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“Harrison.” Amelia wipes a silent tear. “Harrison Chamberlin. One of the oldest vampires in New Orleans.” She pauses and takes a deep breath. “I looked like the woman he was obsessed with. So obsessed, in fact, that he thought I was her reincarnated.” She huffs. “Hell, he even had me convinced for a while.” She kicks a hole in the sand. “He paid a witch to erase any memories of him and the lycan world, and he left me alone for ten years. During those years, I went to college, got my life on track, had food to eat, a warm bed to sleep in, and I was going somewhere. I was on the fast track to receiving my Ph.D. when my world imploded.”
“What happened?”
“Harrison,” she repeats the name from earlier. “This time he pretended to be a transfer student in one of my classes, and I fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. So much so that I gave him every part of me.” She doesn’t have to elaborate on the meaning behind her words. “I trusted him. I was in love with him. When Viktor rescued me from Harrison, I believed he was the bad guy and Harrison was nothing more than a victim of Viktor’s insanity.”
“Viktor? Thorne’s maker.”
Amelia laughs. “Even in death, Viktor is larger thanlife.” She bends down, picking up a broken seashell, and tosses it out to sea. “Viktor wasn’t the monster I was groomed to believe he was. Turns out, I was in love with the monster.” She throws a second shell into the water. “Viktor was trying to protect me. His methods were a little off kilter, to say the least.” She laughs at a silent memory. “Viktor is Celeste’s father. Celeste is my maker.”
I begin piecing the parts of the puzzle together between Amelia, Thorne, Viktor, and the immortal child, Celeste. “He’s the one who became a vampire for his daughter?”
“Yes. There’s more to the story, but the details aren’t important. By the time I realized who and what Harrison was, it was too late. He’d already killed so many people…so many good people, all to keep his lies and me for himself.” She swallows deeply. “He attacked me. I didn’t know why for the longest time, but over the years, I’ve come to realize that in Harrison’s mind, if he couldn’t have me, no one could.” Amelia stands quietly, overlooking the water. “He drained nearly every ounce of blood from my system. The only thing that stopped him from killing me was Violet, another of his creations. She killed him before he could kill me.”
“Where is Violet?”
“New Orleans,” she answers. “She’s strong, rich, and beautiful. Living the life she deserves on her own terms. Living the life that was stripped away from her.”
“Celeste?” I ask. “How did she become your maker?”
“I barely had a pulse. Nothing more than a lifeless body. She took my choice away. She turned me into this.”
“Are you angry?”
Amelia stares into the Gulf. “Maybe a little at first. I’m not anymore. If it weren’t for being transformed into a vampire, I wouldn’t be married to the love of my life. I wouldn’t have a baby at home, and I wouldn’t have ever learned who I truly am.”
“My choice was taken away, too.”
“Most don’t have a choice. Viktor is the only one I’ve personally known who chose this life.” She turns, facing me. “I know you’ve had a shitty life, and I wish I could take that pain away from you. But you’re at a precipice. You can choose to run, hide from your past, and avoid your future, or you can choose to accept what you are and use that pain to make you stronger. Kragen will get what’s coming to him. Patrice will get what’s coming to her. They always do. Don’t let the monster inside of you take over. Don’t become something that is feared. Use the pain as your strength. Take back your power, and use it for good. I sense something in you that you may not sense in yourself. I don’t know exactly what it is, but there’s something inside you, waiting to come out. Use it.”
“Can you teach me?”
Amelia smiles. “I’d be honored.”
Talking to Amelia eases the tension I’ve mindlessly carried around for years, hell, centuries. The anger and frustration are still there, but hearing someone else’s story, I realize I’m not alone in this fucked-up vampire world. The two of us enter the beach house just as the lycan finish cooking.
“Dinner’s ready!” Luna announces from the kitchen. “I hope you like chicken and rice.”
“I’d eat just about anything,” Topher answers, leaving the couch and heading toward the dining area.
“Our meal should be delivered soon,” Amelia says, pulling her phone from her pocket. “Actually, this says it’s been delivered.” She opens the front door and returns moments later, carrying a large styrofoam cooler.
“Goat’s blood?” Thorne asks, taking the box from her.
“Enough for all three of us. I had it shipped from home.”
“Yaaay,” I answer. The sarcasm in my voice is more than obvious.
“I got you covered,” Luna announces from the table. “I can spare a few liters.”
“No. I need to learn to drink this stuff. You’ll need your strength. Thank you for the offer, but it’s time for me to grow up.” I take the glass bottle from Amelia’s hands and take a deep breath before chugging it like a frat boy during spring break.
The blood hits my stomach, reminding me of mytime aboard Kragen’s ship when my two choices were rat blood or nothing. I cough, trying to hold it down.
“It’s an acquired taste,” Amelia says, copying my drinking style. “You’ll get used to it over time.”
“I can’t wait.” I smile, screwing the lid back on the bottle.
SIX
