Page 26 of Bloody Nights (La Vega Vampire Showstoppers 2)

“Yeah, Hayley, be a vicious little dhampir and bite the hell out of Sawyer for making me jealous as fuck. He’s not the only hungry one.” Monroe bounces on the bed, shifting closer, peeking at me.

This cute bastard wants to watch. Actually, so does Knox. It should be weirder than it is, but it’s not. It feels exhilarating and perfect, even with Cooper frozen in his seat as if he’s afraid to speak or move or even breathe. My guys act as if he no longer exists, so I go with it. I know I invited him into the room.

“You can bite me too, Monroe. I don’t mind.” I lick my lips and bat my eyelashes at him, loving the heavy lust darkening his gaze.

“Careful, Hayley. You need to drink first. If you don’t—” Cooper snaps his mouth shut as all three of my guys growl at him, finally acknowledging that he’s still in the room. “I mean it. You guys can act like assholes all you want toward me, but I’m trying to help Hayley. If you drink too much, and she doesn’t get any, she will fucking attack you. I’ve seen it happen.”

His words are enough to snap all of us out of our playful mood to turn to him. He just said that he’s seen a dhampir attack someone. If he has seen it, that means he knows of another person like me.

“That’s why Lawrence chose you to care for Hayley before we got here,” Sawyer says, musing my thoughts for me. “I was wondering why you. You’re obviously young and not very powerful. You carry yourself as if you were newly transformed.”

Cooper purses his lips. “Yeah, my grandmother. She was taking care of me when I was a child, and I saw it happen. That’s when I realized the woman I thought was my mother was actually my grandmother. She ripped a vampire’s heart out that broke into our house.”

His story captures my attention completely, and I lean forward. His grandmother was a dhampir? Whoa. If that was the case, that means she had a child. But what about Cooper? He’s a vampire. Dhampirs can’t change. At least, that’s what Lawrence said. His venom bite proved as much. I didn’t transform, and I didn’t die.

“How? You should be one too, right? And your mom? What about her?” I peer at Sawyer, wondering if he knows the answers. He remains silent, and I don’t think he does. He only knows the stories. Cooper? He lived the dhampir life with his family. “I have so many questions. Why didn’t you tell me this?”

Cooper’s fangs peek from his full top lip, and he brings his emerald gaze to mine. His eyes drink in my face as he stares at me for a long, silent moment. I’m not sure if he’s going to answer me. He looks as if he might try to flee the room to avoid this conversation. Whatever happened in his childhood must’ve been traumatic enough that it’s hard for him to talk about. I should know. I understand what it’s like to live through torment and torture and abuse. Cooper might be a vampire. He might be strong. But we aren’t that different, and I realize it more and more now.

None of my guys move as I stand up and close the couple feet of space between me and Cooper. I rest my hand on his shoulder, unable to stop myself from trying to comfort him.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry,” I add, trying to force my mouth to smile. “You don’t have to tell me anything. I get it.”

“Like hell—” Monroe groans as Knox punches him in his gut, stopping him from speaking his mind. I can tell he’s as invested in answers as I am. It does take a lot for me not to keep pushing Cooper, but I don’t want him to shut down.

Cooper reaches up and rests his hand on mine. “You don’t have to apologize. I do want to tell you. I just...it’s hard for me. I’ve been carrying the secret all my life. The only ones who’ve ever known were Lawrence and Opal.”

Hearing Opal’s name awakens a deep cut inside of me, releasing the grief I’ve been trying to suppress since Alexander murdered her. I still can’t believe she’s gone. This all feels like a nightmare.

“What about the rest of your family?” I ask, hoping if I redirect the conversation to just work through my questions one at a time, it might be easier for him to talk.

“My grandmother was sentenced to death. My mother died when my little sister was born. She carried the dhampir gene but isn’t like you. Males can’t be like you either, at least, of what I know. It was possible for me to pass it down if I chose to have offspring, but there was no fucking way we were ever going to let that happen. No one in my family was going to live a life as what Lawrence wanted.” Cooper clenches his jaws with his words. He doesn’t want his family to have the life that I find myself in now.

“Your sister is a vampire too?” Knox asks, speaking up. Sawyer and Monroe remain silent, taking in the whole conversation and letting me direct it.

Cooper nods his head. “We managed to get one of the guests to transform both of us in exchange for our older sister. It was her idea. She saved us.” Shaking his head, Cooper blinks his eyes, and the sheen in his gaze disappears.

How fucking awful his situation was. I can’t believe that his older sister made a deal with a vampire to transform the rest of her siblings. I understand desperation, but I still just can’t imagine it.

“You can see how it turned out for me. My little sister, Lilac, works across the way at Falo Ills. I agreed to become part of the herd, so she wouldn’t have to be. Lawrence threatens to put her in all the time, which is why I do what he says. It is what it is, but she’s family. She deserves better. I don’t want Daisy’s sacrifice to have been for nothing. Her master murdered her because she tried to take him out in his sleep. We were hoping that we could transform her later, but it’s just...” He lets his voice trail off. “Life is shitty. But you already know that.”

It’s so much to take in. I still have so many questions, and I want to know more about his family and life, about his grandmother and what she was like as a dhampir. I want to know everything about him.

I don’t get the chance to ask.

An alarm blares through the air, and the lights shut off.

My guys materialize around me protectively.

“What the fuck is going on?” Sawyer asks, linking his fingers through mine, ensuring that no one can take me.

“It’s a drill. Lawrence has them to keep everyone on their toes in case of a threat. We have to go.” Cooper stands up from his chair, unfazed by the strange alarm.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Monroe says.

The door to our room swings open, and a team of security personnel aims guns at us. “Everyone out. Boss’s order.”

“What is this about?” Sawyer asks.

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