Page 940 of One More Kiss

Draven

That was close.She almost drained a human in the middle of the bus depot. She could have exposed us all, and then we would have had the council up our asses. All the progress we thought we were making just went out of the window.

“You could have killed that guy,” Theron whispers to her as we walk back to the car.

“I don’t give a shit. Do you even know what this is like for me?” She replies, walking a bit faster.

Anger and disgust are rolling off of her in waves. I sigh in remorse because I do know what it’s like, except I chose this life. She didn’t.

“We all do. It’s never something you forgot, but this is the exact reason you need us around. It’s going to be difficult for the first ten years, and then you’ll be able to control it,” I say, trying to give her hope.

“Ten years? I can’t stand to be around you all for ten minutes. There is no way I’m going to be with you for ten years,” she spits out.

My heart drops, and a dejected feeling passes over me. The guys have the same look on their faces.

The drive back is pure torture, uncomfortable and filled with tension. I want to talk her out of it, but it’s probably too late.

* * *

Odessa

The next morning, I stumble out of my room looking for breakfast. I’ve always hated mornings, and even though I’m stronger, I can’t function without coffee and, now, a blood bag. As disgusting as it sounds, my mouth waters with anticipation.

The smell of fresh blood permeates the air and, mixed with coffee, it’s intoxicating. Walking over to the coffee machine, I pour myself a cup and add the cream, then I move over to the blood that is displayed on a tray on the countertop. Every morning, it’s out here, and I don’t know how it gets there. The fewer questions I ask, the better.

“Good morning,” Theron says, stepping into the kitchen. He follows my actions and gets his coffee and blood.

“Morning,” I say, with a curt nod. I don’t want to speak to him more than necessary.

“Sleep well?”

“Why are you trying to make small talk with me? I thought I made myself clear last night, when I said that I want nothing to do with you. If I have to be here, I’d rather be alone.”

“Come with me,” he says, before walking out of the kitchen. How is it that these ancient vampires can be so dumb? I stare at the doorway he went through and contemplate following him or just going to my room. I truly want to be free of them, but my curiosity wins out in the end.

All three guys are sitting in the living room. The same room where I lost my life and became this monster. I can’t sit on the couch, so I make my way over to the piano bench and sit facing them.

“What do you want?” I demand.

“We want to tell you our story. The story of how we got here and why it was so important to find you,” Julius says.

I roll my eyes in disgust and take a sip of the coffee spiked with blood. Its warmth coats my throat, and I close my eyes for a moment. I automatically feel stronger and a lot more powerful. I also feel satiated for the moment.

“We were each born at different times. Draven first, then Theron, and lastly came to me. But our origins aren’t important to the story. What’s important is what happened when we came together,” he continues. I wait patiently for him to get up enough courage to tell me. He takes a deep breath and begins his tale.

“Vampires usually live in covens. Vampires turn fledglings and take them in until they are ready to either live on their own or find another coven. Most stay. We didn’t. In different parts of the world, we were drawn to New York. A coven was just forming here, and the mistress was offering some pretty tempting things, such as a democratic system and a fair hierarchy. Most covens are traditional, and by traditional, I mean monarchic.”

“Yeah, basically a bunch of dicks who want nothing more than to take your soul and make you do what they want, hence the reason we left,” Draven complains.

“I can totally see how fucking annoying that is,” I reply smugly, watching him realize what he just said. Sounds exactly like what they are doing to me.

“Right, so we joined her. At first, she was fair. We looked up to her and would basically do anything she asked. The three of us were the closest to her. We did all her dirty work, and she rewarded us. Falling into a rhythm of conquest and death, we thought we were doing the right thing. Changing the way vampires lived. But really, she was amassing an army that could be seduced into taking over the world. The last straw for us was when she wanted us to turn children into immortals. To have them stalled in that moment of development for the rest of their lives. We refused. She wanted a family, and she said this way, we would become one. And since vampires can’t reproduce, this would be the only way we could have children,” Julius explains.

Icy fear rushes over me. A child being turned because some chick was feeling lonely. A soul trapped in limbo like that, living all of eternity, always looking like a child, even when it ended up having the mind and experiences of an adult. It would be the worst fate.

Theron picks up the story. “We refused her. For the first time in fifty years, we couldn’t and wouldn’t do her bidding. She didn’t like it. She threatened us, but we were so cocky. After years of being the strongest of all vampires, we thought ourselves untouchable, but she hired a witch. She paid that witch life changing money, and they placed a curse on us. The witch made us into rippers. Blood-lusted vampires, living for eternity, but never feeling sated. But there was a loophole. If we found our true mate and we turned her into a vampire, then the bloodlust would be gone. And if she accepted us as her mates and we consummated the mating, we would be together forever.’

Shock mares my face as I take in what he just said. True mates? With all three of them? What does that even mean? They all watch me patiently, waiting for me to say something. Their story is heartbreaking. I would have done the same thing to protect those children, but that still doesn’t mean that changing me without permission was okay.

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