Page 16 of How to Stake a Vampire (Diary of a Reluctant Werewolf #2)

BITTEN

The drive to Bean Me Up had never felt longer.

Samuel gripped the steering wheel of the Bentley so hard I was surprised it hadn’t snapped.

Didi was muttering what sounded suspiciously like a protection spell in the back seat.

Barney stared out the window with glowing crimson eyes and an expression like thunder.

Gavin’s nostrils kept sparking alarmingly, to the point it was a miracle he hadn’t burned down the car and us with it.

Detective Johnson was squashed between the dragon newt and the vampire and looked like he was wondering what had possessed him to get inside the vehicle.

Bo was pressed against the floor by my legs with his paws over his head.

He was thankfully no longer howling.

“Everyone needs to calm down,” I said in a carefully controlled voice. “We don’t know how bad it is yet.”

“Your hands are shaking,” Detective Johnson muttered.

Bo peeked at me between his toes. “He’s right.”

He raised his head and cautiously licked my fingers.

I stroke his head and released a tremulous breath.

Adrenaline was buzzing through my veins like I’d been zapped by lightning and my blood felt like it was on fire.

“She’s been attacked by a four-hundred-year-old vampire,” Barney finally said grimly. “It’s bad.”

Acid burned the back of my throat when I met the vampire’s gaze in the rearview mirror.

The rational part of my brain knew he was right, but the rest of me was too busy trying not to let my white wolf powers flatten every supernatural being within a five-mile radius to fully process his argument.

I could feel them pressing against my skin like a living thing, demanding release.

The worried glances Samuel kept casting my way told me he’d never seen or felt anything like it before. I clenched my fists.

My wolf and I needed to have a serious conversation about a lot of things someday soon.

Bean Me Up’s windows were dark when we pulled up outside the building. The Open sign was switched off and the door was locked.

I tried the handle anyway before knocking and calling out Virgil’s name.

I could smell the vampire somewhere inside.

The door opened so fast I nearly fell forward.

Virgil’s pale face appeared in the gap, his pupils aglow with a red light and his normally placid expression replaced by something that looked distinctly unhinged.

“Thank God,” he breathed, opening the door wider. “She’s in the back room.” He swallowed convulsively. “I didn’t know who else to call.”

We crowded inside. Virgil stiffened a little at the sight of Barney.

Barney frowned at the younger vampire, like he was seeing something new. So could my wolf, but I was too worried about Ellie to give this more thought.

The coffee shop looked like a tornado had hit it. The tables were overturned, the espresso machine was leaking, and there were claw marks scored deep into the wooden counter.

My stomach twisted.

“What happened?” Samuel asked in a hard voice while Didi and Detective Johnson started examining the premises.

Virgil ran a shaky hand through his hair. “Like I told Abby, Ellie was practicing with the coffee machine after closing hours. It was around seven, maybe seven-fifteen?” His words came out in a rush. “I’d gone out to pick up some groceries. When I came back, there was this guy in the shop.”

Barney lowered his brows. “Describe him.”

“Tall, pale, expensive Victorian suit.” Virgil’s voice took on a bitter edge. “Ellie said he was asking about me. He wanted to know where I was and when I’d be back. Ellie told him I wasn’t available.”

A low growl escaped my throat.

Samuel put a restraining hand on my arm.

“Then what?” my alpha prompted.

“He said he could wait. Ordered a Type-O latte.” Virgil’s laugh was hollow.

“Ellie made him regular coffee with food coloring, like she always does. He took one sip of it and attacked her. That’s when I walked in.

” He shuddered. “I’ve never seen a vampire move that fast. He’d grabbed her by the throat and was telling her she was an insult to proper vampiric society. ”

My vision started turning red around the edges. “Where is she?”

“Back room. But Abby?—”

I was already moving. The others followed close behind as I pushed through the swinging doors that led to Bean Me Up’s storage area.

Ellie was huddled in the corner between two large coffee bean sacks, her knees drawn up to her chest. She looked fine at first glance. Then she turned her head toward us and I saw the two puncture wounds on her neck, dark and ugly against her pale skin.

My breath locked in my throat. I felt like I’d been punched in the gut.

“Abby?” My best friend’s voice was small and scared. “I think I’m in trouble.”

I made myself move and was across the room in two strides and kneeling beside her. Up close, I could see she was shaking badly and her pupils were dilated.

“It’s okay,” I said quietly, even though nothing about this was okay. “I’m here now.” I hugged her gently.

“He bit me,” she whispered against my chest, as if she couldn’t quite believe it.

Her hands flexed reflexively in my dress.

“I tried to explain that the coffee wasn’t supposed to taste like actual blood, but he just kept getting madder.

He said I was an affront to sacred traditions and needed to be punished. ”

Despite everything, I almost smiled.

Only Ellie would try to rationalize with an enraged vampire.

Bo came over and inserted his head between us with a whine. Ellie clutched his neck like a lifeline.

“How did you get away?” Barney asked quietly.

Ellie indicated the back door with a jerk of her chin. I stared.

It was hanging off its hinges.

“Virgil came back.” Ellie brightened slightly. “You should have seen him, Abby. He was like a completely different person.”

I followed her enthralled gaze to where Virgil hovered anxiously by the storage shelves.

“What did you do?” Detective Johnson asked warily.

“I, er—” Virgil paused and scratched his cheek, clearly embarrassed, “I may have thrown him through the door.”

Surprise quickened my pulse. Samuel frowned.

Barney’s eyebrows shot up. “You threw a four-hundred-year-old vampire through a reinforced steel door?”

“He was hurting Ellie,” Virgil said simply.

Barney’s face hardened. “It seems you’ve been hiding your true strength.”

“I wasn’t hiding it,” Virgil protested. He faltered.

“Okay, I was kinda hiding it. I don’t want my father to know I might be one of the most powerful vampires in Amberford.

” He shuddered. “Can you imagine what he’d do to drag me back to the family?

Besides, I don’t like violence.” His gaze found Ellie and his expression softened.

“But nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it.”

I was still wondering at the strange look in the vampire’s eyes when Bo sniffed Ellie’s hand and whined.

“You smell different,” he told her, lowering his head.

My stomach dropped. “Different how?”

Bo’s tail drooped. “Not human anymore different.”

Ellie froze.

A sick realization dawned on me. I stared at the puncture wounds on my best friend’s neck before twisting around and fixing Barney and Virgil with a panic-stricken stare.

“Is Ellie?—?!”

“Yes,” Barney confirmed grimly. “The transformation has already started.”

“Our venom works quickly on humans,” Virgil said uneasily.

“Transformation?” Ellie’s voice climbed an octave. “What transformation? Nobody said anything about a transformation!”

Didi grimaced. Gavin and Detective Johnson exchanged an awkward glance. Samuel looked like he wanted to punch something.

I gripped Ellie’s hands as she started hyperventilating.

“It’s going to be okay.” I swallowed heavily at the fear in my best friend’s eyes and tried not to let my own dread overwhelm me. I shot another look at Barney. “How long do we have?”

“It depends on the vampire’s age and power.” A muscle jumped in his cheek. “Ludvik’s old enough that the process should be complete within the next day or so.”

“Complete into what exactly?” Ellie asked in a small voice. She’d gone deathly still.

I could tell she’d finally grasped what we were talking about.

“A vampire,” Virgil said gently before I could reply. He came over and squatted beside us. “I’m sorry, Ellie. Once you’ve been bitten by someone of Ludvik’s caliber, there’s no going back.”

Ellie stared at him for a long moment.

“But—I’m a vegetarian!” she finally said, horrified.

Someone snorted. I cut my eyes to Detective Johnson.

“I’m sorry,” the werewolf said guiltily, sobering.

“He’s right,” Gavin said nervously. “I mean, whoever heard of a vegetarian vampire?”

Didi sighed. “Only in Amberford.”

Virgil touched Ellie’s shoulder. “I’m afraid you’re gonna have to kiss your old diet goodbye. You won’t be able to survive on salad alone.”

Tears pooled in Ellie’s eyes. She sniffed. “Even kale?”

Virgil shuddered. “Especially kale.”

“Do you think I’ll still be terrible at making vampire coffee?” Ellie quavered.

Detective Johnson snorted again. Samuel elbowed him viciously in the ribs.

Virgil gave the police officer a dirty look before addressing Ellie. “I wouldn’t get my hopes up. You’re pretty bad at making supernatural coffee in general.”

I found myself appreciating the vampire’s honesty.

“Great,” Ellie blubbered. “Just great.”

I pulled her into a hug again as she started sobbing and tried to ignore the fact that her skin already felt cooler than it should.

A thought came to my mind then. One that froze me in my tracks.

I felt a little faint as I looked at Barney and Virgil. “How much pain will she be in?”

Ellie stiffened in my hold.

Virgil bit his lip.

Barney’s expression grew solemn. “It will be significant. Almost as intense as your first full moon.”

My blood turned to ice. I remembered my first transformation all too well.

Ellie pulled back. Horror had widened her eyes.

“I—I don’t like pain,” she mumbled hoarsely.

Desperation clawed at my insides.

“There has to be something we can do,” I pleaded with the others.

Their expressions told me there wasn’t.

“I’m afraid she’ll have to weather this on her own,” Barney said firmly.

“I can give her my blood.”

My head snapped to Virgil.

The vampire looked strangely determined as he faced down our shocked stares.

Barney frowned. “There’s no evidence that will work. It’s been attempted many times before.”

Virgil jutted his chin. “There’s no harm trying.”

I swallowed, heart thumping hard. “You mean, giving Ellie your blood might help her through her transformation?”

“Yes.” An uneasy expression flashed in Virgil’s eyes. “It also means his hold on her won’t be as strong.”

I stilled. “His hold?”

“A newborn vampire is beholden to the one who transformed them,” Virgil admitted guiltily. “They will struggle to enact their own will for some time.” He looked at Ellie. “My blood may counteract that effect.”

Ellie had listened to all of this with mounting horror.

“Does that mean if I don’t drink your blood, I might become that—that monster’s slave?!” she asked.

“Yes.” Virgil hesitated. “It does mean I will hold a degree of influence over you. If you’d rather not?—”

“I’ll do it.”

I stared at Ellie. Her eyes held a light I’d never seen before.

“I’ll do it,” Ellie repeated, her voice steady.

“Are you sure?” Virgil asked quietly.

Ellie nodded. “I’d rather it be you.”