Page 32 of Blood Ties
“How?” He asked like I hadn’t just dropped a bombshell.
“I killed him. He tried to kill my mate simply because he desired me for himself.”
Damien’s eyes locked on the large three karat diamond resting on my ring finger. “Such human symbolism.” He pointed to my ring. “Staking their claim; marking what is theirs, like a dog urinating on their territory.” His blue gaze moved back to my face. “Please do not tell me your mate is a human?” He demanded, seeming genuinely disgusted by the idea.
“No.” I started. He visibly relaxed. “I changed him when Anton left him for dead.”
His face brightened with enlightenment. “Ah… Now I know why you have come. It’s your mate.” He smiled cocky at me. “As I’m sure you have realized his transition to vampirism is far from normal.” I was shocked that he knew. A moment later I nodded as I watched him stand and pace around the office.
“Please Gabriella, do not look so shocked. I may not look it, but I think you forget how old I truly am. There is incredibly little that I haven’t seen or been through. What exactly seems to be the problem? Is it simply that he day walks or is it deeper.”
“How..?” Instead of asking him how he knew everything, I decided to jump to the point. “It’s deeper. He can’t feed from anyone but me. If he does, he becomes ill, but the feedings are becoming more and more frequent.”
“Ah, yes. This happened to me many years after I fell.”Fell?I didn’t know what that meant, but I figured there was something demonic behind it. After all, it was what human history had been telling us for years. Vampires were soulless, wretched creatures. It was the reason we couldn’t enter people’s homes, why we drank their blood. We were Satan’s creatures.
“You’re demon.” I stated matter-of-factly.
A rumble bellowed deep within his chest. The room shock with his laughter. “Tell me child how do you think vampires came into existence?” I shook my head, unsure and not wanting to envelop myself with random human lure. “I am the first. Surely you did not think that I sprouted from the ground.” I really had never given it much thought except that I believed us to be demons. “I’m sure that the notion of drinking someone’s blood seems demonic, but I assure you, I am no demon, quite the opposite actually.” He grinned. Without giving me a moment to process he spoke, “I am an angel. A fallen, to be more precise.” His smile grew, revealing the sharp point of his fangs. My face contorted with confusion. He smirked then he seemed to distract himself with a bowl resting on his desk. “When I was cast down from heaven, God forgot to remove the task to which he had bestowed on me. It took me some time to realize that I still had the ability to bring death to humans. Only now, with the exchange of my blood, can I give them life once more.”
“Death? As in the angel of death?” Disbelief dripping from my word.
He popped a piece of candy into his mouth, “We are death.” He shrugged. “We move throughout the world, feeding on mankind, leaving a trail of bodies everywhere we go. We are a plague upon humanity, devouring them. Although, I am sure that was never God’s intention or that those I created would acquire my blood lust.”
“Well as fascinating as this little history lesson is, what about Grayson?”
“Ah yes, Mr. Alexander. As it so happens I do have the knowledge you seek.”
“Really?” I heaved a sigh of relief. After all this time I would finally have the answers and hopefully a solution.
“I am sorry to disappoint you, but I will not be sharing that knowledge with you tonight.”
“What?” My excitement was short lived. One moment everything was falling into place, then Damien yanked the rug I was standing on out from under me.
“This meeting was simply to find out what it was you wanted of me.”
“You can’t be serious? You set this whole thing up. You contacted Grayson, made up a bogus meeting, all so you could figure out why I wanted to find you and now that you know, you’re refusing to help me.” I couldn’t believe the audacity of him. He simply wanted to ease his curiosity and didn’t give a damn about helping me. The key to Grayson’s existence was standing in the room with me and was in my grasp, but just out of my reach. “He could die! He grows weaker by the day!”
“If you would have let me finish; young people today have no manners,” he mumbled the last part as he crossed behind his desk taking his seat. “I will not share that knowledge with you tonight. I assume that the knowledge is not the only thing you seek, but a solution as well, yes? Without losing the abilities you have bestowed on him?” I nodded worried to get my hopes up again. Damien dropped his head and scribbled something down. “Bring your mate to this address tomorrow an hour before dusk. Then you shall have your answers and the solution you seek. It will be up to him if he chooses to take it.”
I hesitantly took the paper from him. “How do I know I can trust you?”
His face looked pained at my words. His voice lowered shoving all joking aside. “You are my daughter, Gabriella. Everything I have ever done was to protect you. I understand trust is earned and this is my way of trying to earn yours.” He pressed a button on the phone. “Jade,” was all he said. The door swung open and in walked the redheaded vampire. She held open the door for me gesturing for me to leave and followed me out.
We walked along in silence. Coming to the end of the stairs she spoke. “He’s a good man, you know.”
“Who?” I wondered.
“Your father. Once word got to him about Anton’s demise, he up and moved us all, his entire nest across the country. He was thrilled to see you. You should give him a little credit.”
“When he heard about Anton? How long ago was that?”
“Right after it happened. It’s hard to move an entire nest.”
Damien came looking for me after Anton? But he said my looking for him had been causing trouble. I didn’t know what to say so I said nothing. She led me out and deposited me back at the bar where I was met with a frantic Grayson.
“Gabriella, where the hell have you been? I have been looking everywhere for you.” He wrapped his arms around me clutching me to his chest. I could hear the hysteria in his voice. I wasn’t the only one that relived the night Anton tried to destroy us.
“Calm down lover boy. No need to get your panties in a twist,” Jade spoke. I had forgotten she was there. Grayson’s grip on me loosened. He seemed confused that she had spoken to him. Jade stepped into Grayson’s personal space wedging herself right between us to straighten his collar. His eyes narrowed and I could tell he was wondering who the hell she was. “We were just upstairs having a bit of a family reunion.” Her hand trailed down his shoulder. It was meant as a comforting gesture, but did quite the opposite to Grayson. Jade turned her green gaze of me. “Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, beautiful.” Jade turned on her heels and walked through the crowd, disappearing among them.
