A Hunt Among Vampires (The Angel Series) (11 page)

“No. What have you heard?” I ask suspiciously.

“Nothing,
ma chatte sauvage
, I was only curious about what you have been up to.”

I relax a little.
Maybe I am being a little hard on him. I do miss him.
“I haven’t done much of anything lately. I’ve done a little shopping and cleaning. I spent some time working out. It’s been a quiet and relaxing few days.”

“I am glad you have had fun.” An emotion crosses Christien’s face. Before I can study it, the emotion is gone.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, trying for the direct approach.

“It is nothing
chatte
. I do not want to waste a moment of time with you arguing.” He quickly changes the subject. “Have you spoken to Roman?”

“Yes.” I smile fondly thinking of my best friend, causing Christien to frown. “I spoke to him yesterday. He hasn’t found much yet in regards to Hassan, but he hopes to have a few leads soon. Has Kayle come up with anything?”

“Not yet. Getting vampires to talk about Hassan has always been a difficult feat. Kayle has ways to be very persuasive though. He has my utmost confidence.”

It is my turn to frown. The green-eyed monster rests it’s head on my shoulder and I push away from Christien more forcefully than necessary. I do my best to control my jealousy, but it is pointless to try to hide it.

“
Ma chatte
,” He whispers close to my ear. “You have no reason to be jealous of Kayle. He does not hold my heart the way you do.”

I snort in disbelief. “You’re right. I don’t need to be jealous of Kayle because I have Roman.” I snap back.

The power level in the car skyrockets as Christien loses his temper. “No! You are mine!” He blurts out in a panic as he pulls me into his arms. His face burrows into my hair. “He cannot have you. You are my mate. I will not share with him.”

“Like I have to share with Kayle?” I slide my backside between his legs.

Our bodies mold together as the car stops in front of Christien’s house.

“You do not have to share me with Kayle. Is that what you think? I told you that we are friends, close like brothers. We do not have that type of relationship.”

I look into his eyes filled with desperation and panic. “Roman and I are friends. We are also close like family. Why do you think he will take me away?”

He gets his power back under control and releases the panic inside of him. “If there is one who could, it would be him, would it not?”

“Maybe, but he wouldn’t do that. He cares about me and I care about him. We don’t feel that way towards each other. Kayle, on the other hand, may not feel the same way about sharing you with me.”

“I am certain that Kayle will treat you with respect. You have earned that from him. Now that we understand where we stand, in regards to our friends, we need to work on where we stand with each other.” The car door opens and Christien helps me out. He is guiding me towards the bedroom when I sidestep him and make my way towards the living room. The room is empty but I can hear quiet chatter from nearby rooms.

“If they were to leave without an escort, it would be possible for them to let our existence become known, which is against vampire law. If there is somewhere they need to go, as long as it is reasonable, I usually grant them permission. To allow them to freely leave the compound and return without knowledge of anyone that may be following them would be reckless, not just for me, but for the others here in my get. If there is anything they need, I make sure they have it so there is no reason for them to want to leave.”

“Alright, I guess I can understand that. Are you sure that you haven’t taken over their minds and bent them to your will?” I ask.

He smiles. “Every servant in my employ was asked to volunteer as a donor. I have never nor will I ever force someone into my get. A willing donor will show me loyalty, whereas an unwilling donor will betray me at the first opportunity.”

“How do you really find donors? You mentioned before that all your donors are sick. What do you do, cruise the hospital and find the most desperate ones knowing that they have no other options?”

“You make my selection process sound so cruel. I could just pick people off the street and bend their minds into submission as some masters do. Would that make things less complicated for you? Do you find it so difficult to believe that we are not all like the monsters portrayed in your mind? I do not enjoy killing. My sire made sure of that. I was a soldier once and I have done things that I am not proud of, but what harm am I doing by protecting the ones that depend on me to survive by seeking out humans in need. I do not need the donors to be fighters. I prefer a docile homestead with minor problems. My donors come from different times in life. Some have been around for over a century, others, only a year. If someone asks to leave my service to go back into human civilization, I wipe their memories of vampires, give them enough to live comfortably and allow them to live out their lives in peace. I am not a monster Jessica.”

“I don’t mean to imply that you are. Hearing rumors about how dangerous vampires are all my life doesn’t mean that I will just dismiss those rumors because you want a mate. I need to understand what I am getting into before I make any decision one way or the other. I am cautious and weary of vampires. Look at what Hassan did to my parents! Look at what he tried to do to me when I was only a teen. I had no idea what life was like before then. I have done what is necessary to survive. If you think I plan to give up control of my life for you or anyone else, you might as well forget me now. It is not gonna happen.”

“I am not asking you to give up anything. I only ask that you share your life with me, Jessica. I want to be there for you. I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep you with me.”

“Stop saying things like that!” I shout.

He stares at me for a few moments. Whatever he sees in my eyes causes him to back down. “You may speak to any and all of my vampires and servants. I have nothing to hide from you.”

Taking a deep breath, I relax a little. “I might just do that.” I switch couches to sit next to him, resting my head on his shoulder. “I just don’t like seeing people forced into doing something they don’t want to do.”

“I do not condone slavery either,
chatte
.” He rubs his cheek against the top of my head lovingly.

“I am glad you agree, because what I am going to ask may anger you.”

“I cannot release all my donors,
chatte
. Even if I relieve them from their duties, I do not feel comfortable with them returning to human society without wiping their memories. For some, that may be more distressing than you think their life here is.”

“After speaking to Patricia, I understand how you may feel that way. She really likes it here and has no intention of leaving.” I admit to him.

“I am pleased to hear she is happy. It pains me to see her child suffering.”

“
I’d like to do something about that.”
I send to him telepathically.

“
What do you mean?”

“
I want to cure all your servants. Then I want you to offer them a choice to stay or return to their lives. Either way, if they weren’t beholden to you, maybe I wouldn’t feel...”

Christien senses my hesitation and fills in the blanks.
“It would make you more willing to stay with me?”

“
You have a one track mind, I swear. However, yes it would do much to relieve my anxiety towards vampires. My mom fell in love with a vampire, even one from Hassan’s line. Maybe all vampires aren’t out to drain me dry.”

“
If it will ease your mind, I am willing to give all my donors the option. Please understand that if some or all choose to leave, my get has grown. I will need to actively recruit for more blood donors for my get or allow my vampires to hunt. I prefer not to do that, especially the ones from Hassan’s
ligne de sang
.”

“Okay then.” I speak aloud. “Now that we have come to a solid understanding, I’d like you to take me home to pick up
supplies
. I would like to give your donors the option of a cure, rather than force it on them.”

He groans. “I was hoping we could reconnect for a while upstairs in my bedroom.”

I pull away from him laughing. “Oh no, we stop by my house first. There is no guessing how long we will be upstairs if I give in to you.”

“That is my point,
chatte
, but I will do as you ask. The sun will be rising in a few hours and many of the younger will fall into their coma-like sleep. I will see that my older vampires are secure before we begin.”

I stare at him in surprise. “No argument? That’s it, you’ll do it?”

“You underestimate how much your opinion means to me. There is not anything I am unwilling to do to ease your mind. Shall we go? I too am eager to see the blood’s healing capabilities at work. Our donors will be extremely grateful for your generosity.”

We stand and begin walking towards the door, hand in hand.

“Don’t you mean your donors?” I ask, curious about his slip of tongue.

“Everything I have is just as much yours as it is mine. You still do not understand. You are my mate. My get is now our get. Our vampires are at your disposal as much as they are at mine. They may not be part of your
ligne de sang
, but they still belong to you.”

We climb in the car and the driver pulls away in the direction of my house. We stop at Blixen to pick up my car first.

“Thank you so much for everything. I really don’t know what to say.” I tell him as soon as we walk into my house.

“Considering the horror that Hassan has put you through, you owe me nothing. If you’d like, I will give all of his vampires to you as retribution for the pain he has caused.” He rubs my back reassuringly.

“I have come to terms that nothing can bring back my parents. I will take my retribution when we find him and remove his head from the rest of his body.”

Christien nods in agreement. He shows his fascination with my home security. I explain to him my basement security as we proceed.

“In order to get inside my lair,” I giggle at my description of my basement room, “I thought it was important to have multiple layers of security. I didn’t want to leave it to a lock and key. I have more security than the three layers that you see. First, my hand scanner checks my fingerprints. If my fingerprint scan passes, the system takes a pinprick of blood. The needle is so small I hardly feel the entry. The wound seals immediately so no blood is exposed. The scanner compares my DNA to some already stored on the computer. If the results match, the system will ask for my passphrase. I have to say the words with the correct inflection that matches the stored passphrase. The system will compare it to the one stored in my computer system inside. Only then, will it electronically unlock the door and allow me entry. All these tests insure that it is truly me and that I am alive and not under duress. If I say the wrong passphrase, or fail any of the previous security measures, more than three times, the system will lockdown. Not even I will be able to gain entry for almost an hour if any of the tests results fail.”

“What made you come up with such an elaborate security system in the first place? If the location of your hiding place is secret, why did you take such drastic measures in keeping it secure?” He asks as we enter the basement.

“Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.” I log into the center console and turn towards Christien. “How many sick humans do you have?”

“Stop with all the deception, Christien. I don’t want to be carrying around a bunch of blood that I don’t need. What kind of illnesses do they have?”

“Why would that matter?” His tone is curious, not rude so I answer.

“My mother has given me some insight on how much blood it will take to cure certain types of diseases. For example, it may only take a small tube of my blood to cure a birth defect or pneumonia. For something like cancer or neurological disorders, it may take half a pint. My mother told me that angel blood packs a punch. Very few human diseases, if any, would require a full pint of blood to cure it. Once my angel blood fixes the problem inside of their body, it breaks down and their body absorbs it.” I explain.