I did as he said and was hit with an urge too powerful to ignore. Blood, warm and fresh, was nearby. I bolted in the direction, and all my senses focused on the same thing. Just ahead of me, an elk startled and took off running. Instinct took over, and a thought flashed through my mind:I was no longer human. I was a vampire. Just as I jumped to take the animal down, I was hit from the side. Startled, I struggled to get a grip on whatever hit me. Dirt, ferns, and fallen trees were brushed away as the two of us fought for control. I sailed through the air and hit a tree so hard that the crack of it ripped through the quiet woods. Spinning away, I landed on my feet, ready to fight whatever the fuck had attacked me.
“Blake, what happened?” Marlon asked as he burst through the thick trees. He was on high alert, eyes wide and fangs out.
“Something attacked me.” My eyes surveyed the area, but I saw nothing in the now quiet forest. Marlon froze before speeding past me. I immediately followed, staying as close to him as I could, but he was so much faster than I was, and with the thick growth it was hard to follow him. Our connection guidedme. It didn’t matter if I fell behind. I would always know where he was. Now I understood how he tracked Josiah.
“Blake,” Marlon said. He didn’t need to shout for me to hear him.
“What is it?” I said from his side.
“There’s another vampire. I don’t recognize the scent,” Marlon said and knelt by a footprint.
“It’s not Josiah?” I asked and knelt next to him.
“No.” He glanced around again before standing. “We need to—” Before the words were out of his mouth, he was hit from the side and then shoved into a tree. He managed to get a grip on his attacker, and I could now see that it was a small child.
“I’m not a child,” he said and turned to sneer at me while holding Marlon against the tree by his throat. I growled and started to run at him. “Stop, or your mate dies.”
Marlon’s eyes were wild as he looked at me and nodded his head while clawing at the hand clamped aroundhis throat. The vampire looked between us before dropping Marlon.
“Marlon.” I rushed over to him as he scrambled to his feet.
“Who are you?” Marlon sneered.
“No one you would know,” he said, not answering at all. He looked to be about ten, with blond hair that stuck out all over his head and clothes that looked like they’d seen better days. “I don’t care about clothes.”
“You can read my thoughts?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed, and he walked closer to me and nodded. “You more than him. It doesn’t work on older vampires. Only newly turned, and within the first year it vanishes.”
“What about humans?” Marlon asked.
“No, only new vampires.” He sat on a fallen tree and picked at the bark. “Why are you here?”
“We’re only passing through. My mate needed to feed.”
“There are plenty of humans around here,” he said.
“I don’t want to kill humans,” I said.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s hunt.” Then he was off like a shot in the night. Marlon gave me a shocked look before the two of us ran after him. He was small but incredibly fast, and by the way he’d held Marlon—strong. He led us to a clearing where a few elk were grazing in the moonlight. The vampire signaled Marlon to circle around, and he showed me where to go. The small vampire rushed in and snapped the neck of one elk, making the others run away. “Feed. There’s enough for all of us.”
I tried to hold back, but my need was too great, and I sunk my teeth in and drew out the warm liquid. Marlon put his hand on my back, making me growl.
“We feed together or not at all,” Marlon said, using the tone I had no choice but to follow. Calm washed over me as the three of us silently fed.
After having his fill, the little vampire wiped his face and sat back. “Why are you here?”
Marlon looked up at him as a thin trail of blood slid down his chin. “We’re hunting a vampire who trapped me in a grave for nearly a century.”
“What will you do when you find it?” he asked but showed no emotion.
Marlon’s lips curled, and his eyes grew black with hate. “I’m going to tear his head off and leave him for the sun.”
“Sounds fun. Mind if I join you?”
“What’s your name?” I asked, unable to stop myself.
“Elias. No one has asked me that for many years,” he said. His eyes were far away in thought for a split second before meeting my eyes again. “And yours?”
