Blood Hunger (An Adult Paranormal Romance) (Deathless Night Series #1) (21 page)

   
 
“Actually, he did mention something about that,” she hedged.

     “Did he mention that once he’s had your blood, he will slowly fade away until there is nothing left of him if he doesn’t continue to have it?”

   
 
Emma fought back an unexpected feeling of panic. “No. He, uh, didn’t mention that. We were interrupted in the midst of that discussion by the plane landing in Seattle.”

   
 
Muttering under his breath, “Stupid, stubborn Estonian,” Aiden kindly filled her in. “Neither of us have actually ever seen or heard of this happening, but according to the stories passed down through the ages, vampires will know when they’ve met their mate after they’ve had a taste of their blood. That this will happen is inevitable, as upon first seeing them, the vampire is drawn to said mate to the point of obsession, even before they’ve fed from them. I have to ask, has Nik fed from you yet?”

   
 
Heat flooded her face and neck, “Just one time, and just a little. He, uh…he kissed me and his fangs are so sharp…”

   
 
Aiden cut her off. “I don’t need the gory details. Mostly because I’m jealous.” He gazed longingly at her lips for a moment before he suddenly slapped his hands together, startling her. “Ok! So, this is where we’re at. Now that Nik has fed from you, he needs to continue feeding from you, or he will die Emma. Simple as that. Die the true death. It will take a while, but it will happen. I’m not certain why this is so, but it’s the one detail that is bashed into our brains from day one of becoming a vampire.”

   
 
She tried to imagine Nik “feeding” from her, his fangs latched onto her neck. But far from being repulsed at the thought, she felt a rush of desire so strong she was glad she was sitting down.

     Embarrassed, because she knew Aiden would know what she was feeling, she cleared her throat and asked, “How long is ‘a while’?”

   
 
“I’m not sure exactly. This kind of thing is pretty rare. We’re just going by what the elders have told us. However,” he sighed, “I’ve already noticed a few things amiss with him. He’d never admit it, of course, but they’re there. He’s already starting to weaken, starting to reject that nasty bagged blood. Thank the gods.”

   
 
Nik was weakening? Emma’s heart clenched in her chest. “So, next question. Let’s be realistic here. What if he doesn’t want me?” She’d already made a fool of herself over this guy, she was not about to continue doing so. But there was also no way in hell she was going to let him die. Not if there was anything she could do about it.

     Aiden grinned at her. “Oh, he wants you, have no worries there, luv. Why do you think he’s been such a bloody arse since you’ve come around?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “Although, I guess you wouldn’t know, since that’s the only way you’ve ever seen him,” he added, “I’m also going to assume that you’re not opposed to the idea of being with him? Even though he’s a vampire? You two are practically shagging every time I leave you alone.”

   
 
She surprised both of them by confessing honestly, “I’ve never been more attracted to anyone in my life, in spite of everything that’s happened to me. But what do we do now? He believes he’ll kill me if he’s with me.”

   
 
Speaking of which, this brought her back to her original inquiry. “
Would
he kill me, Aiden? Like he did Eliana?”

   
 
“I don’t think there’s much of a chance of that,” Aiden hedged. “Vampires are extremely territorial and protective over anything, or anyone, they consider theirs. I believe that protective trait will keep him from letting anyone harm you, including himself, although he may need some convincing. Eliana was unfortunate. However, though he cared a great deal for her, she wasn’t his mate.”

   
 
Lowering his voice, he confided, “Personally, between you and me, I think there was something a bit off with that female. That whole thing seemed a bit dodgy to me. I think there’s more to that story than any of us know, including Nik.”

   
 
The bedroom door suddenly flew open so hard it crashed into the opposite wall, and was left hanging askew on its hinges. Emma jumped up guiltily off the couch, coming face to face with over two hundred and forty pounds of thoroughly enraged vampire standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his narrow waist.

     Too alarmed to appreciate the view this time, she anxiously racking her brain to come up with an excuse for her and Aiden to be in there with the door closed. “We’re not…this isn’t what it looks like!”

   
 
Aiden, on the other hand, stayed casually where he was, exclaiming happily, “Nikulas! Just the leech we wanted to see! We need to have a quick life and death chat with you, mate. It will just take a second. Why don’t you come sit with us?”

   
 
Fists clenched at his sides and fangs bared in a snarl, Nik growled deep in his throat, “Get away from her, Aiden.”

   
 
Aiden smirked at Emma. “See what I mean? A complete arse. If it were anyone else but me, there’s no doubt I’d be learning that I can’t fly by now.”

   
 
Nik stalked into the room, his eyes never wavering from Emma. “Leave us,” he snarled in Aiden’s direction.

     Aiden looked him up and down. “You know, I think you’re more like your brother than you like to admit.” As Nik’s fury reached the eye-glowing level, Aiden slowly stood up, stretched his back, and with a wink and an, “I’ll see you in a few, poppet”, he casually sauntered out the busted up doorway.

     Emma watched him leave in disbelief. The loon was leaving her here alone with a growling, enraged vampire. She couldn’t believe he would just leave her like this, protective trait or not.

     She scowled at Aiden’s retreating back. Or maybe she could. Pulse pounding, she tried not to sound as nervous as she felt. “We were just talking, Nikulas.”

     “Talking!” he sneered. Taking several deep breaths, he lowered his voice. “You are to stay away from him, do you understand?”

     Now he was just being ridiculous. They’d only been talking. “He’s your best friend!”

     “He’s also a notorious womanizer, and I don’t want you anywhere near him when I’m not around,” he gritted through his teeth.

     “You’re being ridiculous, he…” Before she could finish what she was saying, he was around the couch, looming over her intimidatingly.

     “I said, STAY AWAY FROM HIM!” he bellowed inches from her face.

     Nervousness forgotten, she shoved at his bare chest with both hands. “Back off, blood sucker! I’m dealing with enough here without having to deal with your irrational jealousy! In the last 48 hours, I’ve been told I’m a witch, told there are such things as vampires, kissed senseless, given my first orgasm, dragged from my home, and brought on a recon mission to rescue my sister from some deranged, immortal, sadistic bitch. I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I’ve had just about ENOUGH out of you!” She shoved him again. It was like hitting a stone wall, so she stomped around him. “I’m going to get something to eat, and then we’re leaving to go get my sister, because I want to GO HOME!” Abruptly coming to a halt, she turned to him again, shoving her finger in his face, “YOU are not to speak to me again until you can stop yelling.”

     Leaving him standing there slack-jawed, she flounced out of the room to go make something to eat, only to find Aiden sitting at the bar, beaming at her. She figured as long as she was at it…

     “And you! There’s something seriously wrong with you, do you know that?” She waved her hands at him.  “Other than the whole, being a vampire thing.”

     As she stomped angrily around the kitchen making herself a peanut butter sandwich, he looked down at himself. “What ever do you mean? There’s nothing wrong with me.”

     A few minutes later, Nik, dried off and fully dressed, wandered out of his bedroom to come and sit next to him at the bar. With a sheepish look at Emma, he told them, “Sorry about all the yelling, and for being such an asshole lately. I’m not sure where all that’s coming from.”

     Although Emma shot daggers his way, Aiden sought to make amends. “No worries, mate. And I apologize for clocking you in the head earlier.” Giving each other a masculine, one-armed hug and pat on the back, all was forgiven. “Get yourself a bag, you’ll feel better.”

     Getting up from his stool, Nik cautiously sidled around Emma, giving her a wide berth.

     Aiden frowned at Emma and pointed with his chin towards Nik, silently beseeching her to follow suit.

     In response, she narrowed her eyes at him and savagely ripped off a bite of her sandwich with her teeth.

     Raising his eyebrows at her obstinate behavior, he feared his friend had met his match. He smiled at her warmly at the thought.

     She waited until Nik had warmed up his blood and made his way back to the other side of the bar before she spoke.

     “So, what’s the plan for tonight guys?”

     “The plan,” Nikulasgrimaced as he took a sip from his bag
,
“is to meet up with Dante and the rest of our crew, and then go kill things.”

    
Dante punched the elevator button to take him back down to the passageway leading to his living quarters. This elevator was the only accessible way to get there, other than a small tunnel he’d dug out himself. 

     No one else knew about that tunnel, not even Shea, and no one ever would. The private rooms it connected to were not areas anyone else needed to see.

     The Seattle Underground, the original city, wasn’t a place most vampires would think was suitable to live in during these modern times. They preferred the freedom of being able to live above ground amongst the humans. But Dante felt right at home there in the damp darkness. It suited him.

     And he had no desire to interact with his food, other than to hunt them.

     Well, sometimes, he would
play
with his food. It satisfied something deep and dark within him, to hear them pleading for their life. He got off on it. Male or female, it didn’t matter. They’d beg him like the pathetic animals they were, the smell of fear and urine and blood dominating the room, until he tired of their screams and finally put them out of their misery.

     Dragging what was left of the broken bodies through the underground, he’d emerge into the fresh air to toss them into the Sound for the sea creatures to eat. Otherwise, the stench became overwhelming, and the others would begin to notice.

     The elevator door opened and Dante got in. As the doors closed, he changed his mind at the last minute, and hit the button that would take him to the underground parking garage instead of all the way down to his passageway.

     The mission they were about to embark on had him more uneasy than usual. Failure was not an option, or they would lose Luukas forever. He wasn’t sure how he knew this, but he did. The waiting to leave had him ready to jump out of his own skin.

     He needed to feed. And he needed the release that pain would bring. Other’s pain, and his own.

     The doors opened onto the garage. Stepping out, Dante turned his head as a black SUV came careening around the corner, swerving way too close to where he was walking.

     He smiled. Looked like his meal was coming to him.

     Tires squealed as the driver saw him standing there, and he saw him wrench the wheel to the side to try to avoid him. He didn’t so much as flinch as the side of the vehicle missed him by only a few inches, before it screeched to a halt just a few feet away. The back doors opened, and two males got out.

     “Hey man, are you ok?” One of them asked Dante, coming up on his left.

     The other snuck around to his right.

     Dante sneered. The piece of shit thought he could sneak up on him? He turned his head to see what he was up to…and then there was nothing but darkness.

***

     The matte black Hummer pushed deeper and deeper into the mountains, blending in perfectly with the darkness that surrounded it. It was slow going, the road they were on well hidden from the main freeway, and rarely used. Most people didn’t even know it existed, or where it led.

     As they swerved around fallen branches and water-filled potholes the size of small ponds, Emma braced herself in the back seat, and thanked God she wasn’t prone to motion sickness. Although she was probably going to be black and blue before this ride was over.

     In spite of the rutted out road and Nik’s reckless driving, Emma was nonetheless relieved to be back on the ground. Time being of the essence, they’d taken a private helicopter to Vancouver, lifting straight off of the roof of their apartment building.

     “We’re taking that??” Emma had balked when they’d exited the elevator on the roof. She’d tried, but failed, to contain her panic at the sight of the small aircraft.

     Digging in her heels, she’d refused to go any farther, but Nik’s firm grip on her arm would brook no argument. In no short order, she found herself in her seat, strapped in tight, with headphones on her head.

    
Once they were up in the air, however, her anxiety took a back seat to the stunning view. The city of Seattle was absolutely breathtaking from the air. The lights from the high-rises lit up the night sky and reflected off of the water of the Puget Sound, as pretty as any Christmas display.

     She even saw the Space Needle!

     They’d flown uninterrupted into Canada, landing at the Vancouver airport. It was a thrilling, if nerve-wracking, experience for Emma. Small town girl that she was, she’d never flown in a helicopter before, or flown at all, for that matter, before coming out to Seattle. And helicopters were quite a different experience than airplanes.

     If she hadn’t been so anxious about the flight, it may have occurred to her to question how they were able to cross the border without going through any type of customs. But as it was, she was just grateful they’d made it one piece.

     The Hummer was waiting for them when they’d landed at the airport, sitting right next to the helicopter pad. The burly, older gentleman who’d driven it out to them hung on tight to his driver’s cap as they landed, and waited by the vehicle just long enough to inform Nik it was full of gas and ready to go.

     After buckling Emma up in the back, Nik shook his hand and climbed into the driver’s seat. Once Aiden had thrown their backpacks into the back storage area and climbed into the passenger seat, they were on their way.

     As they left the airport and headed out of the city, Emma peered out the windows, but there wasn’t much she could see. Once they’d left the populated areas, Nik had turned off the headlights, blending them into the night they were traveling through. When she’d asked him how he could drive like that, he’d told her he could see better without them on.

     That short conversation had been almost an hour ago. Now that they were actually on their way, the mood was tense. Even Aiden was quiet for a change.

     They’d turned off the main nonexistent road a while ago, and were now bumping along a barely-there side road, when Aiden let out a frustrated noise as he tried, again, to contact the rest of their team.

     After receiving the go ahead to go to their meeting point, Dante and the rest of the team had gone radio silent.

     “I’m not getting anything,” he repeated for the fourth time. “Where the bloody hell are they?”

     “Have you tried the other channels?” Nik asked. “Or tried calling Christian directly?”

     “Yes. Yes. I’ve tried everything.” Pulling out his cell phone, Aiden tried again to reach Dante. Putting it on speaker, they all listened to the ringing on the other end of the line. After the fifth one, the voicemail picked up, and one of the most sinister sounding voices Emma had ever heard gritted out, simply, “Dante”, as if daring the person on the other end to leave a message. It actually made the hair stand up on the back of her neck, and she was very glad it was Nik and not this “Dante” vampire who’d come for her.

     If the phone had been in her hands, she would’ve hung up immediately. And thrown it out the window for good measure.

     But Aiden, true to form, was not intimidated. “Commander! Where the bloody hell are you?” Hanging up, he picked up the radio again. Still nothing.

     Nik kept driving, chewing on the inside of his cheek, his expression thoughtful. “We’ll go on to the meeting point. Maybe something happened to their radio.” 

     “All of them?” scoffed Aiden. “I’ve tried to reach all three of them via cell phone
and
radio.”

     For the first time since she’d met him, he sounded worried. “Where the hell are they, Nik? What if they were discovered?” He chucked his radio into the console. “What if we’re driving directly into a bloody trap?”

     A look of concern passed between the two vampires.

     “Wait a minute.
”
Emma had just grasped what Aiden had said. “We’re storming the sadistic bitch’s lair with only three others to help?” She’d been nothing but a mass of nerves since leaving the apartment, but she’d been consoling herself with the thought that they would be meeting an army of vicious vampires who were going to storm in there and rescue Luukas and Keira - all cavalry style - while she stayed safely in the background until if/when the time came that she could go get her sister.

     No one would get hurt except the bad guys, and she and Keira would hug and cry and go back to their normal and boring lives. Forgetting all about the past seven years, and all this witch nonsense, and most especially, one particular vampire. Blood bond be damned.

     Was that really so much to ask?

     With a quiet sigh, she knew it was wishful thinking. She’d never condemn Nik to die. No, she would do all she could to figure out some kind of arrangement between them. One they could both live with. “Live” being the prominent word there.

     “Five of us are normally more than enough to get the job done. Besides,
”
Nik suddenly turned off onto an even smaller road, more like a trail actually, seemingly right into the midst of the thick stand of trees. “A large party is more easily spotted. Easier to surprise the enemy this way.”

     They drove another 20 minutes or so before Nik finally slowed and pulled off to the side. Turning off the engine, he looked back at Emma, a finger over his lips indicating for her to keep quiet.

     Sitting very still, she listened with them. She didn’t know what she would hear or see before they did, but she tried anyway.

     Suddenly, without a word between them, Nik and Aiden opened their doors and got out of the vehicle. Quietly telling Emma to “Stay here, and lock the doors.” they melted into the night, leaving her alone in the dark. Crawling up to the front seat, she locked the doors as directed and tried to see where they’d gone, but there was nothing but blackness. They’d disappeared in the blink of an eye.

     After ten of the longest minutes of her life, her breath caught on a scream as they appeared again in front of the Hummer, scaring the hell out of her. She didn’t know if she’d ever get used to the speed of vampires.

     Nik came over to her side and indicated for her to unlock the doors while Aiden went to the back to get their packs out. Opening the driver’s side door, he grabbed her by the waist and effortlessly plucked her out and set her one the ground. “Looks clear. Go with Aiden while I camouflage the Hummer.”

     She started to ask him why it was ok for her to be alone with Aiden
now
, but not at the apartment, when she got a good look at the strained lines of his face. Instead, she just nodded and decided to save her teasing for another time.

     Tromping off through the undergrowth after Aiden, branches and wet leaves whipping against her legs, she was glad she’d put on her heavy jeans, and not her more comfortable yoga pants.  

     She wanted to ask him if they’d heard or seen anything indicating that the others were in the area or on their way, but didn’t know if it was safe to make any unnecessary noise, so she held her tongue.

     Aiden moved silently through the brush in front of her, like the predator he was. Following close behind him, she sounded like something more along the lines of a large elephant, or maybe even an entire herd of them.

     “Through here, luv.” Holding back some lush, green branches, Aiden ushered her through an opening in the side of a large rock face. It was so well disguised, she would’ve never seen it there, which she guessed was the point. Once inside, she walked forward a few paces but couldn’t see enough of where she was going to continue, so she stopped and waited for Aiden to re-cover the entrance and join her. As he did so, the darkness became absolute.

     She jumped as she felt him slide by her. “Hang on to my backpack and stay behind me. Watch your step. I dread the punishment I’ll receive if I return you to Nikulas with so much as a skinned knee.”

     “You make me sound like his property.” Reaching out blindly in front of her, she found his pack and held on.

     “You
are
his property now, luv, no matter what he wants to believe. Don’t delude yourself into thinking otherwise.” They started walking slowly through the tunnel. “Until he dies, or you do.”

     “Will he really die if he doesn’t feed from me?”

     “Yes. Eventually.”

     “And he knows this?”

     “Yes.”

     “Then why hasn’t he spoken to me about it?”

     “Because he’s a bloody Estonian bastard, that’s why.”

     She wasn’t sure what his heritage had to do with Nik’s reluctance to feed from a real person, but all conversation was put on hold as she concentrated on following Aiden without falling on her face.

     After about 2 minutes of walking blindly through the tunnel, he stopped. “Let go of my pack Em, and stay here.”

     “Where are you going?” she squeaked. Her voice echoed through a large space. She could hear the constant “drip, drip, drip” of water somewhere off to her right. It was completely and utterly dark. She couldn’t see anything at all.