Page 121 of Bound By Blood

Elena shook her head. “Drake, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’d rather have Zack go with me this time.”

Drake went still. Though he said nothing, Elena knew she had hurt him. “It’s just that …” She folded her hands and pressed them against her chest. “I don’t know what I’ll do, or how I’ll react. I don’t want you to see me in case I behave badly.”

Drake frowned. “What are you saying?”

“I’m her sire,” Zack said. “I don’t know how it works in your world. But in mine, it’s natural for fledglings to look to their masters for guidance, just like it’s natural for her to expect me to teach her how to hunt, how to survive her new lifestyle. It has nothing to do with her feelings for you. It’s part of the bond she has with me now.”

A muscle throbbed in Drake’s jaw. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides.

The tension in the room was palpable as Drake absorbed what Zack had told him. And then, suddenly, it was gone.

Drake took Elena in his arms. “I love you, wife,” he said quietly. “I will be here when you return.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Drake nodded. “This will take some getting used to, for both of us.”

“We won’t be gone long,” Zack said.

Drake nodded, though it was easy for Kaitlyn to see her father was not happy with this unexpected turn of events. Not that she could blame him. Her parents had been devoted to each other for over twenty years. He kissed Elena’s cheek, and then looked at Zack. “Take good care of her.”

“No problem.” Zack sent a reassuring look at Kaitlyn; then, taking Elena by the hand, he transported the two of them to a neighboring city.

“So,” Zack asked. “How do you feel?”

They were walking down a side street, headed toward Restaurant Row.

“The same as always,” Elena said with a shrug. “Maybe a little better.”

He frowned. He hadn’t felt anywhere near the same as always the night after he had been turned. On waking, his whole body, every fiber of his being, had been on fire with the overpowering need for blood. If he’d had someone to guide him, things might have turned out differently for the first mortal he came across. He still felt guilty for the lives he had taken before he learned he didn’t have to kill to survive, but there was no going back. He’d been a new vampire and he’d done what came naturally.

“Since I feel pretty much the same, maybe it didn’t work,” Elena said, a note of hope in her voice. Pausing, she looked up at him. “Is that possible?”

“Only one way to find out,” Zack said.

Before she realized what he meant to do, Zack bit into his own wrist.

Elena’s reaction left no doubt that she was now a vampire. Her eyes went red as she stared at the bright crimson oozing from the wound. The scent of hot, fresh blood filled the air. The coppery scent surrounded her; when she breathed it in, her lips peeled back, revealing a pair of sharp white fangs.

Elena touched the pad of her thumb to the tip of one fang, gasped as the contact, slight as it was, drew blood.

“It’s true,” she said, her expression one of mingled surprise and horror. “I’m a vampire.”

“‘Fraid so.”

She stared at him, trying to sort through her jumbled feelings, and not knowing where to start. First and foremost, vampire or not, she was glad to be alive. The thought of drinking blood was not repulsive; she had been taking Drake’s blood for years. It was the thought of hunting for prey that was disconcerting. She was a wife, a mother, a homemaker. Women like her didn’t go prowling the back alleys for sustenance. The very idea was ludicrous. And yet, there was no denying that the scent of Zack’s blood was tantalizing her senses to the exclusion of all else. A taste would be welcome, maybe even necessary, but it wasn’t driving her mad with need.

Zack regarded Elena thoughtfully. The red had faded from her eyes; he could no longer see her fangs.

“You’re not behaving like a new vampire,” he remarked. “I wonder …”

“What?”

“Well, you’ve been drinking Drake’s blood for how long? Twenty years? I’m thinking that you were practically a vampire already, and the reason you’re not going crazy with the need for blood is because you’ve got twenty years’ worth of vampire blood in your veins already. I’m thinking you might need to feed tonight to make the transformation complete, and then you’ll probably be like Katy, not entirely human, but not a full-fledged vampire, either.”

Elena frowned and he could see her turning what he had said over in her mind, examining it from every angle. And then she grinned at him. “I can live with that.”

“Good. So, let’s get you fed and head for home. I’m pretty sure your husband and your daughter are going crazy worrying about you. And I’m still on my honeymoon.”

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