Chapter eighteen

18; Caden

He seemed surprised upon hearing my name and I wondered if it was the fact that my last name was Russian or there was another reason.

“My parents were Russian,” I said, even though He hadn’t asked me.

I moved to the window where I could overlook the city and the next words I heard from him made me realize how complicated I had made things be.

“You’re related to Xander?”

Xander probably approached him, knowing that he was a witch and my roommate. Knowing my brother, he was up to no good. He was trying me!

“That’s exactly why I told you to avoid him, he’s up to no good, look, you have to trust me.”

He began to laugh and I sighed. He wasn’t taking me serious. He thought that this was some sort of joke.

“I know what this is. It’s some kind of feud between brothers. Xander said he doesn’t know where the rest of his family are and you here do not seem to like him. How interesting.”

I knew that Xander must’ve charmed his way to him and nothing I do or say could change the opinion he had of Xander or me.

“Goodnight,” I said as I plopped back into the pillow, falling into a deep sleep.

Tomorrow, I would train the girl. It wasn’t the first time I was cleaning up Xander’s mess and it wasn’t the first time he was trying to make my life complicated.

Xander had done the same with Davis, becoming friends and ultimately leading him to his downfall. I couldn’t let that happen again.

Max could be as stubborn as he wanted, but I would speak to Xander and get him to stay away, no matter what it took.

A long time ago, Xander had gone to a party and turned everyone in there to a vampire. That wasn’t the problem.

The problem came when he has left, leaving in his wake, an army of inexperienced, hungry vampires who had massscred a whole town.

That had brought vampire hunters after us and I had only survived because of her. It was partially the reason I was in love with her.

I woke up later that night. Max was asleep, his face turned to me and I was tempted to trace the outline of his face. He had pink and soft lips and for a man, he was too beautiful.

I almost laughed. What the hell was I thinking! It has been decades since I’d been with a woman, that was probably why I was having such weird thoughts like kissing my roommate.

Ever since the incident, I hadn’t been with anyone and even found it hard to look at other women.

When I finally woke up , the next morning, I snuck Billie out of the dorm room.

When I questioned her to know if she remembered anything, I found out that she hadn’t. She didn’t know who had sired her.

I decided that she had a lot to learn and the best way to train her would be at night.

It was as though time ran that day as night came too quickly. The night air was sharp against my skin as I led Billie out of the school grounds.

It was a cold night and I was glad that vampires had the body that suited that weather.

She stated it as well as she stumbled behind me, trying to keep up, her movements clumsy and unsteady like a newborn fawn. Of course, that’s what she was now, a newborn vampire, completely clueless about the world she’d been thrust into.

“Keep up,” I snapped, not bothering to glance back at her. “You’re not some delicate flower anymore. You’ve got the strength to move faster than this.”

“You seem like you’re running but also walking at the same time!” She whined and I halted in my tracks. If she thought I was going to baby her, she was wrong.

“Walk! You either keep up or you die!”

She mumbled something under her breath, too soft for me to hear, but I didn’t care enough to ask her to repeat it. I was only doing this because I couldn’t leave her to wander around aimlessly and draw attention. The last thing I needed was the school crawling with hunters because she couldn’t keep herself under control.

I had come to find a new beginning here, a fresh start and I wasn’t about to let my brother ruin that for me.

We stopped in a clearing near the woods, far enough from prying eyes. I turned to face her, crossing my arms over my chest. “Alright, listen up, Billie. If you’re going to survive, you need to learn how to control your hunger. The thirst is going to feel unbearable at first, but if you give in too easily, you’ll end up as nothing more than a mindless monster.”

Her wide, frightened eyes stared back at me. “I… I don’t want to hurt anyone,” she stammered.

I rolled my eyes. “You don’t have much of a choice, sweetheart. You’re a vampire now and whether you like it or not, you’re going to be hurting a lot of people. Feeding is not optional, it’s necessary. But there’s a way to do it without leaving a trail of corpses behind you. Lucky for you, I’m feeling generous enough to show you how.”

She looked down, hugging herself. “I don’t think I can do this…”

“Don’t think,” I said sharply. “Thinking gets you killed. Or worse, it gets the people around you killed. If you hesitate, if you falter, you’ll lose control. And trust me, that’s not a pretty sight.”

I stepped closer, narrowing my eyes at her. “The key is moderation. Take what you need and nothing more. Humans are resilient; they’ll recover from a little blood loss. But if you drain them dry, you’ll have a lot more than guilt to deal with. You’ll have hunters on your tail and mine, for that matter.”

She nodded hesitantly, her hands trembling. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Alright, enough with the scared little rabbit act. Let’s find you a target.”

I led her back toward the edge of town, where the streets were quieter but not completely deserted. A lone man was walking down the sidewalk, his head buried in his phone.

“There,” I said, gesturing toward him. “That’s your target. Go.”

Her eyes widened in horror. “I can’t just—”

“Yes, you can,” I interrupted. “And you will. You’re not going to kill him; you’re just going to take a little. I’ll be here the whole time to make sure you don’t mess it up.”

She hesitated, but finally, she stepped forward, her movements hesitant and unsure. I stayed back, watching her closely.

She approached the man and hesitated, her hand hovering near his shoulder. He turned around, startled, and she panicked, stumbling back.

“Pathetic,” I muttered under my breath.

I stepped forward, grabbing her arm and pulling her aside. “Watch and learn,” I said coldly.

I approached the man smoothly, my movements confident and fluid. “Excuse me,” I said, my voice low and soothing. “I think you dropped this.”

The man looked confused, glancing down as I subtly compelled him. “Oh… uh, thanks,” he murmured, his body relaxing under my influence.

I tilted his head slightly, my fangs descending as I leaned in. I bit quickly and cleanly, taking just enough to satisfy without leaving him weak. When I pulled back, I licked the wound to seal it, leaving no trace.

“There,” I said, turning back to Billie. “That’s how it’s done. No mess, no fuss.”

She stared at me, her expression a mixture of awe and fear. “You make it look so easy…”

“That’s because it is,” I said bluntly. “Look, there is another way, but you can’t do that forever, for a turned vampire like you, you’re going to get weak easily, so you can’t rely on that. I’m going to teach you about that later, but for Kia do this. It’s , your turn.”

Before she could respond, I caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned sharply, my eyes narrowing as I saw a familiar figure approaching.

“Xander,” I muttered, my tone dripping with disdain.

You’d think he’s Kay low after causing trouble again.

He strode toward us, his expression unreadable but his gaze locked onto me. “Little brother ,” he said, his voice calm but sarcastic “What are you doing out here? I thought you’ve decided that human blood isn’t your style anymore.”

“None of your business,” I said coldly. “Shouldn’t you be off perching in a tree somewhere? I see that’s what you do these days.”

Xander’s eyes flicked to Billie, narrowing slightly. “And who’s this?”

I scoffed. He was pretending not to know her.

Billie shifted behind me and I could see the fear all over her face.

She didn’t remember him, but her body knew to fear him.

“Run along, bird boy. I don’t have time for your meddling.”

“She’s a newborn, isn’t she?” Xander said, ignoring my comment. His tone was sharper now, more accusatory. “What are you thinking, bringing her out here? Do you want to draw attention to the town? I thought you were smarter than this”

“I don’t need a lecture from someone like you,” I snapped. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?” Xander countered, his voice icy. “Because it doesn’t look that way from where I’m standing.”

I stepped closer, my posture rigid. “You don’t know a damn thing about me or what I’m doing. Stay out of my way, Xander, I’m warning you.”

He chuckled. “Oh little brother, you seem to be forgetting something,” he leaned in closer to me. “I dont like being warned.”

I clenched my fists, my patience wearing thin. “I don’t need your approval or your interference. I’ve got everything under control, now, if you’d let me me, I have other important matters to attend to.”

Xander’s gaze lingered on me for a moment before he finally stepped back. Then, without another word, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows.

I let out a breath, my jaw tight. Billie was staring at me, her eyes wide and uncertain.

“Don’t worry about him,” I said curtly. “Focus on what I taught you. Let’s try this again.”

If he wanted to act as though he hadn’t done anything, I was more than glad to help him.

She nodded hesitantly, and I gestured for her to follow me. I wasn’t about to let Xander or anyone else dictate how I handled things.