River fixed his glasses and ran his fingers through his dark brown curls a few times before buttoning his shirt. Refusing to rush, he took his time with each button and then went to fix the sleeves to make sure they were perfect. River checked his watch. Two hours had passed, and he knew it didn’t take that long to get back to the university. He’d missed his late-night workout that he had scheduled in. His jaw ticked with how hard he clenched his teeth. All the while Caydem watched him with interest. The damn vampire was interrupting his schedule too much, but River doubted the vampire would stop. The only way to continue with his life was to integrate the vampire fully in, switch his schedule up completely, and put the proper amount of time for him. River mentally figured out what he needed to do with his schedule. As everything started to fit into place, he relaxed, once more relaxing his jaw.
“Next feeding is already scheduled for three days from now. The date is fine, but the time frame will not work,” River said.
Before the vampire could say anything, River continued, needing to take control of the situation. “You will need about a four-hour window. I’ll move some things around, but that means I won’t leave until way after sunset.” River stared at Caydem. “Unless you can switch to morning hours, then we might be able to rearrange some things.”
Caydem was so still one might think he was a statue, except his eyes moved up and down River’s body.
“I can move during the day, just stiffly. I’d much rather feed at night,” Caydem said.
River nodded his understanding. “Good.” He turned to the driver. “When you come to get me, do not park out front. It draws too much attention.”
River grabbed the door handle and opened the car. His legs wobbled underneath him, but by sheer will, he got out. River glanced over to Caydem, but the vampire was nowhere to be seen. River didn’t have time to react before he was being twisted around and the car door slammed with his body pressed up against it.
“Your time is up,” River said. But he didn’t try and dislodge himself from Caydem’s hold. There was no way he could. No matter how good a fighter River was, there was no way he’d be able to take on Caydem.
“What are you?” Caydem asked.
River met his eyes with unafraid ones. River had asked himself that question long ago when he was a child. Why had he lived his life in the darkness only to bleed when needed? He was sure “human” was the answer, but he didn’t act like anyone else. He didn’t know anyone else who needed to have their blood drawn multiple times a month to function. River didn’t know the answer, and he’d long ago given up asking.
“Is that important for our agreement?”
Caydem laughed and let River go. “It’s not. You should take business—you have a head for negotiations.”
River tugged at his button-up shirt before fixing his glasses. Business sounded as if he would have eyes on him, always in the light. No, he had no interest. River had long ago grown accustomed to the darkness, and although he would never voluntarily go back to that darkness, he preferred his variation of solitude.
“See you next time, human,” Caydem said.
Caydem was gone in a blink of an eye, and River had only a second to step away from the car before it pulled off. River moved toward his dorm room, not looking back. There was no point. He’d adapted, and he had control over his life once more. It just meant now it included a vampire.
First a Vampire and Now a Werewolf
River walked into the gym where he trained on occasion. He mostly did one-on-one. River preferred to be in charge at all times, and sometimes with a big crowd people tended to stop listening. His new customer was already running late. River busied himself setting up the mat. Everything was ready, and it was ten minutes past the scheduled time for the meeting. River’s agitation went up a notch. He detested when people were late. He walked out of the small room that he did private lessons in and up to the help desk in the large gym. Music played softly in the background accompanied by the sounds of machines and weights clanging about.
Kaija was working the afternoon shift. Out of all the people who worked the front desk, River hated Kaija the least. She kept to herself and did her job efficiently. He made a beeline for her. She wore the gym’s purple shirt with the logo printed on the back and the word Staff printed on the front. She wore her curls out in a huge puff that seemed to defy gravity, her smooth brown skin not needing any makeup.
“What’s the matter, River?” Kaija asked as she folded up some towels, her eyes checking the front door every so often.
“My appointment—did he cancel?”
Kaija stopped what she was doing, grabbed the notebook next to the phone, and flipped through the pages of notes.
“I’m not seeing anything. Just let me check the status on the computer.” She sat down and started to type on the computer.
“Excuse me,” a man said.
He’d popped out of nowhere; River hadn’t heard him at all. He glanced over at the tall, lean but built man next to him. He had a deep tan as if he spent all day out in the sun, and blond hair cut short on the side but left long enough on top to pull into a man bun.
Kaija stopped and smiled at the customer, giving him her full attention. “Yes, what can I do for you?”
The man smiled and River couldn’t help but notice his canine teeth were longer and sharper than normal. They were nothing like the fangs that Caydem sported, but River still noticed it. He brushed off the thought. The vampire was only to be thought about during his four-hour block time. Any other time River needed to focus on his usual things.
“Yeah, I called earlier and said I’d be late for my appointment with the jiujitsu instructor. Vygus Hansen,” the man said.
Kaija glanced over at River before giving the customer another smile. “Oh good. This is your instructor, River Wicker.”
So, he had called. River didn’t hold his anger any longer knowing the man had tried to inform him. The man turned his toothy grin over to River and outstretched his hand. River took it and put his instructor persona on. He gave his client a smile that probably didn’t reach his eyes, but he was trying and that was all he could give. There was only so much he could fake.
His client’s grip tightened as his nostrils flared, and his green eyes seemed to glow for a second. River had a moment of feeling like prey. He’d grown accustomed to that as of late dealing with Caydem. He’d seen the vampire a total of four times in the past two weeks, including yesterday. Caydem had done everything to break River, and it had worked every time, but River hadn’t faltered. At the end of their feeding, he collected himself and returned to his usual self as if he hadn’t been dealing with a deadly creature.
River shook himself. He didn’t know why his client reminded him of the vampire, but he got the same feeling of predator and prey. River extracted his hand from the man’s too-tight grip. He caught the concerned glance from Kaija and flashed her that fake smile before turning around, giving his client his back. The hair on the back of River’s neck stood as he heard a deep growl that sounded more animal than man. He fought with his body to keep walking. After a few seconds, he moved toward the small private room.
“We will be in this room,” River said.