Page 73 of Fangs and Family
‘Help in cleaning up, and you may bring the rest of your brethren if they would like a new home,’ I replied, and he bowed deeply.
‘Yes, sir, and thank you.’
1.Perun - one of the most revered Slavic gods. He is considered a thunderer, the god of warriors, and a rival of Veles.
Chapter 26
We travelled in silence, the rumble of the engine making it easy to avoid conversation as Nina sat, lost in thought, and I tried desperately to think of a way to reassure her. When we arrived in the underground garage, I parked Tomasz’s vehicle in front of the elevator and leapt out to open Nina’s door. With her head lowered, she slipped out and silently waited for me to enter the passcode.
I held my tongue, waiting till Nina was ready, proud that she was dealing with it, taking her time to process this traumatic change without losing control of her hunger. Once we entered the apartment, I coaxed Nina into the kitchen, pulling out a chair with a slight flourish. The hint of a smile was all I received as she sat down, but it felt like I’d been handed the Nobel Peace Prize. I went to my cooler to retrieve two units of blood, warming them in readiness.
‘I can’t…’ Nina paled as she looked at the bags, and I frowned.
‘You have to feed my love. I can call for a donor if you prefer, but you need to feed. What you feel, the hunger that is gnawing at your insides, it will only get worse. Remember what happened to me when the hunger got too much?’ I said, crouching next to her chair.
‘Are you sure Pawel will be all right,’ she asked, avoiding the subject.
‘He will. He will wake up confused and hungry, just like you did, but we have the supplies at the compound to deal with that. Nina, it may be for the best. What happened with your brother… I’m his sire, so he will have to listen to me, and I can make sure he stays out of trouble.’
‘What about me?’ she asked, biting her lip, ‘Will you command me as well?’ Nina was so serious, as if the rest of our lives rested on my answer, so I paused, thinking of the best response.
‘You, my little miracle, are not my spawn, and I, for one, am truly grateful for that. I’m not responsible for your transformation; you are. No blood ties are holding you back, and you never have to worry about being forced to do anything against your will. I have no power over you other than being Master of the Tricity Seethe, but that won’t mean any changes to your life. Your choices will always be your own, but I hope you will choose to live with me,’ I said, caressing her cheek and tilting her head back, stunned by the immense relief I could see there.
‘Good. It would make things too complicated,’ Nina said, sitting still and tense but with that hint of a smile again.
‘Oh, my beautiful warrior, who could ever command such fierce beauty?’ I attempted to break the tension and cheer her up a bit, but Nina’s reaction shook me to the core. The upturned lips fell, and a soul-wrenching sob tore through her body.
‘I’m so scared, Adam. What am I supposed to do now? How can I live like this? Will I have to kill people? Fuck, I feel like I’m losing my mind.’
‘It will be all right, my love, I promise. Please look at me, Nina. You are not alone. I will be with you every step of the way, and Sara will be here whenever you need a break from me. I can’t promise life won’t be different and even a little weirder than usual, but I’ll do everything in my power to make this work for us.’ I stroked her hair, rocking her like a child.
It took Nina several moments to relax into my embrace, and I sent a silent prayer of thanks to whoever was listening when she buried her head in my shoulder, her sobs easing and turning into quiet sniffles.
‘I thought you’d killed him.’ Nina’s muffled words made me tense, but I stayed silent, waiting. ‘I was so angry and felt utterly betrayed. It was like every fear I’d ever had about us came true, but more than that, I hated myself because even then, I loved you. I wanted to die, Adam, because I couldn’t live with myself for loving my brother’s murderer. I wouldn’t have been so reckless if I knew you didn’t… then I was dying, and you told me he would live, and I couldn’t even tell you I loved you or apologise for what I said. I was so scared you wouldn’t forgive yourself when all you’d done was try to save us,’ she sobbed, still hidden against my chest. ‘You should have told me that was the plan. Somehow, you should have let me know.’
‘I know, and if you need to hate me for what happened, I understand. Everything I did was… I didn’t have a plan. When I heard Sapieha took you, I lost it, and nothing mattered except getting to you. I should have been sensible, should have called in every favour and turned up with an army. I’m sorry, Nina. I failed you, and saving Pawel was pure luck. If it hadn’t worked, I would have gladly sacrificed his life for yours. The simple truth is that I would sacrifice anything and anyone for you. I would die for you, and even if you hate me for saying this, know that I am, and always will be, in love with you.’
Something flashed in her eyes, a hint of amusement or outrage; I couldn’t be sure until that small, sly smile teased her lips once more.
‘Adam, you are an idiot,’ she said, and happiness exploded in my chest.
‘I am, it’s true, but I’m your idiot, Princess.’ That earned me another twitch of her lips.
In a moment of inspiration, with an elegant, manly flourish, I knelt in front of Nina, pressing her hand to my forehead. ‘I promise to be your knight in shining armour, a dark and sinister lover, or a pale and sparkly vampire. As long as you allow me to provide you with the sustenance that you crave so deeply.’
‘Get up, you idiot. This is a serious matter. Gods, why do I have to spend eternity in the company of such a ridiculous vampire?’ Nina’s eye roll was one for the record books, and I grinned, knowing I had eased her pain. There might be rainy days ahead, but seeing Nina smile again was more than enough for now.
I took the blood from the warmer and grabbed a couple of crystal wine glasses as Nina silently watched on. I don’t know if she realised, but the cutest set of fangs were peeking from behind her lips. I had to turn away for a moment to calm myself. She was mine, and we had all the time in the world to get to know each other better.
Contentment had always felt like the death of fun to me, but today, I felt as if I’d almost explode with the feeling. However, telling Nina how happy I was after what we’d just been through would probably be a bad idea.
‘Can we try something else?’ She asked, and I turned back, wondering what Nina had in mind. ‘I don’t know if I can do it… I mean, I should, you know, drink it to feel better… but… Well, maybe I could try some raw steak instead? At least for now, to get used to the idea.’
It only took one look into those eyes, and I caved like a house of cards, even though I knew animal blood would never quench the thirst that must feel so overwhelming right now.
One indulgent smile later, and I was dragging two Wagyu Tomahawk steaks from the fridge. I always kept something in, just in case I had a shifter client. Now, it was a blessing in disguise, and I sent Lorelai a silent word of thanks for stocking the kitchen. I could give it to Nina completely raw, but somehow, I had a feeling my newborn vampire needed the reassurance of normality more than the blood, and if the thirst became too much, I knew how to assist her.
After heating a little butter, I gave the slab a few seconds to fry. Just enough to brown it slightly and lock all the goodness inside.
