Bitter Bite (8 page)

“Gideon, stop,” Hannah said, tugging at him.

“No. It’s okay, Hannah.” Alaric absorbed Gideon’s anger and let it
pass through him. “I wouldn’t be the only one to perish tonight. None of us
would have lived if I hadn’t taken your blood.” He leaned into his consort’s
strength and let Gideon’s emotions pour through him until even the ex-priest
couldn’t deny their connection. Gideon shuddered, fingers finally opening. Alaric
moaned with pleasure as Gideon abruptly stopped fighting the metaphysical
connection. He grabbed Alaric and pushed their mouths together. Alaric shared
the blood and energy he’d consumed across all three of them, using the bond to
plunder their minds. This would complete their connection, cementing their
relationship for all time. They were his consorts. He was their vampire.
Neither Hannah nor Gideon was mortal any longer.

“My mind to yours, my soul is found, my heart beats for you, as
God wills,” Alaric murmured. The words came from the deepest part of his
instinct as a vampire. The moment he said them, he felt a
click
in his
brain and both Gideon and Hannah turned their heads to stare at him. Their eyes
were like flames.

“Holy mother of God, you’re a vampire,” Hannah whispered.

* * * *

Hannah followed Alaric around her apartment numbly as he shoved
clothes into her small backpack.
A vampire. In my apartment.
She still
didn’t really believe it. Monsters weren’t real. Well, at least not vampires.
That was the stuff of fiction novels. Monsters, in her life, were the people
who were supposed to take care of you and hurt you instead.
Like my father,
she thought darkly.

“We can’t stay here,” Alaric said, thrusting the bag at her.
“It’ll be sunrise soon and that will kill us all if I’m caught outside.”

Hannah stared at Alaric.
Not go outside?
She didn’t
understand. When she didn’t grab the bag, Gideon took it and slung it over his
shoulder. Weirdly, she could sense his frustration as though it were her own.
She felt Alaric’s worry, too. It made her uneasy. She wasn’t used to caring
about other people. She’d fought to keep her distance from people for years,
and now all her good intentions were blown out of the water.
You’re tied to them, Hannah. Stop denying
it.
She put a hand on her stomach. It didn’t help.

“Are you saying I won’t be able to go into the sun?” she asked
Alaric. “Am I a vampire now, too?” She moved her hand from her waist to her
neck. The spot where he’d bitten her didn’t even hurt. Except for her
heightened sense of Gideon and Alaric, she felt the same as always. Even the
weird euphoria that had crashed over her had faded quickly.

He shook his head. “No. You and Gideon are my consorts. You are
still mostly human.”

“I don’t know what that means.” Hannah looked past him. Gideon’s
face was set in grim lines. She ran a hand along her kitchen counter nervously.

“You and Gideon are my human half. You can go into the sunlight just
as you always have, but anything that hurts me will injure you as well. So, if
I attempt to walk into the day, it will hurt you because I will be burned.
You’ll grow weak. You will feel my pain. However, it won’t kill you.”

Jesus
. Hannah licked her lips. “That
sounds … bad.”

“It sounds like a great way to enslave a human,” Gideon said bitterly.
“Keep us attached to you.”

Hannah had to agree. She felt numb. None of this really made
sense. How could her life change so completely in the space of two hours?
No,
this is crazy
.
I don’t have to go with them if I don’t want to.
Of
course, when she looked at Gideon, and then Alaric, her insides melted. She
kinda sorta
did
want to go with them.

Alaric laughed shortly. “It goes both ways. If you’re injured, it
affects me just as much. You’re no longer mortal, though, and you will heal
almost anything.” He paused. “Well, except for a demon’s bite. Nothing survives
that.”

“Not mortal? What?” Hannah asked, startled. “That’s impossible.”

“So is my entire existence,” Alaric pointed out. “Vampires aren’t
normal. We’re supernatural beings.”

Hannah stared at him. He had fangs. He’d bitten her and Gideon.
That was fact. But how could she separate that information from the crazier
stuff he’d told them?
You can’t.
She
felt Alaric’s concern for her and realized she must look completely freaked
out.
At least he seems to care about how
I feel.

Gideon shook his head. “Hannah and I didn’t agree to this.”

“And you think I did?” Alaric asked him, blue eyes flashing. “I did
not believe it was possible for me to bond with anyone. I’m over five hundred
years old. Most vampires, if they are lucky, find their consorts before they reach
one hundred years of age. Those that don’t, well…” He trailed off. “They tend
to perish.”

Hannah frowned. “You keep using the word consort. I know we’re
emotionally linked, somehow, because I can sense hints of that, but what does
it mean to be a consort?” She bit her lip, thinking hard. “Besides sharing
injuries, that is.”

Alaric sighed. “Vampires are walking dead monsters. When we’re
made, we die and our soul flees the body before it awakens. When a vampire
meets his or her consort, that person lends a piece of her soul to the vampire.”
He glanced at Gideon. “Or a piece of his soul. The bond humanizes the vampire,
even as it makes him stronger.”

“You’re calling yourself a monster?” Hannah didn’t believe that.
Even at his most scary, he hadn’t hurt her.
Much.

“I’m a killer, Hannah. Vampires are predators.” Alaric glanced at
her windows again, as if gauging the time. He turned back to her. “That is how
we survive.”

Gideon cleared his throat, grabbing her attention. “Alaric
threatened me, Hannah. I watched him drain an old man in the alley almost to
the point of death. When he tried to compel me to forget what I saw, I didn’t.
So, instead, he threatened me with your safety to ensure his own. Believe what
he says. He’s a killer.”

Hannah’s heart skipped. “You threatened to kill me?” she asked
Alaric. She leaned back against the counter, needing the support. She couldn’t
believe he’d meant to hurt her.

“No.” Alaric walked over and cupped her face. “I threatened to
take you away from him. I threatened to kiss you.” He put his lips to her
forehead. “I threatened to own you.” He kissed her lips softly, nibbling until
she gasped. “Now I own you both.”

“You don’t own me,” Gideon said angrily.

Hannah knew Gideon didn’t mean that. She felt his emotions drift
across her mind as Alaric touched her, and anger wasn’t what he was feeling.
Arousal. Need. Those were the things Gideon’s body and heart desired. She
realized he was masking his vulnerability with anger, but the truth would come
out in the end.

“I can feel it too,” Alaric whispered into her ear. “He’s kept
himself under control for so long he doesn’t know what to do with himself now
that all of his barriers have fallen.”

Hannah moaned at his words. His hard length felt sinful against
her body. When he lifted his head, she glanced at Gideon. He watched them with
a strange expression on his face. He didn’t look angry, but he also didn’t look
particularly happy.

I like it when he watches us
. Alaric trailed fingers down her cheek and she trembled.
I
shouldn’t be letting him do this to me, not with Gideon here.
But the
arousal Alaric stroked to life inside her body diffused her embarrassment. She
wanted more. A lot more.

“I warned Gideon I would do this, darling,” Alaric said, kissing
down her jaw and licking the spot on her neck that made her shiver. “I told him
he should have kissed you.” She clutched at him, face burning. How could she
feel so desperate for two men? Wasn’t one enough for her? She
wanted
Alaric to ravish her. She wanted Gideon to watch. She closed her eyes against
the confusion chasing its way through her body.

“I threatened to
bite
you, Hannah,” Alaric murmured against
her skin.

Her pussy swelled and rubbed against the seam of her jeans. She
wrapped her arms around Alaric and tipped her head back. Dear God, she wanted
him to bite her. She craved it.

“Enough,” Gideon said hoarsely.

Hannah’s eyes drifted open. Across the room, her former teacher
stood with his hands fisted. His cheeks were flushed. He had an erection. She
looked at where it pressed against his jeans, long and thick.
I want him,
too.
Summoning the shreds of her self-control, she pushed Alaric away. “I
thought we had to go. You said it wasn’t safe here.”

“It isn’t,” Alaric said, leaning back against the counter next to
her, but not before he kissed her one last time.

Her mind swirled with too much information. “Gideon said you tried
to make him forget what he saw? How is that possible?” She touched her lips.
They felt strange.
She
felt strange.

“He can compel you to obey him. That’s how vampires trick their
prey into submission,” Gideon said, shifting her bag on his shoulder.

Alaric lifted an eyebrow at him.

Gideon grimaced. “I learned about demons in the seminary.”

“And that is why he couldn’t be compelled when I wanted him to
forget what he saw in that alley. It doesn’t work on priests,” Alaric said,
stepping away. “I am not a demon, by the way. Those creatures are an entirely
different breed of monsters.” He raised an eyebrow. “Much more dangerous than
I.”

Hannah tried to ignore how warm she felt when he touched her, and
how cold she grew when he stepped away.
Am
I already so dependent on him? Is that what this consort bond means?
She
crossed her arms over her chest defensively. “But Gideon’s not a priest
anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter. He received the sacrament and that cannot be
revoked.” Alaric smiled sardonically. “God doesn’t give his gifts away lightly,
which is why I am so amazed you and he are my consorts. I’d given up hope years
ago.”

“We’re not yours, Alaric,” Gideon growled.

Hannah shook her head as his irritation rolled through her mind.
She moved closer to him, hoping to soothe his roiling emotions. She’d never
seen him so combative before. When he’d been her teacher, he’d always been
calm. Cool. This new, angry Gideon disturbed her even as it drew her to him.
From the look on Alaric’s face, he liked Gideon’s newfound honesty, too. She
licked her lips. “But what about me? Alaric can compel me, right? I’m not a
priest.” Hannah’s stomach twisted at the thought. Had Alaric been in her mind,
mucking around with her memories?

“No, I didn’t try. And I couldn’t compel you now, even if I wanted
to, which I don’t. Once blood-bonded, consorts can’t be compelled.” He walked
over to her and brushed back her hair. “And we’ve been bonded. There is no
mistake about that.”

“Back at the club, you asked me for my name and I had to give it
to you,” she whispered. “I couldn’t help it.” Hannah was ashamed to admit his
touch comforted her. When she saw Gideon watching them warily, she stepped
away.

“I was not trying to compel you when I asked for your name. When
you offered it to me, you did so of your own free will,” Alaric said softly. He
lifted a shoulder. “However, it could be we both felt the edge of a possible
consort bond drawing us together. You may have been compelled by your own instincts
to trust me.”

Hannah sensed he believed what he was saying. Gideon’s expression
told her he did, too, despite himself.

Alaric continued his explanation. “When young vampires meet their
consort, it helps them survive. The sharing of energy and extra healing helps
both the human and the vampire. And, of course, humans are not trapped inside
during day. Just that small amount of freedom helps the couple immeasurably.”
He paused as if trying to decide what else to say.

There’s more.
“What is it?” Hannah asked,
wanting to know everything. His hesitation bothered her. “Please. We deserve to
know, Alaric.”

He nodded. “I’ve heard that if a vampire and consort fall in love,
the vampire becomes a daywalker. I haven’t seen this personally, but I can only
hope it is possible.”

Hannah blinked. “That means…”

“The vampire is not chained to the darkness.” Alaric glanced at
her windows as if he couldn’t help himself.

Gideon frowned. “That sounds like a bad idea. You say you are a
predator. The daylight is your only weakness. You’re clearly stronger than I
am. Stronger than anyone I’ve ever met. You can compel people to obey you.”

Alaric’s eyes flashed. “Bad idea for whom? You? Humans? You
haven’t spent centuries in the dark, yearning to see the sun full in the sky
just once more.” He paused and took a long breath. “I would kill to taste the heat
of midday once again.”

Alaric’s anguish hit her in her gut. Hanna put a hand out to
Gideon, hoping he would let it go. He couldn’t be blind to Alaric’s emotions,
could he? The look he gave her and her sense of him through the bond told her
he was fooling no one. He felt all the same things she did. “I want to know the
rest,” she said, trying to head off an argument.