Free Bound By Blood by Amanda Ashley

well.
    “Can your father turn into anything else?” he asked. “Something a little more menacing?”
    “Not that I know of, but believe me, my father can be plenty scary when he wants to be.”
    “What about you?” Zack asked with a wry grin. “Can you be scary?”
    “No. And I can’t turn into a cat, either.”
    “Too bad,” Zack said. “That’s something I’d really like to see.”
    “How long have you been a vampire?”
    “A little over six hundred years.”
    “Wow! You’re even older than my father! How old were you when you became a vampire?”
    “A few months on the shy side of twenty-nine.”
    She canted her head to the side, admiring his strong jaw, straight nose, and unlined skin. His brows were inky black, like his hair. “Our people don’t age once the change occurs. Apparently yours don’t, either.”
    “Right. We just get stronger as we get older. I’m guessing your people do, too.”
    She looked at his hand, lightly holding hers. “We have a lot in common,” she remarked wistfully.
    “And that makes you unhappy?”
    She looked up at him, mute.
    “What is it, Katy?” Releasing her hand, he stroked her cheek. “What’s bothering you?”
    “Our people are enemies.”
    “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t have any enemies.” None living, at any rate.
    Kaitlyn looked at him in disbelief. “Don’t you know anything? Centuries ago, my great-grandfather, Calin Sherrad, declared war on the Others in order to preserve our identity and our way of life.” She had read the story of the war with the Others in the Journal of Alexandru Chisca , written long before her father had been born. In it, Chisca had chronicled the war and how it had started because the Others were feeding indiscriminately on human men, women, and even children. Even worse, they had left their kills in the streets and byways to be found by mortals, which had brought out the vampire hunters. Not only that, but the Others had turned mortals into vampires like themselves, causing panic in the streets. The Romanian vampires couldn’t turn mortals into vampires, although an infusion of their blood prolonged mortal life. Kaitlyn’s mother was proof of that. Although Elena was over forty, she still appeared to be in her twenties.
    Zack grunted softly. “I don’t know anything about a war.”
    “I thought everybody knew.” She had learned it at an early age. “It was fought over a thousand years ago.”
    “I guess that’s why I never heard of it. But what the hell, that’s old history. It doesn’t have anything to do with you and me.”
    “I wish it didn’t.”
    Zack frowned. He might not be able to read her mind, but in this instance, it wasn’t necessary. He knew what she was going to say before she spoke the words.
    “I’m sorry, Zack, but I can’t see you anymore.”
    Eyes narrowed, he stared at her and then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, hard and long. And just as abruptly, he let her go. “So, that’s it,” he said, his voice harsh. “It’s over between us before it’s even started, and all because of some war that took place over a thousand years ago.”
    Kaitlyn blinked back her tears. “It’s not what I want. But my father would never accept you. Or forgive me.”
    He regarded her for stretched seconds, the taste of her still warm on his lips, her scent permeating his senses. And then he swore a vile oath. Why the hell was he so upset? It wasn’t like she was ending a long-standing relationship. Hell, he had only known the woman for a few days.
    “Have it your way, Katy.” Rising, he dissolved into mist and vanished from the room.
    Kaitlyn stared at the place where Zack had been standing, wishing she could relive the last few minutes, that she could recall the words she had spoken. And yet, it was better to end it now, before she fell any deeper, before letting him go became impossible.
    She brushed the tears from her cheeks. She wouldn’t cry, wouldn’t think of