Page 116 of Warrior Unraveled

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The negotiations between the vampires and the Stealth Guardians were going well, when a knock sounded at the door.

Wesley turned his head as the door was ripped open.

Maya charged in. “We have a problem,” she announced. “Deirdre won’t drink human blood.”

“Shit,” Wesley cursed and looked at Cinead, whose expression was one of panic.

Cinead jumped up. “How long can she survive without it?”

“A few days, but we can’t let it come to that. We need to do something,” Maya replied.

Wes was already on his feet. “Cinead, come with me.” He motioned to Maya. “Where is she?”

“We had to lock her in one of the holding cells. She’s turning violent.”

“Oh God, no!” Cinead choked out.

As they dashed to the door, Virginia called out, “I’m coming with you.”

Wesley looked over his shoulder. “No, babe, it’s too dangerous. As a newly turned vampire she can’t control herself. She’s liable to attack you, and I can’t risk that.” To protect Virginia, he would kill anybody—even the woman who’d saved her life. “Please stay here.”

He didn’t wait for her reply. Instead he followed Maya and Cinead.

“Is anybody with her?” he asked Maya while they rushed to the elevator.

“John is trying to keep her calm.”

The elevator doors opened, and they got in. Maya pressed the button for sublevel three, where the interrogation room and the cells were located.

“Is it normal for a new vampire to refuse blood?” Cinead asked, looking at Maya, his concern for his half-sister evident.

Maya sighed. “There’ve been cases, where the vampire refused the blood offered. I’m one of those cases.”

“But you’re alive,” Cinead said.

“Because I drank another vampire’s blood. I craved his, because there was something in his blood that I needed.”

“What if that’s the case with Deirdre?”

Maya shook her head. “I don’t think so. In mine and Gabriel’s case it was because we were never fully human before we were turned. We have the genes of another species in us.”

“But couldn’t that apply to Deirdre too? I mean, she was Stealth Guardian for centuries.”

“But she was fully human when John turned her. There’s no doubt about it. I don’t think it’s something physical that’s preventing her from drinking human blood.”

“Then what is it?” Cinead asked, his voice more agitated now.

“She’s rejecting her new nature. I think the very thought of what she’s become repels her.”

Hearing Maya’s explanation, Wesley stared at Cinead. “Your race hates vampires, don’t they? Does Deirdre?”

The elevator doors opened and there was a brief break in the conversation, while they stepped into the corridor.

Cinead hesitated and looked at Maya. “It’s nothing personal, you must understand that. You and your colleagues have shown us nothing but kindness, and provided us with more help than we could have ever hoped for. But for so long we believed that all vampires were violent and evil. We didn’t quite toss them into the same bucket as demons, but we never held them in high regard or believed we could even live peacefully side by side.” He sighed. “Deirdre had some particularly bad experiences with them. She hates them with a passion.”

“She hates herself now,” Wesley murmured.