8. Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Benjamin
My leg was burning and I felt sore all over.
At least I remembered why. I blinked my eyes open and almost screamed in shock when Salizar’s worried face was inches from my own.
“Have you ever heard about personal space?!” I exclaimed, trying to create some distance between us but that only made my leg protest as a new wave of pain flooded my system.
“Careful!” he chided, like he wasn’t the reason for my reaction. “You were shot with poison. It’ll take a while to heal properly.”
“Poison?!” I tried to mask my surprise, but failed.
“It’s witch-made,” he informed me, his tone was lacking his usual cocky tone. Like me, he’d pieced things together, too.
“Vampires and witches are working together,” I finally whispered, the words hard to get out. Last time this had happened, a war had broken out, killing thousands of innocent humans.
Salizar nodded. “I ran back to the hotel with you on my back, then called my coven for help. We got the antidote into your system in time and have the whole hotel warded. We’re basically stuck here until you heal enough to leave.
” I had no idea who’d warded the hotel and I truly didn’t care, what I did care about however was much more pressing.
“Rogue vampires are swarming the town and we just learned that vampires and witches are together in this, and you tell me we have to sit here and wait?!”
He nodded and was about to say something when my phone rang.
He wordlessly handed it over and I didn’t understand why, but the thought of him not just answering, instead allowing me to do it, had my body relaxing a little.
I’d been asleep in his company without being killed or snacked on, so I knew Salizar was likely a decent vampire, but seeing him respect my property helped too.
I took my phone and grimaced when I saw who the caller was. Exhaling a sigh, I accepted. “Benjamin,” Christopher’s smooth voice said from the other end.
“Christopher,” I grunted back, not even caring if I sounded petty. Even poison couldn’t deter me from reliving the sting of rejection.
“I heard about your attack,” he said, not sounding the least bit worried.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I’m sad to say I lived.”
Salizar shot me a surprised and rather worried look. I knew fully well he could hear both sides of the conversation, but he didn’t know about my fate as a rejected mate to the alpha jerk I had rendered speechless with my bluntness.
After a long beat of silence, I looked at my phone, checking if he’d hung up on me, but he hadn’t.
“You think I was behind your attack?” he finally asked, sounding both appalled and offended.
“No, I don’t,” I assured him. “I just figured it was a happy accident in your case. Sadly not one where you got rid of me.”
Christopher sighed, long and deep, like I somehow irritated him. “I just called to check you were okay, but I can clearly hear the poison hasn’t done enough damage to make you likable.”
I almost gasped indignantly at that, but it wasn’t truly a surprise to verbally hear his dislike of me. He had rejected me, after all. Gritting my teeth, I handed the phone wordlessly to Salizar, waving my hand in a “your problem” kind of way.
He took the phone and while looking straight at me said, “I don’t think the hunter likes you.”
I heard the clear, “The feeling is mutual.” Before the alpha hung up.
Salizar wordlessly handed me my phone back, but I could tell his curiosity had peaked.
I groaned. “Don’t ask.”
He just shrugged. “Fine, but I will need answers once you feel better.”
I could agree to those terms. I would want to know who I was partnering up with as well if I was a nosy vampire. Not that I enjoyed the thought of telling a vampire that I was so unlovable that I was outright rejected from a mating bond.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, his tone concerned and once again it held a note of worry in it.
Did he truly care about me? Or was this some kind of trick to lure me to drop my defenses?
It was sadly working. Either the poison had made me too weak to fight it, or perhaps I was just tired of keeping everyone at bay.
The fact he hadn’t eaten me after smelling my blood yesterday was proof enough that he wasn’t a mindless creature like the rogues. Perhaps I could fully trust him.
I nodded. “I could eat.”
Salizar handed me the room service menu and sat down next to me on the bed. I scanned the menu and rattled off everything I wanted to the vampire, who easily recited everything into the phone.
Maybe being bedridden for a little while wouldn’t be too bad. Then the thought hit me, as did the urgency. How the fuck would I pee with this damn leg?
Salizar, who could likely sense my inner turmoil, eyed me warily. “Is it the poison?” he asked, seemingly ready to either bolt or attack the poison. Whatever it was, he was ready.
“I have to pee,” I groaned, glaring at my useless leg.
I made a squeak as I was bridal carried into the bathroom. My leg hated the movements, but I would rather push through it than peeing in a bottle on the bed. Now that would’ve been mortifying.
“Was it a gunshot or arrow?” I asked once we were inside the bathroom.
“Gun,” he grumbled.
So, a bullet laced with poison was the reason I now had to show this vampire my dick.
Great.
Thankfully, Salizar left the bathroom once I was seated on the toilet with my dick and ass out. At least he hadn’t seen me pee. The fact he returned as soon as I was done peeing told me that he’d definitely heard it, though.
You win some, you lose some.
“Here, let me,” he said, helping me stand.
I tucked my own dick away with one hand while he tugged my sweatpants up. I tried not to focus too much on why he was even bothering with me. His coven had lots of money so he could’ve easily paid someone to care for me as I healed.
My food was delivered as soon as my ass was back on the bed. To my surprise, Salizar joined me, not eating, but he sat down again and kept me company. It was rather nice actually.
I’d picked a little bit of everything, not knowing how much my stomach could handle.
I had a spicy tuna sandwich, one bacon cheeseburger, some fries, and a bowl of tomato soup.
I decided to start with the soup, testing what I could handle first. It seemed my vampire companion deemed this the perfect bonding time, starting with a question that had me choking on the warm soup.
“Why did you become a hunter?”
He handed me a glass once my coughing had subsided.
“Thank you,” I croaked, then decided to tell him the truth.
“My family was killed by a group of rogue vampires when I was a child.” Salizar gave me his full attention, so I kept going.
“I was saved by a werewolf pack who’d chased them to our house. I was the only survivor.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, sounding genuine.
“Me, too,” I sighed. “But the werewolf pack couldn’t do much other than bring me to an orphanage.
I was adopted after two years and lived with my new family for four years before they were killed by rogues too.
After that, I was on my own, determined to fight rogues so other kids wouldn’t be without families. ”
We were both silent for a while as I continued to eat. Then he spoke, his tone soft. “My family was killed by rogues as well.”
I blinked at that. I knew logically that he would’ve once had a family, but knowing he was a vampire—and an ancient one at that—meant it was hard for me to see him as who he’d once been. A human.
“I was captured by the vampire who’d turned them. He wanted a coven, so he bit me and hoped I would survive the transition. I didn’t have a say in it.”
“Is your maker still alive?” I dared ask.
He shook his head. “I killed him myself with three others of his children. Soon after, we found Altaur and our coven. He’s my master now and will be forever.”
We were so similar, and I never would’ve guessed had I not let my guard down. I could trust him. I knew I could.
My phone buzzed with a message and I groaned. It would either be Hazi or Christopher and I didn’t want to talk to either of them. “Want me to check it?” Salizar offered and I nodded.
“Please do.”
He frowned at the phone and for a brief moment I feared it was Hazi and he was telling me something confidential. “Why is the alpha so rude towards you?” he asked, then smirked teasingly before adding, “Old lovers, perhaps?”
I scoffed, then decided to finally tell something about just how unlovable I was. “I’m his mate,” I said, feeling relieved to finally share it with another person. I laughed bitterly, “He was quite angry that I’m a human and rejected me on the spot.”
A growl from the vampire had the hairs on my neck standing and I felt a rush of fear before turning my head. His eyes were glowing; a sure sign he’d lost control. I just had no idea why.
“Mine,” he growled. He was on me in seconds, his fangs piercing through my throat.
My scream never left me as he slammed his blood covered mouth down on mine in a brutal kiss that was mostly teeth and tasted of iron.
My wound was bleeding but the pain soon turned into pure bliss as it spread through my entire body, lighting up every nerve ending.
My last thought, before I welcomed blissful darkness, was that I shouldn’t have trusted a vampire.