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“What’re you doin’, Tris? You look like shit. You not feeding?”
Tristan didn’t answer.
Sam sat down on a chair, “You need to feed. You know you do. Looks like you’re not getting enough.”
Tristan shook his head, “It’s shit.”
“Yeah?”
“After her… like drinking piss.”
“I’m sure. But you need to drink the piss, man. Or get a new feeder. You need to do it fast; you look like hell.”
“Cheers,” he replied with a sneer and took another swig from the bottle.
“What’s up with her? Her blood’s different?”
Tristan leaned forward in the chair and put his head in his hands, balancing his elbows on his knees, “She’s empty. Gone. She’s breathing, she’s got a heartbeat, but nothing else. Looks like she’s permanently zoned out.”
“You try turning her again?”
“Probably wouldn’t work. And even if it would, why? So she can go from being an empty shell to being an evil she-vamp bitch? At least she isn’t dead. Now I’ll just pay my penance.”
“Penance?”
“Fuck off, Sam. I’m not doin’ this. We don’t do heart to heart shit, you and I. It ain’t starting now. And your bullshit nudging won’t fucking work on me anymore.”
“I can feel that, Tristan. And I’m not nudging. I can feel that I can’t nudge. But I’m still here for you. You’re not just my assignment, you’re my friend. First things first. Let’s get you fed. I’ll bring you a new feeder. Drink from a live one. You’re drunk. You’re feeling the booze extra hard due to lack of blood. I’m sensing you don’t want to try feeding from Kyla again. So I’ll get someone down here. Claudio’s two are still here and we’ve used one’s blood in those bags. Since it’s piss to ya, we’ll try the other one. They’re both enchanted blood and if it’s a direct feed---”
“No.” The blood bags he’d been drinking may have been from enchanted pets but they still tasted like piss to him.
He wouldn’t put his mouth on anyone else. He’d promised her.“I won’t drink directly from anyone but you ever again. Ever.”“You tappin’ her at least?”
Tristan snarled and shot to his feet, “Watch your mouth.”
Sam raised a hand, “That’s obviously a no. If not a live feed then you need a release, Tris. Go up and get it. If you don’t wanna do that, let me bring a feeder for you to feed from while tapping it. You know that’s how you feed best, what gives you the rush. Or if you wanna leave human blood out of it, pick a vamp from the main house. Faye’s still here. She’s leaving in three days. You could hang with her, bang her, work out some frustration, maybe? Then she’ll be gone and out of your hair and maybe your head’ll be clearer. She’s always been sweet on you and she’s mildly tolerable for a she-vamp. Want me to fetch her?”
“No. Go.” Tristan spat sourly, not looking him in the face.
“I’m going. But at least consider meeting with Adrian. He’s remorseful, Tristan; frazzled as shit. Never seen anything like this with him and I’ve known the guy all my life. He’s concerned about Kyla ovulating and menstruating. Her cycles have been unpredictable. She could ovulate soon. And he wants to run some tests to see ---”
“Get. The. Fuck. Out. Last warning or I rip your fucking head off. I don’t give a fuck.”
Sam backed away, “I believe you. I believe that you’re nearly past caring. But you’re still here so that’s something. We need to talk, Tris, bro. We need to analyze her blood. Check levels. And we need a plan. You need to feed. You need to get laid. Then maybe your head’ll clear so we can talk.”
“Not interested in talking. Just getting my bearings. Then taking her home in a few days.”
“Not to overload you here but Kovac, man, it needs your attention. Everything’s cool. I’ve been in touch with Rick, with a few of the other execs and all is in hand. That’s why I got your company laptop here. With Claudio gone you’re acting CEO and if you play your cards right the board’ll drop the acting instead of making you report to someone else for the next few years. Brandt reached out today for a conversation since word is getting round about Claudio and his council chairs now sit empty, too. I suspect they’ll wanna put things to a vote for the CEO position as well as replace him on his councils. Some you’re a member on, some you are not but would be a good candidate. I made an excuse but we won’t wanna leave him hanging long. You’ll be under a microscope by the board for Kovac, by councils for North America in general. And I have an idea that I want to check out a little bit for Kyla and I can do that better once we’re back home.”
