Sara Humphreys: Vampire Trouble

“What the fuck?” Horace whimpered. He ran his hands over his hairy torso, as though looking for something he lost. “You fucking gypsy whore. What did you do to me?”

Shuddering with pain, adrenaline, and fury, Maya ignored his babbling and pulled the silver off her wrists and ankles, not even feeling the burns to her fingers. Frantic, she looked at the sky blazing orange along the horizon and she knew she had to get Sadie inside. Weakened from the silver burns, Sadie wouldn’t survive even the smallest amount of sunlight.

Doug landed on the roof next to Maya just before Killian came bounding up the steps and burst through the door. Maya whimpered with relief at Doug’s arrival and crawled over to sit by Shane.

“She took my wolf, Killian,” Horace babbled from the other side of the roof. “That gypsy vampire bitch made me mortal.”

“You took his wolf,” Killian murmured, looking from Horace to Maya. “The magic wasn’t in the necklace at all…it’s you.”

“We can figure that out later,” Maya said quickly. “We have to help them.”

“Holy shit cakes,” Doug blurted out while running a hand over his short blond hair. Wasting no time, he went over to Sadie and, with gloved hands, yanked the silver off her wrists and ankles. “We’ve got to get her inside. The sun is coming up fast. Watch him, Killian.” Pointing at Horace, he said, “Better yet, just get him the fuck out of my city.”

“He’s no longer one of us,” Killian said with a voice edged in sadness. “But perhaps he never was.”

“What do you mean I’m not one of you?” Horace spat. “I’m your fucking brother.”

“You are an embarrassment,” Killian said tightly.

Maya cradled Shane’s head in her lap and encouraged him to drink from her. Killian stood by and watched the two of them, which was probably why he didn’t notice Horace had picked up the discarded gun. Screaming with blind fury, Horace squeezed off two rounds as he charged across the roof stark naked, but neither hit their marks.

The gun jammed and before Horace could shoot again, Killian shifted into an enormous black and brown wolf. With a rumbling growl, he leaped onto his brother’s chest. Horace flailed helplessly while Killian snapped his neck with a sickening crunch. Blood sprayed through the air, and Killian lifted his head and let out a mournful howl that ricocheted around the Manhattan skyline.

“Fuckin’ A, Killian,” Dakota grunted. Stumbling through the door, he grimaced in pain before leaning against the wall and sliding down to the floor. “Remind me never to piss you off, man.”

“Come on, you gotta get up, kid,” Doug shouted to Dakota. He had Sadie, moaning in pain, draped over his shoulder and was pulling Dakota to his feet with his other hand. “I have to get them inside. Maya, I’ll be right back for you and Shane.” He gave a concerned glance toward the brightening sky. “Just sit tight.”

Still in his wolf form, Killian whined and lowered his blood-covered muzzle before trotting over to Shane and Maya. In a shimmer of light, he shifted back to his human form, snagged his ripped jeans, and pulled them on before kneeling next to Shane and Maya. He held his wrist out and nodded. “Here.”

“Are you sure?” Maya asked through a choking sob. She knew it was against the law to feed from a werewolf, but with the amount of silver in his body, Shane could die without it, and saving him was all that mattered.

“It’s the least I can do,” Killian said somberly. “After all the trouble my brother has caused.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Maya took Killian’s wrist in her hand and made a small incision before holding it to Shane’s mouth. Eyes closed and starving once the blood touched his lips, Shane grabbed Killian’s arm and drank ferociously. Maya watched with fascination when the three bullets emerged and tumbled to the ground, the bleeding slowed, and the wounds closed. After a few minutes, Maya gently pulled Killian’s arm from Shane’s grasp and licked the wound on his wrist closed.

“Am I dreaming?” Shane’s eyes fluttered open and he locked gazes with Maya. He reached up and cradled her face in his hand. “Or have I died and gone to heaven?”

“Nope. But that’s a really cheesy pickup line. Sure sounds like New York to me.” Smiling, she leaned down and captured his lips with hers, kissing him tenderly. When she broke the kiss, she ran her thumb over the beard scruff on his cheek as he sat up slowly to face her. “So, I thought you couldn’t love me.”

“I’ve been a fool, Maya,” Shane said flatly. He winced, leaning one hand on the roof to keep himself in a sitting position. “But I promise that for the rest of eternity, I will make it my full-time job to make it up to you. I do love you, Maya. I am hopelessly, uncontrollably, irrevocably in love with you. Can you forgive an old vampire for his foolishness?”

“I knew it.” She leaned in and kissed him again, reveling in the taste of him. Her hand fluttered over his shoulder, and Maya stilled when she realized that they were bathed in the bright, warm, golden light of the morning sun. “Shane,” she whispered in awe, holding her up hand in a ray of sunshine. “We’re daywalkers.”

“Bloodmate legend or not…” Shane murmured. He placed a kiss at the corner of her mouth and rested his forehead against hers. “Walking in the sun or an eternity of darkness, if I have you by my side…I will walk anywhere.”

“I was wondering when you two were going to notice that,” Doug said from the doorway of the stairwell. “Looks like this pesky bloodmate legend is more than just some fluke. Welcome to the club, kids.”

“Two more daywalkers are now in the vampire ranks.” Sitting on the ledge, Killian was staring at his brother’s body with an expression that Maya couldn’t quite decipher. He flicked his serious gaze to Maya. “I will have to let my father know about the latest…developments.”

Maya scrambled to her feet with Shane at her side and snuggled against him, looking from Killian to Doug. Killian may have dealt the deathblow, but Maya was the one who took Horace’s wolf and rendered him mortal. She recalled what the king had done to the necklace, and studying Horace’s broken body, Maya wondered if a similar fate awaited her.

“I would never use my power except in self-defense, Killian,” Maya said adamantly. “I swear it!”

“What power?” Killian rose to his feet and looked at his brother’s dead body before giving Maya a sad smile. “My brother challenged me to a fight, and when an alpha is challenged, it is a fight to the death. That is what I will be reporting. That and nothing else.”

“How can we be sure that you won’t suddenly regain your memory?” Doug asked. He came out into the sunlight and stood next to Shane and Maya. “Not to sound ungrateful or anything but you know…shit happens.”

“He can be trusted,” Shane murmured with a steady stare at Killian. Maya looked between the two men and saw a glimmer of respect for Killian in Shane’s eyes, one she hadn’t seen before. He bowed his head in deference to the werewolf prince. “Thank you, Your Highness. You are a man of duty and honor. If you are ever in need of my assistance, you need only ask.”

“I thought you were gonna be in Europe protecting the Eurotrash,” Doug said with a pointed glance at Shane.

“I will remain here in New York—if you have no objections, that is.”

“Me?” Doug shrugged. “I got no objections, but now Olivia is gonna have to redo a bunch of paperwork, and that is a bitch. So in exchange, you and Maya owe us some babysitting time.”

Shane opened his mouth to protest, but Maya wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed the thought right out of him.