The Cat Burglar - 17. Actual Words

The exact moment I closed the door behind me, I knew I should’ve handled this better. Fuck! I’d never thought he would show up here in Venice. Gideon surprised me. I let him get to me. Again. Something vibrated in my chest. I was growling.

The two soldiers guarding the Conte didn’t utter a word. Ever since a slain wolf of silver had been found a few weeks ago, they accompanied him wherever he went, even at home.

Their grimaces told me everything I didn’t want to know. I screwed up. What to do next? Hide in my room like a pouting princess?

“I am trying very hard not to say ‘I told you so’. He has a temper. Ah, to be this young again.”

“Aye, a temper he has.” Gideon almost sounded amused.

“His sire should deal with this situation, not you. You already failed him” The Conte’s sharp voice could have been heard even without enhanced senses and despite the thick oak door.

“I caused this. I have to take on the responsibility and solve the issue.”

“Do what you think you must. Kavan is welcome in my city as long as he wants. If he wishes, he may also join my clan.”

The soldier on my left raised an eyebrow. Right. I was eavesdropping on the city master of Venice and his guest. Holy shit! I couldn’t get away fast enough.

Back in my room, I welcomed the fatigue that afflicts younger vampires by sunrise for the first time in my second life and went directly to bed after the donor left me. The anger at myself was soon replaced by oblivion.

Something feathery tickled me. I rubbed my nose.

Mauro stood beside the bed, his eyes twinkling with mischief. What the hell?

“Good evening, sun—um...moonshine. I will feed you tonight.”

“You?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why?” He looked entirely too pleased with himself.

He pulled me up. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes, but—”

“Then hurry.” He hastily opened the collar of his white dress shirt, something I’d never seen him wear before, and exposed his neck. “Quickly now.”

“I am feeding from your neck?”

“Yes, and leave your shirt off and open the first button of your pants.”

“Huh? Are you okay?”

He grabbed my head and pressed my lips over a thick vein. “Now!”

My fangs dropped instantly, and I struck, as I was still extremely hungry when I first woke up. Habitually, I tried to lick the wound close, but he stopped me. “Leave it.”

The bite was already closing. Of course, he didn’t need me to do that. He wasn’t a human donor. Instead of letting it heal, though, he closed the collar and poked at the wound until a bright red spot stained his white shirt.

I gaped at him. What the actual fuck?

“You’ll thank me later.” He quickly pulled my pants open a little more.

I swatted his hand away. “Would you stop it?”

“It’s an experiment.” Plastering a wide grin on his face, he went to the door and ripped it open. “Good evening!”

Where was a sinkhole when you needed one? There stood Gideon, his gaze fixed on Mauro’s collar and the quickly spreading bloodstain. Then it landed on me, and his pale grey eyes turned glacial. A reddish ring appeared around their irises. It felt as if it left frostbite all over my naked chest before stopping at my open pants. “What’s going on here?”

“Feeding, not that it’s any of your business.” Mauro gave me a short wave and sauntered away. “Later. We’re still taking the yacht out, right?”

Gideon looked at me incredulously. “You feed from other vampires?”

What did Mauro call it? An experiment. Then I got it. I would kill him later. I decided to power on. “Sometimes, when the mood fits.”

Gideon’s nostrils flared, scenting the air. Then his balled-up hands slowly relaxed. “I see.” He looked around until he found the two chairs. “May I sit?”

And suddenly I felt exposed and uncomfortable. Naked. “Sure.” I gestured in the direction of the room’s other door. “I’ll just go um... and brush my teeth.” Grabbing a fresh set of clothes from my open suitcase, I fled to the bathroom, which seemed to be my new sanctuary lately. Inside, I leaned against the cold tiles. Remember. Cool and collected. No more tantrums.

He sat in the chair closest to the window when I came back. “I’m probably the last person you want to see.” His left hand tightened briefly around the wrist of his right.

You think? I forced myself not to cross my arms over my chest. “You wanted to talk.” Not bad.

He sought my gaze. “I didn’t know they ordered you to stay in Venice.”

I leaned against the wall by the door. “Konstantin suggested I could visit all the interesting museums while I was here.”

Gideon’s eyes widened. “He didn’t say that.”

“He did.”

He grabbed his nape. “Look, when Emil brought me back to the clan house I was on the brink of death. It took Master Caspian’s blood and a great amount of donor blood before I was able to leave the room after more than a week.”

I stared at him. If he’d taken my blood after Mariella ripped out his throat, the healing would have gone much faster.

“You have to understand. I couldn’t risk a full bond with you.” He’d clearly understood my unsaid words.

When I didn’t react, he snapped. “You don’t want it either!”

“Of course not, but it’s hard to accept that someone is so repulsed by me that he chooses death instead of a bond.”

He shrugged. “I survived.”

His nonchalance and lack of concern made me furious. “The mysterious bond—Konstantin waxed lots of poetic words about it. How would it affect our life? Your drastic reactions tell me you saved us from a horrible outcome when my dumb ass offered to feed you when you were bleeding out on the floor. Do I need to thank you?” Too snappishly. I briefly closed my eyes. “What exactly does it mean to be bonded? Would it compel us to fuck like bunnies every minute wherever we are? You’re an arrogant ass but considerably cute; no hardship at all tapping that.”

He pressed his lips into a thin line. “Of course not.”

I was over being collected and polite. I needed a reaction. “Oh, I know, we could only fuck each other after bonding.” I scrunched up my nose. “Ugh, clearly to be avoided; I get it. So many sexy guys still out there.” I waggled my eyebrows.

“Why are you this crass?” he hissed.

“I found out that people answer my questions much more quickly and honestly this way, if only to shut me up.”

He glared into the unlit fireplace.

“The bond?” I urged.

Finally, he huffed. “It’s an illusion.”

“What’s an illusion? The bond?”

He dipped his chin.

“Oh? I was told, according to lore, the Fates themselves select vampires whose blood harmonizes and then guide them into each other’s path.” Tilting my head, I widened my eyes. “You knew better than them and overruled their will. Cool. I mean, they’re a big deal in your world. Right?”

“In our world.”

“In our world,” I accepted. “Still, what gave you the right or knowledge? Aren’t they like gods?”

He pushed back the chair and went to the bed, gripping its footboard. “You being my bloodsong has no relevance. Bloodsongs leave, betray—”

“Wait! Betray? Betray like extorting money or cheating with other people?”

“Both. I’ve seen both.”

I was flabbergasted. “Konstantin told me bloodsongs don’t cheat. They can’t cheat, mythical fate-induced bond and stuff. When one’s bloodsong dies, they die too or lose their mind. Good thing you didn’t succeed in killing yourself, by the way. Otherwise, we would have found out if this applies to partially bonded people too.”

Gideon jerked his head back. For a moment he seemed clearly shocked. “Konstantin is wrong. Your mythical bond and stuff doesn’t prevent any kind of betrayal. Like many other bonds that are supposed to be something special, only they aren’t. Parental love for example. Parents are supposed to love their children and care for them no matter what.”

“But yours abandoned you.”

He abruptly turned to me. “You followed me. I thought I felt your presence at the lake.”

“You looked straight at me when I hid in the shadows behind the trees. I thought you’d detect me any minute.”

He bit his lips. “How much do you know?”

“Not much. Eduardo and Ettore attacked the farm in your absence and killed the entire Michel family.”

He closed his eyes. “And?”

“They weren’t your real parents.”

He rose from his seat and stepped right into me. “On the contrary! The Michels were my real parents. They never differentiated between me and their own children. I called them Mama and Papa. My real parents, who were supposed to love me, left me on their doorstep.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “But then your precious Fates took them away. What did I get instead? Because not everyone is as lucky as you are.” He slapped his chest. “I got the monsters from those human storybooks of old.” He scoffed. “The ideal sire is supposed to educate his childe. He only turns humans to add to a clan.”

Gideon turned his back to me. “Eduardo and Ettore didn’t plan to build a clan. They only wanted revenge. We were tools. They used us for whatever they saw fit: killers, soldiers, slaves, sex. In the end, I became a bargain. Enough money for Eduardo to return home.”

I obviously touched him on the raw. “Look, I’m sorry that the boy you were got thrown in with these animals, but after this, Master Caspian found you and treated you like a childe.”

He gave a brisk nod. “He took me in. After I told him my story, he even allowed me to accompany the hunting teams looking for pits. He knew it was important to me. I wanted Armin destroyed. Caspian trained me and eventually, I became clan.”

“Even though he wasn’t supposed to do that. He wasn’t your real sire after all, but he somehow was.” Slowly I understood where Gideon was coming from.

“But then he forced this bond idea.”

“The Conte told me that finding their bloodsong is the dream of every vampire.”

“Not of every vampire.”

“Master Caspian wanted you to be happy. He thought he knew best like fathers so often do.”

“Master Caspian is not my father!”

“Nor your sire, yeah, yeah. I get it. Did you ever tell him that you don’t believe in the bloodsong bond? Did you ever explain your reasons to him like you just did to me?”

“He wouldn’t have listened.”

“You suppose? I suppose.”

“He had no right to interfere,” Gideon murmured.

I rolled my eyes. “That’s the nature of a master vampire for you, I guess. They think they’re infallible like the pope.”

Scowling at me, he asked, “Why did you follow me? Because he sent you after me?”

I shrugged. “Nah, I had enough of people making my life choices for me. I was furious. I needed to yell at you.”

“Now, that’s something I understand. Who’s people?”

“My parents of course, but that’s a given. My brothers, Konstantin—and you.”

“Me?”

“You pretended you were leaving the clan to save me from an accidental or forced bond with you. Without asking for my input, if I remember correctly.” That caused a reaction.

“You didn’t want to be bonded to me either!”

I had difficulty not crossing my arms again or balling my hands into fists. “How did you know? Forgive me, but I can’t remember any conversation we had where we discussed the matter of bonding as equals. You decided we don’t want it.”

“You were relieved that I took the decision from you, and you didn’t have to go against Caspian’s wishes.”

I snorted. “Do you want to know how it looked from here?” I pointed at him. “You ran off to revisit your past and crown the entire walk down memory lane with a revenge fest. Its highlight was getting yourself killed!”

He lifted his lip, revealing sharp fangs, and snarled. “How dare you! I sacrificed—"

“What? You were feeling sorry for yourself. When Master Caspian foresaw your suicidal intentions, the worthless not-your-sire couldn’t get me and Aykut out the door fast enough to bring you your fucking sword. Without it, the Conte’s men would have killed you on the spot when you challenged Eduardo, which you planned. The Conte saw right through you too. He called you a coward, just saying.”

I waited for an outraged cry of denial, but instead, he seemed to be somewhat dumbfounded. When nothing came, I leaned back. “Now that we’ve finally spoken about this and agreed that we both do not want to be bonded, at least not to each other, we might be able to be part of the same clan after all. I’m sure we can refrain from an accidental exchange of any bodily fluids, don’t you think?”

He growled. “What do you mean ‘at least not to each other’?”

Huh? That’s what he gleaned from this? There were more pressing matters. “Why are you here?”

“I came here to take you home with me.”

That was unexpected. If I thought of anyone who might be doing that, it was Konstantin. Only thinking of my sire’s name hurt.

“As I said before, I didn’t know they wanted you to stay in Venice. I obviously noticed your absence from the clan. At first, I admit, I was relieved that you weren’t there, but I thought it was your own choice. For a short moment, I even thought it was because you were angry at me for rejecting your blood.”

I snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“I didn’t understand what was going on until I had Doc explain it to me. He told me that Caspian quasi-banned you and ordered you to stay away from the clan because I was returning. And suddenly I got all the hostility. Rylan glared at me every time we met; Nathan right out ignored me. Doc was bordering on impolite until I addressed this.”

“And that was when you got the idea to get me?”

“Not immediately. I asked Konstantin and Master Caspian for a meeting. We had just sat down when your wolf came into the room and wordlessly slammed a sword on the center of the table. At first, I didn’t understand the gravity of the gesture. But then I noticed Konstantin staring at the weapon as if it were a poisonous snake. Master Caspian scoffed, muttering something about childish drama. When Konstantin took the sword, his hand closed around its hilt—I don’t know how to describe this. His eyes instantly clouded over with devastation. His pain was palpable in the room, and he asked, ‘Was this worth it?’

Master Caspian reacted almost bored. ‘He will calm down.’ But I think it was a front. Inwardly, he was shocked by your reaction. Especially when the wolf grabbed Konstantin’s arm and shook him. ’Are you in pain? That’s how Kavan felt when you banned him from home, from his family. I was there. He was as devastated as you are right now. What are you going to do now?’”

“What was his answer?”

“He left the room.”

“Why didn’t Konstantin stand up for me? I understand Master Caspian’s order. He was afraid that you’d leave again, but Konstantin....”

“Maybe he sought the wrong council.”

“The wrong council? Who’s council would he seek?”

Gideon was looking at me, his light grey eyes sharp as glass. “Think about it. Whom does he trust unconditionally?”

My mind was in a whirl. I stared down at the worn marble floor. My gaze followed the different veins, automatically trying to find patterns...one looked like a mask. I didn’t care for Gideon’s riddles. “You came here why, exactly?”

“Master Caspian meant well; he wanted to protect me, but you and Konstantin paid the price for his protectiveness. When Emil told me about the sword and what it meant to Konstantin and you, I knew what I had to do. Forcing Konstantin to exile you was wrong. You are his One Childe!”

“Oh, this is a mythical bond you believe in?”

“No, not me, but Konstantin. And because I am the reason for his pain, I had to come and take you home personally.”

Wow. Who would’ve thought? I was still trying to work through everything we had talked about in the last hour when a brisk knock sounded on the door. Before I could answer, someone pushed it open so hard it slammed against the wall. Gideon instantly jumped from his chair and placed himself between me and the door. I had to walk around him to see who was there.

“The Master needs you!”

I looked at Gideon. Before I could ask the soldier who, he yelled, “Both of you! Follow me!”

He led us to a room I’d never been in before. For lack of a better word, I call it a war room in my mind because that was the feeling I got when we entered.

The Conte and his two legates stood bent over a large table. Several high-ranking soldiers were present armed with swords and guns. As soon as he noticed us, the Master walked over briskly and made a complicated movement with his hand. “No one can listen in now. I already talked to Master Caspian. He agreed to my request for your assistance. I need your unique —skills. To prevent the exposure of our world.”

Yes, I know, another cliffie. The good news is: the next chapter is halfway done.
Thank you for reading the new chapter.  What are your thoughts? I'm curious.
Any reactions and/or comments are very much appreciated. 
~Adi