Blood Avenged Read online

  When he finally slid out of her, she fell to the floor, her body exhausted from how he’d treated her. Hours later, after he’d fucked her until she begged to become his, a vampire like Alex, he dissolved her memory of everything she’d done and sent her home in a cab.

  As dawn approached, Vasilije made sure Alex was safe from daylight in his own bedroom designed to be secure from the sun and crawled into bed for the day. He’d had a productive night, and as he laid his head on the pillow, he smiled at how good it was to be a vampire.

  Two

  Inch by inch, the sun slipped behind the Earth, and with each moment of night’s takeover, Vasilije’s body began to rouse from its slumber. As with all vampires, his very soul sensed when the sun lost its struggle to the darkness each evening, stirring his blood and awakening his hunger.

  He lazily opened his eyes and stretched the day’s sleep from his muscles as he turned on the light beside his bed. Slowly, the memory of the previous night washed over him, and he licked his lips to taste the last fading remnants of the brunette. He warily turned his head toward the pillow next to him, but as usual, it remained undisturbed.

  As he enjoyed the memory of their time together, he heard the sound of footsteps outside his bedroom door. Jerking his head toward the sound, thoughts of the brunette were chased away by his natural predatory instincts, but after only a few moments he remembered his new vampire and let his body relax.

  Alex.

  Just in his second night of his new life and still in his transition period, Vasilije’s new vampire would be hungrier than his sire. While he could stand a few hours of searching for the perfect victim to replace the new vampire who wasn’t quite ready to feed him yet, Alex’s need for blood as such a young vampire meant he was already nearly famished as he wandered the halls of Vasilije’s house searching for what his body craved.

  Sliding out of bed, Vasilije threw on a black silk robe over his naked body and opened the door. Outside, Alex stood staring up at him, his blue eyes wide with need.

  “I’m hungry.”

  Vasilije welcomed him in and guided him toward the bed. Once seated, instinct took over and Alex’s mouth sought out the smooth skin of his sire’s wrist. For the first time, he was allowed to use his new fangs to pierce the vein, and after two failed attempts that made the ancient vampire wince in pain, Alex began to enjoy the blood of his sire.

  While he fed Alex, Vasilije leisurely planned out his night in his head. Perhaps a visit to an old friend across town or a film. Better yet, a play at the theatre or a night at the opera. In a world of modern dress and manners, the theatre and opera remained perfect reminders of a time long past, a time of formal dress for men and sensual dress for women, with just enough skin to tease his lust. Compared to the almost complete nudity of the club from the night before, the theatre or opera would be just what he needed. The promise of a proper young lady giving in excited him more than any scantily clad woman at a nightclub could.

  Vasilije looked down at Alex as he finished drinking and brushed the blond hair from his face. That something forbidden that he’d desired was gone now, a casualty of the end of the chase. Now he was merely his newest vampire, a responsibility at least for the near future, but he appeared to be a quick learner, so perhaps he’d be ready for independence quicker than some of his predecessors.

  The realization that once again what he’d wanted so dearly wasn’t nearly as satisfying as he’d hoped disappointed him. Sighing in disgust, he gently pushed Alex’s head away and closed the holes in his wrist.

  Alex lay back sated, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth. His eyes rolled back into his head and he moaned in satisfaction, like a happy, contented child. After a few minutes, he rolled over and propped his head up on his hand. “What are we doing tonight, sire?”

  Vasilije didn’t feel like babysitting a new vampire tonight, but Alex was his responsibility, no matter how much he wanted to leave him. But that didn’t mean they were going to stay in and have a slumber party in his bedroom.

  Looking down into eyes that seemed incredibly innocent, far more than the night before, Vasilije said, “Tonight I’ll begin to teach you how to be a vampire.”

  “You know, I’m not totally ignorant about the subject. I’ve met some before you,” Alex boasted.

  “Met some? Like who?”

  “My girlfriend Tatiana was a vampire—is a vampire. How long before I get to go back to her? Can I at least call her?”

  Vasilije stared down at Alex as he rambled on about losing his cell phone and being lost without all his contacts. What did he mean his girlfriend is a vampire?

  In need of answers and already sick of Alex’s conversation, Vasilije barked, “Alex! Enough! Explain what you meant when you said your girlfriend is a vampire.”

  The man sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Tatiana. Yeah, she’s like you. She’s gonna be pissed if I don’t at least call. You don’t now her. She’ll freak!”

  Vasilije hoped he didn’t know her.

  Alex stood up and began looking for a phone, but Vasilije grabbed him by the arm, yanking him back onto the bed.

  “Ouch! Fuck, that hurt.”

  “Stop sulking like a child and pay attention. I need to know. Did she ever drink from you?”

  Vasilije didn’t need to hear the answer. It was written all over Alex’s face.

  “Yeah, but it was different since she only did it when I fucked her.”

  Fucking great.

  Vasilije closed his eyes, disgusted with himself. No wonder Alex had seemed forbidden. He was. Or he was supposed to be. He hadn’t technically broken any vampire laws by claiming Alex as his, but a technicality wasn’t going to help. She’d drunk from him, during sex, no less. Rightfully, he was hers.

  “This Tatiana. Describe her.”

  “Oh man, she’s hot. Tall, thin, nice tits, though. Blond hair...”

  “Down to her waist,” Vasilije said, finishing Alex’s sentence.

  “Yeah. You know her?”

  Grimacing, Vasilije closed his eyes. Yeah. He knew her.

  “Well, I have to call her. She gets pissed when I’m a couple minutes late. But just wait until she finds out I got myself made into a vampire like her. She’ll be chuffed.”

  Vasilije moved to his closet to find clothes. Tatiana would be there any moment, and if he had to deal with a pissed off vampire, he at least wanted to be dressed for the occasion. As he slipped into black pants, he tried to explain the realities of what they’d done the night before. What he’d done.

  “I wouldn’t expect chuffed, Alex.”

  “Yeah, well she’ll probably be a little torqued off that I let you when I wouldn’t say yes to her, but that’s okay. Now she and I can be together forever.”

  Vasilije pulled a red dress shirt off a hanger and slid into it. As he buttoned it, he walked over to Alex and stood in front of him. “Not exactly, Alex.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m your sire. I made you vampire. In effect, that makes you mine.”

  “But I can go back to Tatiana so we can be together, right?”

  “No, not even if I were so inclined to let you, which I’m not.”

  Alex jumped up off the bed, his face red with anger. “What the fuck are you saying?”

  Vasilije turned away and walked toward the door. “What I’m saying is that there won’t be any more Tatiana and Alex.”

  “Why?” Alex asked as he hurried to catch up to his sire, who was already making his way downstairs to await the impending arrival of Alex’s ex-girlfriend.

  “Because you’re mine.”

  Vasilije knew Alex had no idea what the true implication of those words was, but Tatiana would and she wouldn’t be happy.

  Payback was a bitch.

  “Yours? Dude, I’m not gay!” Alex continued to rant as he threw himself into a chair in frustration.

  Fuck, new vampires were a handful.

  “I don’t mean you’re mi
ne to fuck. What being mine means is you’re bound to me. If I want you here with me, then that’s where you’ll be. And if I let you leave, whenever I call you back, you’ll come. And most of all, as your sire, I get the final say in who you’re with and who you’re allowed to sire.”

  Dumbfounded by the news that the man in front of him had almost total control of his life, Alex muttered “no” over and over as he slumped down in the chair across from Vasilije.

  “Yes.”

  “You can’t do this! She won’t let you.”

  Vasilije knew she’d have no choice in the matter, but Tatiana wasn’t going to let this go easily. He hadn’t intentionally chosen her boyfriend as his newest vampire, but now that it was done, he rather liked the idea of her getting what she deserved. Or at least a small part of what she deserved.

  “It’s not a matter of letting me. It’s done.”

  While Alex threatened to do things he no longer could, Vasilije summoned his butler to prepare the man for what was to come next. In just moments, the man he called Winters appeared before him and stood silently waiting for orders.

  A human, Winters’ name suited him perfectly. Hair as white as snow and skin to match, the tall man looked like the personification of Jack Frost. Vasilije didn’t care about his looks, but his icy demeanor pleased him. His predecessor had been easily upset and prone to complaining, so Winters’ somber disposition was a refreshing change.

  “Winters, I’m expecting a guest tonight. When she arrives, please show her into this room.”

  “Shall I prepare tea, sir?”

  Vasilije barely heard his butler’s low voice over Alex’s continual whining. “No, there’s no need for that.”

  “Will you be needing anything else, sir?” As Winters spoke, he glanced over at Alex, who was now punctuating his speech with manic hand motions as he paced back and forth in front of the fireplace.

  Vasilije seconded the irritation written all over the human’s face. “No, Winters. That will be all. I’ll take care of the rest.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Winters left with one last look of disgust at Alex, and Vasilije reclined against the back of the couch in an attempt to relax before Tatiana’s arrival. With tremendous effort, he blocked out Alex’s protests and prepared for what he was sure would be at the very least an unpleasant scene.

  Because Alex hadn’t agreed to her siring him, Vasilije knew he was in the clear as far as vampire law would be concerned. It was that grey area involving her intentions toward him that presented a problem. He still believed she’d find no real sympathy with the London Archon, but at the national realm? That was a different story. There she might be able to make some trouble for him.

  But the simple truth was that as a vampire without a sire, he needed no one’s permission to sire his own and wherever she took her case wouldn’t be able to change that. That didn’t mean this would go away easily, however.

  Vasilije sensed her rage before he sensed her presence, and instantly, the pounding on the door confirmed his suspicions.

  Tatiana had arrived, and she was enraged.

  Winters greeted her at the door, but she pushed past him before he had the chance to make it through his prepared, “Good evening.” Vasilije settled in for her fury and silently commanded Alex to join him on the couch.

  Tatiana reached the parlor in seconds, and Vasilije saw just how angry she was as her green eyes flashed with rage when her gaze landed first on him and then on Alex next to him.

  “I should have known it was you when I felt something last night.”

  “Tatiana, it’s nice to see you again.”

  “Fuck you, Vasilije.”

  She turned to Alex and with one quick look Vasilije knew she saw the reality of the situation. Alex was his, and there was nothing she could do about it. Not that she wouldn’t try.

  “Alex, come to me, my love.”

  Tatiana cooed her invitation, her body’s sensual positioning near him reinforcing her offer.

  Vasilije felt the struggle form in Alex and silently commanded him to remain seated. After a few moments, he gave up and sat back in defeat.

  Tatiana turned to Vasilije, her rage growing by the second. “He’s not yours! Let him go!”

  “He is now.”

  Watching her fight against what she knew was true, Vasilije had to admit she was one of the most alluring women he’d ever encountered. Incredibly beautiful with long blond hair and eyes like a cat’s, she possessed an allure that was undeniable. However, it was just as deadly, a fact he well knew.

  “I won’t let you do this. I’ll take this to the Archon.”

  “You and your ex-boyfriend sing the same song, but you should know better.”

  She stood silently glaring down at him, and then slowly her face softened and her perfectly formed mouth curved into a smile. “No matter. I’ve drunk from him enough times to have some power of my own.”

  Tatiana turned to Alex and leaned in to kiss him. “My love.”

  Vasilije felt Alex’s desire to kiss her fight against his control, but he was no match for an ancient vampire.

  “Alex? Love, kiss me,” she pleaded.

  “I can’t! He won’t let me.”

  “While this is certainly fun, we have plans Tatiana, so I’m afraid I have to ask you to leave.”

  Vasilije moved to stand, but she spun toward him and pinned him to the couch. For the first time, he saw the vicious creature he’d seen all those years ago.

  “I’m as powerful as you, Vasilije. I’ll have you punished for this!”

  Pushing her off him, Vasilije stood to face her. “For taking your boyfriend? Have Archons taken to punishing vampires for such infractions?”

  “You’d better watch, Vasilije. You have no idea what the Archons are capable of. I’ll see you staked for this.”

  “Just what I’d expect. Like what you did to Nina.”

  The smile she flashed him as he said his sire’s name made his stomach turn. “You didn’t think I’d forgotten what you did?”

  “I’m blameless in your sire’s death, Vasilije.”

  “You may not have plunged the stake into her heart, but you’re not blameless. You led that hunter to her and watched as he murdered her. One of your own. And over what? Some other pretty cock like this one?”

  “You’re just like your sire, Vasilije. You have no respect for other people’s property. And just like her, it will get you staked.”

  Vasilije moved toward Tatiana and ran his fingers over her cheek. “You forget. I’m not some new vampire you’re going up against. Nina was inexperienced when she sired me. I’m not. And I’m not trusting or kind like she was.”

  “Let me have him and none of this has to happen.”

  For a moment, he considered letting her have Alex, but the memory of Nina’s beautiful face as she realized Tatiana had handed her over to a hunter hell bent on killing her wouldn’t let him.

  “No. You lose again.”

  In a flash, her hands were around his neck, squeezing in some futile action. Incensed, she dug her nails into the skin as she tightened her hold.

  “Tatiana, you can’t strangle a vampire,” Vasilije said calmly.

  Releasing him, she stepped back and grinned like she knew a secret. “Remember, I gave you a chance to return him. Now I take something you cherish.”

  Vasilije looked over at Alex, half expecting her to try to take him as she left. He didn’t cherish him, by any means, but she simply stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

  “Come, Alex. It’s time to go.”

  Still sulking, the young vampire rose and dutifully followed his sire. “Will I ever be able to return to her?”

  Vasilije turned to face him, wondering how he could have chosen to sire someone so foolish.

  “I love her. Please let me go to her.”

  Shaking his head, Vasilije answered, “No. But if you’d like, we can find that brunette again.”

  Alex’s eyes seemed to light
up and for the first time since feeding, he was happy. “The one from last night? Okay, that sounds good.”

  Vasilije rolled his eyes as he led Alex out into the night. “True love. How touching.”

  Three

  Sasa Lambert smoothed the bed covers across her mother’s stomach as she watched her sleep for the first time in days. Only a woman in her early fifties, her mother’s face, with its deep frown lines and forehead wrinkles, resembled one of a person far older. Years of living with illness had taken its toll, and along with the terrible effects of the medicine prescribed to ease her pain, the combination had left Sandra Lambert’s body ravaged.

  The vision of her mother finally resting brought tears to Sasa’s eyes. An only child, she had taken on the responsibility for caring for her when her father left almost five years ago. Unable or unwilling to watch a woman who’d once been the beauty of the parish wither away to nothing, he left one night and simply never returned.

  “Sasa? Baby?”

  “Yes, Mama. I’m here.”

  Sasa lightly stroked her mother’s cheek and brushed the stray hairs away from her eyes. No longer the lovely chestnut brown it had once been, now her hair was steel grey and wiry, another effect of the sickness that continued its unrelenting assault on a woman who was still young in years, if not spirit.

  “Baby, I’m thirsty. Can I have a drink?”

  Reaching over to the nightstand, Sasa grabbed a glass of water and placed it to her mother’s lips. “Drink. Slowly, Mama. Don’t choke.”

  Water trickled down the side of her face and onto the shoulder of her nightgown. Sasa quickly found tissues and blotted her face and shoulder dry.

  Her mother gently nudged her away and worked to sit up. Groaning from the pain, she finally succeeded in getting up and took the glass once again. “Thank you for not helping me, Sasa.”

  Standing by the bed in case her mother lost her balance, Sasa shook her head. “I hate that, Mama. That’s what I’m here for.”

  “No. And it’s not right that a beautiful girl is stuck at home with her mother. Promise me you’ll go out today and have some fun.”