Strength

Lake

Seated on a large rock, I stare blankly at the river. My eyes have run dry, and I’m sure my face is covered in bloody tear stains.

Lynne is still nowhere to be found. My wolf has always been my anchor, helping me think rationally and clearly, but I don’t have her calming me now. It makes me feel the loneliest I’ve felt since leaving my pack.

“Kjarni,” Sylas’s voice brings me back to reality. “What’s going through your mind?”

“I can’t believe what’s happening,” I murmur. “Why would they want to turn Derrick into a Feral? He doesn’t have an Alpha gene or the makings of a good team player.”

“Ferals don’t need to be team players or have a certain gene. Your mate is strong,” Sylas states. “Strength and power are all that’s needed to create a Feral.”

“Derrick is ~not~ a Feral!” I exclaim. “He’s kind, gentle, stupid, and loving. He’s my mate—the one I’m meant to be with. Well, ~one~ of the people I’m meant to be with. Who am I without him?”

I know I sound like one of those stereotypical human sixteen-year-olds going through a breakup, but it’s true. The survival of my entire species revolves around finding one’s mate.

The thought of being without Derrick, of losing that bond between us, kills me inside.

“Kjarni, you’re more than the other half of both of us.” Sylas grabs both of my cheeks and brings my eyes to his. “You’re your own person. The stubborn, caring, free woman that Derrick and I both adore.

“But you don’t need a mate to be complete.”

“You weren’t raised with the ideals of a wolf.” I feel myself tearing up. “I’m not strong enough on my own. Not having my wolf ~or~ the man I’ve spent so long with by my side is slowly destroying me.”

“You’re still thinking like a wolf, Kjarni. You have yet to experience the culture of our people. Your other half.”

“I haven’t been able to—”

“Because all you’ve known is the society of the wolves and their customs.” His eyes glow a brighter red. “But you’re right—the strength needed to rescue Derrick is absent within you.”

“I know that,” I say bitterly. “I can’t shift.”

Sylas sighs. “That’s not what I’m talking about. Your physical strength also depends on how much blood you take in. You can’t just keep feeding from me—a vampyre’s blood doesn’t have the nutrition needed for your body.”

“What’s the difference?” I ask. “Your blood feeds me just as well, if not better, than Derrick’s.”

“A vampyre’s blood is different from a human’s or wolf’s,” Sylas explains. “Our blood lacks the oxygen needed to let the blood flow freely in our veins.

“When we consume blood, our veins expand and take in the oxygen from the victim’s blood while the rest is taken in as reserves, just like regular food is for mortals.”

“So, what are you suggesting, Sylas?” I ask bluntly. “There’s no way a wolf will let me feed freely from them. They’re completely against vampyres in the first place.”

“I wasn’t suggesting a wolf, Kjarni.”

“I am not drinking from a human, Sylas!” I say, scrambling to my feet. Sylas rises as well. The slope of the boulder makes me taller than him by an inch or two.

“They’re innocent and know nothing about this world unless they’re mated to one of our kinds!”

Sylas stays stone-faced as he asks, “Why do you think they don’t know about us?”

“The secrecy of our community, what else?”

“Secrecy?” Sylas snorts. “That’s one I haven’t heard of before. Good one.”

“I’m serious!” I can feel my cheeks growing hot with fury.

“Vampyres have the ability to compel humans, Kjarni.” Sylas takes my hands in his and kisses the back of each. “The humans have no memory of the event.

“By the time they come to, they’ve healed and are only dazed. The venom in our saliva has evolved to make it so the blood regenerates faster and the wound closes just as quickly.”

“Venom?” I exclaim, aghast. “You want me to secrete ~venom~ into these people?!”

“You do it automatically every time you feed from someone,” Sylas explains. “It elicits a high, of sorts. A lot of people actually sell it as a drug on the black market.”

“Why didn’t Derrick ever mention this...high?”

Sylas shakes his head. “Wolves just burn it up, since their regenerative abilities are so remarkable.”

“Regardless, I’m not doing it,” I insist. “It isn’t right. Why can’t I just feed from rogues or local packs?”

“Did you not hear what I just said?” Sylas asks. “Wolves can’t be compelled or easily subdued. The energy needed to take one down, even an omega, would burn through your strength before you even got the chance to feed.

“Humans are weaker and easily manipulated. As I said before, they won’t remember anything and will only be dazed.”

I shake my head and sit back down. The idea of feeding on innocent humans makes me uncomfortable. It’s wrong on so many levels, and I refuse to risk the life of someone else for mine to continue.

Sylas grips my shoulders. “Lake, if you want to rescue the man, you have to hunt and feed on humans at least once a week,” he says. “There’s no other choice if you want to get Derrick out of that place!”

“Get your fucking hands off of me!” I snap and shake Sylas off of me. “You don’t get it at all, do you?! You’re asking me to do something I was taught not to do! Hurt humans!”

”That was when you were only a wolf with the appetite of one!” he argues back. “The vampyre in you needs nutrition! You’ll die if you don’t feed!”

He whirls away. “I’ve waited almost 350 years for you to show up, and goddamnit, I will make sure you live! Even if I have to force the human’s neck to your mouth myself!”

“You wouldn’t dare,” I growl.

“Without your wolf to help you control your frenzies, you’ll feed whether you’re of sound mind or not,” he says. “Frenzied vampires have to be put down, no matter their status or family.” Sylas’s eyes turn sad, as if he’s seen it happen.

“I will never force anything else on you, but I insist that you feed. So, you can either agree and take the damn lesson, or I’ll tie you to this tree and bring a human to you. Your decision.”

The forest is quiet around us. The water running down the stream is the only thing breaking the tension in the air. My heart feels like it’s beating a million miles a minute.

Sylas’s hair is still wet from our rendezvous in the water. His brow is furrowed, and his eyes are now glowing a golden brown. The vibes radiating off of him are telling me he’s not backing down from this.

It suddenly all hits me—the separation, my wolf, the blood, and the fact that I’m supposed to have two mates when I can barely keep track of the one I have. And now, I have to find a human in order to feed and survive?

This is almost like the feeling of a moonless night when I was still an Alignment.

Completely and utterly empty.

“Sylas, I don’t know if I can do it.” I begin to sob. “So much is happening—how can I do this?”

“Kjarni.” Sylas brings me into his arms. “You can’t keep living with the mindset of just one species. That isn’t who you are—at least not anymore. I know it’s a lot, but I promise, I’m a good teacher.”

I hate the idea, but I know Sylas is right.

“Where do we start?”