We've had an unprecedented ten days without a case and Carter and I decided to take the time to hole up in my apartment and get to know even more about each other. Of course this included hours of wild sex on just about every surface.
And now we're sitting in the living area on separate chairs, of course, because if we're within reach, well, let's just say we've had to learn how to control ourselves when around others. Since we just finished fucking, and will most likely do so again soon, we both only pulled on our jeans not even bothering to do up the fly.
I'm sprawled in one chair, clutching a goblet of blood poured from my private stash and Carter is relaxing on the couch opposite, sipping on a beer.
"I guess now's as good a time as any for you to tell me what I need to know," he says, breaking the silence that has reigned for the past several minutes. It’s been a nice, comfortable post-coital silence and I almost hate to break it with anything except more of his moans, but he’s right.
With a sigh, I settle deeper into my chair. "You want to ask questions, or shall I just start telling what I know?"
"I'm not sure exactly what to ask, so I guess just tell me what you know."
I nod. "Fair enough." To give myself a moment to gather my thoughts, I raise the goblet to my mouth and drain it. "Until recently, no one knew where Vampires came from. John's Mate found an entry in the database of the city where they live that tells how Vampires came to be. The Ancient scientists were looking for a way to defeat a great enemy. Only it backfired and the subjects died, but they weren’t really dead. They became Vampires; the only species that is immune to a Wraith feeding, which is rather ironic seeing as how a Wraith is a form of Vampire; they feed off the life energy of their prey.
"There are rumors of a Vampire who has been around since the very beginning, one of the original test subjects. He's known only as The Ancient One and he has no ties with any of the Clans.
"For a while, chaos reigned. Then someone, there are those who say it was The Ancient One, decided that there should be a ruling council. The Council is made up of several ancient Vampires who are in control of the rules that govern all Vampires. They're also in charge of punishing the most severe crimes; the ones that a Clan Leader can't, or won't, lay down a sentence for. These are usually crimes against other Vampires and the very serious crime of killing a Human while feeding.
"The Council is also in charge of assigning Clan Leaders. Or rather, they decide if a Vampire should be allowed to form his own clan and where that should be. Right now there is not anywhere on Earth that doesn't already have a clan. I've heard that they're talking about letting John form a clan where he serves.
"At some point after the birth of Jesus of Nazareth and the rise of Christianity, being a Vampire became illegal and it was punishable by death. There is only one surefire way to kill a Vampire and that's to remove his head. This can be achieved in several different ways, but the most common is by cutting it off with a broadsword. Once I've Turned you, you'll have to learn how to use one to kill and defend yourself.
"I would prefer to be the one to do this, but have a feeling Nick may want Ardeth to. Ardeth is the leader of the Medjai Clan in the Middle East and The Council's 'trainer,' meaning he's the one that all the Clans send their new Vampires to for training, especially if their Sire isn't as skilled as they should be. You'll most likely meet him in any case. Ardeth may not be my Sire, or even the one I claim as my Sire, but he has been there for me a lot over the past thousand years.
"There are rules for everything about being a Vampire. For the most part the rules are followed by all but occasionally you'll come across one or two that think they're above all the rules. The rules you need to be most concerned with are the ones that govern feeding and what to do when meeting an older Vamp on the street.
"Feeding is rather straightforward; make sure your Donor is over eighteen. I'll teach you how to feed without your Donor even being aware of it. We developed this skill as a means of survival because while there are more Humans than Vampires, one Human can only be feed from once every two months and each Vampire should feed every day. The age limit on a Donor is absolute and is there to protect the Donor. In fact, most of our rules are to protect Humans. You will come across Vampires who drink the blood of children from time to time, usually taken from a blood bank where the parents have stored their child's cord, because it is reported to be much sweeter and stronger than that of an adult. No one's really sure why, and trust me when I say that Sylum's scientists have been trying to figure it out.
"When you meet an older Vampire, you are to defer to them. Do not speak until they acknowledge you. Unless they're one of the ones that feel that everyone younger than them is not worth their time, they will greet you once within speaking distance. Do not offer your hand. If they want to shake hands, they will offer theirs first." I get up and take Carter's empty beer bottle and my empty goblet into the kitchen. Grabbing two bottles from the fridge, I remove the tops and return to the living room where I hand one to Carter before settling again in my chair with the other.
Carter takes a long pull of his beer, eyeing me the whole time. "So what happens when a Human is Turned?"
"I can't tell you what physically happens to the body but I can tell you the process. First, I'll have to drain you of all your blood which means you'll die. Once that's happened, I'll have you drink from me. Over the next several minutes, my Vampire DNA will begin overwriting your Human DNA. Again, I can't tell you what happens exactly, but Sylum's doctor, Janet Fraiser, can. I've had her on stand-by for some time now. If you want I can call her and have her come explain what I can't."
"Maybe later." Carter drains his beer and slumps further down on the couch, spreading his legs in a very distracting way. "Tell me more about the Bond."
"The Bond makes the two halves of each soul, one. We won't be able to hear each other's thoughts but we will be able to feel what the other is feeling. If I'm hurt, you'll know. If you're angry, I'll know. The closer we are to each other, the stronger the Bond. When we're feeding from each other the Bond is at its strongest."
"What happens when a Vampire dies?"
"They turn to dust and if they're Bonded, their Mate dies too."
"Then isn't it better to remain unBonded?"
"No. The longer a Vampire goes unBonded the weaker they become. There are two reasons I won't feed from you yet. I've told you about one of them; that if I feed and you die, I'll go insane. But the other reason is that feeding from you will start our Bond."
"I thought you said that touching started the Bond?" he interrupts.
"It does, and it doesn't." I hold up a hand when he opens his mouth to interrupt me again. "The sizzle we feel when we touch is more so that a Vampire who has never met their Mate before will know when they do finally meet them. I've heard that if both Mates are Human, they don't feel the sizzle and I guess it's true because I don't remember feeling it with Adair. We work so well together because I can sense you in a way that's similar to how it'll be once we Bond."
"Tell me about your Turning."
"No." My voice takes on a hard note that would have had Adair backing down.
"Why not?" I'm reminded that Carter is not Adair. While Adair was conditioned to follow my orders, Carter is used to being in charge and expecting me to jump to each time he says.
"Because it has no bearing on us and your Turning." I find I can't sit still anymore and so jump up and begin to pace my apartment.
"Okay, Dean. You'll tell me when you're ready, right?" Like Adair, Carter has the ability to calm me with just a few words.
"Maybe. I've never told anyone about my Turning."
"Who's your Sire?" Now what makes him think I'll tell him that if I won't tell him about my Turning?
"Carter…" I growl low in my throat.
"Stop it, Dean," he commands, grabbing my arm when I pass in front of the couch. "Sit and talk to me." The Bond flares bright hot behind my eyes and we both hiss as it sizzles along our nerve endings. "You said that Ardeth isn't the one you claim is your Sire and I'm guessing that means either you don't know your Sire or he didn't stick around after Turning you or both. So tell me, who do you consider your Sire?" I know he wants me to settle on the couch next to him but if I do, we won't be finishing this conversation any time soon, so I return to my chair, ignoring the noise of protest he makes.
I blow out a big breath. "After I was Turned, I woke up and found a man and a woman kneeling over me. I thought they had been the ones to… do… whatever it was that left me unconscious. They managed to calm me down and explained that I'd been Turned, then they introduced themselves; Guinevere and Arthur. They also explained that when asked, I would one day claim them as my Sire."
"It's not possible to have two Sires, is it?"
"No, it's not. I usually alternate between them, depending on who I'm talking to."
"So, Guinevere and Arthur. As in the Queen and King of Camelot?"
I nod. "Want another?" I point at his empty beer bottle. Instead of answering, he just holds it out to me. "Yep," I answer, entering the kitchen to grab him another beer and make myself some more cloned blood. "One and the same. You'll soon learn that most myths and legends have a basis in reality. In fact Arthur and Guinevere are the Leaders of Camelot Clan which rules over Great Britain, which, as I'm sure you know, is Ireland, Scotland and England." I hand him his beer and retake my seat.
"So tell me about the Clan you belong to." He takes a sip of his beer and stretches his arms along the back of the couch giving me a lovely view of his muscular chest and abdomen.
"I don't belong to a Clan. I have ties with all the ones that are friendly with Sylum, which is the Clan that rules the US. My closest ties are with Camelot because of Guinevere and Arthur. But since I live in the US, I've had to align myself with Sylum and its Leader Nick Stokes.
"Nick was born Nico Valerius Meridius in 399 AD in Rome. He was born to a slave woman and despite being the son of her owner, he was a slave until his owner/father died and his new owner allowed him to fight for his freedom in the Coliseum.
"After that, he quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the youngest generals in the history of the Roman Empire. Then in 432 he was betrayed by one of his men and crucified. Just as he was near death, Shepsit Hemet Amun-Ra found him and Turned him."
"Wait, Shepsit Hemet Amun-Ra as in from The Mummy Returns?"
The look on his face pulls a chuckle from me. "I told you, just about everything you know has a basis in reality. The Mummy movies are real, Dracula is real and so is Blade."
"Ya know, there's something I've been wanting the answer to but have yet to find the courage to ask."
"What's that?" I take a sip from the goblet and watch him wince almost as if he can taste just how nasty it truly is.
"How is it you can walk in the sun?"
"I suppose I should have told you the truth about all the Vampire myths before now. Once it became illegal for us to exist, The Council developed myths and legends to spread amongst the Humans so that we can live in as much peace as possible.
"We can walk in the sun. We can enter a church. Holy water just makes us wet. Crosses don't harm us, neither does silver; although if a Vampire is shot by a silver bullet, it burns a bit more than a regular one. We can eat garlic, and so can those we feed from, although most don't because we can't sweat it out like a Human and it tends to make our breath stink something fierce."
Carter nods, as though he’s crossed one item off his list and is moving to the next one. "I know you said that you can only be killed if your head is removed from your body but what happens if someone shoves a wooden stake through your heart?"
I shrug. "It'll hurt and I'll drop into a healing trance. Once my body has healed itself, I'll wake up and require several pints of blood."
"Good to know. So back to Nick…"
"Back to Nick. Shepsit Hemet Amun-Ra introduced him to Ardeth Bay. Together the two of them trained Nick in the art of being a Vampire.
"Over time Nick began looking for the souls of his loved ones. He found his mother, his children, his wife and his Soul Mate.
"Nick has met his Soul Mate twice since he became a Vampire. The first time was in 1600. His name at the time was Warren Mills. He was a blacksmith in a small English village. In 1603, Warren convinced Nick to feed from him just before leaving on some errand for Ardeth. While Nick was gone, Warren was found guilty of associating with Vampires and sentenced to death by burning.
"Nick and the small group of followers he had at the time, returned just in time to watch Warren die at the stake. Those present say that Nick went ballistic and destroyed the whole village, killing every living thing, even the children and animals.
"I was with Ardeth so I only have the stories of those that saw what happened. Timothy O'Malley, now known as Timothy 'Speed' Speedle, and Anthony Jenson, now known as Anthony DiNozzo, took Nick to Camelot and basically nursed him back to health.
"When they left in 1670, Arthur asked me to go to keep an eye on Nick. He was afraid that he was pretending to be better and that Tim and Tony didn't have it in them to say no to their Sire.
"John had been with me at Ardeth's when the request came so he accompanied me to England. John and I are more alike than either of us cares to admit and so it was nice having someone who wasn't totally on Nick's side to talk to.
"Anyway, after about three years, it became obvious that Nick was no longer insane, or at least wasn't as insane as he had once been. Neither Tim, nor Tony, nor Nick would say how they managed to bring him back and as far as I know, it hasn't been done before or since.
"John and Nick had a falling out after John watched his Mate die in the same manner as Warren and so he left Nick's company and I went with him. After we settled Joseph's family in America, John stayed for a while and I returned to Ardeth.
"In 1700 Nick sent word that he'd bought a merchant ship and wanted to know if I would be interested in sailing as one of his crew. When I left Scotland I discovered that I really do enjoy being at sea, so I accepted.
"In 1723, his ship was boarded by a pirate named Warrick Calhoun. During their fight, Nick accidentally touched him and discovered they were Mates. This sparked a flashback of sorts of Nick's insanity from when Warren died. Because of this, Nick Turned Warrick Without Consent and Force Bonded him almost a year later.
"This caused a lot of tension between them; tension that hasn't totally gone away. And this, kids, is our cautionary tale against Turning before the Human is totally ready." I tip my head down and give him my best Commander glare.
He squirms nervously in his seat. "Okay. I get it now, Dean. I'll stop trying to get you to Turn me before I'm ready."
"Good." I drain the last of the blood in my goblet and stretch my legs out in front of me and cross my ankles. "In 1718, Nick had helped found the city of New Orleans. Around this time The Council began talking about letting him start his own Clan.
"In 1754 he finally agreed and settled in New Orleans for several reasons. The main one was because he helped found it and so felt like it was his city. Another reason is that several of his clan members at that time served with him when he was a Musketeer."
"As in Dumas' book The Three Musketeers?" Carter gapes at me.
I shake my head and laugh. "Seriously, Carter. Do we need to suspend this conversation until you're more awake?"
"No. No, please continue." He waves one hand imperially.
"The Musketeers actually existed, just much earlier in history than Dumas said in his book. And before you ask, the book is based on Nick, John, Tim and Tony." I tuck my hands behind my head and leer at my Mate. "Have you learned enough or do you have any more questions for me?"
"I think you've answered enough for today," he says, getting up and all but slithering onto my lap. As soon as our skin touches, the Bond flares bright. He cups one hand behind my head and leans in to nibble on my lips. "Tha gaol agam ort, Dean," Carter whispers. Ever since I told him he was a Scot in a past life, he made it a point to learn Gaelic and now has the habit of only speaking it during sex which turns me on to no end.
I grab his head and shove my tongue down his throat. When I feel he might need air, I push him back just far enough so we can continue to press nibbling little kisses on each other's lips. "Tha gaol agam ort, Carter." I've yet to say it in English but he doesn't seem to mind.
"Fuck me, Dean. Fuck me like you always wanted to fuck Adair."
I press our foreheads together and desperately grab for the reins of my self-control. He may have given me permission to fuck him the way I've always wanted, but I'm much stronger now than I was then and I don't want to hurt him. But I can make love to him the way I always wanted and that's what I decide to do.
Pushing him gently from my lap, I herd him into the bedroom where I strip him naked and spend the rest of the night slowly worshipping every square inch of his body.