she turned and studied the machine the bottle of blood had set in. maybe her selfish choices had led her to this point. but considering that if she wasn't more concerned about herself than the people around her, she didn't eat, she felt no compunction to apologize.

she wasn't sorry for who she'd become, and aside from one action she'd committed at the age of thirteen, she wouldn't change anything about her life. it was her life, and up until she'd met him, she'd lived it on her own terms. she'd never claimed to be a saint, never even claimed to be an upright citizen.

and she never would.

focusing back on kerestyan, logan plastered a smile on her face. "so, let me make sure i understand this right. i have to go through withdrawal so you can take me to your father, who's going to decide whether i live or die. but even if i do get clean so i can meet him, he might kill me anyway?"

he narrowed his eyes, apparently not a fan of her special blend of sarcasm. "he decides who's worthy of his blood. even if it's the blood in my veins that grants you immortality, it still bears his power, his name. i don't expect you to understand, but the nelek name means something to those who matter in the vampiric world. should you choose to give up your beloved chemicals, you'll see what i mean."

"what is he, a vampire cop? is he some long-lived upstanding member of the d.a.r.e. program?" she rolled her eyes. "i just can't wait to meet him. he sounds like a real straight-laced kind of guy. tell me, does he have a halo?"

something strange charged the air as the darkness nearly eclipsed his eyes. "our blood is the seat of our power. would you just hand your most prized possession to a junkie, logan?" when she didn't answer right away, he lunged forward and caught her wrist before she had a chance to react. "would you?"

she winced as pain rattled down her arm. the answer was glaringly obvious, but something told her he wouldn't be satisfied until he heard her say it. she forced the words out between her teeth, "no. i wouldn't."

he released her as if she was suddenly poisonous. "then don't make this situation any more difficult than it already is. this isn't what i wanted. but i know my father, and it's only a matter of time before he demands i bring you to him. i have no doubt he sent vouclade back to fully induce the withdrawal process."

logan stared up at him, not even sure how to respond to that last comment. would these creatures let her do anything on her own? "i don't need anyone's help to start going through withdrawal. i went through it alone once before, i can do it again." as another wave of anger boiled up inside her, she stepped around him and headed for the hallway leading to her room.

but before she reached the archway, she turned around and glared at him again. "you, your brothers, and your precious daddy may not think much of me, but my feeble human mind is capable of a lot more than you give me credit for."

in the space of a single breath, kerestyan's face changed to the same cold stone she first saw in the alley. "i have forty-six brothers and sisters, logan, and not one is less than five thousand years old. it's been over six hundred years since my father has deemed a human worthy enough to even serve a nelek. i truly hope you are capable of more, because whether i like it or not, that one precious man holds your future in his hands."

chapter 6

"is she alright?"

kerestyan nodded at his sister, trinity, as he laid the thick cut of steak over the sizzling grill top. "i believe so." he smiled when she leaned across the counter and sprinkled a pinch of pepper over the meat. "she's been sleeping soundly for a little over three hours."

"what happened?"

"you already know what happened." he ground his teeth together. "from what alfred said, vouclade barely stopped short of telling the entire castle what happened."

trinity rolled her sable eyes. "i'm not talking about your romp against the refrigerator, which you get serious sexy points for, by the way. i'm more interested in what happened after you told her about meeting dad."

he slowly shook his head. only trinity would assign something as crass as "sexy points" to an adult rendezvous. however, considering she became a nelek due to her prosperity engaging in the oldest profession known to man, he wasn't overly surprised.

he reached out and removed the pepper shaker she was tapping against the counter before refocusing on her question. "i tried to explain the reasons she should give up her habit, but the discussion turned into an argument and she became unstable," one corner of his mouth rose of its own accord, "much like a pit viper."

trinity's ruby lips curved in a smile. "she's not exactly one of the chemicals in vouclade's lab, k. give your little viper a break. she's still human, and she's probably scared shitless right now." she plucked a green apple from the bowl sitting a few inches away and waved it under her nose. "don't you remember how you felt when dad took you?"

kerestyan pulled a pair of silver tongs from the drawer behind him then adjusted the steak. he remembered the day his father approached him with striking detail, but he'd felt nothing bearing even the slightest resemblance to fear. "i wasn't afraid of him."

"really? i was terrified." she clucked her tongue just before she rounded the counter, stole the utensil from his hand and bumped him out of the way with an ample hip. "ten thousand years old and you still don't know how to handle your meat."

he moved to take the seat trinity had so willingly vacated, knowing she would never relinquish her new position without a fight. and truthfully, he'd had enough of fighting with the women in his life for one day. "i assure you, i'm more than adept at handling myself. i just haven't prepared a proper meal for someone since before you were born."

she brushed her long black hair over a shoulder, disbelief clouding her already dark eyes. "i'm six thousand years old, k."

"i know."

she shook her head as she flipped the steak. "here's a thought," a satisfied smile spread across her mouth, "stop sucking on those bottles and maybe you'd have a reason to learn how to cook again."

"my feeding preferences have nothing to do with my ability to prepare a meal."

she spun on her heel and began opening and closing cabinets. "sure it does. when was the last time you went out into the city and hunted?"

"six months ago. what are you looking for?"

"spices. where are they?"

he shifted on the stool. he had no idea where the spices were, but he wasn't about to tell her that. she'd never let him live it down. "alfred set up my kitchen the same as he keeps the one in the castle. unless odin has moved something, everything should still be in the correct place."

she surveyed the room for a moment then opened the door two down from where she'd been looking. rows of small, labeled bottles lined the shelves, along with a few that weren't marked, as well as a number of packets and glass containers.

"sweet!" she pulled one of the unmarked bottles from the shelf and sniffed it. "you've got the old herbs. i don't even have some of this stuff, and i actually use it and know where it is."

he groaned. "you couldn't just let it go, could you?"

trinity flashed a smile over her shoulder before she returned to rummaging through the cabinet. "not a chance. i'm also not going to let go that you haven't hunted in six months. you know, most vampires our age hunt at least twice a week. that means your sucking more bottles than necks. necks keep you in touch with how the world is evolving. necks help you stay connected and stop the beast from taking over." she turned around with three bottles in hand and shook them. "necks give you a reason to remember how to properly cook a gorgeous strip of new york steak!"

kerestyan arched a brow at her animated movements. "i think you've spent too much time with odin."

she laughed, but it didn't stop her from perfecting her creation. "i think you should spend more time with odin. i'm not stupid. i know the only reason you have food in this place is because of him and alfred. if it wasn't for them, we both know logan would starve and wouldn't have so much as a tissue to wipe her ass with."

he stiffened at her insult. granted, he might have been a little more detached from humanity than odin, might have adjusted to the modern world at a slower pace, but that didn't mean he'd lost sight of human needs. "that is not true."

"oh, please. unless your digestive system magically started working again and you didn't tell anyone, you would've never thought to buy toilet paper. and since i've never seen you stick even a piece of gum in your mouth, i know you don't eat." when he opened his mouth to defend himself, she raised a hand. "if anything i just said wasn't true, you wouldn't have called alfred and i wouldn't have been tapped as a steak and vodka courier."