Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
T he Rubyville vampire nightclub was always deserted during the daytime. Mikael usually thought that was the most boring time to be hanging out at the club, staring at empty tables and unused equipment, but today he enjoyed the silence.
God knew there was enough buzzing going on in his head to keep him occupied.
He was probably the only vampire in his coven who was awake right now–aside from Vitra maybe, because that girl didn’t know when to put the gamepad down–and that suited him just fine. Everyone had been needling him with questions all week, ever since he put his stream on hiatus. “Oh, why aren’t you on camera anymore? Did your appetite wane? Did you get bored of streaming? You shouldn’t disappoint your fans.”
Fuck that noise.
Mikael’s fangs throbbed as he glanced at the bottles of blood lined up on the shelves behind the bar.
Funny, he hadn’t had bottled blood since he started his stream. Honestly, that was the best part of streaming: always getting his blood fresh from the source, never having to drink the same blood twice.
It had been exhilarating.
But now all he could think about was Collin.
He looked down at his phone, waiting for a message. Luna had her surgery today, if everything was going according to plan. Collin had texted him on his way to the clinic. Nothing since then, though.
He was probably busy.
“So this is where you’ve been hiding.”
Mikael looked up at the sound of his sire’s voice.
Mordyn leaned against the door frame, looking effortlessly elegant in a way that Mikael himself could never quite pull off. Maybe if he lived another hundred years or so…
“I’m not hiding,” he said.
Mordyn raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? It’s an odd time for a vampire to be awake.”
“So what are you doing up?” Mikael challenged his sire.
Mordyn laughed. “Fair enough,” he said, going around the bar and taking one of the bottles. “I was looking for a snack. Didn’t expect to find you in here.”
“Really?” Mikael found that hard to believe.
Mordyn grabbed another bottle and set both of them down on the table in front of Mikael. “I know that you haven’t been drinking,” he said, smoothly ignoring Mikael’s question as he sat down across from him. “Are you still upset about the incident with the other streamer?”
Mikael grimaced, his thoughts going back to the night he’d lost control of himself. The way Collin had clung to him…
“I know I’ve been hard on you,” Mordyn said. “But I never meant for you to cease drinking blood altogether.” He uncapped one of the bottles and slid it closer to Mikael. “You’re still a vampire, kid. Blood is not bad for you.”
“I know that.” Mikael blew out a breath. He really didn’t want to discuss all of his problems with his sire, but at the same time, he knew Mordyn well enough to know that the other man would never leave him alone unless he explained himself. “I realized why I lost control with Collin. It’s because he’s mortal.”
Mordyn’s brows rose. “Really? He didn’t smell mortal.”
“Scent blockers.”
“Ah.” Mordyn rubbed his chin, and then he shot Mikael a sympathetic look. “I suppose you’d never had mortal blood before. I raised you on synth.”
Mikael sighed. “You raised me fine, I just never realized the real thing would be so different.”
His sire was silent for a long moment, tapping his finger on the tabletop while he watched Mikael. “It is very different,” he said eventually. “But I think there’s more at play here.”
“How do you mean?”
“You’ve lost your taste for all other blood, haven’t you?”
“Kind of.” Mikael shrugged as if it was no big deal, though he knew it was. He’d never been picky about blood before.
Mordyn uncapped the other bottle of blood and took a swig. “This stuff sates my hunger just fine, but you need something else now.” He set the bottle down and fixed Mikael with a piercing gaze. “You’re not hung up on that streamer just because he’s mortal.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Mordyn glanced at the bottle in front of Mikael. “Any kind of blood would feed your body, but you don’t want any kind of blood because it’s your soul that’s hungry. You want that boy for your mate.”
Mikael sucked in a breath. His first instinct was to argue, but he couldn’t really, could he? The thought of finding a mate had never even entered his mind before. He was happy feeding from another victim every night.
At least, he had been happy.
Before Collin.
Shit.
Mordyn chuckled. “It’s not a bad thing, you know?”
“Isn’t it?” Mikael muttered darkly. “I can’t get near Collin without wanting to bite him, and if I lose control again, I might kill him.”
“Ah.” Mordyn picked up his bottle of blood again. “The problem here is that you haven’t claimed him yet.”
Mikael stared at his sire wordlessly. What?
Mordyn swung his bottle in a casual way. “You need to channel all that possessive energy and claim him. Once you do that, you’ll be much more relaxed about drinking from him since you’ll know he’s not going anywhere.”
“Claim him,” Mikael repeated.
Mordyn made a face at him as if he couldn’t believe Mikael needed the concept explained to him. “Did I teach you nothing?”
“Not that.”
Mordyn took a long sip of his blood. “Fine, let’s review. When a vampire finds his or her soulmate–”
“Soulmate?” Mikael interjected.
Mordyn gave him an unimpressed look and continued, “The vampire will experience increased possessiveness, a loss of appetite for other blood sources, and uncontrollable urges to bite the chosen partner. Sound familiar?”
Yeah, Mikael couldn’t deny that it did. “How do I fix this?”
“By claiming your partner in the way nature intended.”
“Which is…”
“You drink each other’s blood while fucking.” Mordyn said as casually as if he was commenting on the weather. “Slash your own wrist, bite his. Feed each other. Swap blood. Fuck. It’s not hard, though you’ll have to be, for the process to work.”
“Seriously?” Mikael looked at his sire in disbelief. “It’s that easy?”
Mordyn’s lips quirked up into a grin. “The difficult part is finding your mate in the first place.”
Mikael opened his mouth, then shut it again, consumed by the thought of making Collin his in the most primal of ways. Of having him in that way.
The idea made his blood boil, his heart race, and his cock ache.
“I do have to warn you,” Mordyn said. “If you decide to do this, the first bite after you’ve claimed each other is going to be a lot more intense. For both of you. And you will not be able to bite anyone else again for as long as he lives.”
Mikael froze. “I won’t be able to feed from others?”
Mordyn shook his head. “It’s nature’s way of keeping us from straying. One partner. Forever.”
A knot formed in Mikael’s stomach. He liked feeding from random strangers, though he supposed it would be easier to resist now that he knew what Collin’s blood tasted like. Still, would Collin agree to being fed from? Would he want to spend his entire life with one partner?
“Your mate’s blood will make you more powerful than you were before,” Mordyn said. “And it’ll sate your hunger for longer than regular blood would, but you gotta keep in mind that you’re handing your mate a lot of power over you. If they refuse to let you feed, you will be miserable, and you cannot force them to comply because you cannot hurt them.”
“I would never hurt Collin.”
“Of course not.” Mordyn nodded. “But there is a reason vampires don’t mate lightly.”
Mikael looked down at his phone, and his chest clenched.
“Your other option is to walk away now before it’s too late.” Mordyn took another swig of blood. “It’ll hurt like hell, and it’ll take a while, but you will regain your normal appetite and eventually your heart will heal.”
“How long would that take?”
“One or two mortal lifetimes, I would guess.” Mordyn gave him a wry smile. “Of course, there’s always the risk of meeting his reincarnation and starting the whole process over again.”
The way Mordyn said that… there was something about it that rubbed Mikael the wrong way. “Have you met your mate?” he asked before he could think better of it.
Mordyn’s expression didn’t change, but he set the bottle down and rose to his feet. “You’ve got a decision to make.” He slapped Mikael’s shoulder as he passed. “Do try to make the smart choice this time.”
Mikael watched his sire’s retreating back.
There was definitely a story there that he wasn’t getting.
Mordyn never talked about his past. As far as Mikael knew, his sire was just over two centuries old and he had been turned shortly before the fall of the Old World. He should have a lot of interesting things to tell, but he seemed to prefer discussing Mikael’s issues instead.
Mikael took the untouched bottle of blood before him and lifted it to his mouth. He had no appetite for it, but he felt the strangest need to prove to himself that he could still drink it. He gulped the blood down, swallowing quickly so that he could barely taste the metal on his tongue.
The taste of Collin was still stronger in his mind.
His mouth was watering as he recalled the unique flavor of his blood, the way he’d shuddered in Mikael’s arms when he bit him.
Mikael set the bottle down with a sigh.
Mordyn was right; he wasn’t hungry for blood–he was hungry for Collin.
Mikael had nearly fallen asleep with the phone in his hands when the device buzzed and startled him awake.
A message from Collin! Finally!
Collin: They removed the tumor but they’re wanting to keep Luna overnight to make sure everything is alright.
Mikael: Good, but how are you doing?
Collin: Okay, I guess. I really don’t want to leave her here.
Mikael: Are you heading home now?
Collin: They’re pretty much making me.
Mikael: You should get some rest. You’ve spent all day at that clinic.
Mikael checked the time on his phone. It was just past sunset and the club would be filling soon. Already, Cyril was behind the bar, readying for opening hour. God, he’d been so busy with his phone he hadn’t even noticed the other vampire. Mikael gave him a short wave now and got a curt nod in response.
His phone buzzed again.
Collin: I know. You’re right. I’m just worried.
Mikael: Your bunny will be fine. Go home. I’ll meet you there.
Collin: Really?
Mikael: If you don’t want me to, I won’t.
Collin: No, come over. I’d love to see you.
Mikael smiled down at his phone as his heart squeezed almost painfully in his chest. Collin’s response had arrived instantly, which meant that he wanted to be with Mikael as badly as Mikael wanted to be with him–in spite of the obvious risk. He hadn’t said anything about that. He trusted Mikael more than any mortal should trust a vampire, and Mikael would be damned if he would ever betray that trust.
He was going to control himself tonight. Collin deserved his very best, and Mikael was going to give it to him.
“Going out?” Cyril asked, cocking an eyebrow in Mikael’s direction.
“I am.” Mikael dropped his phone into his pocket. “If Mordyn comes looking for me you can tell him I went to get the good blood.”
Cyril blinked. “What good blood?”
Mikael waved him off. “Mordyn will know.” With that, he strode toward the door.
There was a breeze in the air when he stepped outside, and he filled his lungs with it, feeling the nervous energy inside of him dissipate with every step he took toward Collin’s place. He’d been unsure what to do while he was talking to his sire, but the moment he received Collin’s text, the moment he felt that the other man needed him around, all his uncertainty disappeared. He knew exactly what he was going to do.