My Vampire,My Guardian

My Vampire, My Guardian 4

********

Lucien exhaled like he’d been holding it for a century. “Sit down, Becca. This is going to take a while.”

“I’m fine standing,” I said, just to be difficult.

Elias patted the spot next to him on the bed. “Sit. If you pass out again, Lucien’s going to blame me and I didn’t even do anything yet.”

I sat. Mostly because my legs decided for me.

Lucien stayed standing. Of course he did.

“The Red BAT bloodline,” he started, “was one of the first. Older than the courts, older than the pacts. We called them BATs because of the mark—an old symbol that looks like a bat with its wings spread. It was carved into stone long before humans had names for us.”

“So original,” I muttered.

Elias nodded solemnly. “Very on-brand for ancient vampires. Zero creativity, all drama.”

Lucien ignored him. “BAT blood doesn’t just heal. It changes things. A single drop can mend fatal wounds in other vampires. It can push a human past their limits—strength, speed, healing. But it also makes you a beacon. Every vampire within miles can smell it when it’s active.”

“That’s why it activated when I fell,” I said.

Lucien nodded. “Your body was breaking. The blood reacted to save you. Now it’s awake.”

Elias leaned forward, elbows on knees. “Think of it like this: you’re a phone with 100% battery in a room full of people whose phones are at 1%. And you’re the only one with a charger. Everyone’s going to want you.”

“That’s a terrible analogy,” Lucien said.

“It’s a perfect analogy,” Elias shot back. “It’s relatable.”

I rubbed my temples. “So what happens if one of them catches me?”

Lucien’s voice went flat. “They’ll try to turn you. To bind you to their line. Red BAT blood is powerful, but it’s volatile in a new vampire. If the turning goes wrong, you die. If it goes right…”

“If it goes right?” I prompted.

“You become something they can control. A weapon. A bargaining chip. A source.”

The word _source_ hit harder than it should have.

Like I was just a thing to be used up.

“So you’ve been hiding me,” I said. “Not because you care. Because you don’t want anyone else to have me.”

Lucien flinched again. It was fast, but it was there.

“I hid you because I care,” he said quietly. “If I wanted you as a weapon, you would have been turned at eleven. It would have been easy.”

Elias shifted, dropping the joke for once. “Look, Becca. Lucien’s an ancient, broody, overprotective pain in the ass. But he’s never lied to you. Not once. The reason he didn’t turn you is the same reason he didn’t let you die tonight. He’d rather burn than let someone else own you.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

So I went with what I knew. “Why you? Why are you the one who gets to decide this?”

“Because I’m the last of the line,” Lucien said. “The last BAT-born vampire still alive. When I turn you, you’d be mine. Not by choice, but by blood. That’s why I won’t do it unless you ask.”

My stomach dropped.

“So if I say yes, I’m stuck with you forever.”

“If you say yes, I’m stuck with you too,” he said. “And I don’t take that lightly.”

Elias clapped his hands once, breaking the heavy air. “Alright, heavy stuff done! Now the fun part. There are three main clans that would kill for a taste of you. The Obsidian Court, who are all politics and poison. The Blood Fang, who are exactly what they sound like—violent idiots with teeth. And the Ashen Covenant, who are worse. They think turning a BAT-blood is a religious duty.”

“Elias,” Lucien warned.

“What? She asked for everything. I’m giving her the Wikipedia version.”

I stared at them both. “And you two are supposed to keep them away from me?”

Lucien nodded. “Yes.”

Elias grinned. “Me with charm and terrible timing. Him with violence and more terrible timing. It’s a system. It works.”

I laughed before I could stop myself. It came out shaky, but it was real.

“You’re insane.”

“Thank you,” Elias said, bowing from the waist. “I take that as a compliment.”

Lucien finally sat on the edge of the chair across from me. He looked tired in a way that had nothing to do with sleep.

“The choice is yours, Becca,” he said. “Stay here, learn what you are, and let us protect you. Or walk out that door and face it alone. I won’t stop you. But I won’t pretend it’s safe.”

I looked at my hands again. The shimmer was brighter now, like it was listening.

I wasn’t eleven anymore. Not really.

And I wasn’t alone either.

“Okay,” I said. “Teach me. But if you try to control me, I’ll burn this place down and take you with me.”

Elias grinned. “Now that’s the spirit.”

Lucien just nodded, like he’d been waiting seven years to hear that.

“First lesson,” he said. “How to hide your blood. Because right now, you smell like a dinner bell.”

Elias leaned over and whispered loudly, “Also, don’t trust anyone who offers you tea. It’s probably blood.”

I rolled my eyes. “Noted.”

**************

Lucien stood up and crossed the room in two strides, stopping a foot away from me. Too close. I could smell him—cold stone, old leather, and something sharp like winter air.

“Close your eyes,” he said.

“No,” I said immediately.

Elias sighed from the bed. “Becca, he’s not going to bite you. He’d make it weird first. Probably a speech.”

“I don’t care. I’m not closing my eyes around a vampire.”

Lucien’s mouth twitched, almost a smile, but not quite. “Fine. Don’t close them. But stop looking at me like I’m about to murder you. It’s distracting.”

“I’m not distracted,” I lied.

“You’re distracted.”

He crouched down so we were eye level. Great. Now he was in my personal space _and_ being annoyingly reasonable.

“Your blood is singing right now,” he said quietly. “It’s loud. To me, to Elias, to anyone within a few miles who knows what to listen for. The first thing you need to learn is how to quiet it.”

“How?” I asked.

“Control your breathing. Control your heart rate. Stop thinking about running.”

Elias snorted. “She’s always thinking about running.”

“Shut up, Elias.”

“Can’t. It’s my job.”

Lucien ignored him. “Focus on me. Not on the fear. On the sound of my voice.”

His voice was low, steady. Annoyingly calming. I hated that it worked.

“Good,” he said after a moment. “Now feel it. The heat under your skin. The shimmer. Don’t fight it. Just… acknowledge it, and tell it to be still.”

“Like talking to my blood?” I said. “That sounds insane.”

“Vampires have been doing insane things for centuries,” Elias offered helpfully. “This is tame.”

I focused. The shimmer under my skin was like a second heartbeat, fast and eager. I tried to imagine grabbing it with both hands and telling it to sit down and shut up.

For a second, it worked. The glow dimmed. The air felt less heavy.

Lucien’s eyes flicked to my hands. “Good. Keep it.”

“Don’t say good,” I muttered. “You’ll jinx it.”

Elias grinned. “Too late. I hereby jinx it.”

The moment he said it, the shimmer flared back to life, brighter than before. My pulse spiked.

“Elias!” Lucien snapped.

“What? She needs to learn under pressure!”

“Not like this!”

The room suddenly smelled different. Copper and heat, sharp and sweet. My own blood.

Lucien was on his feet instantly, putting himself between me and the door.

“Someone’s close,” he said. His voice had gone flat, dangerous. “Stay behind me.”

I scrambled back, heart hammering. The shimmer was out of control now, reacting to his panic.

“Who?” I whispered.

Elias was already at the window, peering through the blinds. His grin was gone.

“Blood Fang scout,” he said. “One. Maybe more.”

Lucien’s jaw clenched. “Your blood called them. You need to quiet it. Now, Becca.”

I tried. I really tried. But all I could think about was being eleven again, trapped in the backseat, smelling smoke and knowing I couldn’t move.

The shimmer pulsed once, hard, like it was answering something outside.

Lucien swore under his breath. “They heard it.”

Elias rolled his shoulders, fangs dropping with a soft click. “Guess lesson one is over. Time for lesson two: how to run fast and hit hard.”

I looked between them. “You’re not leaving me here.”

“No,” Lucien said. “We’re not.”

He grabbed my hand, cold and firm.

“Run,” he said.

And the door exploded inward.

---

***********

The door didn’t open. It _disintegrated_.

Splinters and dust exploded inward, and through the smoke came something that wasn’t human.

Taller than Lucien, all sharp angles and bared teeth, eyes glowing dull red like dying embers. Its jacket was torn, soaked in something dark. It sniffed once, hard, and its head snapped toward me like I’d rung a dinner bell.

“Red BAT,” it hissed. “Found you.”

Lucien moved before I could breathe.

One second he was in front of me, the next his fist was connecting with the scout’s jaw hard enough to c***k bone. The thing hit the wall and slid down, growling.

“Get behind me,” Lucien said, not looking back. His voice was low, all business now. No patience, no calm. Just command.

Elias was already moving the other way, circling wide with that lazy grin back on his face like this was fun. “Hey! Over here, ugly! Save some for me!”

The scout snarled and lunged for me instead.

I didn’t think. I moved.

Faster than I should have been able to. Faster than I ever had.

I ducked under its grab, rolled, and came up on my feet three feet away, heart hammering. The shimmer under my skin flared hot, like it was pissed off.

Lucien’s head snapped toward me. “Becca, don’t—”

Too late.

The scout recovered and swung at me again. Instinct took over. I caught its wrist.

It should’ve snapped my arm.

Instead, the thing staggered back like I’d shoved it with a truck.

“Okay,” Elias said, impressed despite himself. “That’s new.”

The scout hissed and lunged again, faster this time. Lucien intercepted, slamming it into the wall hard enough to leave a dent. Wood cracked, plaster rained down.

“Focus on your breathing!” Lucien barked at me without looking. “Control it, or you’ll light up the whole city!”

“I’m trying!” I yelled back. “It’s kind of hard when I’m being murdered!”

Elias darted in, fast as a blur, and drove his knee into the scout’s ribs. The thing wheezed, staggered, then lunged for him with claws out.

Elias twisted, caught its arm, and snapped it with a wet c***k.

“Rude,” he said. “I was talking.”

The scout screamed and dropped, but not before its eyes locked on me again.

“Mine,” it rasped. “The Master will have you.”

Lucien didn’t give it a chance to say more. He drove his fist through its chest.

Silence.

The scout went still, then crumbled into ash, black and cold, coating the floor.

The smell hit me next. Copper and smoke and something burnt.

I gagged and stumbled back, hands shaking. The shimmer under my skin faded, leaving me cold and empty.

Lucien was in front of me in an instant, scanning me for injuries like he expected me to be bleeding.

“Are you hurt?”

“I—no,” I said. My voice sounded far away. “I’m fine. I think.”

Elias wiped blood off his knuckles with a grimace. “Well. That was subtle. They know you’re awake now.”

Lucien’s jaw clenched. “One scout means more are coming. We need to move.”

“Where?” I asked.

“Somewhere they can’t track your blood,” he said. “Now.”

He grabbed my hand again, colder this time, urgent.

Elias was already at the window, pulling it open. Night air rushed in, sharp and free.

“Up you go, princess,” Elias said, grinning despite everything. “Time for lesson two: how to jump off a roof without dying. Don’t worry, I’ll catch you. Probably.”

“Probably?” I repeated.

“Details,” he said, and jumped.

Lucien pulled me to the window. Below was a three-story drop into an alley.

“You can do this,” he said quietly. “Trust me.”

I stared at him. “I don’t trust you.”

“I know,” he said. “Jump anyway.”

And then the sound of more glass breaking echoed from the hallway.

More of them.

“Go,” Lucien said.

So I jumped.