The Immortal Compromise (The Mortal One Series Book 3) (20 page)

Adrien leaned into me. “He said enjoy. It’s champagne, brandy, and gin. It will knock you on your ass and then we’re headed home.”

“Thanks.” I picked up the champagne flute and took a sip. Oh, dangerous and so good.

Adrien placed his hand over the bottom of the glass. “Go easy.”

I smiled at him. “You’re nice.”

“You’re drunk.”

“Shhhh. Don’t say it out loud.” The music at this bar was softer, so I could hear more about what was going on. It didn’t give me a headache and the conversations around us were all in French, so it was impossible to eavesdrop.

The only thing I wanted to eavesdrop on was what was going on in my home. Nico, Olivier, and Jen were all doing things without me. They were having a ceremony that I wasn’t allowed to be privy too and suddenly, Jen would be entitled to more than I was. I was married to a vampire, yet there were things I didn’t know and wouldn’t know until after I took my last mortal breath. It was bullshit and just like that, I was pissed off all over again.

I chugged the rest of the drink and turned to Adrien. His eyes were wide when he realized how quickly I had finished the drink. “Is it past ten?”

“It is closer to midnight,” he said. “Why?”

“I’m allowed to go home now, so let’s go,” I said, walking out of the club.

He turned to put cash on the bar and followed me out. “Allowed?”

“Don’t ask,” I said and stopped, placing a hand on the brick wall to my side. Everything swayed for a second and I needed the moment to collect myself.

Adrien swung his arm around my waist. “This way,” he said and guided me down the road to where his car was parked. I didn’t want to admit it, but it was nice to have the solid force at my side because I probably wouldn’t have been able to walk to the car otherwise.

***

“I can go in on my own,” I said to Adrien as we pulled into the driveway.

“Are you sure?” He asked, unbuckling. I could see he was ready to take me in, but knew that he would be blamed for my condition.

“Promise,” I said. “Nico will take care of your time?” I hesitated, not sure what their arrangement was.

“Yes.”

“Great,” I said. “Thank you again.”

“My pleasure,” he said and I shut the car door.

I walked, or rather staggered, into the front door and locked it behind me.

Nico greeted me. “You’re drunk.”

“Yup,” I said and sat my purse down on the kitchen counter.

“Dylan,” Nico said, following me up the stairs. “I understand that you are upset. I would have included you in the ceremony if I could have. It is simply not allowed.”

“Fine,” I said, walking upstairs and into the bedroom.

“It is not fine. You are upset,” he said, grabbing my arm. He spun me around so I was forced to look at him.

His expression fell. “I am sorry. Would you like to see her?”

I shrugged, not sure if I wanted to see her or not. From what I understood, she would appear dead. It would be somewhere in between death and vampirism. I knew she would wake tomorrow night as a vampire like they promised, but would that be what I think of when I see her?

“You should see her. It will help to understand for when you turn,” he said, taking me by the hand.

“Okay,” I agreed and let him lead me down the hall to the guest room.

He opened the door and she was lying on the bed, dead to the world. Olivier sat at her bedside and looked up at me when I entered the room.

“You did this correctly, right?” I asked, staring at my best friend. If I didn’t know vampires exist, I would assume she was dead, never to wake again.

Olivier nodded. “Yes. She will wake tomorrow evening just as we do.”

“Why not now?”

“It takes time for the transition,” Nico interjected.

I got closer to her. No breath came from her mouth. There was no rise and fall of her chest. No pulse was found on her wrist.

Nico rested a hand on my shoulder. I reached up and held it. “She will wake up,” he said.

“I know,” I said and paced uncomfortably. For now, she was dead. There was nothing to mourn, but there was also no sense in staring at her to wake up when it would take time. The alcohol was still thrumming through my body. Sleep was taking over faster than I was ready, so I did the only thing that made sense. I walked out of the room where my dead friend was and walked into my own room. After that, I went to sleep.

Chapter 25

JEN STRETCHED HER arms over her head and spun around. “This is the most amazing feeling in the world.”

“Really?” I asked, watching as she tested out all of her limbs. This was the first time I got to see the transformation from human to vampire. She chose to become a vampire much faster than I did because she didn’t trust anyone. Even though she knew Violante was dead and therefore was not a threat anymore, she didn’t like the idea of having to depend on anyone to keep her safe.

“I honestly don’t know what you’re waiting for,” she smiled. “My entire body feels new and improved.”

There was a list of why. I was a truth-seeker through and through and many of my reasons mirrored those of Antonio. It was something we had in common.

“What do you mean new and improved?” I asked, intrigued by it all.

She shrugged. “I feel stronger. I feel like there is more energy in my body. I guess, well, I feel invincible. And so hungry,” she said, turning to Olivier.

“All of these feelings are normal. The hunger we need to address quickly,” he said, “considering there is one person in the house who is not a vampire.”

Goosebumps rose across my body. “What?” I asked, not sure if I understood what he was implying. “She wouldn’t attack me.”

“She would and she could. While she wouldn’t mean to attack her friend, you have human blood that she needs for survival,” Olivier said.

I turned to Nico, waiting for him to argue.

“Olivier is right. She needs to feed, outside of this house.”

“Sorry,” Jen said. She smiled at me, but she hadn’t learned the art of hiding her fangs yet. It was slightly terrifying to see those in her mouth. She reminded me of a blonde Violante at the moment and that was a less than settling thought.

“Let’s go,” Olivier said and took her by the elbow. “We will be back later.”

“Umm, okay,” I said, giving an awkward wave to them and turning to Nico.

“What?” He asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t think about being the only human in the house.”

“You will be turned at some point as well, and then it won’t be an issue,” he said.

I understood that, but I still didn’t know when I wanted to be turned. It was now something that needed to happen sooner rather than later, so it seems. My assumption was that Jen and Olivier were going to move in together, but it hadn’t actually happened. Perhaps I would have to be the one to ask since it wasn’t being mentioned.

“Until then,” I asked, “am I safe?”

“What do you mean?”

“With Jen. You mentioned that new vampires have a higher thirst for blood, so am I safe around her?”

Nico hesitated with his answer. “I don’t know yet.”

“Oh, that’s great.” As if I didn’t have enough to keep me busy, now I had to worry about my best friend eating me because she was hungry.

“We will get it sorted out.”

“Soon?”

Nico nodded. “As soon as they get back, we will discuss it.”

“Fine,” I said. “I’m going to make some dinner.”

Nico followed me down and into the kitchen. I pulled some ingredients from the fridge and started to toss them together in a sauté pan. A simple stir fry was all I had the energy to make tonight. As I was plating, Jen and Olivier returned.

Jen seemed to be under control, so it allowed me to relax again, for now. I still didn’t want to fall asleep in the house if she was here alone with me.

I ate at the counter while everyone else stood around. Jen and Olivier had yet to deal with her mortal life, so now was as good a time to mention it as any.

I hated to be the one to bring it up, but it seemed that Olivier was so caught up in the romance that he wasn’t fulfilling his responsibilities as her maker. “We do need to figure out how you are going to sever your connections to the mortal world.”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

I shook my head.
Olivier, you should have been working on all of these things
. “Your job, your apartment, your friends.”

“Oh,” she said quietly. “I hadn’t really thought about any of that.”

“We were going to cover those,” Olivier said, staring at me. I’m sure he was less than thrilled that I mentioned these in front of Nico.

“You cannot return. They will notice the changes in you,” I said.

“Wait, what?” She asked. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she would not be able to return to her old life.

“Jen, think about it. What did you think was going to happen when you became a vampire? You would be able to get on the next red eye to Florida and live as a vampire there?”

Her brows furrowed. “No. I’m not an idiot, Dylan. But I thought I would be able to at least say goodbye and pack up all of my things.”

“Was I able to say goodbye to you and all of my friends?” I asked.

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Her face flashed with understanding. “That’s why you couldn’t say anything to me, but it felt like I would never see you again. It’s why you said you were so content to stay in Italy.”

“Right. I didn’t have a choice. The moment I learned about vampires existing, everything changed. There would be no way that they would have allowed me to leave the country in fear of me saying anything to anyone. And now with you actually changed, you can’t go anywhere, either. I mean, you have the freedom to go anywhere you want, but you have to sever ties with anyone you have ever known with the exception of me,” I explained.

Her face dropped and I was silently cursing Olivier for not taking his grooming responsibilities seriously. He taught her what it meant to be a vampire, but he didn’t teach her what it meant to not be human.

“This needs to be done immediately,” Nico said to Olivier.

“Understood. I may need your assistance, though.”

Nico shook his head. “Make it happen. If you need something, let me know.”

Olivier nodded. “Jen, why don’t we head to my place so we can start discussing what needs to happen.”

Jen nodded.

“About that,” I said, turning to Nico to see if he knew where I was going with my conversation. He nodded. “What will be the living arrangements moving forward?”

Jen and Olivier froze. They both stared at me with blank faces.

“Jen, I love you like a sister, but you cannot continue living here,” I explained.

“I, umm, she can move in with me,” Olivier hesitated over the words.

“Are you sure?” Jen asked, turning her attention to him. “You don’t sound too sure.”

He shrugged. “You have spent the night several times. I have just never lived with a woman before.”

She giggled. “Oh. Well, there’s a first time for everything.”

“This is true,” he said and then looked at all of us. “I guess Jen and I are moving in together.”

“Great,” I said.

Jen grabbed her stomach. “Oh,” she moaned.

“What’s going on?” I asked, moving towards her.

Nico grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me back. “Keep your distance.”

“I’m going to be sick,” Jen said, looking back and forth between Nico and Olivier. “What’s going on?”

“It’s your digestive system adjusting to the blood. This can take a few days. You also need more blood,” Olivier said.

“Why don’t you grab her suitcases and head out,” Nico said, standing as the barrier between Jen and I.

I didn’t like the idea that there needed to be a barrier between the two of us. It scared me because there had to be a reason for it. She could reach for me in a blood thirsty moment without realizing it was me. That was not okay.

She sat on the stool while Olivier went to get her suitcases. When he brought them down, Jen stood up. “I think I’m hungry again,” she said to him.

“I know,” he said, “we’re leaving now.”

She smiled at me again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow night,” I reminded her.

“Oh yeah,” she laughed and her fangs dropped down again.

I took a step back and waited for the two of them to leave. I couldn’t look at her just yet. She needed to get her blood urges under control and stop flashing her fangs. The idea of being scared of my best friend worried me. Maybe her moving in with Olivier and spending some time with just him for a few days would be a good thing.