maggieveach@g*******m

Hunter's Choice Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Training

---------Cassie's Perspective-------

I stretch out my legs. Hmm, feels so good. I feel Mal lying next to me. I love sleeping next to him. Makes me feel safe. 

"Good morning, love." 

"Hmm, good morning." I see him staring at my breasts as I stretch. Damn, he really gets me going. After last time, I don't know if I'll survive another round of his pleasure. 

"Like what you see?" I give him a bit of a smirk. He growls and kisses me passionately. I feel his tongue whip around mine. So good! He pulls back from me. 

"Mine." 

"Yours. All yours." He gets on top and pins my arms above me. He kisses down my neck. 

"Please love, I want to bite you. Please." I see the need in his blue eyes. I love him. I do. I don't know if I'm there. 

"Maybe flash your fangs first. I need to know if I'm ready." He looks concerned. Dammit. He flashes his fangs. They look like vampire fangs. Just your run of the mill vampire fangs. Right. 

"I understand if you do not want me to bite you. I will put these away." He flashes them back. f**k. I need to do better by him. Before, I would've said, no way. But now....we've come so far. 

"No. It's okay. I trust you. I love you." I stare into his shocked eyes. I don't think I'll ever stop shocking him. He flashes them back out. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes." He goes back to my neck. He kisses and licks right at my pulse. Hmm, so good. I feel a slight pain and now.....oh God. Every inch of me is melting. I feel him sucking. Pulling everything out of me. So. Damn. Good! Don't stop!! He pulls out and laps at my neck. He stares into my eyes. f**k, that was amazing. 

"Are you alright, love?" I need to focus. 

"Yeah." He chuckles. 

"You are mine. Now and always." I see a glow in his eyes.

"Yes, yours. Always." 

"I love you." 

"I love you, too." We kiss and I can taste the copper on his tongue. Hey, I did it! I managed to do the whole biting thing and I didn't freak! 

"I'm so happy." 

"As am I, love. Exceedingly so." So, this is what it feels like to be in love. Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. 

"Now, there is some business to discuss." Right. 

"You mean Julian?"

"Yes, I do. I sired him. Therefore, I need to train and teach him." 

"So, that's what happened with new vamps?" 

"Yes, love. Sires are there to guide their fledglings and to take care of them. And so, I must take care of him." 

"Of course. No doubts about that." 

"Good. I will go and start his education. Perhaps you can use this time to teach our Dani?" Yeah! I haven't spent that much time with her. God, I'm a bad parent. Well, I was in a coma for two weeks. Still, I need to do better. Be better for her. 

"You're right. I'll spend time with Dani. This is gonna be an awesome day. I just know it." 

------------End of Cassie's Perspective---------

-----------Mal's Perspective---------

I enter the dungeons. This is quite a task I have to take on. But, I am sure I will be up to the challenge. This is not my first fledgling and certainly will not be my last fledgling. I cannot wait for the day my mate decides to turn. That will be wonderful. Until then, I will deal with Julian. 

I walk over to his cell and open the door. He gets up. His dark brown hair is matted to his head, his eyes are bloodshot and he is thin. His clothes are wrinkled and torn. He needs a shower, then we can train. 

"Um, what are you doing here?" 

"Is is not obvious? I am here to train you." He looks shocked. His grey eyes filled with a bit of light. 

"First, we need to get you cleaned up. Come with me." I start to move forward but he does not follow. 

"Do I need to repeat myself?" I glance back and he starts moving immediately. Good. He needs to learn how to listen to me. 

"Um, I was wondering....you got any blood? I'm kinda thirsty." Of course he is. Fledglings always want more than they can take in. That is how there are so many rogues, they think we restrict their blood supply. That we create arbitrary rules, there are rules for a reason. 

"No, not at this time. Please, take off your clothes and step in." I gesture towards the communal showers. 

"Alright. But, uh, could you turn around?" Ah, he is shy. Naturally. I turn around. I go to my room quickly and gather up a t-shirt and jeans for him to wear, as well as underwear. I arrive back and he is in a towel. His musculature is much too thin. He does need more blood. 

"Um...could you....hand me the clothes?" He seems nervous. I wonder why? I hand the clothes to him and he goes behind the curtain to dress. Hunters are odd. I procure two blood bags. He is dressed, the clothes are hanging off of him. I hand him the blood bags. He tears into the first. 

"No. You need to drink slowly. Truly savor the blood. Take it in." He looks up at me. His eyes clouded with bloodlust. He looks back down at the bag. 

"Sorry. I didn't realize how I was acting." 

"It is alright. The thirst can be overwhelming at times. You get used to it." He nods and starts to sip at the bag. Good, he takes instruction well. That will make this much easier. He finishes the first bag and moves onto the second. He slowly drinks it in. Very good. He finishes and wipes his mouth with his hand. He licks the droplets from his fingers. 

"Oh...um...is that okay?" 

"Of course it is. It would be a shame to waste blood." 

"Oh, right." 

"Now then, let us begin. Follow me." I go quickly towards the training arena. I arrive and he is not behind me. Perhaps he was not ready for this first lesson. I look around and he is running towards me. Good speed. Not as fast as me, but still good. He stops and skids landing just in front of me. 

"Not bad on speed. You need to work on your landing." He lets out a breath. 

"You do not need to breathe. Your lungs are no longer functioning. You can take in air to speak, but that is all you need." He looks at me with his shocked grey eyes. 

"Right. Okay. Chock that up to the many things I didn't know about vamps. God, do I feel stupid." 

"It is alright. There are many things to learn. You are new at this." 

"Yeah, I am. But, I was a hunter. I thought I knew you guys and all of your tricks. Turns out, we were so in the dark about you." 

"Yes, you were. With my training, you will no longer be in the dark. Now, what did you learn from your first lesson?" He ponders for a moment. 

"I can go fast. Not as fast as you, but still pretty fast. But, if I go faster than I can manage right now, then I end up nearly crashing into you. Which isn't good. So, I gotta go slow until I can control my new body." He is smart. Not that it should surprise me. He did manage to plan and manipulate my mate. No, that was the old Julian. The human Julian. This is the new Julian. The one who is my fledgling. 

"Very good. And so, you will need to practice. Run around the arena. I will let you know when you can stop." He takes a moment to study the space and then starts running. Oh yes, he is a fine student. I stand off to the side. The running will be good for him. Stretch muscles that have been lying dormant while he was in the cell. And it will pump his new blood through his system. He will adjust faster to being undead. He is moving much slower than he did earlier. But, he is having better control on the turns. 

I feel Charles approach me. 

"Yes, Charles." 

"Sorry to disturb you, Master. I was wondering if it is wise to let him out of his cell?" 

"Are you questioning my decisions?" 

"No, Master. I am merely curious as to how you can trust him after all he has done?" I look out at the arena. Julian has a determined look on his face. 

"If he is half as determined to change who he is as he is in running around this arena, then I do not see any reason not to trust him. And that is all I have to say on that." I see Charles bow and walk off. Ah, Charles. He is always looking out for me. One of these days, he will get tired of taking care of me. I look back out and see that Julian is getting tired. 

"Enough, you may stop." He stops and lies down on the ground. I go over to him. He is heaving in breaths. 

"I see you did not take my breathing lesson to heart." He looks up at me and stops breathing. Good. He takes in a breath. 

"But, how can i run without breathing?" I smirk at him. 

"That is like asking how a fish can swim without blinking. You simply do it. Do not worry. You will master it one day. For now, you need another shower and some blood. This was a good first lesson. You have done well." 

--------------End of Mal's Perspective-------

----------Julian's Perspective--------

I don't understand it. I lather myself up in the shower. Why do his words affect me so much? All he said was that i did well. That's it. And my heart can't stop pounding in my chest. What the hell is wrong with me? Is it some kind of vampire trick? Like the not breathing when running. Which is f*****g crazy. You need to breathe to run. But, maybe as a vamp, you don't. Man, this new way of living doesn't make sense. And how can he trust me not to make a break for it? 

I'm out of my cell. I'm free. Well, not really. There are a s**t ton of vamps between me and freedom. Plus, I don't want to let Cass down. I need to make things up to her. I really need to make things up to her. And if that means dealing with Mal, then so be it. I get out of the shower and see clothes on the bench. Thank God! The last time was just f*****g weird. Having him standing there, staring at me. Made me feel all kinds of weird. Wait....I'm not gay, am I? Does being a vampire make you gay? What the hell is going on with me?! 

Maybe I should ask him? No. No way. First off, he'd probably laugh at me or punch me in the face. He's straight. He's with Cass. God, Cass. She would be so totally pissed if she thought I had feelings for her guy. Not that I do. I just feel weird around him. Maybe it's a sire thing. Yeah, that has to be it. I can't be gay. Just can't be. Dammit, I wish I had someone to talk to about this. I finish getting dressed. 

Mal appears out of nowhere. I hate it when he does that. 

"Follow me." I also hate how dictatorial he is. Does Cass have to deal with this? Knowing her, she'd probably kick him if he was like this with her. Right. We're heading back towards the cells. 

"Before I return you, I need to know. Are you getting enough blood? You are looking a bit weak." s**t, of course he can tell. 

"Um, I don't want to feed on Cass's Mom." A flicker in his eyes. 

"I see. I will talk with Cassandra about it. You do not have to be the one who feeds on her. I will make sure you get enough blood bags to sustain you." 

"Uh, thanks." Ask him. Just do it. No, no way. I can't. 

"Is there something on your mind, fledgling?" Dammit. There's that flutter again. 

"Um....well....I was wondering....why my heart skips.....around you?" I can't look at him. Hell, I can't even exist right now. 

"Ah. That is the sire bond. I am the one who made you, naturally you will respond to me far more strongly than anyone else." Thank God. I should've known. 

"Good, great. Thanks." 

"You seem relieved. Why, what did you think it was?" f**k. This is just great. Now I have to tell him. Okay, brace yourself. 

"Well....um.....I thought.....that....I was.....gay." He looks at me. He bursts out laughing. What the hell? His laugh curls up through me like a warm breeze. This is really f*****g weird. 

"Oh my. I have not laughed like that since Cassandra arrived. That was good." 

"Fine, laugh it up. Whatever." He looks right at me. 

"I want you to know, that there is no shame in being gay. Or in being attracted to both genders. It is perfectly normal. I laughed because it is situationally hilarious. You of all people finding me attractive, it is so bizarre that I could not help but laugh. I do apologize if I hurt you or your feelings." He's serious. 

"No, you didn't. To be honest. I had no f*****g idea what to do. I thought it might be a sire thing. But, I also thought it might not be. That it was....the other thing. Cause of the way you looked at me earlier." 

"Earlier?" Dammit. 

"You know.....at the showers." I blush. f**k. Maybe I am gay. This makes no sense though. Cause I really like girls. Their breasts, their hips, every part of them makes me so damn horny. So what the f**k is going on? He smirks. Bastard. 

"Ah, I see. I was not checking you out. I was assessing your body to see if you were nourishing yourself properly. But, I can see how you would see it the other way. I do apologize if I led you on." s**t. Why does he have to be so damn understanding? Why can't he be heinous and evil? Is this how Cass felt when she first met him? Probably. Now, I'm beginning to see why she likes this son of a b***h. 

"No trouble. Just promise me one thing. Please don't tell Cass." 

"That, I cannot do. I do not hide things from her." Fair. More than fair. 

"I'm just worried how she'll take it." 

"The fact that you are bisexual or the fact that you are attracted to me?" This f*****g asshole. There are moments where I really want to kill him. 

"Both! I don't know how she'll take it. I've already put her through too much as it is. I can't hurt her anymore. I don't want to hurt her." I really don't. 

"I understand. But, this will not hurt her. If I am wrong, then I will come to you and apologize. But, I know Cassandra. She will understand." Really? Maybe. Yeah, she would. She's a good person. She's a kind person. 

"You know what, you're right. She will understand. Guess I was thinking of her as the old Cass. Got to stop doing that. I have to rethink everything I know. Including how I feel about other people. This is a lot." 

"Yes it is. But, you are a smart, strong individual. I believe you have the capacity to accomplish this." Okay, I'm beginning to see that he's not such a monster. No, he's not a monster at all. He's just a guy. Just like I am. Crazy. Everything is crazy. 

"Right. Thanks. For everything." 

"Of course." We walk over to the cells. Cass's Mom hasn't moved from the bed. Still too injured. I can smell her, she smells kind of...toxic. Weird. 

"Is there a reason she smells so bad? Does she need a shower, like I did?" Mal seems to be thinking. 

"You are probably right. Though, sometimes, if a person is sick at heart, it can come through in their scent. But, we will have a bath made up for her. Until tomorrow, Julian." He said my name. Dammit, that shouldn't make my heart race. Especially since he's not interested. 

"Right, tomorrow. Mal." He smiles and it's gorgeous. I have some things to think over. A hell of a lot of things to think over. 

"Don't let him fool you. He's playing you like a violin." 

"You don't know him. You don't know anything." 

"Just you wait. It'll happen." No, it won't. No use arguing. There's so much she doesn't know. Hell, there's so much I don't know. But, I'm ready. I always was a good student. I'm gonna put that to the test. I lie down and start doing pushups. Time to see what I can really do. 

---------End of Julian's Perspective------

End of Chapter 23