Arels blood, p.1
Arel's Blood, page 1
part #2 of The Vampire Reclamation Project Series
PRAISE BY READERS FOR
A WEREWOLF THRILLER
BY S. S. BAZINET
IN THE CARE OF WOLVES
Book One: My Brother's Keeper
“This is truly a tale of self-discovery, of finding out about one's true nature, discovering one's true family.”
“I found myself laughing out loud and then crying the next minute as a read this tale.”
“You will be scooped up by the scruff and carried along with this pack on a non-stop thrill ride.”
“This is the werewolf book for people who didn't think they would want to read a werewolf book. I loved it!”
“This was a fantastic read that had me hooked from the beginning. It took a refreshing approach to the idea of modern-day werewolves.”
“You will fall in love with the characters, particularly Theodore and his new found family as they struggle for survival and Theodore comes to terms with his pain, vulnerability and unique powers. It touched my heart.”
“If this book was a movie (it would make a great one) I would have been on the edge of my seat.”
“One of the most intense, EXCITING, heartfelt & inspiring books I've ever read!”
More Books by S. S. Bazinet
The Vampire Reclamation Project Series
Book One: Michael’s Blood
Book Two: Arel’s Blood
Book Three: William’s Blood
Book Four: Brother’s Blood
Book Five: Tainted Blood
In The Care Of Wolves Series
Book One: My Brother's Keeper
The Madonna Diaries
Dying Takes It Out Of You
Sentenced To Heaven
An Inmate's Tale from the Other Side
Book Two: A Vampire In Heaven
Copyright © 2014 by S. S. Bazinet
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, businesses, organizations and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Published by Renata Press
Albuquerque, New Mexico
RenataPress.com
Visit the author’s website: SSBazinet.com
Book cover by Panagiotis Lampridis.
ISBN: 978-1-937279-11-0
To all of my family,
those special beings who reside in
the physical and the nonphysical,
they are my constant support team!
Acknowledgments
Again, I have so many people in my life who have helped to make this book possible. My appreciation and gratitude goes out to all of my family for their continued, loving support. Regarding the book’s content, Laura Christine has been my editing guru and guiding light. Gene has been an invaluable blessing as a copy editor. Anna Marie and Julia Ann have also been extremely helpful with their thoughtful support and additional copy editing. Gabriel is forever cheering me on!
CONTENTS
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six
Forty-Seven
Forty-Eight
Forty-Nine
Fifty
Fifty-One
Fifty-Two
Fifty-Three
Fifty-Four
Fifty-Five
Fifty-Six
Fifty-Seven
Fifty-Eight
Fifty-Nine
Sixty
Sixty-One
Sixty-Two
Sixty-Three
Sixty-Four
Sixty-Five
Sixty-Six
Sixty-Seven
Sixty-Eight
Sixty-Nine
Seventy
Seventy-One
Seventy-Two
Seventy-Three
Other Books by S. S. Bazinet
One
AREL'S GUT WAS on fire, searing his tissues, consuming his energy. But he was familiar with fever and pain. When he was a child, misery was his constant companion. He'd learned that he couldn't cope with it. He endured it. Now he had to go a step further, he had to ignore it. Carol was in trouble. Her life was on the line, and his mind was issuing orders.
Go back to her bedside! Help her!
But how could he obey those orders? Tim was literally dragging him down the hospital corridor, putting distance between Arel and Carol’s room. Arel struggled against the iron grip Tim had on his arm, but he couldn’t successfully battle Tim’s mass and strength, especially in his weakened condition. At six-foot-three, Tim was four inches taller than Arel. He also had the beefed-up body of a pro ballplayer. Arel came from an English lineage. He bore the slender, genteel frame of an upper-class bloodline. Still, he had to do something to get Tim's attention. He glared up at his captor and barked out a hoarse appeal. “Tim! You have to let me go back to help!”
His croaky-voiced order seemed to backfire. Tim stiffened his jaw and stepped up his forward pace. Arel continued to resist, but spasms of pain were gripping his gut, making his knees want to buckle. The hospital-green walls were closing in on him. The antiseptic smells had a suffocating effect. He couldn’t manage enough air. He took short, gasping breaths, trying to get a little oxygen. His pleas came out in breathless spurts. “You’re supposed to be my friend! Why won’t you listen to me?”
Tim finally gave him a quick, scowling glance as they neared the end of the hallway. That’s when Arel noted that Tim was puffing away too. It was a small victory. Maybe Arel was putting up a better fight than he thought. But his triumph was useless, wasn’t it? He had no choice but to follow as Tim slammed through a pair of swinging, hospital doors. Luckily, his forced march ended when Tim came to an abrupt stop a few feet beyond the doors.
As Arel tried to catch his breath, he noticed that Tim was scanning the busy waiting area that adjoined the hallway. He saw the person Tim was searching for. A blond-haired man sat in a corner of the room. When Tim waved to him, the man acknowledged the gesture and stood up.
Tim urged the man on in a weary voice. “Michael, get over here fast. Arel is really going nuts.”
Arel took the opportunity to jerk free from Tim’s grasp, but a bout of dizziness made him brace himself on his knees. “Don’t get Michael involved,” he huffed. “He doesn’t know anything about childbirth.”
Tim shot him an imploring look, but he didn’t reply.
Michael’s face was calm and serene as he walked over to join them. Only his eyes showed any reaction to the situation. They flickered with concern when he looked at Arel.
Tim’s face relaxed a little. “Please talk some sense into this guy,” he begged.
His request made Arel come to attention. He stumbled forward and grabbed Michael’s shirt. “Michael, tell Tim to stay out of this. Carol needs me.”
“I don’t think so,” Tim countered. “Arel’s upsetting her. They had to toss him out of the birthing room for her sake and his.”
Arel tightened his grip, forcing Michael to look at him. “I was a little nervous, that’s all. The bottom line is that I can help.”
Tim ignored Arel’s comments and continued on with his full disclosure of facts. “Arel fainted twice trying to help.”
Arel’s face went flush with humiliation, but he couldn’t deny the truth. When he was under extreme duress, he passed out. It was one of his body’s defense strategies. He shut out the world and all its pain by losing consciousness. How many times had the world gone black when he was really upset? How many times had his friends, Tim and Kevin, intervened when his body was making a quick trip to the floor? As time passed, he was making headway, gaining control over his physical response, but this wasn’t one of those times. Still, he looked back at the hospital doors with resolve.
“I don’t care how many times I faint. I can’t bear the thought that Carol is suffering.” Arel’s statement was filled with all the passion he could manage. His lungs were heaving in and out like a broken bellows. Why did a hospital always make him feel like he was a mountain climber who couldn’t catch his breath? He slowly released Michael’s shirt, giving himself time to get more oxygen. “Listen, both of you. Just give me five minutes. I promise to make everything better.”
With his hands out in front of him, Arel gave the men a gesture to remain where they were. Tim didn’t move, but he squinted back as if he was viewing someone who was headed for a padded cell. Michael maintained a look of concern.
Arel didn’t care what they might be thinking. He backed up a couple of steps and turned towards the doors leading to the birthing room.
I won’t let Carol down.
His intent was rock solid, but he was having trouble navigating. He couldn’t keep his gait steady, and his vision blurred. It didn’t matter. He’d force his body to do what he wanted.
I can’t let anything happen to her.
The thought spurred him on when he had no reserves left. Before he got very far, Michael snagged his arm.
“Arel, you’ll never make it to Carol’s room in your condition. You have to calm down or you know what could happen.”
Michael, an angel who had taken on physical form, was a couple of inches shorter than Tim. His frame was lighter and less muscular, but he had a definite air of strength and vitality about him. Yet he’d never been anything but Arel’s gentle friend and mentor. He had also shared his untainted blood with Arel, offering him a way to escape the curse of being a vampire. Yet the gift could also be a curse when Arel’s negative emotions were in play. If Arel lost control, his physical vessel was put at risk.
Michael was very aware of the danger that Arel faced. “Before you can help anyone, take a moment and—”
“How can I take a moment when I know what can happen in childbirth? So many things can go wrong. I’ve studied the facts for months.”
Michael’s crystal-blue eyes filled with understanding. “I know what you’re saying, but that doesn’t mean Carol is in danger.”
“You didn’t hear her! She’s in terrible pain!” Arel’s brain was yelling out orders, demanding that he do something before it was too late. He had to find a way to save Carol from some horrible fate. Unfortunately, it was everything he could do to remain upright.
Michael came to his aid, taking hold of him, and leading him in the opposite direction. “You don’t want Carol to see you like this, do you? Let’s go find a place where you can get yourself together.”
It was a reasonable request, especially with the world spinning and Arel’s legs feeling like they forgot how to walk. “Okay, but just for a few minutes.”
“Yes, yes, for just a few minutes.” Michael’s voice had the tone used by mothers when their child has lost touch with all that’s safe in the world. “But you also have to find a way to relax a little. Your body is overheating.”
Arel tugged at his collar. “I know. This place is a death trap. There’s no air. And they keep the thermostat at about a thousand degrees.” He was rambling on in his croaky voice, not making sense. He could hear himself saying crazy stuff, but his brain had taken a bad turn in the birthing room. “I had a vision, Michael! I saw Carol hemorrhaging. There was so much blood. It was everywhere. In the end, the doctor couldn’t save her.”
As he related the vivid images, he stopped in the middle of the hallway. Searching out Michael’s eyes, he was able to stand up straighter and reinforce his point with more steadfastness in his voice. “That’s why I have to go back. I figured out how I can help. Remember when Kevin was in the hospital, and I kind of sucked up all the negative energy in the room? I’ll do that now. I’ll get rid of whatever might hurt Carol.”
“My friend, I think you’ve had enough negative energy already. That’s why you’re in this condition, but it’s not your job to try to fix everything. Carol wants to do this on her own. Try to respect that.”
“After what I saw happening to her?”
Michael let out a knowing sigh. “Your vision resulted from your worries and the negative energy you’ve taken on. It’s clouded your reason. If you keep going like this, you know the consequences.”
“I don’t care about me! It’s Carol who’s important!” Blurting out the words, Arel turned and started to stagger down the hall. He barely got three feet when his gut flared again, sending out a shooting pain that crippled him in his tracks. He sunk to the floor, barely able to move.
No, not now!
Arel’s gut was a fiery repository for all his fears and nightmares. He’d been fueling those terrors all day, letting a lifetime of misery prove that he couldn’t trust that things would work out. Minute after minute, hour after hour, he obsessed about how much danger Carol might be in. He should have been more prudent about the adverse effects he was having on his own wellbeing, but he was in full blown fight mode. Like a soldier, he battled to protect the life of a woman who’d been there for him in his darkest hour.
At the beginning of Arel’s transformation, Michael’s blood became a powerful purging agent that targeted Arel’s psyche. Arel soon learned how much pain he’d hidden from himself. He was overwhelmed by so many agonizing memories surfacing so fast that he nearly despaired. Carol was the first person to befriend him in that challenging time. Michael was around long before Carol, but Michael was an angel, he didn’t count.
Yet, in Arel’s eyes, Carol was almost as caring. She was kind and sweet and utterly forgiving. Even when he lied and deceived her, her heart was open and always ready to see the best in him. Of course, there were reasons why he needed to deceive Carol in the beginning. He couldn’t tell her the truth about himself. In fact, he never told any of his new family the whole truth, that he had been a vampire, that he was well over a hundred years old even if he looked like a young man. He didn’t need to. He wasn’t a parasite who lived on blood anymore. He wasn’t a simple human being either. After Michael’s contribution, Arel had some amazing and very potent abilities. Even if he was still unsure about using those gifts, he had to find a way to help Carol, no matter what the cost.
I can do this for her. I have to do this.
He tried to force back the pain as he groveled on the hard tile. He knew it was a hopeless effort when another massive wave of fiery heat made him cry out.
Michael was instantly there to help him. "Arel, please, you have to stop thinking the worst."”
When he looked up and caught a glimpse of Michael’s face, he knew he needed to heed Michael’s advice. Normal people didn’t have to worry about killing themselves with an emotional eruption. He did.
“Clear your mind,” Michael whispered. “Let everything go, at least for the moment.”
“How?” Arel’s eyes were imploring, fluid orbs in a wasteland of dry, unbearable heat. Once his gut engaged, once it started heating up, it became its own master. “You know I haven’t learned how to control any of this.”
With Michael helping him up, Arel got to his feet and staggered to the wall. He fell against it, hugging the cool surface, hoping for some relief from the heat that was overwhelming his body.
Michael tried his best to reverse what was happening. His soothing blue energy could be a powerful, healing balm that counteracted Arel’s escalating temperature. But things were moving too fast, and then there was the other problem.
“Arel, you have to let me in. You need to trust me.”
Arel blinked back with wide, staring eyes. He’d been determined to handle the situation himself. He’d walled himself off from the angel’s earlier efforts. Now, with his smoldering core headed towards a full-blown firestorm, his mind was paralyzed with fear. Trust was a word that made no sense. “I think it’s too late,” he whispered as he thought about the first time he’d had this problem and how he’d almost incinerated himself.
“Don’t give up now,” Michael said in a strong, encouraging tone.
Before Arel had a chance to reply, a loud voice called out to them from the other end of the hall.
“Arel, Michael! Great news! It’s a boy!” Tim shouted out his announcement as he jogged over to where they stood.
Arel could barely acknowledge Tim’s presence or hear what he was saying. He was trying to resign himself to the lethal force he harbored in his core. It threatened to have its way once and for all.
“You’re not passing out again, are you?” Tim asked as he grabbed Arel’s shoulder. He administered a brisk slap to Arel’s flushed cheek. “Arel, pay attention! There’s a new baby boy in the world!”
