HerVampireLover by Anastasia Maltezos Page B

Grangers?”
    “Bitch,” muttered the young man under his breath. “We’ll get you. You’ll go back to Hell where you belong, Seraphina. The Elder won’t rest until you and your demon lover are dead.”
    Cat had had enough. She sprang toward him and grabbed him by the collar, raising him a foot off the ground.
    “My name is Cat!” She then hurled him across the room and turned to the older man.
    “Cat, let them go,” Tobias said. “They’re not worth it. They can’t do anything to us now.”
    She heard strength in his voice and spun around. His healthy glow was returning and a quick glance to his wound told her he’d also stopped bleeding. Cat almost sobbed her relief. “Tobias?”
    “I’m fine, now. Your blood saved me.”
    She motioned to the two men. “What do we do with them?”
    “We let them go as we have been doing for centuries. We’re not the killers. We’re not the evil ones. They are.”
    Cat nodded and looked at the two men. “You have one minute to get the Hell out of here, but remember one thing…I’m not as forgiving as Tobias, so I hope for your sake we never set eyes on you again.” Her voice grew hard. “I’m pregnant and I wouldn’t think twice about killing you if it means saving my child.”
    The men scrambled to their feet and inched their way to the door. Cat balled her hand into a fist and the men nearly fell over themselves as they stumbled through the door.
    As soon as they were gone, Cat’s mind raced. They almost died, she was pregnant, and…and she was a vampire. There was an almost surreal quality in the air that made her feel the last five minutes hadn’t quite happened. She turned and watched Tobias rise.
    “I thought we were going to die,” she said numbly.
    His expression was grave. “We were. You saved us, Cat.”
    “I can feel it. The baby.”
    “That’s one of the wonderful gifts you’ve acquired turning into a vampire.”
    Her head was woozy and her vision started to blur. “Umm…I…I don’t feel so great.”
    His mouth tensed. “I know. Immediately after a turning, the fledgling vampire must feed, otherwise they will die.” In two strides, he stood before her.
    She collapsed into his arms and gasped for air. “I don’t think I’m ready to drink blood.”
    “Cat, you don’t have a choice.”
    “Can’t…can’t I drink a V8 or something? A red wine? Does it have to be blood?” Her stomach burned. God, this was excruciatingly painful. “Damnit! I didn’t even have a minute to enjoy I’m pregnant. Now, you’re telling me I have to hunt a squirrel and drink its blood.” A searing spasm in her gut doubled her over. She was having difficulty breathing. “This is what it feels like to live forever? You have to be kidding me. I feel like I’m dying.” She groaned as another spasm speared her.
    Tobias lowered himself to the ground, taking her with him. Gently, he placed her on his lap. “You will die in a few minutes if you don’t feed. Take my wrist. My blood will save you.” He brought his wrist close to her mouth. “Please, Cat. Don’t fight this. Drink my blood and save yourself,” he said, his voice breaking.
    She knew if she didn’t, she would die and so would her unborn child. Suddenly, a treacherous cold seeped through her veins. She was dying. In the movies, didn’t people say they were cold and two minutes later, they died?
    Common sense prevailed and she licked her dry lips, stiffening in surprise as her tongue ran over the tiny incisors in her mouth. She really was a vampire!  The cold in her limbs grew and she squeezed her eyes before sinking her newfound, pointy teeth into his wrist. Drinking his blood beat out dying, and she sucked and swallowed, trying hard not to gag.
    Stunned, her brows rose to the rafters. His blood tasted amazingly sweet, like warm milk with honey. As she drank, her pains subsided, her breathing returned to normal, and her racing heart calmed down.
    “That’s enough, Cat.” Tobias’s voice