Blood Ties (Blood Lust Sequel)--COMPLETED

Chapter Two: Company

After Jo and Connor's ship left, I picked up my class schedule and books for the spring semester. Lucius accompanied me the entire time, giving us a chance to talk freely. It was a nice change--getting to have an open conversation with one of the vampires without drawing suspicion from Jo or some other student.

I was still going to miss her, though.

Lucius was eager to hear more about me; what I thought of my fall classes, which classes I looked forward to taking in the spring. But he never offered any information about himself. So I decided to take some initiative.

"You know, it's not very fair." I gazed up at him from the corner of my eye as we left the bookstore. "You're learning a lot about me, but I barely know anything about you."

My tone was light, despite my mild displeasure. It didn't sit right with me, having a conversation focused solely on me. It made things feel one-sided.

He flashed a boyish smile, revealing a slightly crooked--yet brilliantly white--set of teeth. "Apologies, my queen. What would you like to know?"

I thought for a moment, suddenly recalling the memory Gabriel showed me earlier. "How long have you known Gabriel?"

"Nearly all my life." He answered with a sigh, scratching at the stubble on his chin. "He was actually the one who turned me."

My steps faltered. "He did?"

How?

When?

Lucius nodded. "Aye. I had climbed a mountain to go stargazing one night. Took me hours to get up there. And wouldn't you know, the minute I made it to the top..." he trailed, shaking his head with a chuckle. "I slipped on a lose rock and fell back onto an old uprooted tree."

"Oh no, don't tell me..."

"Aye, one of the roots impaled me." He answered, stopping a step ahead. "Fortunately, Gabriel was nearby. He tried giving me some of his blood to heal my wound, but it was too late. I ended up bleeding out before his blood had time to do what he had intended. I died. And then, I came back, and I was...like him."

Lucius looked far away when he finished speaking, like he wasn't seeing what was in front of him.

"So, is that how someone gets turned into a vampire?" I asked after a beat. "Drink vampire blood and die?"

He shook his head. "No. No there is more to it than that. There has to be an exchange, a give and take. When Gabriel found me, he temporarily surrendered to his vampiric side, and drank some of my blood. Once he came to his senses and gave me his blood, the exchange was made."

I swallowed hard. "Is that why I didn't turn that night on the shore? Because Gabriel hadn't fed on me?"

It hadn't occurred to me until a few days after the ball, the question of exactly how vampires were made. But I never really had the opportunity to ask about it until now.

"Well, yes and no." He replied, looking back at me. "You were merely on the precipice of death then. You didn't actually die. But if you had, then no, you wouldn't have came back because the exchange wasn't completed--he didn't feed from you that night."

A shudder jarred me as memories flashed in my mind's eye. I was so sure that I had died then...could I really have been mistaken?

"Then what did Duke mean that night?" I asked as the thought occurred to me. "If I didn't die, and there was no risk of me turning, what did he mean when he told Gabriel that wasn't what I wanted?"

The memory of that night was still fresh. The cautious beating of my heart, the coppery taste of Gabriel's blood as it hit the back of my throat. The rush of power and desire that came with the Lust, consuming every aspect of my thoughts. But what stood out the most was Duke's desperate plea to Gabriel.