He stands and comes into the room, closing the door behind him with a sigh. “I know what you are going to say, and the answer is, I don’t know.”
CK and I look at each other, then back at him to elaborate.
“Can you tell me what I am supposed to feel for her? Lizzie? Can you tell me, because I have no idea. What are your feelings for me? Your sire feelings. Ignore the love and history, like and best friends and all that. Strictly as my sire, what do you feel for me?”
I think about it for a minute. It is difficult to separate the feelings, but I say, “I have a strong urge to protect you. To see that no harm comes to you. I want to guide you and teach you and always be here if you need me. It is important for you to know that you can always come to me. That I will always help you.”
“Nicely put,” CK says with a proud smile.
“I don’t feel any of that for her,” Devon says flatly. “And before you ask, no, it isn’t just that I don’t want to feel it. I just don’t. It isn’t there for me, there is no bond. How is that possible?”
“Possibly because she forced the turning,” CK says, ever one to have an answer. “I have seen this before. Not many times, I’ll admit because it is a very rare thing, for your kind.”
Our kind. Meaning not the Initial Vampires who can sire willy nilly and not feel anything, I suppose.
“So, what do we do about it?” I ask.
“Nothing. There is nothing to do. What about the feelings you had for her before?” CK asks Devon.
“I don’t know. I never really had feelings for her. We were fucking just out of something to do.” He looks concerned as I glare at him. “After Cole came on the scene, I knew that what we had was the most important thing, Liz. I wasn’t going to lose you, so I ended it, but then…” He trails off, but I don’t need him to tell me anymore. “I am still so angry with her, it is clouding everything else,” he exclaims suddenly.
“You need to figure it out. Your detachment to her will be her undoing if you don’t start showing her some affection soon,” CK reprimands him.
“I’m trying. Believe me, what you see is me actually trying.”
“Try harder,” he says.
“Fine,” he says in a huff. “Are we done now? I need a drink.”
“One more thing. Does this help with the thing you were trying to help her with? Her being a Vampire now?” I ask cautiously.
“Yeah,” he says with a sigh. “But this isn’t the way I wanted it to go down.”
I nod and he leaves. I could do with a drink myself now.
“I will get you a Scotch,” CK says.
I nod my thanks, distracted by my phone ringing.
Louis Harlow? What does he want?” “Hello, Mr. Harlow,” I say, answering.
I see CK looking mighty pleased with himself.
“Liv!” he booms back at me with his strong Texan drawl. “How are you?”
“I’m good, thanks. How are you?”
“Never better,” he says. “I trust you are pleased with the arrangement?”
“What arrangement?” I ask, confused.
“Oh, it must be a surprise,” he says with a chuckle. “Well, I am honored that he left it to me to tell you.”
“Who left you to tell me what?” I ask, getting annoyed.
“I set your friend, Mr. D’Arcangelo, to try and persuade you to forget about purchasing Château Cassis last year. I thought he had managed it as I didn’t hear from you again until he called me earlier. Seems he is indeed most persuasive, only he got me to agree to sell it to him, for you!” he says with delight. “Easiest three billion Euros I ever made,” he adds, and my mouth drops open.
“What?” I shriek at him, which just makes him laugh even more. “You sold it to him?”