She took a moment and imagined giving Katie love. Spending her days excited to spend time with her, to share meals with her, to make Katie happy, to make love like any normal couple. The warmth of those thoughts started to fill her body with light and excitement.

She nearly jumped when she heard her phone ring. When she looked down at the screen it said: Katie calling.

Alexis answered immediately, tension and worry already gripping her. It was out of character for Katie to call her.

“Katie? What’s wrong?”

“Alexis, I need help at The Sanctuary. I was just leaving to come home when I found a human injured. She’s been forcibly turned. She needs our help.”

“I’m coming. Stay with Otto at the front door.”

She hung up and immediately called a group of her vampires to assemble downstairs. She wouldn’t disturb the Principe until she had assessed the situation. True panic and fear gripped her heart and soul—she had to make sure Katie was safe. Newly turned vampires were volatile and unpredictable.

Alexis hurried downstairs to meet her team, and they set off quickly. When they arrived at the front door of The Sanctuary, Otto was standing by himself and looked none the wiser to the incident that was happening nearby.

When she got out of the car she could hear Katie down the side alley. “Luca, go and talk to Otto and see what he knows.”

“Yes, Duca,” Luca replied.

“The rest of you, follow me.”

Alexis ran at super speed down the alleyway and found Katie on the ground comforting the newly turned vampire. What was she doing by herself, down a dark alley, with a vampire?

Alexis’s worry and fear were turning to anger. Katie just would not listen and was going to get herself killed.

Katie jumped in fright when Alexis appeared at her side. Alexis pulled Katie towards herself while her people checked over the newly turned vampire.

“Are you all right?” Alexis asked looking her up and down for injuries.

“I’m fine. Her name is Josie. She’d been turned and fed for the first time when I found her.”

Alexis was thankful for that at least. The first blood a turned vampire drank was so overwhelming to their senses that they become possessive of the person they fed on, and addicted to their blood. It was a dangerous position to be in, as a new vampire could go too far and kill the person they fed on.

As a matter of policy, the Debreks always fed new vampires from another vampire, never the human staff, to keep everyone safe.

There was something strange about this scenario. Alexis sensed that Katie was nervous. Perhaps it was just the realization of the dangerous position she had put herself in. She needed to get Katie back to the car, so she was safe, and so she could read Katie the riot act. She wouldn’t reprimand the head housekeeper of the Debreks in front of her vampires.