“What can I do?”
“I need to turn you now or I will die too.”
“Right now? I don’t get a few more hours as a human?”
“No. If we don’t do it before the sun is up, all of it was for nothing.”
“Okay. What do we do?” he asked as he led me inside his house. I knew it was so the neighbors wouldn’t see me all covered in Regan’s blood. When the door was shut tight behind us, he turned back to me and led me to the couch.
“I need to bite your neck to turn you.”
“So, that part isn’t a cliché then?”
“No. It’s the only way to turn you.”
“Is that how you kill people too? Is there a chance you could?”
“That isn’t how we kill people. We can bite anywhere to get the blood and drain you. I need to bite your neck because it’s the fastest and safest way to turn you. Having me bite you in any other spot will only hurt you and could kill you because you wouldn’t turn as fast.”
“Got it. Okay.”
He wiped his hands on the front of his jeans and sat next to me. Without saying another word, he leaned away exposing his neck to me. I could smell his blood racing through his veins. The nervousness he was letting take over was driving me wild. I lived for that smell because it meant the adrenaline was pumping through him and his blood would taste that much sweeter because of it. It was something Regan had shown me, and it was one of the many reasons we liked to play before we ate.
“Alyssa? I’m ready,” he said again.
“I know. I’m coming, but I am weak.”
He reached over and gently pulled me closer to him. When I was right beside him, he leaned down so his neck was right by my lips.
“I love you, Dylan.”
“I love you too.”
With that, my teeth sunk into his tender flesh. The small resistance of his flesh gave way with a tear as my fangs dug in deeper. Drinking of him, I felt myself grow stronger. He let out a small moan and I remembered what it felt like when Regan turned me. There was the pain, but it only lasted for a second before the euphoria kicked in and took you to a place of pleasure you had never felt before. It was better than any orgasm I had ever had, and it was a feeling I would never get again.
Or so I thought.
As I finished with the amount of blood that would safely turn him, I felt that familiar sensation wash over me. My back arched and I longed for him to be inside of me. When the moan escaped my lips, my eyes flew open when his lips touched mine. He no longer felt warm to me like he had moments ago.
I looked up at him and smiled at the way his fangs glistened in the dim light coming from the other room. His skin was a little lighter than it had been, but his muscles started to harden, and his build was changing. Any fat he had was changing to muscle tone and he was getting hotter by the second. I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed him and I knew he needed me.
“I know,” he said as he bent down to pick me up. He carried me into his bedroom and lay me softly on the bed before climbing in next to me.
His hands worked fast to rid me of my clothes and when he was done, I helped him with his. Lying there naked with him, neither of us had to speak. He was reading my mind the way I was reading his. With each touch, caress, and movement of our bodies, we became one.
I stiffened my body as my climax grew. He was close too and his thrusts intensified sending us both over the edge. With one loud moan, his head reared back, and his eyes closed. With that one act, we were mated for the rest of our lives.
I wasn’t going to think about the fact Dylan could do the same thing to me that I had done to Regan. I would love the time I had with him, however long that was, and I would never forget the way it felt to finally be his.
It was different with him than it had been with Regan. With him, I was turned without my consent. To him, a lot of the time, I felt like his property more than his mate. Dylan gave me his consent to turn him and we both were included in all the decisions. I knew I would be a someone with him and not just a something. For the first time in my life, I was in love, not out of necessity but out of pure motives.
We lay in each other’s arms for a few minutes without saying much. His soft kisses on my shoulders and neck sent wave after wave of pleasure through me. I wanted to stay like that with him forever, but I knew it wouldn’t last. Not that night anyway.
“Dylan?”
“Yeah?’
“We have to talk. We can’t stay here. Too many people will notice you not coming out during the day anymore and you won’t be able to curb your cravings in the beginning. We need to go somewhere where we can hide in plain sight for a while. At least until you can control yourself. We can come back here someday, but not until you have been long forgotten.”
“They won’t forget me,” he said and chuckled.
“They will and you have to be okay with that. Now that you are a vampire, it’s best to not get attached to humans. They only live for so long and then die. To save your own heart, staying clear of them, except to feed, is the best plan for us.”
“No more with them? What about my sister?”
“Stay away from her for sure. You can call her on the phone once in a while, but seeing her will be out of the question. Trust me, seeing them will only end badly for them.”
“What do you mean?”
“You aren’t one of them anymore. Your wild side will take over and it will be the best kill you’ve ever done. Staying away protects them.”
“Who did you kill?” he asked.
“My fiancé.”
I hadn’t told him everything yet. He didn’t understand why Regan had taken me the way he did. I would tell him someday, but for now I had to help him with his new thirst. With our first hunt together and after making love, we would be blood bound for life.
I was ready to start that with him and ready to be fully happy for the first time ever. Dylan was by my side and nothing would take that away. I fell in love with a human, killed my mate, and made the human my new one. Looking back on the past few weeks, it felt like a lifetime ago and only hours ago at the same time. I didn’t think I would ever leave Regan and then Dylan came along. It wasn’t that Regan was bad, but Dylan was my mate. Regan saw that and he did the least selfish thing he had ever done. He gave me away and for that, I would always love him.
I helped Dylan pack a few things and we laid down to get some sleep before we would head out. Being late fall, the days were shorter, and the nights were longer. We would use that to our advantage to get as far from Georgia as we could.
We would start our new forever together and neither of us would look back on our old lives or have regrets. We were true mates in everything we did and that was the way we would stay.
Neutral Ground
Sian B. Claven
CHAPTER ONE
Miles
Miles appeared outside Forever More nightclub, simply appeared. One of the perks of being a Balancer was having the power to appear and disappear as his strength allowed him to. Humans didn’t pay nearly enough attention to notice when Balancers suddenly appeared out of thin air, and they didn’t pay close attention to places like Forever More. Magical wards placed around nightclubs, pubs, strip clubs, and other ‘sin bins’ like Forever More made sure that humans steered clear of the magical gathering places—these Neutral Grounds where all supernatural beings could gather, regardless of alignment, to relax.