Chapter 16 – Novak
Chapter Sixteen
Novak
The siren should have enough of my venom flowing through her veins to easily facilitate her transformation, but we’re lacking one major piece of the puzzle.
She needs human blood before she can slumber.
At least her scent no longer holds the same hint of decay that it did before I spent the last fifteen minutes dosing her.
If Seiran doesn’t get back soon, I may have no choice but to use Newton. However, I’m not sure I’m willing to lose my favorite groundskeeper.
My stomach twists as something deep inside me rebels at the thought of losing Greer. She’s mine now, and I’ll do whatever is necessary to ensure her survival.
If I wasn’t needed here, I would have gone searching on my own to procure a human.
I’ve never seen Seiran kill anyone, and I truly don’t think he has it in him. Luring an innocent human to their death isn’t something I would expect from him, but if he wants to keep his bonded mate alive—at least, in some capacity—he better get over his moral qualms, real fucking fast.
Greer whimpers, her entire body shivering. She’s still burning up compared to my baseline temperature.
Tucking my arm around her middle, I pull her back closer to my chest. It feels unsafe to dose her with any more of my venom, so I brush my lips over her cheek. “You are a bundle of trouble wrapped up in one beautiful package. Aren’t you, sweet girl?”
She most definitely is.
Those moans and grunts leave me feeling helpless. I’m doing everything physically possible to rectify her situation, but my system urges me to do more.
Fucking hell.
I’m really going to miss Newton if I have to sacrifice him to save my progeny. And yet, I’ve just decided I will if Seiran fails to follow through. My instincts already view the female siren as mine, and vampires are viciously protective of our things.
“Shh,” I coo when she gasps in her sleep.
“I’ve got you. Let me tell you about the night I was turned.
It was one of the least pleasant in all my long life.
I’ve never been so cold or famished. The middle of winter in the frozen tundra, with nothing around for as far as my puny human eyes could see.
Well, nothing outside of ice and snow. I hadn’t eaten in nearly a week… ”
My eyes widen as Seiran leads two humans through the open door and into the bedroom. The glazed look in their eyes signals that he used his magic on them.
“They were fucking in the alley behind Chaos,” he says, shoving one of the guys toward the bed. “I wanted to search for someone who looked like they deserved to die, but I was afraid it would take too long.”
“Move the buckets,” I instruct.
Seiran grabs the handles and totes them out into the hall. The humans have already migrated back to one another, shoving their mouths together for a sensual kiss.
“Feel free to continue,” I say, lining my voice with my compulsion. “But come sit on the floor near the bed. All I need access to is one of your wrists.”
They stumble over, and the shorter man pins the taller to the floor, but each offers up a wrist.
Seiran comes back into the room, and I catch the shimmer of his magic through the air as he once again doses them with lust.
“Will she need to kill them to turn?” he asks in barely more than a whisper.
“I brought two because I thought maybe you could make sure to only let her take half from each? Like a half-drain instead of a full-dry?” He sighs, swiping a clawed hand over his face.
“If she does lose control, I’d rather we keep that to ourselves. She won’t handle it well, Novak.”
“Shut up, please,” I hiss, grabbing the closest hand. It must be the man on bottom, based on the way his arm is turned. The direction will make it easier for her to puncture his veins. “Open her mouth.”
Seiran scurries to the edge of the bed, kneeling next to our human blood bags.
He caresses Greer’s cheek, holding her mouth open.
The tender brush of his fingers over her cheek wasn’t part of my instructions, but I ignore the uncomfortable tingle in my gut and focus on bringing the man’s wrist to my mouth. Clamping down, I dose him with venom.
Vampire venom secretes first upon our fangs impaling a victim. It increases their euphoria, and, in many cases, their sexual desire. I swallow several small sips of his blood, testing for the tastes that would indicate illness, drugs, or other toxins.
Ahh, AB-, Greer is in for a treat.
There’s nothing of concern, so I dig my fangs in to make sure he’s bleeding severely enough that I won’t have to repeat this process in a few seconds. Vampire saliva can heal a wound, so unless her fangs imbed in his skin, it’s a real possibility.
Sliding my finger over the puncture marks, I pull his wrist from my mouth and move it to hers. She doesn’t react as the human blood pours into her mouth and hopefully down her throat.
The stark realization hits me like a ton of bricks.
Her heart no longer beats at all.
“Drink,” I growl, forcing my compulsion into the command.
Seiran begins to massage her throat while I continue to demand she drink, but nothing happens.
Goddamnit.
Can I give her CPR? Would that even help under the circumstances?
Seiran’s terrified gaze meets mine, and it feels like my heart skips a beat. In all my complaining, never did I once truly consider that this might not work.
He’s one of my oldest friends.
I refuse to fail him.
Not when it’s something so important.
I drop the man’s wrist and position it to drain into her mouth. My hand moves over her heart, giving it a stern pat, while continuing to command that she drink.
Nothing.
If I break a rib, it’ll heal, so I try again with a little more oomph.
It feels like several eternities pass before her heart thumps an erratic beat.
“Thank God,” Seiran whispers.
“Seriously?” I snort, shaking my head. “That old woman rubbed off on you in more ways than one.”
“She taught me humanity and what it is to share true friendship,” he growls, narrowing his eyes. “What it is to genuinely enjoy someone’s company with no ulterior motives.”
“You’re not a fool. Don’t play one now.” I scoff. How quickly things devolve when he no longer needs me. “She didn’t want to be alone when she died, nothing more, nothing less.”
“She was a friend,” he says, grinding his teeth. “I had full autonomy. I could have left at any time, but I stayed because I truly enjoyed her company—no summoning contract needed to force my compliance.”
“You still won’t admit that you stayed because of me and Reign.
I released you within a year, Seiran. At any point after that, you could have left of your own free will.
Yet, you stayed with us for centuries. Answer me this—when did I ever treat you as a servant?
I considered you one of my best goddamn friends. ”
“Then, what was the agony I experienced the day I left? I asked to be released, and you said you untethered me. For days after, there was a weight on my chest. I could barely breathe, actual tears leaked from my eyes, I didn’t shower for two weeks.” Seiran frowns. “How do you explain that?”
I sigh. “Sadness at leaving your friends and the only home you’d known in the human realm, perhaps?”
Greer’s head snaps forward, and she buries her fangs in the human’s wrist.
Greedy gulping fills the air, and I smile.
Seiran’s eyes get glassy as he studies his now-feeding mate.
This is an excellent sign.
I pat Seiran’s shoulder. “I believe this is a good indication.”
A cautious smile tips at his lips, and he nods, tenderly brushing her cheek. “Thank you, Novak.”
For being such a giant pain in the ass, I sure did miss him.
We swap out for the other human after only a few minutes. Both men are dosed with my venom and Seiran’s lust. It’s no surprise when they get back to the fucking Seiran interrupted when he plucked them from the alleyway.
I try not to allow myself to obsess about the massive number of violations I’ve racked up tonight.
The paranormal council will fine me out the ass if they catch wind of what happened here.
Killing the humans would be one strike, but allowing Greer to feed off them without proper consent technically counts as two.
At least, logically speaking, allowing her to drain one dry would have been the best choice.
Although, perhaps not ethically speaking.
At some point, Seiran moves onto the edge of the bed. He sits facing Greer with his legs held up to avoid the copulating couple.
Reign is still behind me. I assume he’s continuing to keep her calm in her dreams.
Everything changed in the blink of an eye.
The baby vampire won’t be able to be more than a few hundred yards away from me for the foreseeable future. Not without experiencing discomfort. It’ll be mild, but the farther apart we are, the more noticeable it will become.
I expect she’ll be able to go about her business within Black Cove within a year or two, but fledgling vampires are like newborn babies.
They’re exceptionally needy, and the bond between maker and progeny will pull us together to encourage me to teach and provide for her during her most vulnerable time.
My hand swipes down her side, and I glare at the offending appendage. Her sweet scent fills the air as it should have upon her first turning. I fight the urge to bury my face in her throat to sniff it up close and personal.
Seiran startles as the man’s arm leaves the bed.
I push up on my forearm to see what’s happening.
Greer’s head shakes, and she groans, “Too much.”
My forehead wrinkles. It’s not an exact science, but I was under the impression she would need much more blood. Not only that, fledgling vampires struggle with bloodlust. They require close monitoring while feeding because they don’t know how or when to cut themselves off.
“What’s too much, kitten?” Seiran asks.
“That,” she whispers. “I don’t need more of that.”