Chapter 4: Chapter 4

If I had somewhere safer to bring her, I wouldn’t have brought her here. Not to my house. I had always held my abode sacred. Privacy was a big deal to me. Not even my former lovers had seen the inside of my bedroom. One of them would see it now. Irina was my first vampire lover and the only one with whom I could maintain a close friendship. She was a free spirit who didn’t bother herself with grudges. She was also an expert vampire healer, the best of them, by far. Unlike popular belief, vampires get injured from time to time and require special, sometimes magical, treatments.

A soft knock on the door signaled Irina’s arrival. Reluctantly, I left the girl on my bed and closed the bedroom door behind me, only to open the one in the lounge area. Irina’s startling green eyes roved over me, a smirk adorning her lips. She looked stunning, as always. Her sleek, platinum blonde hair was now in a contemporary bob. It suited her.

“You look gorgeous, Irina. The hair looks great,” I said, leaning against the door to look at her more closely. Irina batted her thick eyelashes at me. She loved being the center of attention.

“Hmm. Too bad it will grow back when I sleep. Oh, well. I’ll just have to cut it again,” she said, primping her hair.

“You will look perfect either way. Come in, please,” I said, moving aside to let her through. Vampires couldn’t enter a house unless someone invited them in, even those that belonged to their kind. She winked and stepped inside, stopping just in front of me.

“Nikolai, it’s been too long,” she said, tilting her head as she waited for the perfunctory peck on the cheek I always greeted her with.

I obliged and pulled her close, wrapping her in my arms. She giggled and pushed me away, dramatically pouting up at me.

“You only remember little old me when you’re in trouble. This will not do, Kolya,” she said, shaking a finger at me, her long nails painted bloody red to match her slinky dress, as was her style.

“I’m sorry, Irinka. You know how busy I am. Besides, I have it on good authority that you’re always traveling with that handsome blonde in tow,” I said, lifting a brow at her.

“The blonde has a name, Nikolai,” she scolded, pushing past me. Her eyes swept the room, her pert little nose wrinkling in dislike. Irina Pavlova lived during the decadent era of Imperial Russia. She disliked the Spartan ways of a warrior.

“Dimitri, is it?” I said, tongue-in-cheek. Dmitri was a passing fancy. One hundred years was just an anecdote in a vampire’s life, after all.

“Dimitri has long since moved on.”

“You finally killed him, didn’t you? About time,” I said, chuckling. I never liked Dimitri. He was too arrogant for my taste and didn’t treat Irina with the respect she deserved.

Irina laughed and sat on the nearest wingback chair, the only one she considered worthy to touch her royal bottom. She carefully lowered herself and crossed her elegant legs with as much pomp as possible. “He would’ve deserved it. But no, I left him whole and well with his Mulatos, unfortunately,” she said, her lips twisting into a devilish smile. “My new companion, Felipe, as I’m sure you well know, comes from the royal house of Aragon. Much more refined and amiable than Dimitri. He’s very artistic, mild-mannered, and extremely—”

“Boring,” I interjected.

Irina’s eyes flashed at me. Then she smiled. “You know me so well, my dear Kolya. But nobody can be as perfect as you, I’m afraid. And a woman must make do with what comes her way.”

“Yeah, right,” I said, shaking my head. Irina was not one to take things lying down. She would always go for what and who she wants, dropping them like hot potatoes once she was tired of them. Or if they annoyed her enough.

“I hate these...what do you call them...colloquial Americanisms that you use. You’re from the royal house of Romanov. You should act and speak like the Prince that you are.”

I had to laugh at that. It was something she shared with Marcel, the snobbery and refusal to let go of the past. I was a Prince, but now I was a mere Knight, a lowly servant of the Royal Council. Irina noted my frustration and changed the subject.

“So, why did you call for me, my dear Kolya? I don’t see any wounds that need tending.”

This was it, the ultimate test of our friendship. Irina wasn’t the cruel sort, but she only saw humans as sustenance, a most convenient means to gain strength and increase one’s powers. It was my job as an Enforcer to regulate feeding, to ensure overzealous vampires did not abuse or torture humans during the process. Irina didn’t like it. She considered it a waste of my time. Vampires would always go overboard now and then, she said. It was their right and natural inclination. Irina had lived too long as a vampire, she’d forgotten she also used to be human. I never forgot. Despite our differences in opinion, though, she remained loyal and supportive, a genuine friend.

“Perhaps, this isn’t such a good idea,” I said, getting cold feet at the last minute. The life of that girl in my bed was in my hands. I didn’t want to cause its end.

Irina rose to her feet and walked up to me. She took my hands and looked into my eyes.

One reason Irina was such a great healer was that she was also an Empath.

“I can feel the conflict in you, Kolya. Do not fret, moy drug. I will always stand by you, no matter what. I swore my loyalty, my friendship, and my life to you once.

And a Pavlova never breaks a promise,” she said, her smile as warm and as beautiful as the morning sun.

“I will hold you to that, Irinka,” I said, conveying the gravity of the situation through my thoughts. She nodded in understanding. I held her hand and led the way to my bedroom. The moment I opened the door, the girl’s scent instantly washed over me, sending my senses into overdrive once more. I had to count to ten before stepping into the room. I didn’t even realize that I had closed my eyes. But when I opened them, I saw Irina looking at me with an amused grin.

“Who is she, Nikolai? Is she your lover? Did you get her pregnant? I hope not because that is beyond my powers,” Irina said, tilting her head at me, the amusement still in her eyes.

My lips wouldn’t move, though I tried to speak. There was an actual danger that if I opened my mouth, I would find it latched onto the sleeping girl’s neck, suckling gently as my hands roved over every inch of her body, pleasuring her as I took pleasure in her blood. And if I gave in, I feared I won’t be able to stop myself from moving between her legs and pushing into her as she slept, even without her consent. I was that desperate for her, for a taste of—

“How long has it been since you fed?” Irina said, breaking into my ungodly thoughts.

Erotic images still swirled inside my brain, making it hard to keep myself in check. I couldn’t answer, even though I wanted to. Irina shook her head and left me painfully gulping the lump in my throat. She went to stand at the edge of the bed, her hands hovering over the girl’s inert body, scanning for injuries. She was now in full healer mode.

“She seems fine. Nothing major, just a few scratches here and there. Wait, there’s something here,” she said as she knelt on the mattress. One of her hands went behind the girl’s head, then she carefully turned her on her side. Irina brushed the girl’s long hair aside to reveal the back of her neck, where two pinprick marks stood out against her olive skin, red and swollen.

“Where did you find her? I only asked because I’m sure you’re not the one who gave her these,” Irina said, running a finger over the girl’s wounds. “They look like fang marks. But not vampire fangs, because they’re too close together. Could be a snake bite, but I highly doubt it, if you found her in the city,” Irina said, moving away from the girl.

Irina swished past me and when she came back, she had a small doctor’s bag with her. I didn’t even notice she was carrying one when she arrived. She unclasped it and took out a silver metal container. Inside was an assortment of syringes and tiny vials. She chose the smallest syringe from the lot and carefully plunged it into the wound, extracting a tiny amount of blood. She then squeezed the contents into an empty vial and put a stopper on it.

“I need to analyze the venom if it’s natural or synthetic. Only then can I create an antidote if necessary. For now, just keep her comfortable. Her vitals are fine and she’ll probably awaken even without an antidote. It could be just another date-rape drug these despicable humans are prone to using on their women nowadays,” she said, tidying up her paraphernalia.

“She was attacked by Newborns,” I said, finally finding my voice.

Irina glanced back at me, disbelief written in her eyes. “Newborns? But the Council has forbidden the creation of Newborns. Only the Royal Family may sire them. Are you saying there’s someone out there defying the Council?”

I moved as far away from the girl as possible and sat on the armchair beside the door. My runaway thoughts were under control, but her scent was still driving me to distraction. I turned my full attention to Irina to address her question. “It seems that way. Unless one of the Royals let lose a pack of Newborns in the city recently. As far as I remember, they keep their newly sired vampires close for at least a couple of decades. They cannot travel, either, unless accompanied by an assigned Guardian.”

“A pack? There’s more than two?” Irina said, horrified.

The Royal Council had passed a law declaring that only members of the Royal Family can sire two humans once every decade, one male and one female. They did it to control the overpopulation of vampires and the risk of exposing our way of life. The decree had been in force for the last hundred years. Breaking it was punishable by death.

“I encountered three. They were feral and without inhibition. When I found them, they were fondling her, preparing her for sex and feeding. In a public place. Anyone could’ve discovered them,” I said, my anger returning in full force. I must admit that I had been unusually brutal with the mutts. My bloodlust just overtook me when I saw what they were doing to her. Boris, my trusted cleaner, was quite upset when he found the carnage I left for him to tidy up.

“Bozhe Moi, that’s disgusting,” Irina exclaimed, both hands covering her mouth to show her revulsion. She loved to feed on humans just like any other vampire, but she always did it in private and without sex. She’d probably never had another human lover after the Count had turned her. Unlike most vampires, Irina didn’t enjoy playing with her food.

Neither did I feed off of my human lovers. I would take small sips, just to heighten the pleasure, but I never bit out of hunger or thirst. I would always feed before indulging in any bedroom acrobatics. With this girl, however, I feared I would lose control. Her scent was enough to drive me crazy. What more the taste of her blood.

Yet, as I looked at her perfect, oval face, the thick lashes, and the cupid’s bow lips, I felt a different stirring, one I’d never felt since I lost Rose. She was lovelier up close, and I wondered if her personality was as interesting as her alluring body. Unfortunately, that strange interest in her didn’t bode well for me.

“It’s also very peculiar, isn’t it? Usually, Newborns are more interested in feeding than having sex with their victims,” Irina said after a while.

“Yes, it’s bothered me, too,” I said, frowning at the sleeping girl. She was a truly beautiful girl, with an alluring body to boot. It was normal for men to pant after her.

But then, Newborns weren’t normal and didn’t have the same human drives. They were more attuned to their thirst for blood than to their carnal desires.

“Her name is Almira Alonzo. She’s 21 years old, and she works in Tech support, whatever that is. She lives in—”

I was on my feet in a flash, grabbing the ID card and the tattered bag from Irina. “What are you doing? I didn’t rummage through her things because I didn’t want to know anything about her. I don’t want to get her involved with any of our kind,” I said, throwing the bag on the chair I had been sitting on.

Irritation flashed in Irina’s eyes. She didn’t like being interrupted. But just as quickly, it disappeared and replaced by a sad understanding.

“Unfortunately, my dear Kolya, she already is, and you’re more interested in her than you care to admit. You wouldn’t have brought her here if you weren’t. We both know there’s something different about this girl. Or will you also deny this?”

My eyes snapped back to Irina, comprehension dawning on me. Of course, she knew about the girl’s blood, about how it stood out from the other humans. She was a healer and was naturally more experienced in detecting blood quality. I looked away, ignoring her astute observation.

“I see,” Irina said, shaking her head in exasperation. “Fine. If that’s how you want to play it, then so be it. Pretend you don’t care and you’re not aware of how special this girl’s blood is. A word of warning, though, moy drug. By rescuing her, you’ve taken her under your wing. Almira Alonzo is now under your protection. Whether you like it or not.”

And that exactly was what I was afraid of.