I was lying on my back in the forest, with my sister, Maria, sitting on top of me. She had severed my vocal cords and broken my arms and legs, and she had her hands in my stomach up to her wrists, slashing at my internal organs as she told me about what had happened to her when she had been sired as a vampire and forced into prostitution.

"Men lined up for the chance to mutilate me, Stosh. They cut my tits off, they removed my pussy lips, they fucked me with a hot poker, and they did it every night because I always healed. Always, Stosh."

"THIS ISN''T REAL!" I yelled. "You''re DEAD! This is a dream! This is only a dream!"

Maria gave me a sick, demented grin. "A dream is a wish your heart makes, brother mine," she said.

Suddenly, I felt hands on my chest.

"Stosh? Baby? Are you okay?"

I jumped and realized that Elizabeth was in bed, next to me.

"Whoa! Elizabeth! Wow! When did you get here?" I was shaken by her unexpected presence, but I was so glad to see her.

"Angus came back to Laura''s house after he tracked where you went, and I insisted he bring me back with him. Did you have a bad dream?"

I nodded. "I dreamed about my sister, Maria."

Elizabeth tightened her arms around me and kissed me softly. "She was the one who tried to kill you, wasn''t she?"

I nodded. "My first night as a vampire, I drank so much of her blood that she had to be sired, but the man who sired her turned out to be a slaver who turned her into a whore to be repeatedly raped and mutilated."

I had told Elizabeth about Maria before, but she seemed to understand that I needed to talk about her again. Maybe it was my way of trying to atone for what happened to Maria. I''ve always blamed myself for what she went through, and even now, after she tortured me, I still didn''t have it in me to be angry with her. After all, she wouldn''t have tortured me if someone hadn''t done it to her first.

"I''m sorry that happened to her, and I''m sorry she did that to you," Elizabeth said, gently kissing me.

I held her for a while, and then I asked, "How''s Michelle?"

"She''s okay. The others brought her back to Laura''s house after you left so she could recover. She''s annoyed that she had to drink a whole bunch of vampire blood though!" Elizabeth laughed.

I smiled. "I''m glad we could save her. Did she tell you what happened?"

"She said she was attacked by another werewolf, but she didn''t know who it was. Also, she''s been stalking my sister since they broke up."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah, apparently she''s been keeping watch over Laura''s house every night."

"Even when Laura stayed at our apartment?"

Elizabeth laughed again. "That''s the best part - she was super pissed when Laura told her she''d been staying there."

I hugged Elizabeth closer and softly kissed her. Then she pulled her head back and said, "Wait - our apartment?"

I laughed. "Yes. I''d like it if you moved in with me, especially after I sire you. I''ll need to keep an eye on you and make sure you''re not having any problems. Also, well, I like having you around."

"Mr. Szymanski, this is so sudden!" she said in an innocent voice. "I don''t know what to say!"

I kissed her again. "Say ''yes'' or else I''m never going to get David and Angus to find their own place!"

Elizabeth smiled at me and put her head on my chest. "By the way, when are you thinking of turning me into a vampire?"

I sighed. "Once this bullshit is over."

"You mean with the rogue?"

It took me a moment to realize Elizabeth hadn''t been with us when we realized that there was something else going on other than a rogue werewolf.

"There is no rogue. Did Angus introduce you to the two wolves in this house?"

"Yes, he did," she said, in an uncertain voice.

"Well, the wolf who took my brother is the male wolf you met, William. The female wolf, Honoria, is his grandmother. They''re from Maryland and they''ve been chasing Janek because he killed Honoria''s brother, who was also their pack beta."

"Holy shit, that lady is his grandmother?"

I laughed. "That''s all you got out of that?"

"Well, no, but... fuck! How old is she?"

I laughed. "I''m not brave enough to ask a lady her age, especially if she''s a werewolf!"

Elizabeth laughed with me. "Okay, okay, good point."

"Werewolves live a long time. Not as long as we live, but they age very slowly. My friend Dmitri is over 200 years old," I said.

"Wow. Dmitri looks like he''s in his twenties. How long do werewolves normally live?" she asked.

"They usually die after about 600 years or so, but I''ve met a couple of wolves that are nearly a thousand years old."

Elizabeth nodded, and I decided to keep talking.

"Anyway, these wolves have been chasing my brother, Janek, and William finally caught up with him at Carlos'' place."

"Why did Janek come here?"

I sighed. "He said he was going to rescue our sister."

"Oh. So why did he beat her up when he found her?"

"I don''t know. But it''s a good thing William caught him before he could hurt her worse."

I was silent for a moment, trying to gather the courage to tell Elizabeth the next part of the story.

"They want to kill Janek. They''ve been torturing him since they caught him."

"Okay..." Elizabeth said, in an uncertain voice.

I took a deep breath. "I told them I wouldn''t stop them from killing him."

Elizabeth hugged me closer. "That must have been hard for you to say."

I sighed. "It really wasn''t. I''m still angry at him for killing Vadoma and letting Maria torture me. This business with Jadwiga is the last straw." I swallowed hard and asked, "Does that make me a monster?"

Elizabeth put her hands on my face and looked deeply into my eyes. "No. You aren''t a monster. I saw what he did to your sister, and I know what he did to you. He deserves whatever is coming to him."

I kissed Elizabeth deeply then, and I worked my way down her body as she ran her hands through my hair. She said, "When David and Angus told us what happened and that you''d run away, I thought I might never see you again."

I put my hands under her shirt and pushed it up over her breasts. As she pulled her shirt off, I began to touch and tease her breasts under her silky bra, kneading the flesh and watching her nipples harden through the thin material.

"You can''t get rid of me that easily, śliczny," I said, as I kissed and nuzzled her breasts. "I love you."

She moaned her approval of my kisses as she removed her bra, freeing her flesh so I could more fully taste her delicious curves.

I swirled my tongue around her nipple as she pulled my head closer. I felt myself grow even harder as I suckled on her taut peaks. The contrast between her smooth skin and the rough little beads of her nipples made me groan with pleasure, as I slid my hand down to the juncture of her thighs.

"I love you so much, Stosh," she said, holding my head to her breast. I could feel the wetness between her legs as she took a trembling breath. I looked up into her beautiful eyes as I reached the button on her jeans and began to unzip her pants.

"I need to touch more of you," I said, as I pulled her jeans down her hips. I reached between her thighs and held her pussy in my palm, lightly stroking the wet material of her panties as she shivered.

In a breathless moan, she said hoarsely, "I can''t open my legs any wider."

"Let me help you," I said.

I pulled her jeans further down her legs, then I slipped my finger into her panties and between her slick lips. She gasped as I found her clit and began to rub it, slowly and firmly.

Elizabeth''s feminine scent was intoxicating as my fingers glided through her hot, wet folds. I watched her face intently as she held onto my shoulders, as though she might float away at any moment. Her moaning began to get louder, so I kissed her deeply, capturing her sounds with my mouth, as I felt her stiffen and shatter in my arms.

Elizabeth looked at me with eyes that were glazed by lust, then she put her forehead against mine. "I need you inside of me, Stosh."

I smiled at her and pulled us both off the bed and onto our feet. "We''re wearing entirely too many clothes," I chuckled.

We stripped each other, taking the time to kiss and stroke as more skin was uncovered. Finally, I sat her back down on the bed and kneeled before her, and put her legs on my shoulders as I began to explore her pussy with my mouth, drinking up her moisture as my teeth grazed her clit lightly. She began to moan and tremble again as she held my head to her pussy with both hands. I lightly nibbled her clit and drank her juices as she began to cum again. As her trembling ceased and her breathing became more regular, I couldn''t deny myself anymore, and I began to kiss my way back up her body.

I gently eased myself into her pussy as I savored the scalding heat of her velvet chamber. Once I was fully settled inside of her, I kissed her deeply, and stopped moving, enjoying the way her pussy felt around my cock. She wrapped her legs around my hips and I said, "You feel so good, Elizabeth."

She smiled at me as I began to slowly move inside her. I felt her open to me completely as she ran her fingers up and down my back, pressing her breasts into my chest.

"Fuck me, Stosh."

I began to pump into her firmly as I licked her neck. I felt that familiar tightness in my belly as my cock thickened, and I knew I was going to cum. I bit into her throat as I spilled myself inside her, feeling her blood fill my mouth as I filled her with my seed.

After we both came, I rolled over and pulled her on top of me while we caught our breath.

"What happened to your skin?" Elizabeth asked.

I looked down at myself, and saw that, for the first time in my existence as a human and a vampire, I had a tan. And not just a light tan, either, but the kind of tan that you usually see in an ad for a resort in some sunny place like Mexico or Florida. I took a moment to admire my skin and smiled a little as I thought about how David would react.

"I got exposed to a little too much sun. Do you like it?"

"It''s a new look, that''s for sure," she smiled, kissing me. "But how did you get it?"

I didn''t want to tell her about getting assaulted by two halfwits who didn''t know the first thing about vampire physiology, so I just kissed her.

"You know, I''m only going to have it for a couple of days, so maybe we should try to make the most while I still have it..." I winked and tweaked her nipple. She smiled at me, but then she put her hand over my hand with a serious look on her face.

"Stosh, we should talk."

As I moved my hand away from her breast, she laced her fingers with mine. "David told me about what happened with Angus'' blood."

"What did he tell you?"

"He told me that Michelle drank so much of your blood he thought you would die, so Angus volunteered to let you have some of his blood. He said he had to force you to drink Angus''s blood," she said, looking in my eyes as though she expected me to argue.

I sighed deeply, and she continued. "He said you were angry, and that he''s afraid you''re so angry with him you won''t forgive him for doing that to you."

I chuckled. "Leave it to David to make someone else''s personal issues all about him."

Elizabeth didn''t say anything, so I continued. "Look, he held my head down and forced me to drink Angus''s blood. That''s not okay. Not at all."

Elizabeth gave me a sad smile. "Did you really tell him he should have let you die?"

I sighed. "Yes, I did. But I didn''t mean it."

She laughed and kissed me softly. "I should hope not."

We kissed a little more, then she said, "David hates himself for what he did."

"He should," I said, without hesitation, and immediately felt bad. David has always been very sure of himself, almost to the point of arrogance. If he was expressing doubts to Elizabeth, he must have really felt guilty.

"Can you forgive him?" Elizabeth asked.

Just then there was a knock on the door, and it opened without either of us saying anything. I looked at Elizabeth and rolled my eyes. "Werewolves don''t put a lot of value on privacy." She laughed.

William walked in the door with a smile. "Good evening. We heard voices and wanted to invite you to have tea with us."

"William, your timing is impeccable," I said. He barked out a laugh.

"Well, I waited until you were done," he said with a wink. "Also, my sister should be here soon and she''d like to meet you."

Elizabeth pulled the sheet around her and stood up. "Tea sounds nice." She took my hand and pulled me up to stand next to her. "Let''s go."

I really didn''t want to leave the bedroom. I was still feeling raw from what happened with Angus and David. Also, I was kind of hoping Elizabeth and I could have sex again. But Elizabeth was clearly not on the same page.

After we got dressed, we walked into the dining room and saw Honoria and Angus sitting at a large table. Angus greeted me with a crooked grin. "Hello! Good to see you, old man!"

I smiled at him despite myself. It was not lost on me that Angus used the same nickname for me that David used.

Suddenly, Honoria jumped up from her seat and gave me a big hug. "Angus told us about what happened. I''m sorry that he had to give you his blood. But you shouldn''t be shy about accepting help from your brother," she said, with a serious expression on her face.

I smiled at her. "I know. It''s just... well, it''s a complicated issue for me."

"It shouldn''t be," William said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "He freely offered his blood to you."

I stood there quietly, not sure what to say as Elizabeth squeezed my hand tighter.

Honoria turned to Elizabeth. "If Angus hadn''t given Stosh his blood, he might not have survived."

Elizabeth said, "I know. Angus told me," then, she turned toward me and said, "I''m glad you''re still here," as she kissed my cheek.

"I''m honored that I was in a position to help save your life," Angus said. "I''m just sorry that it upset you so badly."

I found myself feeling annoyed at the werewolves for getting involved in my personal business, but then I realized that they''re werewolves and that''s just what they do. I sighed in resignation as I realized I was going to have to accept the fact that, as wolves, they have no understanding of personal space and to them, being nosy is actually a form of affection.

I turned and hugged Angus. "Thank you for saving my life," I said, sincerely. I was glad that Angus saved me. But I should have been the one to make the decision about taking his blood.

Angus returned my hug and patted my back. "Anytime." Then he stood back and looked at me. "Your new tan really suits you!"

"Well, that''s what happens when a vampire gets exposed to too much sunlight," I smiled.

Honoria let out a healthy snort. "Well, that''s one way to put it!"

Elizabeth gave her a confused look, and William said, "We had a couple of inexperienced, younger wolves who staked him out in the sun. They actually thought that would kill him!" William said with a laugh.

Elizabeth''s eyes got big and I could see her shoulders tighten. She was very upset by what he had said. She turned to me and said, "How long were you out there?"

I put my hand on Elizabeth''s arm and said, "Not very long. Just long enough that they were disappointed and confused. And I got a nice little tan," I said, in a too-cheery voice.

Elizabeth began to tear up, and I pulled her to me and kissed the top of her head. "Sshhh... It''s okay, honey, I was never in any real danger."

Elizabeth was openly crying now. "I don''t want anything to happen to you!"

"Nothing''s going to happen to me, piękny."

"But something already did happen! They could have had knives or a gun or... or anything!"

Elizabeth''s reaction really upset me, and I didn''t know how to respond. Fortunately, Honoria picked that moment to step in. She spoke to Elizabeth in a motherly tone, "Oh, please don''t cry, lassie. It''s hard to kill a vampire, especially one as old as yours. And the two that hurt him don''t know their ass from a hole in the ground."

Elizabeth nodded at Honoria and said, "Okay."

Honoria smiled at her with soft eyes and came over with a box of Kleenex. She hugged Elizabeth to her bosom and held her there until Elizabeth stopped crying. Then, Elizabeth blew her nose. "I''m sorry to be so dramatic," she said.

Honoria laughed. "If there''s any time to be dramatic, it''s when you''re worried about your fella. Would you like some more tea, sweet girl?" Elizabeth nodded, and Honoria gently poured a fresh cup of tea while the rest of us smiled at the sweet, maternal gesture.

After a moment, Angus asked, "How long will you have that look?" He flashed me a wicked grin and said, "Hopefully you''ll have it long enough for David to see you."

Elizabeth and I laughed, thinking about just what David would say once he got a look at the color of my skin. "It will probably be gone in a couple of days."

Angus chuckled. "All the more reason to get back to David quickly!"

I let out a sigh. David has been my friend for nearly two hundred years, ever since I arrived in America. I wanted to see him, but I wasn''t sure I wanted to see him right away.

William turned to Angus and asked, "Is David your mate?"

"Aye," Angus answered, beaming with pride.

Elizabeth smiled. "David is also Stosh''s best friend."

"Oh really?" Honoria asked.

I nodded and smiled, not entirely sure how much I should reveal. "Yes, that''s true. He''s the first real friend I made when I came to America."

Honoria was silent for a moment and winked at me as her voice dropped into a conspiratorial whisper. "Is this David a vampire?"

I looked at Angus before responding, and he smiled at me and gave me a slight nod. I looked at Honoria and replied, "Yeah, he is."

William laughed enthusiastically. "Your best friend must be one hell of a man. We can''t wait to meet him!"

"He''s an amazing guy. He''s very good with languages. How many does he speak?" Elizabeth asked.

Before I could answer, Angus spoke up. "The man speaks English, French, Polish, Russian... he''s like a language sponge. He even picked up a little Scots. He got the accent right and everything!"

Angus''s face lit up and his eyes smiled as he bragged David, and I loved watching him. It was very satisfying to see that he loved my friend so much.

"And he''s tough! He started life as a slave, so he''s been through a lot of shite, and he''s very strong," Angus continued.

Honoria''s eyebrows shot up. "So he was a slave? Does that mean he''s a black fellow then?"

"Yes, he is!" Angus said with a smile.

William chuckled. "No wonder he''s going to love your new look!" he said to me.

We all laughed, although Elizabeth looked a little uncomfortable. I smiled at her and softly said, "Werewolves don''t care about race."

Honoria turned to Angus and asked, "So is it true what they say about black fellas?"

Angus blushed and looked down, then smiled at her and said a quiet "Aye."

Honoria clasped her hands and giggled with delight while Elizabeth blushed.

I cleared my throat and said, "David has a good head on his shoulders. He always thinks clearly, and I know he''ll be a wonderful mate for you."

Honoria and William were practically beaming. "I never would have thought that a wolf could find his mate in a vampire, but if you feel so strongly about it, that gives me hope," Honoria said.

Angus chuckled. "When he sees your tan, he''s going to lose his jobby."

"Excuse me?" I asked.

William smiled. "That''s Scots for ''lose his shit''."

We all laughed, and then Honoria asked, "So are you going to make Elizabeth a vampire?"

Elizabeth and I smiled at each other. "Yes, I''m going to make her a vampire. But we have to sort out our current situation first."

"You mean with your brother," William said.

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