Reclaiming Quinn - Parker Williams Page 0,66
Instead of being ashamed or angry, be proud of what you helped to accomplish.”
When Zach peered up, Deke thought he detected a bit of hope there.
“Thank you.”
“Anytime. You are my friend, right?”
A sharp nod was his reply.
“All right…. Since now we both know you were mostly faking it, maybe it’s time we plan on getting out of here.”
A low, throaty chuckle. “I can definitely get with that. The question is, how to do it without the humans getting hurt.”
It would help if Deke knew more about the Vampyri.
“So, what are your abilities? Do you suck blood? I mean, in the movies—”
“Yeah, no. Well, yes on the blood. We never had to when we had Omegas. They sustained us without us needing to feed. When they died, we had to adapt. It’s not like we eat it every day. We can go months without it, but eventually we have to. The thing is, we don’t want to drink from humans.” He ducked his head. “I wish we could say we steal it from blood banks, but it has to be fresh in order to give us what we need to survive.”
“So where do you get it?” Deke asked, dreading the answer.
“We used to take it from animals, but with more and more cameras and things around, it’s harder to do that and not get caught. The others know enough to not risk exposing themselves, so I don’t worry about them. As for me, I’ll admit, I’ve gone longer than I should have without feeding. That was part of my reason for letting myself be captured. I honestly was too weak to do much.”
Too weak? “You killed a wolf. That’s hardly what I’d call ‘weak.’”
“In my prime, I would have fought three or four Alphas at once. It’s why we were so feared. Now, imagine there being hundreds of us. I think you’ll agree the Alphas were scared.”
In his life, Deke had done a minor in psychology, wanting to know why people set fires. He could imagine the panic of the Alphas, but that didn’t excuse the slaughter of innocent, gentle people.
“Scared or not, you were there to protect, nothing more.”
“We tried to explain that to them, but it didn’t matter. They cut us down quickly, though there were heavy casualties for them as well. Weakened though we were, we weren’t going down without a fight.”
Deke got that. “So you need to feed before we do anything, right?”
“No, I should be okay.”
The way Zach wouldn’t look at Deke told him there was something he wasn’t saying.
“Spill it.”
Zach shifted in his seat. “When I first came to Chicago, I would take blood from wherever I could. I tried to justify it that I needed it, but there was so much guilt. I’ve… been doing my best not to take it from anyone or anything.”
“So you’re starving yourself. And how’s that working out for you?”
“You don’t understand.”
He had a point. Deke hunted animals when in his wolf form, but he could never kill a human without due cause. Klein, though…. Deke had cause to kill that bastard, considering what he’d done to Quinn.
“You’re right. I don’t. I know what you mean, but…. Isn’t there something you can do?”
Zach shook his head. “It’s not like I can ask someone to volunteer their blood. I mean, low profile doesn’t work too well when you’re asking around for people to let you take from them, you know?”
As far as Deke was concerned, that spoke to how noble the Vampyri were. “What if I let you drink from me?”
“No.”
“But—”
“I said no!” Zach leaned in. “I’ve gone too long without feeding. I don’t know that I could stop at enough to give me back my strength. Even though I wouldn’t want to, I could drain you completely.” He shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
But Deke did know. Working together with Zach was the only chance they both had to make it out of this mess alive. If he had to give up blood, so be it.
“I know what I’m offering, and I trust that you’ll be able to control yourself. If we’re going to fight all these wolves, we’re going to need you as strong as you can be.” He would beg if he had to. “I need to get home to Quinn, and if this helps me to do it, it’s a price I’m willing to pay.”
When Zach shook his head, anger bubbled up in Deke.
“So you’re strong enough now to take on however many