Page 22 of Definitely Dead

The process of becoming a bloodsucker was pretty straightforward. Step one—die after ingesting vampire blood. And that was it. That was the entire list.

“Um, can you give us a minute?” Grabbing Tyr by the hand, Sunne spun him around and marched a few yards away down the riverbank. “Don’t move,” he called. “And don’t touch the water.”

“This isn’t good.”

“No shit,” Sunne hissed. “Are you sure he’s a vampire?”

“I’m sure.”

“Does he need to feed? Is that a thing here?”

Tyr bobbed his head. “Yeah, it’s a thing.”

Like humans, Otherling souls functioned pretty much as normal in the Underworld. Shifters and weres still transformed into beasts. Witches maintained a degree of their magic, though it did have its limitations. Vampires still needed blood, especially a newly raised fledgling.

“What do we do?”

For that, he didn’t have an answer. Left to him, he’d send the cowboy across the river and let the powers that be sort him out. Somehow, he didn’t think his mate would be agreeable to that solution.

“It’s up to him if he wants to take the ferry or not.”

“But he doesn’t even know what he is.”

“Not our problem.”

“Well, I’m making it our problem.”

Tyr sighed. Yeah, he had a feeling Sunne would say that. Might as well get it over with.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” he said as he strode back toward Finn. “You’re a vampire.” He held his hand up to cut him off when the guy started to argue. “You can come with us to the village.” For emphasis, he gestured toward the top of the hill. “Or you can take the ferry across the river. Up to you.”

“Oh, my god.” Clapping a hand over his face, Sunne groaned. “What is wrong with you?”

“I’m really a bloodsucker?” Finn looked a little confused, a little curious, but he seemed to be taking the news well.

“Yes,” Sunne answered, shooting a glare at Tyr. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? You’re not the one who killed me.” Spinning his hat between his hands, he looked over at the dock. “If I stay, can I change my mind later?”

“Yes. You can leave whenever you want.”

“But there’s no coming back,” Tyr added. “Once you cross, that’s it.”

“In that case, if it’s alright with you, I think I’ll stay awhile.”

Sunne smiled, the tension bleeding from his shoulders. “How about a cup of coffee?”

Settling his hat back on his head, Finn cocked his head and smirked. “Got anything stronger?”

Resigned, Tyr started trudging back up the hill toward the village. Only his mate could adopt a dead, Southern-grown fledgling in the middle of the Underworld and make it seem like a regular Tuesday.

But after twelve hundred years of the same shit, at least things were finally starting to get interesting.

Chapter six

Seatedatatablenear the fireplace in the diner, Sunne looked up and smiled when Aster placed a cup of coffee in front of him. “Thanks.”

“I thought you could use a little caffeine infusion,” Aster answered, sliding into the chair across from him. “No offense, but you look a little pale.”

---