Blood Lily (Lilith Adams Vampire Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

he wanted to talk to you first, privately.” That warm, magnetic smile returned as he quirked a curious eyebrow. “And for the record, did you just call me…cute, Cher ?” There was a faint touch of a Cajun accent to his voice. It was a very subtle undercurrent that people never noticed until he used some Cajun word like Cher . His head tilted to one side and she almost smiled despite herself. Almost.
    Lilith narrowed her eyes for half a second and then pulled on her sickly-sweet, sarcastic smile. “Yeah cute. Like one of those puppies at the pound, all scraggly and mangy, but you can’t help feeling sorry for the cute lil guy.” She winked, patted him on the shoulder as he actually faltered with a comeback. She ignored his gaping look and crossed the vacant, dusty kitchen and set her case down on the aluminum countertop.
    “Harsh, Lilith. I’m a dog now?” His voice almost sounded wounded. She turned with a smile, enjoying the pained sound in his voice.
    “I just call them as I see ‘em. So how’s Sonja?”
    Chance let out a chuckle and shook his head. “Last week’s news. That girl was all kinds of insane. A couple dates and she wanted to stitch our names on pillows and exchange keys.” Chance’s bravado faltered for half a second as his eyes fell to the floor. Instantly, he looked up and pushed himself away from the counter, all business. “Well, if you’re calmed down from your brush with death in the alley, I can point you in Gregor’s direction. Don’t want to keep you distracted all night.” There was a glint in his smile that made her frown.
    “If you intend to list all the insane people you’ve dated it definitely would take all night. Like I said, Dog.” They both chuckled this time, a familiar feeling. Lilith met Chance 13 years ago when she was just 15. He was a 17 year old Half-blood that had fallen through the cracks.  It happens a lot with Half-bloods. Vampires aren’t born needing blood, won’t find any baby bottles that look strangely red. The need doesn’t hit until puberty. After that, Half-bloods only need blood to replenish their own once a month or so and sometimes it’s so minor that it’s actually diagnosed as Anemia or an Iron deficiency. The second diagnosis was dangerous. A lot of half-bloods died from Iron Toxicities thanks to powerful supplements. Most human doctors just couldn’t figure out our unusual physiology.
    Some of the more thorough doctors actually label the disease Thalassemia. Chance would be what they call a severe case. Someone whose blood has such low levels of hemoglobin, that they require regular infusions of blood monthly. They would be at a complete loss with a full-blood like her. Most of the documented cases of Thalassemia are in the Mediterranean, India, Thailand, which makes a certain sense, since the Mediterranean is the cradle of civilization and all. Our families stretch back a very, very long time there with little dilution of the blood lines.
    Gregor found Chance in a children’s hospital in Louisiana through some of his contacts. It was an underfunded city hospital, so they never really looked into his condition. Had it been someplace like St. Jude’s, they probably would still be researching him in some lab someplace. Her father became Chance’s mentor and placed him with a family. His own parents died when he was 14 in a horrific car accident.
    Chance trained in a Dojo for years and took courses in criminal justice at the community college , working his way through school by running errands for Gregor. Contrary to popular belief we don’t come standard with bad ass fighting 101. Those that care to, train, just like everyone else. Eventually Gregor assigned him as his bodyguard. Lilith spent a good bit of time around him over the years, but nothing beyond a little friendly banter between acquaintances. Gregor never really talked about him much and he was more a part of the scenery than an acting participant when it came to dinners