Family Is Forever

  We headed upstairs. The living room was clear, the backdoor still open, so we took off at supersonic speed into the night. It felt weird to be leaving a chunk of my family behind, especially when some of them were still engaged in fighting, but Starla and Jacen were in desperate need of help, desperate need of blood. And I supposed, a part of growing up was knowing when to let others handle situations on their own.

  Family members who had waited at the ranch were standing outside when Dad and I arrived. Jake, Ben, Olivia, and the others were with them, having returned from Howard’s Market already. I was a little shocked to see them here, since it felt like we’d only spent a few seconds at Henry’s hiding place.

  Imogen and Alanna took one look at the bundles in our arms, and blurred into the kitchen. I could already smell the warming blood when Dad and I entered the house a moment later. Surprisingly, Trey and Arianna were still there. As Dad motioned for me to follow him upstairs to where the bedrooms were, Trey’s mouth dropped wide open. “Dude, are they dead?”

  Firming my jaw, I quickly told him, “No,” and hurried after my dad.

  We went to a guest room with a bed large enough for both vampires. After I laid Starla down beside Jacen, she immediately grabbed the comatose man’s hand. Once mine were free, Arianna clutched my fingers. “Thank God, you’re okay. I was so worried.”

  “Why are you still here?” I asked, looking down at her.

  She pursed her lips, like I’d just asked her the most ridiculous question in creation. “Like I could go anywhere not knowing if you were okay or not.” Glancing back at the bed, her expression softened. “What happened to them?”

  Stepping away from the bed, so the adults could examine Starla and Jacen, I shook my head. “I don’t know. That Henry guy drained them, starved them…basically tortured them.” Arianna gasped, and she looked so pale, I thought she might need to lie down too. “They’ll be okay. They’re tough…they’ll be okay…” As I repeated it, I wasn’t sure if I was comforting her or myself.

  Imogen came up with a steaming thermos in each hand. Malachi was a step behind her, thermoses in his hands as well. He stopped the second he laid eyes on Starla and Jacen, and I had to wonder if he was seeing his past in their present. When we’d found him, he’d been in almost as bad of shape. Imogen gave him an encouraging smile as she indicated Starla. Malachi gathered himself, shook off his inner demons, and walked over to the woman who could barely keep her eyes open.

  Starla couldn’t hold the thermos, so Malachi tenderly tilted it against her lips. Closing her eyes, she took small sips at first, then larger gulps. Seconds later, she was clasping the container in both hands and drinking it down as quickly as her throat would let her. I smiled at seeing the small semblance of life returning. Arianna clenched my hand, but she was smiling when I looked at her.

  Imogen tried to feed Jacen, lifting his head and tilting the cup to his lips, but he still wasn’t responding. The blood she poured into his mouth, ran right out of his mouth, staining his shirt and the sheets. As I shifted my attention to him, my concern grew. If he didn’t drink—if he couldn’t drink—his body would desecrate. A fate worse than death. It would be kinder of us to stake him, then to let him degrade like that.

  After another failed attempt, Imogen sighed and looked back at Dad. “If he can’t drink on his own, we’ll have to feed him with a tube.”

  Starla had finished her second thermos at this point, and seemed a lot more like herself, although still very weak. She held her hand out for Jacen’s thermos. “May I?” she asked my grandmother.

  Imogen smiled and handed it to her. Starla unscrewed the lid and dipped her pointer finger into the blood. Then she brought her finger to Jacen’s mouth and worked her way between his lips. Nothing happened at first, but then his mouth moved, just a slight amount, like he was licking her finger. Starla did it a few more times, murmuring encouragement with each dip.

  Around the fourth or fifth time, it was obvious Jacen was beginning to come around, as he eagerly sucked on her finger now. Starla gently brought the thermos to his lips, giving him a larger flow. A low growl rumbled from Jacen’s chest, and Starla’s face erupted into a wide smile. “That’s it, baby. Drink up.”

  Jacen’s eyes fluttered as his throat bobbed with each swallow. He stirred in the bed trying to sit up, and Imogen helped him. She propped him up so he was sitting straighter, so he could take deeper swallows. When the thermos was empty, Starla removed it from his lips. Jacen’s eyes sprang open. He snarled at Starla, like she was denying him something he desperately wanted. His bloody fangs were menacing, but Starla didn’t look the least bit afraid of him.

  A bright smile on her face, she reached out to Malachi for the second thermos. He immediately handed it to her, and she gave it to Jacen. He used both hands to grab it, and started drinking it down like he was feverish. Tears in her eyes, Starla told him he was doing great, and she was so proud of him.

  Imogen looked delighted as she met eyes with my father. “I better help Alanna make some more. Maybe we’ll even butcher a cow. These two need fresh blood.”

  Dad nodded, also looking relieved, and from behind me I heard Arianna make a strangled noise. “You okay?” I asked, turning to look at her. Even if she had an iron stomach, this was a lot to take.

  Her paleness hadn’t left her, except now she also looked a little green. She forced a smile to her face though. “Yep, I’m fine. Totally cool.”

  Studying her, I asked, “Want to get out of here?”

  “Yes,” she breathed, closing her eyes. Then she reopened them and stuttered, “If you want to, I mean.”

  It made me smile how brave she was trying to be. I indicated the door. “Come on, let’s go get some air.”

  Some of the bedrooms along the back of the house had balconies on them. I took her to one and led her outside, so she could clear her head and I could pretend we were alone. Leaning on the railing, Arianna inhaled and exhaled a few deep breaths. After a long moment of careful breathing while she looked out over the acres of pastures glowing in the moonlit, she gave me a sideways glance. “You must think I’m the biggest wuss.”

  Her words sent a spark of shock through me. “No, not at all. You’re one of the bravest people I know.”

  She twisted her lips in an expression of Don’t lie to me, I’m not an idiot. “I’ve met most of the people you know…and compared to them, I’m not brave at all.”

  Her voice was almost eaten away by the breeze it was so small. Grabbing both of her hands, I squatted down until we were looking at each other straight in the eye. “I know you, and I know things you’ve done, things that you’ve forgotten…and I’ve seen you be very brave.” Cupping her cheek, I let myself get lost in her beautiful blue-green eyes. “So incredibly brave. And sweet, and funny, and beautiful…”

  Leaning in, I kissed her. Her lips were warm and receptive against mine, and so incredibly soft. I got so lost in the way they felt against my skin that I accidentally forgot to hold my teeth in, and they crashed down into place during a brief break in our touch. Arianna pulled away from me when she felt something different. Feeling my skin heat, I murmured, “Sorry…you distracted me. I…lost control.”

  Her smile grew playful, like she was intrigued with the idea of me losing control. My skin felt on fire. With tentative fingers, she reached out to touch a sensitive tooth. I felt the vibration of the contact all the way down my spine. “You have to hold them in all the time?” I nodded and she frowned. “Isn’t that exhausting?”

  Shrugging, I told her, “I’ve been doing it my entire life. I’m used to it.”

  Dropping her hand, Arianna lifted her chin. “Well, you don’t have to with me. You’re free to be whoever you are. And besides…they’re sexy,” she added with a giggle. Then she leaned over and carefully ran her tongue along my fang.

  The ache was so sudden and severe, I had to clench the railing to keep standing. A low growl escaped my chest, completely unbidden, and I felt winded when sh
e pulled away. Holy… God, that felt good. Arianna’s eyes were wide as she studied my expression. By the way I felt, she must have been seeing pure lust and desire.

  “You liked that?” she murmured, her voice low and sensual.

  “You have no idea,” I muttered, wishing we were someplace soundproof.

  Arianna’s seductive smile turned sweet and charming, innocent even, and damn if it didn’t turn me on even more. “I’ll have to remember that trick.” That made me smile. Thanks to Trey, she would remember.

  I was still burning with need, wanting more, but I knew Arianna wasn’t there yet. Not really. “It’s getting late. We should get you home.”

  Her lip came out in an adorable pout. “I don’t want to go yet. And besides, my mom thinks I’m spending the night at a friend’s house. I have nowhere to be until tomorrow…”

  My body raged with life at hearing her words. All night. No more rescue missions. No more danger. No more threats. Simon was safe with Jake, Starla and Jacen were recovering, and Henry was…finished. Arianna was free from her parents for an evening, and I was free to be with her. “I don’t want you to go either.”

  I leaned down to kiss her again, and she hungrily met my lips.

  I WATCHED THE cabin burning in the distance with mixed feelings. While I was glad that crazed man and his research had been firmly ground to a halt, the carnage and chaos left in his wake was staggering. Compulsion-proof humans, tortured vampires, disillusioned teens who thought undergoing a risky underground medical procedure was a good idea, and a madman hell-bent on wiping out my entire race. Lives forever altered. And for what? Jealousy, hatred, fear? It was exhausting, and I just wanted to go home.

  “Are you all right?” Hunter asked, stepping up beside me.

  Looking up into his glowing eyes full of love and concern, I forced a smile to my face. “Of course, just tired.”

  Hunter nodded; he looked just as worn out as I felt. “It’s been quite a night…quite a summer.” He sighed. “Quite a year.”

  Wrapping my arms around his waist, I pulled him close. “It’s almost over.”

  He placed his arms over mine, holding me tight, comforting me with his body, if not the bond. “Thank God,” he murmured into my hair. “Let’s go home.”

  Pulling back, I looked over at Halina and Gabriel. They were studying the cabin as well; Halina’s eyes were victorious, Gabriel’s were speculative. Dad and Julian had left some time ago with Starla and Jacen, and were surely back at the ranch by now.

  Turning my focus to the other side of Hunter and me, I looked over at Simon. It surprised me some that he’d stayed. Stayed and fought. I’d kind of assumed that he’d hightail it the minute he’d shown us where the cabin was. But he hadn’t. He’d duked it out with the supercharged hunters, covered our backs, warned us of danger…acted like one of the nest. And by the bewildered expression on his face, he wasn’t sure why he’d done it.

  Hoping he’d finally calmed down enough to see that we weren’t all bad, I softly said his name. “Simon? Want to go see your dad now?”

  He startled, like I’d woken him from a dream, then he nodded.

  Halina and Gabriel led the way back to the ranch. Hunter, Simon and I followed as closely as we could without leaving Simon too far behind. He just didn’t have as much stamina as the rest of us. Both Starla and Jacen were in line with my dad, abilities-wise, so Simon was at that level too. Simon would need to take Gabriel’s shot from now on; if he didn’t, he’d convert too soon and die. And if he wanted to stay as human as possible, he’d have to take the shot indefinitely. He was dependent on vampires now—a future he’d probably never imagined.

  Simon still seemed contemplative when we arrived at the ranch. Jake, Alanna, and Grandpa Jack were outside to greet us when we got there. Alanna must have told the boys we were coming. Simon’s face finally erupted into a smile when he saw his dad. He flew into Jake’s arms, almost knocking him over. “Whoa, easy there, buddy. You’re about a thousand times stronger than I am now.”

  Laughing, Simon stepped away from him, then his expression hardened. Turning to Alanna, he visibly lifted his chest and his chin, like he was gathering courage. “I’d like to see the two…the two vampires who were used in the experiment. I’d like to…apologize…to them. What I did, what I allowed to happen…it was wrong. Utterly and completely wrong.”

  Simon looked back at Jake with sorrow in his eyes. “I knew it too. When I saw them, saw their suffering, I knew I should do something…put them out of their misery at least, but I needed them to save you. I needed their blood, so I let Grandfather continue…” Closing his eyes, he let out a long, broken exhale. “I overlooked an injustice for what I thought was the greater good…and I’ll never forgive myself for it.” Opening his eyes, he shook his head. “Even if they are monsters…they didn’t deserve what was done to them.”

  “They’re not monsters,” I whispered into the night. Hoping Starla and Jacen were all right, I added, “None of us are monsters.”

  The confusion returning to his face, Simon turned to look at me. “I think…I’m starting to see that. Which only makes everything worse.”

  Eyes full of compassion, Jake put a hand on Simon’s shoulder. “Come on, I’ll take you to their room.”

  When I stepped into the house, I instantly noticed something…weird was going on. The sounds of panting and kissing were coming from somewhere upstairs. I instantly understood. My brother was deepening his connection with Arianna, and apparently he didn’t care if the entire house knew it.

  Dad looked like he was just about to run upstairs and physically pull Julian and Arianna apart. Recalling that I owed Julian a little payback, I put a hand on his shoulder. “Let me handle this, Dad. I know just what to do.” I blurred away before Dad could respond.

  Halina was giggling when I got to the bedroom that Julian was using as his love nest. Biting my lip to hold in my smile, I burst through the door and rounded on the bed. Two figures instantly shot upright on the rumpled mattress. Breathless, Julian grabbed his shirt off the floor and covered Arianna with it. His hair was tussled, his cheeks were bright red, his eyes were wide, and his heart was pounding like it was about to explode. Arianna was no less affected as she held Julian’s shirt tight to her chest—her bare chest. At least they both had their pants on, although Julian’s were unbuttoned.

  “Nika? Jesus, you scared the crap out of me!”

  My smile was exhilarant. Payback was so much fun. “You realize that the entire house can hear you panting, right?” From the look on Arianna’s face, it was clear that she hadn’t remembered. Julian should have, but by the way his cheeks lost all their color, the fact that our relatives had super-acute hearing had clearly slipped his mind.

  “Before Dad comes up here and gives you a three-hour-long speech on the birds and the bees, you should probably say goodnight to Arianna.” With a wave to my brother and my friend, I backed out of the room.

  Back downstairs, I practically skipped my way to Hunter. I suddenly didn’t feel tired at all. Hunter’s expression was amused when I met up with him in the living room. “You enjoyed that. A lot,” he stated. I couldn’t deny it, so I only shrugged. Yes, yes I had.

  Dad nodded at me in approval, then turned his eyes to Gabriel. Gabriel was clearly wanting to go check on his nestmates, but he was giving Jake and Simon a moment to talk to Starla and Jacen alone. Even though I was trying not to eavesdrop, I could hear Simon stuttering on his words—all of them were awkward and uncomfortable. It wasn’t every day you had to say you were sorry for doing nothing while someone was being tortured.

  Clearing his throat, Dad said to Gabriel, “You told me once, that when a mixed vampire tried to turn someone, it almost always failed. Henry clearly found a way around that…but what about the heart giving out? How much time does Olivia and Simon have?”

  And Starla. Dad didn’t say it, but her name hung heavy in the air. Henry had transfused her with Jacen’s blood in an attempt to keep her aliv
e, but would it work? Or would her heart give out, her conversion kick in, and the old mutation in her blood rear its ugly head?

  By the look on Gabriel’s face, this was something he’d been stewing on nonstop since Olivia had dropped the “Henry’s making mixed vampires” bomb on us. And from what I could tell by his irritated expression, Gabriel hadn’t come up with any answers yet.

  “Honestly, Teren, without running a series of tests…I just don’t know. If we work under the assumption that what he did to them is similar to a successful mixed turning, then they have the same amount of time as any freshly turned mixed vampire—a couple of months, at best.” With a sigh, he looked up at where Starla was recuperating. “But all of this is so new and different…I just don’t know. And I hate not knowing.”

  Dad nodded, like he’d expected as much. “We can’t take any chances. We’ll get Starla, Olivia and Simon on the shot as soon as possible. Then you’ll have the time you need…to find out their fate.”

  Gabriel sighed. “It’s a pity you had to kill Henry. The man was clearly a genius. We could have learned so much from him. Together, he and I could have done some amazing things…”

  “Whoever he was when he was human, he wasn’t that person anymore. You should have seen him come after me…like a rabid animal. Like he was out of his mind.”

  Gabriel gave him a thoughtful smile. “They say the most brilliant minds are just a hairline away from madness. All it takes is the right push.”

  Dad studied him silently for a moment, then said, “I’m sure you’ll come up with a solution.”

  Halina squeezed Gabriel’s waist, while he gave Dad a curt nod. “Yes, I’m sure I will,” he confidently stated.

  Dad shook his head at Gabriel, then looked over at Mom. “It’s been a long day…let’s go home.” Mom sagged into his side like that was the best news she’d heard in a while. Dad smiled at her then looked up at the ceiling. “Julian, we’re leaving. Tell Arianna goodbye, then get your butt down here.”