The Dark Vampire: Last True Vampire 3 (2 page)

Jenner pushed himself up and swung his legs over the side of the bed as he cradled his head in his palms.
The female reached out for him, her arm flopping onto the mattress beside him, hand groping lazily.

“Don’t leave. . . .” The words were barely coherent. “Spend the day with me.”

The day? Jesus.
The thought of being trapped there with her past sunrise caused Jenner to break out into a cold sweat. He wasn’t a stay-over sort of male. And he didn’t want to give her the impression that what had happened between them was anything more than what it had been. Did that make him a heartless son of a bitch? Probably. He was already soulless. He couldn’t feel regret over his recent whoring ways if he’d wanted to. He fucked. Fed. Survived. There was little else to his existence at this point.

“Gotta jet, honey.” What the fuck was her name, anyway? He really needed to start nailing that shit down from the get-go. “Mikhail has strict rules about being away from home base once the sun’s up.”

That wasn’t entirely true, but she didn’t need to know that. Security had certainly become the king’s priority over the past few months. Especially with Gregor—the berserker warlord hell-bent on the vampire race’s destruction—still unaccounted for and Mikhail’s mate, Claire, at the end of her pregnancy. So yeah, he wanted Jenner close, but it’s not like he had a curfew or some shit.

“Mmmmm. You wiped me out, baby.”

At least, that’s what Jenner thought she said. With her muffled words she could have muttered anything. He glanced over his shoulder at her, all naked willowy limbs and bronze skin. Well, it’d been bronze when they’d started their play earlier in the night. Now her complexion bore an ashen pallor as a result of the amount of blood he’d taken from her.
Gods-damn it
. Jenner let out a gust of breath. Leaving her weak and helpless would be a class-
A dick move. Feeding her from his vein would help to replenish her strength, and he hadn’t drained her to the point that doing so would trigger her transition. He really would have his ass in a sling if that happened. Mikhail had some very strict—not to mention archaic—rules about which dhampirs would be turned. Jenner snorted. By trying to keep the growth of their race under control, his king had inadvertently resurrected a classist system that was sure to enrage more than a few dhampirs. Not to mention rally others to Siobhan’s cause.

Siobhan. Fuck.
He’d assured Mikhail that he’d drop in on the female before sunup. In his haste to fuck and feed from the female currently lounging beside him, he’d forgotten all about Siobhan. Time to GTFO.

Jenner leaned back on the bed and scored his wrist with his fangs. He brought his arm to the female’s mouth and her eyes drifted dreamily from his face to the four droplets of blood that formed on his wrist. A lazy smile settled on her lips before she sealed her mouth over the punctures and began to suck. Jenner’s cock stirred, and for a moment he considered doing as she’d asked and staying right there for the duration of the day. She moaned against his flesh and a shiver raced down his spine and settled in his balls.

Damn.

“Gotta go, sweetheart.” As much as he wanted to bury his cock in her one more time, he had things to do and pissing off Mikhail wasn’t on the list.

Her tongue passed over the punctures—gods, it felt good—and she pulled away with a sensual moan. “Your blood is like a drug, Jenner. Just a sip and I’m wired.”

He wished he knew what that felt like. His own addiction to blood and sex had been reduced to a base need that found no satiation or satisfaction. The thirst was an
unquenchable fire in his throat, his body ached for release, and it didn’t matter how much he drank or fucked. The desperate need never went away.

He was empty. Soulless. And nothing he did served to make Jenner feel full.

“Get some sleep.”

Her bottom lip protruded in a pout. “Isn’t there anything I can do to convince you to stay?”

His eyes wandered down the length of her naked body, pausing at the swell of her breasts. Jenner swallowed down a groan and reached for his jeans. “Short of an order from my king, no.” He leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. “I’ll see you around.”

“Don’t be a stranger, baby,” she purred after he finished dressing and headed for the door.

Jenner paused, his hand on the knob.
Stranger.
She had it spot-on. He didn’t have a fucking clue who he was anymore. He made his way through the tiny apartment, closed the door behind him, and stepped out into the cool spring night. With a long, exhausted breath, he straddled his bike and reached for the handlebars when his cell rang. He fished it out of his pocket and answered, “I’m on my way to Siobhan’s now. Tell Mikhail to hold his horses.”

“That can wait.” Ronan’s tone was all business tonight. “Meet me at my office first.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Luckily, he was close to downtown.

“Good.” Ronan disconnected the call without another word.

Great.
Looked like it was going to be a long night. Jenner took another deep breath and stretched his neck from side to side. He’d been reckless tonight. Taken too much of the female’s blood and let his control slip too far. A single thought resonated in his mind and he shuddered:
Monster.

Jenner walked into Ronan’s office, half-expecting to see Mikhail there as well, intervention-style. Only Ronan knew the truth of Jenner’s worries, and the male would be stupid not to share in them. The past several months of his transition had only served to prove that Jenner was everything he’d ever feared he would become. For weeks, he’d been expecting the hammer to drop. For Ronan to confront him or for Mikhail to pronounce his death sentence. He wanted to feel relieved for yet another stay of execution, but as Jenner took note of the dhampir male sitting opposite Ronan a strange tingle of anticipation raced down his spine. The male gave Jenner a sidelong look and barely concealed the curl of his lip as he regarded him.
Awesome.

“Now that we’re all here,” Ronan said in the down-to-business tone that made him the consummate professional, “why don’t we get down to brass tacks. Jenner, this is Thomas Fairchild.”

A coven master.
Fucking great.
That’s all Jenner needed. Some aristocratic asshole looking down his nose at him. Jenner opted to skip the formalities and gave the male a slight nod. Fairchild didn’t seem to notice—or care—as he straightened in his seat and adjusted the sleeves of his suit jacket. Straightlaced. Stuck-up. Obviously rich. And probably as classist as they came. Fairchild’s coven resided on the outskirts of Los Angeles and its members were secretive and reclusive. No one knew much about them. As far as the thirteen covens were concerned, Fairchild’s lot were outcasts. Some thought them zealots or separatists like Siobhan’s coven.

“As I told you on the phone, I’ve heard that you’re a male who solves problems,” Fairchild began in an equally crisp and haughty tone. “I have a problem. I assume that in your current condition, you can help me.”

“Current condition?”
Ronan cut Jenner a look as he smiled wide enough to showcase his dual sets of fangs. Jenner swallowed down his amusement and folded his arms across his wide chest as he waited for Ronan to bring on the charm. “Are you uncomfortable with the term ‘vampire,’ Mr. Fairchild?”

The male cleared his throat nervously and Jenner’s mouth quirked at the corner. The scent of Fairchild’s anxiety and fear perfumed the air. It shouldn’t have pleased Jenner so much to see the aristocratic male in distress, but he couldn’t help himself.

“My niece,” Fairchild continued without responding. “She’s in need of protection.”

Again, Ronan glanced Jenner’s way, his brow cocked curiously. “From what?”

“A witch,” Fairchild replied.

A palpable wave of concern wafted from Ronan. His mate, Naya, was a witch. He scooted to the edge of his seat as he leaned farther over the desk. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to be more specific.”

Fairchild cast another glance Jenner’s way as though he couldn’t be trusted to hear the delicate details.
Please.
Jenner had been forced to suffer the prejudices of assholes like Fairchild his entire life. That he had to suffer them now—in his own place of employment—dug into his skin like a tick.

“You see that big, scary-looking vampire right there?” Ronan apparently sensed Fairchild’s distaste as well. “He’s the one who’s going to be protecting your niece. So I suggest whatever issues you have with him you get over. Quickly. Otherwise, you can take yourself out the way you came.”

Jenner appreciated the solidarity, but he suspected that Fairchild saw what Jenner saw every time he looked in the mirror: a creature that should have been put down a long damned time ago.

Fairchild gave an almost indiscernible nod. “A dark witch has been searching for my niece for centuries. I’ve kept her hidden—protected,” he amended. “But she’s headstrong and no longer content to accept that she must exercise caution at all times. I suspect that she’s been exercising her freedom, sneaking out of the compound at night. She’s quite resourceful, you see. I need someone who can track her. Watch over her and keep her safe.”

“So you want us to follow her around without her knowledge?” Ronan asked. “Provide personal security when she’s out and nothing else?”

“Not exactly,” Fairchild said. “I also want you to find the witch. And kill her.”

“For what reason is she hunting your niece?” Ronan asked, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“Reasons that I don’t care to share,” Fairchild remarked in his insufferably stuffy tone. “Surely someone in your line of work can appreciate discretion. All you need to know is that my niece is in danger. I want that danger eliminated if possible.”

“How do you expect us to do that?” Ronan said.

“If I knew how,” Fairchild remarked, “I wouldn’t have come to you for help, would I?”

“We can offer her protection,” Ronan said. “But until I have more details about this witch I can’t help you with finding her or killing her.”

Fairchild gave a thoughtful nod. “Trust has to be earned, I suppose. We’ll start our relationship with protection only. If I deem you trustworthy, I’ll explain more of the situation and we can move forward from there.”

“Fine,” Ronan replied.

Jenner swallowed down a derisive snort. Males like Fairchild were all the same. Stuck-up, self-righteous, covetous sons of bitches. Like he didn’t have enough on his
plate, now Jenner was going to have to babysit some prim and snotty female who had more money than sense. She probably crawled out of her window at night and headed straight for the club district. He’d rather fall on a slayer’s stake.

“We’ll work out the details, and Jenner can start Monday.”

“Why Monday?” Fairchild’s tone hitched with annoyance. “That’s three days away.”

“Because Jenner has
other
responsibilities,” Ronan stressed. “Monday. Or nothing.”

“Very well.” The male reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out a checkbook.

Jenner didn’t need to be here for this part. He knew how his time would be spent after this week.
Gods.
As though his existence weren’t tortured enough. “You need me for anything else?” Jenner asked. “Otherwise, I can take care of that other bit of business we have.”

Ronan’s brow puckered as though he’d forgotten all about Siobhan. The lightbulb came on and his mouth puckered. “Yeah. Might as well get that out of the way, too.”

The idea of dealing with the female was as unsavory to Ronan as it was Jenner. She was a raging pain in the ass. One who had to be dealt with whether they wanted to or not. Would this night ever end? For once, Jenner couldn’t wait for the sun to rise.

“You look like shit, Jenner.” Siobhan never was one to mince words. The female’s tongue was as sharp as a well-honed blade. Jenner couldn’t disagree, though. It had been one bitch of a long night. “I can’t imagine that
your king
appreciates how much time you’ve dedicated to whoring your way from one end of the city to the other.”

Her disdainful tone didn’t go unnoticed. There was no love lost between the self-proclaimed dhampir queen and
his king. If it was possible, she’d gotten even nastier since the race’s resurrection. No doubt she was attempting to bait Jenner with her insults, but he wasn’t biting.

“Have you managed to find out why the werewolf is so interested in you?”

For months a rogue werewolf had been tracking Siobhan’s every move. Jenner suspected he was on the Sortiari payroll and that the guardians of Fate were using Siobhan as bait to coax Gregor into the open in much the same way Mikhail had been. Jenner had no idea what the female’s history was with the berserker. All he’d been told was that it had been violent and bloody. He doubted the Sortiari knew any of the details, either. Where Mikhail had intimate knowledge of Siobhan’s history, the Sortiari used seers to guide them in the right direction. Fucking fortune-tellers and fanatics. The Sortiari were nothing more than a pain in the ass.

“As if I’d tell your king anything.”

She sat on her makeshift throne, legs tucked daintily beneath her. She painted a lovely image, prim and delicate. A convincing illusion, to be sure. There was nothing soft or helpless about her.

“What makes you think I’m not asking for myself?”

She answered with a derisive snort.

“Who is he, Siobhan?”

She deflected like a pro, “How much longer is Mikhail going to keep Chelle from me?”

“Mikhail isn’t keeping anyone from you.”

“Careful, Jenner. I can smell the lies on your skin.”

“I’m sure you like to think so.”

She smirked.

The truth was, Chelle was being kept from
everyone,
not just Siobhan. Ronan’s twin had been turned not by the bite and blood of a vampire, but through the power of a magical coffin that, according to legend, was the origin
of the entire vampire race. Not even Ronan was convinced that his sister was harmless. Chelle was volatile. Her thirst still raged and her new vampiric existence was unnerving as hell. As was her disconnection from the Collective. She’d become secretive since her turning. No one but Chelle had any knowledge of the extent of her power, her physiology, or her abilities. Unleashing a variable like that on the world could be a dangerous thing indeed. Jenner knew that the only reason she’d allowed herself to be hidden away was because Ronan had asked her to cooperate. It wouldn’t be long, though, before she tired of captivity and left Mikhail’s guesthouse of her own volition.