“The girls.”
His mother answered.
“Avie, come
upstairs when you get done, okay?” Isaac
said, then Taylor heard him walk away.
Carefully, Taylor stood up and brushed his pants off, then he silently
walked around the side of the house and looked up at the window that he knew was
Isaac’s. The light had just come
on and a warm, inviting glow that he couldn’t resist was upon him.
A few feet away, a large tree stood; a tree he’d climbed
before whenever he needed to get out of his house without his parents knowing.
Or to get back in.
Tonight, he’d use it to get closer to his family.
It took no effort whatsoever for his superior body to jump up and grab
the lowest branch and none to pull himself up to gently land on the roof.
With the ease of a cat, he made his way across to lie and look into his
brother’s room. There he saw
Isaac, sitting on the side of his bed, his guitar in hand, but no music coming
from it. His hair was a little
longer, his skin a little darker. Unlike
himself, his brother had obviously been out in the sun this summer.
Tears began to form as he looked at him for the first time since he’d
sent him away from New York. It was
taking every bit of will power he had not to jump up and tell Isaac he was home
and to let him inside. He knew he
could make Isaac open the window, and he could spend all the time with him he
wanted, but he knew he wouldn’t do that.
Vampires did not have to be invited into a house, they could come and go
as they pleased, but he knew he’d never step foot in this house again.
He was merely visiting, because of some self-destructive mood he was in.
It wasn’t just hard to look at and listen to his family, it was
torture. His eyes shifted as
he saw the door open to his brother’s room and Zac walked in.
“What’s up, man? You
alright?” Zac asked.
Isaac sighed, “I
don’t know. Just…a weird
feeling or something, y’know?”
“Yeah?” Zac said,
sitting down on the bed. “Like
what?”
Isaac shook his
head, “I have no idea. Just
weird.”
Zac looked at him for a minute, then leaned back on the bed, “You
writing something?”
“Well, I was
working on a song last night, but, it’s just not coming to me now.” He
said and he leaned the guitar up against the bed.
He stood up and started to walk towards the window, causing Taylor to
slither to the side to not be seen. “Zac,
sometimes, I have some kind of dream or something…” he stopped.
Zac sat up. “Go on.” He
said.
Isaac was now right
up against the window, gazing out into the dusky sky.
Taylor watched him shut his eyes and lean his forehead against the glass.
“I don’t know, man.” He
said, then he turned back to face him, “It’s like, maybe I’m seeing
something that Taylor is. Or maybe
it’s something that he wants me to see.”
Zac looked at him,
concern in his eyes, “Ike, Taylor doesn’t want us to see anything.
He wants us to think he’s dead. And
who knows, maybe he is.”
Isaac turned back,
“Oh, he’s not dead. And you
know it.” He said, his voice
carrying a certainty in what he said that Zac couldn’t argue with.
“I know that Sonya sends emails to Mom sometimes.”
He stopped, thinking he’d said too much.
“She does?”
He asked, “Have you read them?”
Isaac paused, “No.
I don’t need to.”
Zac’s voice turned
bitter, “That’s right. You and
Avie can just feel him and know whatever it is he wants you to know.”
Isaac rolled his
eyes, “It’s not like that. Whatever
it is between him and her, well, I don’t even think Sonya or Beatriz really
understand that.”
“Whatever.”
Zac sighed.
“Look, you told me he offered—” Isaac started.
“And I refused!”
Zac spat back.
“Well, you know what? He
didn’t give me a choice. I
don’t know why he did it, but he did. So,
don’t hold that against me!” Isaac
said back.
Taylor watched as
Zac stood up and walked toward Isaac, “I don’t hold it against you.
I just…I wish he hadn’t done it.
I think it makes it harder for you to move on.”
Taylor winced, knowing Zac was right.
He still wasn’t sure himself why he’d taken Isaac’s blood and
established a link with him, when he’d known he was going to sever all ties to
his family. Perhaps it had just
been some selfish whim, not wanting them to be able to forget him.
“None of us can just ‘move on’, Zac.
It doesn’t matter if he’d done that or not, I still couldn’t just
forget he was ever a part of us. And
you can’t either.”
“What’s going
on?” Taylor’s ears perked up
when he heard his sister’s voice.
“Nothin’ Avie. Ike’s
just losing his mind a little, that’s all.”
Zac said.
Isaac and Avery both
ignored him, their eyes meeting. “Have
you…you know…felt anything? Lately?”
Isaac asked her softly.
“It’s strong
tonight.” She said, her cryptic
words causing Zac’s brow to furrow.
Isaac turned back toward the window, “I know.”
He said, searching for something he knew he wouldn’t find.
Again, he turned back to her, “He hasn’t…said anything to you, has
he?”
“No.”
She answered.
“What about you?” She
asked.
“Nope.”
Isaac said. “That’s only
happened once, that I know of, and I was right there in that apartment with him.
I could have just imagined it, really.”
He mused.
Avery smirked,
“You didn’t imagine it, Ike.” She
said, sitting on the bed next to Zac and pushing his hair away from his face.
“He can do it, when he wants. Not
from there maybe, but from pretty far, still.”
Isaac rubbed his
eyes, “I guess I’m just going insane or something.
I just thought maybe you’d felt…I don’t know, something.”
“Well, if Mom gets
Vampire Instant Messages, why don’t you all just ask her about it?”
Zac said.
“Did I ask you to
come into my room, or was it Avie?” Isaac
asked him.
“Fine.
You all can sit in here and try to get messages from Taylor.
In fact, how about you hold a séance, I mean, he’s dead,
right?” Zac said, standing up and
walking out the door.
Isaac and Avery
watched the door for a moment, then looked at each other.
“What’s up with him?” Avery
asked.
Isaac shook his
head, “I think he misses Taylor, even though he tries to act like he
doesn’t. I think he’s past
denial and pretty into anger right now.”
Taylor
lay back on the roof and looked up at the sky.
The stars were starting to come out now and he knew it was time to leave
before his presence made things any worse than they were.
He shouldn’t have come, and he knew it.
With a sigh, he pulled himself up and glanced once more in the window to
make sure neither Avery nor Isaac would see him if he stood.
Both were talking intently to each other, Isaac’s vigil at the window
momentarily forgotten, so he took that moment to step to the edge of the roof,
and soundlessly drop down to the ground. With
a last glance back at the window, he trotted across the yard and into the trees
that surrounded the property. Once
he’d climbed the fence, he found himself on the road out of the neighborhood
and he could see Sonya sitting in the car, waiting for him.
He
got in the passenger side and shut the door.
“Well?” She said,
looking at him with her green eyes.
“Well what?”
He answered.
“Well, did you get
what you came for? Are you less
homesick now?” she asked.
“No.”
He said. “And I’m not in
the mood for a lecture right now, if you don’t mind.”
Without a word, she
started the car and drove down the road, and towards the city.
Finally, she spoke, “Where to? Do
you want to go back to the hotel? I
assume you didn’t have supper with your family.
Shall we hit the town?”
“Nope, no
supper.” He said quietly.
Then he looked up, “Um, can you let me off here?
I’ll get back to the hotel myself, okay?”
Sonya
looked over at him, attempting to read what was going through his mind, but it
wasn’t as cut and dry as it had been at one time.
He was getting better at masking his thoughts, though if there was any
kind of great emotion coming from him, he was like an open book.
“What are you up to?” She
asked. “Are you feeling alright?
No headaches tonight? You
know, you got a bit of a sunburn out there.
You really should have waited a little later, or at least stayed in the
shade ‘til the sun totally went down.”
She looked at his cheeks, flushed from the tiny bit of sunshine that had
touched them.
“Yes, Mom.”
He said.
“You still
didn’t answer my question. Why do
you want to get out here? It
doesn’t look like the best place in Oklahoma to get a bite.”
She said, looking out at the few houses dotting the landscape.
“I just do, okay?
And no, I don’t have a headache. I’m
not freaking out or anything. Man,
a guy has a couple little episodes and suddenly I need a babysitter!”
He said.
Sonya raised her
eyebrow at him, “Finished?”
He just looked at
her for a moment, “Yes.” He
said.
“Good. Because
frankly, when you have an “episode” as you call it,” she said, “it’s
never just some little cranky thing or whatever.
You kill or rape or—“
“Alright, I got
it, I got it!!!” He said, getting
angry. He looked away from her,
“I didn’t mean to do any of those things, y’know.”
“Taylor, I know
that. And that’s what makes it
scary for us. When it happens, we
don’t know what you’re going to do. And
you lose control of your powers and that can mean you are defenseless, or it
might mean you’re going to blow something up.”
He looked at her,
“I’ve never blown anything up!”
She smirked, “Not
yet!”
“Well, I feel
fine, okay?
I haven’t done anything like that for awhile, right?”
He said.
“No, you
haven’t. And that’s why Beatriz
allowed you to come here. Just be
careful, alright? I’m not sure
that I think this was a good idea, but who am I to argue with you and your
Queen?”
Sonya said.
“She’s not a
queen, she’s like, a witch or something.”
Taylor smiled.
“Whatever she is,
I must do her bidding, so, here you are.”
She said, gesturing around her. “Go
on.
Do whatever mischief you will, but remember, I’m
responsible for you and if you get me in trouble, I’ll make your life
miserable. You know I can do it.”
She said, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Be back well before sun up. I
don’t want to have to come looking for you.”
She shook her head as he opened the door, “I can’t believe I’m
doing this. Is this something I can
do with you?” She said, looking
at him as he stepped down onto the pavement.
He shook his head.
“I’ll be careful, and I’ll probably be back within a couple hours,
alright? Don’t worry.”
He said, giving her his best smile.
“Sure you will.”
She said, pulling away as he shut the door.
He watched as she drove away, then he began to walk back the
way they’d come. The streets
outside of Tulsa were much farther apart than in the city, so he actually had a
bit of a walk ahead of him. He
stopped for a moment, listening and thinking about where exactly he was in
relation to where he was going. With
a glint of green in his eyes, he set off across a field of tall grass and hopped
a barbed wire fence, not missing the irony that it was meant to keep predators,
like himself, out.
~~~~~
“So,
where’s the young Prince tonight?” a
punky, dirty looking girl stepped over to the table Melanie and Camille were
sitting at. It was a particularly
rough crowd at “The Living End” that night and the two thought they’d take
advantage of it and pick up on any gossip going around.
Camille smiled and
scooted over so the girl could sit. “How
dumb do you think I am?” She
said. “Even if I knew, I
wouldn’t be telling anyone here.”
“Aw,
I don’t see anyone here tonight that would be considered his enemy.
I was just wondering. He’s
actually been coming around a little more.
Even without his watchdog now and then.”
The girl smiled, showing her fangs.
Melanie smirked,
“And how exactly did that happen? I’m
actually beginning to feel sorry for the little prick.
Beatriz hardly lets him out of her sight.”
She picked up her glass and swallowed down a gulp of water.
With
a glint in her eye, she responded, “Well, I wouldn’t either, if I was her.
She’s not getting any younger.”
And then she laughed.
“Yeah, well,
neither is he.”
Melanie said. “There
seems to be enough of him to go around.”
She said, looking at Camille.
Camille
ignored the comment. “So,
what’s going on that the Lady needs to know about?”
She asked the girl.
She snorted,
“Well, the Elders haven’t done anything out of the ordinary I don’t think.
Nothing any worse than usual.” She
downed her drink and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Roberto seems to be gathering up a small army.
It sort of looks like folks are beginning to choose sides.”
She leaned in closer, “And so far, I don’t see a lot of folks wanting
to side with the Elders. Do you
think this thing can work? I mean,
if it doesn’t, what will the Elders do to whoever’s left?”
“I
hope we don’t have to find out.” Melanie
said, looking around her. She
didn’t trust that the Elders wouldn’t have spies here, since it was a hive
of activity for all the little groups of Vampires in the city, particularly the
disenfranchised and those on the fringes of their society.
Melanie
looked at the girl closely. Then
she spoke, “Nikki, I can’t tell you how important it is that this not get
around. If it does go badly, I’d
think that anyone that knew about it in the least would be going down.
Don’t tell anyone anything unless you are a hundred and ten percent
sure they need to know. And be
careful, the Elders are everywhere.” She
looked around the room again, as did Camille.
“Remember those old creeps that were in here the night Daniel was here?
Some of those old guys are just…freaky.”
Camille looked back
at them, “Use your mind Nik—you’ll know.”
The
girl nodded her head, her dark hair falling in her eyes.
“Watch the males especially.” Melanie
whispered. “Only Roberto deals
with them, and once he’s decided, then Kirk.
They’re the only ones.”
Camille looked into
the girl’s eyes, “And be careful of Roberto.
He’s true now, but I don’t know for how long.”
She said silently.
The girl nodded
again, then picked up Camille’s drink and downed it.
“Are you thirsty?” Melanie
asked, her eyebrows raised.
“Yeah,
actually.” The girl said, “I
haven’t really had time to get anything, y’know?
I sort of had to rush to get here.”
“Blood’s free,
Nik.” Melanie stated, opening her
purse. “Here,” she said,
handing the girl a wad of bills, “get a hotel for a week or something.
I think Beatriz is gonna be calling on some of you guys.
And you know how she is.”
“Thanks Mel.
Hey, what’s it like up there, anyway?”
The girl smiled.
Melanie shrugged,
“It’s alright. You gotta pay
either way though, know what I mean? I
have to watch her baby boy and bring him snacks when he doesn’t feel good.”
She said, sarcasm dripping from her words.
“Yeah, well, I
wish someone woulda given me that job.” The
girl said, standing.
“Ha!”
Camille laughed, “You do know it’s punishment, don’t you?
Beatriz didn’t like us and she sent Sonya down.
Now, we gotta pay the price. But,
it’s a living.”
“Yeah, I guess it
is.” The girl said, then she
turned and left.
Camille and Melanie would stay there the rest of the night,
listening in on thoughts and conversations and taking notice of everything that
caught their attention to take back to Beatriz.
~~~~~
Zac
lay in his bed, the remote control in his hand.
On the screen he watched himself and his two brothers holding hands,
taking a bow after their performance. The
next scene cut to the tour bus, all of them sitting around the little table
playing cards.
His father seemed to have a video camera at all times and at
one time, he’d found it extremely annoying.
Now, it was all he had left of his older brother.
He understood why Taylor didn’t want them to be near him, but it
didn’t make it any easier to live with. When
he’d come to realize that Taylor really was a vampire, that it wasn’t some
sick joke, and that it was in fact not some myth but his very own life, he’d
almost liked the idea. His brother
would never grow old, never get sick, never die.
And yet, he’d watched him get very ill from eating a few bites of pie
at Thanksgiving, and saw him die on stage along with two thousand other people
watching as well. And while he
didn’t grow old, he’d certainly had to grow up.
The look in his eye as he’d sent them away from him was heartbreaking.
He watched as the Taylor in the video tossed a Hershey’s
Kiss in the air and caught it in his mouth, then turned to his father and stuck
out his tongue, coated in chocolate, his eyes shining as he laughed.
Now when his eyes shone, it was a signal to anyone near him to be
careful, that he was turning into a predator.
Zac turned away from the tv and covered his eyes with his hands, not
wanting the tears to fall.
Once he’d regained his composure, he hit ‘stop’ on the
VCR, and turned the television off, pitching the remote on the table.
Standing, he made his way out and down the stairs to find something to
take his mind off how much he was missing his brother.
~~~~~
Charlotte
lay in the lounge chair beside the pool in her backyard.
Her friends had invited her to go to a movie, but she just hadn’t felt
like going. She looked up at the
stars in the sky and wondered what would become of her.
At one time she was a straight A student, a cheerleader, a busy person;
now she lay around and did as little as possible.
She cried a lot and found her mind wandering constantly to thoughts of
the boy she’d lost. She closed
her eyes and let out a sigh as her arm dropped to the side and she stroked the
ears of the cat that lay beside her chair. “Hey, Samantha.
Thanks for hanging with me.”
She said, loving the feel of the silken fur under her fingertips.
Taylor
stopped just short of coming out of the trees.
The lawn was freshly mowed and he could see the pool in the moonlight,
the reflection of the stars flickering off the surface of the water. The
darkness was complete now, the sun having set long ago.
He looked at the patio furniture carefully placed around the pool, the
perfect landscaping—he raised his head, sniffing the air.
He could smell her. Her arm
moved and then he saw her in the chair. She wore a tiny bikini, showing off the
body he’d never gotten close enough to when they were together.
Once they were apart, he’d come very close, but his brother had
interrupted. Carefully, he
made his way through the edge of the woods, ‘til he could step out and still
be hidden behind the garden shed. His
eyes had no trouble seeing in the dark and with each step closer to her, he saw
more of the tiny details of her he’d been craving.
Her dark hair lay on her shoulder, nearly hiding her breast, but not
quite. Her full lips moved now and
then as she spoke to the cat that lay beside her chair, soaking up the last bit
of warmth from the concrete. As he
took another step, it’s yellow eyes shifted to him.
He watched the pupils widen, much like his own did in the darkness.
Another step and it lay it’s ears back, the hair on it’s back
beginning to stand. As he got still
closer, it opened its mouth, baring fangs and hissing.
With a smile on his face, Taylor sent something dangerous it’s way,
causing it to run away.
Charlotte opened her
eyes, watching her pet hide under the deck, “Sammy?”
She called after her. She
then shook her head and turned back, “Oh my god!”
She said, seeing the form of a man standing so close to her. Her hand
flew to her chest.
“Charlotte…”
Taylor said, moving even closer. Her
fear quickly turned to shock as she saw and recognized him.
Tears came to her eyes as she realized she had to be dreaming because he
was dead. He stooped down so their
eyes met, hers glittering with wetness, his reflecting the tiny bit of moonlight
from the sky. “You’re not
dreaming.” He said, reaching out
and touching her leg.
She smiled and sat
up in the chair to be closer to him, “It’s okay, I dream about you all the
time.” She said, a teardrop
falling and leaving a shiny trail down her cheek.
“I know.
I’m sorry about that.” He
said, taking her warm hand in his. She didn’t say anything back, just gazed
into his eyes, taking in their shimmery depths.
She watched them close slowly as he breathed her in.
He brought his hand up to her cheek, touching the smooth
skin. He leaned in and watched as
her eyes closed, preparing for the kiss that was to come.
As lips touched lips, he felt his body stir, felt his senses
firing and his teeth felt the familiar ache that came with the lengthening of
his canines. In her mind, she heard him, “This is real, Charlotte”
She opened her eyes.
His face had taken on a bluish cast against the cobalt sky.
She could see the sharp teeth peeking out from parted lips.
“I want to do it again, Taylor.”
She whispered. He looked up
at the house, listening. “Nobody’s
home.”
She said, touching the hair that once again framed his face.
His lip curled up on one side, and he kissed her wrist.
He then backed up from her, stepping towards the pool, his eyes never
leaving hers. She gasped when he
suddenly dropped down into the clear water, it’s surface closing over him as
if he weighed nothing. Rushing to
the edge, she looked down to see his face, just under the water.
“Get in.” She
heard in her mind. For one short
moment, her head told her to run. She
looked back under the deck to see the eyes of her cat, shining back at her, a
low growl coming from its throat. “Charlotte…”
Without another thought, she jumped in. Immediately,
his hands were about her waist, lifting her up out of the water.
“Oh, your hands are cold—” she said. He began to step back toward
the shallow end until he was standing, looking down at her, water dripping off
his chin.
“I’m sorry.”
He said, then he smiled, “Did
you miss me?” His eyes glinted in
the light of the pool, nearly the same color as the pool itself.
“Yes.”
She answered.
“I missed you,
too.” He said, putting his hand
around her ribs and unclasping the top of her bathing suit, letting it fall and
drift to the floor of the pool. He
then moved down to the bottom, hooking his fingers in and pulling it down til
she stepped out of it, leaving her naked before him.
Leaning in for a kiss, he ran his hands up and down her body, feeling her
back arch as she slowly became aroused. As
he placed his lips on her throat, she turned her head and balanced herself on
her tiptoes. For a moment, he let
his tongue run along the silken skin of her neck, his fingertips feeling goose
bumps rise on her arms. When at
last his teeth rested over the vein, he pulled her up close and she wrapped her
long legs around his waist. He
wrapped his arms around her back as he bit in.
He knew sometimes they would panic and struggle, so he held them tightly
in his grasp until their fear gave way to blood loss.
Charlotte was not struggling. In
fact, she tightened her legs around him, just as unwilling to let him get away.
Taylor felt a warmth flowing through his body, just as Charlotte’s
blood flowed into his mouth. His
ears took in the erotic sounds of her breathing and her voice catching in her
throat.
Loosening his grasp on her, knowing she wouldn’t pull away,
he brought his hand between them, touching the velvety nub she’d pressed
against him. At his touch, her head
fell back and her mouth opened, letting out the moan she’d been suppressing.
His hands had warmed and now felt electric in the cold water.
Taylor pulled away reluctantly, knowing he’d taken too much the last
time. He didn’t want to make the
same mistake and he didn’t want to run out of time.
He had to do it right this time; to fix what he’d broken those seven
months ago. He looked down at her; her eyes were shut and her lips parted.
On her throat, two small wounds, blood seeping out of them and running in
little rivulets to join the chemically enhanced water of the pool as it ran down
her chest.
By the time it hit her stomach, it was a pinkish colour
instead of the rich red it had started out as.
Slowly he pulled her back down to the deep end of the pool, careful to
keep her head out of the water and leaving a trail of pink in the water, and a
smell that was tantalizing to the still hungry boy.
He entwined his fingers with hers and stretched her arms out
to rest on the sides of the pool as he made his way up her neck to her lips,
lapping up the blood as he went, but careful not to let the wounds close up.
“Ungh,
Taylor…” she moaned, laying her head back on the concrete.
“Yes?”
He answered, pushing her wet hair away from her neck.
He watched again, fascinated by the blood, pumping delicately
from the two small holes.
“I
don’t know….I just…God, I just want you so bad.
I’m afraid I’m gonna wake up and you’ll be gone again.”
She’d opened her gray eyes to make sure he was really there.
“You
are awake, Charlotte.”
He said, and he slid back under the water.
For a moment, she watched him, his image wavy and shifting through the
water. Then she felt his hands on
her breasts and his tongue caressing her clitoris, now hot from his feeding.
The combination of the cold water and the warmth of his mouth was nearly
unbearable, and yet it was sublime. Though she didn’t want to, she closed her
eyes again and let herself feel every sensation.
Taylor looked up at her face through the red cloud that had gathered
around her. She was a beautiful
girl and he’d loved her at one time, but now he knew he had to let her go—he
was ruining her life. As he brought
her body pleasure, he brought her mind peace.
He eased her memories of his ‘death’ and he urged her to let him go.
As her breath began to come faster and the sounds coming from her became urgent,
he gave her an image of his friend Aaron. He
knew he’d come between them and he felt that Aaron had loved her better than
he ever could have. With no pesky
older brother there to come between them, Taylor gave her a sensual experience
like no other. His mind was in tune
with hers and he knew exactly what she desired each moment.
He felt her back arch and her head went back as she called out his name.
“Aaron…” He replaced his own name with his friend’s.
He felt her reach a peak and he slowly eased away from her,
rising back up out of the water and taking a much needed breath.
“Charlotte, let’s get you inside.”
He whispered.
He then reached down and licked the remaining blood from her
neck and, taking one last drink from her, he ran his tongue over the wounds and
pulled her into an embrace. In one
smooth movement, he was on the pavement behind her, pulling her out of the
water. Leaving a trail of water
behind them, they walked up the steps of the deck and through the sliding glass
doors of the house.
Charlotte
still wasn’t sure she wasn’t dreaming.
How could she be with Taylor, when he was dead?
Repeatedly, she looked up at him, watching the water drip off his chin
and his hair.
Tiny droplets clung to his long eyelashes.
She watched him push his hair out of his face and pull her over to the
kitchen table. He then picked the
phone up off its cradle, and handed it to her.
“I have to go.”
He said, looking into her eyes.
“I miss you, why
can’t you stay?” She said
softly.
“Why do you always leave me?”
“Call Aaron.”
He said.
She looked away from
him for the first time since she’d laid eyes on him in the darkness.
“Aaron’s with Becky now.”
Taylor wrinkled up
his face, “She’s a slut.” He
spat.
“Well, he seems to
like her.”
She said, looking back at him.
Her eyes went to his lips, now rosy from the blood he’d consumed.
“Only because he
thinks he can’t have you.” He
answered.
“Call him.” He
said, and his eyes became brighter to her, and she couldn’t help but dial the
numbers.
“He won’t be
home.” She said, “It’s a
Friday night…”
“That’s
his cell phone, he’ll answer.” He
said, standing up. He watched her
as she waited.
“Hey.”
She said quietly. “Are you
busy?”
“Where is he?”
Taylor asked her silently.
“Aaron, where are
you?” She asked.
He didn’t have to
wait for her to repeat it, he heard it as her mind took in the information.
The bond was strongest right after feeding.
Silently, he backed out the door, and was on his way to make
sure things went as he wanted them to.
Later,
Charlotte would wonder about the puddle of water on the kitchen floor, and wish
the dream she’d had, hadn’t ended so quickly.
