Lust by Abigail Livinghouse (good ebook reader TXT) 📖

wasn’t going to leave or let me make my departure until I answered him, fully and truthfully, which I could not do. So, it seemed we would be here for a long time.

 

  “What’s the real reason you’re on immortal land? Are you hunting them? Because if you are it’s a bad idea to be alone, especially with so many of their ranks hiding out here.”

 

   I nodded, snatching up my bow and arrows and beginning my trek away from him. “Thanks for the tip.” I called, refusing to listen or answer his questions any longer. But, I did hear him call one last time behind me.

 

  “You still didn’t answer my question.” Trine’s voice was lost as I moved farther and farther away, away from the familiarity that I still craved, that I had just refused.

 

Chapter Ten

Before Transforms existed, Naturals roamed and ruled the earth. Natural born vampires are creatures that master the art of disguise. Since they have nearly all human traits, they are able to blend in almost simultaneously with mortals. It has been documented in history that even some Natural vampires have mated with humans, and produced offspring. Half human, and half immortal, the children usually destroyed their mothers at birth with their unnatural strength, leaving their fathers in fits of rage which led to their untimely deaths. After many such incidents, Naturals kept strictly to their own kind, and hardly ever strayed. And when they did, it was to the destruction of both them and their partner. They felt that it was a wasted effort and was best to stay within their own species to avoid any more tragedies among theirs, and the human race.

 

 However, soon Naturals became bored and curious. Now, when curiosity and boredom mix, it can become a very unhealthy brew of destruction, and discoveries made that may better off be left alone. They led normal lives and kept away from humans at all costs, only going near them when it was necessary to feed. They would collect their blood and be done with it. Their lives were simple, and their existence was peaceful. But when you’re faced with an eternity of life, simplicity and normalcy aren’t exactly what you will crave as time passes.

 

 Naturals such as Parker Brice decided to break the trend of boredom. Parker held a very ordinary existence. He had a mate, too many children to count, and had stopped aging at twenty one, so that he could always appear gorgeous and young, along with his beautiful mate Vera. He was happy for a few hundred years, even becoming a grandfather when his children grew and produced children of their own. But one day, Vera came to him expressing her worry of immortality. She proclaimed that she was tired of their boring life, and if things didn’t change soon, she would leave.

 

 Panicked, Parker promised Vera the change she craved, and went out in search of something that would keep his world intact. Some say Vera was cheating on Parker, others say she was a trollop who favored “both sides of the court” and did many favors for those around her. Let’s not forget that when you are mated to someone that bond is so terribly strong that you would never think of betraying or leaving your beloved. Well now, that person was obviously not Vera.

 

 But, she held enough power over Parker that he fled from his village to another, a human one. At first, he thought it was an immortal town. They had food supplies, cattle, shops, and homes just like Parker’s village. But as he moved deeper into the poorer, much less healthier sections, he saw sick and dying people, some so ancient their skin was faded and worn like old leather, and their hair was thin and white. This frightened Parker.

 

 He continued to travel on until he came upon the edges of the forest where he saw people practicing strange arts. They were throwing odd objects through the air until they stuck into the trunks of trees. Not only that, but these people were young and strong. And, he also saw, that some were beautiful, just like immortals. His heart soared, maybe this was the hope for saving his mate from leaving him.

 

 As Parker began to approach the group of sportsmen he spotted a girl, a beautiful girl with long golden hair and eyes the color of the forest. She was so beautiful, Parker had trouble identifying her as a mortal. After a few moments of watching her skilled practice of throwing the odd objects, he decided he would take her home. Maybe she could teach them her art and become a source of nutrition when his people no longer felt like leaving the village.

 

 Parker proceeded to seduce the girl whose name he came to learn was Hanna. For days, Parker neglected to return to his town, listening to Hanna speak about her life and the way it was lived. It seemed so marvelous, catching fish, hunting animals, and being with your family, who was very small compared to immortal kin, mortal families you actually kept track of. But, Parker had not only neglected to return to his village, he had ignored his needs for food, and was beginning to grow thirsty. One day when he was talking with Hanna in the forest near the stream where her people fished, he became so caught up in her words and her beauty, that without thinking or realizing the consequences, he bit her.

 

 She tasted wonderful, of course. Parker expected nothing less. He drank and drank from Hanna until she whimpered with pleasure from his delicious bites. After a few minutes, she was actually begging for more. But Parker realized soon after he pulled away from Hanna, her moans quieting down as she began to grimace in pain, that he had made a fatal mistake. Parker had taken too long, he had siphoned too much of Hanna's blood, and by doing so, too much of his venom had gotten into her system. When biting a human, a little venom didn't hurt them, it actually helped dull the pain. But, stay connected too long, drink too much, and now, there is no chance for that mortal to go on. They begin the transformation from human to vampire within seconds. This was exactly what Parker had done.

 

 He watched shamefully as the gorgeous girl with blood smeared on her neck began to twitch in pain. At that moment, seeing Hanna in her state of agony, Parker made a decision that would ultimately change vampire history forever. He leaned forward, licked Hanna's wound clean, sat next to her, and held her hand as the screams began.

Chapter Eleven

Parker's little accident had unknowingly changed perspectives, calculations, and conclusions any vampire or human had ever made. When Hanna awoke, she was even more beautiful than before. Her skin was the color of marble, her eyes sparkled, and her whole body moved fluidly and with grace. She was perfect.

 

When she saw Parker at her side, she smiled at him, and thanked him for saving her life. She didn't have much recollection of what had happened prior to being bitten, and Parker didn't object to her gratitude. He stayed silent and began his teaching Hanna how to live like an immortal.

 

 At first, Parker thought it would be easy. He thought she would know what to do instinctively, like all Natural vampires did. But he did know that Hanna was not a Natural vampire. In fact, he didn't even know what to call her. He had changed her from her original mortal state into something completely different. Was there even a name for this? Either way, Parker wasn't worried. There couldn't be too many differences from his race to this new, foreign one. Besides, Hanna wasn't acting any different from a Natural vampire. Parker figured things would be fine.

 

  His viewpoint quickly changed. One night, Hanna came to him and confessed a dire secret. She felt a strange attraction to Parker, almost like an otherworldly force was pulling her towards him. She worried that there was something wrong with her. She also told that she had felt this odd sensation ever since Parker had approached her the day they met. This worried him greatly, for he knew the attraction she spoke of.

 

 Parker and Hanna were mates, and this devastated Parker to no end. What about Vera? What about his children she had birthed? What would happen when he would return, with a new, unfamiliar immortal by his side?

 

 His final decision altered history, as many of his mistakes seemed to be doing. Parker abandoned his old life completely, sending word through personal contact to Vera that he would not be returning and that she was free to do what she wished. This was just the incentive she needed to move on, even though she had already begun to do so without his permission.

 

 Parker had made his final choice, and now he had Hanna to take care of. He didn’t know how he would handle the whole mate situation considering he had only loved one woman for decades. How would he come about attempting to love another? But, that wasn’t even his main concern.

 

 He had been observing Hanna’s actions over the past few weeks and saw that she was indeed different from his race. One major difference was that she never seemed to breathe. Sometimes Parker would catch her taking in a deep breath but then she would seem to become bored and stop altogether. Naturals had to breathe just like humans. They could go extensive periods of time without breathing but oxygen was an absolute need for them. Hanna on the other hand, didn’t even need to take in any at all and went on just fine.

 

 A few days after Parker’s observations, Hanna began to complain about pain in her throat, her stomach, and her whole body. He knew what was wrong of course, she was thirsty. He told her that all she would have to do is hunt and she would be fine. So, he took her hunting in a village far from hers or his and picked off a human for her. As she fed however, Parker worried. Why didn’t she possess the instincts that encouraged her to feed, like Natural vampires did?