Page 45 of Craving Her Vampire

“We killed the man we found. We didn’t know when to stop or how. We drank him dry and left his body in the street.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” My defensive mate.

I reach over and tuck her hair behind her ear. “It wasn’t the last one we killed.” I pinch her chin. “There were thousands.” I wait for her open expression to fill with disgust. I drop my hand back to her leg, shaking my head when her gaze remains unchanged. I don’t think I deserve her graciousness. “We left dead bodies everywhere we went. We didn’t cover our tracks, which led to many close calls with the humans and others. It was even worse when we discovered our ability to change people's memories. We learned more things we could do every day, and the power was…” I close my eyes briefly. “Tantalizing. We were untouchable. If we needed money, we would convince someone to give it to us and drink their blood to seal the deal. At first, we took it without asking for permission. It can be painful for humans. As we learned our new bodies, we made it pleasurable. In the end, they still died.”

“I felt nothing but pleasure when you bit me,” she says.

I grin. “Of course. I would never hurt you.” I lick my lips, turn my head, and glance at her neck. “I have the power to make it very painful.” I tear my attention away and back to the window.

“What changed?”

“It took many years to come out of our bloodthirst. We became more aware of the destruction we were causing. One night, we were looking for our next meal. Maddy stumbled across a lost child.” I swallow hard. “The smell of her blood was too delicious. It scared us. We held back, but barely. We used our speed to get as far away from her as possible. We ended up in a field, grasping each other's hand. That’s when Maddy shared with me she had a strong sense she lost a child. I didn’t question her, just like I didn’t question if she was my sister. We had a very hard but honest conversation that night. We had to stop. We had to find another way. We didn’t know how, but it had to be done.

“From that night forward, we kept each other in check. There were still times when we drank from humans. It was difficult to stop. We ensured it wasn’t painful for them and didn’t drain them. We took small steps. Maddy was my best friend, my soulmate. She was everything to me.”

“You love her,” Daisy says.

“I loved her deeply. So deeply I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to give any love to anyone else.”

“Oh,” she sighs, dropping her head.

“I was wrong. What I felt for her was love for a sister.” I tip up her chin. “I know our bond will be on such a different level. If something happened to you, I would ask all my powerful friends to kill me because I couldn’t go on.”

Chapter Thirteen

Micah

“Do not doubt my dedication to you,” I growl. I kiss her fast and hard. I hate the look of devastation on her face. “Maddy was very important to me. She turned our lives around that night forever.”

“What happened next?” she asks, her expression easing.

“We evolved,” I say dryly. “We met other vampires and shifters. We saw another way of living that could be just as satisfying. We found other sources of blood to survive. I started to hone my skills and channel them into other endeavors, such as business. Making money is always fun. Plus, we got bored quickly. Building something from the ground up gave us a purpose and goals to achieve. The problem with making friends who weren’t vampires or shifters was we had to watch them grow old and die. There was so much death even though we weren't the ones killing them.

“Constantly having to move can be tiring. After a while, we would make a game out of it. We used several different methodsto pick where to go next. We couldn’t stay in one place too long anyway. Humans get suspicious when you don’t age or change in any way. It’s a little easier for shifters. You change slightly over the years. One night, I met two dragon shifters who became my friends, and soon after, they met Maddy, too. We spent many nights at their house. It was so nice not to have to act human. They were powerful, but then they had children. Dragons have always been hunted. Some think they can steal their power. Some believe they have mountains of gold. They stopped using their magic to protect their children and lived as humans would.

“Maddy and I loved their kids, especially Maddy. She would spend hours playing with them. Our friends unfortunately lost their lives to hunters who were shifters. That is how we came to raise Saphira. Bishop, her brother, was with us frequently also, but Laken remained behind. They thought it was safest to separate.”

“Saphira knew Maddy?” Daisy asks, her hand covering mine.

“Maddy raised her with a little help from me. Saph loved her as a mother, and Maddy would have burned down the world for her. We showed her the world and how to protect herself. Most dads read you bedtime stories about magic. We were the magic, and I taught her what weapons to use to cause the most damage. Maddy taught her self-defense and where to hit a man to incapacitate them. She was ten when we started her lessons.” I hate thinking about the past; it’s difficult to remember the night it all went to hell. “Saphira was a teenager when Maddy was taken from us.”

“She was killed?”

“Maddy met a man. He was human but wasn’t her mate. I think she was lonely. We weren’t always together. Sometimes we would travel separately, and there were things she needed that being best friends with her brother couldn’t give her. She knewhe wasn’t the one. She claimed he was nice and treated her with respect,” I grit out.

“Did he know she was a vampire?”

“She said he didn’t, but in the end, that was why she was murdered.” I cross my arms.

“How did he overpower her?” she asks.

“The most vulnerable time is when you are with someone you trust. She was in bed with him. They had just finished having sex, Maddy was cuffed to the bed, and ten of his friends burst into the room. He had the whole thing set up. She trusted him enough to tie her to the bed. She was naked and vulnerable. She could have broken it if the bed had been wood or had a weak frame. She also had let her guard down; she wasn’t expecting to defend herself and was too wrapped up in a man who wasn’t worthy of her. She must've been so shocked and couldn’t use her influence.” I sit up abruptly, dropping my elbows to my knees, my hands cupped over my mouth. Fuck, I hate reliving it.

“How did you find out what they did?” Daisy moves close, rubbing my back.

“She didn’t come home. She always came home. If she spent the night away, she called. If she was states away, she called at the end of each day. We were always considerate of each other. We knew many things could happen. We are not easy to kill, but as I learned, it can happen when you least expect it. I searched for her. I knew the man’s name. I tracked her scent to his place.” My fingers turn white; my grip is fierce. “They were there. All eleven of the men who took her from me,” I say gutturally, my throat closing.

“Oh, Micah,” Daisy whispers, sliding her arm around my back and dropping her cheek to my shoulder.

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