My Guardian Vampire: BBW Paranormal Romance (The Guardians Book 1) (5 page)

Carrying her, he stood and turned towards the door. The entire team was there, looking at him as if he’d sprouted horns on his head. Aric bit his lip. Now, he was really in deep trouble. From this point on, nothing would remain the same.

Chapter Six

When she opened her eyes, she was lying down on the couch and every one of them was gathered around her. Lacey shivered as fear coursed through her veins. Who were these strange people and why did they bring her here? What did they want from her? Her gaze took in Aric’s hunched form as he sat on the couch at the other end, looking defeated.

He’d saved her not twice tonight, but twice before also. She remembered now. It hadn’t been a hallucination but a memory. How could he have saved her so many times? And why the hell didn’t he age? He looked the same when she was four, when she was ten, and when she was older.

Who was he?

What was he?

She sat. Mira and Nyle were looking at her as if she were a precious commodity they couldn’t bear to let go, while Aric avoided her gaze. The rest appeared confused. “Who are you?” He didn’t say anything and neither did anyone else. Blood! That’s what she’d seen in the fridge. Why would they have packets of blood in there? Who were these people? Aware that she wouldn’t get any answers, she picked up her back pack. “I want to leave.”

“Your life is in danger,” he said, still not quite meeting her gaze. “Is there another place that you can go?”

She drank in the sight of his face, knowing that she wouldn’t see him again. Even though she knew now that he was someone quite dangerous, she didn’t fear him. Sure, she was scared of the unknown. The packets of blood, the strange work they did, that terrified her but when she looked at him, she still felt that she was safest when he was around. His blue eyes sucked her in, made her feel safe. As long as he was around, no one could hurt her. And of course the desire that careened through her nerves whenever he was around was ever present. She simply couldn’t get rid of it.

What was this strange bond that connected them?

Perhaps she wouldn’t ever know.

Lacey stood. “My mom…she lives on a farm in Minnesota.”

“Would you be safe there?”

She didn’t know. Lacey had no clue as to what was going on. Why had her life changed all of a sudden? She didn’t want this. “I’ll try.”

He stood along with her. “I’m going to go with her and drop her off. It might take a couple of days so you guys should just go ahead with whatever we’re planning. I will be back as soon as I can.”

“You don’t need to come with me,” she insisted.

He didn’t glance at her as he strode towards the door. “Yes, I do. Let’s not waste any time in arguments.”

Mira stood. She stretched, her lithe body moving fluidly, gracefully. “She can’t go anywhere.”

Aric whirled to face her. His eyes gleamed with an unholy fire. “She doesn’t know anything, so it’s unlikely that she would ever lead anyone back to us. Let her go. It was a mistake to bring her here.”

“That’s what I first thought, but the reality is that unknowingly, you did the best thing that you could have done,” Mira declared.

He took a few steps forward. Lacey had the feeling that he was holding himself very tightly as if he was prepared for a fight. “What do you mean?”

“She is the one, the one we have been looking for.”

If someone had punched him, he might have been less shocked. His mouth gaped open and he stood as still as a statue. She didn’t think he was breathing anymore. Lacey had no clue as to what they were talking about, but she was aware enough to understand that Mira meant her.

“How is that possible?” he asked.

“We’ve all been thinking that the person we’re looking for would be one of us, but…it’s not.” Mira shrugged. “We were searching for her, remember, when she confronted you and fainted. We felt it, the same blip again, and this time we were able to pinpoint the location, right to our own kitchenette. She was there. She is the one.”

Lacey looked from one to another. Aric looked bewildered. Mira appeared cocky. “Who am I?”

Mira turned towards her. “Tell me something, Lacey. When you were in the kitchenette, after you opened the fridge and saw… all that, and right before you fainted, what were you thinking?”

She had to work hard to understand what the woman was talking about. “I had a memory flash. He saved me when I was four. That image floated through my mind. He was right under the tree and he held his hands up, and I just knew that I would be safe, that he would catch me, so I jumped and landed in his arms.”

“The memories are the key,” said Nyle. He was talking to Mira. This was something only the two of them appeared to understand. The rest of the team looked as bewildered as her. “Her gift is triggered whenever she remembers something. It’s strange. I don’t think she is aware of it.”

“But how can she have it?” said Aric.

“That’s a mystery. It always manifests itself in people like us…it’s never as strong in humans. But she has oodles of it. I felt it, just the tip of it, and it’s powerful,” said Mira in an excited voice. “When she harnesses it, by God, it’s going to be something amazing.”

“Are you sure?” Aric asked, still appearing befuddled.

“Oh yes.” Nyle nodded. “She is the one.”

Lacey stamped her feet. “What the hell are you guys talking about?” Everyone looked at her and she suddenly felt very conscious. “Would someone tell me as to what’s going on?”

“Have you ever felt different?” said Mira.

“What do you mean?”

“You know…as if you had some strange powers that you couldn’t understand.”

Lacey wrinkled her brow. She had no clue what they were talking about? They were mad, the lot of them, and she was stuck with them. “That’s just crazy talk.”

Aric came back and sat on the couch. He also stared at Lacey as if she was an alien that he saw for the first time. “You have powers?”

“I’ve nothing,” she insisted.

He sighed. “She has not accessed it.”

Lacey turned to leave. She’d heard enough. Whatever they were talking about, she didn’t want to be a part of it. As she took a step forward, Mira shot forward and before she could blink, she’d blocked her path to the door. Lacey swayed, feeling dizzy at the woman’s fast speed. “What are you?”

“Mira,” said Aric in a warning voice.

“She has to know. We’ve been looking for her for the past two years. It’s important to tell her everything, because she’s going to be a part of our team.”

Aric sighed and leaned back. It looked as if he was in extreme pain. “I never saw this coming.”

“Who could have?” questioned Mira. “How long have you known her?”

Aric looked as if he didn’t want to answer any questions. They all waited. Even Lacey had lost all desire to leave. She wanted to hear his answer. “All her life...”

“How is that possible?”

“I saw her when she was a baby,” he said. “She was two months old when she first came to the hospital, and I was working there at the time as a doctor. She was sick, and the doctors didn’t know what was wrong with her. Her immune system was failing.”

“Why?” said Lacey. She’d known that she was ill. Her mother told her this, but she didn’t know what it was. Apparently it was a miracle that she survived.

“The doctors didn’t have a clue,” he said. “I…was somehow drawn to her
,
just a baby. A tiny little thing she was. I saw her again and again and again. The last time she came in….she was almost at the verge of death.  I cut my nerve and gave her a few drops of my blood.”

“You what?” Mira shrieked.

Everyone sat straighter. The tension in the room was palpable. Lacey didn’t know what this meant. Why was his blood beneficial for her? What was wrong with it? Why was everyone so anxious? “You shouldn’t have done it,” said Arman.

“It was…a pull I couldn’t describe. I couldn’t let her die.”

“Shit,” said Mira. An odd look came into her eyes. She began to pace the room. “So she was given your blood. That would explain why the power rose inside her. The reason why she was dying was obvious…she’d the power, the gift, and her small, frail, human body couldn’t cope with it. A lot of kids that die in infancy have the gift and die because of it. Those that survive don’t know about it. They never touch on it, and it remains buried…until and if they turn into one of us, and that’s when it fully comes to life. That’s when they can harness it.”

“So we have to turn her in order to enable her to use this power?” asked Nyle.

“No one is doing that,” growled Aric.

“Turn me into what?” asked Lacey. She was actually feeling dizzy again. What the hell were they talking about? Power? Gift? Blood? She was lost.

Mira came to stand in front of her. Aric made an odd sound in his throat as if he was warning the other woman. Mira waved her hand. “I don’t think we have to turn her. She is unique, because of what Aric did, I think. She has already touched her power so she would probably be able to harness it without turning into one of us.”

“What does ‘one of us’ mean?” Lacey questioned.

“Are you sure?” Nyle asked Mira.

“We’ll have to wait and see, but I think she can do it.”

Agitated wasn’t how she would describe the way she felt. Lacey was frustrated beyond belief. “What is this power that you’re talking about?”

Mira glanced at Aric and he nodded. “It’s magic.”

Lacey couldn’t stop the laughter that sputtered out of her. She had not expected this. Now she was sure that they were all really mad. Had they escaped from a mental hospital? “What the hell? You guys have been making a fool out of me all along. So is there a camera? Is it some kind of a comedy show?” She turned slowly to see if she could detect a camera, but nothing made sense. She glanced into Mira’s eyes. The woman was serious, intensely so.

“Can you explain why Aric would remain the same since he first saved you until now? He looks the same, doesn’t he? Why hasn’t he aged? You saw me move. Can you figure out how I… we all can move so fast? We’re extremely strong also, and we drink blood.” She smirked. “Don’t you know what we are?”

Lacey actually felt the blood drain from her head. If she wasn’t so determined to remain strong, she might have fainted again. The words sprang to her lips but it took some effort to say it. “Vampires?”

“Of course,” said Mira. “Very good... You’re a smart girl.”

Lacey felt as if she couldn’t breathe. No, that couldn’t be true, but no other explanation made sense. Just because her mind wasn’t willing to accept this fact didn’t mean that it wasn’t true. She glanced at Aric. He couldn’t be a monster, he just couldn’t be. She wouldn’t ever be able to believe that he was bad. “Vampires, but how?”

“We’ve been in this world for a long, long time, much before the humans populated this world so much that we had to go into hiding. How the first vampire came? I have no clue. But we’re as much a part of this earth as you humans are. Yes, our numbers are very few. And yes, we don’t interact with humans much. We have safeguarded our secret for centuries and will continue to do so forever,” said Mira.

Her chest was tight and she actually felt pain in her heart. Was she having a heart attack? No. She was too young. With an effort, she concentrated on what Mira’s explanation. “But you kill?”

“Don’t be silly.” Mira waved her hand as she paced again. “We drink blood from those packets we purchase on the black market. Yes, there are vampires that kill humans but they are very few. Most don’t want to take the risk and take care of the mess that follows. You can go out in the forest and kill a cow, but why would you do that when you can go to the supermarket and purchase beef?”

Even in her confused state of mind, that made sense. “So you don’t kill? But what do you do?”

“We do our work, business, jobs, and stuff like that. Currently, we’re involved in a project…” she glanced at Aric again. “And it’s fairly important so we’ve set aside our work to concentrate on that.”

“And where do I fit into all this?”

“We’re a team and we need a person, someone who has power, magic. Nyle and I are mages. We can harness the power of the elements and use it but we need to be a trio to fight this battle in which we’re currently engaged.” She smiled. “And you’re the last one. You will complete our trio.”

“I don’t have magic.”

“You do. All you need to do is to learn to use it.” Mira held her hand and tugged her towards the couch. “Don’t worry. We’ll teach you.”

She couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. Nothing made sense. They began to talk. She didn’t understand ninety percent of what they said. Magic? Vampires? Scrying? And so much more. Her blood hummed. She wanted to lie down somewhere quiet and not face the world for a long, long time. It was too much, too fast.

Suddenly, Aric held her hand. His skin was cooler than hers, but it was by no means as cold as she’d expected. “Come with me,” he ordered. She should’ve been scared. He was, after all, a vampire, but instead she felt secure with him. Lacey stood and followed him to the far corner of the warehouse. He stood in front of her so that others couldn’t see her face. “Listen to me, Lacey. I’ll keep you safe. Nothing bad will happen to you. Don’t worry about a thing.”  

As she watched him, Lacey felt calm, peaceful. He’d saved her life countless times. Hell, she was alive because of him. Of course, she trusted him. There was no way that anything bad could happen as long as Aric was around. There was a lot of confusion in her mind, but one thing was clear; Aric was her savior and it was important to trust him. “Okay.”