Page 114 of Burn Falls

“How often do I need to do that?”

Draven stood. “Make your phone call. I’ll heat up your blood, and then Athan and I will go over the basics with you. You won’t learn everything right away, but we’ll be with you every step of the way.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

I’d never known a female vampire before. Sure, I assumed they existed, but when I was in the coven, Renzo only turned men. And being on the run, I rarely ran into another vampire, and I’d never met one who was a woman. Now I was teaching my girlfriend the ins and outs of how to live as one.

Once the sun went down, Athan and I showed Calla how to run at her newly acquired speed while using her sight and senses to not hit anything. We also found a deer for her to feed from. I knew that it would take longer than one night for her to get used to being a vampire. It took me weeks and even months to learn to control my hunger. Granted, back then it wasn’t necessary to control it because we ran Chicago and at the time a lot of blood was being shed.

While Calla was in the shower, Athan and I sat out on my back deck, drinking our whiskey and unwinding from the night.

“We still need to deal with Renzo,” I stated.

Athan took a sip of his drink. “What can we do? You still want to leave and rejoin him?”

“No. I neverwantedto rejoin him. I wanted to keep Calla safe, and that’s still what needs to happen.”

“You think he’ll come here and take her?”

I took a swallow of my whiskey. “I don’t know.”

“What about his own daughter? What about Alastair and Betha? All of them have Renzo’s blood.”

“I know.” I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “But I don’t think he knows Miles is dead since Donovan never went back to him. I think we need to get everyone together and leave Burn Falls.”

“Alastair and Betha aren’t even here.”

“I know that, but when Renzo finds out that Miles is dead, I’m sure he’ll see if he had any children. Won’t take him long to find Al and Betha.”

“What do you even think he wants with them?”

I downed the rest of my drink. “Think about it, A. We’re strong because we carry his blood. So do they. But won’t they be stronger if they’re turned and double the amount of venom running through their veins?”

Athan leaned forward as well. “So you’re saying he wants to strengthen the coven?”

“Who knows what he wants to do. We didn’t even know he was in Russia. We have no clue what he’s been up to for the past eighty-six years, but I wouldn’t put it past him to want his family to be under his control.”

“You think if we go into hiding again that he’ll give up looking for them?”

“I think we need to try. Maybe we should grow our own army?”

“You want to start turning humans?”

“No.” I stood and leaned my ass against the railing and crossed my arms. “I think we should find all of the vampires out there not directly linked to Renzo and recruit them.”

Athan stood as well. “How would we do that?”

“For starters, we have Donovan, and I’m sure he knows more vampires than we do. Plus, you’re close with Peppe.”

“True, but Donovan probably only knows vamps in Renzo’s mob.”

“Maybe, but it’s a start.”

Since I’d never come across a female vampire before, I’d never had sex with one either.

Until now.

After stepping out of the shower, I walked into my connecting bedroom and smiled as I saw Calla peacefully sleeping. Her brown hair was fanned across the pillow, and she looked happy, which made me happy.