Cursed (21 page)

From the expression of confusion on Jacob’s face, he was beginning to rethink his opinion of his son’s intelligence. Then again, perhaps it wasn’t lack of intelligence. Perhaps it was just denial.

“Alternate living arrangements? Are you implying that I should no longer live here?”

“It’s not a matter of should or shouldn’t,” Greyvian replied, “but a fact of can’t.”

Jacob grimaced as he finally faced reality. “Sienna’s scent.”

Greyvian nodded. “You’d only end up killing her.”

Jacob nodded sombrely and looked as if his entire world was falling apart. Suddenly he looked up, eyes hopeful. “Maybe it won’t come back.”

“Doubtful,” Knox muttered, shaking his head.

His son sighed and rubbed his face as if it were all too much. “Alright. Fine. It had to happen sooner or later. I mean, I didn’t seriously think I was going to live with Sienna for the rest of our lives, so it’s not the end of the world. I mean, I’ll still see her, right?” Jacob looked from one to the other as they all remained silent. “Right?”

“Maybe,” Greyvian finally relented. He could have added that Sienna would be at risk if she and Jacob were ever seen together by the wrong vampire, but his son had suffered enough turmoil for one day. He could come to that realisation at another time.

Jacob ran a hand through his hair and then rested his hand on top of his head while looking over at Greyvian with an amused tilt to his mouth. “You know, Grey, I’m happy to be alive and all, but for Christ’s sake—next time, use a condom, would you?”

Knox and Lucas appreciated the joke, laughing as expected, but Greyvian noticed that Katarina seemed to agree with the sentiment with one hundred percent seriousness. She looked at him in such a way that told him that maybe he should become a eunuch. Ignoring that, he focused on Jacob, impressed that the male was able to reverse his mood so easily in order to see the humour in the situation. That was something he had never quite been able to manage over the centuries.

Jacob sighed and shook his head. “Live with you, huh? God, I hope you don’t live in a cave.”

*  *  *

Outwardly Jacob smiled and laughed at the appropriate times during the conversations over the next few hours while they waited for Sienna to wake, but inside all he could think about was the fact that when she did finally return to consciousness, he’d have to leave. They’d been in each other’s lives so long now that it seemed weird that he wouldn’t see her every day from now on. She was his best friend and the only family he had, at least until he got to know Greyvian a little better, and leaving her didn’t sit that well with him.

Would it really be that impossible to live with her without wanting to drain her dry? Knox and Lucas hadn’t ever had a problem. They were both half-breeds. Maybe there was hope? Still, they didn’t have a human diet, did they?

Christ, what did he ever do to piss the Powers That Be off so badly? Maybe it was Grey’s fault. Maybe his father had killed so many people that Karma was giving it to him good and going after his offspring for good measure. It would certainly explain Jacob’s life up until now.

He shook his head. He probably shouldn’t blame Greyvian. Sometimes life just dealt you a shitty hand and you had to make the best of it. Still, he now had no job, no place to call his own, was going to be hunted for crime of birth, and would probably only see his best friend once in a blue moon due to possibly wanting to kill her on scent. It was understandable really if he had to try hard to find the humour in the situation.

But he was trying, and thinking about anything other than the fact that he would have to leave his life for good very soon seemed to help.

Finishing the drumstick he’d been reducing to bones, he dropped it onto his plate and turned to Greyvian who sat beside him at the dining table, likewise reducing his chicken to a carcass. “Exactly what kind of training do I need to go through? I know I’m probably going to need it if Bartlett getting the drop on me is anything to go by, but what exactly can I expect? Who’s going to do the teaching?”

Conversation came to a standstill as Knox, Lucas and Katarina all perked their ears waiting for an answer, as Greyvian lowered the remains of his chicken to his plate and wiped his mouth with a paper napkin.

“I will,” he said, expression neutral. “Your martial arts experience will mean we don’t have to start with the basics, but your training will most likely have gaps. I’ll teach you how to dodge bullets, use weapons to maim or kill, and defend against fangs.”

Jesus. Never in his life would he have thought he’d have to know all that. Teaching martial arts for a living had seemed like a pretty easy job considering all the experience he’d had during his childhood, but he’d never actually had to use it for anything other than recreation since he’d become an adult. It was kind of depressing to think that he’d need it for self-defense now—on a regular basis, to boot. It was going to be like childhood all over again, except this time the bullies would want to kill him, not just beat him to a pulp.

I want to live. I want to live. I want to live.
Maybe if he repeated it like a mantra, he’d feel better about the whole business of being a vampire. Surely it couldn’t be all bad?

Needing to feel like he wasn’t alone in all of this, he looked at Greyvian and asked, “I really need to know all of that? Has it really been that bad for you?”

“You can’t even begin to imagine, I’m afraid.”

Once again, Greyvian’s expression gave nothing away and he wished, not for the first time, that his father was easier to read. He’d dearly love to know how the male really felt about his existence; if it was all worth it. Not that he’d ever really entertain the idea of giving up and allowing someone to kill him. It just wasn’t in his nature. If he was going to go out, it would be on his terms, not someone else’s. Looking closely at the male, he had the feeling Greyvian felt the same way. His continued existence pretty much proved it. Feeling better about that, his thoughts turned to the why of it all.

“Surely they don’t just want to kill you because you drink human blood?” he asked. “I mean, not all of them would be that prejudiced, would they?”

Katarina answered for her brother, probably knowing more about it anyway since she actually conversed with the fiends on a regular basis. “You’d be surprised just how prejudiced some of them can be, but, no, it’s not just because of that. For some, I hear that it’s because they believe him insane—they think it will be a mercy killing. For others, it would be a claim to fame—killing the legendary freak—their words, not mine.”

“Whatever their reasons,” Greyvian said, “they keep coming. It might be a decade between confrontations, but there will always be another eventually.”

Damn. No wonder Greyvian was no fun—the guy never had the chance to truly relax. Between seeing evil and having to deal with those images flashing into your mind all the time, and being chased by people who wanted you dead—Jacob had to wonder if Greyvian had ever seriously thought about ending it for good. Sure, you might be able to handle it for a couple of decades, but Greyvian was over three hundred years old—he’d had to deal with it for longer than was sane. No wonder some of the vampires after him claimed it was a mercy. He’d almost feel the same way if he weren’t in the same situation.

He had to hand it to Greyvian—the male actually seemed pretty well adjusted given his circumstances, if a little repressed. At least he wasn’t a raving lunatic.

“So what about me?” Katarina asked, changing the subject. “Am I really free to go now? Or was that just something you said to keep me from bolting at the first opportunity?”

“You’re free to go,” Greyvian confirmed, “but if Jacob or Sienna are ever discovered and I hear that you are to blame for that, consider your life forfeit.”

Katarina gasped, her face paling as she stared at her brother in shock. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

Jacob raised a brow at the female. Did she really have to ask? Greyvian was not the sort to joke about anything, much less somebody’s life. He’d only known the guy for a minute, but even he knew that.

“How would you know it was me that said anything?” she asked when it was evident Greyvian wouldn’t give a verbal confirmation.

“You’d be surprised how good I am at finding out the truth of a situation.”

Jacob actually had a chill run down his spine at the male’s complete lack of expression and tone of voice. The implication of that sentence, said in that way, was disturbing to say the least.

“I’m offended that you even think that threat necessary, Greyvian,” Katarina replied after a long moment of silence. Not so good at hiding her own feelings, he could clearly see that Katarina was hurt by the lack of faith. “You know how I feel about humans and a general right to life. I would never put Sienna’s life in danger that way. Or Jacob’s—or anyone’s—for that matter.”

Nobody said anything for a long time after that until finally Katarina composed herself enough to ask, “But what do I tell everybody about my absence? Where have I been these past few nights?”

As if he had already figured that out, Greyvian pulled her mobile phone from his back pocket, the battery from the other, handing them to her as he said, “You were with a male. You didn’t want to be disturbed. If they press you about it, it was a human male. They’ll be so disgusted they won’t want to hear the details.”

Katarina groaned as she accepted the phone. “You really are a monster, aren’t you?” she asked, but there was no malice to the comment.

Silence reigned as she stared at her dismantled phone, thoughts visibly churning. After a minute or two, she shook her head and looked up at her brother. “Nope. I can’t do it. I can’t go back just yet.”

Jacob wasn’t the only one who looked at her in surprise.

“If you’re going to train Jacob, I want in on the action. Father’s warriors have been a bit friskier of late and it would be nice to have a few tricks up my sleeve the next time they come for my blood.”

Feeling like he was missing some piece of the story, he wondered why Katarina—who had been so against seeing her brother that day in the café—would want to spend more time with him now. Shouldn’t she be glad to finally be away from him? Although, she hadn’t exactly seemed like your typical prisoner since she’d arrived, and if he really thought about it, the female had barely taken her eyes off her brother the past few hours. Could it be that she just wanted to spend more time with him?

“Suit yourself,” Greyvian replied, as hard to read as ever.

“You won’t be worried that I’ll know where you live?” she asked archly.

A very slight smile curved the corners of his lips. “It’s not my only refuge.”

“Well as long as you’re taking recruits, I think we might invite ourselves along,” Knox put in, smiling like he didn’t expect to be denied.

Greyvian just tilted his head at the half-breeds, as if he’d expected as much.

*  *  *

He would almost be free of Sienna.

Greyvian knew he should feel some relief over that—relief that he could finally relax a little without her scent constantly taunting him, nagging him to come have a taste—but it must have been buried beneath the anxiety that
he would almost be free of Sienna
; a strange, twisting feeling in his gut that he would never see her face again, never hear her voice, never taste of her mouth or her blood ever again.

Had he only met her two days ago? It seemed like longer.

Allowing himself to obsess for a while, he lingered in her doorway on his way back from the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, he noted with an odd relief that her scent was coming back. Odd, because on the one hand it meant that he hadn’t damaged her beyond repair, but on the other, it meant that should he ever see her again, he would once more know what real lust felt like. Be it lust for her blood or her body, didn’t particularly matter; the feeling was both a torment and a comfort to him either way and he was strangely relieved that it was coming back.

As if she could hear the direction of his thoughts, Sienna suddenly rolled away from him, dragging the blankets with her and exposing an arousing amount of bare skin as she did so. It seemed that tonight Sienna was sleeping in a very short shift of some kind, a shift that barely covered her ass and exposed the bottom of both cheeks and the entire length of her long legs now that the blanket was out of the way.

The erection that had already been growing increasingly uncomfortable tightened his body even more. He wanted nothing more than go into her room and bury himself in her to the hilt with body and fangs. Closing his eyes, he gave himself up to the feeling, allowing it to grow into a raging torrent of need, allowing it to burn away all other thought until there was just Sienna, just the pulsating need to take her, body and soul. And then he reached out and wrapped his hand around the handle of her bedroom door and softly pulled it closed.

13

“You what?” Sienna stared at Jacob, her best friend since forever, willing him to take it back.

“I have to move out.”

She didn’t need to ask why. She wasn’t that naive. At least he looked as forlorn as she felt.

Glancing over at the others standing by the front door, she noticed the suitcase and duffle bag at Lucas’s feet and felt her spirits take a dive once more.

“You’re already packed?” she asked in dismay, realising that they truly did mean to leave—right now. She’d only just woken up after nearly dying and they were leaving her already? She supposed she couldn’t really blame them—they probably all wanted to get out of the vicinity before her scent came back to taunt them.

“‘fraid so,” Jacob confirmed. “We figured it was best to book before your scent is at full strength.”

Just as she’d feared. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly and faced reality. Okay, it wasn’t the end of the world. It wasn’t like she’d never see him again, right?

Looking into his light grey eyes—eyes so like Greyvian’s it was eerie—she made him promise that they would see each other again.

“I promise,” he grinned, in true Jacob style. “Just as soon as I’m certain I won’t jump on you and drain you dry the instant I smell you. Once I’ve fed a few times and know I can handle it, we’ll do lunch.”

Returning his smile, if a little less enthusiastically, she nodded.

“Well, you’ve still got my number,” she said, not wanting to keep the others waiting, “so call me, okay? I’m sure my scent can’t travel down the phone line, so you have no excuse.”

“Count on it.”

With that, he gave her a long bear hug, effectively squeezing a large portion of air from her lungs and a breathless laugh, and then headed for the door. Knox opened it and gave a wave, promised to see her again soon and then disappeared through the opening, followed, in kind, by Katarina and Lucas. Jacob went next, collecting his bags and casting a small smile over his shoulder before stepping through, though he didn’t disappear, but stood there waiting for Greyvian, who had been staring at her the entire time she’d been saying goodbye.

Meeting his eyes finally, she felt the stab of loss and the insane urge to run and jump on him; to beg him not to go, or, at the very least, to promise they would see each other again, as she had with the others. But she knew that wasn’t going to happen. Without doubt, she knew that when it came to Greyvian, this was goodbye. She simply couldn’t afford to see him again. Not if she valued her life. Even if she wanted to, she knew that he wouldn’t agree. All she had to do was look into his eyes. So she simply stood there staring at him, her hands clenched into fists, a sick feeling in her stomach.

After a long moment and without a word, or a change in expression, the male suddenly turned and walked out the door without a backwards glance. She felt like running after him, but her feet remained glued to the floor.

Jacob smiled sadly and gave her one last wave before pulling the door closed behind him.

The apartment had never felt so empty.

She didn’t know how long she stood there, staring at the closed door, her heart aching, but by the time her brain started firing again her feet ached and her back was sore. To say that she was disappointed by the turn of events was an understatement, but life went on and she had a store to open.

*  *  *

The drive from the city in Greyvian’s Jaguar was a smooth ride that seemed to go by in a flash. If he hadn’t been so deep within his own brain considering his future, Jacob might have paid more attention to the handling, or—more importantly—the direction in which they travelled. As it was, he barely paid attention when they slowed just long enough for a wide ornate gate to open and admit them to a long and winding driveway through the middle of a thick pine forest. Ten or so minutes later, they reached the house—or should he say—the mansion.

“You actually live here?” Jacob asked Greyvian as they stood in front of the male’s home.

“I do.”

“All by yourself? In a frickin’ mansion?”

Greyvian glanced at him and then shrugged one shoulder, unable or unwilling to explain the extravagance. Three floors, a large footprint and outstanding architecture—something relatively new from the look of it, which was kind of disappointing. He’d kind of been hoping for a plantation-style home, something along the lines of 
Interview with the Vampire
. But then, this wasn’t New Orleans, so it would have been a reach in any case. Still, would it kill the guy to have some kind of doom and gloom surrounding the place? Surrounded as it was by the pine forest, it could have felt mildly menacing, but it just looked normal.

If you could call the size of the place normal. Just how much money did his father have?

Shaking his head, Jacob grabbed his luggage and proceeded to follow the quartet inside. Too many rooms for one male and way too much opulence later, they finally arrived in the bedroom that would be his. Dumping his stuff, he scanned the room, noting once again a distinct lack of doom and gloom thanks to a neutral colour palette and modern furniture. Not a cobweb in sight, and the bed in no way resembled a coffin; the thing even looked comfortable, the quilt insanely fluffy and light as a feather.

“Do you want to get settled now, or get straight into it?” Greyvian asked from the doorway, after having shown the others where they would be sleeping.

Jacob looked around once more, taking a moment to let it sink in that he would be living here for… a while, he supposed, then turned to Greyvian. “I’m keen if you are.”

The gymnasium was bigger than the one he used to teach his classes of twenty. It had a high ceiling, dark grey walls and more than enough room in the center to swing a body around. It was ri-frickin-diculous. Especially because it was fitted out with a spongy floor and more equipment lining the back wall than any one person could possibly need. There was just one thing that was missing that would have made him feel as if this were a commercial venture—mirrors. Where a professional gymnasium would have had wall-to-wall mirrors to allow the clientele to primp and preen and admire themselves while working out, there wasn’t even
one
here.

Jacob had to wonder if that was significant in some way.

Glancing at the others to see if they’d noticed, he saw that Knox and Lucas seemed suitably impressed as they studied the room, but Katarina almost didn’t seem to notice where they were for all the attention she was giving the place—hinting to Jacob that this kind of wealth was nothing new to her.

He wondered idly, as they lined up before Greyvian, if there were any poor vampires out there; but then, being invisible, it could be said that none of them had to be poor if they didn’t mind stealing. Given the general attitude towards humans, he had the feeling it might not even be considered theft.

“Who wants to go first?” Greyvian asked, standing before them, hands clasped behind his back, military style.

Jacob was eager to get the male’s measure, but he wanted to watch him a little first to get a feel for how he moved, how he reacted, so he waited, knowing that either Knox or Lucas would step forward soon enough. To his surprise, Katarina was the first.

Greyvian nodded, expression never changing, while Jacob and the others stepped to the side of the room to watch. Perhaps Knox and Lucas also wanted a chance to first watch the full-blood in action.

“Come at me with everything you have,” Greyvian told her, never changing his relaxed posture. “Try your hardest to sink your teeth in—anywhere.”

Katarina smirked at him. “Anywhere? That’s a little easy, don’t you think?”

“Anywhere,” Greyvian repeated.

Katarina was fast, Jacob could freely admit that. And she had skills—like she’d been trained for combat by someone who knew what they were doing. But she wasn’t even remotely in Greyvian’s league. The male countered every single move Katarina attempted almost before she’d even fully committed to the action. Yes, she was fast—but Greyvian was faster. Too fast to be human, or human-like, as Knox had professed them to be, once again proving to them all that he had supernatural abilities.

At first, all he did was evade Katarina, stepping out of reach at what seemed the last instant, but then he began to simply block any move she made with super quick parries of forearm or shin. At one point he even slapped the palm of his hand to her forehead so she had no way to get her teeth into him, twisting away the instant she tried to grab hold of his arm.

If Jacob hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed his father capable of such humour. Even when he did, he still had trouble believing it.

“Come on, Kat!” Knox cheered, laughing at Greyvian’s last manoeuvre.

Katarina laugh-groaned, the sound a mixture of humour and frustration as she stood in front of Grey, catching her breath. Finally, shaking her hands and feet as if to rid herself of the frustration, she focused once again on getting her fangs into her brother. The female tried for well over ten minutes, she even tried to jump on his back in order to gain access to his neck, but it was no use—Greyvian was just too fast. Finally she sank down on her knees, chest heaving from the exertion, head hanging in defeat—a reminder that vampires were not the energizer bunnies that fiction portrayed.

But then, Greyvian wasn’t even breathing hard. Cool as a cucumber and just as emotive, he stood straight and tall in front of his sister never taking his eyes from her, as if he figured her exhaustion was merely a ploy.

Without hesitation, Jacob circled around behind the male, slowly and quietly, until he was within kicking distance. Going straight for the neck would have been too obvious and the male was likely to sense his presence if he got that close, so he decided to get him on the ground first. The kick he aimed at the bend in Greyvian’s knee never connected, the male twisting away in the blink of an eye only to reappear behind Jacob, one hand going to the back of his neck to push him towards the ground. 

It was then that Jacob found out that he had a few special abilities himself. Lightning fast reaction times, to be specific. Using the downward momentum Greyvian had pushed him into, he went with the force, ducking his head and twisting away from his father. Spinning towards the male, he expected to find Greyvian waiting for the next attack, when in fact, he was instigating his own instead. Jacob never felt the bite, but the blood running down his arm was obvious.

He stared at it for a moment, unable to understand how it could have happened so fast. Damn, Greyvian had skills. Looking up at the male, he shook his head in amusement when Grey smiled widely, showing off blood-coated teeth.

That first bite was the beginning of many. Over the next ten minutes, Greyvian proceeded to hand his ass to him, small chunks at a time. If he’d previously thought he was a competent fighter, he was a novice compared to Greyvian. By the time he pleaded mercy he was covered from head to toe in bite marks and slowly seeping blood, each one as much of a surprise as the first.

In comparison, Greyvian remained unmarked, his breathing only marginally quicker than was normal. Either the male was extremely fit, or one of his special abilities was a super-constitution. Jacob wondered where the hell the vampire had picked up all of his special traits, or whether it was simply due to a human diet.

If so, could Jacob hope to develop one also?

Drawing in a shaky breath, he moved to the side to recover, nursing one of the deeper bites and hoping that vampires didn’t scar easily. He looked up when he noticed Knox had stepped up for some punishment—minus a shirt. Glancing down at his own, he grimaced when he saw that it was practically shredded.

Damn. He’d liked that shirt.

“Stand still,” Katarina said, eyes on the blood running down his arm. Thinking she was going to wipe him down, his mouth dropped open in surprise as she bent her head to his shoulder and started to lick the blood from his arm.

Would he ever get used to this whole vampire blood-drinker thing?

To his amazement, the wounds started to heal with each bite that she licked. Healing saliva. He’d completely forgotten. Awesome. When she was done, she smiled up at him.

“You don’t taste too bad, nephew,” she said with a wink, focusing her attention on the fight happening in front of them.

Oh, holy shit. He
was
her nephew, wasn’t he? And she was his aunt. Good thing he hadn’t found her licking a turn on…

Turning his eyes to the fight, he allowed it to distract him from the unreality he had found himself in all of a sudden.

Knox was a pretty decent fighter it turned out, but not good enough. He waited for his openings and didn’t fall for the obvious, but he never once made contact with his teeth, never once managed to sink his fangs into Greyvian—which was the whole aim of the exercise, after all.

After a while, Jacob stopped analysing, stopped looking for ways to defeat Greyvian and just watched in appreciation of the fluid grace with which his father moved. There was never any hesitation, never any badly thrown punches or kicks, and when he bit, it was a blink and you’d miss it kind of deal. The strikes Jacob managed to see in action seemed an impossibility, so fast, so last minute they almost seemed an afterthought. Pretty soon Knox joined him in looking like piranha bait.