Page 3 of Making Haven (Haven #1)

Chapter Three

Devin

As Lawrence picks me up and begins to run once more, I can’t decide if I’m terrified, disgusted, or horny. Maybe it’s a combination of all three. I’m going to blame the emotions flooding through me from the shock of almost meeting my death, because nothing else makes sense.

‘What other choice do you have’ continues to play inside my head, over and over.

The choice to let Lawrence pick me up and whisk me away was easy.

I was in a life or death situation and in that split second, it was easy to trust him.

The alternative was to fight. I’m not a betting man but if I was, it was easy to see I’d be betting against myself.

The situation was clear. If I had stayed, I would be dead right now.

I’m alive, but at what cost?

What the fuck am I going to owe this guy?

I tuck my face under his chin again as he runs, this time doing my best not to toss up my dinner as he moves at a speed that boggles my mind.

When he’d rescued me, he’d hissed at that werezombie, causing it to pause in its pursuit of me.

His teeth looked sharp yet the shinest white I’ve ever seen.

His eyes are piercing blue that seem to be able to see into my soul.

His hair is straight, shaggy around his forehead like he cuts it haphazardly himself, and white as marble.

Then he’d ripped the thing’s head clean off its shoulders.

I’ve never seen strength like that, especially from someone who is shorter than me with a willowy, thin build.

If that show of strength didn’t make it obvious enough, the speed with which he’s running is enough to tell me he’s not human.

Which begs the question, what the fuck is this guy? And why the fuck did he save me?

As I come down from the adrenaline rush of surviving a near death experience, my body flags.

The only thing keeping me from falling asleep against Lawrence’s chest is the fact that I have to hold onto him for dear life.

His chest is covered in blood and I’m careful to keep my face away from those parts.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if I was saved only to get myself turned into a zombie because I accidentally licked blood from someone’s shirt?

I’m not sure how long we travel before Lawrence’s steps are finally slowing down. Once he’s down to a leisurely walk, he clears his throat.

“We’re here.”

“Where’s here?”

“My home.” Lawrence carefully puts me down but doesn’t go far, keeping an arm around my shoulders to help me walk.

I look around, finding a giant gate that encompasses a community on top of a hill.

It looks like every horror movie I’ve ever seen where a little family moves into a haunted house before they’re all killed by some demon or ghost.

“Homey,” I murmur as I look around.

Lawrence snorts, shaking his head. “I don’t really have visitors so you’ll have to forgive if it’s not the most welcoming sight.”

“S’fine.”

Lawrence opens up the gate and helps shuffle me through before turning back and locking up once more.

Then we begin walking up the road towards the houses.

One of them is clearly his while the rest look a tad more rundown, like he hasn’t gotten around to cleaning them up.

It’s a ghost town which only adds to that eerie feeling.

“So,” I say, looking over at Lawrence, “what the hell are you?”

“Seems kinda rude to ask that,” he says, raising his brow, but I can tell he finds me amusing rather than off-putting. “What makes you think I’m not just a superhuman who’s evolved thanks to this shithole world we live in?”

I roll my eyes, turning back to the road in front of us. “Yeah, okay. And I’m the President of the United States and just happen to be out here in the middle of nowhere.”

“Lovely to meet you, Mr. President. Now that I have you here, I have a few choice words about this whole ‘let’s experiment on making super soldiers’ thing because let me tell you, it’s backfired spectacularly.”

I don’t trust this guy as far as I can throw him, but for the moment, I feel my shoulders relax ever so slightly. “So really,” I say again, “what are you?”

I’m glad the moon is out, shining a bit of light onto everything or this place would be even creepier.

We continue up the road and I notice a lush garden outside the one house that looks lived in.

It’s full of veggies, flowers, and a bush that looks like a raspberry bush.

My mouth waters. It’s been so long since I’ve had something fresh to eat, something that didn’t come from a can I’d found in an abandoned building.

That reminds me of the carrot still clutched in my hand. It must have come straight from his garden. Now that I don’t feel like my stomach is going to upheave itself, I take a tentative bite.

The crunch sounds between us. The guy gives me the smallest smile as he watches me eat. It’s so fresh. I could cry with how good this carrot tastes. It’s been two years since I had a fresh veggie and I think I had forgotten how great they can be.

Maybe being rescued by this guy isn’t so bad. Maybe whatever he wants from me will be worth it. Maybe.

“I’m a vampire.”

My body locks up with tension and I stumble, hissing through my teeth as pain lances through my leg.

“Fuck,” I grit out, warring with myself on whether or not I can take a fucking vampire on.

The answer is probably no, but my sword is sharp.

If I had the upper hand of surprise, I could probably depart his head from his shoulders.

That feeling of ‘hey, maybe this won’t be so bad’ flees in record time. I feel my walls coming up around me. I have to look out for myself. I have to keep myself safe.

“Before you reach for that pretty sword of yours, just know I’m not going to hurt you.”

I snort. “And I should just take you at your word?”

“If I wanted you dead, I would have left you to the zere.”

I pause for a moment. “Zere?”

“Yeah. You know, that zombie werewolf. Zere.”

“That’s the dumbest name I’ve ever heard in my entire life and I used to play MMO’s with teenagers before all of this.”

“What’s an MMO?”

I groan deep in my throat, pinching the bridge of my nose with my good hand, the one not holding my half eaten, forgotten carrot. “That doesn’t matter. We’re getting off topic.”

“Right. The topic of my vampirism and whether or not I’m going to eat you. Let’s get back to that.”

“That’s the perfect reason for you to save me,” I say, gesturing towards myself. “There’s no way you’re out here feasting on just anyone. You needed a handsome blood bag at your disposal and saw an opportunity when I fell from that balcony!”

“You caught me. I was out looking for a handsome human to lure back to my home. Damn. Guess I’ll just have to drain you dry now before you can figure anything out about me,” he says, his voice high pitched and dramatic, dripping with sarcasm.

He’s let his fangs drop down and I can’t stop staring at them.

“Though my type is usually built like a brick house with fire orange hair,” he sighs, “but I guess you’ll have to do since pickings are so slim these days. ”

“I hate you,” I say through clenched teeth. “I’m sleeping with my sword ready and if you come close to me with those teeth, I’ll slice your head clean off.”

“Deal,” he says with a grin that shows off his sharp fangs. I swallow thickly, once again wondering if I’m feeling terrified, disgusted, or horny. Definitely not the last thing, right? Right. Yeah, that’d be weird. Must be adrenaline drop or something.

“The moment my leg is better I’m leaving here.”

“Sounds good. I won’t be stopping you. Why the hell would I want a prickly bastard like you around? I’d rather just be alone again, thank you very much.”

“Good. Glad we got that settled.”

We finish our trek to his house and he opens the door, shuffling me inside. The place is warm and clearly lived in. I start limping through the hallway when Lawrence clears his throat. I turn back with a glare.

“Shoes,” he says, nodding at the mat next to the door.

“Are you fucking serious?”

Lawrence crosses his arms over his chest. “Hey! We might be in the literal end of the world but that’s no reason to be disgusting inside my home. I’m not letting you track shit through my house.”

“Fine,” I say, toeing off my shoes and flinging them in his direction.

My leg fucking aches, blinding me with pain, but it was worth it for his reaction.

He sputters, catching them in mid air before placing them on the mat.

I hear him murmur about ungrateful assholes but that only makes me smile.

Yep, the shock really is doing a number on me, that’s the only reason for the way my chest feels weirdly warm at his reaction.

With one arm pressed against the wall to help me stay balanced, I hobble into the living room.

It’s a nice little space with a long couch that rests against the wall furthest from the window.

The window has a dark, black-out curtain which I suppose makes sense since the house owner happens to be a vampire.

I’m about to flop down onto the couch when Lawrence walks into the room. “Before you sit down, I’ve gotta ask you to wash up.”

I look down at myself. “What? Why? I’m actually fairly clean right now.”

“You stink,” he says bluntly.

“I’ll have you know I just found new deodorant in that last place! I smell fine!”

“Can you at least put some clean clothes on? I don’t want to be smelling you in my couch cushions after you leave.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” I hiss out, pulling my pack from my back and setting it onto the floor. “Fine. Fucking fine. Give me some privacy while I change into some clean clothes. You’re worse than my fucking mother with all this nagging.”

Lawrence’s lips curl up into a smirk of amusement before he’s moving out of the room.

As carefully as I can with my leg throbbing in pain, I get out of my clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor just to spite Lawrence.

There’s something a bit exhilarating about annoying someone who could most definitely murder me without much of a fight.

Do I have a danger kink or something? Maybe the fact that he’s a vampire just hasn’t hit me yet.

Maybe tomorrow morning I’m going to wake up and freak the fuck out, but for now, I’m just too fucking tired to truly think about this entire situation I’ve found myself in.

I slip into a pair of sweatpants and one of the t-shirts I found yesterday. Or was that still today? Jesus, what time is it? So much has happened tonight that I can barely wrap my mind around it. A yawn slips from my lips as I sit down on Lawrence’s couch. It’s so fucking plush and comfortable.

God, I want to hate this guy. Why is he living here in luxury while I’ve been fighting for my life for the past two years? What must it be like to be strong enough to defend yourself without issue?

No, I refuse to be jealous of a vampire. I refuse.

Instead, I’ll grit my teeth and hang on to this distrust and hatred. It’s gotten me through life this far. This lonely existence where I keep everything at arm’s length is better than the alternative.

“Here we go,” Lawrence says as he steps back into the room, his voice light and sing-songy. “I’ve got a couple pillows, one for your head and one for you to elevate your leg, and then I’ve also got some blankets.”

“Wow, a proper slumber party,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him. “What next? We’ll braid each other’s hair?”

“You’re such an ass,” he murmurs, shaking his head at me. “I still don’t even know your name.”

He tosses the blankets and pillows at me before stepping away, turning his back to me.

My fingers twitch as I look down at my sword.

A moment passes and I look away. He hasn’t done anything to warrant a sword through his spine.

I’m not gonna be a monster like so many other people I’ve met in the past.

I think about not telling him. In the end, I’m not sure what that would actually accomplish other than me being a stubborn ass. “Devin,” I tell him without even looking in his direction.

“My room is down the hall. That’s where I’ll be if you need me.

The sun is gonna be coming up soon and I’d prefer if you kept the windows covered for very obvious reasons.

There’s some food in the kitchen if you need it but I have a feeling you’re gonna be sleeping the day away after tonight.

” He looks over his shoulder, nodding towards my leg. “How’s the leg?”

“Hurts like hell.”

He pulls a bottle from his pocket, tossing it over towards me. “It’s all I’ve got here, but hopefully it’ll take the edge off so you can sleep.”

I stare down at the bottle of pills in my hand for a long moment before I finally force words from my throat, almost choking on them. “Thank you.” But when I look up, Lawrence is already gone.

After swallowing two pills dry, I flop down on the couch. In only a matter of moments, I’m asleep.