The first sip was a blast of flavor. Every single one of my taste buds jumped to attention and started screaming for more.
“What do you think?” My eyelids flew open to find Lucas watching me closely.
“Un-freaking-believable.” I almost moaned as I took another small sip. “I’ll take ten bottles.”
He laughed, flashing all those white teeth, the slightest tip of fang visible. “You survive the culling and you can have ten crates.”
Incentive enough for me.
The rest of dinner was relaxed. Lucas chatted to me about the general life and rules of the Hive while I devoured basically everything that wasn’t tied down. We finished the first bottle of blood merlot before opening a second. This one was less fruity, and spicier, but equally delicious. It was even giving me a little buzz and I wondered if maybe the blood worked with the alcohol to give more impact to vampires and ash.
“So tell me about your life before you were a vampire. How did you get infected?”
As my artlessly worded questions left my mouth, the animation fell from Lucas’ face and I realized that I might have pressed on a sore spot for him. The conversation before had been light and impersonal, and I’d just gone straight for personal. I opened my mouth to apologize and change the subject, but then he started to talk.
“I was infected in the late 1800s – I’m not even sure of the exact date any longer. Back then the bats had been culled, but the Originals had started to mass a decent number in their clans. But they weren’t always successful at keeping control. Newly turned vampires were driven to attack, like a bad case of rabies that can never be cured.” He swirled the liquid in his glass; my eyes remained locked on him. “I was a farmer, just a simple farmer. We grew wheat. My wife, Regina, she would stay at home and raise our two sons while I worked from daylight to dusk. It was a hard life, but it was perfect.”
God, this was harder to hear than I expected, especially considering it had been a very long time ago. But I could tell that for Lucas it was not long at all.
“One night I was out with the plow. There had been storms that season and it was imperative I finished the field that night. Generally, we did not stay out after dark. Everyone was aware of the problem sweeping the human race, and caution after dark was always advised.” He broke off then, ghosts of the past swirling in those captivating eyes.
“You were bitten?” I prompted.
He nodded a few times, his motions jagged. “Yes, a female, she came out of nowhere, attacking me. I managed to fight her off and in the struggle my horse took off dragging the plow over her, removing the head and covering my bite marks with her blood, infecting me. That was the only reason I survived. Well, sort of. I knew that everything I loved and worked so hard to provide for was gone. I could never go home to my family, I would kill them when the change happened and the bloodlust hit. So I ran. I ran for the city, to the humans who locked me and others like me away like science experiments. Luckily, technology was pretty sparse back then, so after I grew strong enough to control myself, I escaped and finally ended up in the Hive of those days, which was secreted away from humans.”
“You never saw your family again?” I asked breathlessly.
He dropped the wine glass onto the table. A few drops spilled, marring the brilliant white of his tablecloth. “I did visit them one time, just to make sure they were doing okay. The farmhouse was empty, deserted, and it had clearly been looted.” The depth of his anguish and anger filled his low tones. “I should have known that they’d be targeted, a single woman with two small children. I basically signed their death warrants when I deserted them.”
Either way, his family had been doomed.
“I salvaged her hutch and a few other pieces before burning the house to the ground. I never found my wife or sons. I still do not know what happened to them, and it haunts my every single waking moment.”
Gods, and I thought my story was horrible. I at least still had seen my mom and Tessa.
“That’s why you allowed Mom to come and see me.”
Lucas swallowed, his movements exaggerated as he worked to control his emotions. “You actually remind me a little of my wife. She was as tough and beautiful as you are. I … I knew you wanted to have a final goodbye with your mother, and it was within my power to grant that.”
I reminded him of his wife – it was all starting to make sense now. Lucas was a good guy, a good guy who’d had plenty of horrible things happen. Even now, with the cold ache of the vampire virus filling his veins, he was still being a good guy.
I reached across the table and took his free hand. “Thank you. I will never forget everything you’ve done for me.”