Accidental Sire(19)

"Let it go," Jane said as we approached Ben's door. She unlocked several dead bolts on the door and cracked it. "You should probably let him see me first."

"So he can imprint on you like a baby duck?" I asked.

"No, so he doesn't panic, because the last time he saw you, you were gnawing on his arm."

I scratched the back of my neck. "Point taken."

Ben was still lying across the bed, quilt pulled up to his chin. He hadn't moved at all during the day, which made sense, I supposed. The dead didn't develop restless leg syndrome.

Jane motioned me back. I stepped against the wall and watched as she moved toward the bed. Ben bolted upright and, seeing Jane hunching over him, swung out at her face.

"Why does everybody keep trying to punch me?"

"Maybe don't stand right over new vampires as they wake up," I whispered at her.

Gabriel appeared in the doorway, trying to lean against the frame all casual-like, though thanks to my newly keen eyesight, I could see every muscle was tensed. Georgie, on the other hand, seemed to be playing "Mario Kart" at an ear-splitting volume in her room. 

"Ben, just stay calm," Jane said in a soft, gentle voice. "It's me, Jane. You know me. And you know I'm not going to hurt you. So just stay calm."

Ben squinted at her, tilting his head. Once again, the vampire upgrade package was in full effect. Ben had been cute before, but now, well, he was still really cute. But there were dark shadows under his eyes, giving them a slightly dangerous glint. His skin, which had already been pretty damn nice, was perfectly smooth and had this pearly sheen to it. Also, his T-shirt seemed to fit a lot better than I remembered.

Damn.

Did being turned change your muscle mass? I poked my bicep. Nope.

"Jane, why are you talking to me like I've suffered a head injury?" Ben asked her. "Have I suffered a head injury? Is that why my head hurts?"

"No, Ben. I'm talking to you like this because I don't want you to freak out and break my guest room like the undead Incredible Hulk."

"Why am I in your guest room?"

Remembering how claustrophobic I'd felt when the shades were closed, I hit the button that raised them. And that was a mistake, because it took Ben's attention off Jane and drew it to me. His green eyes narrowed, and his fangs dropped.

"You!" he grunted, throwing the blankets aside and hopping out of bed in one quick motion. He landed on his feet and stared down at his own body, as if he didn't recognize it.

"Don't freak out," I said, reaching toward him.

Ben scrambled back and up the wall, hitting the ceiling and clinging to it like a spider. "What the hell?" he yelled. "How am I doing this?"

"Undead Hulk!" Jane grumbled at me.

"Ben, calm down," I told him. "Wait-can I do that, too?"

"Probably," Gabriel said.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Ben barked from his corner of the ceiling. "Am I a vampire? Are you telling me I'm a vampire right now?"

"I'm not sure."

"What do you mean, you're not sure? You bit me!"

"Yeah, but I didn't give you any of my blood. A bite alone shouldn't have turned you. And we shouldn't have woken up after just one night, but we did. We're basically vampire unicorns, which is sort of fun," I said, wincing.

"Probably not what he wants to hear," Gabriel murmured.

"I've been in that unicorn room for too long," I muttered back.

"It's been one night," Jane retorted.

"Could we please stop talking about unicorns?" Ben shouted. "And could someone tell me how to get off of the ceiling? And why am I yelling so much?"

"It's a traumatic situation," I told him. "I went through the same thing when I woke up . . . last night. I'm probably not the person you want to hear this from right now."

"No," he shot back.

"I am really screwing up this sire thing," I told Jane. "Maybe I should just go."

"No, Meagan, stay where I can see you. Ben, just relax your hands and climb down," Jane told him. "And Ben, I think that given the way you seem to feel about your sire, you should go with bottled blood for your first feeding. Is that OK with everybody?"


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I lifted my eyebrows. "Wait, is it supposed to come from me?"

"Under ideal circumstances, yes, but I think we can all agree we waved bye-bye to ideal a while ago," Jane said.

"I don't want anything from her," Ben insisted.