Death must feel warm, cozy, and soft because that's how I'm feeling right now. I stretch luxuriously before I notice familiar things such as hearing Wilbur purring next to my head, the soft silky feel of my bamboo sheets, the smell of home, and... Adam? I did not expect Wilbur or a vampire in heaven.
I slowly, lazily open my eyes to a darkened room with soft light coming in around drawn curtains. I find Adam standing at the foot of my bed, watching me. I'm trying to figure out why I'm here, and what happened. Adam stands at the foot of my bed, watching me with a look I haven't seen before.
Was that another nightmare?
I touch my neck and find only smooth, unblemished skin. My fingers find my lips, and probe for pain or swelling. It feels normal. I sit up in bed and move my neck around on my shoulders; flex my arms, wiggle my toes.
Did I dream all of that?
I have had some incredibly realistic dreams lately.
After confirming that my body is not broken, and I'm obviously still alive, I jump to my knees on the bed and look at Adam in a panic. "Dayna?" I ask with my voice rough from sleep.
"You don't remember?" he asks gently. He's never gentle. Oh God! I failed. My eyes begin to fill with tears. I sink down, my legs fold under me, and I bury my face in my hands.
I feel Adam's strong arms wrap around me, while his weight settles on the bed next to me.
"She's safe. Jacob is guarding her. Nothing can touch her," he says into my hair.
I don't even know this Jacob, but I trust Adam.
I trust Adam. The truth of that statement surprises me. When did that happen?
I pull back and look into his face.
"Zac?" I ask, wiping my tears away with the back of my hand.
"He escaped," Adam says with an edge to his voice. His eyes have the softest blue glow about the edges as he continues to study my face.
I can't bear to look at them, but I can't look away. We stare at each other.
I don't believe I've ever looked into his eyes this long without turning away. His eyes speak volumes, but I don't understand the language. Adam is still such a mystery to me. I study the rest of his face until I find his lips. I linger there a moment. Looking into his eyes again, I see a hunger there that both thrills and scares me.
Adam's looking at me differently—a question in his eyes. Something feels different between us. Almost as though a wall has been removed.
Adam gazes at my lips now, and I know what he's going to do even before he begins to move closer. I don't resist because I want him to kiss me.
At that moment someone clears their throat from the doorway of my bedroom. We both turn our heads in unison.
Gabe is standing in the doorway looking angry, uncomfortable, and awkward, all at the same time.
"Coffee is ready," he says, retreating from the doorway quickly.
Looking down I realize that I'm only wearing a tank top and panties. I turn bright red and pull away from Adam as he reluctantly drops his arms from me. Grabbing the sheet, I pull it over my lower half.
"I think we need to talk about what happened last night," I say, stealing a glance at him. "I'm a little fuzzy on the details."
"Yes, we do," Adam says slowly and deliberately, as he rises from the bed and walks toward the door.
Just before he's out of the room he stops and turns. "You're not off the hook for that stunt you pulled last night." He looks like he wants to say more, but turns and walks out without another word.
***
After I take a quick shower, I pull on some old faded jeans with holes in the knees and a blue fitted t-shirt. I towel-dry my hair and leave it down to finish drying on its own. I'm still amazed that I feel as good as I do.
Actually, I feel incredible, but that's doesn't seem right. I should be in a hospital or maybe even paralyzed from the beating I took.
And who changed my clothing last night, damn it? Imagining Adam or Gabe undressing me makes me want to run and hide. I'm not even in the same panties. Ugh!
Pushing those thoughts aside, I walk out of my room buzzing with energy that I'm actually trying to tone down. Feeling like I could conquer the world today, I ignore both men as I walk past them and head for the coffee maker. I still feel their eyes on me, and I try to ignore it.
Normally, attention from either of them makes me nervous, but today for some reason I feel powerful, maybe even a little sexy.
Whoa! I think I need to go for a long run this morning.
Maybe I should burn up some of this energy before it gets me into trouble. After I pour myself a cup of coffee I walk back to the table and join them. How do I ask two incredibly gorgeous men which one of them took my clothes off, and why?
What the hell.
"What happened to my clothes?" I raise my eyebrows and watch them over my coffee cup.
They both look at one another, and then Gabe says, "It was his idea. I said you wouldn't be happy about it, but he was going to do it anyway. Since I didn't trust him alone with you, I stayed, and...and ended up having to help." Gabe turns sixteen shades of red before my eyes.
I swear I can feel his embarrassment.
I close my eyes, keeping my cup in front of my mouth because I'm dying of humiliation. "Why did you feel the need to take off my clothes last night?" I ask Adam from behind my cup, no longer able to look at either of them.
I steal a glance, and see Adam's eyes are glowing softly again. Gosh, I hope that's not because of the memory. I blush and look away from him.
"It was necessary because your clothes were covered in blood and it was drying quickly," Adam says, challenging me with his look.
Obviously, he isn't embarrassed. I'm beginning to wish I had died!
"How much blood could there have been, for crying out loud?" I ask.
This is starting to sound like a flimsy excuse to take off my clothes.
"You almost died, Sam," Gabe says, looking less stressed and more serious now. "If we had been a couple of minutes later, you would have."
"But I feel great. How bad could it have been?" My face is mask of confusion.
"You had several broken ribs, a broken leg, a punctured lung, a torn neck, a skull fracture, and internal bleeding. Possibly more, but that was all we had time to assess," Adam says with barely controlled fury.
He actually breaks eye contact, and is the first to look away. That's a first. Did he say broken ribs?
"Then why do I feel so good? I don't have a scratch on me. I think you must be exaggerating my injuries. And by the way, how did you find me last night?" I ask, looking between the two of them.
The serious, concerned looks on their faces tell me it was bad. What gives?
Gabe steals a glance at me while I openly scrutinize him. He looks at me like he wants to say something, but then turns his body away from me. What the...?
I ignore this odd behavior and press some more.
"Are you going to answer me?" I ask.
I'm going to choke on the feeling of nervous anxiety that rolls over me. Jumping up from the table, I almost knock over my coffee.
"What the heck is happening?" I ask, agitated and feeling weird. Gabe jumps up at the same time, guilt painted all over his face. What does he have to be guilty about?
Adam looks highly amused.
"Tell her, Hunter," Adam says, leaning back in his chair, and smirking at Gabe.
"Gabe, what is he talking about?" I ask, leaning toward him and placing my hands on the table.
Gabe's gaze drops below my neck, and then he quickly looks away. I'm suddenly hit with a feeling of sexual arousal, and then it's gone as quickly as it came.
What in the world is happening to me?
I glance down and realize that my V-neck t-shirt is showing a great deal of cleavage. I stand up and glare at Gabe.
"Gabe, you better start talking to me," I say, crossing my arms over my chest.
"We knew where to find you because you drank from one of the vials I gave you," Gabe says, looking like he might run out the door any minute.
"And..." I say, tapping my finger on my arm.
"It contained blood of the Nephilim," Gabe says.
I raise my eyebrows at him. "And..." I say, waiting. I had already figured out that it was blood. "What exactly does Nephilim mean?" I ask, still standing.
He looks nervously at Adam, and then back to me. Adam is no longer amused. He's back to angry, now.
"Nephilim are the descendants of Angels and humans," Gabe says, looking defeated and tired.
"Fallen angels," Adam corrects, crossing his arms over his chest.
Gabe rolls his eyes at this.
"Where would you get such a thing?" I ask, not sure I want to hear the answer.
"It's...my blood. I knew the moment you drank it. I could feel your fear," he says, and actually steps back from the table.
I can only stare at him in disbelief. I cannot begin to digest the implications of his statement.
"So, what? Your part angel or something? Hunters are part angel? As in—from heaven?" I ask.
"Something like that. Our bloodline has been diluted, but certain families have worked to keep it strong. We retain many benefits from the relation, especially my family," Gabe says, looking miserable at having to share this information in Adam's presence.
I didn't believe anything could shock me after discovering that vampires are real. I was wrong.
"Gabe, what exactly were those other side effects that you never got around to mentioning?" I ask slowly, anger coloring my tone.
I think I may have figured out one already. Watching his face, I can actually feel his anxiety like it's my own.
"Well, for a time we can feel each other's emotions and feelings. Our normal feelings may be a bit exaggerated or maybe not. And I can...find you simply by feeling," Gabe says, watching me nervously.
"Can you feel what I'm feeling right now, Gabe?" I ask, glaring at him.
"I told you to drink it only as a last resort, and I could be wrong, but I think that it was," Gabe says, raising his chin a bit. "It'll wear off after a while; maybe a few weeks, or a month at most."
I don't know what to say to him. I understand he was trying to help, but it's like someone is reading my mind, knowing my secrets, or seeing me naked. I let out a long sigh and sit back down in my chair.
Adam clears his throat as Gabe and I stare at one another. I almost forgot Adam was here. We both look at him and share a flash of embarrassment between us. Gabe sits down again, and starts picking at one of the cinnamon rolls sitting on a plate in the middle of the table. I place one on a napkin for myself. I can actually feel Gabe's relief as he registers acceptance on my face.
"Okay, let's move on to my other question. Why do I feel so good if I was near death?"
Now it's Gabe's turn to throw a smug look Adam's way. He sits back in his chair expectantly.
"This should be good," Gabe says, shoving a piece of roll in his mouth and looking suddenly more at ease.
I feel more relaxed as well. This is so weird. I don't want to share feelings with Gabe. Guessing what he was feeling is so much more...normal.
There is nothing nervous in Adam's expression. If anything, it's challenging or belligerent.
"You were dying. I fed you my blood to heal the injuries. After I taught the Hunter a lesson, of course," Adam says, giving Gabe an evil smile.
Gabe glares back at Adam, and says, "You wish that's how it went down, Vampire."
I jump up and slam my hands down on the table to get their attention back to me.
"You did what? You fed me your blood to save me? That actually works? Ugh!" I feel disgusted. "Stop with the feeding me blood already!" I say.
"Yes, and it's also why you feel so good today. I would have shared this with you sooner, but..." he trails off.
"And what are the implications of having your blood?" I ask. I'm getting tired of all the baggage that goes along with knowing these guys.
"Same situation as with the Hunter's blood, but you feel better with mine, and you won't feel my emotions. And sex would be euphoric, in case you are curious," Adam adds with a mischievous grin.
Gabe makes a noise to show his disgust, and rolls his eyes. Before I can respond, Gabe blurts, "Tell her all of it."
Can it get any worse than that?
When Adam says nothing, Gabe adds, "We fought because it was a huge risk for him to give you his blood when you were so far gone. If you had died with his blood in your system, you would have awakened as a vampire. And we didn't know how your body would react to his blood when you already had mine in you. It should have had a negative reaction.
"He played God with your life. If he didn't have his friend to hold me off, I would have stopped him. Death would have been better than to awake as one of them." Gabe crosses his arms and holds his chin up in defiance.
I look between these two extremely different men before me. This is an awful lot of information to process. I'm not sure how to feel about any of it. I would not want to be a vampire no matter what, but I'm also glad to still be alive.
Gabe makes no apologies regarding the fact that he would rather I die than become a vampire. That's a tough pill to swallow, even knowing I wouldn't want to be a vampire.
Adam makes no apologies for doing whatever it takes to save my life, regardless of the price or who has to pay it. I don't know how I feel about his decision either. I think I would have liked to see their fight, though. That's a guilty thought. I look up to see them both looking at me like they know what I'm thinking.
"Don't forget to tell her the most important part," Gabe says, taking a drink of his coffee.
"There's more?" I ask, feeling nervous.
"The effects of my blood will be out of your system in a matter of weeks, but his will stay with you forever," Gabe says, watching me.
All the implications of the situation start to roll through my mind.
"Like...always? You'll know my emotions, or be able to find me?" I ask with growing dread.
"By giving you his blood, he's marked you as his, Sam. It's a vampire thing," Gabe tells me.
Adam watches my reaction without moving. He could be a statue. There is no emotion on his face.
"Even other vampires will recognize his claim on you. It's meaningless to me."
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I ask Gabe, while looking at Adam.
Gabe continues speaking, but I don't hear him anymore. I stand and walk past Adam while he watches. I walk to the patio doors and move the curtain aside to look out the window. The sun is up, and cars are moving up and down the streets. I almost died last night, but life in the big city continues its momentum—flowing past me as if nothing ever happened.
I have so much to learn, and a great deal to consider, but one thought keeps bouncing round the dark corners of my mind—scary places that I never knew existed. One thought has been slithering around in my brain since I woke this morning.
Zac needs to die. And I'm going to make sure it happens.