A Taste of Twilight (11 page)

They stood in a wine cellar, the racks empty and covered with cobwebs. She’d imagined a torture chamber or a dungeon at least.

Faelon chuckled. “My playroom is upstairs and I only whip my partners when they insist. I much prefer pleasure to pain.”

“I am
so
lost.” Jessie rubbed her temples.

“Natalie connected with your mind as soon as we left the shield surrounding my house. Faelon just severed the link.” She felt Rafe ease into her mind and the memory of her transformation disintegrated.

“That wasn’t real?” Relief and disappointment combined in a dizzying rush. She’d felt his big body pinning her to the bed, his fangs, and the demanding fullness of his cock slamming into her over and over. She raised her fingers to her lips. The taste of his blood still lingered in her mouth.

“Natalie needed to believe it was real, so you had to believe it was real.” His voice was soft and apologetic.

“I don’t know how you’ve survived all these years.” Faelon scowled. “I should have taught you to be a vampire before Antonelli expanded your carnality. You’re a predator.”

“I learned your lessons as well as I learned Antonelli’s. We have different ideas of what it means to be a predator.”

Faelon approached Jessie, his gaze had returned to blue. “Why did you want him to transform you?”

Jessie squared her shoulders and looked him in the eye. “I’m not above accepting assistance, but no one fights my battles for me. I’m helpless as a human and Dalton means a lot to me.”

“Is he your lover?” He shot Rafe a challenging look.

“Once, a long time ago.” She rushed on before he could distract her. “Our affair was a three-week mistake. I don’t regret the time I spent with him, but I have no desire to…that’s all beside the point.”

“What is the point? Why does Dalton mean so much to you?”

“Others depended on me and lost their lives because of it. I will never fail again if there’s any alternative. I’m not sure what Natalie wants with me, but I know I’ll be useless if I’m still human.”

He studied her for a long, silent minute and she studied him. When he wasn’t scowling, Faelon was almost handsome.

“What did your vision reveal to you?”

Rafe’s question drew her attention away from Faelon. “Which vision?”

“Right before the ambush?”

“I saw a deserted warehouse and the person I believed would be the next victim. It took me four exasperating hours to convince the team leader to move. When he did…it was as if they knew we were coming.”

Rafe filled Faelon in on the task force as well as the murder-suicides. “This all began two years ago,” he concluded.

Jessie eased away from Rafe, so she could see both men. “Why is this important now?”

“I think Natalie has been playing with you a lot longer than I first realized,” Rafe said.

“You think she had something to do…the rapist was male, there’s no doubt about that.”

“Natalie and Etoro had two children,” Faelon began. “The first was born while Etoro was still in the process of transforming. No one was surprised that it was human.”

This obviously had something to do with the rapist or he wouldn’t have brought it up. “And the second?”

“The second was born vampire. They named him Kyrel and he was a surprisingly charming boy until he went through the vampire equivalent of puberty. He became sexually aggressive and—vicious. When he refused to appear before the council, they sent assassins after him.”

“You think Kyrel was the rapist? Wait a minute. There was a man killed during the shootout who they linked to many of the crimes.”

“Many but not all?” Faelon asked, and Jessie nodded. “He was likely one of Natalie’s slaves set up to take the fall. One of the assassins claims to have killed Kyrel, but he failed to produce a body. He only brought back a heart.”

“The council couldn’t tell if it was Kyrel’s heart?”

“We had no reason to doubt the assassin’s report, but the physical examination was inconclusive.”

Without a sample of Kyrel’s DNA to compare the heart to, Jessie wasn’t sure human forensics could have drawn a conclusion either. She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. Dread formed a tight knot in the pit of her stomach. “What does this have to do with the suicides and why does Natalie want me transformed?”

“Natalie was fiercely protective of Kyrel. If you participated in his destruction, however indirectly, she would consider you her enemy.” Faelon gazed past her, his expression contemplative.

“She was unable to protect Kyrel, so she wants us to feel her pain,” Rafe elaborated. “You won’t be able to protect Dalton and I won’t be able to protect you.”

“That’s unacceptable,” Jessie flared. “I’m not going to surrender without a fight. We have to find them. We have to—” Both men were smiling, so Jessie didn’t bother completing the sentence.

“I was explaining her perspective, not endorsing her plan.” Rafe wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against his side.

“I think you were on the right track.” Faelon’s paced the small room as he considered their options. “The one thing she can’t be expecting is that you’ll actually transform Jessie.”

“Why is that so improbable?”

“I’ve transformed two people in my life. The first didn’t survive the change and the second nearly turned rogue. If it weren’t for a stubborn Dark Elf named Brenna Skyler, I would have lost Phillip too.”

“Does Natalie know about this?”

“Of course,” Faelon replied. “She’s the one who slit Phillip’s throat and left Rafe no choice but to transform him.”

“She told me if I didn’t transform him, she would.” Rafe shuddered, obviously remembering events better left forgotten.

“When a vampire transforms someone, they become mentor, friend and parent for the next hundred years.” Faelon drew her attention away from Rafe, allowing him time to regain his composure. “The Covenant makes them responsible for whatever their fledglings do.”

“That’s why we’re damn careful who we transform,” Rafe added.

“How do we find her? How do we destroy her before she causes any more harm?”

“We won’t have to find her,” Faelon predicted, “she’ll find you. Natalie has never been patient. As I see it, these are our options. We can transform you. Rafe is uncomfortable with this, but I’ve successfully transformed many.

“We can each feed you a small amount of our blood. This will trigger a temporary change in your physiology. You will take on characteristics of both Rafe and me until your body metabolizes the blood.”

“Sort of like what he did before we left?”

Faelon grinned. “Blood is more effective, but if you’re offering to suck my cock, I’d be happy to accept.”

Rafe glared in silent warning. “It worked once, but Natalie is not a fool. I can almost bet she’s figure out it was a ruse by now. She knows me too well.”

“Why does she hate you so much?” She looked up into Rafe’s dark eyes, but Faelon answered.

“Natalie is my biological offspring. One of only three I’ve created in my long life. I claimed an organic vampire as my mate because it was my duty to our kind. Her name was Cecilia and she detested me, but we were both organic vampires and times were very different then. I came to her each night until she became pregnant then I left her here and never returned until she was destroyed by—”

“That’s horrible.” Apparently dysfunctional families weren’t limited to the human race.

“It was a mercy for both of us. I reluctantly submitted to the obligations of the Covenant while Cecilia felt violated each time I touched her. If Natalie had been male, I would have taken the child with me, but girls belong with their mothers.” He paused for a moment as memories clouded his gaze. “After Natalie’s birth, we simply lived separate lives. I made sure they had everything they needed and I didn’t insult Cecilia with my presence. I visited Natalie as often as Cecilia would allow and with each visit it became more apparent that Cecilia was poisoning the girl’s mind against me, making her hate me as Cecilia hated me. Natalie felt as if I’d deserted her and chosen ‘my whore’ over my family.”

Children often suffered from the choices their parents made. “I’m sorry your daughter hates you, but what does this have to do with Rafe?”

“Natalie was perhaps sixteen and Cecilia began pressuring me to arrange a marriage for her, an organic vampire, of course. Rafe was not organic, but I loved him like a brother, so I suggested the match to Cecilia.”

He was already fucking your mistress. Why not give him your daughter too?

Faelon laughed and Jessie shielded her face with one hand. She kept forgetting vampires could read minds.

“It sounds odd now, but it made sense at the time.”

“Not to me,” Rafe objected. “I’d watched Natalie grow up. She was the closest thing I’d ever had to a sister.”

“I was hoping to restore peace to my family through the union of Rafe and Natalie,” Faelon said. “I mentioned it to Natalie first. I knew the only way I would gain Cecilia’s cooperation was through Natalie. She was enamored of Rafe and had been for some time. The prospect of being his mate thrilled her.”

“I had no idea Faelon had already spoken with Natalie when he proposed the union to Cecilia,” Rafe interjected. “I was there at the time and I can’t honestly say who objected more profusely, Cecilia or me.”

Jessie could almost picture the scene. Natalie must have been humiliated and heartbroken at Rafe’s rejection and her mother’s refusal to consider the match. “How did Natalie end up with Etoro?”

Faelon sighed and sadly shook his head. “After Rafe and I refused to transform Etoro, he found his way to Cecilia. Cecilia thought she was being clever when she transformed Etoro to spite me, but he was in control the entire time. He played the role of humble student while he ruthlessly seduced Natalie. She was upset by Rafe’s rejection and susceptible to an older, sexually experienced male. When Cecilia threw him out, he took Natalie with him. Etoro and Natalie have been together off and on ever since. We suspect Etoro was emotionally, perhaps physically abusive until Natalie gained enough strength to stop him.”

“She blames you for deserting her and Rafe for rejecting her.”

“That about sums it up,” Rafe agreed.

“If she’s more powerful than Etoro now, why does she stay with him?”

“He impregnated her twice,” Faelon reminded her. “You must not underestimate the significance of that.”

“Can vampires soul bond with more than one person?” she persisted. “Isn’t Antonelli your soul-bonded mate?”

Faelon looked at Rafe and smiled. “Is she always like this?”

“She swears her specialty is investigation. I think it’s interrogation.”

“Etoro gorged himself on blood and violent energy,” Faelon said. “Then at the end of his first century as a vampire, he returned to challenge Cecilia as the Covenant allows.”

“The Covenant allows vampires to kill the one who transformed them?”

Faelon’s only response was an impatient nod, so Rafe elaborated. “The challenge was instigated for several reasons. First, if a human is transformed against their will, destroying their maker reverses the transformation.”

“But only after a hundred years?” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “What good is that? Everyone you know and love would be dead. The entire world would have changed.”

“It takes that long for the transformation to stabilize.” He slipped his hand under her hair and gently rubbed the tension building at the nape of her neck. The simple touch relaxed her neck, her shoulders and the upper portion of her back. He could make a fortune as a masseur. “Few who are truly unhappy survive that long.”

Unwilling to deprive herself of Rafe’s touch, she shifted her gaze toward Faelon as he spoke. “Rafe could have challenged you after his first hundred years?”

“He could have tried.” Faelon grinned.

“Etoro’s transformation wasn’t reversed when he destroyed Cecilia,” Jessie pointed out. “He’s still a vampire.”

“He wasn’t transformed against his will,” Rafe clarified. “If the challenge is won by a willing fledgling, they absorb the energy of their maker. Etoro knew organic vampires were the most powerful, so he spent his first hundred years hoarding energy in preparation for the challenge.”

“Talk about premeditated. Damn.” More and more she was curious about the Covenant. There was a lot more to vampires than drinking blood—and phenomenal sex.

Weary regret aged Faelon’s face. “Cecilia’s destruction gave Natalie one more reason to hate us. Etoro’s resentment of Rafe brought Etoro into her life and my unfaithfulness left her unprotected.”

Jessie felt the weight of his loss and her heart gave a little flutter.
Kill me now. I’m feeling sorry for a vampire!

Her sarcastic thought brought ferocity back to his eyes. He rolled his shoulders and flicked a dust bunny off his sleeve. “I harbor no illusions about my daughter’s fate. Natalie must be stopped, which brings us to our final option. Organic vampires are much harder to kill than transformed vampires. I honestly believe our best chance of defeating Natalie is forming a three-way blood bond.”

Chapter Six