Love Bites

“There’s a woman,” he began, and she laughed at the echo of his earlier statement. “His one true mate. He’s in denial, as is she. Because she says she’s not interested, he refuses to make a move. I wanted to prove to him that no other woman would suffice, and I also wanted you. I just didn’t guess that my plan would explode in my face.”

“She had sex with you. Both of you,” she said gently, diverting him from the topic of last night. She wasn’t quite ready to go there yet. “And she turned you.”

“Yes. She fed from us both but she intended to turn just me, because she said I had more of the dark in me already. His mind would be easily wiped, she claimed, because his will was weak. She was wrong. Every trick she tried to erase the night’s events from his memories failed. Even immediately afterward, he remembered every detail, much as you remembered details last night. He was too strong for her, so she made him into what she was. What I didn’t know then was that by turning two of us, she’d broken the VRC’s laws—”

“VRC?”

He smiled briefly. “Sorry. Vampire Regulation Council.”

She choked back a laugh. “You’re shitting me. Even vampires have cops?”

“Without laws, there is chaos. No one, least of all beings who operate on blood and sex, can be completely trusted to self-govern. Too much leeway means too many chances for anarchy.”

Sydney fingered the pentagram necklace she wore, drawing his attention. “I never really thought about that, I guess.”

“Just like you never thought about vampires.”

“No.”

“And yet, you wear the symbol of the devil.”

“Hardly.” Now she did laugh. “The pentagram represents the four elements, and the force of the spirit. I believe in nature more than I believe in any particular god.”

He kissed her forehead gently. “An open mind often begets an open heart.”

She leaned against him, winding her fingers into his thick, silky hair. Best she not indulge his desire to talk of hearts just yet. “You said Alysia turning two of you broke the law. How?”

“Vampires are strictly prohibited from turning more than one human during their existence. The only exception is if the human they turn later ends up dying through misadventure. Then they are allowed to turn one more. The council’s main goal is to keep vampires from being detected in society. If every vampire willy-nilly turned as many humans as they wanted, our ranks would multiply. We would eventually be outed.”

“So why are you allowed to turn any, then?”

“We don’t want our people to become extinct. We also have basic needs like anyone else.” When she only stared at him, he ticked them off on his fingers. “Survival of the species. Companionship. Love.”

She swallowed. “Vampires love like humans, then.”

“Not as easily,” he said softly. “And when we mate, we mate until death, just like many animals in the wild. But we don’t just find our mates through simple selection. Our chemistry has adapted to our circumstances, and our highly altered senses allow us to find our mates through non-traditional means. Blood pheromones,” he explained as her lips pursed. “Just as humans are attracted to each other through scents, so are vampires. Once we’ve found our mate, no other lover will suffice.”

“But Lucas had sex with me.”

“We still feel arousal with others. But the bond created with our mate is something special. Something unique and rare.” Kellan stroked Sydney’s cheek. “I didn’t mean to bite you last night. Once I did, I lost all control. As soon as I smelled and tasted your blood—”

Sydney glanced down at her hand gripping the sheets. She didn’t know if she wanted to argue for or against what he was trying to tell her. The possibility was both thrilling and terrifying. “There can be no mistake?”

“No. We’re meant, Sydney.” He brushed his lips over her temple. “Tell me you can feel it too, sweetheart.”

“What happened with Alysia?” she asked, fighting not to shake. She couldn’t process all of this, not yet.

He let out a long sigh as if he’d expected no less. “Upon seeing what she’d done, she went into hiding. She had no choice. Neither of us were her mates, but she’d turned me for sport and Lucas to cover up her misdeeds. She’d done the same before and gotten away with it, but eventually the clock runs out.”

“They found her.”

“Yes. And they…eliminated her.”

She hissed out a breath. “So much for leniency.”

“The laws exist for a reason. We all know the punishment for breaking them, but that doesn’t stop the lawless amongst us from doing so. The VRC is rarely heard from, and many vampires don’t believe they really exist. They eventually come to see how wrong they are.”

“You sound as if you agree with them.”