Initiation (23 page)

Kim had no idea that Addison was a vampire. She only thought that Addison was in trouble, and she was powerless to save her new friend. Kim didn’t want Addison to suffer the fate she had seen come to so many. Addison was now in the arms of the Master vampire, and she knew that once he caught someone there was no turning back.

Christian was being a naughty boy as he fed, his hand sliding up Addison’s skirt and venturing into her underwear. A wicked smirk peeked out on his hidden face between bites. Within moments, Addison’s body tensed around his hand. She reached over and squeezed his knee, her fingers gripping his leg, his black dress pants keeping them from digging into his skin.

Christian stopped feeding when the woman was dead. He pushed her over to the side, her limp body still sitting upright. His mouth quickly went to Addison’s, passion exploding when their lips touched.

It was dark, and no one could see what they were doing or hear the sound of their rapid breaths over the loud music. With his only free hand, Christian unzipped his pants quickly before shoving Addison’s head into his lap.

Her lips wrapped around his ready piece, Christian grabbing a chunk of her hair and shoving her head closer. A small chuckle escaped his lips when he heard her choke, his hand releasing her hair and letting her pull away slightly. His hands moved to her back, massaging it lightly as he enjoyed her performance more than the one going on below.

The minutes passed quickly and intermission was fast approaching. The woman on stage was singing loudly, holding her arms out as they shook, the emotion of the song flowing through her. The drums boomed, symbolizing the woman’s heartbreak. She was singing about the death of her son as she made gigantic, overdramatic hand movements. The woman held a very high note perfectly on key and the curtain fell. Christian patted Addison on the back and gestured for her to sit up.

Looking a little dazed, Addison squinted her eyes as the lights in the theatre came on, signaling intermission.

"Addison." Christian laughed, pretending to wipe something from his chin as she turned toward him.

Addison hastily swiped at the thick liquid that was dripping from her chin, an extremely embarrassed expression on her face. She gave Christian a dirty look because he was still laughing into his hand. Darien, who was sitting behind them with a few other women, was licking the tip of one of his fangs and wearing a cocky grin. He knew exactly what she had been doing.

Addison twisted in the seat and wrinkled her nose, her tongue peeking out of her mouth. Her delicate fangs cradled the sides of her tongue, letting Kim, who was watching her closely, see Addison was a vampire. Darien made a few obscene gestures to Christian, who was now snickering as he turned around to face Darien.

Addison sat up on her knees and shoved Darien in the chest, pushing him back into his chair. She was getting annoyed with the teasing, but her anger only made the men laugh harder.

Christian leaned over and whispered into Addison’s ear, pinching her chin between two of his fingers. "Yum."

Addison slapped Christian’s hand away and glared at him, "Stop it, Christian." Her eyes met with Kim’s, who was watching her from a few rows back. Addison frowned and spun away from her.

Christian wrinkled his nose playful as he bore his fangs at Addison, "Come on, party girl, it was a joke."

"It’s not funny." Making an over-exaggerated pout, Addison’s annoyed eyes met with his. Her cheeks were slightly red from embarrassment, "I’m never doing something like that again."

"Don’t worry." Christian placed his index finger under her chin, turning her head toward him. "No one saw it."

Addison glared at Darien when she heard him chuckle, the venom in her glare more childlike than evil. Darien shoved away the two unconscious girls sitting next to him, who slumped over the arm rests a little.

Brandon, who was sitting on the other side, gave Darien an angry look when one fell into him. He shoved her off. The girl yawned but didn’t open her eyes, her head falling flaccidly against her shoulder.

"Christian," Addison pouted, a sweetness to her voice as she put her arms around his neck. She rested her nose against his, a giant smile on her face as their gazes met. "Can I go say hello to Kim?"

Christian grabbed the sides of Addison’s face, a wicked look in his eyes as he cooed to her softly, "As long as you come back to give me some more…" He made a few clicking sounds with his tongue. "Of that when intermission’s over."

"Stop teasing me." Addison wrestled her face out of his hands.

Christian motioned with his index finger, "Give me a kiss, and you can go say hello."

Addison wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. Tilting her head to the side, she granted him a cutesy, love struck expression. "I love you, Christian."

"I love you too." He
motioned for her to get up, slapping her on the butt. "Hurry up and be back here when intermission’s over."

"Okay." Addison jumped to her feet, walking carefully down to the end of the aisle and up the stairs toward Kim. "Hi." Squeezing between a few people, Addison sat down in the empty seat next to her.

"Hey." Kim stared at Addison questionably as did a few people sitting next to her. "So, why didn’t you tell me you were a vampire?" Crossing her arms over her chest, Kim was trying to hide her anger over Addison’s deception. "I was worried sick that the Master was going to hurt you."

"He won’t hurt me." Addison laughed, looking down at Christian, who talking to Darien and Brandon. He smiled at her briefly, always keeping a close eye on his wife.

"Why do—" Some of the people next to Kim cut her off.

"Hello, Mistress
Vallore
." The man spoke nervously, an awestruck gaze on his face as he looked over at Addison. "It’s a pleasure to meet you."

"Mistress
Vallore
?" Kim’s eyes opened wide, her stare volleying between the man and Addison.

"Yeah," Addison nodded, waving to Christian when she noticed he was still watching her. "Master
Vallore
is my husband."

"Wow…" Letting out a giant exhale, Kim looked at Christian and then back at Addison. "That’s totally epic."

"We can still be friends, right?" Making an uneasy smile, Addison searched Kim’s face for an answer.

"Of course." Kim laughed, shaking her head as she took Addison’s hand in hers and shook it playfully. "Now that we’re both vampires, it makes things a lot easier."

Christian was motioning with his index finger for her to come back down. "I have to go. I’ll talk to you later, okay?" Addison watched Kim slowly nod her head before leaving to join Christian.

Chapter Twelve

The House

Christian took Addison with him on a trip to the holiest city in the world,
Hanton
. He was taking her to meet some of the members of the House, something Addison was very nervous about. She still couldn’t get her head around the whole idea of Christian and the family being God’s angels, either.

After passing through several security checkpoints, Addison and Christian were on their way to meet the head of the church, Magnus. Viewing his private office was a grand experience.

Magnus was dressed in his ceremonial robes, talking to a few priests on the other side of the room. Addison had only seen Magnus in pictures and felt awkward in his presence. She held onto Christian’s hand tightly, gluing herself to his side as they entered.

Christian squeezed her fingers, sending her a reassuring smile and whispering, "Don’t be afraid, my love, as long as you are with me, no harm will ever come to you."

"Christian!" Speaking in a friendly tone, Magnus opened his arms and welcomed Christian into them. "It’s always a pleasure to see you, my son."

"Good afternoon, your holiness." Christian let go of Addison and hugged Magnus.

The two men seemed to be very close friends, Magnus wearing a giant grin as his eyes showed his love and admiration for the Master vampire. Instead of igniting fear, Christian’s presence was a joyous event for him. The two spoke softly to each other, Magnus wearing a serious expression.

Addison bit her bottom lip anxiously, holding her hands tightly in front of her and trying not to fidget. Her baby blue eyes scanned the room uncertainly as she watched some of the men leave, all of them giving her friendly smiles. She felt naked without Christian’s hand in hers, and when he left her side, she felt like a lost child and wasn’t sure what to do.

"Hello, my child," Magnus addressed Addison, motioning for her to join them. "I have been waiting to meet you for a very long time."

Addison’s fearful eyes looked at Christian’s as if waiting for him to tell her what to do, but after a few seconds pause, she slowly walked over. "It’s an honor to meet you, your holiness."

"As it is you, my child." Magnus beamed as he studied Addison’s angelic face. She looked very innocent and childlike—her appearance pleased him. "You are a lucky woman to stand at Christian’s side and carry out the orders from our lord." Motioning for them to sit in the chairs in front of his large desk, Magnus walked away from them, "Come and sit. There is much to be discussed."

"I believe your beautiful wife will be able to help you capture Monroe." Magnus’ smile was gentle and loving, not a trace of evil in his expression. "He has eluded us many times before, but with this child on our side, we shall finally be able put an end to his organization."

Magnus’s voice was very eloquent as he gestured with his hands, "To capture a demon, you must use the powers of an angel. If she does not become a hunter, innocence will always remain in this child’s eyes, and the medallion will not have an effect on her. Monroe will not be able to resist the need to own such a beautiful, untainted creature. She will be the lure that will rope in the devil."

Addison quickly grabbed Christian’s hand, the conversation scaring her. He smiled at her, but it wasn’t enough to calm her. Seeing her fear, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she immediately clung to him, her terrified eyes looking over at Magnus.

"I am very pleased with your bride, Christian." Magnus glanced at his archbishop, who was standing next to him, both of them exchanging calm smiles. "Now—Mistress
Vallore
." He turned toward Addison, "We need you to help us capture Monroe, the leader of the vampire hunters. He is getting in the way of Master
Vallore’s
mission and must be killed before he upsets the natural balance of this wonderful world our God has created."

"A vampire hunter?" Addison looked between her husband and the holy man, "How do I do that? I’m not strong like Christian. I can’t fight anyone."

"You will not capture him by force." Magnus chuckled as he
steepled
his hands in front of his lips, his calm eyes still settled on Addison. "You will seduce him—use your innocence and beauty to make him fall in love with you. Once he trusts you, you will lure him to Master
Vallore
, who will kill him."

"Why can’t you kill him alone, Christian?" Addison searched his face for an answer.

"Monroe has a medallion that repels vampires. You are the only one with an immunity to its powers because you have never hunted a human as I have. You possess a rare power, and your ability to resist the temptation of blood is amazing. There is no vampire greater than you, my love."

An angry expression appeared on his face as glared at his knees. "I know this is going to be difficult, and if I had a choice, I would never make you do such a thing alone, but I do not have a choice. You have to steal his medallion so he can’t use it against me in a fight. If we don’t kill him, he will kill me, Addison."

"He could kill you?" Addison bit her lip as she spoke, her voice shaking, "I want to help, but I’m not strong enough to stand up to a hunter."

"There is no reason for you to fight, my child." Magnus
unsteepled
his hands and rested them on the top of the desk. "Your role is to seduce Monroe, not kill him. Master
Vallore
will always be near to protect you. He will make sure no physical harm will ever come to you."

"I won’t get hurt?" Addison pulled on Christian’s shirtsleeve. "Do you promise Christian? You’ll protect me?"

"Yes, my love." Christian nodded. "As long as you keep well hidden, Monroe will never suspect you are a vampire. All you have to do is get his medallion. You do not have to fight him or be unfaithful to me as a wife."

"And you’ll be with me?" Addison’s stare was glued to Christian, making him feel like she saw him as the only person in the room.

"Yes." Christian nodded, picking up one of her hands and putting it to his lips. "We will be a team, as we always have." He kissed her fingers, the strong bond between the two lovers very apparent. "You have to do this for me and our family."

"Okay." Addison nodded, trying to be brave. "I’ll try."

"Christian will give you more instructions about your mission later." Magnus smiled as he stood up, motioning for them to do so as well. "Now, I must borrow Christian for a few moments. Please excuse us, my child."

"Stay here and wait for me." Christian put a calm hand on Addison’s shoulder. "I will be back for you when I conclude my business with his holiness."