Blood Wars by D. Richardson (best affordable ebook reader txt) 📕

warm and comfortable. The sun seemed too bright but judging from the angle that it came in the window it had to be late afternoon. As I focused I could see tiny dust motes as they shimmered and danced in the light. It was unusually beautiful to watch and something I had never seen before.

It was right after that that I realized I was laying in a hospital bed. There was a tube that ran under the hospital gown that I was wearing. I had no idea what it was or what it’s purpose was, but it freaked me out.

I wracked my brain for how I had gotten here. But the last thing I remembered was being in the basement of the warehouse. I had heard the vampires that guarded me talk about something. They were waiting for my bonded to come get me. Said they had to be powerful. I remembered thinking how ridiculous they were, because they thought Jaide was a guy.

Jaide. Where was she? Was she okay? Did the vampires at the warehouse capture her? I started to panic until I heard a soft deep breath from the corner of the room. I sat up just enough to see Jaide curled up in a chair in the corner.

She was sound asleep and looked so peaceful. Just like she did when I would watch her at the institute. Even asleep she still looked exhausted. It made me wonder even more about what had happened since I had blacked out.

I tried to sit up but I had several wires attached to my arms and chest. It just looked like those sticky pad things that they put on patients to monitor their hearts. But they still made it difficult to move around. In my efforts to thwart my confinement I must have made some noise, because Jaide opened her eyes and lifted her head.

As soon as she saw what I was doing she jumped up and was at my side in a flash. Well it should have been a flash but to me it just looked like a regular person hurrying across the room. But I felt the rush of air that followed her haste, and I wondered if there was something wrong with my eyes, that I was seeing in slow motion.

She put her hands on my chest and pushed me back down to laying flat on the bed. She must have been trying not to hurt me. I could feel the pressure of her hands but ordinarily when she pushed at me, even when she was going easy, it still bordered on painful. This time though it just felt like anyone else trying to hold me down. If I had wanted to fight I could have without feeling like I was fighting a brick wall.

“Lay still, you have a feeding tube in. A nurse has to take it out before you can get up or you could hurt yourself.” Her voice was unusually soft, like she was almost whispering, but still speaking loud enough for me to hear. After I nodded to show that I understood she turned her head towards the door, but never took her hands from my chest or released any of the pressure.

“He’s awake.” She yelled out into the hall, but it sounded like a sonic boom had just sounded right next to my ear. I jumped and tried to cover my ears. She looked back down at me with a sympathetic expression.

“Sorry, that’s gonna take some getting used to. But you’ll learn to control it.” I looked up at her in confusion but didn’t get the chance to ask before a short woman in a white uniform hurried into the room.

She rushed to the other side of the bed and lifted the blankets and the gown just enough to see my stomach. Sure enough the tube was sticking out filled with some red liquid. She touched the skin around it and I jumped. Her hands weren’t cold but the touch was foreign. It was almost like I could feel every line that made up her finger prints.

“Hold still so I can get it out cleanly.” She didn’t speak loudly but the sound still made me wince. After a couple of minutes she tapped a piece of gauze over where the tube had been. “I’ll leave you alone to explain.” She spoke to Jaide who nodded in what could only be in appreciation.

Finally, Jaide let go of me and stepped back until she reached the chair she had been sleeping in. She watched me expectantly as I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. After I had gotten my feet under me I stood but had to grab the railing of the bed for balance. My legs felt weak but strong at the same time, it must have messed with my equilibrium. I didn’t have long to contemplate it though, as I had squeezed the metal bar and a squealing sound met my ears. I looked down and removed my hand only to see that I had bent the bar. I could see clear dents where my fingers had been. I looked up at Jaide but she didn’t seem surprised.

“What’s wrong with me?” Her dark eyes stayed level and her shoulders were straight as she met my eyes and answered.

“You’re a vampire.” I stared at her for what had to be hours, but was probably only a few minutes.

“The vampires at the warehouse?” She shook her head. I wracked my brain for an explanation.

“You?” She scoffed.

“Of course not. If you don‘t recall I left you remember? Why would I want to spend eternity with you?” Her answer stung. I went across the country to find her and she’s acting like even that wasn’t enough space between us. I guess Lexi was right. I had ruined things with her.

“Well what happened then?”

“Turns out you already had vampire blood in you. Somewhere in your family tree a vampire had joined with the humans. That’s why we bonded like we did. And that’s why you were able to tap into the bond to find me. When you started using the bond you awoke the vampire genes in you. As you got closer to me you triggered your change. That was three days ago.”

“So I’m not human anymore?” She shook her head.

“You were never fully human, there was always a little bit of vampire in you. It was just dormant.” I shook my head. I just couldn’t believe it.

“There has to be some kind of mistake.” She rolled her eyes.

“Look at the railing. Better yet, look at your stomach.” I did as she instructed. Sure enough where the tube had been, where the incision should have been. There was…nothing. No injury not even a scar. It had healed completely. I looked back up at her.

“This isn’t something you can just deny. Congratulations you’re one of the monsters you hate so much.” She got up and moved towards the door. “Your clothes are on the table in the corner, I’ll let you get dressed.

And that was it. She just left the room without giving me the chance to deny her statement. She still believed that I hated her. That I thought she was capable of all of the things that I had accused her of before she left. Then the reality of that thought struck me and I had to sit down for a second.

Of course she still thought that I believed all of that. It was why she left to begin with. I was so stupid. I had thought that me searching for her would be enough to prove that I had made a mistake and wanted her back. But there could be several reasons to find her. We really did need her help not just with the hunters but with other vampires as well. I didn’t know if the others had had a chance to tell her everything yet.

It was naïve of me to think that I would find her and everything would be okay. That she’d welcome me back. There was no way for her to know that everyday without her was torture to me. The thought that I might never get her back sent me into a panic attack. I felt like I couldn’t breath. And now I would have to live forever knowing that I could never have her.

I took a deep breath and strengthened my resolve. I would just have to prove to her that I had learned my lesson. That I knew I had screwed up and was determined to make it right. I nodded to myself as I pulled my clothes on. It was a relief to be out of that hospital gown.

She opened the door a few minutes later and stepped in. The distance between us was palpable. Not the physical distance, the room wasn’t that big, but the emotional one. We might as well have been across the country from each other. The urge to wrap her in my arms had me crossing them to keep myself in check. She needed time and space to see that my intentions were pure.

“Come on, I need to take you to see Claire.” I nodded and she turned with me right behind her.

We went down a long hallway filled with women and men dressed in all white. It looked like we were in a full service hospital. But each and every one of these people greeted Jaide with warmth and smiles. Like they had known her for years.

Then we found the stairs and as we made it to the next floor the building completely changed. It went from being a hospital to being a home. An extravagant home. The carpets were plush, the walls were decorated, and there was a comfortable feeling to it all.

When we reached another door Jaide knocked. A few seconds later an elderly man answered. He felt different. Not physically, but on a more instinctual level. Like he wasn’t what he appeared to be. I must have taken a half step back because Jaide turned to me with a half smile.

“Relax your senses will take a little while to get used too.” I had no idea what she was talking about but I trusted her advice, and nodded to show that I did.

“Ms. Claire will see you.” He said before stepping back to allow us to enter. I kept as much distance between us as I passed him. He smirked like he was enjoying my reaction.

Behind a large desk sat a woman in her mid thirties or so. She seemed human enough but power leaked from her like a faucet that was never fully turned all the way off. She sat and looked up at us. After bestowing a very fond smile on Jaide her eyes turned to me. She didn’t look at me with any particular emotion but there was a calculating look about her. Like she was sizing me up or comparing me to someone.

“You must be Devon.” I nodded. “It seems you’ve made quite a bit of trouble for our Jaide.”

“Aunt Claire.” Jaide said with a certain amount of warning in her tone. Then the woman laughed.

“Aunt? Jaide where are we?” Jaide turned to me.

“We’re at the coven.”

“The what?” Jaide rolled her eyes.

“The coven. What you didn’t think that vampires and werewolves were the only supernatural creatures that existed did you?”

“I was still getting used to werewolves.”

“Well boy, you will have to get used to a lot more than that before the night is out.” The old man replied from behind me. I looked at the windows. When we had first walked in I thought the drapes were closed. Now I saw that they weren’t it was just dark outside. I turned to Jaide.

“Can I still go out in sunlight?”

“I don’t know. It’s just something we’ll have to test.”

“Great.” I muttered but she ignored me.

“I think we still have a lot to talk about. I have some explaining to do