Bitten

Chapter 7 - Home

I sighed with relief as the plane landed on the rooftop of my tower thankful to be home. Damion rose beside me and proceeded to gather my things. He had insisted on seeing me home. After a short argument I'd agreed. Yes my body was quite sore but its not like I was fragile or anything. As we walked by the door to Sarah's apartment I saw that she was already home and had turned on the lights in my apartment as well. I unlocked the door and allowed Damion to enter so he could put down my things. He left the bottle of blood on the counter as a reminder to drink plenty so I could 'heal.'

"I'll call you in a few days to make sure you're alright." Damion said as he paused at the door and pointed at the bottle on the counter. "Make sure you rebuild your strength, I'm proud of you."

"Damion, I'm fine." I said as I gave him one final hug.

After locking the door behind him I turned to head for a much needed shower when I saw Sarah standing in the doorway between our apartments. "Looks like someone spent the holiday with some FINE company." she teased as she came over to give me a hug.

I hugged her back then started heading for the shower again. "How was your trip Sarah? Did you have lots of fun playing fetch?" I teased trying to keep the mood light.

"Oh yes, and chasing our tails. I'll tell you all about it when you get back from your shower. Hurry up, I want to hear about your weekend too."

I stayed in the shower long after I was clean just letting the scalding hot water run over my tired muscles. I knew Sarah would want every juicy detail. She wasn't going to get it. I eventually emerged to find Sarah waiting in her usual chair by the window waiting for me to take mine. I snagged the bottle of blood from the counter and took my seat launching a preemptive strike to keep Sarah from pouncing me with questions. "So tell me about your weekend Sarah?"

Over the next few hours I got to hear all about Sarah's weekend. The women she'd fucked, the animals she'd hunted. I tuned her out mostly as I sipped the blood directly from the bottle. I managed to nod and mhmm at all the right moments as my mind wandered back over the last two days and the years past. Sarah would never believe half of what Damion and I had done over the last ten years. She considered me a "prude." I liked keeping it that way.

Eventually Sarah turned her attention to my weekend and what I'd done. She asked if I'd joined in any orgies to which I laughed and responded "you know I don't do that sort of thing!" She believed me and I smiled to myself. I skirted most of her questions carefully letting Sarah know that the two girls that came with Damion kept him more than busy. "But he saw YOU home!" she prodded trying to get more information out of me. "Sarah, Damion and I have been friends for a long time. Is it so wrong that he would see me home after a holiday?"

"No, its not wrong... its ROMANTIC!"

I just laughed her off but her comment got me thinking. The friendship Damion and I had was unique. I wouldn't call it love but we both genuinely cared about each other. But I hadn't lied to Sarah when I said his position in vampire society as one of the main sires meant that we could never officially be a couple. That didn't mean I hadn't come home from the blood moon a time or two wishing we could be.

"He has hundreds of women Sarah, I doubt he'd ever settle for me. I'm just the trusty old sidekick." The resentment in my voice cut her rebuttal short. She studied me for a moment, carefully. "I'm sorry Lina, I didn't know."

I shrugged as I rose out of my chair and put the half empty bottle of blood in the fridge. "Eh, its alright. It is what it is." I retreated to my room to try and get some sleep. I had to return to normal life and a normal job tomorrow morning.

The next week went by smoothly. Damion had stopped by and much to Sarah's disappointment there were no sexual or romantic activities involved.

Don't get me wrong I had thought long and hard about what had happened in Chicago. By sharing blood during intercourse Damion had been able to at least somewhat override my pain with his own pleasure. It certainly helped but it wasn't enough to put sex on the top of the to do list.

But there was something more. For the first time in the 10 years since my ritual I was jealous of the girls Damion shared the blood moon with. I had watched the pleasure they felt, the mutual animalistic release they shared with Damion. Even as I swallowed another 'dose' of vampire blood hoping it would start to unwind the knot of sore and swollen tissue that is my core I wanted to be those girls, I wanted to feel the moon's power the way I'd seen through Damion's blood. It wasn't fair. For the first time I'd felt the thrill the moon offered them, the exotic high it provided them. Now that I knew what sensations lie just out of reach my own response to the moon seemed that much worse.

Even as life settled back into its old routine I couldn't get over my sour mood and it was driving Sarah crazy. She was convinced I was pining over my vacation and my non existent sex life. She was only half right. The more I'd thought about it the more I hated my situation. Why was I so different from everyone else? I was determined to find out so I went back to my childhood and the lesson's I'd had about the blood moon. But those teachings only brushed the surface. I had to know more. I brought home tomes and old scrolls trying to find somewhere in all our histories that would give me insight into what really happened during the blood moon. How the power transfer took place. If the power came from our partner I should have received it any of the times I'd laid with Damion. If the blood moon was the key, why had I not recovered after the first moon? But the more I looked the more questions I had. Over time they all slowly boiled down into one sinking question that chilled me to the bone. What if by mating with a wolf instead of one of my own species I had somehow given up my power? If so, did that mean Sarah had it?

After months of research and more questions than answers I invited Damion over for dinner and to discuss my theories. Sarah was more than a little thrilled when she realized I was having Damion over. She liked that I was taking initiative. I giggled. If only she knew.

I felt a sense of relief when I heard the knock on my door. His smile took my breath away as I opened the door. He presented me with another bottle of blood.

"You spoil me too much " I teased as I accepted it quickly grabbed two glasses and lead him to the table where I poured us both a glass and gestured he take the seat across from mine. I gave him a quick kiss and then went to the kitchen to finish up dinner.

The skillet sizzled furiously as I quickly added the two steaks. While they cooked I pulled our side dishes from the oven. I flipped the steaks and then swiftly plated up the stuffed mushrooms and au-gratin potatoes. I then carefully added the perfectly rare steaks to the plates and put the still sizzling skillet in the sink. I returned to the table with our simple but tasty meal and we talked casually as we ate and sipped on the blood he'd brought.

Eventually our conversation turned to my research. He shared Mael's theories as well as his own knowledge. We know the transfer of power comes during the combined first orgasm and claiming bite. Neither of which I received that fateful first blood moon. That the power gives us the ability to remain sentient during the blood moon. And that so far I am the only person to have burned fully and come back sane. Most don't recover at all. Yay me? Somehow I didn't feel lucky.

We also discussed some of the old rituals I'd found. Performed in the early days they were used to share a vampires power with a human consort temporarily. Sparked by the blood share of Damion's pleasure during sex I wondered if such rituals could be used to release my own power. Damion was intrigued by this idea.

After Dinner we retreated to my favorite spot by the windows and continued to talk over the "blood-wine" at some point fueled by the blood I confessed my jealousy to him and how I'd felt after Sarah's "Romantic" comment.

Damion sat quiet for quite a while just staring at me toying with his lip with his finger, as if unsure what to think. When he finally moved, he quickly rose, headed for the door, but then turned back to face me as if trying to say something. After a long pause he finally spoke. "Lina, I...we can't." With that he left.

My heart sank. As quickly as the night had started, it had ended. I was unwanted. I downed the rest of the bottle of blood as quickly as I could in hopes of sleep and headed for the shower. My tears keeping time with the falling water as I slipped from consciousness, the blood having its desired effect.