Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

NICHOLAS

A s if I’d use her as a blood bag—her words, not mine—or meals on wheels. That would be reckless, not to mention insulting. It wasn’t that I couldn’t control myself; I could. Contrary to popular belief, most vampires don’t drain their victims for sport or sustenance unless they’re starving. Only the truly twisted indulge in that sort of barbarity.

I’d spent decades fighting to clean up that mess—breaking up those grotesque “parties” and ensuring humans were safe from my kind. And what did I get for it? Gratitude? No. Just stakes aimed at my heart and a never-ending supply of pitchforks. Humans were predictable like that, lumping all vampires into one bloody stereotype.

Father had warned me about this long ago. “Humans will never trust us, Nicholas. They’ve hunted us, witches, shifters and other monsters for centuries. They aren’t open-minded creatures.” And after nearly a hundred years of trying to prove him wrong, here I was, summarily exhausted and, admittedly, a little disillusioned.

The letter from my mother had been both a relief and a burden. I wasn’t eager to face Father, admit he’d been right, or endure the suffocating politics of the clan or Grimm Mawr. But I needed peace, even if I had to swallow my pride to find it.

Then there was Holly Winters, who complicated everything. Sweet, na?ve Holly, who stubbornly refused to be my blood companion or servant. Without that bond, my protection over her would only go so far when we reached my family’s domain. She’d be fair game. The idea of her in Grimm Mawr, surrounded by predators who wouldn’t hesitate to claim her… no. I’d have to send her away before we arrived. But first, I’d keep my promise and make sure she was safe with a new identity.

When we finally reached the motel, the first rays of sunlight were already threatening the horizon. Too close. December’s short days and weak sun offered some grace, but not enough. Holly stayed obediently in the room, as I’d commanded, while I succumbed to the pull of daylight.

Even in my sleep, I was aware of her. The soft hum of her voice as she sang along to holiday music on the television. The scent of her—warm and human—permeating the space. She didn’t leave the room, proving she wasn’t as reckless as most humans I’d encountered. Small blessings.

When the sun finally set, I woke to find her hovering over me, her blue eyes wide and curious. Before I could speak, she screamed and bolted to the other bed.

“What were you looking at?” I demanded, sitting up slowly.

Her cheeks flushed, and she stammered, “I-I was just wondering when you’d wake up. The sun went down hours ago, and you hadn’t moved.”

I arched a brow. “The sun hasn’t fully set. My body knows exactly when it rises and falls. I wake and sleep accordingly.”

She tilted her head like an inquisitive bird. “So you can’t control it? Like… narcolepsy?”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “It’s not an illness. It’s biology. And I don’t have to sleep.”

She cocked her head. “You can stay awake?”

“We require sleep much like you do. But when the sun rises and sets, it forces our body into a form of hibernation to protect us from the harmful effects of the sun, though we do not need to sleep during our hibernation. Many of our kind choose to sleep. It’s a process, similar to your… monthly cycle, only daily.”

Her nose wrinkled in disgust. “Okay, let’s not talk about that. You’re my boss. That’s weird.”

“I’m not your boss,” I corrected. “You’re my companion.”

“Nor your blood bank,” she shot back. “You hired me to drive, and my payment is a new identity. Boss. Employee.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” I muttered, standing and stretching.

She perked up, grabbing a notepad and a map. “Speaking of driving, I planned our route for tonight! Did you know there’s a cute little town on the way with the best Christmas market? I thought we could stop there for the day and check it out.”

I stared at her, dumbfounded. “I’m not on a Christmas tour. I need to get home before Yule.” Hell, I didn’t even like Christmas.

“It’s on the way,” she insisted. “No detours. I even reserved a room.” She beamed at me as if this plan was the pinnacle of genius.

I snatched the paper from her hands, scanning the route. My jaw tightened, but I couldn’t deny the logic. “It’ll do. A better route than I had.”

Her grin widened. “Great! I thought avoiding major cities would make it harder for anyone to follow us. Less populated areas are easier to keep an eye on, right?”

I sighed. “Easier to see them, yes. Also easier for them to ambush us without witnesses.”

Her smile faltered, and guilt pricked at me, though I didn’t understand why. “But,” I added, “I prefer it to over-crowded cities. It’s a good plan.”

Her face lit up again, and the warmth of her joy hit me square in the chest. Damn it.

“Let’s go,” she chirped. “We’ve got a lot of road ahead of us.”

Holly

I hummed along with the cheery tune of "Jingle Bells" playing in the gas station as I wandered the aisles in search of road trip snacks. So many choices, so little time. When I’d asked Nicholas what he wanted, he’d just stared at me with that flat, unnerving look of his. The kind that made me think he might be sizing up my carotid artery. Not that I was about to stick around and find out. I’d slapped my hands over my neck and hurried inside before he could say anything. Did vampires even eat?

Near the counter, a display of scarves caught my eye—black and gold, with Pittsburgh logos plastered across them. Hockey? Football? I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. I fingered the fabric, trying to ignore the pang of loss that stabbed at me.

I missed my Santa-and-reindeer scarf. I still had the pieces, but fixing it felt impossible. Grandma had knit that scarf for me, my last tangible connection to her, and now it was ruined. Better shredded wool than my throat, sure, but it still stung.

Lately, though, keeping my neck covered felt less like a comfort and more like a necessity. Nicholas had this way of looking at me, intense and focused, and I couldn’t help but wonder: if he bit me, would it hurt? Or would it be like those steamy vampire romance novels where it was… well, pleasurable?

I snatched one of the scarves off the display. Nope. Not going there. This was a job, and mixing business with pleasure was the quickest way to get myself killed—or worse. Decision made, I marched to the counter, paid for my scarf and snacks, and headed outside.

My arms were full of junk food and the ridiculous scarf as I crossed the brightly lit space between the pumps. That was when I felt it. Something hard pressed into my side, and I froze. A hand grabbed my arm, firm and unyielding.

“We’re going to take this nice and slow, sweetheart. Got it?” a dark voice rasped in my ear, low and menacing. “No screaming, no calling for help. You don’t want anyone else to die because of you, do you?”

I shook my head, numb. My hands clutched tighter around the snacks and the scarf as my eyes darted around. A young woman pumped gas a few feet away, a car seat visible in her back seat. A baby. Another man was at his truck, the back covered in bumper stickers for three kids, a dog, and a wife. They had people who needed them.

Then I looked for Nicholas. He was at the next pump over, putting the nozzle away. Could vampires survive gunshots? I didn’t want to find out. He had a complicated relationship with his family, sure, but at least he had one. People who’d miss him.

Me? I had no one. No one would even notice if I disappeared. The only thing I could do now was keep the peace and save the others.

I swallowed hard and whispered, “Okay.”

“Wise decision.” The man’s grip on me tightened as he began moving me toward the side of the building, away from the lights and cameras. The shadows swallowed us, and my shoulders slumped as I resigned myself to whatever was about to happen.

Then his grip slackened, just enough that I dared to turn my head.

Nicholas wasn’t by the pumps anymore. Where was he? Had he gone back to the car?

Before I could say a word, a blur of movement caught my eye. Suddenly, my attacker was slammed against the wall, Nicholas’s hand pinning him effortlessly. His face was inches from the man’s, his fangs gleaming in the dim light.

“So kind of you to bring me dinner, Holly,” Nicholas said, his voice smooth and cold. “I was starving.”

Before I could even process what was happening, Nicholas sank his teeth into the man’s neck. The man jerked and flailed, but he couldn’t make a sound. Nicholas was too strong, too fast. When he finally pulled back, the man’s body slumped, and with one sharp twist, Nicholas snapped his neck. The sickening crack echoed in the quiet night.

Nicholas tossed the body into a nearby dumpster like it was trash and turned back to me, brushing nonexistent dust from his shirt. His expression was unreadable, except for a flicker of something… predatory.

“Did you get everything you needed?” he asked, his tone calm, almost casual, as if we hadn’t just crossed into full horror movie territory.

My hands shook as I clutched the stupid scarf. “Y-yeah. Everything.”