Page 4 of Forsworn By The Vampire
"Fuck."
"That's exactly what I said." I took a sip of my tea, made a face, and set it back on the counter. Then I grabbed some honey out of the cabinet and drizzled some into my cup. "But like I said, I handled it." And I was a fool to believe he didn't suspect anything.
That vampire--Jamal--he wasn't going to let me play this off as just two people who happened to both be wandering The Quarter in the middle of the night in rain cold enough to even keep the tourists off the streets. I knew that the moment our eyes had met.
I'd seen him around before, of course, but I'd never really had any interaction with him until the night we'd all gathered in the shop to do a location spell when we'd lost Alex and Kenya. His golden eyes had been black with worry for his friend as he'd prowled around the store like an animal trapped in a cage. With his energy level running so high, it had been hard for me and the rest of the witches to concentrate on what we were doing: the coven trying to find Alex and Kenya, and me, trying to sabotage the spell from the inside so it would show them the wrong location. Something that was hard as all hell to do for a simple witch but shouldn't have been that hard for me.
"How exactly did you handle it?" Mike asked. "Please tell me you didn't do anything stupid."
"Of course not. I just told him it was none of his business."
The eyebrow was back. "And he just let you go."
"Stop with the fucking tone," I warned him.
As a powerless human male, he should've been afraid. However, Mike wasn't afraid of very much. Except perhaps a djinn. And a cold draft apparently. "You're so fucked."
"I know," I said softly, then took a sip of my tea.
Chapter 3
Jamal
When I got home the big house was dark. Everyone else was still at the club except for Lizzy, who still worked during the day and hadn't yet adapted to our schedule. Although as the owner of a voodoo store, I thought it would be perfectly appropriate to have that bitch open at night. But she claimed once the sun started to set, everyone was too drunk to let them loose in her shop.
In any case, it wasn't my problem. Pushing all thoughts of Lizzy, the redhead, and whatever dirty business she was up to out of my mind, I checked the time on my phone. I had six hours until the sun came up. Probably one or two before everyone else started wandering in. Plenty of time to pack some things and get as far from here as I could. By the time the sun set, I'd have a good head start. They might search for me for a bit, but hopefully, in the end, Killian will realize that the best thing he can do for me is to let me go. Let me be free.
I rubbed my hands over my skull, trying to calm my nerves that had sprung up out of nowhere. I'd tried to leave before, once right after Killian had turned me, and again about fifty years ago. Both times Killian had hunted me down, and I'd come back, guilted into it by the blood bond between us and his relentless need to hoard anything he considered his, including people and vampires. He was going to lose his shit when he found out I really did it this time. I dropped my hands to my face, then let my arms fall to my sides. The thought didn't make me feel better about my decision. We'd been together a long time. But this time, he had Lizzy. And I was hoping his mating with her would allow him to break the bond with me.
I fucking hated Killian for making me into the thing I now was.
I also loved him more than I'd ever loved anyone, except maybe my mother.
He'd saved my life, not once, but twice. The first time was shortly after he'd helped me get free from the white slave owner who'd purchased my parents. The second time, it had cost me that freedom I'd fought so fucking hard for. Because the second time, he'd made me into the creature I am now, andhebecame my master. He'd kept me alive when I wanted to throw myself into the sun. He taught me to hunt. Taught me how to control my hunger. And stuck with me through the severe mood swings new vampires go through. Spinning round and round like a roulette wheel, never knowing where I was going to end up or who this new me would be.
And when I finally did stop, I was angry. Fucking pissed that he'd made me into a vampire like him. That he hadn't given me a choice.
I was born into slavery. And after only a few years of being my own man, owned by no one, I was once again a slave to the master vampire who clung to me out of his own desperate need for a family. And still wouldn't let me go.
This time, however, this time would be different. Killian had Lizzy, his mate. He wouldn't leave her to come after me. He was too fucking possessive for that. He had a hard enough time letting her go to her shop every day, especially since Mike had disappeared and she was there by herself. Alone. During the daylight hours when he couldn't get to her if something happened. It drove him absolutely fucking insane, though he tried not to show her that.
Kicking off my sneakers so I didn't track whatever filth the rain had dredged up from the sidewalks inside, I set the dog's meds on the kitchen counter where Lizzy would easily be able to find them. Then I stood there in the dark, looking around the place.
I would miss this house.
And I would miss the people in it, both vampire and human.
I debated waking up Lizzy to say goodbye. I think she would understand why I needed to go and not try to stop me. But she might also tell Killian I'd left before I was ready for him to know I was gone.
Taking a deep breath, I walked over to the back door and slid my shoes back on. For as much time as I spent here, this wasn't my home. I stayed in the little guest house out back by choice. Killian had suggested it when we moved in here to give me--what he termed--a little more space and independence. And I'd agreed so that when I decided to leave, it would be easier.
Inside my place, I left the sliding door open that led into the kitchen and went straight to my room to pack my things, not caring what I tracked across the tile floor. I didn't have much. Just some clothes. A toothbrush. Nothing that would remind me of this place. I wasn't into keepsakes. What was the point? So you could sit around staring at them feeling sad that you weren't there anymore? No thanks. I'd spent my entire life trying to forget the places I'd come from. There was nothing here I wanted to remember.
A woman's face drifted through my mind. Hazel-green eyes and red lips surrounded by cherry-red hair. "Leeloo" I'd called her. But that wasn't really right. InThe Fifth Element, Milla Jovovich's hair was more of an orange. Not such a deep red. Same kind of cut though, so close enough as far as I was concerned.
I hadn't been able to find anything amiss in Lizzy's shop when I'd gotten there. Everything seemed to be in place. Nothing missing as far as I could tell. I'd even gone into the back room and moved the shelf away from the door that led into the witch's secret meeting room, but I couldn't get it open. It must be spelled shut or some shit.
I stilled, my hands full of shirts.
