake explained all he knew about how he’d dug me up and let me feed from him, how I’d lied about not needing much blood, but he still wanted to help. He wasn’t compelled by me. I wanted him to choose.
“I hated knowing that anyone related to me could be so evil, and I needed to make it right. But I never thought I’d be drawn to Marlon that way. Especially the way he looked at first.” He gave me a guilty look, but he wasn’t lying.
“Even as a human, your bond was there,” Elias said.
“In a way, but it’s different now. I can—feel him,” Blake said.
“You are tied together in many ways. An unbreakable bond caused by a vampire who did not understand it,” Elias said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Who is the vampire you hunt?” Elias asked.
“I thought he was meant to be my mate,” I admitted.
“Even though you seem old in human years, you are young for a vampire. Most never find their mate, and many more never try. There are humans who are aware of us and the powers we possess. Being immortal has its advantages, and humans like to think they want to live forever without ever thinking beyond the obvious,” Elias said. “There are humans who try to use us.”
“They pretend to be a mate?” Blake asked, but my mind raced.
“He couldn’t have fooled me so easily.” Since Blake had dug me up, nothing was clear. My mind didn’t work the way it once had, and my time underground was lost. I was cut off from all sensation except the dirt that surrounded me.
“Your body and mind will heal with time. Being alone for so long, unable to feed, would weaken even the strongest of us. I suspect the human you trusted was one of those who try to take our powers. You said you did not change him?”
“No, he tried to take it for himself.” I explained what Josiah had done and how I had nothing to do with it willingly.
“The silver could have caused you to not remember and since you had no way to dilute it for so long it may take a while for your mind to sharpen again. We will know the real truth when we find him,” Elias said.
“If I get to him first, he won’t be able to talk,” I said.
Blake drove through the night mostly in silence.
I needed to feel him, to know he was safe and that nothing had changed between us.
Even though I knew the only thing that had changed was the passenger that rode between us, but doubt filled my thoughts.
Blake took an exit and pulled off to the side before getting out of the truck and hurrying to my door and pulling it open.
“We’re fine. Nothing could change the way I feel for you, Marlon. No matter what we find out. I know this is all new to you same as it is for me. But you need to trust our bond. I can feel everything you feel.” He held my hand over his heart and meant every word he said. “Close your eyes.”
“What do you mean?”
“Trust me. Close your eyes.”
I did as he asked and forced myself to trust him. “Now feel me, open yourself to me.” He pulled me closer and rested his head against my chest. His feelings for me were all consuming. He loved me with everything in him. Far beyond our bond, and completely unbreakable. “Understand?”
“Yes, love. But we’re still going to kill that fucker,” I said.
“Now you sound more like me,” Blake said.
“Boys, we need to go if we’re going to gain some ground,” Elias said.
Blake kissed me before hurrying back to the driver’s seat. “My mate needed me,” he said.
“It seems you’re right,” Elias said as Blake turned around and headed back to the freeway.