Essence (Nectar 3)

“How much? How often?” Tristan asked.

My blood is his nectar. His blood is mine. Wow.

Kyla let out a big breath. Tristan’s gaze met hers and his eyes communicated emotion, love for her. She smiled.

“Not sure. The practice isn’t widely known about. Sergey, the elder, is happy to discuss it with you.”

“Sergey? Not Sergey Voitenko?” Tristan asked.

“Yes.”

“Fuck me.” Tristan shook his head. Kyla looked at him. He gave his head a shake, “I’m surprised he’s part of this coalition.”

“You’d actually be very surprised just how many vampires are ready for change, Tristan,” Sasha said, “And if you opted to be part of that change there’s no telling what could happen.”

Tristan gave her a blank look, revealing nothing. Kyla was a little confused. She was about to start firing questions. Tristan cut off her thoughts by saying, “So for now, we let Kyla dictate the pace for feeding?”

“Yes, I think so. Keep an eye on her. Look for signs of discomfort or lethargy. If you’d stay until he arrives, Sergey will have more information. We have other things to review as well. Would anyone like some breakfast? I can toast a bagel like a champ.”

“Sergey knows all this but Adrian didn’t?” Kyla asked.

“No. Dr. Constantin is well-versed in many areas but as for the old ways, Sergey makes him look like a fresh-faced teenager in contrast. And Sergey isn’t a fan so isn’t very forthcoming. I know Dr. Constantin has tried to strike a friendship with him in order to gain information in a few areas but Sergey was never receptive. There haven’t been a lot of pure blooded vampires in the last few hundred years. The race became very diluted with turned vamps. That’s why Dr. Constantin’s breeding program was implemented here. But as much as he knew, he evidently didn’t know about this. That’s all I know. We’ll learn more when Sergey arrives. Breakfast?” She moved toward the counter.

“Tristan makes the world’s greatest omelette,” Kyla offered with a smile and took a sip of her coffee.

“Not in the mood to cook,” he told her and she could feel tension from him as well as see it as he pondered some of this new information.

She shrugged, “Then I could eat a bagel.” She rose to get up.

“I’ll get it,” Tristan motioned to both her and Sasha to sit back down.

“Sasha, do me a favour and give Kyla the lowdown on who you are, how you’ve been involved in her life? About Kyle?”

She nodded and sipped her coffee and then began,

“I’m Sam’s twin and couple years ago, I became vampire. I should’ve been turned half a century ago, when my brother was turned. But Dr. Constantin, he stopped that from happening. He controlled my life. Beyond what he does with his breeding program for blue blooded vamps he’s a renowned medical professional in the vampire community. He helps with vampire illnesses, medical, mental…”

“I’m aware,” Kyla said, sipping the coffee, watching Tristan move around the kitchen, getting a bagel into a toaster and fetching a tomato from a basket on the countertop. He rinsed the tomato and then grabbed a knife from a big knife block and sliced it super-fast. Then he lifted an avocado from the basket and held it up and looked to her She gave him an enthusiastic nod.

“It took me a long time to successfully grow those. I bet that’s the best avocado you’ve ever tasted,” Sasha beamed.

“Yum,” Kyla replied and started wringing her hands together in anticipation. She was fricking starved.

“So anyway, about two years ago I had to look after a vampire who’d recently been turned. He’d been turned while brain dead so required some close examinations, extra care. I was in a functional trance otherwise. You see, Dr. Constantin knew me as a child, I grew up around him, and so we had a relationship before I began to be mesmerized. Children are immune to most types of mesmerization but after puberty, tend to go into a state of mesmerization whether the vampire wants it or not.

Dr. Constantin and several high level vampires all programmed me. They worked with me for a number of sessions to try to help me keep my faculties more than the average entranced human. I knew what was happening around me but I was very pliable. I followed directions. I felt like I was on autopilot most of the time. My brother was turned at age 25 and he became vampire. I was not turned. Our bloodline is such that Sam would have an important advisor and service job with royal vampires. I was intended to be a breeder and to remain human until those obligations were finished but I wasn’t able to conceive. Dr. Constantin wanted to turn me but didn’t want me to lose myself, become a typical vampress. We’ve nicknamed it the bitch switch. It’s tongue in cheek and it’s really much more serious than bitch.