Daughters of Dracula (The Stoker Sisters #1) (15 page)

She slapped him, sending his head reeling back further than any human’s should.

“You like it rough, you slut?” He reached out again grabbing her wrist.

Never one to enjoy losing control of a situation, Alexis felt rage and indignation at his touch. How dare the vermin
lay
his hand on her?

He jerked her forward, bringing her nose to nose with him. Alexis smiled sweetly just a second before she ripped his head to the side and sank her fangs into his throbbing vein.

His scream was a gurgle that slowly ebbed away until only the occasion bubble of saliva could be heard popping at the corners of his mouth.

After Sadie had done her best to stop his latest movie from making it to the web, she joined the feast.
 
It took only a short amount of time for her to be sated.

“Come on, we need to leave.” She got to her feet, clapping her hands free of his filth with disgust.

Alexis, still famished and weak from need, clung to her victim wanting more.

“I’m going to go see if there isn’t any more vile material lying around and then we’re out.”

Alexis nodded, but while Sadie was in the other room, the blood stopped flowing. Stunned, Alexis bit deeper, searching for more. Unwilling to believe she’d drained him dry, she tried again and again.

When Sadie emerged from the bedroom, she rose.
“All done.”
She swiped her arm across her mouth and was quick to head to the door and lead the way out before Sadie could check on the man. As they emerged on the forgotten streets of the quaint little beach town, Alexis repeatedly passed her fingers over her lips.

She’d drained. It was the one thing about being a vampire that she’d always managed to control whether it was because of Sadie’s influence or an innate instinct not to drain. Despite her reckless reputation, she’d always been able to stop herself; to feel satisfied after a relatively small amount of blood.

She hoped her little sister didn’t see the difference in her, but she knew that if she drained a person to the point of death, it was the worse way of killing the person.
Vampires who do, have succumbed to the most base of their darkest nature, thus becoming killers…
Strigois
.

But as weeks passed, the change became more and more evident. She wanted to deny it and did everything she could to keep it from Sadie. Her time at the house had greatly diminished as she spent all her time roaming the streets, even venturing to neighboring towns for prey. And though Sadie often questioned her with a glimmer of suspicion in her eye, the vague explanation Alexis offered seemed to satisfy her.

Vague memories of lessons on vampires returned to her. She remembered reading about
Strigoi
vampires from Romanian myths. The more blood they drank, the stronger the cravings became. It was exactly what she was going through and she didn’t know how to stop it.

One early morning, as she finally made her way back home after a night of draining one criminal after the other, she looked at her reflection and was horrified. Her eyes glowed more than ever, visibly red and betraying the nature of her identity.

Fear automatically had her wanting to run to Sadie to confide what was happening to her. But concern for her little sister won out. Sadie mustn’t find out that she’d become an insatiable killing machine. Soon the city would run out of criminals. And who would she feast on then?

Chapter 15

Class was about to begin and Keegan still hadn’t arrived. Sadie glanced at Ro for the fourth time, silently asking if she knew of any problem. Ro shrugged and looked up at the huge clock on the wall. Another minute left.

Keegan usually arrived at school long before Sadie, most often waiting for her by her locker. She’d missed seeing him that morning, missing the touch of his hand on hers. These past weeks, she bit down on the number of questions that dogged her. Since their passionate embrace at the hospital, Keegan had been too gentle in his touch, at times almost platonic. She feared her intense passion might have scared him off.

She longed for an explanation, even if it did turn out to be what she dreaded the most; his love for Alexis. At least then she’d know where she stood.

Now she was suffocating in some unbearable limbo that had her constantly analyzing Keegan’s every move.

That quirky smile meant he cared for her. That deep frown meant he was thinking of something he didn’t want to share with her; most likely Alexis. The touch of his hand was a good sign; he still wanted her. But the lack of warmth in his kiss indicated something else; his ever growing distance. His hugs held more resignation than affection and it was slowly tearing her apart.

And the look in his eyes.
Though concern was often there, chagrin and regret always overpowered it.

“Well now, class,” Mrs.
Beranski
barked as she reached for the door.

Keegan ran in, squeezing through just before Mrs.
Beranski
could completely shut the door. Sadie smiled at him, but he barely seemed to notice. He looked past her, through her. Baffled, Sadie tried a small and discreet wave as he walked between the rows of desks, passing right by her, but he staunchly ignored her.

Tears sprang instantly to her eyes and she searched for what she’d done wrong. What had she said the last time they’d seen each other? What had she done?

Had he been offended when she said football bored her? Had she insulted him by not eating a meal he’d prepared for her? Or had Alexis finally gotten to him and he could no longer even bare to look at Sadie?

Mrs.
Beranski
was a blur at the front of the class and her lesson an incomprehensible buzz of chatter. Only when she filed through the row of desks did Sadie manage to focus. She turned, following Mrs.
Beranski’s
movement until she spotted Keegan seated at the back of the class.

He was livid and, he too, seemed unable to concentrate on the lesson. Sadie stared at him, trying to draw his gaze to her. Not once did he bat an eye or even glance her way. Staring for as long as she could without drawing the attention of Mrs.
Beranski
, Sadie finally had to turn to the front of the class when her teacher resumed her desk.

Two minutes were left to the class. Two interminable minutes before Sadie could hear Keegan out. Her pencils and pens were all zipped up in their neat little case and her books were closed, piled neatly on the corner of her desk just waiting to go.

The second the bell rang, she grabbed her things and bolted from her seat, heading to the back of the class.

“Damn it.” She caught a fleeting glimpse of Keegan as he slipped out the back door.

Shoving students aside, she rushed out of the class. He was already clear down the hall, running as if a linebacker would tackle him any second. Sadie picked up the pace, running with the respectable speed of a trained athlete. But still Keegan was putting more space between them. She added just enough speed to catch up with him without attracting too much suspicion from the other students who jostled their way through the crowded halls.

Keegan exited through the door that led to the student parking lot. By the time she reached it, he was already throwing his backpack into the back seat of his SUV. With the parking lot deserted, Sadie doubled her speed and was at his side in a heartbeat.

“Keegan, where are you going?”

He got into the driver’s seat and jammed the key into the ignition. His face was unrecognizable when he turned to finally look at her. Sadie took a step back.

“Are you okay?”

His eyes were deep and hollow, blank as he stared lifelessly at her.

Reaching out to touch his shoulder, she shook him gently, hoping to get any kind of response. “Please, Keegan, you’re scaring me.”

“Death.”

“What?”

“There’s been a death.”

“Keegan, I’m so sorry. Please talk to me about it. Don’t go.”

“I thought I could come to school, but I can’t. I can’t be here right now.”

“But you can talk to me, Keegan. Please don’t shut me out. Not now.”

Lacking all the gentleness he’d always displayed, he pushed her out of the way and pulled the truck door shut.

“I’ve lost a close friend; a mentor.” He glared at her, his eyes searching for an answer yet filled with so much vehemence and hatred.

Sadie’s breath caught in her throat for a long moment and a dizzy spell took its hold of her. She understood the intensity of his pain, but couldn’t begin to comprehend the anger he directed at her.

“His lifeless body was found, drained of blood, his throat ripped apart by a vampire.”

Chapter 16

Sadie couldn’t remember ever feeling so self-conscious of being a vampire. She averted her gaze and wondered if her eyes had given anything away. His comment had come as such a surprise and she couldn’t help wonder if there was an accusation in there.

After one horrified moment, she brought her gaze back to him. Eager to convey how sad she was, she reached for his hand. “I’m so terribly sorry, Keegan.” She took it as a good sign when he didn’t recoil. “How do you know it’s a vampire?”

His eyes remained hard and angry. For a second Sadie felt certain he’d push her away again, but he suddenly softened and his fingers laced through hers.

“These weren’t the kind of puncture wounds you see so often in the movies. This was savage and ugly.”

“A werewolf, perhaps?
I mean, look at our English teacher.”

“No,” he said with conviction. “It was a
Strigoi
vampire and the attack was well-planned. This wasn’t random.”

Sadie just barely knew about
Strigois
at all. How much did Keegan know about them?

“I know you're pretty strong for someone so petite and feminine, but be careful.”

He reached into the backseat of his truck and pulled out a wooden stake. “Here.” He held it out to her.

“What’s this for?” she asked innocently.

“Remember what I told you about vampires? You need to drive this through his heart. You’ll kill him that way.”

Her heart stopped a second as she took in the sharpened end of the stake. “How can you be sure it’ll work?”

“I’ve done it before.”

His gaze went directly to her soul. He may as well have come straight out and told her he knew she was a vampire. Then in an instant, his eyes closed, his hand snaked to the nape of her neck and he pulled her close to kiss her forehead.

“I’m sorry about the other night.” Though he remained so tantalizingly close to her, she could feel how far away he truly was. “As much as I wanted to, it was a good thing you left. I’m just not ready…for anything serious. I…”

“Is it because of Alexis?”

“No. It’s not you. It’s not her. It’s not any girl. I just can’t let myself get vulnerable.” He grimaced in pain and disgust. “Look what happened with my mentor…he took care of me for so long, raised me, and I let him down.”

Though deeply disappointed, Sadie offered him a gentle smile. “I understand. I know you’ve lost people you’ve loved, Keegan. The loss of your parents was no doubt devastating, and now your mentor. When I lost my parents I felt lost and didn’t know how I’d ever be able to live without them. But I had Alexis. Granted, I could have had a better, more supportive sibling, she is still family and I desperately need to have her in my life.”