CHAPTER FORTY SIX

Throughout the night, Aric and Henry chatted, and during that time, Aric realized that his buddy Henry had more layers to his personality than he had previously realized.

For over a decade, he had been researching whether or not he could legally transform his pet into a full vampire.

Only humans who had earned Aric's father's approval via merit or exhibited a particularly vicious trait were eligible to be converted.

Vampires caught turning humans without proper permission were dismembered, and their body parts were scattered around North America areas that they ruled over as a deterrent to others.

The families were defanged, disenfranchised, and abandoned to starve in the streets.

There was a form of punishment that neither he nor Henry had ever witnessed, but the stories they had heard as kids had given them both nightmares.

Aric grumbled as he finished his fourth mug of spiced blood and declared, "This isn't helping."

In agreement, his companion stood up and said, "No, it's not. Let