The Allies of Old; Book Two- Renewal: Chapter Sixteen "Wrong Answer!"

Book Cover created in acrylic by the extremely talented @therealpaul

If you have not read the first book of the series, "Reborn", it is advisable you do so before reading "Renewal" or you will be lost. This link will provide you with a series summary as well as all sixty-eight chapters of Reborn

Chapter Sixteen

Anna woke in degrees. Her head was fuzzy, almost as if she were suffering from a hangover though no nausea or pain accompanied it. The smell of sex was overwhelming and she was reluctant to open her eyes to reality.

He was not in bed with her, she could sense that right away, and she experienced a moment of panic thinking he’d disappeared again. She stretched out her senses and located him somewhere nearby. Relief flooded through her, he had not abandoned her this time. And he must be able to sense her time of “need” was over.

Excitement mingled with anxiety over her new situation. He was the most incredible lover a male could possibly be, tireless, with a sexual appetite that matched hers during the peak of her lust. Over the past few days he had taken her in every conceivable way- in the bed, on the floor, against the walls, on the couches….she felt desire burn in her lower tummy as she recalled her bottom pressed against the counter in the kitchen as he held her hips and pumped into her.

She moaned at the memory of his blood on her tongue, the taste of him in her mouth. With ice blue eyes that glittered like diamonds framed by long golden lashes, a sculpted and perfect face with full, sensual lips. An enormous body, rippling with muscle. Her god-like warrior Adonis, hers. She hoped.

And that was where the anxiety came in, although it wasn’t the only source.

She cracked open her eyes and scanned the room which was empty. Out on the porch, she thought. She wanted to throw on some clothes and rush out there to leap in his arms, but would he welcome her? What did he feel? Was he right now brooding and angry over his predicament?

And then there was the issue of his deep seated hatred of all things human. She vaguely recalled the scorn and disgust in his voice when he’d spoken to Austin and called him Human like the very word was a disease.
Austin. She winced at the image of him, lost to her forever. She pushed the thought away forcefully, she had enough on her plate to deal with without adding sorrow and guilt to the portion.

Was he going to ask her about her life? Where she came from, who her family was, if they lived, and why she had been holed up in this cabin with three human males? She winced again remembering he’d burst in just after she’d drank from Austin. Had he known? Of course he had, he would’ve smelled it. Did he think she had been planning to sleep with all three of them? The idea made her shudder.

And the drinking from Austin part…he didn’t drink from humans, maybe not ever, he would certainly frown on her doing it since he didn’t know it was different for her. God, he didn’t know anything about her and she didn’t know if she wanted to tell him. What if he despised her for her human heritage? What if he shunned her once and for all?

Her stomach clenched in fear as her mind flooded with worry and indecision.

She suddenly thought about Coderin’s story, how he’d been in hyberstasis for a century. She could conceivably borrow that story, tell him her mother had stowed her away and never returned. That she woke up…when? Thirty years ago?

Maybe she could say her mother had run with her to America thinking they might be safe, that she’d intended to come back for her but something must have happened and she’d never learned what it was.

But what would she say had happened when she woke up? That she’d made her home in the world of humans in a small town, upstate NY? Eventually meeting the McClaron’s and then Michael’s group by proxy? It could work. Of course then she would have thoroughly lied to him which was a teeny tiny problem, particularly since she’d done it before.

Damn. She pulled in a deep breath and let it out slow. No. She would tell him the truth. Remind him he’d seen her dying in that warehouse. He might remember her. And if he decided she was human garbage well...A bleakness stole over her at the thought of that, but what choice did she really have? Shunned by the truth or live with a lie until he eventually found out and hated her for it anyway.

Unless by then he loved her and would understand?

Loved her. God she wanted that day to come, she wasn’t deluded enough to think he felt anything for her now other than lust and instinct.

She dragged herself up and threw her legs over the side of the bed, locating her discarded clothes. As was the case from her last two encounters with the fierce male her clothing had suffered damage. Her jeans were still mostly intact but her shirt, bra and panties were unsalvageable. She found her coat and slid it on over her bare skin. She noticed he’d built a fire and she vaguely remembered him tending it over the past few days.

She went in the bathroom and brushed her hair, her eyes skating to the shower. But with no clean clothes…she decided against it for now and settled for putting on deodorant and washing her face, following up with a swish of mouthwash. They had been in the shower several times in the last few days anyway, so she wasn’t too dirty.

Time to face the vampire. She eased the front door open and slipped out.

He was sitting on a chair smoking a cigarette, staring out at the snow covered landscape. He turned toward her and her breath caught, once again mesmerized by his otherworldly beauty.

His eyes regarded her steadily and she tried to swallow the lump forming in her throat but her mouth had gone dry. He was waiting for her to speak first, but what would she say? Hi? She broke eye contact and looked down at her sneakers hoping he would take the initiative.

“Come and sit,” he commanded in his bass guitar voice. As beautiful as the rest of him.

She walked to him nervously and he nodded to the chair next to him. She sat with her hands fidgeting in her lap and chewed on her lip, avoiding his eyes. Her usual confidence was absent along with her voice.

“Look at me,” another command in the same tone.

She complied, peeking up at him through her lashes.

“Where are the males you were staying with in London?”

“Still there,” she squeaked.

His eyes narrowed. “You are in America with no protection?”

“I…well the McClaron’s are..are hunters.”

“The McClaron’s,” he said the name like it tasted sour. “The humans that were with you, they are your protection?”

She forced her voice not to waver. “Other than in this instance I haven’t needed protection in America. I haven’t met any of our kind here. And this place is secluded, far away from cities so other than you, no one would detect me.”

He sneered at her. “So it was your plan to relieve yourself with those…hunters?”

She shook her head violently. “No! They…we thought you would come. They were just with me as friends.”

“And the one whom you drank from, who was emanating lust and love for you, you did not intend to fuck him?”

She winced. “I didn’t intend anything,” she said shakily, “I hoped you would come.”

He sat back and regarded her doubtfully. “Why would that human believe himself in love with you?”

“He…we’re friends and he just…feels more than I do.”

“With no encouragement on your part.” He said this flatly and she felt her face flush. “Aside from drinking his toxic blood what else have you done with him?”

She didn’t answer but her skin heated further, and he made a sound of disgust taking her reddened features as answer.

He pressed his tongue down on his lip staring daggers at her then bit down where his tongue had been.

Gritting his teeth he asked, “How have you, as careless and reckless as you are, survived undiscovered? How many years are you?”

And that was the question of the day. She faltered. Tell him the truth her mind begged.

But she didn’t. Instead she poured forth the borrowed and altered story of Coderin.

He listened without expression and when she was finished he stood up and paced across the porch.

“Do you have a cell phone?” he asked her his tone flat again. She nodded and he held out his hand. She fished it from her coat pocket, her heart thundering in her chest as she wondered what he was going to do with it.

He took it and flipped it open. “What’s the name of the vampire with the piercings?”

Her voice shook, “Ma..Mathias.”

He located his number and punched send.

“Anna?” Mathias answered.

“I know you from somewhere don’t I?” Jared’s voice was filled with banked anger.

“LeJarien. Yes. I was a boy in the village that burned, you rescued my aunt and I.”

Jared’s eyes flickered with recognition and pain. A muscle ticked in his jaw and he was silent for a moment before continuing. “Answer me this, was the female put into hyberstasis by her mother?”

“Huh?”

Jared waited, boring holes into Anna.

I should’ve gone with the truth, she thought miserably. Why was she constantly doing the wrong thing?

“Uh, I…don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mathias sounded both confused and wary.

“She lived with you, you would know if her past consisted of a century of forced hyberstasis wouldn’t you?”

“Damn. She told you that? Look, I know why she would lie and there is a good reason, even if it was wrong and fucking foolish…

Jared cut him off, his tone vicious, “That’s all I wanted.”

Anna heard a crash and she covered herself protectively as she looked up. He had smashed her phone against the floor of the porch and stood with fists clenched at his sides staring out into the woods.

He spoke to her in a hard voice without turning. “I will not ask you any more questions because lies make me very angry and my anger can be deadly. As my life is tied to yours I regrettably cannot kill you without committing suicide. Somehow you managed to remain a virgin and though you drink from humans you have kept from turning. For those two reasons I will not force another to take you and relieve me of this hellish bond.”

His large hands flexed. “From this moment on you will not speak without permission. In fact you will do nothing without my permission.”

He turned towards her slightly and she shrank back from his expression. “Do you understand?”

She swallowed hard and nodded weakly, pain filling her heart and mind.

He pulled out his own phone and punched in some numbers.

Fifteen minutes later they were blurring to a jet that would take them to Scotland which would be her new home…and prison.

Generously created for me by @son-of-satire