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1
DON’T USE YOUR MIND
Istop and close my eyes in an attempt to will away the cacophony of sounds and smells irritating my senses. The pounding of hearts, the shuffling of feet, the heavy breaths as the humans in residence go about their day. I smell their sweat. The cloying scent of musky perfume. The dank smell of old blood.
One of the women here is on her period.
It’s overwhelming. I don’t know how the vampires deal with this on a constant basis.
I try to breathe through it, but the action only enhances my distress. Vampires’ lungs don’t work that way. Their hearts don’t beat. There’s no such thing as a calming breath to slow down a runaway pulse.
And that’s what I am now. A vampire.
I’m also a witch, the first hybrid of the two races ever to exist. Fuck. If my heart still beat, it would be racing right now. How am I supposed to learn to handle this when there’s no one who understands to teach me?
Wait. Was that a moan? A bed creaking rhythmically? Shit, someone is having sex.
And now, I’m thinking about all the times Jesse and I have been intimate in his bedroom instead of locking ourselves in his soundproof bathroom. Like last night. Many, many times. I knew the vampires could hear us, and I didn’t let it bother me. But now that I’m one of the ones who can hear it?
Oh, God. Kill me now.
Bernadette warned me I may die or go insane if I changed into a vampire, and now I see she might be right. The sensory overload is driving me crazy.
Steeling my spine, I whisper the words to build a barrier spell around myself. I feel the magic coursing through me and see a shimmer in the air, but the sounds and smells attacking my senses remain. I blow out a frustrated breath and release the magic.
The barrier spell prevents physical objects from touching me. It does absolutely nothing to deter my hearing or sense of smell. I cock my head. But maybe…
Oh, thank God. It worked.
I’ve been breathing out of habit like I still need oxygen to survive. Not inhaling fills me with a bit of panic, at first, but I relax as the burning I expected in my chest never comes. I don’t have to breathe. And if I don’t breathe, the scents dull to a point to where they’re barely noticeable.
“Oh, yeah, baby. Just like that. Give it to me hard.”
“Oh, God,” I mutter.
That was Imelda, one of the vampire women who lives in the manor and works with the newly developed human relations team. I don’t know if I’ll be able to face her again with a straight face.
“Eden.”
I spin around at the sound of Jesse’s voice. He’s not behind me as I’d suspected, and I wander toward the kitchen. I don’t see him inside, and my brow furrows as I turn to head back the way I came.
“Jesse?” I call out, watching for him to appear.
“Come back to bed,” he says, his voice clear as a bell.
Like he’s standing right next to me. Which, he’s not.
“Where are you?” I ask, peeking through the parlor doors to find the room empty.
“I’m in bed, where you should be right now,” he replies, and I freeze.
I look up at the ceiling with wide eyes. I’m on the first floor, and our room is on the third. Jesus.
Knowing vampires have insane hearing capabilities is not the same thing as experiencing it for yourself. All the sounds and scents I’ve been dealing with all morning are one thing, but my brain keeps telling me they’re coming from nearby. The next room. Just down the hall.
But knowing Jesse is two floors up and behind closed doors, and I can hear him like he’s standing right next to me? It’s a God damn mind fuck.
Shaking my head, I hurry toward the staircase. I jog up two flights, taking a moment to marvel at the fact that my muscles don’t feel tense, and my chest isn’t heaving for breath. I pick up the pace, then skid to a halt before I crash into our bedroom door.
