Unfettered Vampire (Found & Freed: The Unfettered #5)

23. Chapter 23

Chapter twenty-three

Ned

I can sense the sun setting. A strange stirring in my flesh. An ancient call to rise, to hunt and to feast.

I ignore it. There is no point in getting out of bed. There is no point in anything.

In my bedroom, behind the blackout blinds, there is no change to the light. Day turning into night means fuck all. It doesn’t make a difference. I’ve been in bed all day, now I’ll be in bed all night.

I reach for the cigarettes on my bedside cabinet and light one up. The familiar taste is soothing. It ignites a thousand memories. A sensory nostalgia from when I was still alive.

Today is the first day I have smoked in ages. Over a year probably. I didn’t want to breathe the fumes on the kids or have the smell embedded in my clothes. None of that matters now, because I doubt Morgan is ever going to let me see them again.

My phone pings.

I glare at it as it lies there, all smug, next to my packet of cigarettes. I will not fall sway to its allure. I’m not scrambling to check the notification. It is not going to be Morgan. He is too old school for that. If he had something to say to me, he’d come say it in person. Or call at the very least.

Swearing, I grab my phone.

It’s not Morgan. I was right. It’s Baltazar. Fuck my life.

‘How’s Jade?’ The text message smirks at me.

I scowl at the phone. ‘Fine.’ I type. Then I toss the blasted thing down onto my bed.

Jade is a traitorous, interfering, life-destroying, evil bastard. But Baltazar doesn’t need to know that. Jade has shown no signs of seeking world domination and opening portals for his kin. And that is all the information the annoying vampire is getting.

I puff bad temperedly at my cigarette. I’m just thinking about opening up my liquor cabinet when there is a soft knock on my door. Before I can open my mouth to say fuck off, Lello and Pink let themselves in.

I groan in dismay and collapse back against my pillows. Lello flicks the light switch on. I wince at the sudden, dazzling light.

“What the fuck do you want?” I snap.

“To check on you, of course!” says Lello brightly. “And to bring you cookies!”

The little kelpie sits on my bed, makes himself comfortable and places a towering plate of cookies on my lap.

“Thanks,” I grumble as I reluctantly shuffle up to a sitting position.

The cookies do smell good. And it is impossible to stay grumpy at Lello. He is just too damn sweet and innocent. Being mean to him makes me feel like the worst kind of monster .

Lello stares at me with big blue eyes. I sigh in surrender and stub out my smoke. Then I pick up a cookie and take a bite. Solid food isn’t the best, and it’s not like I really need it, but I can still appreciate taste and flavors. That’s one thing that hasn’t been taken from me.

“Delicious,” I say, and Lello beams with pride.

“How are you, Ned?” asks Pink solemnly.

I look away from the concern in his eyes. People being nice to me is unnerving. I’m not sure if I will ever fully get used to it. In fact, I’m not sure if I even want to become accustomed to it. Right now, I’d love nothing more than to be left alone. But these guys aren’t going to leave until they are sure I am okay.

“Fine,” I mutter.

Jeez, that sounded pathetic and pitiful, even to my own ears. I’m not going to be fooling anyone with that. I need to up my game.

Lello pats my arm. “When Daddy died, I thought the world was ending, but then Carter came along and now everything is wonderful.”

Oh for fuck’s sake. I shove another cookie in my mouth so I don’t have to say anything. Usually I can let Lello’s infatuation with Ritchie wash over me. I know it is not the kelpie’s fault. Ritchie bit him and forced a mate bond, and that makes kelpies go all super sappy and devoted and shit.

But the fact that Lello still finds it hard to see Ritchie for the vile, rapist, piece of shit he was, is not something I’m in the mood to deal with right now.

Pink coughs. “In the harem, everything seemed so utterly hopeless and pointless. But life is so much brighter now.”

Oh lord. Time to nip this in the bud. I can’t take anymore. It’s time to take a deep breath and place my half-eaten cookie back on the plate.

“Guys, relax. I’m not about to yeet myself into the sun, so you can chill with this intervention bollocks.”

Pink and Lello stare back at me with very unconvinced expressions.

I roll my eyes and try again. “I’ve been dumped and I’m probably never going to see my great-great-grandkids again. I’m allowed to mope around in bed for a few days.”

Lello pats my shoulder again.

“Of course you are,” says Pink. “We just wanted to make sure that you knew you weren’t alone.”

I open my mouth. Then I close it again. “Thanks,” I mumble weakly. There really isn’t anything else to say. They are both being lovely and I do appreciate it. Despite the fact that I’m a grumpy asshole.

Pink smiles, then he wraps his hand around Lello’s arm. “Come on, Lello. Ned wants to be alone right now.”

Lello clambers off my bed, but he shoots me a worried look. “Is that true?”

I nod. I’m surprised that Pink is so perceptive, but I’m not going to deny it. Lello and Pink are being lovely, but I’ve always dealt with shit on my own. It is the only way I know.

“Okay, well, if you need anything, just shout. We could do a movie night if you like?”

“I’ll let you know,” I say, and I almost sound normal.

Pink drags Lello away and the door softly shuts. I sigh and let my head fall back against the headboard. Blissful solitude. Even if it does feel a little lonely now, after that invasion .

I place the plate of cookies on the bedside cabinet and retrieve my cigarette and relight it. That’s better. Now, what was I doing before I was interrupted? Ah, yes. Lying around feeling sorry for myself.

Frigging hell. I’m so pathetic. But what else am I going to do? Morgan doesn’t need more apologies from me. He needs time and space. He has all the facts now, it’s up to him to weigh up the evidence and be my judge and jury. There is not one single thing I can do or say that is going to make this any better. Or sway the outcome. I am completely powerless.

Suddenly, my attention is drawn to the shadows in the corner of my room. Goosebumps erupt over my flesh. A pair of glowing red eyes are visible for a few seconds before Gray steps into my room.

I sit up straight. “Hi, Gray.”

He seemed to take my apology well, but I’m not one hundred percent certain where I stand with the demon. And that’s a little unsettling, to say the least.

His dark eyes stare at me intensely. He certainly is a very pretty little thing. Ritchie definitely had a type. Evil fucking bastard that he was.

“You need to feed,” Gray says with only a slight rasp to his voice. He really is getting good at talking.

“I’m fine,” I say with all the false cheer I can muster.

The demon narrows his eyes. “Shall I bring you a human?”

Oh hells. That kind of chaos is the very last thing we need. Especially since I really don’t feel like feeding. I was speaking the truth. There is no need for Gray to drag some poor hapless human into my bedroom .

“Um…that is so kind of you to offer, Gray. But I’m fine. Honestly. I’m not feeling hungry.”

The demon cocks his head to the side and gives me a long, suspicious stare that flips my stomach right over. Then suddenly he prowls towards me. Closing the distance between us in a blink of an eye. I flinch back, but he simply snatches up the plate of cookies, turns and disappears back into the shadows with them.

Jesus Christ. That’s a relief. For a moment there, I thought I was done for.

He is welcome to the food, but I really hope he doesn’t return with a human. I said no, so hopefully he will respect that. Even though I get the distinct impression that he doesn’t believe I’m not hungry.

I suck on my cigarette and fill my lungs with calming smoke. Shitting hell. There really is no peace around here. I can see why my kind prefer to brood in ruined castles. Maybe I need to go find one. A bitter snort escapes me at that thought.

With no Morgan and no kids, it is not like I have a reason not to.