#lepard

I knock on the door to Lamb’s suite.

He looks surprised to see me when he opens the door. And I’m a little surprised to see his nice suit so wrinkled.

“Hi,” I wave, smiling, “I’m Shepard, I don’t know if you reme-”

“You’ve returned for round two? I thought your group smarter than that.”

Lamb peaks his head further out into the hotel hallway, searching for the rest of the gang.

“Where are your mages? Surely they didn’t send their most vulnerable member alone.”

“Oh, no uh,” I shove my hands in my jeans pockets, “I’m not with them anymore, I just came back to get my truck.”

Lamb raises an eyebrow.

I continue, hoping to convince him to help me out, even though only a few days he was trying to kill me and my friends.

“I left my truck, in the parking garage for the Katherine but now it’s not there. I couldn’t find like the phone number for the towing company you use or anything, so figured I’d see if you could help me out.”

He narrows his eyes, but eventually sighs and opens his door wider.

Lamb’s place is a mess. The chair Simon broke is still in pieces on the floor, there are glasses and teacups left on the coffee table, the dining room table, the floor next to the love seat, all with various amount of liquids left in them. The chairs in his living room have papers piled on them. There are weapons piled in one corner of the room—guns and stakes.

Lamb motions for me to sit on the plush, pale green love seat, the only piece of furniture not occupied.

“Forgive the state of my home, when mages attack, and truces are broken, and the New Blood are left with a half-dead leader and only me to take their anger out on, there’s little time for cleaning.”

He takes his place on the love seat next to me, hunched over and pressing the palms of his hands to his eyes.

He sighs again. “Give me a moment, I’ll talk to the owner of the tow yard, get your vehicle back.”

I think he’s paler than before, I wonder how long it’s been since he had some blood. Still, even in this state Lamb is undeniably handsome. I can see why Simon was jealous.

But the Lamb sitting here now seems miles away from the confident, in control, vampire king we met just a few days ago.

“Must have been a hard past couple of days for you, sorry about that,” I say.

Lamb scoffs. “Don’t pretend you care for my people or our struggles; I’ve already agreed to help you.”

“No, I-I mean I know I was with the guys who tried killing you, and y’all did try to kill me, but I get why you did it. You gotta look out for your own.”

“Yes,” Lamb says warily, looking up from his hands.

He warms up a little with his next sentence. “I’ve always been passionate about building a community where vampires can thrive, too long have we lived in violence and fear. Your friend Baz didn’t seem to understand or appreciate that—neither does Braden,” he finishes sadly.

“The NowNext leader?”

“Yes. They don’t respect what we have, who we are. Braden and his pathetic followers have reduced vampirism to a means of immortality. It’s more than that,” he states firmly.

I nod, though I don’t know much about Braden or the NowNext’s beliefs.

“But we must protect those in our community against outside threats, even if we disagree with them.”

“Marginalized people rarely have the privilege of hating each other,” I offer. It’s admirable how much Lamb cares for vampires, I can see why they made him king.

“Exactly,” Lamb smiles. I do my best not to swoon. “It’s refreshing to meet someone who understands that. But with everything that’s happened, it seems there’s no avoiding war with the New Blood now.”

“What will you do?”  

Lamb pauses.

“I shouldn’t tell you these things,” he says, though he doesn’t sound very concerned about it. He leans into the back of the couch. “Just days ago you were working with mages; you shouldn’t be trusted.”

“You don’t have to keep talking, but I find most people like having someone to listen,” I say, hoping to stay on his good side. Hoping I can spend more time with Lamb. “I only know so much, but it’s amazing what you’ve done for your community, and it’s obvious current affairs are taking their toll on you.”

He tilts his head slightly, examining me.

I try to ignore the thrill his gaze sends down my spine.

“You intrigue me, Shepard. If you weren’t so obviously unmagickal, I’d almost think you had the ability to thrall,” Lamb tells me.

My face heats at the comment. I recall what it felt like to be thralled by Lamb, riding in his SUV. My mind leisurely wrapped in chains of sweet honey. It felt so good I didn’t think to fight it until I was already too deep under his control.

I can’t imagine I’m able to have the same effect on him. But I take a chance, just to see where this might go.

“If I didn’t already know what it felt like, I’d almost be convinced you are thralling me again,” I say, lowering my voice, hoping he gets my meaning. Hoping I’m not crossing a line.

“Is that so?” he asks with a grin. The points of his fangs peak out from his plush lips. My heart rate picks up.

I look back to his watercolor blue eyes.

“You’re handsome, you’re charming, you’re active in your community,” I say, leaning closer, placing a hand on Lamb’s light gray pants.

“I’m centuries old, I’m a vampire,” he reminds me in a low voice.

“Exactly,” I say as his cool hand touches my chin. “What more could anyone want?”

Lamb’s eyes flick to my lips.

“You flatter me,” he says.

“Is it working?” I ask, placing a hand on his cheek.

We both move to close the distance between us.

Lamb’s lips are cooler than most people that I’ve kissed. It’s a lovely feeling.

Lamb sets a leisurely pace. He kisses like he has all the time in the world (which I suppose he does) and he wants to be spending that time kissing me.

I wrap my arms around him, I try to hold as much of Lamb as I can. He relaxes against my touch.