Page 16 of Craving Darkness

The ride across the city was short and I took notice of the different boutiques as I passed the more upscale shopping district. As I got closer to the side of town where the vampire nest was, I noticed it continued to grow more dilapidated. The buildings showed more neglect and offices closed completely with boarded up windows. Entire strips of store fronts were empty.

Once I hit the street where the nest was said to be, I slowed down, looking for the fancy house that Bob, the scum-lord, had described. It didn't take long. If the house was indeed the one he said they lived in, it was the only decent house on the entire street. The Master obviously had money, but that wasn't unusual. Supernaturals with longevity tended to have plenty of expendable money. Throughout the years we saved, invested, or the less scrutable ones stole their way into a hefty portfolio. Not that we kept our money in banks. At least, not much of it, even if we managed to get our hands on fake identity papers that would allow us to do such a thing. We also learned how to hide our funds from any government entities.

The house itself was nice enough to be considered a mansion, but the Master didn't seem to care much about the land around it. Weeds were growing untended. The grass, what there was of it, was scraggly, even for the season. I snorted in disgust. If you didn't give a shit to take care of what you owned, you didn't deserve it. The man who was the vampire Master of this shitty nest wasn't someone I would ever be able to respect.

I revved my engine and sped down the street, leaving the mansion behind with the row of shiny cars and motorcycles sitting at the curb. It seemed physical objects were the only things that mattered to these assholes.

With the sizes I had gathered from Kallista's apartment in the back of my mind, I headed back to the boutiques I had passed earlier. I had to swallow back the dread of having to walk inside those stores, knowing that I would stand out like a three-legged mutt at a dog show.

The experience was just as bad as I had feared. When I was done, I tucked the multiple shopping bags away on my bike, thankful as fuck that the whole ordeal was over. I had gained just as much attention as I thought I would. The first store I had stepped into nearly landed me in a squad car when the employee's eyes went wide with terror. I was sure I heard a whimper as the young brunette stepped closer to the phone the moment she saw me.

I had tried to give her a smile and nod, attempting to act casual, but she hadn't been reassured in the least. Before I even had a chance to do more than look around at the shiny, smooth materials covering the anorexic looking mannequins, I turned around and walked back out the door. I offered her a departing greeting, but at the sound of my deep, gravely tone, she looked like she was on the verge of peeing herself.

I walked to the next shop, pleased to see the display in the big window at the storefront looked more realistic with mannequins that had curves. I paused in front of a pretty white sundress with big yellow sunflowers across the skirt. I could easily envision Kallista wearing it while walking along the lakeshore, her hair flowing in the breeze. I had to shake my head to clear it of the scene and pushed the door open.

An older woman with dark hair wrapped in some type of updo on her head walked toward me with one eyebrow raised. She had a small smile on her lips and a glint of amusement in her eyes.

"Can I help you find something, sir?"

It was the first time I could ever remember being called sir. I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped. I cleared my throat to cover the sound. "I want to get that dress in the front window, the one with the yellow flowers. I'll want more clothes, too." I finally looked around the small shop and nodded.

"Your wife will be thrilled. We don't get many men coming in here looking to do the shopping for their ladies."

I opened my mouth to deny our connection, but snapped it shut. Something kept me from correcting her. A part of me warmed at the thought of having a woman to call my own. I had always been alone, never trusting myself around others for longer than a few minutes. That didn't mean I never felt lonely, or even wistful at times. There had been moments when I saw young families together looking happy and wondered what it was like.

"Yes, I want her to have a little of everything." I couldn't deny the truth of those simple words.

I would always be grateful to that woman for her helpfulness and for not throwing me out of the shop at first glance. I would make sure I paid her back for the kindness she didn't have to show. In my very long existence, I had learned how rare it was.

Chapter 11

Kallista

After cleaning the already fairly tidy kitchen and then making sure the bathroom was as spotless as humanly possible, I turned to the bed Valen had slept in. I took a deep breath and then walked slowly over to the sleeping space. I resisted every urge to lift his sheets to my nose and take in a deep inhale of his scent. That would make me a creeper.

No matter how long I tried to drag it out, it still didn’t take me long to straighten up the bed. I left his belongings alone since that would have been an invasion of privacy. Instead, I backed away and then marched over to the couch before dropping down with a huff.

I was bored.

A loud, insistent banging jarred me hard enough to almost have me falling over the edge of the couch. Again. I swiped the hair out of my eyes and ran the back of my hand over my mouth, wiping away the small bit of moisture from the corners. I must have drifted off as I stared up at the ugly tiles on the ceiling that reminded me of an office building.

The sound of the knocking repeated, making my head swivel toward the direction of the smaller door next to the now closed cargo lift. I frowned as my heart sped up a little. No one should have been here, right? Valen promised that nobody knew where he lived. Or, I suppose, he didn’t actually live here. He made it sound as if he traveled a lot and didn’t stay in one place for long.

I sat up slowly, swinging my bare feet to the ground. On shaky legs, I took slow steps toward the door, trying to stay as quiet as possible. I had no idea who would have been banging on Valen’s door. I glanced over at the stove, seeing the time there on the small digital clock. He’d been gone a little over an hour. I must have only been asleep for a few minutes.

“Kallista, I know you’re in there.” A low, husky chuckle sounded from behind the metal door. “I can hear you.”

I frowned harder. I wasn’t sure if I should be more disturbed that Syn could hear me through a heavy steel door or that she had come back after Valen had told her to go away. I chose to stay silent.

“You probably heard the conversation earlier, right? I promise, I only have good intentions.” There was a long pause as if she were waiting for me to respond or perhaps open the door for her. A heavy sigh sounded before she began again. “Look, the vampires aren’t that bad, okay? They will treat you well, I promise. You caught their attention. After the havoc you caused last night, they want reparations. They want you, Kallie.”

I grimaced at the nickname I hated. Did she really think I was going to fall for that shit? And how the hell could she even begin to blame me for what had happened? Tiny died last night because one of those guys was a psychotic murderer. That was after he went insane at the smell and taste of my blood. None of that would have happened if those guys hadn’t acted like assholes. And she wanted to hand me over to them?

Her tone switched from cajoling as she tried to convince me to fall in line, offering myself up to the vampires. Suddenly, she was irritated.

“Valen’s a nice guy, right? He’s always been a real sweetheart under all that gruff exterior. It’s why I love him so much. I’ve been the closest person to him for almost three hundred years. I know that’s probably hard to imagine, but it’s true. He’s lived a very long life. We have that in common.” There was a brief pause. “What do you have in common with him?”

I looked down at my wrist, at the dark red brand there that matched his perfectly. I wanted to tell her that we were mates, that it was so much more than what she could ever hope to have with him, but instead of saying any of those things, I bit my lip hard enough to sting. She was goading me, trying to make me think there was more between her and Valen than just friendship. But maybe there was. He had never explicitly said they hadn’t been intimate together. He had just said they were friends.