“Yeah, so?”
“He’ll recognize your scent, even in wolf form.”
My blood freezes as a thought occurs to me. “Could he ‘call’ me to him against my will or anything like that?” I heard about that once from the Weres in Canada.
“Don’t you think if he could, he would’ve by now? You did say he went after you at your apartment, right?”
Chagrinned at the obvious answer, my panic dulls a little. “Okay, good point. I don’t know for sure if he went to my apartment, Raine just stressed that he had gone after escaped wolves before. How will your blood help?”
“Once you drink a few sips, you are marked as mine. The essence of my blood mixes with yours, slightly changing the underlying blood scent—not a lot, but enough to mask you from him in your animal form. He won’t be looking too closely for danger in a visiting vampire’s kept werewolf.”
“Is my drinking of your blood what will make me your servant?”
“No. If I fed on you repeatedly or once very deeply and allowed you to have my blood it would bind us, making you my servant, but even then the bond must be renewed monthly to stay strong. Casual blood donation within a seethe would make you one of the seethe’s companions, not my servant.”
“Seethe?”
She smiles. “Forgive me, a ‘seethe’ is a vampire family.”
I nod, only slightly freaked out by the whole concept.
“It’s okay, Jon. I realize this is all new terminology for you. A companion is under the protection of the seethe even if they aren’t blood-bonded to any vampire in particular. Anyone else a vampire feeds from is classified as a donor, and has no protection.”
Rafe chimes in, “There is an exception, a way around the rules, if you will. If a person is blood marked, like Dria plans to do with you, they are considered off limits, even if they aren’t technically a servant in your seethe.”
This crap is getting confusing. “So I can be blood marked and not a companion or a servant?”
“Yes, the difference is who feeds from you—a companion can donate to everyone in the seethe. A servant is a private bond, continually strengthened with exclusivity over time, no other vamp can touch the person under penalty of death.”
“Why is it important I understand all of this now? How does it relate to me taking your blood?”
Rafe looks to his wife and then me. “It has more to do with you understanding what you are getting yourself into.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Does it really matter what we tell him?” Dria asks, discomfort clear in her voice. “Once I bite him it won’t make a difference, will it?”
Rafe nods, not as affected as she is by the weight of what’s bothering her.
“Why won’t it make a difference?” I ask.
She stalks to me, death and beauty in a scary package. “Because when I bite you, you will lose your free will. The only thing you’ll care about is what I want. Do you understand?”
It sounds like she’s trying to talk me out of this. Like she isn’t willing to hold up her end of the bargain because of the moral ramifications of possibly removing my freedom of choice.
“But I’m agreeing to it. That means I am accepting the consequences.” In a show of good faith I take her hand holding the knife and lay it against her opposite wrist. “If this is what I need to do to hide from Cecil and help you take him down, then I’ll do it. I trust you.”
A sad smirk tilts up one corner of her full lips. “You shouldn’t.” She slices her wrist over a glass and bleeds into the red wine it contains. An ounce or so dribbles in before her cut heals before my eyes. “I’m a monster.”
I reach for the glass. Staring at her guarded expression, I drink the blood mixed with wine. It coats my throat with a lingering taste of salt and copper pennies. “I may not have seen a lot of evil in my life.” Strength seeps through my body, surprising me with its powerful jolt. “But there is no doubt in my mind I saw true evil in what Cecil is doing to those wolves. From what I’ve seen of you so far,” I say with a saucy grin, “you’re the lesser of two evils.”
Dria’s head lowers and she looks away. “Appearances are deceiving.”
Heat sings through my veins and I feel like I could pick up a bus without straining. “Holy shit. Your blood packs a real wallop.”
A sad smile ghosts across her face. “I know. Be careful while you adjust to it. And before you ask—yes, vampire blood can be addicting to the right type of person, too.” Her eyes harden. “And there was a time when vampires were hunted and drained for it.”