Chapter 26 #3
Beth swatted her arm playfully. "Very helpful, thank you."
"What are sisters for?" Naomi's expression sobered slightly. "Seriously though, you'll be fine. If he approved your Turning in the first place, he obviously thinks you're worthy of joining his clan."
"That's what Tyr says too," Beth sighed. "I just... I don't want to embarrass him. Or myself."
"You won't," Naomi assured her. "Just be yourself. That's always been enough."
Beth leaned over to hug her sister, breathing in Naomi's familiar scent.
Her heightened sense of smell picking up new layers she'd never noticed before - the subtle notes of Liam's aftershave lingering on Naomi's clothes, the fresh spring air clinging to her hair, even traces of the coffee she'd had that morning.
"You're the best sister ever," Beth murmured, tightening her arms around Naomi's shoulders. "I don't know what I'd do without you,"
Naomi returned the embrace just as fiercely. "Good thing you'll never have to find out," she whispered back, her voice thick with emotion.
Beth smoothed her hands over her silk blouse for the hundredth time, trying to calm nerves that shouldn't exist anymore. Five thousand years old. How did you prepare to meet someone who'd witnessed the rise and fall of entire civilizations?
"Stop fidgeting," Tyr murmured, his hand settling at the small of her back. "You look perfect."
Beth shot him a grateful smile, though her stomach still churned with anxiety. "I'm meeting the oldest vampire in existence. I think I'm entitled to a little nervousness."
"Lord Damien isn't as intimidating as you might think," Tyr said, his fingers tracing soothing circles against her silk-covered spine.
"Unless you get on his bad side." Tobi said, lounging against the door frame.
"Not helping," Beth muttered, resisting the urge to tug at her skirt.
Tyr turned to scowl at his brother. "Get lost, Tobi. You're not helping."
"Just keeping things real," Tobi said with a grin, pushing off from the doorframe with fluid grace. He spun on his heel and strolled away down the corridor, whistling a tune that echoed off the stone walls.
Beth's enhanced hearing picked up the subtle crunch of tires on gravel outside, the quiet purr of an expensive engine approaching the Residence. Her fingers clutched at Tyr's arm, her supernatural strength making the gesture firmer than intended.
"Breathe," Tyr whispered, covering her hand with his. "Remember what I told you—just be yourself."
Beth forced herself to release her death grip on his arm, smoothing out the wrinkles she'd created in his sleeve. "Sorry," she murmured.
"Don't be." Tyr's gaze warmed. "You're adorable when you're nervous."
"I am not adorable," Beth protested automatically. "I'm a fierce predator. In three forms now, thank you very much."
Beth and Tyr waited in their newly finished salon, sitting together on a deep forest green loveseat. A stone fireplace crackled nearby, its flames casting dancing shadows across the room.
"This is our place now," Tyr murmured, his arm around her shoulders pulling her close. The familiar weight helped calm her anxiety as they waited for Lord Damien's arrival.
Margot appeared in the doorway. "Mr. Lindstrom. Ms. Kerrigan." Her cultured voice carried precise formality. "Lord Damien and Lady Alyssa."
Tyr rose from the loveseat, and Beth hastily copied him, standing by his side.
Lord Damien entered the room with fluid grace.
Beth had expected someone physically imposing, but the ancient vampire was of average height—and somehow that made him even more terrifying.
His compact build belied the power she could feel radiating from him.
She found herself unable to look away from his eyes—dark as midnight, with occasional flickers of red like embers in a dying fire.
Beside him was a woman of ethereal beauty, her blue-green eyes sparkling with welcome. Her midnight hair seemed to shimmer as she smiled, the gesture transforming her delicate features into something even more breathtaking.
"Tyr." Lord Damien's voice carried the weight of ages - deep, commanding, and unmistakably ancient. "And Beth Kerrigan."
Tyr bowed deeply, a gesture of respect that Beth hastily mimicked. "My Lord. Lady Alyssa"
"I've been looking forward to meeting you, Beth." Lady Alyssa's musical voice held genuine warmth as she came forward to embrace Beth in a gentle hug. "Please, sit."
Beth settled back onto the loveseat beside Tyr, her initial nervousness easing as she studied Lady Alyssa more closely.
The Djinn's eyes held a mischievous sparkle, so similar to Jacinth's that Beth immediately warmed to her, feeling as if she knew her already.
The same playful intelligence shone in those aquamarine depths, along with that distinctive otherworldly quality Beth had come to associate with the Djinn.
Beth settled back on the loveseat, perched on the edge of the cushion, trying not to stare at the ancient beings before her. Lord Damien's presence filled the room like a physical force, yet there was something almost gentle in the way he regarded her.
"So," he said after a moment, studying her face. "You are our newest vampire. And, I understand, quite unique."
"Yes, my lord." Beth's voice emerged steadier than she expected. "I seem to have retained my shifter abilities after the Turning."
"Antonio has kept both Aleksei and myself well-informed of your unique situation." There was a gleam in his expression that she thought might have been humor. "I imagine the scientific community will be quite interested in studying your case."
Beth couldn't hold back a grimace. "They already are. Both the vampire and the shifter science teams keep calling and texting."
"Not to mention the emails," Tyr added, his thumb stroking soothing circles on her shoulder. "Our phones haven't stopped buzzing since word got out."
"They all want interviews and blood samples and various tests," Beth said, unable to keep the exasperation from her voice. "One team even suggested a full physical evaluation under laboratory conditions." She shuddered slightly at the thought of being treated like a specimen.
The temperature in the room plummeted as a growl tore from Lord Damien's throat. Beth's breath misted in the suddenly frigid air as his face transformed into something from nightmares—five thousand years of predatory rage focused into a single, terrifying expression.
"They dare to treat you like a laboratory specimen?" His voice held the weight of ages, crackling with barely contained fury.
Beth felt Tyr's arm tighten protectively around her shoulders as Lord Damien's anger filled the space between them. Damien's growl subsided, though his expression remained fierce.
"I will contact Maroulla immediately. Between us, we will put a stop to this harassment. No one, human or Other, has the right to intrude upon your privacy this way."
"If I may suggest," Alyssa said, her blue-green eyes thoughtful, "both communities could appoint a single representative to act as liaison. That person could coordinate any questions or research requests, presenting them to Beth and Tyr only when they feel ready to address them."
Beth brightened at the suggestion. "That would be so much better than dealing with dozens of different researchers."
"And this way," Alyssa continued with a gentle smile, "you maintain control over how much information you choose to share, and when. The decision remains entirely yours."
Ancient power filled the room like a gathering storm as Lord Damien's expression darkened further, what looked like literal flames leaping in his eyes.
"No." The single word held the weight of millennia. "There will be no tests. No examinations. No blood samples." Each word fell like a hammer strike. "Beth's unique nature is not for their scientific curiosity."
"But surely some basic information—" Tyr began diplomatically.
"No." Damien cut him off with a sharp gesture. "They may document that a shifter was successfully Turned. Nothing more." His dark gaze fixed on Beth. "You are not a specimen to be studied. You are a vampire—a member of my clan and a shifter—not a lab rat."
Beth's hands trembled as relief swept through her.
The constant pressure from researchers had been suffocating her—phone calls, emails, demands for her blood, bone marrow, xrays—making her feel like.
.. well, like a lab rat. But Lord Damien's absolute authority lifted that crushing burden from her shoulders.
"Thank you," she told him gratefully.
"The scientific community will simply have to accept that some mysteries remain unexplained," Alyssa added, her blue-green eyes twinkling. "It will do them good to remember that not everything in our world can be reduced to data points and laboratory analysis."
Damien nodded in agreement, his fury settling into something more controlled but no less adamant. "You are what you are. That is enough."
Alyssa changed the subject, leaning forward, her blue-green eyes warm with interest. "And how are you adjusting to your new existence, Beth?"
"Better than I expected, actually." Beth relaxed slightly, finding it easier to talk about practical matters.
"The blood drinking was strange at first. I mean, as a shifter I've hunted prey, but this is different.
" She glanced at Tyr beside her. "Derek's been really patient, helping me learn the proper technique for feeding from humans.
I'm getting better at hitting the artery, and closing the bite wounds. "
Tyr's hand squeezed her shoulder encouragingly. "You're doing remarkably well for someone so newly Turned."