Page 54 of Trapped for Her Blood
“Anyway, Octavia’s pop, he wanted to overthrow the Philly don, and he needed to make a bargain to get the support of the New York family.”
“What kind of bargain?”
“His daughter. They agreed that their kids would marry.”
“Octavia and Psycho?”
Gracen nods.
“Continue.” I sweep my hand in a gesture I hope seems encouraging.
“Octavia was super young, still in her teens I think, and very much against getting married—especially to Psycho.” Gracen whistles. “No chick in her right mind wanted Psycho. You saw his cock, right?”
I nod.
“To hear him tell it, Octavia was a total bitch about it. She was pissed that her brothers got a chance to work in the family, while she got sold off like chattel.” Octavia shrugs. “Hate the bitch, but can’t say I blame her there.”
If nothing else, I am gaining useful insight into Octavia’s personality. “Please continue.”
“Psycho says he gave his new wife some time before consummating. He didn’t fuck her for months after the wedding. He knew he was way bigger than most men, and she claimed to be a virgin.”
Gracen smiles, licking her lips, as if what she’s sharing is delicious. “But, one day Psycho walks in, and guess what he sees?”
“I do not enjoy guessing games.”
Chuckling, she tugs on my lapel. “Psycho walked in on his young, supposedly-a-virgin wife fucking her bodyguard.”
My eyes widen. “I take it he did not approve of this arrangement.”
“Fucking understatement.” Gracen laughs, slaps my chest, but then returns to the other side of the alcove. “She claimed the guard was raping her. But he didn’t buy it, and after Psycho beat the bodyguard to death, he consummated the fuck out of his marriage.”
Gracen closes her eyes for a moment. “Even he admits that he tore her pussy to shit, then did the same to her asshole. Took out all his anger on her tiny body, then kicked her out of the house. Turfed her out on the streets, naked and bleeding.”
Even with the things I have done, I find this story repulsive. “And then what?”
“Well, past this point, Psycho obviously had to rely on the story Octavia later told him, but she claims she was found by a vampire. He fed her his blood to help her heal, and then took her somewhere to sleep it off and recover.”
I nod.
“At some point,” Gracen continues, “this vampire explained what he was, and she begged him to make her a vampire. He caved. Big mistake.”
“Why was it a mistake?”
“Because Octavia is an evil, vindictive bitch. She used her vampiric power to get revenge on every human who’d harmed her. Killed her father and brothers, killed her father-in-law, and after torturing Psycho for months, she somehow managed to turn him.”
“Octavia really is Psycho’s Maker?”
She nods. “So he claims. Andthislovely place?” Gracen gestures to the sides. “These were tunnels used by the mob during Prohibition. She tossed Psycho down here. Said death was too good for him. She wanted him to live forever, but alone and starving.”
“But he is not alone.”
“Professor!” She points her finger gun. “You got Bingo again!” She smirks. “Turns out the bitch had no shortage of enemies she wanted locked away. Mostly vampires who’d never be convicted in a proper vampiric court.” She points at herself.
Gracen shakes her head. “All of us down here. Best I can tell, our only crime was pissing off Octavia, and as our reward, we get to be guests in this lovely establishment.” She gestures both arms to the sides, one narrowly missing a beam of sunlight.
I narrow my eyes, thinking it through. If not her Maker, Octavia’s power must have come from one or more of her mates. I have heard that such power transfers can occur during feedings between vampires in love. But I can’t recall at the moment which came first, her promotion at DEFTA or her marriages. I was out of the country at the time.
“If she is so young… From where does she get her power?”
