Chapter Eighteen

Tyler looked up at Bram with a smile, “You know where she is?”

Bram frowned, glaring at his friend. “We’re going to hunt, but not them. We just need to wait a few more hours. Once it’s dark—”

“We agreed that we wanted her, didn’t we?” Tyler growled at him.

Bram looked away, “We weren’t in our right minds then. Tyler, we’re not hunting Izabella and my son.”

“Are you trying to keep her for yourself? That sweet nectar? Remember, in the centuries we’ve lived, nothing has ever smelled so sweet. Don’t you just want to—” Bram grabbed Tyler’s shirt and shoved it in his mouth. He didn’t need to be reminded of what had driven him to the brink of madness. And they’d already had a hell of a day. Between the two of them, they couldn’t figure which side of the fence they stood on. At least when Tyler finally lost himself, Bram had been able to come to his senses.

After Devon had left to get Izabella earlier that day, Bram had come out, hell bent on not letting them leave. It had been Tyler stopping him then. He’d gotten Bram back into his own apartment, and they had a huge fight. The place was still a mess. He’d found the blood then though… he hadn’t thought to check the trash bin where she’d tossed her tissues. It was found when Bram had smashed it over Tyler’s head. As the tissues had fallen out, they both lost their minds and Bram had tied Tyler to chair he was in now.

He’d gone down the stairs, fully intent on killing her. The complete fear in her eyes had stopped him in his tracks. Being further away from the smell of it had probably helped. But Devon had been hiding from him, and she made it clear they were afraid, putting her hand up like a warning. After the doors had closed, he had made it halfway down the stairs to chase after them before he really started to come to his senses. He was glad it had happened just in time. He was finally able to let them go. Though he’d spent a few hours in the stairwell. Luckily, few people used it, so no one bothered him while he was in there. Unfortunately, Tyler had been locked up in the apartment with the smell slowly driving him mad. But, Bram knew he needed to be fully clear of it before going back up. Otherwise, he would have reverted to the stark raving mad vampire desperate for the hunt of one special individual.

He’d at least been able to get rid of the garbage, opened all the windows and doors, and started to clear the smell out at that point. Once that was done, he left again, going outside for a walk while leaving his friend bound and tied in the room. Tyler was still under that frenzied spell Izabella had cast on them unwittingly. A few things would need to happen from here. He and Tyler needed to feed, and to feed well. The two of them hadn’t been on a proper hunt in years. They hadn’t really needed to, knowing they could just use the club as their playground, and it allowed them their specific types and to hide under the pretense of sex. They wouldn’t be doing that tonight.

Bram was pretty sure he’d figured out why they were acting the way they were. Izabella was a rare type of human. Few people grew into adults staying as pure as she was. It made her irresistible. How she had stayed undercover from any of his kind this long was a mystery, but the idea of her called out to their most basic and primal need. The hunt. He and Tyler had been avoiding true hunts for too long, and the idea of it had sent them into a craze. If he was going to keep her around, they wouldn’t be able to do that in the future. They would need to feed more often and start hunting monthly. That way, if something like this happened again, they should at least be able to keep their heads long enough to secure Devon and Izabella properly. He would also need to make sure that none of his colleagues found out about her. It would be far too dangerous. Bram had an exceptional ability to keep his head in situations like that, but many vampires wouldn’t care to. He wouldn’t be able to take any chances with her. He was even going to have to have to keep a close watch on Tyler now too.

Even now, he had to fight the urge not to go after them. He wanted to. Badly. But Tyler was right, he didn’t want to hurt her. She was too sweet. Even calling to make sure that everything was still fine. It had been a bad move on her part, if he decided at any point he did want to go to her, he could. He guessed she probably didn’t tell Devon she was calling. She just couldn’t help it. He actually really liked that about her. She would be a great match for Devon, much better than any of the others. He wouldn’t lose this opportunity to make his son happy, not when there were so many others he could feed on that wouldn’t make his son hate him.

Looking out the window, he smiled. It was finally starting to get dark. Tyler was fighting against the binding holding him. Bram knew he couldn’t get out of the iron chains he locked him in. He hated that he’d had to do it, but it was for the best.

“Now, let us decide how we should go about this.” Bram smiled, pulling the shirt from Tyler’s mouth. “Who do we want to hunt tonight.”

“You know who.” Tyler growled. “I can’t get that smell out of my fucking head. I just want to taste her sweet blood on my lips… maybe a little more than just that too.”

Bram couldn’t help it, he punched Tyler square in the jaw. “Talk about her again and I’m going to make you regret it, you damn bastard.” Grabbing his chin, he forced Tyler to look him in the eye. “Now, listen to your master’s command. We are not hunting her or Devon. Do I make myself clear?”

Tyler frowned and swore, but eventually conceded. “Yes, master.”

Bram didn’t like pulling that on him, but it seemed he would have no choice. Only the person who turned a vampire could be their true master, unless they stole another vampire’s children by killing them. Bram had acquired Tyler by doing the later. His friend would have to listen to him. Though he rarely acted on the master/slave binding. “Now hear this, I claim her. She is mine, and before you touch her, you will ask my permission. Do you understand?”

“Yes, master.” Tyler growled at him again.

“And when I release you, what are you going to do?” Bram asked, getting so close they were nearly nose to nose.

“Follow you on the hunt. Are we going after vermin then, master?” He made a sour face, who wanted that when they knew exactly where to find a freaking unicorn.

Bram nodded, kneeling behind Tyler and releasing the lock on the chains. “Come on, lets get ready to take out some trash.” Bram went to his room, donning a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and a leather jacket. Since they were close to the same size, he just threw some clothing at Tyler, and they both changed. They wouldn’t play businessmen or rich boys tonight. A thrill climbed up Bram’s back. They would play vigilante. It had been so long, but the excitement was palpable.

Tyler smiled at himself in the mirror. “I haven’t dressed like a punk in a century. I forgot how badass I could look.” Bram had been thinking the same.

Bram and Tyler were now smiling viciously at each other. This was going to be fun.