Where am I? Something’s moving me. Someone’s crying. Why am I so thirsty?

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I heard above me. That was Michael’s voice. He was the one who was crying. I opened my eyes, Michael’s arms around me as he held my cold body, rocking back and forth. I tried to move, I felt stiff.

  I turned my head to look at him. “Michael?”

  He stiffened, then quickly held me out at arm’s length. “It worked?” he asked with wonder in his voice.

  “What’s going on? What worked?” The last thing I could remember, Nikola was stealing my reincarnation energy. I felt my chest where he had bitten, not a mark there.

  Why am I so thirsty?

  My hand glided up to my throat. I swallowed, then licked my lips. “Do you think you can tell me what's going on?” I sat up on my own power, pushing off of Michael’s lap.

  Hey, my legs don’t ache, neither does anything else.

  That was nice, maybe Nikola took what he needed and then I was fine? But no, no that didn’t make sense. He said it would kill me. I saw the light, it chased me… then it disappeared.

  Wait!

  I put my hand on my heart, searching for a heartbeat.

  Nothing.

  I stared dead ahead at nothing, my face blank. “Michael, what happened to me?” I didn’t want to look at him, didn’t want to face the truth that was staring me in the face.

  “I didn’t know what else to do, you were dying!” Michael cried.

  I turned around to look at him then, my face blank, the clarification made. “You turned me?”

  He looked frightened, as if he thought I’d attack him. I hadn’t fully decided what I wanted to do, so I did nothing as I tried to wrap my mind around what just happened.

  I’m… dead. I… What does this mean for me now?

  The sound of footsteps on the stairs announced the arrival of Antun and Syla, and when Antun saw me sitting up, he immediately glared at Michael, snarling “Did you have her consent for this?” The heat in his voice would have melted iron.

  Defensively, Michael said, “No, she never told me ‘Hey Michael, if Nikola kills me in the end, I want to be a vampire’. Why would we talk about something so morbid?”

  “To be prepared!” His voice boomed. Antun paced, his hands fisting in his hair and at his sides over and over again as he tried to collect himself. He sighed heavily. “You’re right, Michael. It was an emergency and you had to make a call.” He looked at me. “It’s up to Drew whether or not it was the right one.”

  I looked at Michael, my face expressionless as I tried to take in my new reality. My dead heart cracked.

  You chose for me.

  I felt… wrong. My blood no longer pumping, my heart no longer beating.

  “I, for one, am very happy you are still around, Love. But this will be an adjustment for you.”

  I swallowed, a mix of thirst and nerves.

  Antun noticed it and commented, “You’re thirsty, aren’t you?” I nodded, a hand going to my throat. “Michael, go get her a glass of water. We can at least hydrate you while we make a plan for getting you some mana.”

  Michael looked a bit reluctant at first, but at a hard look from Antun he went to the kitchen. I heard the sound of water dispensing into a glass, then Michael brought me the glass, his hands trembling.

  I took it gratefully, trying not to gulp it down. How I could be both hydrated and thirsty was a mystery to me, one of those weird vampire things I guess.

  He stepped back behind Antun, keeping a wary eye on Syla. “Oh, leave off her!” Antun ordered him. “She had as much choice in all of this tonight as Drew did. That damn bond thing made her do it!”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  That made Michael flinch and shrink, the shame of taking away a life-altering decision hot in his still heart.

  “What we need to do now is help Drew get some blood. I think hitting the streets might actually be safer tonight instead of the slaughterhouse. The smell of all that blood could trigger a frenzy in a new vampire. We’ll have to improvise tonight.”

  I just nodded. I knew nothing, and I figured what Antun thought best won out in this instance as he was the most mentally stable out of all of us right now.

  I shivered, thinking it strange that I could still feel cold even though my core body temperature was much lower now. Michael shrugged off his jacket, coming over to place it around my shoulders. He stepped back, not wanting to overstep further. I held his jacket closed in front of myself. I might not have known how to feel about him but I could appreciate the kind gesture, knowing it came from true caring.

  “Everyone, let’s get to the car. We’ve got ourselves a hungry baby vampire.”

  ? ?? ?

  Antun and I walked together on the back streets of Seattle, him knowing that I needed a little time away from Michael. We found a good, shadowed spot behind some crates stacked up on one side of an alley and waited.

  It didn’t take long for a creep who had been following us to walk right past the crates. Antun whacked the guy over the head with a piece of wood that had fallen off one of the nearby pallets, knocking him senseless.

  He dragged him over to where I was still hiding. “Now this is called…”

  He pointed to the large, pumping vein on the side of the man’s neck but his words became a mumbled blur in the background.

  That vein, the way it's pumping, I want to lick it. I want to taste it. Something that beautiful has to be delicious.

  “Earth to Drew!” Antun snapped fingers in front of my face.

  “Sorry, what?” I felt a bit dizzy, my mind still going a little crazy.

  “You know what, just have at it, you don’t care what it’s called.”

  When the words have at it left his mouth, I pounced on the man, pushing his jaw and shirt collar out of the way and biting. I hadn’t noticed until now, but… my canines were longer. Sharper. Hollow, like a straw. Like I was made to drink. It was instinct to bite down at just the right spot, where the flow of mana was hot and living. I felt like I was warming up from the inside, like when you have soup on a rainy day, and that feeling just kept getting better.

  “Uh, Drew honey? You’re gonna want to let him go before you accidentally kill him.” I squeaked and dropped him, not caring too much that the creep might have a bit of a headache when he wakes up. “How are you feeling?” he asked as he checked the man’s pulse, nodding when he found it.

  I swallowed, the action unnecessary but instinctive. “I feel better. I could have more but I’m definitely okay now.” I was surprised by how easy it was, how natural it felt to bite down on that vein.

  I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and looked at the unconscious man. I had fed off him like an open buffet. The guilt hit me like a stone in my gut.

  Antun nodded at me, smiling. “Good. You wanna get a couple more creeps or would you rather wait until the slaughterhouse opens in the morning?” As awesome as mana tasted, I didn’t want to feed again tonight. My guilt ate at me as we headed back to the car, making plans to meet up bright and early to get to the slaughterhouse near opening.

  ? ?? ?

  Never have I ever been on a more awkward car ride. Michael and Syla traded their usual spots, me needing the space from Michael. The silence was thick and heavy with unsaid words.

  We finally parked outside my building and headed inside. We took the stairs, as the elevator would only be just reaching my floor by the time we could walk it.

  I unlocked my door and turned on the light. Husker came out and immediately froze in place, his eyes glued to me. A questioning meow escaped him and I took a step forward. His ears flattened and the fur on his hackles and tail puffed up as he hissed and ran. It was as if he didn’t recognize me at all. His hiss echoed behind him, but something in his eyes had lingered – recognition? Or just fear?

  I had to swallow the tears that were threatening to come so I could invite my guests inside. Syla and I sat on the couch while the men sat on chairs from the table. Silence.

  “Well, this is awkward as hell. Michael, you’ve been sleeping here for the past month. Drew, what would you like to do? If you don’t want Michael staying here he can stay at my place for the night. You could even have Syla stay here if you think that would help.”

  Me? I didn’t want to make any decisions right now. I just wanted to be alone so I could process what all happened.

  “I don’t think I should be making decisions right now. Michael, you can stay tonight.”

  After reassuring Antun and Syla that I would be fine for the next few hours before we’d see each other again, they left. I locked the door behind them and headed for my bedroom.

  Michael said without prompting, “I don’t regret it.” I turned to Michael, surprised that he had spoken. “Turning you, I don’t regret it. I’d do it all over again if I had to just to save you.”

  I sighed, my entire body feeling weary. “I’m too tired, Michael. Let’s table everything until after we’ve gotten some rest?”

  He conceded, getting his bed out and readying for the night.

  I turned back to my room, where Husker had retreated earlier. I tried not to let it break my heart, but the tears pooled in my eyes. I had gotten Husker as a kitten at a rescue shelter. He was my little boy. He was playful but loved naps. He loved beef flavored cat foods, which are harder to find sometimes, but I looked for them, for him. Now my boy doesn’t recognize me. The tears fell, leaving salty streaks in their wake. Tomorrow, I’ll deal with everything tomorrow.

  Please, God, if you are there, help a girl out, would ya?

  But no answers from above, no mystery woman voice either. Just silence.

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