"Yeah," Jack agreed. "I can't wait to go skiing tomorrow."
"The ski hills are about two miles down the road; we'll take the snowmobiles out there. There's a hill right behind the house, I've come down it a few times, but it's not very big, and it's a bitch to climb."
They fell back into a lulled silence, watching the flames as they started to sputter down. Kathleen got up to toss more logs onto the fire then settled back down. An hour drifted by with little conversation.
When the clock chimed eleven, Sera stood and stretched her legs. "I'm pretty beat," she said.
Kathleen stood up and stretched. "I'll show you the room."
Sera followed her back to the main foyer. She stopped to pick up her bags as Kathleen walked to the side of the staircase. "We don't use this room often," Kathleen was saying. "But it's private," she added with a sly grin and a wink.
Kathleen stopped in front of the door behind the staircase and swung it open. Sera hadn’t seen this room the last time she’d been here. Stepping inside, Kathleen flicked on the light switch. Sera looked in the small room and smiled. An oak bed, dresser, and an antique nightstand furnished the small room. A brass lamp with a rose-colored shade sat on the nightstand, and the entire room was done in a pale, rose color.
Liam appeared in the doorway behind her. "Very nice," he said as he rested his hands on Sera's shoulders.
Kathleen grinned. "I knew you'd like it. I'll leave you guys alone. See you in the morning."
Sera had to fight the urge to grab her and tell her to stay away from Mike as she left the room. She kept her arms by her sides though as Kathleen left.
"What's wrong?" Liam inquired as he placed his bags by the dresser.
"I think Kathleen is planning something with Mike."
He looked up at her as he opened a bag and pulled out a sweater. "That bothers you?"
"Yes. I don't want him to hurt her."
"They're both adults."
"That's not what I meant." Sera put her bags down and walked over to the small window. "How do you survive?" she asked. She hadn't asked yesterday because her mind hadn't thought of the question, but it did now, and she needed to know.
"Sera..."
She folded her arms over her chest as she turned back to him. "You said no more secrets, no more lies."
He ran a hand through his hair as he studied her. "I know what I said, and I meant it, but there are some things better left unexplained."
"I want to know," she whispered.
He leaned a hip casually against the dresser. "You won't like it."
"I don't care. I need to know."
"Fine," he relented. "It's easy enough to survive in a frat house. Plenty of drunken girls, parties almost every night of the week. At first, it feels like an annoying hickey, and then it goes away."
Sera blinked as she contemplated his words. The thought of it disturbed her. How many girls had he done that too? She hated to think about it. Then, another more hurtful thought occurred to her. He had never taken her blood. Suddenly she felt as if there was something wrong with her, something about her he didn't want.
She turned her mind from those thoughts and focused her attention back on him. "Did you sleep with them all?" she whispered.
"Sera, come on," he groaned.
"Did you?" she asked.
His eyes flashed as he clenched his jaw. "Most, but not all."
Sera closed her eyes as pain clenched around her heart. Why had she even brought any of this up? All it did was upset her, and yet she couldn't stop herself from asking, from knowing. "How often," she had to stop and swallow heavily before finishing her question. "How often do you have to... to ah do this?"
"At least four times a week, preferably every day. Are you happy now?"
No, she wasn't happy. The thought of it turned her stomach in ways she hadn't thought possible. That was a lot of girls. A lot more than she ever wanted to consider. "How did all of you become like this?"
He blinked at her, obviously thrown off by her change in topic, and from the look on his face, more than a little relieved. He pulled out another sweater, opened a drawer, and dropped it in. "I've known Mike, Doug, Jack, and David since we were kids. We went to school together, lived near each other, and joined all the same teams in high school. We were never apart. During our senior year, I met this girl at a party. She was beautiful and vibrant, and she could have had anyone she wanted. For some reason, she wanted me.
"I saw her at a few more parties after that, and then she vanished. Last year, I ran into her again. She was at a frat party at my house in Buffalo. At first, I was amazed she even remembered me. It wasn't until later I realized she’d been looking for me."
He broke off as he bent and grabbed another sweater. "Why?" Sera prompted.
Liam shook his head. "Honestly, I don't know. For some reason, she fancied herself in love with me. She kept tabs on me over the years and always knew where I was. She came back for me last year because she thought I was finally mature enough to be changed. Of course, I didn't know that at the time.
"I left with her that night. However, unlike the last time, she didn't just feed off me and leave. She changed me. She was lonely, and she wanted someone to spend the rest of her life with."
"And you didn't want to be that person?"
Liam ran a hand through his hair. "No, I didn't. I didn't know her, or
