B Positive by Jewel Killian

Twenty

Alone in his compound,without his presence, I remembered all the reasons why I didn’t want to be stuck here.

I remembered why this actually wasn’t the good time the stupid mating bond was desperately trying to convince me it was.

Almost like once I was out of Julian’s area of effect, I could think clearly.

“Sunny?” I called after I’d showered and gotten myself together. Julian had well and truly wrecked me and there was no way I could be around vamps or even a living vamp with their heightened senses of smell without a shower.

“You bellowed?” she said with a smile.

“Sorry, is there a better way to get a hold of you in the compound?”

“You can always shoot me a text.”

“Oh, sweet.” I handed her my phone and she put her number in. “So remind me why I have to be kept locked away in the compound? From what I understand, Titus and his vamps can’t set foot in our territory unless it’s part of the incursion.”

“You’re right. He can’t. But that hasn’t stopped others from trying. The king is protecting you because you’re worth protecting.”

“So, he’s keeping me here on the off chance that someone does decide to break protocol and somehow discovers I’m his mate? Seems like a stretch, Sun, I gotta say it.”

“Flip it. If someone discovers you’re his mate, that’s all the impetus needed to break protocol.”

“Okay, you have me there. But I still don’t like this. I can work from my place. In fact, I’ll need to get to my storage unit so I can practice.” Ha! Bet she hasn’t thought of that.

“I think you’ll find everything you need in the basement.”

I tried not to think about how much that sounded like a horror movie opener. “Sunny, I’d really be more comfortable if I could work in my own space.”

Sunny nodded. “I get that. The king will not risk Titus or his people capturing or hurting you. Your safety isn’t something he takes lightly, Eden.” She leveled a hard gaze at me. “And neither do I.”

We stared at each other for a long while. “Fine. Show me to your murder basement, I guess.”

Sunny gave me a quick nod that might have been a tiny bow, and led the way.

I knew from the plans I’d memorized that it was quite the trek to the basement entrance, so I took the chance to pick Sunny’s brain. “So, I know you said you aren’t mated, but what do you know about the process?”

I glanced over at her just in time to see that adorable flush return to her nose as she averted her gaze. “Oh, um. I’m not sure if I should—”

“Sunny, who the hell else, if not you?”

Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth but at least she didn’t bother consulting her tablet first. “Well, it’s difficult to explain.”

“No, it’s not. Just start like this: First, this happens, and then this happens, then this happens, until you’ve covered it all.”

Sunny sighed, but finally gave in. “There are different stages, some say three, others say four, but I think it depends on the couple. The first stage is the scenting. After the initial interaction, when everything the other person does is a turn-on, you’ll have the irresistible urge to smell each other.”

Gross.

But also…

The first time in the study flashed into my mind. Me sitting there, about to explode, body humming, and Julian yelling about why he couldn’t scent me. “Yeah, okay, we’re past that one. What’s next?”

Sunny’s gaze fell to her feet, but not before they landed on my wrist for a beat. “There’s a blood exchange,” she whispered.

I glanced at the wrist Julian drank from. He’d healed me afterward, but could Sunny still somehow tell? I couldn’t still smell Julian on me, but could she, even after a shower?

“It’s common to take blood from each other’s wrist but sometimes, other means are used.” She blushed again and I wondered if she meant freaky shit like drinking from the femoral artery.

“You said blood has to be exchanged, right?”

Sunny nodded.

“Well, I guess that means we’re at stage one and a half. Julian’s had my blood but I haven’t had his.”

Sunny averted her gaze and once again her bottom lip went between her teeth.

“What’s the next phase?”

“Um, the next is the marking.”

“Marking? What’s that?”

“It’s when the pair bite each other and don’t heal it, leaving their literal mark on each other.”

Blech.I didn’t think I liked that at all. Seemed barbaric and too much like branding cattle. Maybe I could negotiate my way out of that one.

At least it wasn’t one sided.

But I had to keep reminding myself that I was using my human frame of reference to judge an entirely different culture. I had to stop being so judgy about it all.

Maybe it could be a sort of fun sex injury. Those were always nice.

“And after that?” I asked, as we headed down the twisting iron stairs into the basement.

“Some say the mark is the last step, but others say it’s when the pair share blood while—” She cleared her throat and I could already tell her face was red even without seeing it. “While engaged in sexual activities.”

Oh.

Oh!

I smirked to myself. “I’m sorry, Sun, but of all the stages, that one actually sounds the most enjoyable.”

Sunny frowned at me as we entered the safe room.

My hand went to my mouth as I sucked in a huge gasp. Holy Bloody Mary mix. Aside from the rather depressing windowless expanse of florescent tube lighting and whitewashed cinderblocks, this place was a cat burglar’s dream! I counted fifty safes, all on their own wooden platforms which allowed access to all sides. They had models I’d never even heard of, and if I were to match up Titus’s purchase orders, I’d bet they were all the ones he’d had delivered to his tower.

The wall closest to the stairs was devoted entirely to equipment. Black metal racks held listening devices and sound wave readers, PIN decoders and laptops. All top-tier high-end stuff, too.

When I glanced back at Sunny, she grinned at me, all embarrassment from our previous topic wiped away. “You look like a kid in a toy store.”

Yeah, I guess this really was my element.

She set the paperwork on the single metal worktable by the basement entrance “Hey, so, before you get to work, do you think I could ask you a few questions?”

“Sure, though, I don’t know what I can tell you that you don’t already have in that tablet of yours.”

Sunny gave me a sheepish smile and her bottom lip disappeared. “What was it like?”

“What’s what like?”

“Transitioning,” she murmured.

“Oh, that.” I sucked in a breath. “I—I’m not sure I’m the best person to answer that for you, Sun. I kinda had a rough go of it.”

“Yeah. I know. But I want to know, worst case, what might happen. I want to be prepared.”

I met her gaze more fully. “Oh, Sun, you’re scared, aren’t you? Well, I’ll tell you my gory details if you promise not to let it freak you out.”

A bitter, halfhearted laugh echoed throughout the room, sharpened by the cinderblock walls. “I doubt I can freak myself out any more than I already am. I know I’m supposed to want this, but I just can’t help feeling like it might be the worst decision for me.”

For a split second I considered hyping it up for her. Telling her how seeing Odette and the confidence she embodied, the respect and admiration she garnered from others, was what convinced me. Or telling her how blood was actually really delicious and I fucking loved being super strong.

I did neither.

“Sun, it fucking sucked. I rose confused and disconnected from my own body. My throat and mouth felt like a fucking litter box full of those little packets they put in purses to keep them dry…you know the ones? I thought my ears would bleed at how loud everything was, and I went on a week-long bender, drinking until I felt sloshy and passed out night after night. It sucked. It was the worst transition known to our kind, probably.”

Her throat bobbed, eyes rimmed with unshed tears as she nodded. “Thank you,” she squeaked. “For being honest.”

Sunny turned to leave but I snagged her hand, turning her to face me once more. “And your experience will be nothing like mine, Sunny. You won’t rise with no one to tell you what to do or how to be in your new body. You won’t be alone like I was. You won’t have to figure it out by finding the wrong ways first. That, I can promise you.”

I didn’t know if my words helped her. I didn’t know if what I said had any impact at all.

Sunny simply thanked me again and left me in the murder basement of safes.