“Not to imply thatyou’reweird or anything,” I said quickly. “You’ve been really nice this whole time. A lot nicer than I expected, if I’m being honest.”
Pierce sat down next to me on the bed. “What were you expecting, Benji?”
“Uh, to be murdered in an alley.”
“Well, that’s not very pleasant.” He put his hand over his chest - where his unbeating heart would be. “As I’ve already said, I promise I have no intention to harm you.” Then a tiny smirk appeared in the corner of his lips. “Unless it’s something you would enjoy.”
“Ah, no, not really intothat, if that’s what you mean,” I said quickly, holding up my hand.
“I’m only joking, Benji.”
“Oh. Right.” My neck felt prickly and warm. I was blushing again, but I tried to mentally blame it on the heat from the crackling fireplace. Pierce was sitting close, only an arm’s reach away. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so close to an alpha in a way that wasn’t uncomfortable, like cramped public transit or the situation earlier tonight with the alphas in the bus shelter…
“Why did you save me from those alphas?” I asked Pierce suddenly.
He regarded me. “I won’t lie to you, Benji. It was your scent that drew me close to that scene.”
“M-my scent?” I pinched my shirt between my fingers, scrutinizing it. “Is it bad? Oh god, I knew I should have showered this morning.”
“No,” Pierce said, his dark eyes glowing with amusement. “It’s the opposite. You smelled amazing.”
If my face wasn’t red already, it definitely was now. My deepening blush only made Pierce’s grin wider.
“When I caught your scent in the air, it was heavenly. The most amazing thing I’d ever smelled. I knew nothing could stand in the way of me reaching you,” Pierce continued. “That was why I followed it. Of course, when I discovered you being bullied by those human alphas, I knew that wasn’t going to work.” He reached out his pale hand and caressed the side of my face for a brief moment before withdrawing. “I couldn’t let them hurt you.”
My cheeks burned pleasantly where Pierce had touched me. “Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what do you mean by my scent being good?”
His smile curled. “It’s not that I want to drink your blood, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “Geez. Well, that’s one thing off my mind.” I managed to catch his eye as I asked quietly, “But you do… um…”
When I trailed off, Pierce nodded. “Yes, Benji. Unfortunately, as vampires our only source of nourishment is blood. It’s the only thing we can consume without becoming ill.”
“Right,” I said, even though nothing about it wasright.It still boggled my mind that this was all real, and that Pierce and his familyweren’tweird roleplayers or actors, and that this whole situation wasn’t some elaborate prank.
“If you have more questions, I’m an open book,” Pierce said. “I know this must be difficult for you, Benji. I’ll ease your mind as much as I can.”
I nodded. With so many questions whirling in my mind, it was hard to settle on one. “Who do you - I mean, when you feed, do you drink the blood of animals? Or do you just go out and…” I paused, grumbling. “Sorry, I just don’t know how to ask without being offensive?”
“You’re asking how, and on whom, we feed?” Pierce offered.
“Yeah.”
Pierce’s smile faded. “Unfortunately, no, we don’t drink the blood of animals.” He wrinkled his nose. “It would be like feeding a lion only vegetables. Without the proper nutrients, the lion would get sick, and die.”
“Oh.” I stared at the intricate pattern on the rug below. “So you do…”
“We do drink the blood of humans, and it ends in death,” Pierce explained. “If we do not kill them, they will turn into vampires, like us.”
“Is that so bad?” I asked. “I mean, you guys are pretty cool.”
But there was no humor in Pierce’s face now. “No, Benji. The process is excruciatingly painful. Some think of the transformation as a fate worse than death.”
My face paled. “Oh. I see.”
Charred logs in the fireplace shifted, tossing up ashes and embers. We sat in silence as the fire crackled.
“If you’re still wondering, we don’t go out into the street and pick off random people,” Pierce offered. “We don’t feed as often as humans do, maybe a full meal once a month. Often we pick out felons on death row, who are simply waiting for their death anyway. Rapists, serial killers, people who hurt children. And it helps our guilt, that way, knowing we’re killing someone who…” Pierce paused, then said in a darker voice, “Who deserves it.”
