The Brothers

3

Gabe laid in his bed trying to comprehend what was happening. He’d been laying there for 10 minutes, while he slowed his breath, settled his pulse and controlled his thirst. He slid into his jeans, pulled on a hoody and padded into the kitchen.

Switching on his coffee machine he decided an espresso would help quell his hunger. Sipping the hot liquid slowly calmed his jangly nerves and dulled his need to feed.

Leaning against the counter, he held his phone to his ear while it rang. His mind still processing what had occurred and how much he enjoyed it.

“Hey..I need to talk to you. Now”

Ending the call, he slipped his phone back into his pocket, grabbed his keys and left.

Luc poured 2 large glasses of red, as Gabe went over what had happened. His brother looked less like his normally laid back self and more like a jittery wreck. He smelt strongly of desire and confusion, the stink heavy in the air. Unusual for Gabe.

Gabe took the glass and drank greedily. Luc settled into the other chair by the open fire and swirled the liquid in his glass before he drank.

“We don’t dream Luc so what the hell happened?” Gabe pushed his hands through his hair in frustration and started to pace the room. “Has anything like this happened to you?”

Luc took a breath.

“you haven’t fed from her, so it must be a psychic connection. Humans are capable of dragging us into their dreams but, they generally have to be related to a powerful weaver or descended from one to do so. Luc put down his glass and clasped his hands together. Gabe looked worried and he got the impression he had not told him everything.

“Our kind have watched the humans evolve over hundreds of years. We know that although frowned upon, La Creaturae have born children with them and this has allowed some of them to acquire diluted skills from us. It’s not common but she could be gifted”

Gabe sat back down and watched the flames of fire flicker. It soothed him.

“ Luc this was a strong connection… like nothing I’ve experienced before and it was as if I were there. Even when I have fed from humans before, the connection has never been like this. I could feel her, hear her breath, smell her”

Luc knew if he kept quiet, Gabe would fill the silence with whatever he was holding back from him. And there was something. Luc could read some minds, but Gabe was difficult and his thoughts were never clear to him.

“ I was about to mark her”

Luc’s head snapped up. He looked at Gabes face and saw confusion.

“ What do you mean?” She can’t possibly know what that is” he spat “She was probably just having a s****l dream about you after the meeting today. And you spent the morning with her today. I think you are misinterpreting what you experienced as more than it is, a coincidence.

Gabe couldn’t deny Amara had been on his mind since the meeting. That jolt when he took her hand played on his mind. And she was attractive.

Luc sipped his drink pondering Gabe’s problem. It was concerning but maybe Gabe was just attracted to her and without realising filled in the gaps with his own need. Gabe was not a fan of “live” feeding. He preferred the red they were drinking, a clever mix of human supplied blood and red wine. Something the French Burfords developed years before, and Luc now managed. Red was a good source of blood, but live feeding provided a much more powerful impact. Red was good, but not as potent as drinking it fresh from the source. Gabe didn’t live feed as much as he should as an older vamp and it did tend to cloud his judgment.

”We did a full background check on her and nothing flagged up. No links to any of the houses, or birth connections”

Gabe took a breath. “There was a connection at the meeting, like I knew her already, knew her well”

Luc didn’t want to share with Gabe that he too had picked up a weird sensation when he and Amara shook hands. Luc did deep background checks into everyone they did business with to ensure their safety. Most humans were not aware that Vamps, Witches, Wolves and more walked amongst them. They still thought that they were the stuff of stories and films, and as Head Of their house, Luc and his team worked hard to maintain that.

Luc and Gabe were descended from a long line of vampires. “The Strigoi” their actual name were commonly known as Vampires. They drank blood. They lived for hundreds of years. They had powers, however most of the myths were not true. They did not need blood alone to survive, and they could eat normal food. Blood was needed, but food could sustain them for a few weeks without it. But if vampires didn’t feed upon human blood regularly, they would start to deteriorate.

They could eat garlic, look at and wear crosses and go into churches. A stake through the heart would kill them, but let’s be honest, it would kill anybody!! They, like humans were unique and all vampires had different traits.

Some could read minds, others could command others. The elders were the most gifted and powerful. Strigoi could heal themselves from most injuries. Blood helped with that. And they could live for thousands of years. Most didn’t last that long. Luc was 857, Gabe was younger at 372. Vamps were able to amass knowledge, wealth and power through the gift of time. Which made them wise, ruthless and often in positions of power. Behind the worlds most powerful business and companies, there was most likely a vampire. Except for Banks, that was the domain of the goblins.

“Look, if it’ll make you feel any better, I’ll look into her again myself.” He had indeed already summoned the team to discuss Amara. He knew there was something different about her, but he wasn’t ready to disclose that to his extremely disturbed brother. Luc rose from his seat.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m going to get back to my guest”

He patted Gabe on the shoulder as he went to leave the room. The waitress was naked, waiting for him and he was keen to join her. He would have his fun, feed and then when she was exhausted from their play, he would join his team.

“And Gabriel” he lingered in the doorway, smiling “maybe find yourself a sexy snack, you’re obviously hungry”