Page 47 of Claim of Blood
Leo frowned. “And the... drinking itself?”
“It can be like a drug, especially with compatibility. The urge can feel like a compulsion.”
“But you seem in control.”
“I’m old, beauty. I’ve had practice.” Adam’s lips curved faintly. “Though I admit, with you, it’s more challenging.”
Leo’s expression turned contemplative.
Adam guided them back to Leo’s rooms and gestured to a low lounger. “What’s troubling you?”
Leo’s laugh had a desperate edge. “What’s wrong? Everything’s wrong. My family is just gone. Not just gone—deliberately gone. No hunter sightings in PDC at all?” He shot to his feet, pacing the length of the lounger. “They’ve abandoned me.”
Leo paced like a caged animal, his bare feet whispering across the rug, fingers flexing and curling as if itching for weapons he no longer carried. His voice had shifted—no longer sharp, just raw. Bruised.
Adam said nothing, letting the storm run its course, cataloging every fractured breath and every tremor that passed through Leo’s frame.
Leo’s hands raked through his hair, movements growing more agitated. “I never—I didn’t even want to be a hunter. But it was something I could do. Something I understood. It gave me purpose, direction.” He spun to face Adam, his eyes bright. “And now what? I’m here, with you, and I can’t—I can’t even think straight sometimes. My body just wants to submit, to yield, and part of me wants to, and I don’t understand why. But there’s another part of me that wants to punch you in the face!”
His voice wavered. “Everything I knew, everything that made sense—even if I didn’t love it—at least I understood it. And now...” He gestured helplessly. “Now I’m sleeping with a vampire. Not just any vampire—one of the most powerful vampires in existence. And I can’t even blame mind control, because I want to be here. And that terrifies me even more.”
Leo sank back onto the lounger, the fight seeming to drain out of him. “Nothing makes sense anymore. Not what I was taught about vampires. Not my family’s reaction. Not my own feelings.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “At least as a hunter, I knewwhat I was supposed to do. Who I was supposed to be. Now I’m just... adrift. What am I supposed to do? What is my life now?”
“The past few days have been overwhelming—” Adam began.
“Overwhelming? You think?” Leo cut in sharply. “Did your family abandon you to monsters?” He flinched at his own words. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“Actually,” Adam interrupted quietly, “they did.”
Leo stilled.
“Our village had been without rain for months. They blamed my... preferences. Called it a condemnation from the gods.” Adam’s voice grew distant, remembering. “They tied me to a rock as a sacrifice. That’s where Merytre found me, slowly working my way free of the ropes. I had no intention of dying there. She freed me, took me in, taught me what she knew. Together, we attempted the first conversion, to see if it would work.” His lips curved slightly. “It did.”
“I didn’t know that about you,” Leo said softly. A harsh laugh escaped him. “No hunter clan knows anything about you, do they? Finding you in Porte du Coeur was just luck on their part.”
“Apart from my oldest siblings and the other first-generation vampires, no one knows this story,” Adam confirmed. “And that’s all right. I’m old, Leo. I’ve long since forgiven my family their ignorance.” He paused, studying Leo’s face. “I am sorry you lost your life, but I’m offering you a new one—just as I was given a new one beside Merytre.”
“You’re forcing a new one on me,” Leo shot back, his amber eyes flashing with stubborn defiance.
Adam was quiet for a moment, taking him in. In just days, Leo had upended centuries of careful routine. The pull that had drawn them together from the first moment in the coffee shop wasn’t simply desire. It was something ancient and magical, something that resonated in Adam’s blood like a forgotten melody suddenly remembered.
“We both felt the pull,” Adam said finally, his voice softening. “Neither of us chose it. But here we are.” He shifted slightly on the lounger, angling his body toward Leo without crowding him. “I’ve existed for millennia, Leo. I’ve watched empires rise and fall, seen wonders and horrors your history books have forgotten. And in all that time, I’ve never felt a connection like this.”
Leo’s pulse jumped, but he didn’t look away.
“I can offer you things your family never could,” Adam continued. “Freedom, for one. Freedom to be exactly who you are.” He let the words hang between them, knowing Leo would understand what he meant. “No more hiding your writing. Your novels. No more pretending you were someone you weren’t to meet their expectations—expectations chained to blood and doctrine.”
Leo’s gaze dropped to his hands. “Freedom in a gilded cage is still a cage.”
“For now,” Adam acknowledged. “But this doesn’t have to be a prison sentence, beauty. It could be an opportunity.” He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, hands loosely clasped. “You’re more than what they made you. I see it. The Court will see it too, if you let them. You could be a weapon. A shield. Something new entirely.”
“An opportunity for what?” Leo asked, wariness and curiosity mingling in his voice.
“The Court needs new perspectives. Fresh eyes. We’ve existed for centuries—some of us for millennia. It’s easy to become... stagnant.” Adam let his hand fall. “You see things differently. You ask questions we’ve forgotten to ask. Your books—yes, I’ve read your mysteries—show how keenly you observe the world. How well you understand people’s motivations.”
Leo straightened beside him, surprise flickering in his expression. “You’ve read my books?”
Adam’s lips curved. “I bought them all after we spoke in the coffee shop.” His smile faded. “Your family underestimated you. They never recognized your true value.” He lifted his gaze, voice steady. “I do.”
