Page 11 of The Vampire’s Receptionist (Charmed Away Temp Agency #4)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Dorian ended up working late again, like he had often since taking this position.

It was similar to when he first started at Spellbound.

Lots of long hours to get the tech division up to where it needed to be.

Normally, he wouldn’t mind, but because of his difficulty with the prior night’s feeding, he struggled to keep up with the demands of his position.

He got a message from Harlem a few hours prior letting him know he was going to get an earful for skipping another feeding, but at the time, he hadn’t been able to reply back.

He felt awful for waking the kitsune, but he really needed to feed again.

If it had been a regular night, he could miss a day without issue, but it felt as though he was slowly starving himself, and he couldn’t skip tonight.

“Hello?” Harlem’s voice was groggy, and he winced as he climbed behind the wheel of his car.

“Hello, Harlem. I hate to bother you so late–”

Harlem growled, annoyance evident. He never liked being woken up. Dorian made a mental note to warn Harlem’s new lover if they ever got the chance to meet. He’d met a few of Harlem’s dates before but not many. Most felt uncomfortable meeting him.

“I know. I’m sorry. I wish I could push it until tomorrow, but–”

“Just hurry up,” he grumbled. “You have a spare key. If I’m sleeping, don’t wake me. You’ve got full permission to take what you need and go.”

Dorian was glad Harlem couldn’t see his face, or he’d see the grimace.

He didn't like the idea of feeding on an unconscious person, even if he had permission. It felt wrong, like he was taking advantage. He didn’t have room to argue right now, though.

Had he prioritized his health, he would have left work sooner to meet with Harlem and feed normally.

Dealing with the discomfort was his punishment for not leaving on time.

From the soft snores coming from the other line, he knew Harlem had already fallen back asleep. He hung up the phone instead of trying to wake him to continue the conversation, despite wishing he had someone to talk to. He was exhausted, and it worried him a little driving like that.

He managed to make it there safely and used his key to enter Harlem’s apartment.

His feeder was well paid and liked to spoil himself with nice things.

Dorian could admit to himself that he was partially to blame for that, since he was the one who found the apartment for him and he often brought the man gifts on special occasions.

The man literally kept him alive by feeding him.

It felt only fair to show his appreciation.

He’d need to get Harlem a gift as an apology for the trouble he was causing him lately.

He found Harlem sprawled across his bed, his phone near his face on the comforter, mouth wide open as he snored.

With the way he was sprawled, his wrist was easily within reach.

Dorian’s stomach tightened with discomfort, but he was careful not to wake his feeder as he kneeled beside the bed and gently took his wrist. It was when he let his fangs descend that the churning feeling from the night before reappeared.

He pulled away, frowning. It almost felt like he was going to be sick just thinking of feeding from Harlem.

He’d never been sick in his life. He’d been alive several millennia and never had this problem before. What was going on?

He forced himself to ignore the churning, carefully biting into Harlem’s wrist. His feeder sighed, and a smile overtook his face for a moment before he started snoring again.

But after only a few mouthfuls, Dorian couldn’t continue.

It was taking everything in his power to keep down what little he’d taken.

He swiped his tongue along the punctures to close the wound and sat heavily on the floor, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths until he felt he could stand without vomiting.

His body shook from the effort, and he felt a little clammy, too.

Something was definitely wrong. Hopefully, Kian had some kind of answer for him. Because if not, he wasn’t sure what would happen to him.

Kian was beginning to think Dorian was some kind of masochist. It was the only thing that would explain the way he looked right now.

The circles under his eyes would make pandas jealous, and he looked as pale as the vampires in those human stories he’d read about once.

The ones who couldn’t walk in the sunlight.

Which was just ridiculous and made him laugh out loud when he read about it.

He made a bet with himself that some vampire told them that so they could walk among them without anyone getting suspicious.

It wasn’t how vampires normally looked, and it wasn’t how Dorian looked in any of the pictures he’d seen of the man online. His normal golden tint to his skin was gone and replaced with a sickly pallor. It was clear he needed to feed. So why the hell wasn’t he?

Kian could only watch him struggle for so long before he had to say something.

It’d been a week since he started here, and it was only getting worse.

He watched the vampire trudge back to his office with his sixth cup of coffee, despite the fact that it wasn’t even lunch yet and couldn’t take it anymore.

Pushing to his feet, he followed Dorian into his office, closing the door behind him.

“Alright, I’ve watched you struggling long enough. Why the hell are you ignoring your feeding this time? You look ready to keel over.”

Dorian didn’t even look up. He sat blankly behind his desk, staring at his coffee cup like it had all the answers to the universe under its dark depths.

Kian sighed heavily.“What’s your feeder’s phone number? I’ll bring him here to you instead.”

No answer. It started to worry him that Dorian wouldn’t even look up.

“Dorian?”

He came around the desk, calling the vampire’s name, but he got no response.

When he took Dorian’s chin in his hand, Dorian’s skin was clammy, and he didn’t put in any effort to fight the hold as Kian tipped his head so he could look at him.

His eyes were glazed over, and with a whispered spell, Kian sucked in a sharp breath.

The vampire was not just unwell, he was starving.

“Dorian. You need to see your feeder. Do you still have one? Is that why you haven’t been feeding?

” That was the most common reason that he needed to do an emergency blood donation when he was a paramedic.

The vampire’s feeder was either unavailable or quit, and they hadn’t found a replacement.

Given Dorian’s position in the company, he didn't think it would be that hard to find someone new, though. He had the money to afford it.

Dorian barely blinked and never responded to Kian’s words. When Kian released him, his gaze dropped back to his coffee cup. He didn't move to touch it or drink it. He just stared at it.

Kian was figuring out how to call the CEO, since he figured the man knew Dorian well enough to know who his feeder was, when the cell phone on his desk rang. Dorian didn’t even look at it. Edging around his chair, Kian took up the phone, answering it with a swipe of his thumb.

“Hello?”

“... Hello? Who is this? Why are you answering Dorian’s phone?”

He didn’t recognize the voice, but he didn’t expect to. He only hoped whoever was calling knew Dorian personally and could help him.

“I’m his receptionist. Are you friends with him? I need to figure out who his feeder is.”

“I’m his feeder,” the voice answered with a worried tone. “I haven’t seen him in a few days, and I was calling to see what was happening. What’s going on? Is he okay?”

So he was skipping meals then. In which case, he was an idiot, and Kian didn’t feel the least bit guilty for undermining him. “No, not really. He’s basically a zombie. Where are you? I can portal you here, and you can feed him. He can’t keep ignoring it.”

“No, he really can’t,” the voice agreed, exasperated. “Uh, how does portaling work, exactly? Should I go somewhere you recognize?”

That was a demon thing, needing to know where they were going first before teleporting. Fae weren’t restricted like that.

“An address works. How fast can I come get you?”

“Right away. I’m actually not that far; at a coffee shop a few blocks away. I was meeting someone– You know what, nevermind. Not important. I’ll text an address to Dorian’s phone once I figure it out and wait for you outside. Sounds good?”

He agreed and hung up, waiting impatiently for the text that came a minute later.

With a quick look at a map, he summoned a portal in the alley next to the shop, just so he didn’t accidentally end up portaling several people into Dorian’s office who were too busy looking at their phones to look up in time to avoid it.

He stepped through and saw a kitsune standing nearby, staring worriedly at his phone.

“Are you Dorian’s feeder?” he asked.

The kitsune spun around, green eyes wide. “Uh, yes. That’s me. I’m Harlem.”

Kian waved him closer and gestured to the portal behind him. “This will bring us back to his office. You might need to force feed him. He seems out of it.”

Thankfully, Harlem didn’t hesitate before stepping through, a look of determination on his face. Kian followed him, closing the portal behind him. Dorian hadn’t moved since he left, still staring at his coffee with that glazed expression. Harlem made a noise of distress, hurrying to Dorian’s side.

Knowing how private Dorian was about his feedings, Kian gestured halfheartedly toward the door. “I’ll be in the hallway in case you need me.”

The thought of walking away while Dorian was struggling was abhorrent, but he did it anyway, because it was what he assumed the vampire would want.

Even though his paramedic instincts told him to stay and fix the problem.

He fixed it by getting Dorian’s feeder. There wasn’t anything else he could do.