His to Guard

The Vampire’s Past 2

Rosa Swann

His to Guard (The Vampire’s Past 2)

Copyright © 2021 Rosa Swann

Copyright © Easily Distracted Media

Copyright © 2018 Rosa Swann

All rights reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without express written permission of the copyright holder. This book contains sexually explicit content which is suitable only for mature adults.

Cover Design by Easily Distracted Media

ISBN: 9789493139381

NUR: 343

Edition: 20210531

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Blurb

What can you do when your past doesn’t just show up when you don’t want it to, but it seems out to bring you down once and for all…

Sean

It’s only been a few weeks since Jules moved into my place. Everything seemed to be going well until he freaked out as we were leaving a gay club.

Someone is after him. I don’t know who, but it scares him a lot and I need to guard him from more pain, I can’t see him get hurt again.

And why did Jules’ older brother talk to me but doesn’t want Jules to know about it?

Jules

Just as I thought that I may have escaped my problems, the vampire hunter who nearly killed me seven years ago shows up at the club I’m at with Sean. Now I’m in a scramble to protect not just myself but also Sean, because I can’t let him get harmed.

When my old housemate shows up at the college after classes, all hell breaks loose and I realise there is so much more at stake than I knew before…

1

Jules

Being on the run from a vampire hunter on your own is one thing.

Being on the run with a human at your side who has no idea about the dangers around them… That’s a whole different situation. Especially if it’s a human you care for, a human you don’t want to lose...

Seeing the hunter outside the club threw me off. I thought we were okay, I thought I was safe, but now he’s here and I’m pretty sure he’s after me.

Like these last few weeks weren’t stressful enough, with Lance all but trying to lock me up and kill me with the venom he must have gotten from the hunter and me moving in with Sean.

I’ve been pretty safe for years, but not anymore. Everything comes together now, and I can’t escape anymore.

I take Sean’s hand, hoping that it grounds me, hoping that it helps me to focus on what we’re going to have to do next.

The first bus took us to the train station, and now we’re taking a bus to the edge of town before we’ll get on one that will actually get us to Sean’s place. It’s convoluted, but that’s the idea. That way it’s harder to spot where we’re actually going.

“Jules?” Sean squeezes my hand a little, his voice quiet.

I look his way, the frown on his face, the worried look in his eyes. Fuck. “Yes?” My voice is quieter than I expected it to be. I keep looking to the front of the bus, hoping that nobody we know will get on, especially not the hunter or Lance...

“Are you okay?”

Am I? Really? But I nod. I’m good enough. Considering the circumstances we’re in... I guess I’m as good as can be expected.

“Let me know how I can help.” There is that strength in his voice again.

I really like it, but it also frightens me, because if he acts like this, honestly trying to help and protect me, I know that it’ll be harder for me to protect him when I have to. When I’ll have to leave him, when I know that I can’t stay, just to keep him safe.

“Thanks. I will.” I squeeze his hand a little, and then look out the window again.

A hunter... here. Not just any hunter, a very specific hunter... The same one who was after Rowan before, who hurt us all so badly. The guy who almost killed me, the reason why Rowan gave his life to make me a vampire so that I could keep living.

How am I supposed to fight the hunter this time if Rowan couldn’t even beat him? But, most of all, I can’t let the hunter do the same thing to Sean as he did to me, as he did to Tyler and me. I can’t let the hunter hurt Sean.

Fuck. Tyler. Of all the people I could be thinking of, why do I have to think of him now? Why do I feel like I need to check up on him? I can’t. I left that life behind for a reason. I can’t put him in danger, I can’t leave any traces that lead back to him.

I really can’t.

But what if the hunter already got to him? What if the hunter went for Tyler first?

No. I would know. I would know if the hunter got to him, if the hunter used him as bait to get me. Me leaving Tyler and our parents behind keeps them safe. Not having contact with them is how I keep them safe, no matter how much it hurts. No matter how much it still hurts to not be able to talk to them. Their safety is more important than any selfish wishes I have.

This is for the best. This is the only way to keep Tyler safe. If he isn’t in my life, the hunter can’t hurt him again.

I don’t want the death of another person on me, especially not my twin brother... definitely not that of my twin brother.

Keeping Sean safe without revealing what I am or what is exactly going on will be hard enough. It’ll be enough of a task to keep him out of trouble and to keep him out of the claws of people who may want to hurt him, who may want to use him to hurt me.

Jace was right... Dating someone who doesn’t know about vampires, or all the other creatures who live at the fringes of our society, it’s complicated. It’s going to be so hard to keep it all a secret from him and keep him safe at the same time.

Great. But I can’t let go now, not anymore.

I chose this myself and now I have to keep going, I have to see this through to whatever end there may come.

The bus stop is dark. We’re standing at the edge of the city, next to a business park, and all the buildings around us are dark and closed this late at night.

“Five minutes until the bus arrives.” Sean looks up from his phone and I nod.

“Thanks.” Five more minutes and then we’ll finally be on our way home again. Finally.

I just want to lock the door behind us and hide away from the world, not get back out again. But I know that that’s not a good idea and I know that it’s not going to help our situation in any way. Also, we still have to go to work and classes and everything. Hiding away, no matter how tempting it sounds, it’s not possible.

“Are you cold?” Sean steps closer, wrapping me in his jacket.

I’m not cold, but this is still nice. And being so close to his body makes me feel like things can’t really be that bad, can they? Not when this feels so good.

“You know what...” Sean sounds thoughtful. “Ever since I met you, strange things have been happening.” He doesn’t sound upset though, just curious and pondering.

“Like what?” I turn, putting my arms around him and standing closer, my head on his chest.

“Meeting you that first time... You looked like a bat when you rushed out of that office. All black jacket and clothes, like you were about to fly off.”

I can’t help smiling a little, yeah, a bat would be an appropriate way to describe me, though he doesn’t know exactly why yet.

“And then in class, first seeing you again. And then preventing you from burning your hand with the coffee, that was interesting.” He lets out a low laugh which makes my body tighten, so sexy. “And just... I don’t know. Talking to you. And then you asking if you can crash at my place... I don’t know...” He tightens his arms a little. “It’s made coming back here a lot less dull, let’s keep it at that.”

“Dull?” Because I don’t think anything could be dull with Sean around.

“Yeah, dull.” There is a smile in his voice. “I hated high school. I hated hiding who I was, I hated hiding everything about myself. I was scared I’d have to go back to that, just to survive here. But you’ve made it a lot easier.”

Easier? He really has no clue in how much danger I’m putting him by staying at this side, by staying close to him. “Glad to be of help.” I’m just glad that he’s here at all, I’m just glad that he’s not run away from me yet. He has no idea how much that has helped.

My phone buzzes and I check it. I’ve blocked Lance’s number, so it can’t be him, but I still jolt every time my phone buzzes or rings.

It’s a message from Liam. ‘We’ve arrived home safely. Where are you?’ Liam and Jace live together, or, well, they share an apartment. They say it’s because it’s cheaper and that it’s easier to find a place for two people than just one, but I think they just don’t like living on their own.

I look up, at the darkness around us. ‘Business park on the northern side of the city. Bus home should be here soon.’

“Liam and Jace?” Sean’s voice rumbles in his chest.

“Yeah. They got home safely.”

“Good.” Then lights fall on us and I see the bus come around the corner. “Time to move.” He lets go of me, and I involuntarily shiver. Even though I wasn’t cold, I still liked his warmth around me.

We get on the bus, and luckily we’re the only ones here. It’s just us and the driver.

“Late night, guys?” He sounds amused.

“Something like that.” I can hear how Sean tries to sound cheerful, but I know he’s tired and this can’t be easy on him.

We sit down at the back of the bus, this way, even if people get in, we can easily see them. It’s quiet around us, just the sound of the bus and the wheels on the road, but no other voices.

“Has this happened before?” Sean sounds serious and it takes me by surprise as I was listening to the calm.

“Has what happened?” Because, I’m not going to reveal anything that he’s not asking me about specifically, fine line to walk here.

“Being followed by dangerous people?” The edge to his voice doesn’t surprise me this time.

“Yeah...” How much can I get away with? I told him that Rowan, Tyler and I had been jumped by random guys, so that’s not an excuse I can use again.

I can’t muddy that story, because if he starts pulling on any threads, it will all unravel and reveal a much darker truth than I want him to know about.

“When?”

I shake my head, not a question I can answer easily.

“Before or after you got attacked? And you... When you lost...” I glance his way and he looks really pained, his heart beating loudly. He doesn’t want to talk about or ask about this either. He really doesn’t.

“After.” My voice is barely above a whisper.

“Why?” As he looks at me, his voice almost breaks, and I wish I could stop that pain already.

“I...” Why? Why would someone, or multiple someones, target me? Why me? I’m a nobody as far as Sean is aware. “My ex... He...” How can I explain this without ruining my memory of Rowan, without making him seem like a bad guy?

“Your ex, the guy who... when you were jumped?” He can’t seem to say the word. Death, dying, died.

“Yeah.” I look at my hands, suddenly not sure I can even explain anything right now.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I shouldn’t have. It’s not the right time or place.” Sean puts his hands over mine, tightening his grip a little. “Sorry.”

“No.” I shake my head, putting one of my hands over his, it’s curiously comforting. “He was a good guy, but... his family, they were involved in things that put a target on his back.” That makes sense, right? Vague but it makes sense. Good. “They knew he was involved with me, and that put a target on my back too.” Close enough to the truth.

Just swap ‘his family’ to ‘vampires’, ‘things’ to ‘being a vampire’ and ‘involved with me’ to ‘turned me into a vampire to keep me alive’ and you’ll have the right story.

Which is a totally different story.

Fuck.

“I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how hard that must be.” Sean takes a breath. “Have you thought about going to the police?”

The questions of someone who doesn’t know, at all. “They won’t listen. It’s been too long ago and it’s not like they’ll do anything unless something actually happens to me. Just a random person scaring me isn’t going to get me anywhere with the police.”

“Right.” Sean falls quiet.

I glance up at him again, but he’s looking at the front of the bus, not seeing anything, just thinking. At least he accepts my answer. At least he accepts what I tell him, that’s going to have to be good enough right now.

I can’t tell him the truth, not when the danger is still so high, not until I know that he won’t just kick me out.

I need a little more time until I can tell him, until I’m sure that it’ll be fine, that he won’t hate me.

“I’ll be here, no matter what you need from me.” Sean’s voice is quiet, low, and he pulls my hand up a little, kissing the top of my fingers. “I promise.”

My heart skips a beat, while I can hear that his is still steady and strong.

I tell him about something scary that happened to me, I tell him that I’m in danger, that he potentially could be in danger too, and all he seems to do is grow stronger. Become a knight without even putting on airs. He’s something else. He’s definitely something else.

Anyone else would have fled if I told them this, anyone else would have at least gotten a little scared or worried. But he was worried when he didn’t know, now that I told him at least something, he seems to be comfortable and stronger, more steady.

Curious.

Very curious.

I don’t know if it’ll be good or if this will just put him in more danger, but at least he’s not running away, and the way he looks, the way he’s thinking, he doesn’t seem to want to run either. He seems to be coming up with a plan to protect me.

And that means I need to do the same. I need to come up with a plan to protect him too.

Because, if I lose him... If he ever gets into the same situation as I got into... I can’t save him. Rowan could save me because he was a born vampire, but I’m already a rarity. I’ve not even heard rumours about being able to save Sean if it came to it, so I can’t ever put him in a situation that could put him in that much danger. I won’t be able to turn him into a vampire to keep him alive, even at the cost of my own life, so I can’t put him into a situation where he could die.

I need to come up with a plan. To get the hunter away, to stay safe, and to keep Sean safe too. All of that, and make sure I keep on top of my work and on top of all the things with college.

And how am I supposed to do that? Right...

Great...

I don’t think I’ve got enough hours in a day to even do that. But I’ll have to.

For my sanity, for Sean’s safety, and maybe even for my own future.

I need to do this.

2

Sean

Jules almost visibly relaxes as he closes the door behind us, locking it. He stands still, taking a couple of breaths before he looks up at me.

He’s been doing that all evening, looking at me, trying to read me. Trying to see how I respond to all the things going on. But I don’t know how I’m supposed to react to what just happened.

We were at the club, having fun, but as we left, Jules saw someone who freaked him and his friends out. And then we took the long way back here, and the things he told me on the bus... How am I supposed to react?

I just don’t want him to get hurt. I don’t want him to have bad things happening to him. And I don’t know how else to be there for him than to show that I am there for him, that I’ll protect him, no matter what he needs from me.

Meeting his older brother at the club, I don’t know, I somehow feel even more responsible for Jules now. Like I need to protect him, not just for myself but also for Rowan.

Life is never boring with this guy around, that much is sure.

I take my jacket off, hanging it on the hooks. “If you let Liam and Jace know we’re home, I’ll go get us something to drink.” I go over to the kitchen, needing to do something, needing to have a goal, needing a moment to myself.

I can’t imagine living with that constant fear, that constant fear of not just getting beaten up for being ‘different’ but to know that there are actually people out there who really want to harm you...

How do you even live with that? How can he look so relaxed when something like that follows him everywhere, all the time?

Jules’ hand slides down my back and I realise that I’ve still got my hands on the counter, not having moved since I said that I would get us something to drink. “They said that they were happy to hear that we made it back safe.” His hand trails up, putting it flat on my back, steady.

“Jules?” My voice is rougher than I thought it would be.

“Yeah?” There is no impatience, no annoyance in his voice, just calm.

“How do you do it?” How can he live with that constant worry, that fear?

“How do I do what?” He steps to the side and I see him from the corner of my eyes.

I turn to him, reaching out and he takes my hands in his. “How do you keep living when you know it’s only a matter of time before something bad happens again?”

I’m a coward when it comes to facing things head-on. I fled as soon as I could from this town, putting as much distance between the people here and the person who I wanted to be as I could.

He nods, looking away before he focuses on our hands. “I take every chance that I can get. I always try to stay a couple of steps ahead and I try not to get too comfortable, because I know that it’ll never stay the same.” His voice sounds so sad and my heart sinks.

‘Stay a couple of steps ahead’ sounds a lot like I’ll wake up one morning, and he won’t be here anymore. Like he’ll be gone tomorrow morning, no note, no nothing.

“Sean?” This time it’s Jules who tries to get my attention.

“Yeah?” My voice now really sounds rough.

“I’m not leaving. I promise. I’m not.”

“What about ‘staying ahead’?”

He’s quiet for a while and I look up, trying to get him to look back at me.

“Jules?”

He shakes his head. “‘Staying ahead’ isn’t always worth it. Sometimes ‘staying ahead’ creates more danger for others than it would for me.” He lets go of my hands and steps back. “I should probably go and take a shower.” He turns around but I grab his arm, holding on.

“Why?” I feel like I keep asking him that, but he’s such a mystery to me. No matter how many new things I learn about him, he stays a mystery.

He stays still, not moving, not turning around either. “I don’t know. But I can’t leave, not now.” The pain in his voice stuns me and he pulls free from my grasp. Then he grabs a towel and goes into the bathroom, turning on the shower.

I stay in the same place, staring, but not seeing anything. What just happened? What did he just mean?

He can’t leave anymore? Is it because of me?

That would be silly, right? We barely know each other.

Right?

It’s hard to exactly know what’s going on. Last night, after Jules finished his shower, we went to bed. We didn’t talk about what happened at the club again and I didn’t sleep very well.

I barely slept at all, still too stunned about this big change in direction of where I thought things were going. I thought things were getting easier, getting better.

I’m eating a cheese sandwich, but not paying attention as I stare out the window, over the rest of the neighbourhood.

“Sean?” Jules sits down on the other side of the table. “You okay?”

I nod. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just not enough sleep. I’ll be fine after some coffee.” I glance at him, and catch him looking at me. “What is it?”

He looks serious now. “How much did you see last night? Of the person who... Of the guy...” He sighs, almost frustrated.

“The guy after you?”

“Yeah.”

Considering that we were in a large crowd, I didn’t know anyone there and everything went so fast… “No idea. I don’t think I saw him. I really have no idea. Nobody pointed him out and I was kind of distracted at the time.”

I try to smile, but feel stupid that I hadn’t paid better attention to what was going on around us. I should have seen the guy, if only so I can protect Jules better.

“Okay.” He nods. “Okay. That’s okay.”

“It’s not. I should have—”

“No!” Jules’ sudden loud voice makes me jump. He looks a little flustered as he tries to sit more relaxed again.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want you to get into trouble.” He takes a deep breath. “Please?”

I nod. “I’m not going to play some hero. I just want to be there for you.” And this guy doesn’t make it easy on me, with his secrets and all.

“You are. Just being here, you are exactly what I need. Please...”

I nod again, looking at Jules and not sure what to do next. He sounded so scared, that really scared me too. Something is freaking him out, and he’s not telling me everything. There is more to his past, something that he doesn’t want to share.

He stands up, nodding to himself, then he looks at me, a certainty in his eyes. “We should probably get food for the week and maybe do some homework after? I don’t think we’ve even got anything for dinner for tonight.” He starts moving, making himself busy.

I look at him for a while, trying to put my finger on what it is that’s nagging at me. What it is that I’m missing somehow. “Jules...” I stand up too, looking at him as he moves.

He stills, not looking at me. “Something wrong?”

Then it hits me. The way he reacted last night. The things he’s hiding. The way he’s been on edge, not just last night but last week and the days before that. “The one who beat you up before you came here. You said he wasn’t your ex, but he’s also not just a random stranger, is he?”

The way Jules moves his head, I’ve gotten used to reading his body language for tiny clues now. No, it’s not a random stranger either.

“Was he there last night? Was he who you saw who scared you?”

He tenses more. So, yes, somewhat. But that’s not all.

“Was it just him? Or was there someone with him? Was there someone else with him who scared you even more?”

The breath he lets go tells me enough. Yes, again.

I’m glad I can read him enough to be able to not need him to actually speak, but I don’t like the answers to my questions. I don’t want to think about them too much.

Jules is not going to give me many more answers, I already know that. But how can I help him, how can I be there for him, when he’s not telling me things I need to know? One last try. “Who was he? The guy who hurt you?”

“Housemate.” I only just about catch the word, his voice too quiet.

“He was your housemate? Why didn’t you leave?” If he was just a housemate, why would Jules stay there when he could have just as easily left?

“Couldn’t. I...” He slowly sits down on the floor, his back still to me, and I feel bad for asking these questions. We’ve both barely slept. We’re both exhausted. “I couldn’t, until...”

“Until he really hurt you?”

The shake of his head is minuscule. “I didn’t expect it to go bad. I never expected him to do this. And then...” Suddenly the words are spilling from him. “When I saw him with... I knew. I knew why... I just...” He shakes his head more and I reach out, touching his back, wanting to calm him.

Fuck. I shouldn’t have done this, I shouldn’t have pushed. Jules doesn’t deserve me asking these questions. It’s not like I have a right to know the answers or something. I don’t.

He moves faster than my eyes can follow, grabbing my wrist tightly, too tightly.

It hurts, and I let out a yelp in surprise.

He blinks, taking a short breath as he lets my hand go, then he shakes his head, his eyes wide as he stands up. “Fuck. Sorry. Sorry. You startled me. Sorry.” He walks away from me, out of my reach.

He’s so much stronger than I expect him to be. This isn’t the first time it has happened, but every time it takes me by surprise all the same. He doesn’t look very strong, and definitely not like he’d be able to just crush my hand with a simple grip, but there is more to him.

There is so much more to him. Because when he turned around, grabbing my wrist. I saw something. I saw something wild in him, dangerous. It was just a flash before he looked very sorry, but I saw it all the same.

Not a prey protecting itself when it’s cornered, but a predator showing that they’re the strongest one around, and it makes my heart beat very fast because for a moment, I felt like a prey.

“I’m going to...” Jules moves his hands, that lost look in his eyes back again. “I’m just going to walk around the block for a moment.” He goes over to the door.

“Stay safe.” I can’t stop him and I don’t think I should.

“Will do.” He looks back one last time before he steps into his shoes and leaves the studio.

Fuck. That predatory look in his eyes... I don’t want to ever be on the bad side of it. That’s a scary look, a very scary look.

Jules may look like prey to some, but what I just saw... He’s a predator, and that scares me a little.

Jules came back after fifteen or so minutes. I just spent the time making a shopping list and figuring out what we’re eating this week.

Anything to keep myself busy, anything to keep my mind off what’s going on, what I saw, what happened.

“Sean?” He’s standing in the doorway, calmer now.

“Ready to go shopping?” I come over, taking my bag with me.

“Almost.” He smiles a little nervously. Then he comes over. “I just wanted to...” He licks his lips, looking to the side. “I’m sorry. I’m on edge, things are happening and I’ve got no clue what to do about them. And I’m taking it out on you.”

“I get it. You’re scared, and that makes people act weird.”

He nods, then he reaches out, carefully taking my hand, pulling me a little closer. “I just... I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to think about losing you and everything just...” He moves his other hand, sighing. “I get stupid when I think of losing you. I go all stupid.”

“You won’t lose me.” I don’t want to let him go either.

He nods, but doesn’t look so sure. I tug on his hand, making him step even closer. Then I put my finger under his chin, making him look up at me.

“I’m not letting you go. You won’t lose me.” I lean in, my lips just a fraction from his.

He closes the distance between our lips, pushing in close a little rough, and then he wraps his arms around me, pulling me against him.

I wrap my arms around him too, and I finally feel him relax again. I finally feel him relax again me, as I keep kissing him.

Each kiss a promise that I won’t let him go, that I’ll fight for him, no matter what it takes.

Because I’ve never felt like this before, no matter how much of a mess it all is.

I need him, he’s mine.