MODERN DAY VAMPIRES.
VAMPIRE 101.
by Paige Tyler.
Dedication.
With special thanks to my extremely patient, understanding and wonderful husband, without whose help and support, I couldn't have pursued my dream job of becoming a writer. You're my sounding board, my idea man, my critique partner, and the absolute best research assistant any girl could ask for!
Chapter 1.
Tall, dark, and handsome, with a side order of brooding. That's exactly the type of man Savanna Royce was looking for. It sounded simple enough. So, why the heck was it taking her so long to find him?
Maybe she was just looking in the wrong places. But it wasn't as if she had a lot of options when it came to finding him. After plenty of attempts, she'd come to the conclusion that she wasn't going to find him in the produce department of the grocery store, or in a spinning class at her health club, or hanging around the water cooler at work. Or at any of the other traditional places a woman went to meet a guy in San Francisco.
So, she'd started going to clubs. But not just any clubs. Her desire to find a dark, mysterious loner had inevitably led her to the equally dark and mysterious subculture of the Goth club.
She wasn't really what most people would call a Goth girl. Sure, she wore a lot of dark clothes, but she wasn't into the heavy make-up or the pale skin. She was sort of a "weekend Goth girl" she guessed she would say. But though she was generally welcomed at the clubs, and had dated a few of the cuter guys, she had quickly discovered they weren't really what she was looking for. Just because she hadn't found him yet that didn't mean she wouldn't.
But lately, she was starting to think that maybe the kind of guy she was looking for didn't really exist. Which was entirely possible considering that her perfect guy happened to be a fictional character on a TV show. She had spent years searching for her very own real-life Angel. Not the kind with wings and a halo, but the hunky, vampire kind like on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Savanna had first started crushing on vamps in high school. She and her friend had been in her room channel surfing when they'd come across an episode of the cult classic. She'd never seen the show before, but one look at the dark, brooding, and mysterious, not to mention gorgeous, vampire, Angel, and she was hooked. From that moment on, she had been fascinated with everything and anything vampire. She'd devoured every vampire movie and TV show ever made. She had collected posters, books, magazines, anything to do with vampires. She even had a bat tattooed on a strategic part of her body.
With all that time spent thinking about vampires, it was only natural that when she had started looking for a boyfriend, she had found herself being attracted to guys who made her think of Angel. But while she'd met a lot of men who were tall, dark, and handsome, even a couple who were a little bit brooding, none of them had ever come close to her ideal. And now, all these years later, at twenty-eight, she was still looking. She let out a sigh. Honestly, how tough could it be to find a gorgeous, mysterious, sensitive, damsel-in-distress-saving, I-only-like-to-come-out-after-dark kind of guy?
Who knew? Maybe she would meet him tonight.
Feeling her pulse quicken at the thought, Savanna flipped her long, dark hair over her shoulder and slowly made her way to the glossy black bar on the opposite side of the Goth club. As she walked past the various sitting areas, she glanced at the club's patrons and was disappointed to see mostly regulars on the brocade sofas and tapestry-covered chaise lounges. Goths to their very bone, all of the men in the place looked like they'd just stepped out of an Anne Rice novel with their skintight black pants, ruffled shirts, and heavily made-up eyes. While she had to admit that the look worked for a lot of them, it didn't exactly do the same for her. She preferred a guy in a long, dark overcoat like Angel always wore.
Slipping in between a woman dressed in a red, velvet gown and a guy with a spiky Mohawk, Savanna placed her evening bag on the highly-polished bar and waited for the server to come over.
"What'll it be?" the bartender asked, raising his voice to be heard over the band's haunting music. Tall and lanky, he had skin so pale that it was almost white, and hair so black that it couldn't possibly be his natural color. He had tattoos covering both of his arms, a stud in his nose, and a ring through his lower lip.
"Red wine, please" she said.
As she waited for the bartender to get her drink, Savanna did a quick sweep of the club. She got halfway around the room before her gaze settled on a tall, dark-haired man standing over in the corner. Though not what she would call classically handsome, he was still good looking, and from his expression he clearly came with that side order of brooding she went for. He looked really good in those tight leather pants and that long overcoat he was wearing, too. He was leaning casually against one of the columns that supported the club's high ceiling, his hooded eyes taking in his surroundings. As if sensing her gaze on him, he lifted his head to look at her. Hmm, maybe her luck was looking up.
If she were anywhere else, she would have given him a flirtatious smile and a come-hither look to let him know she was interested, but doing that kind of thing in a Goth club would just make her seem silly. She might not look like the typical Goth girl, but she still liked to fit in. So instead, she picked up her goblet that the bartender had set down and gave the guy in the overcoat a look over the rim that said, I'm interested, how about you?
He returned the look with one ofhis own, his gaze intent as he took in her short skirt, lace cami-top, and thigh-high leather boots. She shivered in anticipation. Yep, things were definitely looking up.
Wine goblet in hand, Savanna put her evening bag on her shoulder and slowly made her way over to him. * * * *
Kaige Travers leaned back in the brocade-covered wing chair, a bottle of beer dangling loosely from his fingers as he surveyed the club's patrons. He wondered what it was about Goth clubs that he found so interesting. Was it the dark clothes? The eerie music? The macabre atmosphere? Or was it simply their bizarre fascination with vampirism? While no one was sporting fake fangs or wearing a cape, a good portion of the club's clientele was clearly into the whole vampire thing. Of course, no self-respecting vampire would wear half the things most Goths did. A couple hundred years of wearing nothing but black would get old pretty damn quick to any vampire. Hell, he should know. He was one, after all. Two-hundred-forty years ago tonight, he'd been turned into a vampire. If he told the Goths that, though, they'd probably take one look at his jeans and T-shirt and laugh in his face. They were already giving him strange looks as it was. Probably wondering what he was even doing in a place like this.
He wondered that same thing himself as he lifted the bottle to his lips and took a long swallow. God, he felt old. On the outside, he looked like your average thirty-eight-year old, which was the age he had been when he'd been turned. But on the inside, he felt every bit the two hundred and seventy-eight-year-old vampire he was. He wasn't sure why, but he had just felt like coming to the club. Maybe just to be around people who didn't think that being a vampire was such a horrible thing.
Kaige let his gaze follow a dark-haired girl as she made her way around the dance floor and over to a guy dressed in an overcoat standing by one of the decorative columns. She was pretty, Kaige thought. With her long, silky, midnight black hair, and naturally creamy skin, she could have easily carried off the Goth look if she had wanted to. But her short skirt and high, black boots weren't anything like the traditional Goth style of clothing the other girls wore. Neither was her make-up. While she didn't exactly look out of place here, she could just as easily have fit in at any of a dozen more conventional nightclubs in the city.
As he watched her curvy hips sway, he felt his jeans tighten. Damn, it had been a long time since he'd been with a woman. Longer than he wanted to think about.
Swearing under his breath, Kaige lifted the bottle of beer again, only to pause with the thing halfway to his mouth. On the far side of the dance floor, the guy in the overcoat was ushering the dark-haired girl out the back door of the club. That shouldn't have been enough to make his vampire-senses tingle, but there was something about the way the girl's companion threw a furtive look over his shoulder that made Kaige think the guy might be up to something. It sure as hell seemed like the guy was making sure that no one saw them leave together.
Telling himself it was none of his business, Kaige turned his attention back to his beer, but as he tipped the bottle back, his gaze went to the door again. What the hell was it with him and rescuing damsels in distress? Saving some pretty girl's life was the reason he'd ended up a vampire.
Kaige swore under his breath. Think he would have learned. But no. A moment later he slammed the beer bottle down on the table, grabbed his leather jacket from the chair beside him, and headed for the back door.
Savanna glanced nervously around the dark alley. When the guy had suggested they ditch Nighttown for a better club, she'd been all for it, but that was before he'd led her out the back door. He seemed nice enough, but maybe this hadn't been such a good idea, after all.
As if sensing her hesitation, he jerked his head toward the mouth of the alley. "Come on," he said. "We can grab a cab out there."
Savanna still thought it would have been easier to go out the front door than walk all the way down the dark alley, but she said nothing as she fell into step beside him.
Halfway between the club's back door and the main street, he came to an abrupt halt. Savanna stopped, too. She started to ask why he'd stopped, but the word's came out in a rush of breath as he quickly pushed her back into the alcove of a door. Heart hammering in her chest, she instinctively opened her mouth to scream, but he silenced her with his hand. For a moment, Savanna swore she saw what looked like fangs protruding from beneath his upper lip. But she must have been imagining it. There was no way that could be possible.
"No screaming," he warned menacingly, pressing her back roughly against the corner of the alcove with his body. "Because that'll get someone's attention, and I don't like to be interrupted when I'm feeding."
Savanna blinked, confused. Feeding? What the hell was he talking about? Then again, what the hell did it matter? She wasn't hanging around long enough to find out. She tried to bring up her knee to ram it into his crotch, but before she could even move, he bent and buried his face in her neck. A moment later, she felt a stabbing pain as something sharp sank into her skin.
She gasped, her eyes going wide as she realized what he was doing. My God, the jerk was biting her! * * * *
Kaige had hoped to hell he was wrong, but the moment he walked out the back door, his gut told him something was off. The alley was dark, but with his better than average night vision, he should have seen them somewhere. They couldn't have made it to the street already. Eyes narrowing, he looked right, then left, but still didn't see anything. Where the hell had they disappeared to?
He was just debating which direction to go when he heard a noise. The sound was so faint that a human probably wouldn't even have heard it, but with his extra-sensitive hearing, he had no problem picking it up. Or recognizing it. A woman moaning. Swearing under his breath, he raced down the alley toward the sound.
Up ahead, Kaige could make out the dark form of the couple in the alcove of the building. The girl was pushing weakly against the man in an effort to get him to release her, but her struggles had little effect on him.
Fuck, Kaige swore. His instincts had been right.
"Hey!" he shouted, starting toward them.
The thug in the overcoat immediately lifted his head and turned to look in his direction, hissing a warning as he bared a set of bloody fangs.
Oh shit, Kaige thought. No wonder his radar had gone off. The asshole was another vampire. What the fuck did the bastard think he was doing? Feeding from humans like that was flat-out forbidden. Either the idiot must be have been sired by an even bigger moron, or he was just plain demented. The latter seemed more likely, considering the theatrical way he was hissing and flashing his fangs. The asshole probably thought he would scare Kaige off. Well, he was in for one hell of a rude awakening.
As Kaige advanced on him, the other vampire stared at him in obvious confusion for a moment. Then, letting out what he probably thought was a terrifying snarl, he dropped the girl and leaped at Kaige.
He moved fast, but Kaige was faster. The other vampire was still in mid-leap when Kaige darted forward and closed the distance between them, lashing out and catching him with a backhand across the face.
The blow knocked the vampire clear across the alley into the opposite wall. He landed on the pavement with a thud. He stayed there for a moment, surprise evident on his face, but then pushed himself to his feet with a snarl. Blood trickled down his chin and he gave Kaige a baleful glare as he wiped it off with the back of his hand.
Kaige expected the other vampire to turn tail and run, but to his surprise, the male charged again.
This time Kaige spun around and kicked the other vampire square in the center of his chest. The force of the blow sent him bouncing off the same wall again. When he pushed himself to his feet this time, albeit more slowly, Kaige opened his mouth and bared his fangs. A light of recognition flashed in the vampire's eyes. Apparently, the dimwit had finally realized that Kaige was a vampire, too. He hesitated as if debating whether he should charge again, but then he hissed at Kaige one more time and took off down the alley at a run.
For a moment, Kaige considered chasing after the male, but a quick glance at the dark-haired girl immediately changed his mind. She was in bad shape and if he didn't get her help soon, she wasn't going to make it.
Jaw tight, Kaige dropped to one knee beside her. Shit. The bastard had made a mess of her neck. Instead of puncturing her skin with his teeth like he could have done, he had torn at her like he was some kind of crazed animal, and now she was bleeding out. Even if Kaige called an ambulance,she'd be dead before anyone got there.
But that didn't mean he couldn't still save her.
As if sensing his presence, the girl's eyes suddenly fluttered open. It was impossible for him to tell what color they were in the darkness, but the beseeching look in them tore at his gut.
Do it. Turn her now before it's too late.
The girl opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. After a moment, she lifted her hand weakly, silently begging him with that one feeble gesture to help her. When he made no move to take her hand, it fell limply to her side again, her eyes fluttering closed.
Kaige ground his jaw. God knew he didn't want to do this; he had promised himself he never would. But he didn't have a choice. He couldn't just stand there and watch her die.
Swearing under his breath, Kaige gently slipped an arm beneath the girl and lifted her so that she was lying back against his thigh. Cradling her in the curve of one arm, he lifted the other and sank his fangs into his wrist. As the taste of blood filled his mouth, he lowered his arm to hold his wrist to her parted lips.
It would have been easier if she were aware enough to suck on his wrist. On second thought, maybe it was better she was out of it. If she were conscious, she probably would have tried to push him away, and if he didn't get his blood in her quickly, she would die. After a few seconds, he saw her throat convulse rhythmically. Whether or not she knew what she was doing, the blood was going down.
When he was satisfied that she'd ingested enough, he moved his wrist to the bite marks at her neck and let the blood run freely over the wound. Not only was it another way to mix his blood with hers, but it would also help seal the wound faster.
In the darkness, Kaige held his breath as he gazed down at the girl and waited for some sign that her body had started to accept the change. Not everyone's did. And since he didn't have a hell of a lot of experience with what happened to a person when they became a vampire other than his own turning, which he didn't remember much about, he wasn't really sure what to expect.
He was just wondering if he should give her more of his blood when she stirred in his arms. Relief coursed through him only to be replaced by alarm when she started to have convulsions. He wrapped his other arm around her, holding onto her tightly. Shit. Was that normal? He had absolutely no idea.
Feeling completely helpless, Kaige could do nothing but hold the girl and pray that her body had accepted his blood. If it didn't, she would die an agonizing death; that much he did know. When she finally did go still, he was almost afraid to wonder if that was good or bad. But then he saw the spasm as her chest began to rise and fall. Thank God. She hadn't rejected it.
Taking off his jacket, he wrapped it around her, trying his best to hide the jagged wound in her neck. He looked down to see her purse lying there on the ground. He should probably take that, too. Grabbing it, he gathered the girl up in his arms and headed for his SUV. This was going to be one hell of a long night.
Chapter 2.
The smart thing to do would have been to take the girl to the vampire clinic, but instead Kaige found himself driving to his home in Nob Hill. When he got to his place, a two-story condo with a view of the bay, he went directly up to his room and gently set her down on the bed. Reaching out, he turned on the lamp on the bedside table. In the soft glow, he could see that she looked unnaturally pale, which, contrary to popular belief, wasn't a good thing for a vampire. It meant that they needed blood and usually a lot of it.
Kaige ran his hand through his dark hair. He was so out of his depth here it wasn't even funny. As a vampire, he supposed he should have at least learned something about the process, but since he had never planned on turning anyone, he'd never bothered. Now that he had, however, he needed a vampire who had experience with this kind of thing. Like Jensen Flynn, the male who had turned him all those years ago.
Keeping one eye on the girl, Kaige pulled his cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open, then quickly scrolled through his list of contacts and hit speed-dial. Jensen answered on the second ring.
"It's me," Kaige said. "I need you to get over to my place."
"Hello to you, too," the other man said dryly. "So, what's up?"
"I'll explain when you get here. And Jensen," Kaige added, "bring your med kit."
Jensen was there twenty minutes later, an oversized black duffel bag in hand. "So, what's the big emergency?" the tall, blond-haired man asked as he walked in.
Kaige closed the front door. "I turned a girl tonight and I don't have a clue what to do next. I need you to check her out."
The other man lifted a brow. "You're joking, right?"
Kaige's mouth tightened. "I wish," he muttered. "It's not like I did it because I wanted to. I didn't really have a choice. The girl got attacked by a psycho vampire outside this Goth club I went to tonight. He really made a mess of her. If I hadn't turned her, she would have died."
He didn't know whether Jensen looked more surprised by the fact that Kaige had seen a fellow vampire attack a human or the fact that he'd been at a Goth club at the time.
"Where is she?" Jensen asked.
"In my room," Kaige said, leading the way up the stairs.
"This other vampire," Jensen said as they made their way down the hall to Kaige's bedroom. "Did you recognize him?"
Kaige shook his head. "Never saw him before. But he wasn't that strong, so my guess is that he's been recently turned."
The girl was still lying in the same position she'd been in when he had gone downstairs to answer the door, Kaige noticed. She hadn't so much as let out a moan since having those convulsions in the alley, and while he might not know much about what went on during the change, he didn't think that could be good. His brow furrowing in concern, he followed Jensen over to the bed.
"Take me through what you did," his friend said as he took the girl's wrist and checked her pulse.
Kaige ran his hand through his hair. "Not much, really. After I chased off the other vampire, I gave her some of my blood. I put some on the wounds on her neck, too. I thought it might help."
Jensen released the girl's hand to examine the jagged tears on her neck. "Savage bastard," he muttered. He unzipped the duffel bag and pulled out a stethoscope, then glanced at Kaige as he put it in the earpieces. "How did she respond after you gave her your blood?"
"At first, she didn't seem to have any reaction at all, but then she started to have convulsions," Kaige said. "Is that normal?"
Jensen placed the chestpiece over the girl's heart and listened for a moment before answering."Completely. The turning process is very hard on the body, so it's not unusual for humans to convulse during it," he said, taking off the stethoscope and putting it back in the duffel bag. "Her vitals are okay, but not great. She's going to need a lot more blood."
Kaige stared down at the girl. "Is she going to make it then?"
The other man shrugged. "It's too early to tell, but her body doesn't seem to be rejecting your blood, so that's a good sign. Just keep her comfortable and well hydrated. I'll set her up with an IV, so that'll make it easier. You'll need to alternate glucose and blood about every four hours or so for the next day or two, at least until she wakes up."
Kaige's eyes narrowed as Jensen took out two bags of glucose solution from his duffel bag. "Wait a minute," he said. "I thought you would take her back to the clinic with you."
The blond-haired man looked at him. "She wouldn't be any better off there than she is here. It's blood and rest she needs, nothing more. Which means you can take care of her here." He paused. "Even you should know one of our most basic rules: You turn her, you're responsible for her."
Yeah, he knew the rule. But he didn't think it should apply in this situation. "But I don't have any experience with this kind of thing, Jensen," Kaige protested. "Besides, I can't just drop everything and babysit some girl. I have classes to teach."
His friend shrugged and reached into the bag again. A moment later he came out with some IV equipment. "You'll need to have one of your TA's take over for you."