The Vampire's Rival

When she puts things into perspective

The words hit harder than a bullet train, crumpling the core of my being. If there was one absolutely important thing about turning a human, it was consent and trust. The human had to want to Turn. It was why I'd been trying so hard not to aggravate Hadley this whole time we'd been out here. Without her agreeing to the process, the Master Circle wouldn't let me go through with the Turn. Those were the rules. Rules that I had played a major role in creating and enforcing!

But those words meant that Hadley didn't trust that I wasn't influencing her mind and, with the connection between us deepening with each passing day, I wasn't even sure that I wasn't. I was starting to realise that the link wasn't just different from my telepathy, it was completely bypassing my telepathy. A mental link of its own kind. I couldn't guarantee that I wasn't in her head. That her feelings were hers and hers alone. Mine certainly weren't.

And if that's what she truly believed, would she even be able to consent to the process?

"Let's get you to bed," I said, finding it difficult to get words through my throat.

Hadley pushed back. "But you understand, don't you?"

I didn't know how to answer that.

"Tell me you understand, tell me..." Hadley started to plead, but the words slurred, and she collapsed in my arms, blacking out.

Having carried her into the tent, I pulled off her gorgeous Ankara gown and the jewellery that went with it and tucked her into the shared bedroll. I gathered both their borrowed clothes and took them to the costume tent, where I grabbed the makeup wipes and headed back to their tent. Neither of them woke up as I gently wiped the makeup off their faces, left a soft kiss on their foreheads and left them to sleep. All the while Hadley's words played and replayed in my mind – a perverse earworm that was driving me mad!

And it was about more than needing her to want me to Turn her.

I don't trust what I feel. I can't.

I couldn't think of what to do next, so I figured I'd go search for Trisca and see if we could discuss the Masters Circle that she had gathered so fast for Hadley's Turn. I was curious who the members were and if I could trust them to keep my secret.

That's why I can't ever kiss you, ever again. Because I can't trust it.

The words twisted my heart inside out over and over again. It was the first time that I'd felt that affected by anything anyone had said to me. I tried to tune out the words and focus on finding Trisca's tent.

But the words just morphed into others that hurt even more.

I can never kiss you again because I can't trust you.

Every breath, every step, every movement I made hurt. But I'd finally found Trisca's tent and could hopefully distract myself for a while preparing for the Turn tomorrow. For all that talk about turning Hadley, all I knew about turning a human was the few snippets of conversations I'd had with Lujeo about it when he got all sappy after a Turn, and those weren't exactly adding up into a detailed instruction manual. Trisca was a Master many times over. She'd catch me up on the finer details and fine print.

Her tent was a massive marquee that could fit a couple dozen people but was currently holding a little more than that. I had inadvertently walked into a full-on orgy, with bodies twisted and turned in all directions, everywhere. Trisca immediately noticed me. She stopped making out with a blonde bombshell and gingerly made her way past the writhing, sleekly oiled bodies towards me. Her naked form was as glorious as ever. Her full breasts bounced as she hopped over bodies, her torso as flat as a board, except for the ripples of her abs, her small waist dropped into a V that led down to a smoothly shaved pussy, everything held up by strong legs that went on for days.