The anti-coagulants added to blood bags had a sharp, sour taste that—in August's opinion— ruined it completely. He'd never drank bleach, for obvious reasons, but he imagined that this was something like how it tasted. It was only a temporary fix, like fast food, and he'd be hungry for more within a few hours, but it was the only option.

For decades, August had been disgusted by Charles' method of feeding, his reliance on blood bags. Once his body had begun to succumb to long overdue age, it had been a necessity, but before his face had begun to sag, before the skin became papery and translucent in patches, August had believed it to be nothing more than arrogance and self-importance. Charles' dependence on blood bags had not helped his aging body, his slow decay. Yet now, perhaps, August was beginning to understand why he had relied on them for so long.

The night out with Paige had been going so well. She was opening up to him and he found he enjoyed her company. She was easy to be around, and he could understand why Thomas liked her so much. But after he thought he'd spotted Spencer, a double take across a crowded bar that had turned out to be nothing more than his imagination, he had lost all enthusiasm for it. He had ensured Paige fed, young as she was she needed it far more than he did, and he'd retreated to Charles' old quarters where he knew he would not be disturbed.

Just before dawn, he'd gone downstairs to stand on the terrace. He lit a cigarette and held it between his fingers—not smoking it—just letting it burn and filling him with that sweet acrid smell he had become so familiar with. Even when Spencer brushed his teeth right after smoking, the scent was still there, smoke clinging to his skin and hair, a soft subtle note in the back of his breath.

August drank the last few mouthfuls of sour blood as quickly as he could stomach it and tossed the bag into the trash. He turned around and jolted in surprise.

"Thomas," he said. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

His eyes narrowed as the weight of his surprise settled in his stomach. That he'd not heard Thomas was surprising, but he knew many of them had learned to move silently. What was more worrisome was that he'd not caught a scent of anyone stood behind him. He'd not sensed his presence at all. His gaze flickered to the blood bag. Shaking his head, he rounded back to Thomas.

"No, it's fine. I must have been in other thoughts."

Thomas nodded, his eyes downcast. August sighed.

"Something bothering you, Thomas?"

The young vampire shook his head, but he looked like someone had killed a puppy. August glared at him until the boy buckled and looked away.

"Something's going on with Paige."

"What, exactly?"

"That's the thing, I have no idea," Thomas said. His shoulders slumped and he moved further into the kitchen. He grabbed the fridge handle and pulled the door open and closed three times with no visible interest with what was inside. "We were... well, you know..."

"Having sex?" August asked bluntly.

Thomas blushed. August took a moment of relief that, whatever was upsetting Thomas was not enough to have stopped him from feeding recently.

"She just suddenly got up and locked herself in the bathroom."

"I'm sorry?"

"Just disappeared, slammed the door and won't come out."

"Did she say anything?"

Thomas opened and closed the fridge a few more times. August stepped up to him and shoved his hand against the door, holding it closed.

"Thomas?"

"She said I should go," he said. "She muttered something, but then kept saying 'I'm sorry. You should go' over and over."

August crossed the kitchen to the doorway and peered up the hallway stairs for a moment. He heard the fridge door open and close behind him. He turned back.

"Well, then it seems you did the right thing in coming downstairs," he said with a deflated smile. "Women are... funny. She will come to you when she is ready."

"You think?"

Truthfully, August had no idea, but he also had no interest in getting involved in Thomas and Paige's relationship. Still, he patted Thomas on the shoulder and nodded.

"It is almost dark. Go out, have some fun. I am sure whatever has gotten into her head will be gone by the time you return."

The moment Thomas left the kitchen, August plucked his phone from his pocket. He knew it was a long shot, Paige was split-sired, surely she couldn't be feeling that deeply into Spencer's head. But he couldn't help but wonder. He found Spencer's number and connected the call.

"Hey, it's Spencer. Either I can't answer the phone, or I'm ignoring your call. Leave me a message, if I don't call you back, you know which it is."

August opened his mouth, trying to think of what to say, but when a second, different beep rang through the speaker, he brought the phone down in front of him, his eyes narrowing at the unidentified call trying to come through. Disconnecting the call to Spencer with ten seconds of dead air on his voicemail, August accepted the unknown call.

"Hello?"

"Hey. Uh, is this Caine?"

"Who is this?"

"It's Carson, uh, Embrey."

"Is 'Uh' your official middle name, Mr. Embrey, or are you simply so dense you did not remember your last name?"

He could hear Embrey breathing, but the man did not reply.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Embrey? Perhaps another vampire we can offer you?"

"No, no, look it's about Spencer, alright?"

August paused. Dragging out a chair from beneath the table, he lowered himself into it.

"Has he done something?"

"No. At least, not yet," Embrey said. "We managed to get to Vince."

"You found the boy?"

"Yeah, he's on his way home now. We got Edeline back too."

"What? Well, what about Spencer? Where is he?"

On the other end of the line, Carson Embrey ummed and ahhed again, considering his words. August wanted to reach through the receiver and choke the words out of him.

"Embrey!"

"Look, I'm not meant to be telling you this, alright?"

"Excuse me?" he snapped.

"Once we talked to Vince, got Edeline back, we called Kaleb, told him we had Vince and that he should call you and tell you where Spencer was."

"I've had no such call."

"I know, it's why I'm calling you. Kaleb refused, ordered us not to tell anyone."

"I'm sorry, he what?"

Embrey sighed.

"I had to fight the urge to throw my phone in a river," he said. "But you should know. We got Vince, it's only fair."

"Where is he, Embrey?"

"There's a motel off Grangehill, dingy place called Sunrise Lodge."

August huffed.

"Appropriate, I suppose."

"He was in room seventeen, shut inside the bathroom. I hid the key in a plant pot at the bottom of the stairs."

While his anger bubbled in his throat, far sourer than the blood had been, August knew that Embrey should not be the recipient of his wrath at being kept in the dark. Kaleb had ordered them not to tell him. After everything. Even after offering Thomas's help in turning his son should he be found.

"Thank you, Mr. Embrey."

"I can't promise he'll still be there, but it's where he was."

"I understand."

He brought the phone down, about to disconnect the call.

"Caine?"

August lifted it to his ear again.

"Yes?"

"I went against Kaleb's orders to tell you this. Don't make me regret it."

"Someone will regret those orders, Mr. Embrey. But it might not be you."

August disconnected the call before Embrey could reply. He got to his feet. Before anyone else in the house could interrupt him, or ask what had given August Caine a face like looming thunder, he was gone.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Oh, how I love August.

I hope you enjoyed reading this weeks chapters. If you did, don't forget to vote and comment.

On the 31st May, the second book in this series, Meat, is hitting the proverbial shelves across eBook land. Also, so you're aware, Teeth, the first in the series, is currently free across all of eBook land. So, if you want a shiny copy to read offline, to tell your friends about (please do,) or to leave a review on (please, please, please, do, you have no idea how much reviews help indie authors like me. Hell, all authors.) then simply head over to your favourite eBook retailer and type in Chele Cooke Teeth. You'll find a shiny copy ready to be downloaded.

Oh, also, I have a new series in the works. It's another paranormal thriller series with a witch and a soul reaper directly from hell... Anyone interested?

Chele