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“YOU CAN GO, JONATHON,” Drake said, dismissing him, “and take the others with you. I’ll handle her now.”
The others? I thought, wondering just how many of his vile cohorts were lurking in the surrounding woods. I hated that Drake had an army at his disposal.
In a blur, Jonathon sped off, and a gust of wind smacked me in the face of his wake.
Drake smiled at me, sickeningly sweet this time. “You look beautiful tonight.”
“Thank you,” I politely said, trying to keep his anger at bay. Sucking up to a vampire? I questioned myself. How...ironic.
“You mesmerize me.”
He was making small talk, which confused me. I’d seen his wrath before, and I wondered why he hadn’t exploded on me yet. The increasing dread only made it harder to breathe, but I knew I had to push beyond the fear
“What do you want?” I asked.
“For starters, I’d love to know who turned you,” he said.
“I-I didn’t see my attacker’s face,” I spat.
“I have a theory on that.”
“Really?” I said, trying to pretend I cared.
“Yes. I think it was our little serial killer, the one who’s prowling around, killing all those poor tourists.”
I cocked a brow. “What? I thought you were responsible for all those attacks around town.”
“Immortals usually play by the rules, but it seems there is a rogue, a rebel who’s rustling up a lot of negative publicity for Big Bear Lake. I think that’s who attacked you. I’ll need to talk to Julie, to see if she saw anything. I have to get to the bottom of this. It’s my duty to protect this town, after all.”
“Wow. Aren’t you quite the protector?” I asked.
“I will go to great lengths to protect those I hold true and dear in my heart.”
“Humph,” I said with a grunt. “So you’re suggesting you actually have a heart? Coulda fooled me.”
“I have a soft, tender heart for those I care about—figuratively speaking, of course. I suppose since I’m dead, I no longer have a beating heart, but neither do you.”
“Your dead heart is just a cold, black one. That’s why you kill without batting an eyelash.”
“You speak your mind, yet I can see your hands trembling.”
“Let me go,” I said, stepping away.
“You look pale, Taylor.”
I was glad to hear it, because it meant the serum was still doing its job, giving me a ghostly complexion. “I’m a vampire!”
“You’re hungry.” With compassion in his eyes, an emotion I had no idea he could muster, he held out his wrist. “Here. Feed.”
My stomach clenched at the thought, and I had to work hard to resist the urge to vomit. Is this a test to see if I really turned, or is he really being kind? I wondered. No matter why he was offering his arm to me, I had no intention of biting him and sucking his blood and I had to quickly think of an excuse. “I know my body needs it, but I won’t take anything from you—not ever.”
“After everything I’ve put you through, I understand.”
I glared at him angrily. “Good.” When he pulled away, I had to stifle my sigh of relief that he’d bought my bluff for the time being.
Drake stared into my eyes intensely. “Why were you trying to leave, sweet Taylor?”
Fear rose in my voice. “I know you told me not to, so I’m sure you’ve dreamt up some big punishment for me. Perhaps you’ll even kill me.”
His eyes softened. “It’s different this time.”
“How so?”
He cupped my face. “Because you’re a vampire now, like me. The transition is not easy for anyone, and I want to help you through it.”
“I’ve got Jesse for that,” I retorted. “He’s all I need.”
He laughed. “A boy? He doesn’t even know what he’s doing.”
I sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Please just let me go back to Jesse.”
“Now I understand. You’re scared. You don’t know how to handle the bloodlust, don’t know what to tell your parents. Your maker is long gone, and he left you out to dry. I don’t blame you for running this time.”
“You’re treating me...different,” I said. “You’re not slapping me around, threatening me, or trying to choke me. Why?”
“Because you’re one of us now, and I don’t treat my own kind like that.”
“But you hate humans?”
“I loathe them. Once you’ve been hunted down by them for centuries, you will too.”
“But when I was human, I didn’t hunt you. I was just a scared teenager, and you treated me horribly.”
“I have no tolerance for any humans. They’ve taken too much away from me.”
“You can’t blame all humans for the horrendous acts of others.”
“They’re just lucky that I don’t feed on them...well, for the most part.”
I was scared to death as he stared at me intently. I knew if he took me back to his coven, I would be a goner. The second the potion wore off and my human scent was noticeable again, I would be doomed. Before that, I’d be forced to drink blood, and I knew there was no way I could do that without giving myself away. As soon as Drake discovered I was still a member of the human race he so hated, his wrath would be poured out on me a million-fold. I tried to stall, hoping Jesse would find me. “I can’t give you petal blood anymore.”
“It’s okay. There are others who can heal my coven from werewolf bites.”
“Who are they?”
He grinned. “Fishing for info on your witch friends?”
“You’re not gonna tell me, are you?”
“Not a chance.” He stroked my hair, and I cringed at his touch. “When you were human, you looked at us like monsters, but now you’ll be able to fully understand the decisions we make. You’ll see things from our perspective and realize we’re not the nightmarish fiends everyone thinks we are. You’ll see that we’re a close-knit family who fights for the ones we love. You’ll see vampires in a different light, because you are one.”
“I couldn’t truly understand until I became a vampire.”
“Join us,” he said with heartfelt intensity. “Come be a part of my family, Taylor. I promise I’ll never hurt you again. I’ll protect your human family and your human friends. I’ll give you the kind of life Jesse never could.”
Compassion shone in his eyes, and for a second, I wondered if he really had a strand of humanity left. “I-I don’t know what to say,” I whispered.
His face lit up as he gazed deeply into my eyes. “Say you will.”
I touched his hand that was resting gently on my face. “I need some time to think.”
“What is there to think about? Why would you want a boy who can give you nothing? I can give you everything you’ve ever dreamt of. I can give you a home and a new family who will love you. I can give you a safe place to thrive and protection nobody else can ever give you.”
I met his gaze straight on. “Have you forgotten that you killed one of my friends before my very eyes?”
“Ah. I see that your human emotions still linger,” he said. “That will change, in time.”
“Does becoming a vampire mean I have to turn them off and be as cold as you?”
“You don’t really know me. I challenge you to get to know the real me, who I really am.”
His eyes locked with mine, and he suddenly pressed his mouth against my lips. I tried to push him away, but he only gripped me more tightly, pressing my breasts against his chest. Fear shuddered through me as his hands roamed down my body. He forced my mouth open and shoved his tongue into my mouth.
I was disgusted at his uninvited touch, but I was, in fact, getting to know Drake for the real person and jerk he was. He kissed me roughly, but I remained unresponsive, even if there was no way to fight him off. I feared how he’d take my rejection, though, so I tried another angle. “Drake...” I said, when he let me come up for air.
“I love how you say my name,” he purred.
“I-I’m not ready. I just...I need more time. This is too much for me right now. My senses are overloading.”
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“I need time.”
“You’d know nothing if it weren’t for me,” he said. “I led you to your true heritage that had been kept from you. I brought you out of the dark. If not for me, you’d still be naïve, and your witch ancestors would’ve surely plucked you for the ritual without you ever knowing why. You would’ve died, like all those in the past. It was me who saved you from that fate, and now you owe me.”
“I’m thankful to know the truth. You have no idea how grateful I am.”
“Then prove it.” He grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled, then whispered in my ear. “Kiss me, Taylor.”
I breathed in and held that breath for a second as a shudder ran down my spine. “Don’t do this, Drake,” I begged.
In response, he growled through clenched teeth.
I was reminded then that Drake was a certified nutcase. Does he think I’m going to deem him my knight in shining armor and kiss him passionately? I didn’t have many options though. If I told him I was human, it would stop him, but it would also get me killed.
In a flash, he threw me to the ground and pressed his heavy body against my trembling frame. I struggled in his grasp, but he was too strong for me to do anything about it, and I could barely move beneath him. His tongue slid down my jaw and neck, but I was as helpless as I was disgusted.
I sucked in a deep breath and forced back the tears. “Stop!” I said. When he ignored me, I started to scream.
“Is that all the fight you have in you?” he asked.
I spat at him.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were putting up this little fight to convince me that you don’t want me, but I know you do. Otherwise, you would’ve easily thrown me into the closest tree.”
Or maybe I’m human and don’t have that kind of strength, I thought.
“Say you’re mine,” he demanded, “and I’ll wait for you, no matter how long it takes.”
I refused to make him that kind of promise. Jesse didn’t have a coven, minions at his beck and call, but he would die trying to protect me. Drake, on the other hand, would only give me his protection at a price, and it was too high of a price to pay. I couldn’t lose Jesse, and my heart ached, knowing he had to be out looking for me at that very moment, while Drake was trying to force me to turn my back on him.
I had no idea how to escape Drake’s cruel clutches. He was a supernatural creature and I was nothing but a mortal. My only real chance was to continue stalling, telling him I needed more time. I knew if I adamantly refused his advances, it would only anger him. He would then become the animal he was, and then he’d take what he thought was rightfully his. I had to play it cool, to deal with Drake delicately so he wouldn’t explode. I knew if I made the wrong move in that chess game, Drake would surely rape me right there on the forest floor. I had no doubt about it. “You’re mine,” I finally lied, “and I’m yours.”
“I’ve always known it,” he said.
“Was that why you tried to kill me at the party? Because you knew we were fated?”
“I felt the attraction, but you were a petal, and you had to die,” he said. “But then I had...a change of heart.”
“When you realized I could cure werewolf bites?”
“It was a great excuse, and I had no problem talking the others into sparing your life.”
My lips quivered. “I’m yours. I’ve said it, so please stop. You said you’d be willing to wait for me. You promised.”
“I just wanted to hear you say the words.”
“Drake, please.” Suddenly, I felt my fangs descend, and I knew the serum was kicking in, ignited by my anger.
“You’re orange eyes are absolutely stunning,” he said, cupping my face. “I knew you’d make a beautiful vampire. My family will adore you. I guarantee you will never want to leave.” He clasped me in a tight embrace and let out a feral growl. There was nothing romantic about it, and I couldn’t believe he was treating me that way, since he claimed he was truly interested in me.
I pushed against him. “Then why are you treating me like a whore?” I shouted.
My words stung, and he softly let me go. “Taylor, I don’t think about you that way. I—”
“You’re treating this like a romp in the hay at a drunken barn dance. Don’t I deserve a little romance, with wine and candlelight? Can’t we wait and make that first time...special?”
“Our passion can’t be controlled,” he argued. “It’s animalistic and knows no boundaries. I need to make you my own.”
“I’m not a werewolf,” I reminded him. “I’ve just been thrust into a vampire lifestyle that I barely understand, and you’re out here trying to claim me like this.”
“You need to be claimed,” he said, ripping off his shirt, exposing his broad chest. “The others must know to stay away from what is mine.”
Anger flooded through me. “Must you mark your territory this way? Are you a dog, like the werewolves you despise?”
“I will take care of that smart mouth of yours, and you’ll be punished severely. When I’m done with you, you’ll never speak to me in a disrespectful manner again.”
A tear slipped down my face as I looked into his cold, dangerous, lustful eyes and knew he never made idle threats.