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“Really. The medical staff haven’t been doing what he wants so he’s started getting angry at everyone, including the Board. Guess he ran out of free rides.”

“I guess he did,” I murmured.

“But, enough of talking about that twat, tell me more about this new guy you have in your life.”

“Have you ever just felt an instant connection with someone? That perhaps you didn’t fully understand, but felt it anyway?”

She let out a musical little laugh. “No. Are you high, Benji?”

Could you be high on just being around someone else? If so, then yes, I was definitely high on Damyr.

“Maybe,” I conceded. “He just speaks to a part of me that I didn’t know existed.”

“That sounds good, Benji. I’m glad. Just be safe. Now fuck off and enjoy Aruba, baby!”

“Yes, ma’am,” I giggled, unsettling Maurice. He looked at me with a narrowed eyes and I tickled his chin by way of apology.

“Love you, Benji baby.”

“Love you too, Maya.”

She blew me a kiss down the phone and then she was gone. No doubt back to having a good time wherever she was. I had expected that to bother me. That she could go out and have fun whereas I was imprisoned here in this gilded cage. But it didn’t. I realised that, for all my demanding to go home when I first got here, the fear and panic had settled the stronger this connection with Damyr had become.

But what did that actually mean? Damyr had mentioned eternity, but I couldn’t even comprehend what that would even look like. I was human, I didn’t get eternity. How was this even supposed to work between us? What would happen when I got older, and Damyr stayed the same? It terrified me to think that I was rushing into this, that I was jumping headfirst into whatever this was between us, but when life was so short, what was the point in waiting?

I had always made good, solid choices. I studied hard, worked hard, and when I got the chance, I partied hard. I just didn’t party that much. With my work at the hospital, I didn’t have time to do much of anything other than sleep. And it was usually Maya dragging my ass out so that I could let loose once in a while. But Damyr… he made me want to tell the world to get fucked. That I was jumping off the cliff and into the unknown, hoping that I didn’t crash and burn when I reached the bottom.

The door opened and Vlad walked into the room. Maurice immediately got to his feet, stretched and padded over to the giant vampire.

“So, you’re where my cat’s been sneaking off too,” I said as Maurice weaved between Vlad’s legs, begging for attention.

“I don’t know why,” he grumbled. “I hate cats.”

He leant down to stroke Maurice between his ears, getting my cat to purr in seconds as he hit his sweet spot.

“Sure you do,” I said with a chuckle. It was amusing to watch the giant teddy bear of a man pay attention to my fluff ball of a cat. Especially since the guy had a scowl on his face as he did it.

He huffed a breath and walked further into the room, Maurice hot on his heels.

“Any news?” I asked as Vlad sat down opposite me.

“Not yet.” Maurice jumped up and settled on his lap, much to his chagrin. He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like ‘goddamn furball’.

“Is it always like this? The waiting?”

“It can be,” Vlad replied.

I was a little on edge with how I felt about that. Damyr was off doing God knows what, while I sat at home patiently waiting, trying not to twiddle my thumbs and worry myself into an ulcer. What if he came back with a hole in his stomach again? What if this time, he didn’t come back at all. What then?

I ran my hand through my hair, tugging the strands a little to ground my thoughts and stop them from spiralling.

“Can I ask you something? If it’s too personal, don’t worry, I—”

“Benji,” Vlad cut in with a raised brow and a warm smile. “Ask me anything. If I don’t like the question, I will tell you.”

Right. Okay. “Um, how do you become a vampire?”

Vlad froze for a moment, his hand hovering above Maurice. “Why do you want to know?”