The Mate Challenge

11

Emma forgot all about the fact she was in a house filled with people that could suck her dry. Instead, she was captivated by the history Aria was giving her. “So you were born a vampire or a human?”

Aria smiled, her fangs no longer long and threatening. “I was born a human child but once I reached my twenty fifth birthday I changed. I stopped aging. I stopped eating human food. I needed blood to stay alive.”

“Does your heart beat?” Emma asked in a whisper.

She nodded. “As I said. I’m not dead. I’m just different.”

“Wait. You said your mother had you before she turned. Does that mean you can’t have children?”

Aria lifted a brow. “My, you are a curious little thing, aren’t you?”

Little? “Well you can’t stop now. I have to know. I don’t ever have conversations with vampires. Much less one that’s alive.”

“I am still of human child-bearing years, so yes. Once I pass my fortieth birthday I will be unable to have children.”

“Wow.” Emma glanced around the room. “Why didn’t you kill me when I first walked in? You could have tried.”

Aria ran her long red nails over the arm rest. “I could have killed you, but we don’t kill humans here.” She scrunched her nose. “Even those that have been sleeping with dogs.”

“What?” She screeched.

Aria flicked a long curl behind her ear. “You. Why would you sleep with a dog?”

Because she liked growly s*x? She wasn’t even going to ask how she knew that. Instead, she moved the topic back to what she wanted to know. “This is the first time I heard of vampires not killing humans. If you don’t drink from humans, what blood do you use?”

Aria sighed, rubbing her temple as if she had a headache. “It’s a common misconception that vampires kill humans. Though some do, a lot of us don’t. My clan doesn’t drink human blood. We drink from animals and lab created synthetic blood. They made a vow to follow my family’s rules against human blood.”

Shit got more and more interesting. She’d never heard of vampires not drinking human blood. For years, she thought her knowledge of paranormals had been high. Always researching and learning new things, she hadn’t been surprised when she’d met Ellie and the Wolfes. Paranormals were common in Blue Creek. But vampires were another story. Every story she heard about them was gruesome. There didn’t seem to be a redeeming quality to them. Sitting there with Aria and seeing how composed and friendly she was made Emma question everything she thought as fact.

“It doesn’t make sense. Why do people think you’re all blood-thirsty killers then?”

Aria shrugged and stood, walking to the open window facing the garden. “There are many that are blood-thirsty killers. We are not them. Tell me about the girl that went missing.”

Jesus. The conversation had derailed and she’d almost forgotten all about the real reason she was there. “A teenage girl. She’s seventeen and sister to one of my students. Her friends don’t know where she is, but someone said I should speak to you about the club Embraced.”

Aria’s gaze snapped to Emma. “Embraced?”

She nodded. “I was told you would know about it and could possibly help me.”

“Embraced was created a long time ago. My mother and father united with a second clan further south. Apparently there was nowhere for our kind to go since they were unwanted at regular human and other paranormal places. It’s a vampire club.”

“Do you allow humans in there?”

“No. It is a place to exchange blood among my kind. Blood and s*x. No humans are ever allowed.”

Blood and s*x. Now that sounded more like the vampires she’d heard of. Maybe Maria had somehow gotten involved with one of the vampires in the club? What if not everyone was following the no human drinking rule? Anything was possible when dealing with basic needs. Vampires wanted blood. When the thirst hit, she was sure they wouldn’t think too much about rules regarding humans.

Aria jumped to her feet and turned to face a door. “You need to go. Come on,” she rushed over to Emma’s side and curled a hand around Emma’s wrist. “The others are coming and I don’t want them to find you here.”

Emma didn’t get a chance to say much. Aria dragged her through the other room and out the same door she’d come in. She didn’t stop or let her go. Instead, she continued down to the same old gate Emma had used to come into the house.

“How did you know?” Emma asked, almost out of breath from how fast they’d moved.

“I grew up in this house. I knew this was the only way you could have gotten in,” she said, opening the gate and continuing down the hill until they were well away from the house.

“You know,” Emma gasped, trying to catch her breath, “for a woman wearing sky high heels, you can run your ass off.”

Aria laughed and stopped when they got close to Emma’s car. “Thanks, but that’s one thing I can say is all thanks to being a vampire. We move faster than most other paranormals.”

Clearly. Emma had almost fallen a few times and felt Aria lift her to her feet to help her keep on going.

“I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me,” Emma said. Though she had little to go on, she knew that Embraced was going to be her next stop.

“Stay away from the club, Emma.” Aria said softly. She finally let go of Emma’s arm and stepped back. “Humans don’t go to Embraced. You won’t find anything good there. The trade of blood and s*x between my kind is dirty and dangerous. Someone like you can be hurt in there. Easily.”

That’s why she had to go. It was very possible Maria found her way into Embraced and gotten into trouble. Unless Emma went to find out, nobody would know for sure.

“I will see if any of my people have heard of your missing girl,” she promised.

Emma gave Aria her number. “Thank you.”

A loud growl sounded in the distance. Aria narrowed her gaze and hissed into the trees. She jumped back. In the blink of an eye she was a good ten feet away from Emma, fangs bared. “Your pet has come to get you.”