This is the other story idea I recently came up with after doing my summer annual re-read of entire Night Huntress series and anthology stories.
This story takes place during Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress book 4) right after Cat returns from getting her suppressed memories from Gregor about the one month of her life when she was sixteen. Bones is blazing livid when she returns and abruptly leaves without saying where's he's going. Cat believes that he has cast her off as a result of her decision to ask Gregor to restore her suppressed memories. That's the gist of it essentially. The story is told from Cat's POV!
Warning: There could potentially be many spoilers from Destined for the Grave and previous Night Huntress novels. If you haven't read the entire Night Huntress series, I'd highly recommend it. You'll better understand the character dynamics between Cat Crawfield and Vlad Tepesh along with plethora of book references sprinkled in the story!
Rated T for infrequent usage of profanity ranging from mild to strong...this is Cat we're talking about. :)
Now you're ready to start reading Leaping Out of the Frying Pan into the Flames! I'd greatly appreciate your constructive feedback! R&R! Enjoy!
Chapter 1: When Life Gives You Lemons Make Lemonade
When I woke up the next morning, I was all alone in bed. Vlad must have woken up early to attend to his Master vampire business. I flopped on my back right as the blinding rays of sunlight blasted me right in the face. Suddenly the pastel beige curtains closed. Vlad Tepesh now stood by the bay window. A loosely tied navy blue robe revealed a sliver of his bare chest. He padded towards the bed. Laying down next to me, he turned his head in my direction. "I hope you got your beauty rest, Cat. It's almost one in the afternoon," he casually remarked. "I didn't want to awaken you since you haven't gotten much sleep these past four days."
As I flipped over on my stomach, my joints creaked with exhaustion. Last night was the first time I'd gotten a full eight hour of sleep. The past two weeks I'd been lucky to catch more than three hours of sleep. "Stuff it, Drac. My body still feels shitty," I groaned groggily while carefully balancing on my elbows.
"Now that it seems you're no longer wallowing in your self-despair you need to figure out what your next step is." Vlad's copper eyes bore into me. I knew full well what he meant. Though his advice seemed cold it was practical.
"I can't hide from Bones forever. I'll contact Mencheres right after breakfast to set up a meeting with Bones," I commented with an exasperated sigh. Mencheres, a mega-Master vampire, was Bone's grandsire and co-ruler.
Placing a comforting hand on my shoulder, the Romanian vampire empathically said, "I know this isn't easy, but you are resilient. You'll bounce back stronger than ever. It's better to deal with this now than let it fester and exacerbate." To say my ordeal wasn't easy was an understatement of the fucking century! I regained the memories of the one month I spent with Gregor when I was sixteen that Mencheres suppressed for my "well-being". Evidently there was validity to Gregor's claim of our blood-bound marriage. Not that I would ever vocally acknowledge it. Bones was my husband not that manipulative bastard. I wasn't a delicious slab of meat to be fought over. Gregor could shove his claim over me up his ass!
My conflicting emotions engaged in vicious mental combat. If Vlad could read the tumultuous thoughts swirling around in my mind he demonstrated no indication nor reaction. Vlad Tepesh possessed the ability to read minds including my half-breed mind. I knew only two other Master vampires with this ability. Mencheres and Bones.
Vlad's coppery irises tinged slightly emerald. Only two things made a vampire's eyes glow electrifyingly emerald: hunger and lust. Or possibly a mixture of both. Vlad and I had formed an unusual friendship over the past couple years. Neither of us easily made friends. He didn't need to verbally express his need to feed. Vlad's one condition for letting me stay with him was he would feed from me. It was fair payment and I had no problem with it.
I didn't need to push my hair off my shoulder since my crimson wavy locks were pulled back into a tight ponytail. I rolled onto my back and into an upright position while shifting closer to him until only a few inches separated our bodies. Tugging aside the baggy neckline of my short-sleeved shirt, I offered my bare neck to my friend. In a blur of motion, his iron grip seized my slim waist and pulled me into his lap. Both of us were now sitting upright leaning against the mahogany headboard. The sudden movement startled me as my heart deafeningly slammed against my ribcage.
His eyes now blazed bright emerald. Purposefully latching onto my exposed neck, fangs lightly grazed my skin sending a shudder through my whole body. A soft gasp escaped my lips as those fangs pierced my skin. Vampire bites don't always hurt. Vampire fangs release a euphoric serum making it a blissful experience. As my blood poured into Vlad's mouth, a pleasantly warm sensation spread through my entire body. Vlad lifted his head after three long suctions. His arms where the only thing keeping me sturdy as a dizzy spell washed over me. Cutting his thumb along his fang, he closed up the two holes on my neck.
"I was held up in a call with a business associate almost all morning. I haven't feed since last night," Vlad explained. Moving me out of his lap, my back leaned against the headboard cushioned by plush pillows.
A moment later, Shrapnel, one of his vampiric house staff, rapped on the door then entered the bedroom. One hand held a tall glass of water and an iron pill was cradled in the other hand. The vampire deposited them on the night stand next to me, then promptly walked out of the room. I washed down the iron tablet with one big gulp of water.
"Since Bones has made it clear he doesn't want anymore, I need to figure out what I'm going to do next. I cannot resume a normal human life not after the fucked up things I've seen over the past six years. This leaves me with quite a mind-boggling conundrum," I contemplatively mused aloud.
"Why don't you take the leap?" Vlad nonchalantly suggested while examining his fingernails.
Wait now I was very confused. "How can I take the leap into marriage when Bones has obviously cast me off? Things can't go merrily go back to how they were before this Gregor shit!" Incredulity seeped from each word.
Vlad huffed and rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant, Catherine," he clarified with heavy undertones of irritation. "Bones is a fool but he will never stop caring for you. But that's not my point. Anyone who is close to you damn well knows you act more like a vampire than a human. Your humanity is merely a convincing disguise and nothing else. You're much weaker as a half-breed. It doesn't give you an advantage anymore. In fact, it's more of a disadvantage. You're no longer playing in the minor leagues...you're in the major leagues now. Why not transition into a full vampire? There are infinitely endless possibilities to your potential vampiric abilities. You never cease to amaze whoever you encounter."
I gaped at Vlad in sheer disbelief. I was literally stunned into speechlessness. It was almost as if he had read my mind except he didn't. I had formed an impregnable fortress around any conflicting thoughts surrounded this topic. I relentlessly held onto the sliver remaining of my humanity for dear life. Hell ever since I was a young child I never felt truly human! So why was I so hesitant on transitioning into a full vampire? That was essentially the nature of this baffling quandary!
Vlad arched his dark brow awaiting my response.
"It has taken me almost six years to come to terms that all vampires aren't evil monsters. My mother persistently drilled this philosophy into me as a young child. Immersing myself among other supernatural creatures over the past few years made me realize how wrong I was. I have Bones to thank for that...but it isn't quite as easy to let go of my humanity yet," I admitted unable to maintain steady eye contact with Vlad.
"Humanity doesn't end when you become a vampire," Vlad bluntly remarked with a tightly controlled expression. "No matter how feudalistic vampire society's cultural norms might seem, Cat. You know you'll be better taken care of. Bones is bound by duty to ensure the well-being of everyone under his line regardless how strenuous your relationship with him is. Human society cannot guarantee the same. No offense but you have no 'normal' skill set that's remotely useful in the average human job market that doesn't involve hunting and killing."
"Screw you, buddy! I have lots of resourceful skills to contribute to a normal job!" Anger interlaced each word as my grey eyes seeped with slivers of emerald.
My furious outburst completely unfazed him. "You desire normalcy, but it won't provided you meaningful purpose in life. Normal is vastly overrated. Your notorious reputation has earned you high respect within the supernatural community, Red Reaper. That is an honorable commendation which isn't easy to attain. One knows not to expect predictability from you."
Fluffing one of the pillows, I tightly hugged it to my chest. "I'm so damn tired of constantly of looking over shoulders and anticipating future enemy attacks. I can't recall the last time I enjoyed a leisurely vacation without something rudely interrupting it. Who knew those few weeks stuck with Bones in that isolated cave in the woods many years ago would be the least complicated time of my life!" If you'd told me how crazy my life would become six years ago, the naive twenty-one year old Catherine Crawford would have cracked a rib from intense laughter. It would have sounded like an elaborately fabricated story.
"Just some food for thought. If you stop overanalyzing everything, you'd realize the simple truth staring you right in the face. I need to be on a conference call soon in my study then I'll be out for most of the afternoon. Remember Gregor can still pick up your location from your thoughts so don't read any newspapers or turn on the TV. I trust you can find something productive to pass the time. The chef will cook you anything you want. I'll return back in time for dinner." He gently kissed my forehead and slid off the bed before striding out of the room.
I was completely alone in the lavishly spacious bedroom. The staff busily milled around the house but sporadically checked up on me. They gave me my space. Smart cookies.
Throwing on a clean t-shirt and jeans, I headed downstairs to get some breakfast. The only way to avoid unintentionally revealing my currently location was to stay in Vlad's massive library. I hardly have had time to sit down and leisurely read with how crazy my life has been these past six years. Silence was therapeutically soothing especially right now with my restless mind.
Stay tuned for the next chapter of Leaping out of the Frying Pan into the Flames!