I never showed up for dinner that Sunday, Shelley had sent me a text at four pm and I’d met her outside at four thirty. I answered my father’s fifth phone call at nine pm when Shelley had finally left, leaving scratch marks on my back and my legs a little weak.My bed, the sofa and the sideboard in my room had truly been broken in after her visit. Link had said nothing as we ate cereal the next morning and I owed my parents a visit. My mother wasn’t happy and Chase had only laughed when I told him the real reason I had missed dinner.I had my first lair meeting that evening and I was slightly nervous about speaking to all those people that didn’t know me and whom I didn’t know. I had members that I’d never met before and now I’d bombard them with changes and new rules.The lair’s main business aspects comprised of nothing. I was shocked too. Andrew had lived off of taxing his members so much that they were suffering and he was living in luxury. That was one of the first things I was g
“Come in,” I said at the knock on my office door. It’s been two weeks after the general meeting and things haven’t yet calmed down. There were plenty of things that needed my attention and everyday I had people showing up at the office with requests or thank you gifts, members coming to introduce themselves and problems to sort out.“Good morning Sire Ryder, if you’re busy at the moment I can come back,” the woman said as she stood in the doorway.“Not at all, please take a seat,” I said to her.“My name’s Linda Wyatt, my husband used to be the lair doctor,” she introduced herself.“It’s nice to meet you Linda, how can I help you?” I asked her.Link was out in the field, taking meetings with business interests and Megan was at work. She’d hired staff for the house two days after moving in and I was grateful for having her take charge of the house.“Before Andrew died, he was busy investigating my daughter’s disappearance,” she said.“He was? I’m sorry I’ve gone through all his paperwo
Another week passed by and so far Lucas had no information for me on the missing girls. Even Timothy couldn’t find anything on them because we had nothing to go on. I hated feeling that nothing could be done, I wasn't used to failing.I had just returned from a meeting with the Police Chief and even his file was thin. He remembered the missing girls and I felt like he was hiding something from me. I could feel the disturbance in the house’s aura the moment I closed the front door behind me.“You weren’t invited in,” I said as I stood in the foyer.“Forgive the intrusion, I came only to make the acquaintance of the new Sire,” the voice said from the living room.I heard his footsteps as he walked out of the living room and faced me in the foyer of my house. He was a vampire and I instantly had my defenses up. Abeloth confirmed the evil that radiated from him and he was on tenterhooks as well.“My name is Lucius and I’ve come to discuss the arrangement we’ve had with the previous Sire,”
Megan and I drove in silence as she fiddled with the radio and I tried not to look at her. She looked completely different tonight and for some strange reason I hadn’t liked the idea of her seeing someone. Abeloth was laughing at me and being of no help at all. Why was I jealous? Nothing had ever happened between us and we’d been living together for a few months now.“Megan,” I said and looked over at her.“Ryder,” she said mimicking me as I smiled.“Thank you,” I said to her.“For?” she asked me and frowned.“Everything basically, being my friend, helping me with that body, coming with me tonight,” I said and she smiled.“You’re welcome Ryder,” she said.“Are you serious about this guy?” I asked her.“Alex? I don’t know, we’re still getting to know each other and I want to be sure before I rush into anything,” she said.“That’s good, keep a level head,” I said to her.“What about you?” she asked.“What about me?” I asked her.“Are you keeping a level head?” she asked me and I laughed
Megan pulled me away and led me to a bathroom where she wiped the blood from my face and washed the blood from my hands. She hadn’t said a word and I stood there as she rinsed the blood under the tap from both my knives.“I’ve never seen someone kill a vampire before,” she said softly.“I’ve killed my fair share,” I said to her.“When you were in the unit?” she asked me.“Yes, you kill plenty of everything,” I said as she closed the faucet and dried her hands on a paper towel.“I think we both need a stiff drink,” she said as she took my hand and led me back to the ballroom and straight to the bar.Plenty of Sires wanted to talk to me and Lucas had given them one look before they all left grumbling with my business card in hand. Megan had ordered a bottle of scotch and we both downed our first three drinks.“You’re going to be overrun by Sires wanting to form an alliance with you now,” Lucas said to me as we sat at the bar. Rylee had taken Megan back to our table and she had left relu
I closed my eyes as Abeloth soared high in the sky keeping the cars below him in view. Both of us loved this and we didn’t get enough chances to fly together like this. I saw the lights of the town up ahead and Abeloth circled over the cars once before falling in slightly behind them.I saw where we were heading. There was a large house slightly up an incline away from the town and I knew that was our final destination. I readied my bow and arrow and sat up straight on Abeloth’s back as he swept left towards the house.We made a run overhead as he simply soared not to attract attention to the flapping of his wings and we saw some vampires posted as guards. We had done this so many times that I didn’t need to tell Abeloth what we had to do.“Come in from the west,” I said to him as he changed direction.I raised myself to my knees and pulled the first arrow back in the bow as he swept in lower and I shot four of the vampires in quick succession with the bow. All of them were throat sho
After the whole ordeal of my introduction and acceptance as a Sire I was bombarded by unannounced visits, phone calls and emails. Sires from all over sent me gifts and more than a few of them wanted to know if I would train their future Sires to fight vampires.I was kept so busy that I hadn’t seen Megan for four days now. I had received a multitude of alliance offers and business proposals sent my way and I was feeling very out of my depth. Lucas had laughed and put the phone down in my ear when I called him for advice.It also seemed that I had somehow gotten a new nickname and even the Elders had started referring to me as the Hunter. Abeloth loved it and basked in the glory of all the attention we were getting where I hated being put in the spotlight.“Come in,” I said at the knock on the office door.“Morning Sire Ryder,” she said as she opened my door and remained standing in the doorway.“Linda, please come in,” I said as I stood up.Linda proceeded to walk into my office follo
Megan was still avoiding me and not answering any of my texts so I stopped. Linda had been a life saver so far and she took complete control of my day to day operations and she had an uncanny knowledge about Sire life, other lairs and how to handle the unwanted ones.I parked my truck in front of their house on the night of the Sire meeting to pick Brenda up. I walked up to their door and rang the doorbell and smiled brightly when she opened the door and invited me inside.“She’ll be right down Sire,” Linda said.“Linda I really thought we were past all this Sire stuff,” I said to her.Brenda came down the stairs and I had to admit she looked really beautiful. I smiled as I looked at her and offered my hand to her as she reached the bottom step of the staircase.“Don’t worry Sire Ryder, you’re not my type,” she said and I laughed.“Please just call me Ryder, and I’m happy to hear that you won’t turn into one of those Sire crazy girls,” I said to her as she smiled.“Drive safe,” Linda
Tank had driven back with the team to get his car at my house while I drove to Aurora and stopped at Lucas’s house. I sat in the driveway for a while and when I looked up Lucas was standing on the patio looking at me. “Hey Dad,” I said as he walked towards me and grabbed me into a hug. “You can let go of it all now,” he said as tears made their way across my cheeks. I had no idea why I was crying, maybe because I could let go of the guilt or maybe because I felt relief, either way I had never cried like this before. We stood like that for a while and he let go of me as I wiped my eyes dry. He led me into the quiet house and into the living room where he poured a drink for both of us. “I’m glad you stopped here first,” he said as he emptied his glass. “I’m not really sure why,” I said to him. “Sometimes we just need to let go, there’s no shame in crying Ry, no shame at all,” he said as I took a sip from my glass. “I’m going to ask Megan to marry me and before you ask no I won’t b
Tank and I drove in my truck and Basil, Elio and Marlo followed behind us as we drove to the Elders lair in Chicago. The last time I was there was when I finally met Abeloth and my thoughts turned to Chase suddenly. “You’re making the right decisions Ryder,” Tank said suddenly and I glanced at him. “I hope so,” I said to him. “Megan’s good people, you two suit each other,” he said to me. “Megan’s great,” I said and he smiled. “Don’t fuck it up,” he said and I laughed. “What about you Tank, when are you settling down?” I asked him. “Probably never, my type isn’t exactly welcome in my world,” he said. “What’s your type?” I asked him. “You really don’t know do you?” he asked. “Know what?” I asked him. “My preferred type is men,” he said and the truck swerved over the other lane as I looked at him. “You’re gay?” I asked him as he laughed. “Yes,” he said as he looked out of the window. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” I asked him. “I didn’t want you to treat me differently, it’
I stood on the patio and smiled as the two cars pulled into the driveway. I stepped off the last step as Tank picked me and attempted to break my ribs.“Little Ryder!” he yelled excitedly as he put me down and I was instantly tackled to the ground as Elio rushed towards me.“Bastard,” I said as I stood up and Elio laughed at me.“Stop bitching I know you missed us dearly,” he said as Basil walked towards me.“It’s good to see you Basil,” I said as we hugged and I saw Marlo as she climbed out of the car.“Ryder!” she squealed as I caught her and we hugged.“So Marlo tells me there are wedding bells in the near future,” Elio said as he winked at me.“Nothing gets past you Marlo,” I said as she smiled and we all walked inside.Elio and Basil zipped upstairs with their luggage and was back in a flash again as I led them through to the dining room where everyone waited. Johnathan was still with us and he was slowly winning Shelley over.“Sweet little Megan!” Tank yelled as he ran to her an
To say Shelley was freaked out was putting it mildly. She had left the dinner table soon after Johnathan's revelation and I took him up to his room, which coincidentally was right next to hers. He looked somewhat dejected when she left the dining room earlier.“Maybe just give her some time,” I said to him.“I understand that she’s freaking out right now, I have a beast explaining all this to me, I mean here I am a strange man seeking her attention while she’s recovering from an assault,” he said and shook his head.“Let’s see how things go tomorrow at breakfast,” I said and slapped him on the back lightly as I opened his bedroom door for him.“Thank you Ryder,” he said as I nodded and left him.I went upstairs and sank down on the bed fully clothed. It had been a busy day and I got the feeling that I’d be seeing more of Johnathan Thomas. I felt bad for the guy but he was trying to do it right for this new lair he’d taken over.“No shoes on the bed,” Megan said as I felt her sit down.
“Good afternoon Sire Grey,” the man said as Link showed him into my office.“Welcome Sire Thomas,” I said as we shook hands and I led him over to the couch area.“Please call me Johnathan,” he said as we sat down and I offered him a drink.Johnathan didn’t seem to be much older than me and he seemed relaxed in my office. I didn’t get any bad vibes from him although I never judged someone on first appearances, looks can be deceiving and I didn’t trust that easily.“I’ll just cut to the chase here,” he said with a smile as he took the glass I offered him.“That works for me,” I said and leaned back in the seat.“Like you, I’m the second son of a Sire, my father’s lair is based in California, so when I heard that Springfield was looking for a replacement Sire I took the opportunity and met with the Elders which means I’m basically a stand in until I get confirmed,” he said.“So you just swooped in and took over?” I asked him.“Basically. I did my research, I know who you are, what you ca
Shelley and her baby were in good health and I wasn’t sure if Shelley was happy or sad about that. Megan had also found the ring I bought her so my surprise was now ruined and I contemplated just giving her the ring to wear.“Ryder?” Link broke through my thoughts as I sat in the office and my head turned towards his.“Yeah?” I asked.“Have you heard a word I’ve been saying?” he asked me.“Sorry,” I said and gave him my full attention.“Alex Redford isn’t at the house, I sent a few warriors to scope out his residence, even the electricity’s been disconnected,” he said.“Why would he leave?” I asked myself.“Maybe he knows she came here,” Link suggested.“Send his details out to our allies, I want him alive,” I said.The laptop pinged and I looked at yet another email from the Elders when a knock on my door disturbed us. Link stood up to open the office door and a seething Wentworth walked inside.“Morning,” I said as I watched his face.“Leave,” he said to Link as he sat down.“You se
I was sitting up straight in bed flicking through the channels on the television when Megan walked out of the dressing room and the remote fell from my hands as I looked at her.“Is this payback?” I asked her.“Of course not,” she said with a smile telling me she was doing this on purpose.“Uh huh,” I said as I picked the remote up again.“You don’t like it?” she asked me as she walked towards the bed.“Oh I like it,” I said, “it’s just not going to work.”“I have no idea what you’re talking about, it’s just pajamas,” she said and I laughed as I put the pillow on my lap and closed my eyes.“I’m strong, I can do this, I can resist,” I said to myself softly.“Can you really?” she asked as I opened my eyes and she was right in front of me.“You don’t play fair,” I said to her as she grabbed the pillow from my lap and straddled me.“All is fair in love and war,” she whispered.“You’re playing with fire,” I said to her as she started kissing me.She started moving on top of me as she kisse
We had set everything up outside at the back of the house and I saw Lucas and Rylee first as he opened the front door and walked into the house. He carried two coolers and Rylee hugged me so tight that I thought she was going to crack my ribs. Melissa walked straight to Chase and hit him on the back of his head.“Welcome,” I said once Rylee let go of me and Hannah treated me the same. Rev just grunted what I assumed to be a greeting as they placed the coolers next to the empty chairs.“Megan!” Rylee said happily as she walked out of the kitchen with a platter of snacks in her hands.“I’ll take that,” I said as Rylee grabbed Megan in a hug.“I’m so glad you all came!” Megan said excitedly.“Now where’s that future son in law?” Hannah asked as Rev’s eyes flashed yellow.“Go easy on him, Emily’s already giving him shit and he’s not a bad guy,” I said.The front door opened again and Jasper walked in followed closely by Haley, Brandon and Kimberley. Preston and Jennifer were already mingl
Chase, Emily, Jason, Truman and Brady had all seen the video that Cameron took of my lair meeting and they had taken it upon themselves to come and talk some sense into me. They were surprised to see Megan here and I didn’t really have any answers for them except that I was still the Sire of the lair.“Well that was a wasted trip,” Truman said.“Not really, Emily bonded,” Chase said with a wide grin.“Why are you smiling like that, bonding’s a good thing,” Link said as we all started laughing again.“You haven’t met her parents have you?” Truman asked.“No, why?” Link asked as he looked a bit paler.“Oh man can we have a party when Link’s introduced to them?” Jason asked.“Come on guys, it’s not that bad,” I said.“She bonded with him while his hook up was fighting in the kitchen with Megan!” Chase said.“Rev’s going to have a field day with him!” Brady said.“Obviously if I knew I’d meet her today I would never have brought that other thing home,” Link said in his defense.“What do y