"He has been asking for you nonstop for the last few hours," Lucien stated, nodding his spiked noggin in the direction of where Dr. Kleinrosebroom rested. The Doc was considerably more sedate now that whatever Tallon had pumped into his IV took effect. I notice Lucien didn't step aside but kept watching me, his purple gaze probing.
Yeah, you heard me right, purple. Lucien's eyes looked like two glimmering chunks of amethyst, and all I could think of was...oooooo, pretty. What can I say? I'm a sucker for anything sparkly, and those two peepers of his glinted like a prism catching the sunlight. But just because he had a set of the most amazing eyes I had ever seen outside of Comic Con, didn't mean I was about to be BFF's with the dude. I had learned my lesson being around these vamps, and I trusted him about as far as I could throw him. Wait...that saying didn't apply anymore. I'm a vampire, chances are, I could probably chuck him pretty far, but you get my point. I didn't need to stick my hand in the fire twice to know I would get burned. Okay...well, technically, the second time I stuck my hand in the fire it was to retrieve my marshmallow. It was a bad day and my last chance at having a S'more. Don't judge me.
"Me? What would he want with me?" I asked, cautiously taking a step back. All eyes followed my every move as if I had toilet paper stuck to my shoe. Quickly, I glanced down just to make sure my boots were Charmin free.
"Yes, it is interesting," Sinclair mused, his face as stoic as stone. Judging by his manner, I didn't believe he found it the least bit fascinating.
"It would make sense," Saxon said. When all eyes turned to him, a blush crept into his cheeks turning his face the same color as his Flash Gordon T-shirt. "He created her after all, why wouldn't he want to see her?" He shuffled his feet, making me cringe when I noticed he was wearing cheap dad sneakers. You know the ones: faux white leather, always worn outside the gym and usually paired with light-wash, high-water jeans. Or...gasp...tube socks and shorty shorts! Many young teenage girls have had their innocence shattered by getting a glimpse of old man twig and berries peeking through a pair of nylon shorty shorts.
"It's reasonable that a Doctor would want to know if what he created managed to survive," Tallon agreed, drawing my attention away from Saxon's fashionless feet. "As we have all witnessed over the years, not many of Stoker's attempts have survived." His silver eyes slid over to me. "Nor have any of them managed to be as complete as her."
"The man is dying, what does it matter now?" Sinclair crossed his massive arms over his chest, his expensive suit straining at the shoulders. "It seems rather impractical to be worried about something so trivial when you are facing your mortality."
"I would not classify the future Queen of our people as trivial," Fang rumbled, a low growl traveling ominously up his throat which sounded like a semi-truck running over gravel.
I had to say, I was impressed. My growls usually sounded more like a cat with a bad case of laryngitis trying to yack up a hairball. It also didn't escape my somewhat questionable attention that Fang seemed to be sticking up for me in front of his buddies. My heart did a happy little jig in my chest. I seriously wanted to run over to him and totally give him a hug. With my vagina.
Which was the reason why I purposely kept my feet firmly rooted to where I was. Gulping, I tore my gaze away from Fang's tempting body. My blood was strumming through my veins, growing hotter until it seemed as if my skin were burning from the inside out. Sweat beaded across my forehead, and I was regretting deciding to wear a sweater. Cute or not, if I kept looking at him, by the time I got out of here, I would end up smelling like the sheep it was made from.
"My apologies, Drake," Sinclair said, though his tone hardly sounded remorseful. "I simply wished to convey that it seems what short time the Doctor has left would be of better use to us if we used it to retrieve what vital information he may possess."
"Interrogate him you mean," Lucien said flatly, his inquisitive eyes finally leaving mine to narrow in Sinclair's direction.
"Crudely put, but yes."
"And doing that would make us any better than the Colony how?" Fang drawled. "This is what those kinds of tactics create." He swept a hand in an arch-like motion, encompassing the whole infirmary. "I for one, have had enough of the stink of death. Besides, if the man knew anything, don't you think he would have told them to save himself from being tortured?"
"Exactly my point," Sinclair snapped, a bit of his aloofness disappearing as he started to pace. "We need to know what he might have told them."
"He already swore there was nothing to tell. There was only one vial of serum. He stole it and destroyed any trace of the formula." Lucien's gaze turned to poor Dr. Kleinrosebroom. "Not even he can remember how it was created. The secret will die with him."
I swallowed hard. I couldn't help but notice Lucien didn't add a might in there, and he sounded pretty certain about Dr. Kleinrosebroom's impending death. I peeked around, but I couldn't see much from where I was standing. Not that I needed to. There sure as heck were a lot of tubes going in the Doc's direction. He was either being assimilated by the Borg or he was in seriously bad shape.
"And you believe him?" Sinclair snorted. "He's human! And he has been dabbling in our world for far too long, of course, he is going to lie to try and save his life."
"I sense he is telling the truth," Lucien replied quietly, his stare still lingering on the gurney.
"Though he is human, he is also within inches of death, I doubt he would be able to lie at this point," Tallon said with a heavy sigh. "I have done all I can for him, but his body is weak and beyond my ability to heal." He turned and propped his hands on his hips, the florescent lights emphasizing the deep tattoos on his biceps. "I say if it helps ease his transition from this world to the next, allow him his request to speak with her. Surely there could be no harm in it."
"If he does, maybe he will tell her whatever he might have told Nicolai and Drucilla?" Saxon added, sounding hopeful.
I gnashed my teeth at all this gibber-jabber going on, delaying what I had come here to do. Or what I thought I had come here to do. I still wasn't a hundred percent sure. The longer I remained in this room in proximity to Fang, the more I lost my focus. The man could make me wetter than a nun on a washing machine, and it didn't help every time I looked his way his hot, hungry eyes locked onto mine. I was slowly being consumed by his wolfish stare with each passing second, exactly like he was doing right now. I could feel the warm flush currently painting my cheeks a harlot red, and I dropped my attention to the ground, pretending to be fascinated by the sterile white tile beneath my feet.
It was cold enough to can nipples in this room, yet my lust for Fang kept me toasty warm to the point I was worried I might start smoldering and set off the fire alarms. Like a magnate, my eyes were once again drawn to him. Over six feet, 200 pounds of pure muscle and manliness stood there looking like sin, the dirty kind with plenty of sweat, saliva and screaming. I tried to take a calming breath as my pulse rocketed up a few thousand notches, but it was like trying to inhale a brick. I could feel my teeth start to lengthen in my mouth as my eyes roamed over his handsome face, sliding lower to cup the sweet curve of an ass people would happily pay homage to. I was about to reach up and wipe the thread of drool forming on my lips when my eyes moved up and collided with his. Fang's irises sparkled with a hidden dark promise, and a shiver ran up my spine.
Tearing my gaze away from his, I shook my head and refocused on the conversation. Lucien was talking. Tallon and Saxon were nodding their heads in agreement. Saxon's blonde hair falling into his eyes with every wiggle of his head and Sinclair was still pacing like a cheetah on crack by the time I was able to pull myself out of my lust filled daze. A sly smile curled Fang's full lips, the rest of his face tranquil and composed, but with the way he glanced at me, I knew he knew I hadn't been paying a lick of attention to what the conversation was about. Well, who could with Mr. Hot and Smexy in the room?
Besides, it didn't look like I missed much. The vampires apparently were still stuck debating about me as if I wasn't standing in the room. Enough was enough.
"Hey, I have an idea," I shouted, interrupting and bringing all eyes to me. "How about you just let me talk to him and find out what he wants before he croaks?" Okay...so being subtle wasn't my strong suit, so sue me. It seemed pretty damn simple. The Doc wanted to talk to me, I wanted to talk to him and all this blah-blah-blah they were doing was wasting precious time I didn't have. Or...um...the Doctor didn't have.
Sinclair's mouth grew so tight, it looked as if someone had sewn his lips together with ultralite fishing line. The rest of the vampires were avoiding my gaze like I was the eleventh plague of Egypt, except for Fang, of course. He gave me that "aren't you a special kind of stupid" look I hadn't received from him since we first met. Ah...memories.
"As the Queen commands," Sinclair spit through his clenched teeth, breaking the awkward silence. With a quick bow that was more of a rude gesture than a show of respect, he spun on his heel and stalked soundlessly out the door. The rest of them following in his temperamental wake.
Lucien paused on his way out, laying a hand on my shoulder. "Do your best to give him peace, Melanie, and in return, perhaps he will give you some." His lavender eyes grew brighter for a second, like two gems freshly mined by dwarfs, and then he blinked...and it was gone.
"What is with the weird googly eyes?" I muttered, watching him leave. I was unsure if I had actually witnessed the fireworks display in his eyes or if it was just my imagination. It was one of those unexplainable things. Like a unicorn at a frat party. Everyone sees it, but nobody is sure if it's real, so they don't talk about it.
"Lucien is a Seer," Fang said, walking up next to me and making me jump out of my skin. I seriously needed to wrap a bell around his neck.
"What's a Seer?"
"He can see the future. Sort of a clairvoyant who can see beyond the normal range of ordinary perception. He can also read people's intentions, whether they be good or bad."
I nodded my head, my gaze still focused on the doors where Lucien had disappeared. "So he's like Alice Cullens." My respect for the vampire just tripled, and I secretly wondered if he glittered in the sun. He better not, or I was about to go 50 shades of jealous.
"Who?"
I rolled my eyes. His lack of knowledge of his own species when it came to their depiction in the movies drove me nuts. Seriously, get a NetFlix account already!
"Never mind. I don't have time to explain." I shoved his gargantuan body out of my way, trying to ignore the burning tingling sensation that singed me down to my soul. One touch and my inner hussy started weeping tears of passion only he could sooth away. Drat. My inner hussy really needed a new hobby other than lusting after Fang, like competitive dog grooming or soap carving. Something useful.
I stepped closer to the gurney and got my first true gander at poor Dr. Kleinrosebroom. I'm not going to lie; I gagged a little. I had all I could do not to scream and then barf at his mutilated face. I tell you what, he no longer looked like Harry Potter that was for dang sure. I felt Fang rub my back, and, strangely, I took strength from that. After a few minutes of wondering if I was going to be able to keep my dinner down...then realizing I hadn't had dinner...I was able to look at him without needing an airsickness bag.
"It's you. You're alive," Dr. Kleinrosebroom murmured, trying his best to give me a smile. I really wished he wouldn't though. Half his face was in tatters, and his attempt to pull his lips up in a curve only widened the gaping wounds, giving me a good glimpse of exposed muscles and tendons.
"Hi," I croaked out, not sure what else to say. I mean, it's not like we knew each other and this was a long lost reunion. This was the guy who plowed into me at the mall and then stuck a needle in my ass turning me into a member of the living dead. Or...um...not so dead living dead. You know what I mean. It's not like we had been dating, though I suppose for a first date it wouldn't have exactly been my worst.
"Hi." The word was pretty garbled and hard to understand, but the relief in his eyes wasn't. Slowly, his hand crept out from under the blankets and captured mine. Yech! They were in as bad of shape as his face. Some of his nails looked like they had been ripped off, others appeared to have had things jammed underneath them, but all of them were bloodied, discolored, and swollen. It was like holding hands with links of cold blood sausage. My gag reflex worked double time.
"How are you feeling?" I asked. Yeah...I know...it was a dumb question but isn't that what you are supposed to say when someone is sick or in the hospital? It is a silly thing to ask if you think about it. What do you expect them to say? Yes...I feel fabulous? He looked like he'd wrestled with a meat cleaver for Christ's sake.
To cover up my nervousness, I gave him one of my patented smiles that I usually save for old people and the guy behind the counter of the Moo Shu Palace. It was gentle enough to calm the knicker of some old biddies and guarantee me two extra fortune cookies.
His pale eyes grew large, and being they were both ringed black making him look slightly like a raccoon, it was pretty noticeable. "It worked," he breathed. "You are a vampire." His unsteady hand lifted away from mine and rose towards my fangs. A look of utter amazement shone on what was left of his face as if all his dreams had finally come true.
Too bad it wasn't going to last. Dr. Kleinrosebroom might be thrilled his experiment had been a success, but I sure as hell wasn't.
Author's Note:
Hello my FANGED Fiends!
Sorry about the delay. I tried and I tried and I tried to get this to post on Friday. Then I tried again all day Saturday, but no matter what I did, it would only post a bunch of gooblely-gook. But, today, I think I discovered the problem. My computer updated Windows 10 and I don't think Wattpad liked it. LOL! Anyway...I have one computer that hasn't updated yet...so here I am, FINALLY getting this chapter posted for you on a machine that is slower than molasses in January during a blizzard.
I hope you enjoyed it and if you did, you'll consider giving it a vote. I'm way behind with my writing thanks to all these issues and the holiday, but I promise, I am still working on it. :)
Sincerely
K
PS: I hope everyone who celebrates had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!