Page 4 of A Taste of Bliss

That’s not where our differences stop, either.

I make my way down the hallway to the procedure room. When I open the door, I’m reminded of just how different we are. Where I have light brown hair, slightly wavy, she has long, straight almost black hair that she’s never once dyed. She’s tall and leggy where I’m shorter and curvy.

Most people never guess that we’re related.

My sister is scrolling her phone, one hand gripping one of those squishy stress balls. A needle connected to a long plastic tube is taped to her arm, thick red liquid flowing into a machine that collects it. Her expression is unreadable as her eyes lift to mine.

“Thought I felt you walk in,” she mutters, looking to the side. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her—two months, maybe? Liz makes us have family dinners every so often, but they’ve been growing further and further apart.

“I was stopping by to see Liz,” I say, tentatively taking a step inside the cozy but sterile room. “I’m glad I caught you, though.”

She glances at me and back to the wall. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” I say, nodding, even though she’s not looking at me. “My ceremony is in a couple days. I was hoping you’d be able to make it.” I pull up a seat on a nearby stool. “I’m kind of freaking out about it,” I add, hoping she’ll take the bait and look at me.

It works. Her eyes meet mine and she frowns. “Why? Why are you nervous, I mean.”

I let a smile pull at my lips. “What if I meet him and he doesn’t like me? Or what if I don’t like him? What if he’s a douche?” My voice falls to a whisper on the last question. “What if I never find him?”

She jumps up out of her chair, carelessly ripping out the needle from her arm and tossing it aside. Standing in front of me, she places her hands firmly on my shoulders. Amelia pins me with her super serious blue eyes and gives me a little shake. “Literally none of that is going to happen.”

I try to let her words comfort me. I want to believe her.

But somewhere in the depths of my mind there’s a voice saying it’s going to be so much worse than I fear.

CHAPTER TWO

PISCES

A splatterof rain falls on my cheek. I tug my hood down over my forehead instead of stepping further back into the alcove my friends and I are waiting in.

“Any sign of him yet?” Shaun asks in his usual matter-of-fact way. Especially at times like this, he’s all business.

“Nope,” I say, popping the “p” and glancing over at him with a brow raised. Somehow, despite the dismal weather, not a single strand of his short golden blonde hair is out of place. “How long are we going to wait?”

It’s already getting light out and we’ve waited for this vamp almost all night.

Evan shifts his position on the ground, switching which leg he has extended out in front of him. He flicks his lighter open, letting the little flame dance. As a fire elemental, he can still wield the other elements, but fire is his strongest and flame or heat is the only way he can recharge his magic. “You do have a busy day tomorrow, mate.”

Shaun ignores him, glancing at his watch. “Marcus said there’s been a turned vampire feeding in this alleyway for the past three nights. He’ll show.”

“Maybe he’s gorged himself and is still sleeping it off,” Benny supplies, running a hand casually through his dark brown waves. He sits on crates stacked along the back wall of the alcove. “That’s what happened to me when I turned.”

Evan and Shaun exchange a look. “We know,” Evan responds with a small smirk. Benny huffs out a breath and returns to watching the alley in the direction behind me. I follow suit, trying to keep my mind off tomorrow—well, later today.

I slow my breathing, attempting to check in with my friends’ emotions. Shaun and Evan are fairly unreadable, but that’s normal. I think they’ve developed ways of shielding me out. But Benny is an open book. Thankfully, he’s peaceful, with just a hint of anticipation. Very at odds with the adrenaline poised to run its course through my veins. My fingers twitch with the desire to move across piano keys in an effort to dispel the excess energy. But I have a job to do, so I clench them firmly at my sides.

“Incoming,” I say, spotting two women attempting to walk down the cobblestone alley in high heels. They look hungover and tired from a night of partying. Perfect prey for a ravenous vampire.

The others follow my gaze. Evan snaps his lighter shut, getting to his feet and coming to stand next to me. He’s an inch taller than me when we’re both wearing shoes, since he always opts for boots with a bit of a platform. As if being six five isn’t tall enough.

We barely have enough time to react when a large body jumps off the fire escape of the building across from us, slamming into one of the women, knocking the other over in the process. It’s a mix of screams from the women and hungry shrieks from the vampire as he bites into the neck of the blonde one. Her friend gets to her feet, screaming her head off.

But then Shaun is there, ripping the vamp off the blonde and throwing him to the ground in front of Evan, who makes a disgusted face. “Stars, do you think he’s high?”

My attention snags on the vampire’s face. His eyes are bloodshot, and there’s blood and gore caked all over him. He snarls up at Evan, crouching, readying to attack again.

I can’t help but allow my siren teeth to slide out of my gums. It’s a reaction to the blood and the violence. The urge to rip into someone is strong.