Page 3 of Call of the Blood

“Yeah.” I sighed and started to drive back to the beautiful home Alexius and I lived in. The rest of the drive was in silence, something I was grateful for. The deep sound of his voice was distracting in good and bad ways. From my side of things, the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. A dark car. A handsome man. A million things running through my mind I wanted to say but never could. But I could think of the smirk he had when he said I looked twenty-one. And he wasn’t wrong. Coming from him, that was a compliment. I looked young, but not too young.

He said I was beautiful.

That was going to live rent-free in my mind for a month before I was over it.

“Do you have any other plans for the night?” he asked, his rumbling question knocking me out of my own head and back into reality. The car was parked, and we were just sitting there.

“Um…” I checked the time. “My brother should be getting off work in about an hour in California. If I remember right, he wanted to game tonight.”

“Ah.”

“Why?”

“We’re almost done with that one show with the southern vampires and synthetic blood.”

I fought a smile. Of course. I had gotten him addicted to television shows about vampires that weren’t us. He used to groan and whine, but sat through them, even Dracula, who he hated. Now, he wanted to know who the female lead ended up with in the long-running show that took over the world when I was younger.

“We’ll finish it tomorrow,” I said. “After training, yeah?”

“Sounds like a plan,” he said.

We kept sitting in the car. I was waiting for him to get out. Apparently, he was waiting on me. I broke first, awkwardly struggling to get out of a car I had been driving for literally years. When I looked over at him, he moved with a grace that made me stare. No jerky movements, no strangeness. Just fluid, perfect movement, everything going the correct way in a way my body decided it didn’t feel like working anymore. Only thirty minutes ago, I had been fine.

Then he proceeded to get the doors for me, making it all the more tense for me. Mumbled thank yous were all I had to say as I tried to get to my room and hide from him.

“Good night, Everly,” he called as I was closing the door to give myself the barrier I needed from him.

“Good night, Alexius!” I half-yelled, then heard the click of the door shutting, and I locked it.

Then let out a deep breath.

“I’ve lived here for well over a year, and I still get so…” Flustered, I got out of my going-on-the-town outfit and into something more comfortable to lounge in around the house.

“I mean, really. I need this… crush to go away. I can’t live like this. I need distractions. I need fresh air.” I pulled my hair back and went to my gaming computer, glad to see my brother was already on and loaded into the game. I threw on my headset and jumped into his voice chat.

“Hey, Declan!” I said, grinning, as I knew I surprised him.

“Oh shit! Hey Everly! I was wondering if you would be on already or not. What have you been up to?”

“I decided to go on a bit of a walk on River Street. I think you would like the energy in that part of Savannah if you ever come to visit.”

“I fucking wish, but I promised to use my summer vacation time off for something else. My girlfriend really wants me to go to her hometown and meet her entire family and party for two weeks out there. But next year, I’m coming to Georgia.”

“You better!”

I was so happy to have a relationship with Declan again. I had fought it, but the longer I was a vampire, the more I realized and wanted him to continue to ground me. I’d lost Mom, and I’d been through a lot. There was no reason to throw away my brother when I didn’t have to. He knew about vampires already, having grown up with them around, just like me. He hadn’t wanted to work for them, which was why he survived the disaster that led to Mom’s death and my new life as a vampire. That wasn’t giving myself enough credit, though. I had worked really hard to keep him out of it for his own safety, and I had succeeded.

“And I’ll bring her. Lexi. Well, Alexandra, but if you call her that, she’ll deck you. She likes Lexi.”

“Um… you know, that’s not a good idea, right? I’m a vampire. Do you really want to read her into the whole thing?”

“I think a year from now, I’ll know whether she should come or not and what she can know or not know,” he countered. “But this is just something I have to deal with. I want you to know my family, if I ever have one.”

“Aw…” I made a face. The idea that my brother would settle down and get married, then give me nieces or nephews, or the fun new world term niblings, was an adorable thought. I was never going to have children, and I had never really wanted any, but having the chance to play with my brother’s kids… that was a pleasant thought.

“Can I tell you the truth?” Declan seemed to be dancing around something now, but his phrasing left an opening I couldn’t resist.

“Have you lied yet?” I asked in return.