Forbidden Days (The Firsts) (26 page)

Bas polished off a second heaping plate of pasta.  Covered in melted mozzarella with cherry tomatoes and Italian seasoning…man, it was a favorite.  One of Eugene’s specialties.  He thought back to the diner that first night with Park when she scoffed at his “vampire” diet that should not include food.  She was pretty indoctrinated now on how
much
food they ate.  They couldn’t
live
on normal food, they needed blood for nutrition, but they need food for calories, which they did burn at an extreme rate.  Park was at another training session with Vaz and Bernie, so he was taking this opportunity to indoctrinate Parks second “save” into their community.  First on the list, how his relationship with Park, whatever he conceived it to be, was over.

He was seated, finishing up his meal when Dez led the new vamp into the breakfast room, which was empty now except for Bas.

Dez said, “Here he is, Bas,” and turned to go, but Bas motioned her to stay.  He could see she was relieved.  What was she worried about?  He looked up at Zach.  Ah.  She was worried about her baby vamp.  He had attitude and he seemed pissed.

Bas looked up at the tall man.  He smelled good, really good, and he realized Dez must have given him her own soap to bath with.  His hair was almost waist length, bound back with a leather tie.   He was wearing jeans and a tee shirt, but both fit him too tightly.  A pair of simple flip flops kept him from being barefoot as he had been for the past four days.

“You’re a big motherfucker, aren’t you?”  Bas said, and watched him tense.  Bas laughed as Dez started to get up.  “Take it easy, you two.  No reason to be this combative yet…save it for the battle.  Zach, sit down.”

Zach raised his chin and stared down Bas.  “I’ll stand,” he said coldly.

What a human thing to do.  Bas shoved a chair toward him with his foot.

“It’s not a request.  I don’t intend to tilt my head to speak to you, so sit the fuck down.”

Zach set his jaw and glanced at Dez, who motioned him to do it. ”Sit,” she said quietly but forcefully.

He stood for a few more moments and then sat down stiffly.

Bas rolled his eyes at Dez.  She just sat back in her chair.

“So.  I understand our conversion is complete.  How do you feel?”

“You don’t care how I feel, so let’s get to what you
do
want from me,” Zach confronted Bas.

Bas laughed.  “Buddy, I didn’t want
anything
from you.  If Park hadn’t been there when we found you, you wouldn’t be here at all.  So, let me explain things to you, simply and clearly.  We’re all vampires here. We have a nice little community of people…”

“You’re not people.”

“Get your pronouns right buddy.  You’re one of us too.  Anyway, you were attacked, left here as a message from an enemy of mine.  You were dying and we saved you.  Dez told me she asked and you wanted to be kept alive.  Is that right?”

Zach didn’t answer.

“That’s okay.  I trust Dez.  So, get rid of the pissiness right now.  We saved your sorry ass.  Be grateful.”

“I wouldn’t have been here if you hadn’t…”

“That isn’t relevant.  It’s done.  Now, about Park.”

He saw Zach’s jaw flexing.  Good time to let him know the score.

“She’s mine.  Whatever romantic interest you had in her is done.  I see you sniffing around her at all, I will finish the job Shanks started.  And let me be clear.  You are a big ass vampire.  I’m bigger.  And while you may think you could take me, you’re as strong as a three day old kitten compared to me.  I accept you into my community, Zach, and whether you believe it or not, it’s a very good life and you will appreciate nearly every element of it.  Dez will acquaint you with all the details you need to know right away, like nutrition, confidentiality, and the damn uv ray issue.  Other than that, you are free to come to me for anything.  But know that I will not tolerate betrayal.  You’re out if I find you aren’t honest or kind to anyone in my family.  Which includes all who live here.   Now, one more thing.

We are in the middle of an unprecedented war with an unknown vampire who, apparently, wants to kill us all, starting with everyone in this household.  That’s how you came to be here.  I’ll say this once.  I’m sorry you got caught up in the wake, but that’s life…you move forward not backwards. Anyway, because you’re new, you need to gain strength, and time and feedings are what will accomplish that, you need to stay away from the battle for now.  Also, you need to know, Park is the daughter of an extremely powerful and apparently vindictive old vampire.  He may be coming for her.  That’s actually the battle we are most concerned about.  So.  Zach.   Stay in your suite when the trouble begins.  You can’t help and you’ll only get killed.  Believe me.  Park really doesn’t want that to happen.   Got it?”

Bas looked up at Dez.  “Get him to his room, and have him join us for the breakfast meeting tomorrow.  We’ll have more of our strategy defined by then.  I hope.”

She nodded.  Zach followed her wordlessly out of the room.  His head was filled with too much, too many changes he was dealing with.  He couldn’t quite make himself accept the craziness of his life now.  When she had him back at his room, Dez pulled him in.

“That went better than I was afraid it would.  Okay.  You know I have a nice closet of clothes over there for you.  But I think I’ll have to get some larger sizes.  You outgrew what I thought you would wear.  Let me show you how to secure the room for rest during the day.  Zach, most of what you’ve seen in the movies and on tv is wrong about vampires, anyway.  Probably everything else too. But, here’s the cliff notes until we can talk more.  You cannot go out into the direct sunlight.  The ultraviolet really will burn your skin and ultimately, it can kill you.  You are very much alive, not the living dead, as we are usually portrayed.  You’ll eat normal food, lots of it, but you’ll also need to feed on blood.  I’ll take care of that for a while.  By the way, I think Bas is wrong about your strength.  Young vamps are always extremely weak compared to older vampires, but I think Park’s blood has ramped you up.  He doesn’t know you broke the cuffs.  You shouldn’t have been able to do that.  Let’s keep that to ourselves for a little while.  We’ll do some sparring and weight lifting to see where you really are.  Okay, now, obviously, we sleep during daylight, and you’ll find that your body actually needs to do so.  Towards dawn, you’ll tire, and need to seek sheltered rest.  This house is built for that.  Let me show you the shutter system, and then I’ll leave you to sleep.”

Dez started across the room, but he grabbed her and swung her around.  His hands held her body tight against his, surprising her that she could not easily pull away.  He really was
much
stronger than a new vampire should be.  He pulled her head towards his and kissed her intensely, then yanked her tighter, beginning to pull her shirt off.  Dez wanted, really wanted, to take him to the bed right there, but they both needed rest and she hadn’t decided yet if it was a good idea for her to start this sort of relationship with him.  There was something about him…something different…and it spooked her.  

She matched his thrusts with her own tongue, unable to stop herself at that moment, but then she pushed him back forcibly when he continued to try to remove her clothes. If they undressed, nothing would stop them from going all the way through to the natural end.  So she shoved him back.

“Zach.  We need to rest.  We’ll talk about your sex drive later.”

He didn’t say a word, and after she showed him the shutter system, she went to the door, his eyes following her every move.   As she walked out, he closed the door softly.  She heard the locks click. 

Dez felt unsatisfied and empty and almost turned back.  She saw the lights go dark and decided it was for the best and walked away quickly.

“How many blood bonds do we have?”

God, Shanks was sick of the sound of his voice.  Alvin might be his Sire, and he was eternally grateful for that (being a vampire rocked!), but his psychotic demands were almost intolerable.  Shanks admitted he’d never been a patient man, but this guy was off his nut even for a vampire.  Still, he felt he owed him some loyalty for the hot vampire body with an off-the-charts package and eternal youth.  He’d help the squeamish little vamp get his revenge on Bas and then he’d get the hell out of here forever.  A whole fucking world of women to fuck and drink.  Yeah.  He couldn’t get to that soon enough.  And he kind of was pissed at Bas for not doing him the favor in the first place.  He’d bonded him, making him not much better than a slave, knowing full well how awesome it was to have the power and immortality of a vampire.   So, he liked the idea of killing his new girlfriend quite a lot too.  Of course, Alvin would expect to get that privilege.

Shanks hadn’t decided yet if he’d let him.  For a vampire, Alvin was pretty small and unremarkable.  And, god, he was a geeky guy.  He still wore suit jackets and bow ties like they must have fifty years ago when he was changed.  Shanks often wondered where he even found the stupid little neck chokers.  Anyway, for all that he was only a few months old, he still thought he could take the half century old vampire.  He hoped it wouldn’t come to that.  He didn’t like the puke, but he’d try to honor the bond.

“We got eighty or so.  Another twenty by tomorrow.  We’re working around the clock on this, Alvin.”

“Yes, well, I don’t mean to be push, but I’m ready to get this done.  Bring me two more men to convert.”

Why don’t you go out and get them for yourself
, Shanks thought.  But he said, “Will do.  Sundown in twenty minutes and I’ll send George.”

Alvin nodded and smiled.  “Okay, then.  Progress.  Alright, I’ll be in the dining room.”

Yeah, you will, you lazy slug
, and then said, “Okay, boss.”

Alvin didn’t seem to object to “boss” like he did to “sire.”   Shanks contacted George and Calvin, told them to procure four more human males, large football player types, and get them downstairs right away.  He’d give two to Alvin, but he wanted to change two more himself.  He actually believed the battle with Bas was going to be much, much less likely a success than Alvin hoped.  So, as many as he could change was his goal.  Alvin kept calling for more to ensure success…Shanks kept building more to ensure his own survival.  He knew enough about Bas and his crew…they were formidable and he was fairly sure that in a fight, Bas and his crew would cut through anything.  Which is why he planned to be pretty distant during the attack.  This would be news to Alvin.

She was ready when he lunged.  Bernie dodged, swung around vampire-fast and was behind him, her blade between his shoulders, poking through the white tee, the red spot proving her point had found its mark.

Vaz did another vampire move, she didn’t even see him, and had her on the ground beneath him within split seconds.  He laughed and lowered his lips to hers as a loud cough interrupted him.

“If you guys are going to keep up with the googoo eyes, I’m leaving and letting you command the night.  I want to check on Zach, anyway.  Bernie, do you want to come meet him?”

Bernie had her hands full.  Uh..hmmm.  Park rolled her eyes and dropped her sword on the lush grass and walked back up to the house.  Bas was coming out and he scooped her up.

“Are you looking for me?” he asked.

“Always.  But I do want to see how Zach is doing and get another blood sample.  He’s amazing, isn’t he?”

“You mean the easy change?”

“Yes, of course.  What else…   Oh, you’re not jealous, are you?  Bas, I was walking out of his life as you walked into mine.  There’s no reason.”

“I didn’t know that.  You weren’t dating him?”

“Don’t you remember?  I was in my car crying over how bad the date was when you got in the car.”

“Sorry.  All I remember was a beautiful redhead telling me to go fuck myself.”

“I
did
not!”

“Yes, you did.  Not in those exact words, but that’s what you did.  I was a little distracted by the fact that it was impossible.”

“Well, did you ever hear what Audrey Hepburn said…that nothing’s impossible.  Even the word itself says I’m possible.”

“Would you like to go upstairs and tell me some more great Audrey Hepburn quotes while you’re naked underneath me?”

“Yes, I would.  But, can I see Zach first?”

Bas rolled his head back, then let her down, looking into her eyes.

“Alright, but you’re awfully concerned for someone who wasn’t even dating him.”

“He’s a really good guy.  And he’s here because he was trying to save me.”

Bas gave him that.   It bought him a lot of points.

“Alright.  How about I wait for you in our room?”

Park nodded and started a lengthy kiss, her hand moving against his jeans.  “Preview,” she murmured and left him standing there with a smile and a hard on.

Zach finished his second plate of food with Dez watching.

“I can really get away with this?”

“Not only can you get away with this, you have to do it.  Look at yourself, Zach.  You are almost as big as Bas.  It takes a lot to keep a body fueled at your size.  You’ll burn through it like gunpowder on fire.”

Park came around the corner as he was lifting a fork to his mouth.  He dropped it and smiled at her. He didn’t notice Dez turn away.

Smiling, Park came up to him, hesitated, and then awkwardly hugged him.  “Zach, I am so happy you made it through.  We were really worried.”

“I guess I have you to thank for that.”

Park looked at Dez.  “Team effort.  It was mostly Dez.  She’s been amazing.”

Dez rolled her eyes.  “Can’t take the mutual admiration society.  I’ll be in the gym when you’re done.”

They both watched her go, and Park murmured something Zach didn’t understand.

“I guess I don’t have my full vampire hearing yet.  What did you say?”

“Nothing.   Just…she’s so closed up…can’t take a compliment.  She really was awesome with you.  She really cared.  It tore her up when she thought we were going to lose you.  Don’t tell her I told you.”