Blood ties - Passion : there's nothing else worth living for – Chapter 6

They got tangled in a long, passionate kiss for what seemed like hours, cuddling on the couch, not wanting to let go of that moment. He felt like, by telling him she wanted him to turn her, she'd just taken her vows, accepting his proposal, the closest they would ever get to getting married. He eventually broke the embrace and got up, telling her he'd be right back.

When he re-entered the room, he was holding a small black satin box. "This was originally a jewel I used to wear on a ring when I was still human. My father had given it to me. I had it altered to fit on this necklace for you," he added, opening the box. "I thought it appropriate you should have something from me when we began our life together..." His voice trailed off, suddenly uneasy at how she would react. On a bed of black velvet sat a white gold chain necklace with a blue sapphire in the middle, shimmering like the water from a cold glacier stream. "Wow, it's beautiful! I can't wear that, Henry, it's too old and precious," was all she could find to say.

"Something old, Vicki... tradition, so to speak!"

She laughed uneasily. She felt deeply moved by his gift. Then it dawned on her. "Wait a minute! When did you have this made? We've just come back..."

"Three years ago, when we met..." He had a sheepish look that made her laugh heartily.

"Henry, you're something, you know that?"

"Romantic type, I guess. Doesn't wear off with time. Now, will you accept it?"

She nodded. He took the necklace from the box and leaning towards her, he clasped it around her neck, kissing her all the while.

"It suits your eyes so well..." he commented, gazing dreaming at the necklace, then locking his gaze with hers.

"Is it going to be painful?" she whispered.

"Very much, yes, I'm afraid so."

It was so much like her to be so blunt about the most serious things. He should have known she'd broach the subject immediately. Still, that hurt to say it out loud. He didn't want her to suffer, didn't want to see her suffer, didn't want to think about it.

"I thought so," she stated calmly. "How are we going to do that? I'd like to know what's awaiting me."

"Ok..." He breathed in deeply then he launched into the technical explanations. "I'll feed on you, than you'll drink my blood, then I'm afraid I'll have to kill you." He winced, waiting for her reaction.

" 'kay. I would appreciate if you did it fast. I don't want to see it coming, if you don't mind..."

He could sense the words he'd uttered had sunk in and she was getting nervous. He rubbed her hands in his. "Hey, don't worry. I'll do my best. And I'll be there when you wake up."

"So, that's it? I die and awake a vampire? Easy peasy!" she bragged.

"No, Vicki, that's just the beginning. The painful part is after. I can assure you you'll feel nothing when I kill you but I cannot do miracles. The next couple of weeks are going to be extremely difficult."

"Explain..."

"You will have to get rid of your human part. That's what makes new vampires suffer – letting go. As long as the old you struggles for life, you'll hurt. You'll still feel things from your human life, the need to eat, drink, sleep... only magnified. At the same time, the craving for blood will be so intense, you won't be able to resist it. This is why, if you still want to do it, I'll take you to an isolate place with no humans around so you don't kill someone by accident."

"So, how are you going to feed me first? Blood bags, animals..."

"No, Vicki, you'll feed on me. This is why the bond between the new vampire and his parent is so intense at first, because I'll be feeding you like a baby. You'll also have to start from scratch, learn everything again, and I'll be the one to teach you. At first, the infant vampire doesn't remember a thing. He even sometimes turns on his parent, tries to kill him, vents off his anger at him." He saw tears in her eyes and cuddled her. "But that's ok. This is the way it has to be."

"How will you feed? You can't go without blood that long!" she worried.

"I'll have to and will be drained by the time it's safe to leave you so I can feed on game or occasional human beings unlucky enough to come in the vicinity. I just hope it won't take too long. I read about women vampires faring better at coping with their new condition. Christina had told me so. I hope you'll fall into that category."

"So, where's that place you're taking me?"

"Algonquin Provincial Park. It's a 6-hour drive from here, if you abide by the law, which I don't," he added as an after-thought, smirking, "and I know the place. I sometimes rent a hunting lodge there when I need to get away from the city."

"Hunting lodge, huh? Didn't know you were the hunting type!" she teased him.

"See, Vicki, this is why I love you... No woman I've ever known would be joking in a time like this. Most men wouldn't either." He caressed her arm, then added: "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Positive," she pledged.

"So, let me get myself organized and we will be there in a couple of days. In the meantime, you may want to go and see your friends..."

"Nope, can't do that! I'm not that strong, Henry. Call them when it's done, will you? I couldn't bear to see the hurt or pity or disgust in their eyes." Seeing him looking at her doubtfully, she added: "Remember? My call, you promised!"

She'd been writhing in pain for what felt like days. She was burning inside and burning all over. It was like scalding needles boring into her all the time, no moments of ease, not even unconsciousness. And now, she was begging him to kill her, drive a dagger through her heart and let her rest in peace. He was weeping for the first time in his long existence. How could he possibly go on watching her suffer like this for days on end. She'd only woken up to her new existence for less than a day but to him, too, it felt like a lifetime in hell.

He hadn't moved from her side since she'd come back from the dead. He had held her close to him, restraining her hands so she wouldn't hurt herself as she tried to claw at her skin. He knew what she was feeling. He'd experienced it himself ages ago. Skin burning as if thrown onto a stake. Nothing compared to that, not even the Heart of Fire Mendoza had used to torture him.

He had started feeding her his own blood as soon as he'd felt her relax a little. She'd been clinging to his shoulders, pulling him towards her fangs, sucking the blood, starving so much she couldn't stop and he'd had to fling her aside before she started bleeding him into unconsciousness. She was wild, not listening to a word he was saying, only bent on getting more. He had told her to rest but she would not listen, cowering in a corner of the room like a trapped animal. He could see that she was beyond understanding or even recognition. When he'd called her name, she'd cocked her head to the side, hearing the sound, not understanding the meaning. He had known from the very start it wouldn't be easy but this was reality, and that was a complete different matter.

Relief finally came with dawn and they both slid into sleep. When they woke up, he saw she was starting to feel a little better. He bent over her, tucking his arm under her head as she was struggling to keep her eyes open. "Hello, love, recognize me?" he whispered tentatively.

"Henry?", she asked.

"Yeah, that would be me! Remember your name?"

"Vicki?" she said, unsure.

"Good girl!" He rewarded her with a bright smile and a light kiss on her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Better... need food and... drink," she fumbled for words.

"You're hungry?" he said, getting up, rummaging through the supplies he'd brought and found chocolate bars and a soda that he handed her.

She wolfed down the chocolate, moaning with pleasure and looked at him self-consciously. "Your human part is still struggling within you..." he told her. "Don't worry, it will pass. Now, what about the pain? Do you still hurt?"

She nodded, tears in her eyes. "Want something to soothe it?" More nodding. "Okay then. I brought whisky and Propofol. Don't ask me how I got it, not legal! Which one do you want?"

"No shots," she said, "hate needles..."

"Ok, we'll keep that in case things get ugly." He got a bottle of whisky from the kitchen cabinets. "I cannot tell you for sure that it will kill the pain but it'll certainly ease it. Here you go," he said, handing her a glass full of the amber liquid. She gulped it down and then thrust it at him, asking for more.

"Wow, Victoria, are you sure you wanna do that? I don't want to have to babysit a very drunk baby vampire!" But he reluctantly complied.

By the end of the night, she was finally relaxing and had even once sighed with content, agreeing to lie on the bed with him, her head resting on his shoulder. He'd fed her more of his blood but this time she'd been reasonable. Things were after all getting better than he had anticipated.

A couple of days later, she'd totally abandoned her craving for human food, saying it felt tasteless and even very unpleasant, as when you didn't put salt in a dish. She still felt very sleepy when she woke up at night and still hurt a lot but she'd seen the hurt in his eyes every time she'd moaned so she'd started schooling herself to suffer in silence, only wincing at times when he was not looking her way. She'd not asked for Propofol because it scared her to rely on it, though she would have gladly used some ease, the whisky's effects having worn off even when she took heavy doses of it.

As the pain slowly receded, other issues surfaced, namely craving for blood and sex.

He'd felt she was finally ready to leave the cabin and try her hand at feeding on animals and she'd done good. He'd finally been able to feed too but was still weak and knew they'd both very soon need human blood, which they got the next day when they accidentally met some hikers camping out in the nearby woods. Vicki was learning fast and her first time was a success. She didn't kill, she didn't even hurt, she even succeeded in only drawing what she needed, not more.

The sex part, though, was a very different story... As soon as they got back to the lodge, Henry clearly saw something was on her mind. She closed the door behind her, laying her back on the wooden panel and stared at him, biting her lower lip.

"What is it, Vicki?" It was not that he was scared, no, but he'd heard stories about baby vampires being much stronger than their parent and he was afraid he would be no match if she decided to bully him.

"I want you, now!" She looked at him with hungry eyes and it suddenly dawned on him that she didn't want to fight with him, only that he had a very horny vampire in front of him.

"Vicki, let's take time to ponder this, ok? It might not be wise right n..." He never finished his sentence. She reached him before he could react, having suddenly gained great velocity, and was now pushing him on the bed, at the same time kissing him wildly, unbuckling his belt.

"Vicki, no! Sex between vampires can be quite wild. I don't want to hurt you." He tried to get hold of her hands but she was faster and stronger, the little brat!

"Oh, but you're not going to hurt me, your Lordship and I promise I'll try not to either," she added with a devilish grin, proceeding to tearing his shirt and unbuttoning his jeans. "Now, take that off!" she told him, pointing at his remaining clothes.

"Hey! Don't you dare order me around, Vicki!" he shouted in indignation. "I'm the one in charge here!"

"Not any more, my Sire. You promised you'd do anything I wanted, the way I wanted it, remember?" She grinned at him. "You've got a very pissed and yes, horny, new vampire in front of you. Now is the right time to make her satisfied... and she won't take no for an answer!"

She took off her clothes slowly, her eyes locked in his as he was reluctantly getting rid of his, scowling at her. "You're so gonna pay for that, Victoria," he warned.

"Don't care!" she replied, a smug look on her face. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Then she climbed onto the bed, pushed him on his back and in one swift move, sat on top of him, straddling him, her knees on each side of his hips, making him moan. "I hope you're refreshed from the blood you've just had because I won't stop until I'm finished with you!"

"Oh, boy!" was his last thought before he forgot about anything but her hands on him and how the hell he was gonna have to account for the broken furniture!

TBC