Page 16 of To Challenge a Wolf

“Maybe vampires run out of resistance.”

She went still. He rarely made reference to his agelessness; it was a topic that didn’t always hurt him but could. Vivian had tried over the years to understand this veiled part of her friend, but he didn’t make it easy. She might never know how old he was.

“You’re sounding world-weary tonight,” she said when he remained quiet.

“I’m glad you called.”

“What is it?”

“It’s the anniversary of something I’d like to forget. Don’t ask me to talk about it, Viv.”

“Oh, Blaine, I’m so sorry.”

“No,” he said. “Please.”

“We can change the subject, but have you slept lately?”

“It’s been just over a month.”

Which would only exacerbate his grief. Sleep wasn’t a physical need for vampires, but without it their mental and emotional health eroded over time. Long-term, they needed to average eight hours a week, preferably consecutive hours though they could make do with a few at a time. Blaine typically slept through the night every Sunday.

She popped to her feet and began to pace at the foot of the frilly bed. She’d thought he looked a little tense around the eyes last time she’d seen him. She should have said something.

“Don’t,” he said gently. “I’m fine.”

“But why can’t you sleep? What do you need to do?”

A few low notes of laughter enriched his voice as he said, “You don’t need to fix it, Viv.”

“I want to.”

“And I appreciate that.”

“Answer the question.”

He sighed. “You can’t fix vampire insomnia, okay? It happens to the best of us. My body doesn’t care about circadian rhythms or however else humans decide when to sleep. All it’s processing right now is that I’m…”

“You’re what?” she said when the silence stretched too long.

“Maybe we’re back to resistance after all—my body resisting sleep for its own unfathomable reasons.”

“Nope. That’s a deflection.”

“Vivian.”

“Blaine.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you.”

“What do you think?”

His hiss was whisper-soft, a sound of surrender. “All right. You know every bit of vampire folklore contains a foundation in facts.”

“I do know this, yes. I’ve been friends with this guy named Blaine Calder for six years now, and he’s told me quite a bit, though apparently he’s about to tell me something new, which is kind of exciting, I’m not gonna lie.”

He gave a brief, quiet chuckle. Goal achieved. “Right. Well. Here’s the sleeping-in-coffins origin story. If we go too long without sleep, we eventually shut down and fall into a sort of short-term hibernation. We can’t be awakened from it, and there’s no way to predict how long it will last because it varies for each of us.”

“So you might sleep for years?” She would effectively lose her friend, and while passing time didn’t age him, it did age her. He had to find a way to sleep. Tonight.

---