Chapter 23 #2
“Sort of, we feed on a person, and they feed on us for seven nights straight. We have to remain close to them, isolated, with no one else present. The bonding period is crucial.”
“Is it sexual? That sounds very sexual.”
“It can be sexual. It can be unwilling. It can be a number of things, but it is always intimate. You are forever tethered to your maker and vice versa. If a maker dies, their children normally feel great despair. The same applies in reverse.”
“Have you ever created another vampire?” I asked; a twinge of jealousy rolled through me. I blushed slightly.
“No, I have never made another vampire. I was created about a hundred and eighty years ago, at thirty-two. I was living in Hawaii with my people, and I came across a woman one night on the beach—it was like a dream. We spent every night together after that for two weeks. I had never been with anyone like her—she consumed me entirely. There were days when we never left the bedroom except to eat. When those two weeks were over, I was totally and utterly in love with her. She told me that she was leaving to go home. I was devastated. In the moment all I wanted was to spend my life with her.”
He looked so tortured—nothing like the strong, silent vampire who was always ready for any situation. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him how extraordinary he was and what a piece of shit she was.
“I tried to convince her to stay with me in Hawaii. In the end, it was I that was convinced to leave. She didn’t change me until we were in New York.
Her home was an old colonial-style behemoth.
She had servants, but no one was ever permanent.
After we arrived, everything came to light, and that’s when she changed me. ”
His mere presence next to me was like gravity. Anytime I was near him, I wanted to be even closer. Seeing him like this was only making it worse.
“What happened to her? Do you still see her?”
I was becoming more jealous, and I couldn’t even understand why. I wasn’t a jealous person by nature.
“She changed me against my will. I didn’t know that she was a vampire until I was in New York and bleeding to death in her bed,” he continued.
My heart broke for him. It wasn’t about love at all; this is what changed him—in more ways than one.
“I tried to fight her off, but I couldn’t. I refused to drink from her, and then she drained me until I had two choices: become a vampire or die... and my family would never know what happened to me.”
“I’m so sorry... I can’t imagine how scary that must have been for you. You left your whole family for her, and she essentially betrayed you. What did you do when you finished changing? I’m probably asking too much, aren’t I?”
He was showing me a vulnerable side, and I wasn’t sure he did that very often.
“I don’t mind telling you things. As comfortable as you are with me, I am with you. It’s strange, really. You keep me calm and level-headed.” That statement made me feel better about asking and about my feelings for him.
“I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t know anyone but her, and I didn’t know anything about what she had turned me into.
I was at her mercy, and that was exactly what she wanted.
I stayed by her side for years. Eventually, she grew bored with me.
By then, though, I was well-versed in my new life and how to get by.
” I could see his face beginning to soften, my hope being restored as his story began to change direction.
“I met your great-great-grandmother in the late 1800s. She introduced me to The Order. I protected her fiercely, and she did the same for me. When I told her my story of how I came to be a vampire, she made it a point to get me the justice I never knew was an option.”
“My grandmother helped you?”
“She didn’t just help me. She saved me. She saved me from a bond that I honestly think, in the end, would have destroyed me. She hunted down my maker, and The Order punished her, all without causing me distress.”
“They let her live?”
“Yes, The Order let her live. They locked her away for fifty years. It isn’t long for a vampire, but it’s no walk in the park either.
Before she was locked away, she created another vampire.
That one was my replacement, and I was grateful for that.
I hated her, and all I wanted was to sever the bond, to free myself from the power she had over me. ”
“Is there even a way to do that without one of you dying?”
“Yes, it took a very powerful witch and both my blood and hers. It was a painful process, but I don’t have to feel her inside my head anymore, and I am free to just be me. I still can’t harm her, and I will feel great despair when she passes, but she doesn’t have control over me anymore.”
“Is that why you have never created another vampire?”
“I never created another vampire because I have never met anyone that I wanted in my life for eternity. I like being free—untethered, unbound. I can do as I choose, and my job is a little dangerous even for a vampire. It’s just better to be a one-man show for how I live my life.
” My heart sank. Two hundred years, and no one had cracked the code on Maddox.
“That is sort of sad. So, you just go around having sex with no emotion and having superficial relationships that are as deep as a puddle.”
“Yup, that about sums it up,” he said sarcastically.
I reached for my iced tea and took a long pull from the straw. I set the cup down and grabbed a piece of cheese and a few grapes from the tray on the table.
“What time is it?” I said, pulling my phone from my pocket. It was mid-afternoon already.
“Does it matter? We aren’t going anywhere today.” He did have a point. I pushed the power button on my phone and shut it off. He smiled. “See, just enjoy the lesson.”
“So, when do I get to meet the other three people that help run The Order?” I wasn’t sure if it was up to me to set up a meeting or a phone call or maybe a dinner party.
“When you are ready, I can put you in touch with Bonnie. She is the person that plans everything for you. Parties, fundraisers, trips and any events you need set up. You just call her, and it’s done yesterday.”
“Well, she sounds amazing.”
“Yeah, she ain’t too bad.” His admiration showed on his face.
“You know, you really are helping me out today. You have given me a lot of information to process, and shared a lot about yourself, and I appreciate that.”
If I was honest, everything he shared made me feel closer to him.
It also made me doubt trying to have anything more than a working relationship and a friendship.
I didn’t stand a chance; his expectations for a significant other had to be insane.
In all those years, he never found anyone he wanted enough to change.
He seemed extremely disinterested in being tied down to anyone for any reason.
Now I had to keep my brain in check. That bitch loved a challenge, and I wasn’t up for getting my heart broken on purpose.
“I need a refill,” I announced, holding my cup up.
As I rose from the couch, the doorbell rang, and I looked at Maddox.
“Are you expecting someone?”
“No.”
We climbed the stairs to the study. “I will get the door. You stay here. If you hear anything alarming, I want you to go back downstairs and hit the button.”
He stood up and left the room, shutting the door behind him. I approached and put my ear to the door to listen. I could hear Maddox speaking with someone. It didn’t sound like a bad situation at all. I opened the door and poked my head out.
“Joslyn,” Maddox said over his shoulder. “Do you know this guy?” he asked as he sidestepped so I could see the man standing at the door.
“Caleb,” I said to the lawyer standing in the doorway.
“Yeah, I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. I also wanted to see if you would like to have dinner sometime?”
“Oh.” I was caught completely off guard and had no clue what to do.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked, with Maddox still standing between us.
“Yes, of course. Please come inside.”
Maddox gave me a frustrated smile and chuckled as he opened the door. Caleb entered the foyer, shutting the door behind him.
“I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since I first met you. I would love to take you to dinner and maybe get to know you a little better.”
“I don’t know if that is such a good idea.
I think you are a great guy and extremely attractive.
” No doubt this man could get my heart racing.
He would probably be a safer choice than the vampire currently watching this unfold.
“I have a whole lot going on, and I’m not entirely sure that I have time to start something new. ”
“Well, I would be willing to work with any amount of time that you could spare. I have a gut feeling that it would be time well spent, which I also don’t have a lot of in my line of work. So, I’m easy to please.” He wasn’t going to give up that easily.
“Sounds like she isn’t interested, my dude,” Maddox said as he opened the front door, indicating that it was time for Caleb to leave.
“Or maybe you don’t want her to be interested?” Caleb shot back over his shoulder without taking his eyes off me.
“You are absolutely correct about that.” Maddox turned his focus to me. “If I wasn’t sure, it would ruin any chance I had with her... I would end your life for even daring to ask her to dinner,” he said this all very matter-of-factly to Caleb while staring at me.
Caleb swallowed hard and just stared at Maddox. “Caleb, I am not emotionally available at this time. So, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to accept. I do fully intend on still coming to you for all my legal matters, but a working relationship is all that I can offer you.”
Caleb started to move toward the open door. “You took your shot, dude. Leave with your dignity.” Maddox waved as he shut the door slowly.
When the door was closed, he began laughing—a full-body laugh—and sank against the door.