He remained quiet the entire way into the heart of the city. I kept sneaking glances at him, but his attention was on the road. I wasn't exactly sure what happened back there, but I was grateful to be out of that place. And away from Henry. The other girls were still back there locked up and I was worried about them.

We pulled onto a side street and into the parking lot of an older apartment building. It went up about three stories and appeared to be in good condition. I was half expecting some dilapidated old southern mansion.

"The people who live here are all vampires. All of them are children of Niko. They're going to smell my blood in you and not Niko's so I'll make sure they understand Niko accepted you as one of his own."

"But did he?" I wasn't so sure. He didn't appear to like me very much.

"Let's talk about it once I show you to your apartment." He got out of the car and walked us into the main building. He stopped to talk to the front desk and introduced me to the night manager. The guy had me fill out a form and handed me a set of keys. He seemed more interested in his phone than me and that was more than okay with me. I wanted to go somewhere quiet and think about what I was going to do.

My apartment was on the second floor and we rode the elevator in silence until it opened and we spilled out into a very well-lit hallway. The gray carpet beneath us was clean as we walked down to the end of the floor.

Bastien unlocked door two twenty-four and held it open for me. Inside, it was small, but clean. I stepped in and he closed the door behind us. The room wasn't overly large, but it wasn't small either. A small LCD TV sat on a stand in front of a beige couch. Two end tables took up space on either side of the couch with shade lamps. A table stood beside the door and off to the left was a small galley kitchen. A plain dining table stood between the space that was the living room and the kitchen.

"There's a bathroom down the hall and a bedroom. It has a decent sized bed and dresser in there as well. It's not much, but it'll get you through as you learn your way around your new life."

"The others...will they come here?"

"Maybe. Niko has apartment complexes like this around the city. They could end up in any of them." He went and sat down on the couch. "Come sit, Kathryn. We have a lot to go over."

I did as he asked, cautious of his serious expression.

"I know you're thinking of running, but Niko spared your life and mine because he thinks you won't. If you run, if you cause him any grief at all, we'll both be dead before you draw your next breath."

I'd forgotten Bastien could read my thoughts. I should have remembered that.

"This is hard. I went through the same things you are. I wanted to call my mom and tell her I was okay, but that's against the rules. Your old life is just a distant memory now. You have to leave it in the past. To contact your parents would put them in danger. Anyone who finds out about us that isn't authorized ahead of time are taken care of. They're killed Kathryn. If you call your mom or Neely's, you'll be the reason they die."

Holy crap. I could be responsible for my mom or Neely's mom's death if I call them?

"Humans can't know about us, Kathryn. It's our one sacred rule. Even I can't protect you if you break that one."

He seemed so earnest I knew he was speaking the truth. It cut me to my core knowing I'd never be able to speak to my mom, that I'd have to let her wonder what happened to me. But it was better than causing her death. I wouldn't do that.

"In the car you said you weren't sure Niko accepted you. I can assure you he does. If he decided you were not worthy of his clan, he would simply have killed you where you stood, my feelings be damned."

I remembered that feeling of someone sifting through my mind. It had to have been Niko in his quest to determine if he wanted me or not.

"He will provide you with the same protections as he does every other child he's sired. Technically, I guess you would be his granddaughter."

"Not funny, Bastien."

He shrugged. "I wasn't being funny. You're mine. I sired you and since he's my sire, that makes us all related."

"So you're like my vampire dad or something?"

He chuckled. "No. It just means my blood created you and we'll have a bond until one of us dies. You are bound to me. When I call, you'll have to come. My blood in you will force you to whether you want to or not. It's not something I plan on doing to you. I hate it when Niko does it. It leaves me feeling trapped and a little helpless."

"It's probably why he does it."

"I'm sure," he agreed. "But back to why he accepts you. I told him the truth when I said something in me refused to let his blood sire you. You called to me, you pulled me in and you became mine. When Niko found me in that alley, bleeding and near death, he told me he started to walk away, but he couldn't. Something in him wouldn't let him. I called to him. He understands why I did what I did because he experienced the same thing to a degree. I was the only child he sired that he has ever felt that for."

"So, when you say you called to him..." How to ask the question. "Um...is there something sexual there?"

He blinked and blinked again before bursting out laughing. "No, Kathryn. He thinks of me as his son. Not just a child he sired, but as if I were his flesh and blood child."

"So you think of me as your daughter then?"

"No." He turned serious. "I...I'm not sure what I feel for you, Kathryn, but it's not that of a father. It's more."

"Sexual?"

He laughed. "You are a fan of paranormal romance novels aren't you?"

"Yes."

He shook his head. "All I know is I have this need to protect you from everyone and everything, including yourself. It's all I'm going to allow myself to feel right now because I have to leave you in two days."

"What did he mean about the box? What is that?"

"It's a punishment. We're locked in a coffin for however long Niko deems fit. We can't feed while we are in there, so we starve. Our body wastes away but we don't die."

"You're trapped with that awful thirst and no way to make it go away?" I asked, horrified.

"Yes."

"You're his favorite and he's going to do that to you?"

"He has to, Kathryn. If he showed any sign of weakness, other masters would move in and try to take his territory from him. That's why you have to be careful while I'm gone. Don't do anything to piss him off. Whatever he asks you do, do it with no questions asked. And he will ask you to do things. It's his way of having you prove your loyalty to him."

"So just do as I'm told and I'll be safe?"

"Yes."

"Peachy."

"I'm sorry, Kathryn. I know you never wanted this, but it's your reality now."

"And I have to get used to it."

He nodded. "If you don't fight it, it'll be easier."

"So you said I had things to learn?"

"I'm here for a few days to make sure you can navigate our world, that your thirst is under control when you wake, and to get you set up with papers and a new job. Rent here is free for three months, and then it'll be up to you. If you want to move out you can, but I promise you won't find a cheaper alternative in the city. Plus here, you don't have to worry about being surrounded by walking, talking blood bags."

"That's really not funny, Bastien."

"Wasn't meant to be. It's the truth."

Thinking of people as walking blood bags seemed wrong to me.

"What sort of job did you have in Florida?"

"I went to college during the day and I was a bartender at night. Neely's mom tended bar and she taught us both how to count pours when we turned eighteen."

"We own several bars in the city. I'll call around tomorrow and see if there are any openings. I'll take you by Bob's and get you a new driver's license, social security card and birth certificate. You'll need to figure out a new last name."

"What's yours?"

"Harlow."

"Then I'll be Kathryn Harlow."

His eyes shot to mine. "You want my last name?"

"I don't understand this thing between us either, Bastien. I'm really mad at you, but I'm drawn to you to. Even before you gave me your blood, I felt like you were mine."

He smiled softly. "That will keep me from going insane while I'm locked up."

"I wish..."

He cupped my cheek. "I wish a lot of things, sweet girl. Wishing won't help us, though. When I finish my punishment, you and I will explore these feelings, but until then, we'll do what we need to survive."

"We will."

He kissed my forehead and sent me to my room to rest. Dawn would be here soon and I was glad to see the windows had black out curtains that didn't let an ounce of light in. The heavy drapes would make sure of it.

Bastien was right.

I could fight this or I could accept it.

I wanted to live so I'd accept this new life and do everything I was supposed to until he came back to me.

I was done fighting the strangeness of my feelings.

He was mine the same way I was his.

And that would get me through until he came back to me.