Soren
“You don’t have to walk me in,” Callie says for the third time. It’s adorable really. How much she fights me on, well, everything.
“I’m not,” I tell her, because so far, I’ve learned if I redirect her concern then it just fades away. I grab her leftovers and turn to her holding up a separate bag.
“It’s not a date.” She barely looks at me as she says the words.
“If it were a date this would be the moment I kiss you goodnight.” I watch her reaction closely, in the tell of her slightly stiff shoulders, in the blush creeping up her neck.
And those kissable lips that she nibbles on, torturing the skin right off that bottom lip.
“No kissing,” she rushes out.
“I’m here to feed Vex,” I finally tell her, wiggling the bag in my hand.
Her forehead wrinkles into a little frown before she turns away and begins to walk toward row homes turned apartment buildings.
I am here to feed Vex. But not the sandwich in this bag. I also tucked in a bag or three of O+.
“Oh.” She nods simply.
Her long hair brushes the tip of her lower back just barely peeking out from her tank top. Her shorts ride up a little higher stealing the view.
I turn away feeling like a creeper.
When she gets to the door she pauses and looks back. “Stalker,” she grumbles before unlocking the breezeway door. I swear she mumbles something about making a spare key.
She need not bother. I have one. But I don’t tell her that.
I also choose not to tell her that Lazarus bought this brownstone and now he is her landlord. That is his to tell.
“A terrible one at that,” I tell her before leaning down to whisper in her ear but really, I’m just inhaling her scent. I swear it’s lavender and a hint of hibiscus. “You should call the authorities.”
“And say what?” She finally gets it unlocked and ushers me in. “Oh no officer a rich man bought me pillows, dinner, and cupcakes.”
“He’d set the bail at two mil.” I make sure the door is locked.
It’s just her and Vex in this building now. Not that it’s much of a building. A row home converted into four apartments.
The other two, well…
Lazarus paid them off.
My gods I am as bad as she claims. No not me, definitely him.
“Pocket change.” She smirks.
And there is the problem. She keeps teasing me back.
I lean against the wall as she goes to unlock her door. “A yacht is pocket change.”
And just like that her entire demeanor changes. “Fucking best friend stealing yacht owners.”
“You are really angry about the yacht.” I’ll sell it immediately.
Her sigh is very telling. “Hadley is on one somewhere in some ocean not returning my calls.” She blinks before turning to me. “Despite myself I enjoyed tonight.”
“Then you better get inside before I ruin it.”
“I don’t think you could.”
“Your mouth.” I lean in and inhale her again. “To gods’ ears.” I back away to Vex’s door, who I can feel buzzing behind it. “Good night, Calliope. My muse.”
“See you were so close.”
“Knew I’d ruin it.”
“And you did.” She slams the door in my face.
I’m still smirking when I fall backward into Vex’s arms. He sweeps me in the room and shuts the door.
“Tell me everything.”
“Ah, no.” I hand him the bag of blood and turn around to the perfectly renovated living room.
Everything else is in shambles. But the living room is put together.
“Soren.” He rips open the bag and begins to gulp.
“This didn’t take long.” I twirl my finger around as I take in the space. It’s set up differently than Callie’s apartment. Not that I’ve been in there when she was aware of it.
“Laz has unlimited resources.” He chucks a bag in the trash can before ripping into the second. “Easy to renovate when you don’t have to worry about money.”
“There is that.” I spin back to him. “The ah,” I cannot bring myself to say it.
“Stalker room?” Vex finishes. “It’s done.”
“It feels wrong,” I grumble as he pushes past the plastic hanging from the ceiling and leads me down the hallway toward the first bedroom.
Unlike Callie’s apartment this one is two floors. The living room and kitchen on the second, and the bedrooms on the third. The other apartment on the first floor is set up differently and the basement apartment. Those are both empty. Callie’s crawlspace sits under the bedrooms.
“Is it wrong?” Vex pauses on the stairwell. “I mean all this surveillance. Feels, like overkill.”
“There are those who would easily steal a bride once she is found,” I say grimly.
A fact I’ve experienced firsthand. One I’d do anything to never experience again. At any cost.
So I know Lazarus is going overboard. But we understand why. Vex will eventually.
I haven’t the heart to explain just how dark and fucked up our world is.
“Besides,” I push him to keep going forward. “The other option is Lazarus locking you away. Again.”
“See he can’t.”
“We’ve noticed.” And it Vexes me that I can’t figure out how he’s doing it. “Which is why I am here, playing babysitter.”
“And why you are here playing babysitter.” He mocks.
“You know the rules,” I argue.
“No I do not.” He opens the door to the stalker room.
Inside sits a desk with multiple monitors, all with varying images of the building and her apartment.
I can’t help but worry what she will say once she finds all this out. And she will. Eventually. All secrets come undone eventually. Like the fact that one day I’ll have to explain my wife to her. One day. Baby steps.
“If we told you everything at once—”
“My brain would explode,” he finishes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He waves his hands at the monitors. “But this?” He exclaims. “Needs an explanation.”
“Like I said,” I zero in on Callie in her kitchen with the cupcakes spread out before her. A fork in her hand, and her tasting each one she can. “Laws.”
“And what law exists in vampirism that says it’s okay for you to creep on a girl eating her fucking cupcakes.” He runs a hand through his hair visibly irritated by this. “Cupcakes.”
“You feel the pull to her?” I look away, back to her just one more time.
It’s the biggest lie I’ve ever told myself.
“That’s why I keep Houdini-ing away from that damn stuffy mansion.”
Agreed. “She’s an unbound bride. The only saving grace we have is that no other vampire coven knows of her existence.”
“So you can what, fight over her like a bone?”
“Yes,” I state standing tall. “That is exactly what will happen. Do you know how many brides exist at any given moment?”
“I think Daddy Laz told me.” But he obviously forgot.
“One in a million,” I remind him. “And she’s a twin.”
“Oh.” Vex pauses, his mouth open.
“What’s that look for? It’s concerning.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s something.” I press. “Tell me.”
“You aren’t my real dad.”
“Neither is Lazarus.”
“We should call him too.”
“What did you uncover.” Fear sizzles up my spine. I don’t like it when he holds out. He’s the most unhinged fledgling. Since… well since my change.
But that brings up nothing but awful, terrible memories.
“We should call.”
This is bad. I have my phone out quicker than I should and Lazarus on speakerphone in less than a second.
“What happened?” he answers.
“Vex found something out,” I begin to pace because I hate when something is out of my control.
“The sister.” Vex shifts from one foot to the other. “Yeah, she knows about vampires.”
“What?” I can feel my last feed drain from my face.
“Explain.”
“Right so there I was in the crawlspace keeping Callie safe right.” He goes on. “Then when I came down Calypso says I had blood on my fangs. She knew.”
“What does this mean?” I ask no one in particular. I’ve never been in this situation.
“What exactly did she say?” Lazarus asks.
“Fucking vampires,” Vex states. “That’s what she said.”
“Does she know what she is?” Lazarus asks slowly.
“She asked if I needed an invite. I made a mental note to ask you.”
“You need an invite to drink their blood.” I answer that question quickly because it’s one of the fundamentals and he needs to know.
“This is bad,” Lazarus states. “It sounds like Calypso doesn’t know the details, she knows some things but not everything.”
“Are they both brides? I mean it makes sense. Identical twins.” I pause. “That is how, right?”
“That is the question.” Lazarus sounds unimpressed. “I need everything on the sister you can get.”
I look at Vex who looks at me.
“I’m not a techy kind of guy,” Vex explains.
“You’ve broken out of my chains that got me through the Revolutionary War.” He pauses. “Three times. Figure it out.”
“You did set up the creeper room,” I add on.
“Shut up.” Vex crosses his arms but he’s almost proud of his accomplishments. “Okay fine. But you know there’s a simple explanation.”
“Pray tell,” I draw out.
“What if she’s a feeder.”
“That’s a horrible word.” I curl my lip at the word. “Blood bonded.”
“Feeder,” Vex repeats. “Oh I could scent a blood bond.”
“Possible,” Lazarus agrees. “You sure you scented a blood bond?”
“Yeah.” Vex wrinkles up his face. “How did I know that?”
Indeed. How? “Doesn’t matter, if she is blood bonded then that means whoever initiated the bond knows what she is now.”
“What’s that mean?” He’s like a toddler asking why every five seconds.
“A blood bond with a willing human is more likely in these modern times,” Lazarus explains. “Brides are rare to find. A human willing to extend their life is easier to find. Unfortunately they cannot sustain a coven so multiple bonds are required.”
“It’s cruel,” I mutter earning a confused look from Vex. “A blood bond with a bride is intentional.”
“There’s a difference?”
“Yes.” Lazarus sighs over the line. “That isn’t today’s lesson.”
“Hey daddy.” Vex grabs my phone speaking into the mic. “Is it that dangerous? I want to know.”
“The blood bond or a bride bond?” I ask.
Vex weaves his head back and forth before answering. “Both but mostly an unbound bride.”
Lazarus pauses for a long moment. And I know what he’s going to say before he says it. Maybe from the years of us existing side by side. Maybe because he changed me in much the same way as Vex. And maybe it’s because Lazarus helped me through the darkest moments of my life.
Either way I’m not surprised when he says the words. “Show him.”