Original Sin (The Order of Vampires 1)

“Are you finished?”

Her eyes flushed pink as her confused, volatile emotions fired in every direction. “I just want to go home,” she whispered.

“Anna, dear.” His mother intercepted. “Why don’t you come with Gracie and me? We can get you settled somewhere comfortable and answer any questions you might have.”

“Abilene,” his father interjected, knowing it wasn’t her place to interfere in Adam’s and his mate’s private affairs.

“It’s fine, father. That might be helpful.” After such an outburst he struggled to find an appropriate response. Her lack of obedience humiliated him, leaving him grateful only his immediate family had been present for such an outburst.

He looked back to Annalise. “Go with them.”

She glanced over her shoulder at the door and Grace rushed forward, taking her hand. “Come along, Anna.”

She hesitantly followed his sister and mother out of the kitchen. He stared until she disappeared down the hall.

“She won’t flee,” he said, returning to his seat.

“You’ll not allow it.”

He nodded but lacked the constitution to offer any verbal guarantee.

“Why haven’t you told her what we are?”

“Is it not obvious? She’s confused and frightened. She’s been through enough for one day.”

“Once you explain everything, she will have no reason to be afraid.”

“How can you believe that? I’ve stolen her away from everything she knows. She’s angry, and rightly so. She isn’t listening to anything but her anger. Once she calms down, I’ll explain things.”

“Adam, this is God’s plan, God’s timetable. You risk too much waiting for a woman to suddenly start thinking rationally. Your nature is telling you to claim what belongs to you. Hers... Well, females are simply more complicated than men. Trust me, you do not have time to await her emotional acceptance.”

“And what of her plans? She had a life before I arrived.”

“Get ahold of your senses. This is not a game. Do you want to end up as your uncle? You know there can only be one outcome.”

He wouldn’t let it come to that. “I have time.”

His father studied him, his concern flowing in waves. “Not as much as you assume.”

He broke his stare. “She has nightmares about me. Is that normal?”

“I would have to ask an Elder. It’s been my understanding that dreams are pleasurable.”

“Mine are. I’ve never experienced any sort of terror. But the nightmares frighten her. I sense her fear when she sleeps, but I can’t reach her. Could she still be dreaming without me?”

“You’ve fed from her?”

He nodded.

“Then your sub-consciences should be entwined. It’s you she sees in the nightmares?”

“So she says, but she claims there’s another presence.”

“How have you opened her vein yet she’s unaware you are immortal?”

“She was unconscious.”

“No wonder she appears so pale. You’ve taken too much, Adam. Do not forget that she’s human. They’re much more fragile than our females.”

Every time he’d fed from her it became more difficult to pull away. Her blood intoxicated more than his stomach. “She’s too weak for more. I fed as soon as we arrived and again just a few hours ago.”

Yet, hunger ate at him. He’d assumed Annalise’s hunger had been paining him, but he still suffered in her absence.

“Perhaps you should feed once more before seeing her again. You’re temperamental.”

“For good reason, Father.”

“Yes. But the more you drink from her, the more your baser instincts will come into play. Careful, my son.”

“I won’t hurt her.”

“That’s a guarantee you cannot make in your state. She’s already emotionally wounded. Do not let your control slip more than it already has.”

He knew what to avoid, but no one explained how. There were no instructions to guarantee he’d take the correct next step. “I feel blind.”

“Follow your instincts. What are they telling you?”

He glanced at his father from the corner of his eye. “Are you honestly asking me to say it?”

He chuckled. “No. I’m asking you to stop pretending you don’t know the next step. You’ve found her, now you must claim her. Complete the bond, Adam. Everything else will work out after.”

“I want her permission.”

“She’s yours. You don’t need her permission.”

His hands balled into fists. “She ... doesn’t feel like mine. I sense her soul aligning with mine, but... She’s hardheaded.”

“A truly hardheaded woman will not be swayed in a matter of weeks, which you do not have. You have days. Perhaps it’s time you faced reality and do what needs to be done.”

“I don’t know if I could live with myself if she despises me.”

“She is your survival, Adam. There will be no living with her at all if you don’t make haste. You can show her you’re a male of worth once your future’s secured.”

His father was right. They needed to complete the bond, and despite his greatest instinct to protect her, he needed to put his gentler emotions aside in order for that to happen. “You’re right.”

Chapter Eighteen

“Do you have family, dear?”

Annalise stared at the woman, Abilene, not trusting that she was Adam’s mother. She didn’t look a day over twenty-five. How was their relationship possible?