Page 13 of Death Deals

It may not be love I felt, but I cared about him too much to do that to him.

Being the dedicated Guardian he was, I knew he was doing all he could to find me. He was probably worried sick since Monnie’s contract made it impossible for him to track me, or for me to cross over into the nonliving dimensions. It was just another reason to kill Monnie and break our deal, and that meant agreeing to Andre’s terms.Allof them.

“Good,” Andre said, his smile spreading to a full grin. “With my blood inside you, it gives the illusion of us participating in the claiming ceremony, but when that wears off, we may need to figure out what to do next.”

“Claiming ceremony?”

“You don’t know much about our kind, do you?”

Only what I got by dead vampire bios and what they were willing to tell me before crossing them over. So, not much.

I shook my head.

He sighed and leaned back on the table. “When a vampire chooses to spend their time with someone, the two share blood in a ceremony and are permanently linked that way. Mentally, emotionally, physically, they are bonded until one dies. Sometimes, one death can also cause the remaining member to die, too. That’s how strong the bond is. Vampires don’t claim often, but when one does, it is universally acknowledged that the claimed is under the vampire’s protection and care. They’re virtually off-limits from being fed on or… romanced.”

He meant sexed up. Gotcha.

“I’ve never claimed anyone before. I like my independence, you see.”

“And Cassandra has her panties in a bunch because you chose me instead of her?” I asked.

“Possibly. Although she and I have known each other for so long, I doubt there are any real feelings there at all. It may just be possessiveness on her end.”

“But wait, isn’t that incest? You are all related.”

He chuckled. “Technically, you could say we share a common ancestor, but the vampire mutation has gone through changes and adaptations along the centuries,” he explained. “It would be like saying all humans are related because they originally came from the first two ever made. Adam and Eve.”

“And the last name DeMonte?” I asked.

“It’s a given name. I went by another before my death, like the rest of us.”

Noticing the sudden rigidness in his posture, I detoured back to the original conversation.

“So, vampires can claim other vampires then,” I said as I tried to wrap my head around everything.

He nodded. “Any living person, supernatural or non. Sometimes, even more than one can be claimed. There are quite a few of us who have harems.”

Ah.

“Being my claim assures your safety,” he repeated.

That may be so, but I had a feeling he was enjoying the idea of having me under his thumb, too. Both in blood and in title.

But if I was going to go through this and go into the lion’s den with a bunch of bloodthirsty vampires, I was going to need help. Even if the one leading me was a lion himself.

“Fine, I’ll play pretend for the time being, but don’t let it go to your head,” I said. “I’m not really yours or whatever.”

“And if you change your mind?”

“I won’t,” I huffed. “Believe me. I’m only agreeing to this because I need your help and you need mine. And I don’t feel like being vamp chow any time soon.”

“If you say so.” He walked toward the door and opened it. “We have a long journey ahead of us.”

I glanced over my shoulder at the table full of untouched food, and my stomach grumbled. The other vamps may have not been interested in eating dinner, but I was starving. Now that I was on this side on the veil, I was experiencing normal, living needs again.

Andre must have heard my hunger because he said with a short laugh, “I’ll have something brought upstairs for you. You’ll need your strength for what’s ahead.”

The arranged transportation was two classy black cars, the kind big-time CEOs drove in, and two equally-as-fancy stretch limousines. One car for us, one for Hector, and the one stretch for each families’ posse. I guessed their alliance wasn’t at the point of sharing rides just yet, but it didn’t take long before we were off, on our way to the airport.

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