by K A Young
Now she is trying to make me feel guilty...and it's working.
I'm very reserved in comparison to her, usually just following and letting whatever happens...happen. She knows how to twist that around me, realizing that yes, she isn't the greatest of friends at times, but at least she's never questioned why I hardly go out at night.
I think the answer would make me a laughing stock of the century, most humans unaware of the actual existence of the vampire race. If only they knew...
"No, it's fine," I swing my legs out of the vehicle, Susie taking a few steps back as I finally make up my mind and close the door behind me. A smirk plays on her lips, the sound of the car auto locking behind me makes me swallow the knot that has formed in my throat.
Without another word, Susie leads me past a lineup that has already formed, a bouncer standing behind a red velvet rope and allowing individuals into the club. We make it to just about the front of the line, catching sight of the blonde beach boy hair that belongs to Chad and Johnathon.
I release a pent-up sigh, allowing for my nerves to steady themselves as we approach the twins, Chad the first to notice us and waves us over. Once Johnathon follows his brother's gaze, he quickly chuckles, "So nice of you two to finally join us. Tell me, were you just using us as placeholders, so you didn't have to wait for more than a minute in line?"
"So, what if I was?" Susie giggles back, pushing his shoulder playfully while stepping closer to Chad and Irene. They had become an item awhile back. However, Johnathon was tough to shake loose, more than likely waiting for the opportunity for Susie to dump her godawful boyfriend and swoop in, so they could all double date without the awkward third wheel.
Well...then I'll become the awkward fifth wheel, and I can kiss what little social life I have goodbye.
"Irene, come on and back me up here," Susie attempts to pull her into the mix, the bouncer allowing for the next group of girls to enter the club before resetting the rope in place, "should a lady ever have to wait?"
"Lady?" Chad laughs so hard I can see tears spring to his eyes, "wait, you're serious? We're talking about Susie here, right?" He fumbles while wiping away the tears, Johnathon trying to hold back the laugh he wants to release so severely while Irene snickers to herself.
I guess no one is going to come to the aid of our resident badass.
"ID?" The bouncer draws our attention, Susie's mouth snapping shut just before she's about to retaliate. Instead, her smile brightens as she withdraws her proof of age, the bouncer waving her in. Following her, Johnathon, Chad, and Irene are waved by without a second glance, however, when the bouncer takes my ID into his hands, he pauses for a moment.
Glancing from the plastic card and then back to me he gruffly wishes me, “Happy birthday."
"Thanks," I quickly take my card back from him once he hands it to me, stuffing it into my purse and following my group of friends through the club doors. The 'music' and I say the term loosely, because the sound drowns out the rest of my senses, hardly able to hear anything. I can see Susie mouthing something to me and attempting a very choppy sign language, gesturing to the area in which the three amigos are heading toward.
The neon lights paint the dark walls, flickering across the entirety of the room before the dance floor unexpectedly lights up. People push around me, trying to get to where they are going, and I could have sworn someone grabbed my ass at least twice while making my way over to where Chad and Johnathon are sitting. Irene stands across from the half-booth table, her phone out and snapping a quick picture of the identical twins, uploading straight to social media.
Can't we enjoy a second without the world knowing what we're doing every moment of the day?
"Annika, squeeze in next to Chad, I want a group picture as soon as Susie gets back with the shots," Irene motions for me to take my seat, hardly able to hear her words clearly and more so going off the vague lip reading. It's not all that long before Susie is back, bringing with her quite a few shot glasses on a tray.
Is this really a good idea for my first-time drinking?
Nope, not but thanks to the wonders of peer pressure, if I back out now, they'll second guess ever inviting me out again. Yes, some friends...I know...however, they're the only ones I have.
Sometimes I wonder what other hunters I would have met if I would have related more to them and found different happiness in life. I can't change the past, and every time I think about the what ifs...Alyssa's haunting wide-eyed stare flashes through my mind, her head severed from her body and I remind myself...this was the right decision.
"Bitches!" Susie's voice manages to carry out somehow over the music, dropping the tray with a small clatter on the table in front of us, Irene taking a quick picture. Susie hands each of us a shot, gingerly taking my own glass while eyeing it with suspicion. Susie rolls her eyes and raises her glass before yelling, "Let's get fucked up!"
Apparently, she must have already had a few shots before coming back over to us...
And who's the designated driver?!
I hesitate while bringing the rim of the glass to my lips, thinking perhaps I'll call an Uber after or my grandparents because at this rate...I'm just picturing us all in body bags if any one of them attempts to drive.
Wow...
The alcohol burns going down the back of my throat, a grimace on my face when I set the shot glass back down and cough for a few times. There is Irene, clicking her phone and taking who knows how many pictures while we continue to pound back shots. We take group pictures and singles, my own smile starting out as fake but slowly becoming real as I enjoy the time with my friends.
It's not long though before Susie leans down next to my ear and yells, "Let's get you a special birthday drink!"
Do I even have a choice at this point?
Apparently not, Susie taking my purse from my hands and handing it to Johnathon along with hers as well. She grasps my upper arm and half halls me out of my seat before weaving her way through the throng of people and ending at her destination...
...the bar.
I don't think I'm a lightweight, but five shots already are starting to make me feel funny...and not the ha-ha funny. As Susie speaks with the bartender, my gaze falls on the crowd, landing on the dance floor.
Johnathan and Chad had left with Irene, all three of them hitting the dance floor hard. Thankfully, Johnathan still has our purses, but he's enjoying sandwiching Irene with Chad, grinding against one another as if there's no one else in the room. In fact, it seems that most of these people hardly have a care in the world.
"Huh?" My voice trails off, taking my vision a split second to catch up while I turn around on the bar stool, Susie starting at me intently. I ask, "What?"
I then glance down and notice a tall glass filled with a blue liquid. When my eyes flicker up, I ask the bartender, "What's this?"
"An AMF," he replies smoothly, cleaning a glass while turning his attention to the other end of the bar, a girl in a short black cocktail dress waving him down.
After a moment or two of furrowing my brows, Susie informs me, "It stands for Adios Mother Fucker," she pauses for dramatic effect and finishes, "which is exactly what you're going to be by the end of the night!"
I shake my head and grasp the glass, drawing the straw to my lips as Susie mentions, "Enjoy your drink and come join us when you're up to it!" Before I can even respond, she's left me behind while working her way over to the rest of the gang.
Attempting to block the music out, I sip on my drink, the music beginning to give me a slight headache...and let's face it, the drinks aren't helping.
It's a weird flickering and fleeting feeling, an eerie aura makes my skin crawl, glancing toward the entrance and seeing the door close shut.
Must have been the wind.
"Here," it's the bartender, quickly looking his way while he sets a glass with clear liquid in front of me. I hesitantly placed my glass on the bar top, and I give him this unsure look. He chuckles lightly and mentions, "Stay hydr
ated otherwise you're going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow morning. Won't know where you've woken up."
I thank him, my own light laugh playing off my lips and I sip on the ice-cold water. My vision is having fun playing catch up, seeing from the corner of my eye the most beautiful red hair pass by, blending into the crowd before I have a chance to get a clear view. Instead, I sigh once I see Susie waving me over, and by the look on her face, she's probably wondering what's taking me so long.
"Thank you," I smile to the bartender, setting the half-empty glass down and rising to my feet. Making my way over to my friends, I'm squished between those I'm trying to weave in and out of, the pounding in my chest increases as I feel my blood rising to the surface. The heat in my cheeks is due to the alcohol, knowing I'm not myself, though a part of me wants to indulge in the unawareness.
When I reach Susie, she calls over the music, "Did you get his number?!"
"What? Why would I even-"
"Come on Annika...don't be so shy! Schools out, time to find you a man!" She exclaims while cutting me off mid-sentence.
Time to find you a babysitter.
I say nothing more to her as we begin to dance to the music. My head has a mind of its own, Susie and I grasping onto each other's waists, pulling toward one another as we sway to the beat of the music.
Susie's grip tenses for a second, leaning her lips in close to my ear as she says, "Don't look now, but there's a complete cutie behind you giving me the go-ahead signal...so..." her voice trails off and before I know it, I'm being handed off like a rag doll.
A pair of strong hands land firm just above my hips, drawing me back until my back is flush against his muscular chest. I can hear the beating of my heart in my ears, thumping loudly with each passing second as the hands begin to guide my hips to the rhythm of the music. I can feel his manhood hardened against my lower back, his hands trailing down mine before slowly lifting my arms up near the sides of his head.
Delicate lips grace the back of my hand, a simple touch alone bringing a coolness to my already heated body. My fingertips ghostly brush the sides of his cheeks, skin smooth while his hands trace back down the sides of my body, outlining the curves until one hand remains still on my hip as the other grasps my thigh.
I bite my lower lip, preventing the moan that wants to desperately leave my lips. However, my body doesn't lie, and I arch slightly away from him. His lips touch the back of my left ear, the trails of butterfly kisses down my neck sending pleasurable shock waves down my spine, pooling my core with a lustful desire.
My eyelids slide shut, tilting my head back against his shoulder as a very soft moan manages to escape my lips, a smirk forming on his own when they touch my neck once again.
It's only when I feel the sharpness of two deadly needles scrap the surface of my skin do I freeze in place, a deep seeded terror rising from the depths. My heart skips every other beat, lurching forward suddenly and attempting to escape his grasp.
Unfortunately, once I'm about a foot away from him, he quickly spins me in his arms, grasping my upper arms in a vice grip.
How?
How did he find me? After all these years...how?
Those haunting icy blue eyes capture my own, an unnerving stare breaking the very fabric of my existence. His snowy white hair is longer, brushing over his right eye. The neon lights illuminate the tips of his fangs between his parted lips.
He leans close, to my ear and states, "Let's not make a scene."
My nerves are numb, my thoughts finding clarity in the faded warmth within the center of my chest. A connection dissolved over the years, yet not entirely forgotten however...my better judgment skips to the front line and reminds me...I have no control over my blood magic. It's been years, and with absolutely no training, I find it hard to believe I could even morph it into a single sphere.
I reply nonchalantly, "I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."
"You are a very clever girl and have hidden away for so many years, however," he pulls me closer to him, my hands landing on his chest as he finishes, "you forgot your contacts that one night."
Shit.
He's referring to the night my grandmother was out of her heart medication, and I had to run to the pharmacy to get it...it completely slipped my mind...that was my mistake, I'd always been so careful!
"Before you start thinking about trying to kill me with your blood magic, I do feel that I must caution you. I am going to be nice, just this once," He brings his lips to my neck again and kisses it, slowly swirling his tongue. I gasp and moan with no control, feeling something burning deep within me.
No, he can't do this. Not here, not now, not ever...
I manage to pull my neck to the side away from him and try to steady my breathing, "Nice?"
"You have consumed a considerable amount of alcohol, a natural blood thinner." He pulls back and looks down at me, those eyes of his piercing through my very soul. He notices the realization in my eyes as they widened with fear...
Even if I do cut myself and manage to somehow control it, I can't morph it. I can't clot fast enough. The alcohol will diminish my blood to that of an average human's.
In other words...I'm screwed.
He smirks and brings his lips to my ear once more, and a shiver runs up my spine as he says, "I believe it's time we were on our way."
There's nothing I can do, my throat constricting as the fear begins to swallow me whole, allowing for him to steer me through the crowd with ease. Everything is a blur, finding myself rounding the side of the club adjacent to another building, a small street running between the structures.
This is it.
This is how I die.
My grandparents will learn once they turn on the morning news, crying over the fact that I'm only twenty-one and have so much more left in life to live for.
A car suddenly pulls up on our side, my breath caught in my lungs as I prepare for my death.
He stops abruptly, my back is to him, and I think that is what I'm scared of the most. "I can hear your heartbeat. It is very fast. I wonder what type of hunter you have become. Moving all the way across the country to train. To become a deadly assassin?"
Has he any clue? I gave up that life...
"I-"
He cuts me off as he spins me around to face him. I become increasingly dizzy, my head pounding hard and I feel like the world is going to come out beneath my feet. He brings me closer to his chest again, this time, I don't fight back. I can barely stand up, let alone fend off a pureblood. He pulls my hair away from my neck and brings his teeth to my skin.
All I can muster is, "Please...don't kill me..."
He removes his teeth from my neck and whispers into my ear, "As much as I like you begging for your life, don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. But you will wish you were dead."
Chapter 3
-Annika
The pounding in my head is only intensified the second I hear a loud scream ricochet off the walls surrounding me. I hardly remember the words spoken to me before everything became a blur...except for the smell of chloroform that filled my senses before darkening them completely.
Everything gradually begins to flood back, the memories of the club coming spiraling fragmented images across my mind...
...Susie...shots...the club...him...
Him...it can't be him, there's just absolutely no way...
It's been years.
My eyelids press down hard against one another, a very quiet groan leaving my lips as I release a shaky breath.
It's a woman's voice that cries out, her voice pleading while she whimpers, "Please stop! I won't do it again, please!" The wateriness in her voice tears at my heartstrings, forcing myself to slowly pry open my eyelids.
Leaning on my side, the awareness of the cold stone ground seeps through my skin, chilling me to the bone as I attempt to raise myself up using my elbows. It's a grueling task once I realize there are iron shackles bound around both of my wrists an
d are anchored together in the middle. When I try to focus my vision, it's impossible to get a clear image as the irritation from sleeping with my contacts incompletely dries my eyes out, blinking profusely to create tears.
When I inhale to take a deep breath, I cough. The dryness of my throat inhabits me from making more than a quick gasp and draws the attention of a male figure I had quickly received a glimpse of looming near a female chained to a wall because he growls lowly, "She's awake, get Locaine."
Damn these contacts!
I rub my eyes harder and eventually manage to pop the contacts out, my vision clearing instantly aside from the hangover...
Taking in the room clearly for the first time, I see straight across from me, the woman had a metal chain outfitted around her neck and locked to the wall behind her. Scarce clothing covers her body, a matching set of black shorts and tank top hardly protects her from the coldness of this room. There are two other women down the line next to her. However, they are both either drugged up or half asleep because they are unresponsive to the crying the first woman is exhibiting toward the lean male.
The male's dark black hair shields half of his face, one brown iris can be seen when he glances over at me and then back toward the woman. He is easily recognizable as a vampire, his fangs visible between his lips while he snarls at the woman, "You're easily replaceable."
As he spits these words with venom, I can hear muffled sobs coming from the left side of the room. When I take a quick glance over, I see five women wearing white clothing, caged like a herd of cows within a small iron cage. Most of them either must hunch over or sit down due to the height restrictions, my own eyes trailing back to where I am being held.
The three 'walls' of iron bars surround me, spanning a good ten to fifteen feet away and join at the back-stone wall. The woman next to the vampire sobs out, "Please Sir, let me come back upstairs and serve you."
