Feral Bonds

Chapter 25

Vincent's shop was easy to find, courtesy of Gretchen's GPS, but Natania advised her to hold off until morning, both to give her a chance to recover from the blood draw, and because she didn't want to meet the vampires during their peak hours.

If they arrived right before sunrise, then she'd only have to deal with Vincent himself. Gretchen readily agreed and pulled into a twenty four hour coffee shop not far from the apothecary. Natania took a quick nap while Gretchen went inside with her laptop, waking only when the human dropped a bag of pastries into her lap a few hours later.

"So, who exactly are we going to see?"

"He's..." Natania paused her rapid consumption of baked goods, unsure how to answer that. "Uh. I guess you could say he was sort of a mentor of mine." Sort of. He'd certainly taught her things.

Gretchen raised an eyebrow. "A vampire?"

Natania shuffled in her seat. No point in hiding it. "When I ran from my pack, I made a blood bargain, you know, those magical bargains that I told you about, that he would keep me safe in exchange for my blood."

Gretchen gave her a confused look.

Natania tapped her fingers on the side of the door. "Vampires are witch made creatures, like most of us, so they have a certain amount of magic in them." She went into her spiel about vampires gaining magic by feeding on other supernaturals, and how beast bound, half demons and witches produce magic continually, thus providing more power. "But I made a blunder in my wording and bound myself to having to do whatever he ordered."

Gretchen snorted. "So you were essentially a favourite pet?"

"Something like that," Natania scowled, "but it could have been worse. He had the power to make me do anything he wanted, and he mostly just used me to frighten guests he was particularly spiteful towards. Sometimes sniff out magic. Honestly the worst part about it was being trapped in that fucking house." She still got antsy being inside and went out to run in the middle of the night, just because she could now.

"Anyway," Natania glanced out the window where the first touch of light was beginning to show over the horizon, "it's time to go." She gathered up the paper bags and tossed them into a nearby trash can.

They opted to walk the short distance to the apothecary. By the time they were done it would be daylight, so there would be little to fear.

As they approached the old fashioned building, a familiar scent hit Natania's nose and she braced herself as a rigid form bowled into her. Natania rolled with his attack, nimbly twisting out of his grip and returning to her feet. "Really, Ray?" Natania said, before he could attack again, sidestepping so she was between him and Gretchen. "Is this how you greet customers?"

The vampire narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Who-" he cut himself off as the realization hit, "Natania? What are you doing here?"

Natania squared her shoulders. "I'm here to see Vincent."

Ray finally took notice of her companion, appearing at Gretchen's side and grabbing her throat in his hands. "Why are you with a human?" His red eyes brightened with hunger and Natania launched herself at him, shifting in midair. She sank her teeth into his forearm, forcing him to release his grip, then moved protectively in front of Gretchen, snarling loudly.

Ray glared at her with disapproval. "Didn't you learn anything from your time here? Humans are food, nothing more. So, unless you plan to feed her to him, I suggest you leave. My master has no time for humans and their dogs."

"I think I can decide that for myself, Ray." Natania jumped slightly as Vincent appeared at her side. She waved her tail in greeting, but kept her eyes on Ray. The younger vampire lost his arrogance and sank to one knee, bowing his head. "My apologies, Master. I meant no offense."