Half Blood Rising novel Chapter 22

I was back in the room, taking long ragged breaths, mildly aware that Lachlan was still drinking my blood. Dull heat flared between my breasts, and I didn’t dare move. My primal instincts were aware of everything that was going on, as my fingers traced the line of his neck. It took me another few seconds to realise that the previous images in my mind were my lost memories.

Somehow, I still had no idea, but I pulled myself away from his irresistible fangs, remembering the memory of my transformation.

Lachlan looked like a real monster then, shocked, and still filled with hunger for more. My blood was dripping from his mouth, his pupils were dilated, and his hard cock was pressed against my navel. I swallowed hard, trying not to stare, because, hell, I wanted him inside me so damn much. This was my vampire nature aching for more contact. His touch was electrical, like standing next to a live wire. I just couldn’t get enough, I needed him to fill me and relieve the throbbing between my thighs. His bite had awakened my memories, and so much more, more than I’d ever realised. Maybe he was somehow connected to the vampire who’d attacked me. I needed to figure this out on my own.

“This is not happening, no. You hate me, and now you’re kissing me,” I said, touching my fiery cheeks. I was confused with what was happening to my own body. How could I want him?

He wiped his mouth with his hand and took a step towards me. He didn’t seem to care that I said no.

“You taste better than I ever imagined, stop denying it, hen. I know you want to shag me, too,” he said, lowering his voice, tipping up my chin, so I couldn’t avoid looking at him.

“No, I can’t be around you right now. This isn’t good for me,” I said and then pushed him off me. Seconds later, I took off running, and yeah, maybe this was crazy, but I needed to get away from him. We would screw each other, and then I would regret it later.

Lachlan had hated me from the very beginning, and he didn’t trust me. Maybe that changed because I was loyal to the academy and didn’t want him to die. Right now, I didn’t trust myself around him. I walked outside and ended up on the terrace, breathing in the cold air.

Before I awoke on the street with no recollection of who I was, I had a life, a loving human family. These memories, even if they were only glimpses from the past, they proved what I’d always known deep inside. Once I was far away from that irresistible vamp, my head was spinning away. All these thoughts and memories were still so fresh. I never truly believed I could be half-fae. Regardless of what Oldman and several others had mentioned about my magic, I didn’t think it was possible. But now I had the answers I’d longed for, searched for, but now I wasn’t sure how to process them just yet. My vampire nature dominated, and yet the magic inside me was so different than the energy of any other creature. Things were slowly starting to make sense.

On top of that, my entire body was still pulsing with desire, so raw and so hot, that I thought I’d have to start pleasing myself. Several drops of sweat rolled down my face. What was wrong with me? I’d allowed him to bite me, and I loved every moment of it.

In the end, I went back to my room I shared with Karina. It was still dark outside, and she was fast asleep. I decided to take a cold shower. The images of Lachlan thrusting his hard erection inside me began spinning through my mind again, until the freezing stream of water hit my body. It all stopped there, and I stood under the cold water for a good half an hour, shaking, until my body was numb, until I couldn’t think about him any longer.

Why was Lachlan so significant, and why was I only getting the understanding of who I was when we were exchanging bodily fluids? It was possible this had something to do with the fact he was a vampire, too. I was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Later on, once dressed and freshened up, I decided to talk to Oldman about what I’d learnt, about these whirling memories in my head. I couldn’t sleep anyway, and the lights in her office were still on. I had to keep my mouth shut about the fact that Lachlan had drunk from me. I didn’t want anyone to know I’d become attracted to him. It was time to reach out for help, and she was the only other person I trusted here, besides Karina, but Oldman was fae.

It was very late in the evening, and everyone apart from Karina was still awake. Dimitry was playing the guitar, humming some sort of song to himself. We all needed to rest before the next mission. Dorothy was still missing, so our job in Moscow was nowhere near done.

I wasn’t in the mood for socialising, and, besides, Lachlan would show up any minute, and I wanted to avoid him. Marco probably already suspected I was crushing on the handsome Scott. I knocked on Dimitry’s office door, the office Oldman was now occupying. She seemed to be busy working on something, and I didn’t want to be a nuisance. My heart was thumping way too quickly inside my chest.

“What is it, Jaymin?” she asked, not lifting her head from her paperwork.

“I need to talk to you about something,” I said to her, not waiting for her to invite me in to sit. I just sat in the available chair in front of the desk, seeing Dimitry’s photos everywhere. He was an adventurous guy outside of work it seemed. Oldman was glowing, and I wondered if I ever looked like that. As a half-vampire, I was pale, but I never thought I was beautiful.

When she finally met my gaze, her tensed features relaxed. “Something happened? You’re causing me to be a bit concerned, Jaymin.”

“It’s nothing to worry about. At least, I hope not,” I said, trying to gather myself to tell her the truth. “It’s about my past. Recently, I managed to regain some of my memories, and I’m trying to piece it all together.”

Deep down, I thought I would rebel. I’d been frustrated all these years because I hadn’t made any progress. It shocked me that I was so calm.

She frowned and folded her hands together, meaning she was willing to listen to me. “What do you mean, you recently acquired new memories?”

Damn it. I knew she wasn’t going to let that one go. My encounter with Lachlan made me uncomfortable, but there was no way I was going to admit to having any feelings for him. What happened between us was because of my half-vampire nature—I couldn’t resist him. There was nothing human about that. Or fae, rather? I supposed I no longer had human genes. It was all so confusing.

“Let’s not dwell on who or what triggered them. The bottom line is, someone, a vampire, turned me first, and then he took me to some sort of fae court. I’m half-fae and half-vampire. I had a real family before I lost all my memories and ended up on the street,” I blurted out, thinking that there was no point beating around the bush.

Oldman’s eyes widened, and she shifted in her chair, releasing some magic. Maybe that was the main reason why I felt it when we were around each other. Apparently other vampires weren’t so sensitive. The pure breeds could only detect others like them.

“You believe you’re a half-vampire and half-fae? Impossible,” she whispered, rising from her chair.

“I don’t think so, I know I am. These memories were real, and I saw my family. I believe it was my mother’s side who was fae, but she appeared to be human. She didn’t want anything to do with the fae, because my father was human, and she wanted to keep me away from magic. This is all still very new and complicated for me. I sort of dreamed about my transformation, but it was more of a vision than a dream, as I’m certain it happened four years ago. The vampire who turned me was an ancient, and I became his experiment,” I explained, sweating way too much.

Oldman exhaled sharply, then began pacing around the room. Well, that was a good sign, at least she believed me.

“I mean, when I saw you for the first time, I knew you were special, but I never imagined such a creature could ever survive. What that vampire did was illegal. The High Council would have punished him. I have heard about such experiments, but I always believed they were just rumours.”

“Yeah, well, the fae thought I was going to die, but then I was given a potion that seemed to turn things around. It was some kind of fae court in the middle of the forest. I had no other memories of my previous life. Four years ago, I woke up on the streets of Lviv already turned, assuming I was half-vampire. It was a tough life, and I adapted, but I would love to meet the bastard who stole my human life, to see him punished.” I clenched my fists so hard that I cut circulation to my fingers.

Well, I wanted to kill him, I didn’t see any other option.

“You’re a hybrid who is not supposed to exist,” she said, “and the school will help you change your life around, but I’m more concerned about why they chose you. Your life may still be in danger, so we need to be very careful from now on. We cannot advertise what you are, Jaymin.”

“Have you told anyone else about me?” I asked her, thinking about Lachlan’s father. For some reason, he gave me the creeps. There was something about him that scared me, the way he was staring at me, but I doubted he was involved.

Oldman was right; someone had chosen me, and they were probably still watching me or observing me from a safe distance. I always made sure I never got attached to anyone. Melody was an exception; she was a real witch, and she wouldn’t use me like that.

“No, of course not, and I’m planning to keep it that way. The school is founded by the High Council, but they don’t need to know your business. You’re my asset,” she said proudly, and that caused warmth to spread throughout my chest.

“Okay, good. Anyway, that was pretty much it. I’m just trying to piece together the rest of my previous life,” I said, standing from my chair. She grabbed my hand, and a jolt of electricity moved through my body.

“When we return to Kiev, we will speak about this further. Your magic needs practise, because right now, you’re like a ticking time bomb. No one knows what may happen, so be watchful,” she said, staring at me with her intensive fae eyes.

I nodded, not knowing how to respond to that, but she was right. What happened in the tombs scared the shit out of me.

Moments later, I left the room, bumping straight into the person I wanted to avoid—Lachlan. Our bodies touched, and images of him between my legs rolled through my mind. He gave me a long lonely look, but then walked away without a word, and it made me long for him even more than if he’d said a thousand words.

* * *

“We should go out for a drink tonight. Dimitry’s still gathering intelligence, and I can’t stand sitting around here any longer,” Karina said in the afternoon, after another meeting that didn’t go anywhere. The clan had been active again in a certain area, but Oldman refused to let us go anywhere until we had more concrete information on Dorothy.

I hadn’t spoken to Lachlan since our encounter in the training room, but the pull of our energies was still there. I was fed up with no progress, and the fact that the days seemed to be getting longer.

“Yeah, I love Russian chicks, so I vote yes,” Marco said, leaning over the paper he was reading. I rolled my eyes—of course he was agreeing to go out.

Judas just shrugged his shoulders, and Lachlan stared at me.

“Da, nothing is going to happen tonight,” Dimitry said, “but the councillor believes his daughter has been relocated outside of Moscow.”

“Great. I heard about this new bar, Lennox, so we can start there,” Karina said, smiling. She seemed excited, and I was looking forward to it, too. We couldn’t leave the city, but we deserved some kind of night out at least.

“Okay, it’s sorted then. I need a cold pint,” Lachlan said, standing from his seat. “We should call an uber, it will be cheaper.”

“What’s an uber?” I asked, feeling a little silly.

“It’s like a taxi service. I need to arrange a few dates,” Marco said, already rubbing his hands together. “The night is young.”

Karina drug me back to our room and then she started pulling out several different outfits. I didn’t even know how she had so much space in her luggage. I never truly cared about the way I dressed, but tonight, I wanted to look good for some reason.

Lachlan was going to be there, and I wanted to act normal around him. No more talking about my silly feelings.

“Who knows, maybe we’ll pick up some cool dates tonight,” Karina said, showing me a short black lacy dress.

I shook my head. “That’s for you, not me, remember? I don’t do dresses.”

“Well, you’re going to drop that silly rule and wear this one, with these amazing knee-length, high-heeled boots. It’s a bad-ass look, trust me. Now go, and try it on,” she demanded, giving me a stern look. I was self-conscious about everything, and this was a big no-no, but she just put the dress in my hands and told me to go change.

She wasn’t taking no for an answer, and I knew this was going to be a long and exhausting night after all.