Cian hadn't known what to say to Amaliya after she declared happily ever afters as bullshit

and resorted to walking in silence. All night he had felt on edge with her, as though he was

standing on uneven ground and about to crash. Watching her hunt had made him want to take her

so badly and taste her new blood, that he had to concentrate with all his will to restrain himself.

He had only broken down a few times but had luckily pulled himself back.

He had to admit to himself that being with another vampire was liberating and intoxicating. It

made the night seem that much more vibrant and the world around him so much more alluring.

He had been locked away in his tightly controlled world with Roberto and Samantha and had

removed himself from the predatory need that he now felt rippling through him.

Amaliya walked slightly ahead of him, drunk with her new blood, and obviously feeling

pretty damn good from the alcohol that had laced it. She seemed a bit tipsy to him. Twirling

around on her high heels, she gave him an alluring smile. He wasn't even sure if she was aware

of her seduction. She just seemed to flit along on her whims. Flipping her hair back over her

shoulders, she returned to walking along before him.

The enormous man was on her before Cian could even blink. The human form came out of

the shadows and punched her hard across the side of the face. She staggered back, her expression

startled, but then it grew horrified.

"Rob!"

The man gripped her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. A terrible gurgling noise

came from the man that almost sounded like speech. Cian realized the attacker was actually dead

and that could only mean The Summoner was nearby.

Amaliya twisted in the creature’s grip as its dead fingers sank into her flesh.

Cian rushed forward and struck the creature with a brutal blow to the temple. It barely faltered

as its fingers crushed Amaliya's throat and blood spouted from her neck. Unable to scream,

Amaliya's hands and feet scrabbled at the creature’s body as she tried to wrench herself free.

Gripping the creature’s fingers, Cian tried to pry them free of her throat. Blood streamed over

the dead man's hands and made Cian's grip slippery. Growling in frustration, he proceeded to

break the digits one by one. If he didn't hurry, the dead thing would decapitate Amaliya and end

her.

Struggling in the shadows, the three supernatural creatures fought with desperation. Amaliya

gasped as one hand came free from her throat, but the creature immediately began clawing at her

ribcage, trying to push its broken hand into her flesh to rip out her heart.

With a furious cry of frustration, Amaliya hissed, “Let me go!”

Cian was breaking the creature’s wrist; it staggered backward and shook its head. Her hands

covering her gashed neck, Amaliya's eyes were glowing not red, but white.

“Rob, fuck off,” she growled.

The creature was actually a very large man that was obviously very dead. He was naked and

grotesque. His vivisection scar and the damage Amaliya had inflicted on him just a few nights

before were clear on his enormous white belly. The thing tossed its head back and forth in

frustration, its broken hands clawing at its head. It staggered forward again, but Amaliya hissed,

“Back off,” and it fell back.

A low cry issued forth from its mouth, then it charged toward her.

“Leave me alone! Get the hell out of here!” Amaliya screamed.

The dead thing appeared to trip and it fell onto the hard-packed earth beside the sidewalk.

Cian backed away from the irate creature as it hit the ground and convulsed as if in pain. As it

struggled, it sank slowly into the earth, and then was gone.

Falling to her knees, blood pouring over her hands, Amaliya whimpered in agony.

Cian leaned down and wrapped his arms around her. Her eyes were blue-gray again, but they

were looking hazy. He had never seen any creature's eyes glow as white as hers had. Save The

Summoner. Confused and afraid, he pulled her firmly against him, stepped into the shadows, and

vanished.

* * *

Cian stepped out of the shadows of his own apartment and heaved Amaliya's weakening body

over one shoulder. The power he had used to transport them left him feeling weak, but he could

not think of himself at this moment. He rushed to the sleeping chamber.

Voices from the living room informed him that Roberto and Samantha were still about, but he

had no time to deal with them. Sliding to a stop before the metallic wall, he leaned down, popped

the panel, and hit the code to open only one side.

“Cian?” Samantha appeared behind him looking confused. She saw Amaliya's pale and

bleeding form and gasped. “Oh, God!”

The wall slid up and Cian laid Amaliya down on the bed. She was bleeding out and he could

see she was swiftly weakening. She was too new to lose so much blood. Madness was a danger.

Without a word, he hit the interior controls for the wall and it descended with a soft whoosh.

The last thing he saw before he was engulfed in darkness was Samantha's confused and stricken

expression as she whispered, “Cian?”

In the blackness, he found the light switch and a soft glow filled the compartment. Heaving

Amaliya into his arms, he found that his fingers were trembling. Terror gripped him tightly as he

feared that she would succumb to the extreme blood loss and go mad. And if she went mad, they

were all in danger and he would have to destroy her.

Leaning down, he licked her wounds. His saliva would stop the bleeding and begin the

healing until her own body could take over. Despite popular modern vampire mythology,

vampire saliva was not an anticoagulant. It actually healed. That was why the vampire bite was

always such a powerful, brutal event. They had to pull hard to draw out what they needed.

The fresh blood filled his mouth and he gasped with the pleasure of it. But she needed to feed.

She lay limply in his arms, staring blankly at the ceiling.

“Amaliya, feed,” he whispered.

“Rob,” she answered in a muted voice. “He's dead. I killed him.”

“Drink,” Cian said and tore his own wrist. He held it over her, watching the rich blood drizzle

into her mouth.

“Rob is dead.” Her bloodied lips and tongue seeming oblivious to the vitae that would heal

and restore her.

“It was The Summoner. Do you hear me? He sent the dead to attack you because he knew it

would do this to you. Either kill you or terrify you. Amaliya, do you hear me?”

Her gaze finally flicked toward him. “I sent him away.”

“Yes, you did.” And he had no idea how she had done it. “He's gone. You won.”

Slowly, her tongue ran over her lips and teeth. She slowly rolled toward him to take his wrist

in her mouth. Weakly, she began to drink from him and he leaned over her with relief. He licked

the blood from his bloodied hand, then leaned down to her to run his tongue over her bloodied

shoulder. To his relief, the blood was sinking back into her flesh and he could feel her power

growing again.

She released his wrist and looked up at him. “I can't do this. I can't win against The

Summoner. He sent Rob.”

Cian brushed her hair back from her face and whispered, “Yes, you can. I promise. You can

do this.”

Exhausted, she lay down on his bed and stared up at him. “Maybe he should just kill me. Or

maybe you should. I can't do that....deal with dead people ripping my head off my shoulders.”

She covered her face with trembling hands. “I can't.”

Cian leaned over her and kissed her hands, then drew them away. “Yes, you can deal. I want

you to.”

“Why?”

Cian stared down at her. “Because you make me feel less alone.” And the answer changed

everything and nothing in that moment. Samantha still stood on the other side of the wall with

her hands on it, scared out of her mind and he knew it. And Amaliya lay in his bed, a reminder of

everything he was and that brought a terrifying sense of completion to him.

“I need to go then,” she said after a long moment.

“I know,” he answered. He lay down beside her and drew her close.

Her arms slid around him and they held each other as her body healed. His fingers slid

through her hair and he sighed heavily. They lay there until she fell asleep.

Kissing her cheek, he felt a heavy pang of regret. But he had fought too long and too hard to

have a normal life. A human life. His future lay on the other side of the wall.

* * *

“Let me open it,” Samantha hissed and tried to get away from Roberto.

The lean Hispanic man had grabbed her just before she was able to enter the code to open up

Cian's sleeping chamber.

“That would be an immensely bad idea,” Roberto said firmly.

“He needs me. There was so much blood!”

“It's not his. It's hers.”

Samantha hesitated in her struggles, contemplating this, then tried to wiggle away anyway. “I

don't care. He needs me. Did you see his face? Something bad happened!”

“And because something bad happened, we need to let him take care of it,” Roberto said

firmly.

“No, we need to help him!” Samantha squirmed even more and almost succeeded in twisting

out of his grasp.

“She's lost blood and if she goes crazy she'll kill us if Cian can't stop her,” Roberto hissed in

her ear.

Samantha frowned deeply but stopped struggling. “What do you mean?”

“She's a new vampire. If she doesn't drink enough blood or gets badly wounded and loses too

much blood, she'll go insane and kill everything in sight. That includes you.”

Roberto released her abruptly. She stumbled forward then whirled around. She felt helpless

and frustrated. Clenching her hands at her sides, she stomped her foot then said, “I don't like her!

She's mucking things up.”

For once, Roberto didn't make a snarky comment and just sighed. Looking a bit nervous

himself, he sat down in a chair and crossed his legs. “Just let Cian handle it. He is an old and

wise vampire.”

Tugging on her hair a little, Samantha stomped over to a chair near Roberto and sat down. “I

know, but he looked so scared.”

“He's going through a difficult time.”

“I don't like her,” Samantha said again firmly.

“I noticed.”

“We were perfectly fine before she showed up. Yeah, I have to deal with you being a snarky

bastard but she...she...” Samantha couldn't even put into words how Amaliya made her feel. And

it wasn't just her tattoos, unique looks, or strange piercings. She lived in Austin. She was used to

that. It was how Cian had been acting since the new vampire had arrived.

The chamber opened and Cian slipped out before shutting it again. Samantha caught a

glimpse of Amaliya curled up on her side, apparently asleep. Samantha jumped to her feet,

rushed over to Cian, and threw her arms around him. He pushed her away before she could crush

him close.

“I need to feed,” he rasped.

She drew back and realized he looked very pale and a bit gaunt. “Cian, ohmygawd!”

“I had to give her a lot of blood.”

Roberto grabbed her arm and drew her away from Cian. “Let him be.”

Cian nodded to his servant, then turned and disappeared into the shadows.

“I've never seen him look like that!”

“That is because he never allows himself to go that far into the hunger.” Roberto let go of her.

“Perhaps you should go home now. It is very late.”

“You're trying to get rid of me,” Samantha said in an accusing tone.

Roberto whirled on her and said fiercely, “This is not about you!”

Samantha drew back, startled. “Yes, it is! I'm his fiancée, asshole!”

Roberto drew slowly near her, his manner more menacing than she had ever seen. “Do you

not truly understand that Cian is a vampire? Not your romance novel vampire, but a real vampire

who feeds on blood and is truly, terribly dangerous.”

Tears, hot and angry, sprang to her eyes and she leaned toward Roberto, and said, “He's a

good man no matter what he is. And I'm not leaving.”

Flinging up his hands, Roberto stormed away, leaving her alone outside the chamber.

Feeling extremely grumpy, she walked over and sat down again. Unable to help herself, she

glared at the closed-off chamber. That girl had to leave and soon. That was all there was to it.

It was nearly an hour later when Cian came down the stairs from the second floor of his

apartment. He looked yummy in a clean white t-shirt and black jeans. His hair was longer than

usual and his face had the beginnings of a beard, but he looked much more like himself than he

had before he’d left.

“You're still here,” Cian said with surprise when he saw her.

“I couldn't just leave,” she answered and stood up. For once she wasn't sure if she should run

to him.

Cian looked touched by this comment, but his hazel eyes seemed darker than normal. He

walked past her to collapse into his leather chair at his computer desk. “It'll be all right. You

should go home.”

“Is she going to go apeshit and kill everyone in the building?”

“No. No. She's fine now,” Cian said softly.

He wasn't looking at her and Samantha shifted awkwardly on her feet. “I want her gone.”

Looking up, he was clearly startled by her vehemence.

“I don't like what she's doing to you. To us.”

“She'll leave soon,” Cian assured her, but his gaze seemed distracted.

“What happened?” Roberto asked as he reappeared from the library. “Why was she in that

condition?”

“The Summoner attacked us on our way back.”

“The guy who made you?” Samantha heard the shrill sound in her voice and made a face.

“Yeah, him. He sent one of his minions, and evidently, it was the man she killed in Dallas,”

Cian answered.

“She killed someone?”

“In self-defense,” Cian assured her.

“Yeah, right. She's a vampire,” Samantha said sullenly and she crossed her arms and tapped

her foot.

Cian slightly smiled at her, then continued, “Anyway, it was an animated corpse. It nearly

wrenched Amaliya's head off and she somehow then...” Cian rubbed his bottom lip looking

confused and a little disturbed.

“Then…?” Roberto prompted.

“Then she banished it.” Cian stood up and folded his arms over his chest. “She actually

banished it back into the earth. And her eyes...they turned white like The Summoner's when he

controls the dead.”

“Can you do that? Cause that's kinda icky,” Samantha said.

“No, I can't. Which is why I'm confused.” Cian shrugged.

“If she can do what this bad guy can do, then maybe she's on his side. Did you think of that?”

Samantha could not believe how stupid men could be around a good pair of tits.

“I'm sure she's not. She's a fledgling. I believe her when she says she's a pawn in his game,”

Cian said firmly.

“You have to consider that maybe he can control her from afar. She is very new. Closer to

real death than you,” Roberto pointed out. “And he can control the true dead.”

Cian bristled at this suggestion and Samantha felt her fear elevate to a new level. She had

never seen him this agitated before. If anything, she would have described Cian as sensible, easy

going and calm by nature. But now he looked dark, defensive, and a bit angry.

“She's afraid of him. She nearly died tonight,” Cian retorted.

“It could have been a ruse to gain your sympathy,” Roberto suggested, calmly.

“Yeah, what he said,” Samantha cut in.

“I was there. I saw what happened. I know that what she is saying is the truth. I will help her

again tomorrow night and maybe the night after. I don't know. I just need to make sure that when

she leaves here she doesn't walk straight into his trap.”

“What if you are in his trap already?” Samantha asked quietly.

Cian shoved his chair out of his way and stalked past them, toward the sleeping chamber.

“Cian, she has a point,” Roberto called after him.

“I've made my decision,” Cian answered sharply, and opened the chamber and disappeared

inside.

“Do you see what I mean?” Samantha stomped her foot at Roberto.

“What are you going to do about it?” Roberto asked, and arched an eyebrow. “You and I are

his human servants and we do as he says.”

“I'm his fiancée! Not his servant.”

Roberto just shook his head wearily at her and walked away.

Realizing Cian hadn't even kissed her goodnight, she felt tears brimming in her eyes.

Frustration eating at her, she grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

What was she going to do about it? Well, she wasn't sure. But she was going to do something.

* * *

Curled up on Cian's bed, Amaliya fell into a deep, yet restless sleep. Traumatized by the

night's events, her dreams slowly turned to blood and violence.

Cian was just settling in beside her when she sat up gasping with fear. Her hands clutched the

bedclothes as she looked around the chamber in terror. His hand gently touched her arm and she

looked at him with fright in her eyes.

Her sluggish heart was beating harder than it had in days. She pressed her hands between her

breasts, feeling its harsh thumping. Leaning over, she rested her forehead on her knees.

“What did you dream?” Cian asked softly.

“I was dying.”

She could vividly remember the way her hot blood had sprayed the professor's clothing as he

savagely tore into her. Her own heart had betrayed her and continued to pump her blood out in

rhythmic spurts.

She felt Cian put an arm around her shoulders and leaned toward her. “Your mortal death?”

“Yes.” She turned her head, rested her cheek on her knee, and stared at him. “I was bleeding

out so fast. I could feel my life draining out of me.”

Cian's fingers gently moved her hair back from her face, and he asked in a very tender tone,

“Can you tell me what happened next?”

Blinking, she exhaled slowly, emptying her dead lungs, then nodded. “I think I blacked out. I

remember coming to on the ground. I felt very cold. He was leaning over me and whispering

words in another language. I could see...” She struggled for words. The image had come to her so

vividly in her dreams, but it was fading away. “His eyes were white. Completely white, and I

could see that his shadow was somehow...um...like it was reaching into me and making my heart

beat and my lungs breathe.”

“Like he was keeping you alive?”

“Yeah. With some sort of voodoo magic or something. Then he held his wrist over my lips

and his blood dripped into my mouth. I started to choke, but he kept trying to get me to

swallow.”

“And the whole time his eyes were glowing white?”

She nodded the affirmative, then let herself drop back onto the bed. Her hair splayed out

around her as she stared up into the dim light filling the small chamber. “I think he even told me

not to die too soon. That it wasn't part of the plan.”

Cian sat next to her looking quite thoughtful. She could almost see him breaking apart her

words and examining them, looking for some sort of clue to some mystery he alone seemed to

know about or want to solve.

“Tonight, when that creature-”

“Rob.”

“Rob attacked you, you banished him. How did you do that?”

Amaliya blinked and then shook her head. “Did I banish him for real?”

Cian gave her a short nod. “Yes, you did.”

“I don't know. I just knew that he needed to get off me and go back to where he came from. I

kinda imagined him falling into his own grave and then he just sank away into the earth. So I did

that? For sure?”

“I'm pretty sure you did. The same way the Summoner's eyes glow white when he controls the

dead, so did yours.”

“Can you do that?”

“No. I can't.” Cian lay down next to her. “I think that when he kept you alive using his

necromancy, he may have inadvertently ended up giving you some of that power.”

“To control dead things?”

“Yes.”

“Ugh. Do not want!” She did not want to deal with ugly zombie things like Rob ever again.

“Well, it could work to your advantage if The Summoner truly gave you a bit of his power by

accident. If you can figure out how to use it, you may be able to use it against him.”

“I just don't want to deal with him,” Amaliya groused and rolled onto her side to face Cian.

“I know, but you will have to,” Cian responded somberly.

“Your girlfriend must hate me,” she said after a beat.

“I think she hates me a little right now.” Cian rubbed his eyelids slowly. He sounded weary.

“She was railing against you being here and it infuriated me because she and Roberto cannot

understand my position.”

“And you're the big bad Master of Austin, eh?”

“Well,” Cian pondered this. “Yes, I am. I shouldn't be questioned.”

“Vampire stuff kicking in, huh?” Amaliya smiled at him. “Getting all reconnected into the

dark side of the force.”

“Something like that,” Cian admitted.

“Glad to be of service,” she joked and adjusted the pillow under her head. “But honestly,

Cian, I will be gone soon and they won't have to worry about me corrupting you.”

“You can't corrupt me.” Cian laughed. “I am already corrupted. You're just reminding me of

that.”

”Sorry.”

“The sun will rise soon. Go back to sleep.”

Amaliya sighed and closed her eyes. She did feel weary, but she also felt anxious. If what

Cian said was true, then maybe she had a few more tricks in her bag than she realized. Her eyes

flashed open and she said, “Hey, can I turn into a bat?”

“We'll talk about that tomorrow.” His tone sounded amused.

Pouting slightly, she snuggled down in the covers. “Fine.”

He deliberately rolled over and put his back to her and she stared at the curve of his shoulders,

then closed her eyes.

I'm not attracted to him, she whispered in her own mind. He's just not my type. Plus he's

short. I like tall men.

“I'm marrying Samantha,” Cian's voice said from near her. But it did not sound so sure

anymore. “I worked hard to create this life.”

“You're not my type anyway,” Amaliya said with a little laugh. “Don't worry about it.”

There was silence from his side of the bed, then he reached over and turned out the light. The

darkness was strangely comforting, despite the night's events, and she pulled the heavy comforter

over her as the cold air whispered over her skin.

“When I died, I lost my entire life. My wife, my children, everything. For years I mourned

them and struggled to escape The Summoner and his twisted reality. Austin is where I found my

freedom from him at last. I finally won his twisted game and he released me. It took a lot of time

and planning to be where I am now. Samantha was just unexpected. She was so full of life and

energy. She made me laugh. She made me feel human again. And when she discovered what I

was, she didn't run away screaming. Samantha sees everything that is good in me.” Cian's voice

was very soft, yet full of deep emotion and torment.

Amaliya reached out and touched his shoulder lightly. “That is why you should marry her.”

“I will,” he said with a slight twinge of defiance in his tone. “I will.”

Something heavy and unspoken hovered in the air between them and Amaliya felt herself

struggling not to do something obscenely stupid.

“It doesn't make me stop wanting you. Doesn't make it any easier not to sink my teeth into

you and feed. Or want to be in you as you drink from me,” his voice said with raw need and

desire. “You remind me of everything I truly am. The parts of me I have been denying.”

She drew her hand away slowly, but he caught it.

“I'll teach you the basics of our abilities tomorrow and then you must leave.”

“Okay,” she said softly.

“Because if you don't go,” he hesitated. “If you don't go tomorrow, I may never let you go.”