Chapter 16
Vampire Laboratory Compound, Sunday, December 16, 2012
Maksim asked many questions about vampires during the journey to see Nadya, but he didn’t usually get the answers he wanted. Jean-Pierre always told him to wait until he met the queen, who would explain everything.
They traveled through the night and arrived at the compound as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon. Looking exhausted, Jean-Pierre left Maksim in the marble foyer and went ahead to announce their arrival. While he waited, Maksim looked around the opulent home. He was impressed.
Moments later, Jean-Pierre returned with the most beautiful woman Maksim had ever seen. She wore a lowcut black gown that left little to the imagination and moved with a fluid grace. The curly dark hair spilling down her back also framed a stunning face with brilliant red eyes and full lips curved into a delighted smile.
“Maksim! What a pleasure it is to meet you!” Her voice wrapped around him like a hug. “I am Nadya, queen of the vampires.”
“Um, h-hi,” Maksim stammered. “I’m Maksim. I’m just a human, as far as I know.”
Her ruby eyes glittered. “Oh, no, my dear boy. You’re so much more than that. Why don’t you sit down with me so I can tell you all about it?”
Maksim just nodded, unable to form coherent words. He couldn’t look away from her. She smiled and took his hand, then led him through a door and down a long hall. Her skin was cool to the touch, and he felt power thrumming through her body. His heart raced, whether from arousal or fear; he couldn’t decide. A stampede of wild horses couldn’t keep him from trailing after Nadya like an eager puppy. He would have followed her if he had to crawl.
Maksim’s reaction to her surprised him. He’d seen pretty women and truly beautiful ones a time or two, but he hadn’t had such a visceral reaction to any of them. Less than a minute after meeting Nadya, he’d have dropped to his knees and worshipped at her feet if she requested it.
It was unsettling, but her dark allure was undeniable. The previous day had been confusing, but his instant reaction to Nadya confirmed that he’d made the right choice. Maksim was certain that his future involved the vampire queen.
She led him to an ornate sitting room and offered him a seat on a sofa that looked too delicate to support his large frame. Still, he sat, unable to tear his gaze away as Nadya artfully arranged herself in an armchair.
“Are you comfortable?” Nadya asked.
Maksim cleared his throat and uncomfortably shifted in his seat as he tried to disguise the fact that he was hard as a rock. “Ye-yes. Thank you, Your Highness,” he stammered.
He didn’t possess many social skills, and he regretted that now. The vampire queen wasn’t merely a beautiful woman. She was so sexy that she made his heart pound with lust. He was far from a virgin, but he had never wanted a woman so much. He fought to control his mind so he could have a conversation with her, but his thoughts kept returning to what it would feel like to touch her. To taste her skin or run his fingers through her silky hair.
Nadya aimed a predatory grin at Maksim. “Jean-Pierre tells me you don’t know much about our people, and rather than getting things wrong, he’s left the explanations to me.”
Maksim was afraid he would say something to indicate the direction of his thoughts if he opened his mouth, so he nodded. Her fangs glinted when she smiled.
“Very well. Then I suppose it makes sense to start at the beginning.” Nadya absently ran a finger over the neckline of her dress. That drew Maksim’s attention down, and he didn’t see her satisfied grin.
Men are so simple, human, vampire, or Therian. Flash some tit, and their minds go blank.
Nadya had always used her body and sexuality to get what she wanted. They were tools, just like everything else. Sex was meaningless, just a passing enjoyment. After her long life, it was not exciting anymore. She’d done it all. Well, almost all. She’d never had a dragon.
“Five thousand years ago, an evil witch cursed my human mother while she carried me in her womb. That curse shaped me, and when I was a teenager, it matured and changed me into the first vampire. My people worshipped the Therians as the gods on the mountain, and before I’d taken a single life, I begged the dragons for their help. They scorned me, and instead of rendering aid, those Therian soldiers murdered my parents and forced me to flee for my life. At fifteen, I had to leave behind everything I’d ever known or loved.”
Maksim’s twinges indicated she wasn’t telling him the full truth, but she wasn’t lying either. He was still bothered by the idea that she’d been so wronged. He fell deeper under her spell with each word, and he found himself hating the Therians with more fire and fervor than his father had ever managed. He opened his mouth to express his support, but she held up a hand and gave him a sad look.
“Please. This is…difficult for me to talk about. I haven’t told this story for many years, and I’ve never given anyone as much truth on the matter as I’m giving you.”
Nadya was a consummate actress, so she allowed genuine emotions through, and her face became a mask of despair. It worked on her target and then some. While lust could be magically effective at solving her problems, Nadya recognized that some men needed to be the hero.
Maksim was one of those. She examined his handsome face and muscular body with interest. Provoking his lust while aiming him at the Therians to defend her honor might prove quite lucrative…and fun.
How well can I play the damsel in distress?
Letting her voice break with emotion, she continued. “The Therians have slaughtered my children like animals for thousands of years. They hunt down our homes and attack during the day when we are weak. Like cowards, they sneak in during the day and massacre entire families. They are monsters, Maksim.”
Nadya was careful not to lie, but she did the damnedest things with the truth. She twisted the facts to fit her narrative, omitting anything that would cause an outright lie. Jean-Pierre had warned her about Maksim’s developing ability to sense lies.
Maksim couldn’t hold his tongue. “My father always told me Therians were beastly creatures who lacked honor or responsibility. They’ve wronged you as well.”
She nodded, her face grim. “Your father is a wise man, Maksim.”
A shiver of pleasure ran through his body when she spoke his name. He struggled to reign in his lascivious thoughts and focus on her words. He felt a powerful need to defend this woman from those who’d grievously wounded her, but he also wanted to rip off her clothes and fuck until neither could see straight.
“He is a Therian, but he escaped from their terrible hold. He’s a lucky man. He found freedom from his oppressors, love with your mother, and life’s greatest gift in you.” She sat up straighter and grinned when his gaze remained on her breasts. She couldn’t blame him. Her tits looked fantastic in this dress, and she’d worn it just for this purpose. Nadya leaned forward to give him a better view. “Maksim.”
His gaze snapped to her eyes, and he blushed. “I am so sorry, Your Majesty.”
She smiled again, then purred, “It’s okay, Maksim. I don’t mind if you look. I rather enjoy it. After we’ve concluded our business, perhaps we can find some time for…recreational pursuits.” She stood, crossed the room, and returned with shots of vodka for both of them.
Reclaiming her seat, Nadya removed the flirtatious tone from her voice. “I’ll get straight to the point, Maksim. I need your help if I am ever to free my people from Therian tyranny.”
Maksim tried to focus after her abrupt change of subject. He was still thinking about the recreational pursuits they might engage in. “Wh-what do you want from me?”
Nadya smiled, and her eyes sparkled. “I want to turn you into a vampire, Maksim. The Therians would consider you an abomination and call for your death. I think you are the most precious thing this world has to offer, hope to free my children and safeguard the future of my people. Will you join me, Maksim, and help me save my family?” She extended a slender, graceful hand toward him, palm up, and patiently waited for him to make his choice.
Maksim was confused. How could he make a choice like this, and how could he choose anything other than Nadya? “Why me? I’m just a human. I did not inherit anything from my father except my long life.
Nadya shook her head. “You’re wrong, Maksim. You are no mere human. You are everything. My scientists have been working for years to discover the origin of the magic that fuels Therians. We have isolated it to a common genetic component in humans, which deviated into multiple branches and gave the world Therians, witches, and humans. The concentration is what determines which one is born. It is also what stops me from being able to welcome Therians who want to join me into my ranks. I need you because you are not a full-blooded Therian, Maksim. I believe your human side will allow my magic to overcome your natural defenses, and the transformation might let you take the dragon form that is your birthright.”
Maksim sat still, thinking about the many ways this decision would affect the rest of his life. It should be a momentous decision, not a spur-of-the-moment choice without serious consideration of the options. However, he’d never been one to linger over difficult decisions. He weighed the pros and cons, sorting through everything he knew of Therians and vampires.
In the end, the chance to get revenge for the exile that had harmed his father decided Maksim. In his current state, he could not join the ancient fight or become part of something this much larger than him. He’d longed for a purpose, and he believed he’d found it. Given his upbringing, Maksim had no reason to feel loyalty toward, protect, or even like the Therians. Surely, if vampires were the greater threat, his father would have mentioned that instead of painting his fellow Therians as monsters in his tale.
Maksim took Nadya’s hand. “Yes. I will join you, Nadya.”
She gave him a dazzling smile and pulled him to his feet so they stood face to face. Nadya pressed her body against his, and Maksim gasped when her hand slid along his aching length. “Excellent. We’re going to be such good friends, Maksim.”
She took his mouth in a kiss that made his senses reel. “Mmmm. Very good, indeed. Come along. It’s time to play.”