The Monhagan Chronicles: Prelude

Chapter 7

Dean

I had given Audrey a few hours to deposit her belongings and acclimate herself to her room. I was currently at the stove cooking one of three meals I remembered how to make. The burger was sizzling in it’s pan while I stirred the noodles in their pot. Spaghetti is an easy meal to get right and for some reason I didn’t want to seem inept in the kitchen in front of Audrey.

I heard her skipping down the stairs mere seconds before she entered the kitchen. She was becoming more adept with her speed it seemed. All thought evaporated from my mind when I took in her appearance. I had told her we would begin exercising after dinner and apparently she decided to wear appropriate clothing. I wasn’t sure it was appropriate. She was barefoot, wearing yoga pants and a sports bra with her long hair up in a high ponytail. 

I snapped my head back to the stove trying to erase the image of her full breasts barely hidden by the sports bra. She was well toned, obviously this would not be the first time she worked out. I hadn’t realized how tight I was gripping the pasta spoon until I heard it snap in my hand. I knew I should have gotten one made of metal instead of wood.

I felt Audrey walk up behind me, peering over my shoulder at the stove. I held onto the two pieces of the spoon hoping she wouldn’t realize I had broken it.

“Mmm, I love spaghetti.” She said looking up at me happily.

I let out the breath I was holding. “Would you mind getting the colander out of the cabinet over there?” I pointed to the cabinet above the sink.

She walked back over to do as instructed. While she was distracted I quickly disposed of the broken utensil and grabbed a different one. It was plastic and had come in a set. I carried the pot over to the sink and took the colander from her hands placing it to drain the noodles.

We sat at the table eating in silence. I could see thoughts washing across Audrey’s expressive face. She had so many questions and seemed to be trying to figure out which ones she wanted to ask first. I gave her time. She would ask when she was ready.

“How often will I need to feed?” She asked quietly.

I wasn’t surprised this was her first question. I was however surprised by my reaction to it. My mind immediately went back to our time in my car. The feel of her body against mine. The sound of her sensual moans. The way my body craved for her to consume me. I instantly became hard. I could feel it twitching in my pants at the memory.

I cleared my throat. “It depends. Most fledglings need to feed everyday or so depending on their lifestyle. If you go out in the sun more you use more energy. Different activities mean you need to consume the energy you gain from feeding. That’s why it is more helpful to be able to siphon. It’s less of a hassle. But don’t worry. Tomorrow I will show you the different places you can go until you are off blood.” for some reason I didn’t like the thought of her feeding from anyone else now. Even the thought of her feeding from Vi made me grimace. 

She didn’t seem much happier at the thought either. The corners of her mouth tipped down and her eyes tightened. Was she thinking of our time in the car as well? Did it matter if she was? I was still broken and she was still too good for me. I sighed and waited for her next question all the while trying not to notice her cleavage that was right in my line of sight. Well not right in my line of sight but close enough to be tempting. The swell of her breasts was perfection.

 “So, I’ve noticed that I’m faster, I can hear and see better, actually all my senses seem to be heightened. Is there anything else? Like any other changes I should know about?” She asked thoughtfully.

“Yes. You are stronger now, physically. Your emotions could be heightened as well. You will heal much faster, be harder to kill. Really the only way to be sure a vampire is dead is to remove the head from the body. Even fire isn’t a guarantee. With practice you’ll be able to manipulate the minds of others. Some can have other abilities as well but there is no knowing what they could be. Telepathy, telekinesis, things like that. Those abilities are usually found in vampires that weren’t completely human before turning. So there is a high probability that you will be one of the few. However, there is no telling when those kinds of power will manifest. Could be an hour from now, could be a century.” I shrugged, giving an air of nonchalance. 

I was far from indifferent on this subject. While I hadn’t put much thought behind the arrival of Bain and the Mime before as I was already overwhelmed by the situation. Now I was concerned. They were the most powerful beings I had ever come into contact with. It made me worry that they had ulterior motives for their visit. Would they want to use her if she had power? Would they take her? I was not delusional enough to think I could stop them. They would crush me like a bug on a windshield. I eyed the card Bain had left with me. It sat untouched on the far counter. I knew it was magical, there was no number on it, just his name.

Audrey sighed. “How many vampires are out there?”

I looked at her in concern. She had been so enthusiastic in her questioning before. Now she seemed as if she had been overtaken by melancholy. 

“I don’t know the exact numbers of each race but I think the last census had just over 2,000 Cainites.” I said absently. I was too busy trying to figure out her change of mood.

“Cainites?” She asked quickly, her mood again shifting to one of more curiosity.

I gave her a slight smile, glad she seemed better. “Cainites are one of three races of vampires. Our race. The patriarch of our line is Cain. The other races are Lillian, the one that attacked you, and Gangrel. The Gangrels are different. Their origin is much more shrouded and not a lot is known. Lillian’s come from Lilith and her demon spawn. For the most part they are vile and heinous. But as is the case with most beings there are some good in the bad. Same with Cainites. Though most seem to be well adjusted and leaning toward the good side there are some bad apples in the bunch.” like my maker. 

Audrey stood with her empty plate. She seemed to be thinking over all the information I had told her. Her eyes seemed to sparkle now. It seemed the beautiful woman before me loved to learn. How invigorating. Perhaps if she wasn’t too tired after training I would show her my library. I hadn’t wasted anytime in filling it with every book I could find after my escape. I had been kept in the dark for so long I was starving for knowledge.

“Are you ready for training?” I asked as she rinsed her plate and sat it in the dishwasher.

At her affirmative we finished loading the dishwasher. It was almost like a dance. Everytime I brushed against her I felt warmth flood me. A few times she even blushed. The strongest blush came when we bumped into each other as I came back from the stove with the sauce pan. My arm had inadvertently brushed against her breast, causing tingles to cascade along my skin. I of course apologized, but I will never forget the way she blushed and concentrated her eyes on the floor.

I led her down the hall and into the basement where I had set up a home gym. Tonight I had planned to ascertain her competence in hand to hand combat as well as her strength. While the likelihood of her ever needing to fight was slim it was always a good to learn how to defend oneself. I showed her how to wrap her hands and wrist so as to avoid injury. While we healed quickly the process did use energy. I helped her get into a proper fighting stance before starting the lesson.

“Okay, first I want to see how you are without instruction. Hit me.” I stated, waiting to see her reaction.

She dropped her arms. “What?”

I smiled, somehow I knew this would be her reaction. “I said hit me. Don’t worry about hurting me, I can guarantee you won’t. Now, show me what you’ve got. Hit me.”

She didn’t pause. Her left arm shot out so fast I was almost unable to see it. I barely dodged her fist in time. I was not, however, able to dodge the right hook she sent my way right after. She was not playing around. Her fist connected with my jaw. While it was a good, solid hit, there wasn’t much strength behind it. My jaw stung but it didn’t hurt.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” She seemed to be more surprised than I was that she had landed the punch.

“Don’t be sorry, that was good. You are very fast. Keep going.” I smiled at her, letting her know I truly thought she was doing well and that I was uninjured. 

We sparred for another 20 minutes or so. She landed several more blows, none of which were very strong but we could work on that. Her technique, while rudimentary, was effective. I held back quite a bit more than when I sparred with Lucien. I didn’t want to accidentally hurt her. I called an end to sparring when I became too distracted by the way her skin glistened with sweat. I didn’t want the tightness in my shorts to become obvious. Next I pulled her over to the weights. This could become torture for me.

Audrey

Though I was sweating from sparring with Dean I didn’t feel tired. I was a little thirsty, but not for water… or blood. Watching the play of his muscles as he moved was enticing. Most of his hits landed because I was paying too much attention to his body than where he was moving it. I was eternally grateful when he moved us over to the weights. He grabbed two 50 pound dumbbells and handed them to me.

“How does that feel?” He asked.

I lifted them easily. I felt no strain. “A lot lighter than expected.”

He nodded and took them back, placing them where they belonged. He then ushered me over to the weight bench. He changed out the weights while I laid down, positioning myself to lift the bar.

“I’ll spot you. If at any time it feels like too much just say so.” He said from above my head.

“Okie dokie.” I said happily.

The first lift was again too easy so he added more weight. I did 30 reps before my arms began to burn and strain. He noticed the slowing of my movements and moved closer, allowing me to continue but remaining close enough to assist if needed. After another 10 reps I placed the bar back in its holder.

“I think that is enough for tonight. We can work on lower body strength tomorrow as well as more hand to hand technique. You did surprisingly well. How do you feel?”

I had noticed that he asked that a lot, “how do you feel?” It seemed like he was waiting for something. Or maybe more like he was gauging my hunger? I felt pretty good really. It had been a few months since I had made it to the gym with Deon. I didn’t like to go alone, too many creeps waiting to get handsy with the lone female. Dean wasn’t like that. Working out with him had been amazing.

“I feel really good. I forgot how much I used to like working out.” I smiled at him trying to convey how much I really had enjoyed myself. He walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a couple of towels. He threw one to me.

“Get cleaned up, I have something to show you.” He smiled, I loved his smile. It was so warm.

After washing the sweat from my body I dressed in a tee shirt and pair of leggings. I hoped what he had to show me was here. I assumed it was since it was nearly two in the morning. 

I opened the door to my room without looking and ran right into Dean. I bounced off his rock hard chest and would have fallen if he hadn’t caught me. His strong arms wrapped around my waist pulling me close to his chest while he waited for me to get my footing. My entire being tingled at how close he was to me. Embarrassingly enough my n*****s hardened and I was immediately greeted with wetness in my nether region. My face burned red with blush. He made no move to release me. I was caged within his arms, my hands pressed against his chest. My breathing picked up as I looked into his green eyes.

We gazed into each other’s eyes for several long moments. Neither of us moving or talking. One of his hands moved up to comb through my wet hair. His touch had me moaning in need. At the sound he pulled away, releasing his hold on me. I wanted to cry out at the loss but bit my lower lip instead.

Dean cleared his throat. “I was just coming to get you. I have a surprise.”

I followed him along the hallway to another set of stairs. When we reached the top he unlocked the door. I followed him into a room that took up the entire third story of his home. It was wondrous. There were shelves upon shelves of books. My hand came up to cover my mouth and the gasp that had escaped from it. There had to be thousands of books here.

“I get the feeling you like to read.” Dean said with a chuckle. Oh if he only knew. “I have them separated between fiction and non-fiction. There is a section toward the middle that has text books and the like. Feel free to read any of your choosing just please use a bookmark, I can’t stand creased pages.”

I couldn’t help myself. I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him. After a short beat his arms came around me, hugging me back. It felt so right. As I pulled back I gave him a quick peck on the cheek then raced over to the closest shelf. I ran my fingers along the spines of each book in front of me. I recognised some of the authors, others I didn’t. Some of the books were so old I was afraid to touch them. The room smelled heavily of paper, ink, and lightly of leather.

“Here.” Dean said walking up to me. “This is one you really should read.”

He was holding a very old, leather bound book. He handed it to me. It was well taken care of, not a speck of dust on it. I opened it to the first page and noted that it was handwritten. The writer had impeccable penmanship. Their writing made me more than a little jealous. I sometimes had problems reading my own handwriting. There was no title but after the first paragraph I could tell this was a book on the history of vampires.

“That is the first volume. The rest are on the shelf back in that corner.” He pointed to the northernmost corner of the room. It startled me to realize I even knew that was north. Apparently I now had a built in compass.

He motioned for me to follow him and I did while carefully reading at the same time. This was how I always managed to hurt myself when I was younger, trying to read and walk at the same time. When we rounded the last free standing bookshelf I saw where we were going. At the end of the room stood a fireplace with a sofa sitting in front of it. Dean looked back to gauge my reaction. I gave him my brightest smile and skipped over to the couch. He started a fire then came to sit beside me, picking up a book from the end table.

We read together in companionable silence. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this at peace.