Take Me Once, I'll Bleed You Twice novel Chapter 20

Take Me Once, I’ll Bleed You Twice

Chapter 20

“You said something about training What kind of training are we talking about?” Again, Beatrice didn’t say what she really meant, which was whether this training involved ‘sit‘, ‘stay, and other generic commands taught to dogs. Something told her that Alide would take it as an insult. Probably because that’s how she would have meant it. Not that werewolves didn’t deserve to be insulted, but she wanted information and insulting the one person willing to explain things wouldn’t help in the long run.

Alise hummed a little before answering. “Our training would be… kind of like what you would go through when joining the military? It teaches discipline, how to utilize our strengths… We don’t use weapons, just our claws and fangs, and that’s not something you can master overnight.”

“And why do you need… a military–like force?” The only reason Beatrice could think of that they’d need armed or clawed themselves against vampires, but that wouldn’t help her find out what other fun things existed in the world.

4

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forces was to defend

“Well… there are other packs, and there’s always conflict over territory. There are also vampires, like Riaghaire, and, depending where your territory is locatec, you’d have to deal with any number of creatures.”

“Such as?”

Alise shrugged her shoulders. “It depends. Desert packs deal with different issues than ocean side or deep forest packs. Here we mainly have to deal with other,packs, vampires, warlocks… Those sorts of things.”

At least Beatrice now knew warlocks existed. She’d hoped the maid would give more examples of threats but it looked like that was as all she had to say on the topic.

“Riaghaire?” Beatrice had caught onto the fact this was the first time Alise had named the vampire. Time to pump her for more information.

An odd look flashed over the maid’s face before a sheepish smile settled on it. “Oh. That’s the vampire’s name. The one in the dungeon.”

This was perfect. Beatrice didn’t have to worry about accidentally using his name anymore. “That’s… a pretty foreign name,” she noted, trying to keep the conversation going just a bit longer; it would be suspicious if she just changed the topic after learning his name, wouldn’t it? That’s what she told herself, anyway. It wasn’t just an excuse to dig deeper.

“Most of the older ones are from the Old World,” Alise explained with a slow nod, emphasizing ‘old‘ and ‘world‘ as though they were a proper name. “They

all have… interesting names.”

“What do you mean? Interesting how?” This was turning out to be even more interesting than she’d anticipated.

Alise crossed her arms and hummed again. “Some species believe that true names hold power. Those who live long lives will give themselves a new name

or are given one by others every century or so.”

“So… their names are, what, just nicknames? And what’s considered a true name?”

10

“A true name is your birth name; the first name you’re ever given. Long lived species are… odd ones. A lot of them don’t care about what they’re called, and some don’t want a name at all – which in itself is proof of their power. When that happens, others give them a name. Whether they respond to the name…” Alise shrugged her shoulders instead of finishing the sentence. “Honestly, it’s all a bunch of superstition as far as I’m concerned. Some of them go through few different names because they’re scared that having a name for too long gives it power.”

“Does it?” Beatrice inquired, her curiosity too strong to ignore. Humans had to be a short lived species, at least compared to a vampire, but should it be

something she worried about?

“I don’t think se but, by the time we reach an age where it might matter, we’re near death anyway. There’s no point for us to bother figuring it out.”

3:18 pm MA

Chapter 20

“How old is that? For you, I mean. What’s old age for a werewolf?”

“Well…” Alise hedged, scratching her neck as if the question made her uncomfortable. “Most die before reaching old age, especially if they live in a territory with a lot of conflict and land disputes, but the current elders are just under two hundred years old, which is really old. A hundred and fifty is our average lifespan, give or take.”

Well, damn. Their lifespan was almost double that of a human. A sudden thought had Beatrice holding back a laugh. Even if she agreed to be Alphass Hendricks‘ mate, she’d die of natural causes long before he did. He’d spend the second half of his life mourning her death and that was an amusing thought. She wasn’t vindictive. Or petty. Not even a little.

Beatrice shook her head a few times, forcing her mind to get back to the topic at hand. “So, did Riaghaire name himself, or was it given to him by others?”

“I’m actually not sure? If I had to guess, I’d say it was given to him, since it translates to executioner. He’s an old vampire who leaves death in his wake, so it wouldn’t be a stretch for someone else to have named him.”

At least the name fit him, thought Beatrice. It didn’t explain his issue with werewolves, but that was something she’d have to ask him about personally, since Alise had said it was just his nature.

“So… he’s been at it for a while killing your kind, I mean.”

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