Page 11 of Until Forever Comes
I recognized the voice right away. It was that vampire, Ted. The one who had helped take the humans home. The one who had wanted to kill me. I pressed my back to the wall and tiptoed toward the voice.
“It’s already too late, Ted! He’s consumed with bloodlust, feral. Did you see the number of humans he drank tonight? I’ve never seen anything like it. Not in four decades walking the earth. Nobody needs that much blood. Nobody. And he wouldn’t stop. You saw it yourself.”
That voice was familiar too. It was Ralph, the vampire who done pinned me to the wall that first night. The one who’d been fixin’ to kill me. Huh. Seemed like a universal characteristic among them vampires. Well, all but one vampire, anyhow. Ralph was still talking.
“He wouldn’t stop. We have to put him down before he draws us any more attention. As it is, the humans are starting to notice the spike in fights and injuries, the loss of memory after a night out. It’s only a matter of time before they stop dismissing it as hangovers and illnesses. And then they’ll realize everything coincided with our arrival and they’ll be suspicious. We can’t let him take away our opportunity to populate the new city.”
I had no idea what he meant, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Because at that precise moment I heard a sound that tore me up from the inside out. It was a shriek, a growl, and a cry all mixed into one. And it was made by Miguel. My mate was hurt. I quickened my pace and came to the edge of a wide open space.
Half a dozen vampires were huddled together at one end of the room. They were looking at the crumbling brick wall in front of them. Or rather, they were looking at Miguel, who was attached to that wall.
Heavy metal chains were wrapped around both his wrists and ankles, along with his neck and belly. His gorgeous hair was damp and tangled, hanging in front of his face. His clothes were filthy and ragged. And he was yanking at the bindings, trying to break free, making noises that sounded more animal than man.
One of the vampires I didn’t recognize jumped into the conversation. “I hate to say it, but Ralph is right. Tonight isn’t the first time he’s lost control. We all know he’s always had a voracious appetite, but it’s gotten worse since we came to this town. And the past few days….” He shook his head and shuddered, letting the thought trail off. “Miguel needs to be stopped. We have no choice. He has to be put down.”
“Fine, he needs to stop,” Ted agreed. “But killing him isn’t the way. Besides, how do you propose to do it? He’s stronger than any of us, stronger than anyone I’ve met. Miguel Rodriguez isn’t easy to kill. You might have been able to combine forces and catch him off guard while he was feeding, but make no mistake, you will not be able to get close enough to take off his head or stab his heart. Not without putting yourself in grave danger.”
Miguel was screaming, his chains clanging, as the vampires argued with each other.
“There has to be a way,” Ralph insisted.
I twisted around the corner and Miguel froze, tilting his nose up and darting his face all about. The sudden quiet seemed to perplex the other bloodsuckers. They stilled and stared at their captive. Fear poured off them, which was peculiar as all get out, considering they were free and he was restrained.
“What’s going on?” one of the vampires asked. “Why is he being quiet all of a sudden? Why did he stop moving?” They began talking all at once, trying to agree on a plan, urging each other forward to kill him. All except Ted, who looked more sad than scared. Or maybe it was regretful.
I was rooted in place, not sure what to do, not sure how to help. Then, just as fast as it had started, the silence was gone, replaced by what I could only describe as a roar. Miguel struggled against the chains, more riled up than he’d been prior, moving so fast it was difficult for me to track what he was doing.
The voices got louder as the vampires realized they were in a heap of trouble. Suddenly, Miguel got one arm free. They were eat up with fear by then, turning on each other, shoving whoever was near toward the threat while trying to back away.
But it was too late. After his first hand was free, Miguel kicked his foot loose and yanked the rest of the chains off like they were made of string. Then all hell broke loose.
Miguel stood in place, gasping for air, a few links still hanging off one ankle, as he glared through the strands of his hair. Surprisingly, he wasn’t staring at the vampires in front of him, the ones who had been planning his demise but were now screaming and tripping over themselves and each other trying to escape right quick. No. Somehow, even though I was shadowed in darkness and almost completely hidden by the wall, Miguel must have known I was there. Because the distance wasn’t stopping him from landing his piercing gaze straight on me.
Somebody with any sort of sense would have turned and run for the hills. I wasn’t that somebody. Instead of fleeing from danger, I stepped forward, leaving my makeshift hiding spot and revealing myself to a room full of vampires. I was as nervous as a rooster in a henhouse, but I hoped it didn’t show. Or at least not much.
“Blood,” Miguel growled.
“You see?” Ralph shouted. “Even now he wants to feed. It’s bloodlust like I to—”
“Look,” one of the other vampires said, interrupting him. He’d been watching Miguel, had followed my mate’s line of sight as he made his way toward me, so he was the first to realize I had entered the room. “Who is that?”
The vampires moved aside, giving Miguel a wide berth as he stalked me. The chain still attached to his ankle dragged on the ground, making a loud scraping sound. He huffed out loud breaths, his chest heaving. The other vampires whimpered and gasped, terrified he’d come after them.
They needn’t have worried. My mate had eyes only for me. But not in the way you’d think. Or at least not how I would’ve thought. Not that I’d ever had cause to consider how my mate would look at me, mostly because I’d never reckoned I’d have me one. Anyhow, if I would have imagined how a reunion between mates would go, it wouldn’t have been all ominous sounds, fearful cries, and glaring killers.
So, yeah, the situation was lacking in the romance department. Also, there was a real upsetting degree of homicidal overtones. But by now, it should be clear how I chose to deal with those problems—I put one foot in front of the other and walked toward my destiny. Whether I was slated for imminent death or a great love was anybody’s guess at that point. I reckoned either option was a real possibility. Didn’t matter none. I refused to run from my mate, come what may.
“That’s…. Is that…?” Ralph squinted at me as he stammered. “It’s that shifter.” He turned his gaze to the other vampires. “That’s him, right? The one from the other night?”
“Blood,” Miguel growled again. “Your blood. I smell it. Why?”
He seemed to be doing better, if the length of his sentences was any indication. Not that he was writing sonnets or anything, but he’d moved past grunting.
“Shit!” Ted said. “Miguel scented his blood and now he’s going to feed from him.”
I heard several gasps.
“He can’t,” one of the vampires said.
