18. Elias
CHAPTER 18
Elias
S omething is off.
The air, perhaps. The vibe, as my younger brethren would say. Since shortly after Geordi left I’ve not felt like myself. As if I’m missing an appendage. The urge to retrieve him from wherever he is and bring him back is strong. Almost beyond my control.
“Excuse me, sir?”
I turn to Benicio standing in the doorway of my study. He appears agitated, shifting his weight from foot to foot with his brow furrowed.
“Yes.”
“You should see this.” He approaches, handing me a tablet. He presses the play button and before me chaos abounds.
“Where is this?”
“The town square. The mortals are behaving strangely.”
I watch the throngs of people running through the streets—fighting, kissing, vandalizing. “As I suspected. Something is happening.”
“Something, sir?”
I shake my head, pausing the video. “I don’t know what, but I feel it too. An urge, if you will.” I twist my head back and forth to stretch my neck. “It seeps through my veins, stirring my most feral instincts.”
“What?”
I clear my throat, shifting in my seat as my cock swells and my fangs drop. “Gods, what is happening to me?”
Benicio steps forward, touching my forehead, but I swat his hand away. “You need sustenance.”
I focus on his every movement as he hurries over to my credenza and pours a glass of blood for me. As he gets closer with it, the scent turns my stomach.
“No.” I shake my head. “I can’t drink that. It’s poison.”
“It is absolutely not poison. Shall I call the witches?”
Rising suddenly, I tear at my shirt until the buttons fly off, skittering across the wood floors. “I need Geordi. Now.”
“But, sir, you shouldn’t?—”
I don’t hear another word he says as I dart from the house, moving at a speed I rarely bother with anymore, allowing the scent of my delicious mortal to carry me to him. All I can see is his face.
I send my desires to him, knowing he must feel the connection as strongly as I do.
Come to me, Geordi. Come be with your vampire.
I pause in the town square, catching his scent but losing it again. I sort through the masses of people, tossing bodies out of my way as I search for my consort. Two people stabbing each other stumble into me, and I end their fruitless battle by ripping out their throats.
Finally, I spot him.
Geordi.
He’s alone, his nose buried in a notebook.
I stalk behind him, scooping him up effortlessly and tossing him over my shoulder.
“Hey! Oh, Elias. P-p-put me down. I’m working.”
“Mine,” I growl. “Consort.”
“Elias?”
“Safe.”
“Why are you talking like this?”
I launch into a run, arriving back to my house in mere seconds. Geordi groans as he vomits down my back, but I don’t care. The beast within me is pleased. Geordi is here. He’s safe.
Benicio opens the door just as I get to it, closing it again quickly behind me and locking it.
“Clear out Paradiso. I want to be alone with my consort.”
“Elias,” Geordi groans. “What’s going on?”
“Elias isn’t feeling well,” Benicio explains. “Your presence will help.”
“But I have work to do,” he says feebly.
“You’ll stay here now.” I set him down, brushing my hand through his hair. “You’re safe with me. No one will harm you. No one will touch you ever again.”
A vague hint of my civilized self tries to push through the feral fog overtaking me, but I resist it.
“I will care for you, my little mortal nugget.”
He frowns, pulling his head back. “Oh no. It’s affecting you too, but why?”
He chews on his bottom lip, but I gently tug it free. “Don’t hurt yourself, darling. You will bleed for me and me alone.”
He swallows hard, taking a slight step back. “You’re not going to hurt me, right?”
“Hurt you?” I cup his cheek. “I could never. I’m going to worship you and make you mine for eternity.”
“No.” He shakes his head, putting his arms out to stop me from advancing. I chuckle. As if he could stop me. “You can’t turn me, Elias. I have a lot to do and I need to be mortal to do it.”
His resistance insults me. “You don’t want to be mine? Am I not a suitable choice?”
“Of course you are. You’re perfect. I’m just not ready yet. That’s all.”
I grab his arms and push them down to his sides as I step closer. “You will be mine though. You’ll stay here until you’re ready. I won’t allow you to leave.”
“You’re kidnapping me?”
“Why would you choose to leave when you can have anything you want here?”
“I need my… things. Clothes and my notebooks. I need access to the lab.”
“I will build you a lab. What do you need? Just say it and it’s yours.”
He huffs, dragging a hand through his hair. My, he’s lovely. Blue veins crawl across the pale skin of his neck, pulsing with sweet blood. His scent wafts around me, leaving me swaying with lust.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to let me go to work? It’s already set up. Meredith will be looking for me too, and Enyo is sick. Someone stole my vaccine and?—”
“Who?” I yell. “Tell me and I will kill them.”
Geordi flinches. “I don’t want you to kill anyone. I just need to know why he took it and gave it to people. I need to know what his plan is.”
“Who is it, Geordi? I will find them and bring them here.”
“Ronald Shaw. He’s Bernard Shaw’s nephew.”
“Done.” I turn on my foot and stomp toward the door, pausing as I recall his other requests. “What do you need from your lab?”
“I could go with you and get?—”
“No.”
Geordi steps back, wringing his hands.
“Do not fear me, my darling. But you’ll stay here.”
He nods. “Okay. I need my notebooks and some blood samples from mortals and vampires who haven’t had the vaccine. Pure samples.”
“I will bring people here.”
“N-no. I have samples in the lab. They’re labeled.”
“Very well. Benicio will draw you a bath and give you fresh clothes.”
“You’re the one who needs fresh clothes. I threw up on you and your shirt is torn.”
Benicio is gone and back in a flash, handing me a clean shirt. Just as I get it on, my front door flies open and a rabid Jagger appears in front of me with wild eyes.
“Where is Enyo? I need him.”
“Oh gods,” Geordi moans. “Not him too.”
“Where is he?” Jagger asks, looking everywhere.
“He’s locked in my office at the lab,” Geordi says.
“Come, my friend.” I grab Jagger’s arm. “We’ll retrieve your mortal and you can take him home.”
“No, please,” Geordi says. “I need Enyo to help him.”
I growl but nod, unable to deny my mortal anything he wants. “We’ll bring the mortal here.”
“Take me to him, please,” Jagger moans. “I’ll die if I don’t see him again.”
“Fuck,” Geordi mutters. “Please hurry back.”
We step outside and the two of us dash over to the town center where the lab is. Inside, we put two security guards to sleep with a simple look and take the stairs to the fourth floor, Jagger leading the way.
There are padlocks on the outer door, which I rip off easily, then Jagger rushes to the back while I gather the things Geordi asked for. My heart feels lighter, the beast within me soothed knowing my mortal is safe at my home.
Jagger returns with Enyo wrapped around him like an octopus, his face buried in the crook of my friend’s neck. He glances at me with glazed eyes.
“It’s the vaccine,” he murmurs. “It’s made us all crazy.”
A sliver of clarity bounces around my mind, but it’s quickly dismissed by the beast clearly in charge of my actions right now.
“We have to get back to the house. I can’t leave Geordi alone for too long.”
Jagger nods, placated now he’s got Enyo in his arms.
As night closes in on the town, the locals descend into madness. Sirens blare and the red and blue of police lights shimmer on buildings as we pass. Bloody bodies lie splattered on the ground while others enjoy being alive and writhe in public ecstasy.
The scent of blood and sex taints the air, pushing me harder to get back to my consort. When we arrive at the house, Geordi is showered and wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, no doubt from my stash of clothing left behind by visitors and victims, sitting on the floor in the library and scrawling in a notebook. He looks relieved to see me.
Jagger carries Enyo upstairs, leaving me there along with the bags I took from the lab.
“Is it bad outside?”
“By mortal standards, yes. Come to bed, my love. Let me worship you.”
Geordi huffs a breath. “I can’t. I have to figure out what’s going on.”
“There’s plenty of time for that.” I set the bags down, flicking my tongue out under my fangs. “Come to bed. I’ll make you come, and while you rest, I’ll set up your lab.”
“Elias, I really can’t?—”
“It’s not a request, darling.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “I thought you liked consent.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I step forward, kneeling down so I’m eye level with him. I cup his chin, gazing into his pretty eyes. “I must insist. I need a taste before my beast becomes unruly. You are so desired, my darling. The world can crumble around us for all I care, as long as you are in my arms.”
His scent shifts from nervous and wary to pure desire, stirring my cock once more.
“Come.”
Geordi nods, rising to his feet and allowing me to scoop him into my arms. As I carry him up the stairs, I kiss his forehead.
“Your work will still be there when I’m done with you.”
“This is so wrong,” he murmurs.
“Is it? It feels very right to me. How many times in your life have you selfishly sought your own pleasure? Met your own needs before those of others? I’ll never ask you to sacrifice your desires. I’ll elevate them.”
I push my bedroom door open with my foot, carrying him across to my bed, where I set him down.
“I’ve got you exactly where I want you, curious mortal. I hope you like it here.” I brush his hair from his face. “Because it’s your home now. I’m never letting you leave.”