Page 70 of When Bones Whisper
She brushed her fingers over her throat, her mind turning to the bond instead of any dangerous, wishful thinking she had about his heart. “Haveyouleft people alive?” she asked. “Nathaniel said he had not, but you speak of the bond with such familiarity.”
He sat on the stone bench across from her, where shadows of stone fingers crept over his body as a stroke of moonlight passed through the statues.
“Yes. I drank from two of my lovers without killing them, at least, not immediately.” He raked his long fingers through his blond waves. “I became tormented by their very existence. All I could think about was draining their blood and consuming their essence. Of course, there was feeling there once, but the bond dissolved it all. I was consumed with the need to kill them. Eventually,” he said, eyes darkening as the stars were swallowed by dark clouds overhead. “Fantasy was not enough. I hunted them down and slaughtered them.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what? My murdering people?” he asked with an incredulous smirk.
“For the supernatural pull to kill when it is clearly not in your nature.”
“Itisin my nature, Miss Lovett,” he said.
“I mean your personality. Call me insane, but I don’t feel as if you are a bad person.”
“I’ll try not to be, to you anyway,” he promised and shifted his position.
“Nathaniel hasn’t tried feeding from me since,” she said, raking her fingers through her hair, recalling every lingering touch from the moments they found themselves alone.
“Yet,” Alexander intoned. “The desire will grow stronger, and he won’t be able to stop himself. Even if he wants nothing more than to let you go.”
Her mouth dried. “How can I stop it?”
“Just keep your distance until the ritual. Once he is mortal, the blood bond will break too.”
“If the ritual doesn’t work, for any reason, would I have time to run?”
“There is nowhere you can go that he won’t find you, but do not concern yourself with that. It will work and until then, just don’t be alone with him. He has incredible restraint, but we all have our limits. If you must be near him, I will be with you so I can try to stop him if he loses control.”
“Try?” she emphasized.
“I am not as strong. He is the first vampire and therefore got the full breadth of the curse. For every vampire in his line, the abilities are diluted.”
Charlotte’s stomach churned. Even if she did ever escape, she would have the equivalent of an obsessed bloodhound on her trailfor the rest of her life. Her thoughts turned to the witches inside, and Nathaniel’s plan to kill them. Even with their powers, there were four vampires in attendance that night which she hadn’t counted on. Surely it was enough to overpower the Avery family.
“Do the other two vampires know of your plan?” Charlotte asked. “Zachariah and Irene?”
The bridge of his nose creased. “They do, but they are unaware of the whole truth.”
“Which is?”
“That the ritual will undo not only his curse, but all of ours. I would not open their eyes to that deception,” he cautioned when she pressed her lips tight. “Your being alive is all that stands between our becoming mortal and staying vampires forever. If you tell them, they will snap your neck in a heartbeat. Many of us do not wish to return to the banes of mortality.”
“Do you?” she asked, shuffling herself forward.
A rustle of leaves skittered between them, forming a line on the moon-brushed path leading to several more veiled statues.
“I did not ask to become a vampire, but I cannot pretend it does not come with its perks,” he said, smoothing a thumb over his pointed chin. “There is an exhilaration that comes with being untouchable, with never having to fear another person, disease, or death. I enjoy life and all the beautiful things it offers. The only downside is I cannot choose to end things in centuries' time, when I grow tired of it all.”
She pursed her lips. “When did you become a vampire?”
Blowing out a long breath, he dropped his hands in his lap. “Almost three centuries ago.”
“You’re almost as old as Nathaniel.”
“We are but thirty years apart,” he said.
“Why did he turn you? You said he saved you before, how?”
