Chapter 30
Thirty
Ethan stretched, a smile spreading across his lips to feel the soreness of his ass.
Yes, Marcus had done a wonderful job fucking him senseless.
He didn’t even remember falling asleep. Just lying there in Marcus’s arms…
which were now missing. Ethan opened his eyes and was surprised to find that he was in bed alone.
Sitting up, he instantly located Marcus standing at the end of the bed. He looked freshly showered and dressed in a soft, gray sweater and black slacks. There was love shining in his eyes, but also worry.
“You should have woken me,” Ethan admonished as he stretched against the sheets. “I would have showered with you.”
Marcus shook his head. “You needed your rest, and I needed to make some phone calls. They’re here now, if you still want to do this.”
Ethan’s smile fell away as he turned over Marcus’s words. Do what? It took only a moment to recall their conversation in the music room. Ethan’s transformation.
“Yes. But who’s here?”
“My brothers.” Marcus winced a little. “I’m sorry, but I need them here for this. We were together when we were changed, and I want them here for yours.”
“As a family tradition.”
Marcus nodded, but his frown deepened. “Also, as a precaution.” Marcus sat on the edge of the bed and picked up Ethan’s hand, holding it tight. “There are risks. I always fear that something could go wrong as it did with my mother, but I know of some cases where people died in the transformation.”
The words caused Ethan’s heart to skip, but he forced himself to give Marcus a reassuring smile.
“There are risks with everything in life. They say you can die when you’re put under to have your wisdom teeth removed, and there are few things more boring than that.
You’re worth the risk. Our future life together is worth that risk. ”
“I love you,” Marcus murmured. Some of the tension eased from his shoulders and they slumped.
“Love you too. But I need to shower if I’m going to see your brothers.” Ethan started to climb out of the bed, but Marcus’s fingers tightened around his hand, stopping him.
“Just a little. You smell like me, and I don’t want you to lose that completely. I want you reborn into this world smelling like you belong to me.”
Ethan chuckled and nodded. He could deal with that.
Marcus released his hand and walked out of the room, leaving Ethan to lightly clean off and pull on some clothes.
A few minutes later, he found the four Varik brothers in the library. Marcus was pacing while Winter stood by the window. Rafe was lounging across the sofa, and his twin was perched on the edge of his seat as if he could barely contain his excitement.
“I guess this is a bad time to ask if you’ve ever done this before,” Ethan said, half joking.
Some of the enthusiasm drained from Bel’s face.
Rafe snorted. “Definitely late for that question, Little Varik.”
“We were all together when Aiden changed us. I went first,” Marcus said. “I was awake to see my brothers, but still kind of out of it for Rafe’s transformation. I helped with Bel and Winter.”
Nervous energy zipped through Ethan, and he struggled to sit in the other open chair when he really wanted to pace the room with Marcus.
“Is it hard…to transform someone into a vampire?”
“Nope. Drain them and then get them to drink vampire blood before they die,” Winter explained. He turned away from the window and stared at Ethan. “You’ve got the hard part. Don’t die.”
“Okay. Yeah. Doesn’t sound like rocket science,” Ethan said, trying to reassure himself that he was in capable hands.
It wasn’t like they had to cast some complicated spell or perform some intricate ritual.
Marcus and his brothers had drunk a lot of blood over the years, so they had that part down.
Ethan drinking their blood, while it sounded disgusting, wasn’t a hard thing. He could do this.
Clapping his hands together, Ethan jumped to his feet and moved to the center of the room. “How are we going to do this? Marcus transforms me and you guys stand around as cheerleaders?”
“Ethan,” Rafe said and Ethan was stunned to hear him so serious. All the mocking and jokes were gone from his expression. “Is this what you truly want? You must know that you’re already a Varik without this step. We’ll always protect you. Always count you as one of us.”
“It’s true, Ethan,” Bel added. “You don’t have to do this. You’re a brother now just as much as Winter or Rafe.”
“You’re family,” Winter said with such steel in his voice that Ethan had no choice but to believe it.
Ethan turned teary eyes on Marcus, who was watching him with a solemn expression. “I will love you the same whether you are human or vampire.”
Roughly brushing away tears, Ethan cleared his throat against the lump that had grown there. “My mind is made up. I want to be a vampire.”
“Good!” Bel jumped to his feet and whipped out a syringe with a very long needle. “I get to take some blood first.”
“Whoa!” Ethan threw up his hand to ward off Bel while backpedaling from the vampire. “I thought you’d be taking my blood the other way, with the fangs and the drinking.”
“We are,” Bel said, looking undeterred as he continued to chase Ethan around the room.
Rafe laughed loudly. “This has you scared?” he demanded through gasps for air. “We tell you we’re going to drain you and kill you, and you freak over a little needle?”
“That’s no little needle!” Ethan countered. He grabbed Marcus and positioned his lover between himself and Bel.
“But it’s for science!” Bel said.
“My heart,” Marcus said calmly, though it sounded like there was a hint of laughter in his voice.
But the endearment did its job. It helped Ethan get a hold of his rising panic.
“Bel wants some vials of your blood to study. He’s never been able to study someone’s blood before and after they’ve been transformed.
He thinks it will help him unlock his cure. ”
“Yeah, well…I don’t want to be cured. I want to be a vampire.”
“But someone else might,” Marcus murmured.
Ethan dropped his forehead against Marcus’s back and sighed. Okay, that was a really good point. He wouldn’t want to steal that chance from someone else if they were changed into a vampire against their will or were maybe miserable as a vampire.
“All right. That’s fine with me,” he murmured. He still hated needles. Had hated them since he was a little kid. But with any luck, this would be one of the last times he’d ever have to do this in his life.
Walking over to the couch, he sat down and was pleased to see Marcus force Rafe to get up so he could sit beside Ethan. They held hands as Bel swabbed his arm and drew what had to be close to a pint of blood for his experiments.
“Well, at least Bel gave us a head start,” Winter said as he walked over to the couch. Rafe was standing beside him, his arm resting on his younger brother’s shoulder. Bel carefully packed away his newly acquired specimens and joined them.
“How are we going to do this?” Ethan asked, hating that fresh nerves were creeping in now that the other distraction was completed. He wasn’t a fan of being the center of attention and right then, all eyes were on him.
“It would probably be best if you lose this,” Marcus said, plucking at the hem of his shirt.
Ethan pulled his shirt off and clenched it tightly with both hands between his legs. Marcus gently pried it from his grip and set it aside. He placed his palm against his jaw and rubbed his thumb over his cheek. “I’m so proud of you. So brave.”
“Nope, getting pretty scared shitless at this point.”
“Do you want to stop?”
“No,” Ethan said without hesitation and Marcus’s smile grew.
“So brave.” He pressed a light kiss to Ethan’s forehead and dropped his hand.
“There’s a lot of blood in the human body.
I can’t take enough from you to take you to the brink, so my brothers are going to drink from you first. They will do what they can to limit any pain you feel.
When you’re close, I will take from you the last that’s needed. ”
“What do I do?”
“I want you to remain calm and listen to my voice. Trust us to take care of you. When I ask you to be calm, you stay calm. When I ask you to drink, I want you to drink. And when I tell you to open your eyes, you must open your eyes.”
Ethan nodded. “Okay. I can do that.” He said it over and over in his head.
He could do this. He wasn’t going to die.
He was going to fight for Marcus. He was going to fight for their life together.
He was going to fight for himself and the life he wanted.
No more being shuffled through a system or following a path someone else directed for him.
He wanted to be a vampire. He wanted to build a life with Marcus, one that included a new safety for humans against violent attacks like the one against his family.
Pushing to his feet, he smiled at the men who were his brothers. “I’m ready now.”
“Thank God, because I’m starved,” Rafe said, stepping forward. But even as Ethan watched the fangs extend, Rafe winked at him in playful reassurance.
Rafe’s arms weren’t as big as Marcus’s but felt as strong. Being held by another man felt so wrong. Ethan tried to make himself relax, but his brain just kept screaming that it wasn’t Marcus. Fingers slid along the hand down at his side and Ethan unclenched a little as he took Marcus’s hand.
“Just relax,” Marcus murmured. “I’m right here. I’m going to be right here the entire time.”
Before Ethan could reply, Rafe’s fangs sank deep and Ethan couldn’t completely hold back his cry of pain.
He clenched Marcus’s hand, and he could hear his love snap at his brother.
Ethan immediately eased his grip, trying to shield Marcus from the pain.
He didn’t want to give Marcus reason to worry about him. There was enough on his mind already.