Chapter One-Hundred and Eleven

The next morning, Bram got up before the sun. He left Izabella in bed. Mostly because he’d kept her up so late the night before. He smiled at the memories of the night before while he dressed. Leaning over her side of the bed, he kissed her forehead before leaving. Up a flight of stairs and down the hall, he stopped in front of Gabe’s door. Knocking gently enough to make sure he didn’t wake any of the other children. There was a shuffling, and a moment later, a very sleepy looking teenager opened the door, rubbing his eyes.

“Hey, everything okay?” He asked, covering his mouth as he yawned.

“Yeah, get dressed. You and I are going to have a chat. Nothing bad, but important.” Bram said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I’m going to go brew some coffee. Meet me in the kitchen.”

“Yeah, okay. Does it have to be so early?” He opened the door a little more. “The suns not even up.”

“I know. Just come down, please.” Bram said, turned back down the hall. Gabe nodded, closing the door.

The kitchen was huge, just like Izabella had said. But when he opened the door, the smell of coffee already filled the room. Tyler and Gavin were out on the porch, sitting together on the little love swing. Bram poured himself a cup. His movement caught Tyler’s attention. His friend stood, waiving through the large glass doors, coming inside to say good morning. Gavin followed.

“Morning. Hopefully you slept as well as I did?” Bram smiled.

“Sleep is for the weak. We had better things to do than that.” Gavin chuckled. Grabbing Tyler’s coffee cup and rounding the counter to pour him another cup.

“That sounds like a yes, to me.” He bumped Gavin with his elbow. “I have Gabe coming down now. You guys sure you want to be part of this conversation?”

Tyler nodded. “You can bet your ass I want to be there when you tell him. Gavin won’t admit it, but he’s excited too. Talked about it a lot last night in between sessions.” He winked and Gavin rolled his eyes.

They could hear Gabe as he trudged slowly down the stairs, and Bram reached back up in the cupboard, pouring another cup of coffee. “Hey, here.” He held it out.

Gabe took a sip, making a face. “Gross. How the hell do you drink it black?” He asked, turning toward the counter to scour for the sugar. Bram and Tyler laughed.

Gavin sighed, “You have no idea how bad it can taste. Once upon a time I enjoyed drinking other things.”

The laughter died, and the other two looked over at him. Bram pressed a hand through his hair, before going to the fridge to grab the milk for Gabe. “You know how to liven up the room, don’t you?” Tyler frowned.

“Sometimes.” His eyes sparkled, as he grinned mischievously. Pointing at the cupboard above the coffee machine, “The sugar is up there.”

“How do you know that?” Gabe turned, pulling open the door. Gavin was right, a little blue circus glass bowl sat there with a little sugar spoon sticking out.

Gavin tapped the side of his nose. “I’m a full vampire. I can smell every ingredient in this kitchen and could point you to loosely where it’s kept.”

Gabe made his coffee, as he did, his eyes bounced between the three men. “I’m going to guess you’re all here to tell me all the reasons why I shouldn’t want to be like you, right?” He frowned.

Bram pointed out to the porch, “I’m the only one here to play that hand. Come on, we’re going to go watch the sunrise as we talk.”

“Wait, I thought you could only be out in the sun because you’re half-and-half.” His gaze moved to Gavin, who only smiled in return.

He went to the door, opening it as the others shuffled out. “I’m a special breed of vampire.” He said, curling back up on his side of the swing, which was under cover from an umbrella. “Though I’m more sensitive to it than Bram and Tyler, I can also be out in the light for a while. After an hour, I’ll be like a human with sun poisoning, but it won’t turn me to ash like other vampires. I’m what our world knows as a day walker. No one knows what causes it, and they were more common back in my day than they are now.” He put a pair of sunglasses on regardless. Lifting his legs as Tyler dropped into the seat beside him and they started to swing wildly.
“That’s cool though.” He said, sitting at a little yellow bistro table. Bram joined him. “So, are you guys going to tell me what this is about? Or are we just a bunch of guys about to drink coffee while watching the sunrise.” His brow furrowed, clearly it was making him feel anxious.

“We’re here to tell you that we’re thinking of turning you. But we want to be open and honest, and lay the choice out for you before you make any decisions. Jen’s more or less already on the same page.” Bram said, gazing out across the horizon. The house couldn’t have been built in a better location. The city crowded the view to the right and left, but just between, they could see the ocean. The horizon was starting to turn grey in the dawn.

Gabe spit his coffee across the table, Bram frowned as he pulled his cup out of the way. “Seriously?”

“Gavin and I are actually thinking of taking off with Jen.” Tyler sat forward, folding his hands in front of him. His eyes locked on the orange and pink blooming beyond the city. “For her more, formative years, it’ll be safer than being around here. We’ll have to travel a lot, of course, so that no one picks up on our hunting. But, we’ve all been talking about it, and believe this is our best choice.”

“You’re taking Jen?” His features darkened.

“That’s why we’re having this talk, Gabe. Don’t get all emotional until you hear what we have to say please.” Bram said, leaning back. “Realistically, you and Jen have made it clear that you don’t want to be separated. And Izzy really thought it would be best for both of you to stay together. You can’t do that as you are. And she can’t stay here. Not without putting the rest of the family in danger.” Rays of sun broke across the sky, lighting the day up. White clouds floated languidly through the sky, picking up the pink and orange glow.

“So… you’re going to turn me and take me with you? I’m going to be a vampire?” He looked around at the men excitedly, but not one of them looked back at him. Their eyes all trained on the horizon.

“We’re pretty lucky. Me more so than the other two, no less.” Tyler finally looked at him. “But you have no hope at being like me. I was born to a woman with a vampire for a father. But, unlike Iz, Bram and Devon, she wouldn’t have had a chance at survival. I killed my mother the day I was born. I haven’t been able to stop killing since.” Tyler’s eyes locked directly onto Gabe’s. The teenager shuttered a bit, biting his lip.

“I was locked away for a whole century before I was allowed out of the family dungeons because I couldn’t be controlled.” Bram said flatly, shrugging.

“I destroyed an entire town, killing forty-seven people and then slept it off in a nearby inn my first night. When someone rode into town the next morning, they tried to kill me before I got away, and I ripped out their guts. Subsequently, I went off during my blood lust days, and was basically called a plague upon humanity because the humans at the time didn’t know what else to blame the deaths on.” Gavin said this, gaining both Tyler and Bram’s attention. Neither of them had talked to him about his vampire birth before, so this was news to them. “When my master realized I was a day walker, he used that to his every advantage for a very large portion of my life. It wasn’t until Tyler freed me from his grip that I was able to finally move on. And that was during World War II.”

“I freed you?” Tyler said, looking at Gavin in shock.

Gavin didn’t look at his lover. Instead, he looked a bit chagrined. His eyes still riveted on the sunrise. “My master was in the headquarters of the enemy encampment when you and Bram came through with a small force. When I came out, begging to let me join you, Bram nearly killed me. You stopped him. Even though you realized you couldn’t control me. You let me join, and eventually Bram offered me a job. Neither of you were ever cordial.” His hazel eyes focused hard on the horizon.

Tyler sat forward, taking Gavin’s hand in his. The other pulled away. “I don’t want your damn pity.” Bram was positive that if Tyler tried too hard right now, he would get beaked in the nose for his efforts.

“Guys… we’re here for a different reason.” His head cocked toward Gabe, who was watching the rest of them with rapt attention. Bram cleared his throat, drinking down the rest of his now cold coffee. “The point is everyone’s birth story is different. Whoever turns you, will be your master. They can command you and force you to do anything they want you to do.” Leaning forward, he looked Gabe directly in the eye. “I won’t be able to be the one to do so. If you’re going to be with Gavin and Tyler, then one of them needs to be able to control you as a fresh blood. And Jen is already going to be possibly volatile with her magic, so they’re going to need help backing her up, since neither of them are her master. So, one of them will have to turn you. Tyler, your master commands you to stand up and dance the chicken.”

“No. You son-of-a…” Tyler started, even as he was getting out of his seat.

“NOW.” Bram commanded, and Gavin scoffed as Tyler stood, making the first motions of the chicken dance. “You may stop.” Bram said. His eyes didn’t leave Gabe’s face as he stared at Tyler, his cheeks burning red.

“Wait. So, why? If your Tyler’s master, and he took over Gavin, why can’t you command him?”

There was no doubt in Gavin’s eyes as he looked over, a warning evident. “I never knew that Tyler was the one who killed his master. Tyler, as a half human, can’t command a full a vampire. So, his mastership bends to the will of his master. I’ve always known I was Tyler’s. I became his on purpose, mostly to free him. But, I didn’t know about this. And though I did use my best friend, of four hundred years, mind you, to outline the master-slave relationship, I don’t use this power over Tyler. At least not often. I won’t use it over Gavin without reason. Especially considering everything he’s just told us.”

Quiet settled around them. Gabe seemed to be giving this serious thought. “It’s not all peaches and cream though, Gabe. One of the main things we need to address are:
One, you may not be able to ever step into the sun again. Especially if you choose to be turned by Gavin. Jen also is not a day walker, and her biggest lament is not being able to say goodbye to the sun.
Two, we need to talk about the mate aspect too. There’s a good chance the two of you could be mates. Considering how strongly you both already feel… however…”

As Gabe’s eyes crossed over each of them in turn, Bram suddenly looked very uncomfortable. Tyler looked sad, and Gavin looked pissed. The later stood up, “This is where I depart. I’m starting to feel like I’m boiling. Keep in mind, even if you are a day walker, which isn’t likely at all,” he said pointedly, “This is all the time you get.” Dipping back inside, he dropped his sunglasses on the table and left the kitchens quickly.

Gabe looked around confused, trepidation crawling up his back as Bram and Tyler both sighed.