by B. N. Toler
“And Eileen was twenty when she changed. Daniel found her when she was fifteen.”
“How long ago was this?” I ask.
“About eighty years ago.” Flynn looks to the side as he holds his glass up about to take a sip.
“So you guys are really, like…a hundred years old?”
Eileen laughs. “We look good for our age, don’t we?” She stands and slides over to Flynn. He swivels his seat and she stands between his legs. He pulls her face to his and kisses her gently and my heart aches as I think of Rhett. They love each other very much, it’s obvious.
“How long have you two been together?”
“Going on seventy-five years,” Flynn says proudly. “I can still remember the day Daniel brought her home. She was all scrawny legs and pigtails.”
“And I had the biggest crush on him. The moment I saw him I fell in love with him.” Eileen kisses his cheek sweetly.
“And I knew she’d be mine the first time I laid eyes on her.”
“He was a total pedophile.” Eileen smirks before sipping her drink again.
“So you’ve been together since you met?”
“No. We waited until I turned when I was twenty-one. Not because I wanted to, but because he wanted to make sure I knew what I really wanted. It was torture.” She pouts at him.
“Well the best things are worth waiting for.” He smiles and kisses her pouty lips.
I love their story, but it makes my heart hurt. I’ve twice fallen in love only to not have it come to fruition. Holding up my shot I say, “Cheers to love.” I smile and throw it back. “Another.” I slam the glass down.
“Rough day?” Flynn asks dryly.
“Rough life,” I shrug.
They laugh and sip their drinks.
“So, if you guys are a hundred, how old does that make Daniel?”
Flynn smiles as Eileen rolls her eyes. “That my dear is a mystery,” Flynn says.
“You don’t know?”
“Did you ever see that tootsie pop commercial with the owl, and he asks, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?”
I stare at him blankly.
“The world may never know,” Daniel chimes in causing me to jump.
“Daniel!” Eileen smiles. “I wasn’t sure you would come.”
“I said I would.”
“Yeah, you say that a lot, and we never see you.”
Daniel glances at me before he nods to the bartender who places two shots of Jack and slides them towards us.
“I only ordered one more.”
“One is for me.” Daniel takes his shot and tosses it back. “I’m going to check out the game. You guys have fun.” Eileen scrunches her face at him as he walks away.
“Game?” I ask confused.
“Women,” Flynn smiles.
“Come on. Let’s dance, Aldo,” Eileen begs as she pulls my arm.
Maybe it’s the alcohol, or it could be Eileen is just so effervescent that she inspires me to try to have fun, but I agree to dance with her. I throw my shot back and we head out to the dance floor.
“I love you,” Flynn mouths to me as we walk away.
“You owe me,” I mouth back.
Eileen is like a human energizer bunny—wait, she’s a hybrid, so of course she has a ton of energy. We dance through four songs, back to back, and God bless her, she doesn’t comment on how awful I am. Finally, I can’t take it anymore. I’m sweating profusely and need another shot.
“I’m going to get a drink!” I yell to her.
“Send Flynn out!” she shouts back.
I walk back to the bar and tap Flynn’s shoulder. “I’m tagging you in partner.”
“Aw, it was nice while it lasted.” He winks at me before he gulps down the remainder of his highball and slams it on the bar. He stands and thrusts his hips obnoxiously as he dances out to Eileen. I think I’m already in love with both of them.
I ask for another shot and sip from the water she gave me earlier. While I wait, I peel off my white sweater, half-soaked with sweat, and lay it on the bar. I’m wearing a white tank top underneath that is fitting, low cut and practically see-through because it’s wet with my perspiration. Out of the corner of my eye I see Daniel sitting on the end of a pool table with two girls in front of him. They’re both wearing short skirts and low cut tops with pounds of makeup. They’re laughing and one twirls her hair between her fingers while she bites her lower lip. Big surprise there—he likes bimbos. The way they’re gawking at him, I’m surprised they haven’t already bent over the pool table and let him have his way with them.
I drag my eyes away from Daniel as the bartender slides me my shot. Taking a few napkins from the caddy that’s sitting on the rail of the bar, I dab it in my water. Pulling my hair up, I pat the cold, wet napkin on the back of my neck and chest, closing my eyes as the coolness hits my hot flesh. When I open my eyes, I sense something odd. My body tenses as my gaze immediately meets Daniel’s from across the room.
He’s staring at me. Not just staring, more like boring a hole through me. The two girls in front of him are glaring at me as I seem to have taken his attention away from them. Letting my hair fall down, I shake it out, running my fingers through it and avoid looking back at Daniel. His stare is odd and it makes me feel things—confusing things—and I’m not sure what it means.
As I’m taking my shot, a man takes the seat next to me. Not just a man, but a big, muscular man with dark eyes and auburn hair. I shift in my seat as he smiles at me and nods to the bartender.
“Pretty girl sitting at a bar by herself. What greater tragedy is there than that?” His voice carries a hint of an accent that I take as British.
“You call it tragedy, I call it bliss.” I snort not caring how unattractive it looks and sounds.
Swiveling his seat towards me, he asks, “What’s the matter love? Boyfriend broke your heart and now you’re drinking your blues away?”
Something like that. I think of Rhett. He did betray me. He promised he wouldn’t. “You could say that.” I avoid looking at the handsome man next to me. His smile is perfect, and judging by his relaxed posture and cool demeanor, I can tell picking up women at bars is a norm for him. He’s confident—too confident.
He leans toward me, and in a sultry, low voice says, “He’s a fool. You glow. You are by far the sexiest woman here.”
Now I know he’s gaming me. I’m nowhere near the sexiest woman here. Of course, he’s human, I hear his energy, he’s probably just attracted to what I am, drawn in by my gift.
“Quite the charmer, aren’t you?” I ask dryly.
“I’ve been called worse.” He shrugs and sips the beer the bartender just placed before him.
From the other side of the room, I see Daniel watching me. His two bimbos still stand in front of him, directing their dagger-throwing stares at me. Daniel turns back to them and they resume poking their chests out and twirling their hair.
“What’s your name?” The man next to me asks.
Turning back to him, I decide to tell him he’s wasting his time trying to pick me up, but when my eyes meet his again, I’m lost in his gaze. He speaks to me, his dark eyes torching my mind with words I don’t really hear, but I nod to him as if I do. I act without thought, without control. I feel like a moth and he is a flame, I’m drawn to him and when he walks to the back of the bar I follow, as if I’m tethered to him by an invisible thread. Before I know it, we’re in the restroom. He tells me I want him, I need him. I do. I want him so badly my skin burns with need.
“Take off your shirt,” he orders, and I happily obey. At the sight of me in my bra, his fangs erupt. He has fangs, too! But they don’t scare me—they excite me. The sight of them creates a frenzy, causing my fangs to thrust out as well.
His eyes round as if surprised. At this moment, I’m too wound up with need. I cling to him, and as we touch my blood begins fizzing underneath my skin.
He pushes me off of him, slamming me into
the wall, but I am empty, hungry, starved for lust and blood. I move and pounce on him again, tackling him to the ground. He struggles to get up as I eye his neck deciding where I’ll bite first. But before I can, I’m jerked up and slammed against the wall again. A hand strong as steel clenches my throat, choking me. I hiss at the man holding me, but his eyes blaze into mine, digging into my mind. I hear his voice, “Calm, Aldo. There is no hold on you.” My body immediately relaxes and I blink a few times not understanding what I’m seeing.
Daniel is holding me by the throat, my hands wrapped around his wrist like a vise grip. Eileen and Flynn are helping the auburn haired man up that just sat by me at the bar. His face is pale and he looks like something just scared the crap out of him.
“Calm,” Daniel whispers, still staring at me. “Look into my eyes.”
My gaze immediately meets his and my breathing slows. As reality comes back to me, I realize I have no shirt on, just my pink, lacy bra.
“Get him out of here. Take him to the house. You will wait there for me, Bridge. Do you understand?”
“I didn’t know, Daniel,” Bridge pleads.
“Go!” Daniel roars.
“Come on, Bridge. Let’s go.” Flynn pulls at him, and Bridge storms out of the bathroom. Eileen cuts a look at Daniel before she and Flynn exit.
Daniel still holds my throat.
“You can let me go now,” I croak, the pressure of his hand on my throat limiting my voice.
“Apparently I can’t let you out of my fucking sight.” He releases me and I proceed to cough and hack. He stands in front of me as I remain pressed against the wall.
“He hypnotized me?” I croak in disbelief.
Daniel positions himself in front of the sink and starts washing his hands. “Yeah. He didn’t know who you were, or that you were with us. He just saw you at the bar and moved in on you. As you move through your transition, it will be less and less likely for you to be hypnotized. Once you’re able to hypnotize others, you’ll know when someone is doing it to you.”
“So that’s what you guys do to women? You hypnotize them so you can feed on them and rape them?”
Daniel spins around and narrows his eyes at me. “I don’t have to spell a woman to get in her pants.”
“That’s real nice, Daniel. How wonderful that you’ve mastered the gift of being a man whore. But how do you explain what just happened?” I spat at him.
“He wouldn’t have raped you. Just fed on you. Yes, that’s what we do. That’s how we eat. We feed on them and heal them. They’re none the wiser.”
“That’s not what he was going to do to me Daniel. He made me take my shirt off and told me I wanted him. And the sick part is I did. He totally had me…under his spell. I didn’t sign up for this bullshit!” I slam into him and he stumbles to the side as I rip past him out into the club. I make my way to the front door, heckled with whistles and lewd comments, when I realize I’m only wearing my bra. I look back to where I sat at the bar for my sweater, but my eyes catch a glimpse of the two bimbos Daniel was flirting with earlier, both laughing at me. I flip them the bird. Suddenly, Daniel is beside me and jerks my arm so hard it feels like it may come out of its socket. In a blur he escorts me—or more like man handles me out of the club and before I know it, he’s opening the door to his car and trying to shove me in it. I punch at him and claw at him, screaming bloody murder.
“I’m not joining some cult full of rapists!” I shout.
The car door slams shut and Daniel lifts me by my arms as if I’m small as a child, slamming me onto the hood. “Shut the fuck up and listen to me!” he growls.
The weight of his body is on me, pinning me down. I stop moving and glare at him, feeling the heat of him on top of me and the cold metal of his car like ice against my hot back causing goose bumps to blanket my skin.
His gaze moves to my chest momentarily before returning to my eyes. “You will come with me—calmly, and let me explain or I will make you.”
“Let me go,” I growl.
“Will you cooperate?”
“Doesn’t look like I have a choice.”
He slides off of me, and I lie on the hood for a moment, catching my breath before I force myself up. He tosses me my sweater that I left at the bar and I quickly slip it on. “Get in the car.” He walks to the driver’s side and opens the door.
I stand frozen. I could run, right? Maybe I could get away. I haven’t tested my new powers yet, surely super speed is on the list.
“Aldo.” There is a warning in his tone—don’t even fucking think about it.
I slide into the car, slamming the door.
“Just because you’re pissed at me doesn’t mean you have to take it out on the car.” Daniel lights a cigarette and starts the car. The engine roars as we exit the parking lot.
“Well when you’ve been sexually assaulted twice in two days, then you can tell me where and how to deal with my anger.”
“It’s not his fault, you know.”
I spring up and gawk at him. “You better follow that with just kidding, Aldo. The guy’s a douche.” Does he dare insinuate it’s my fault?
He laughs. “It’s what you are. Power radiates from you. Men are attracted to that. They want to possess it.”
“So raping me will somehow help them possess it?”
“You’re a sexual predator. It’s a part of your power. We’re animals Aldo. Yes, human too, but at our core, were primal. We have to hunt to feed. As a female you are imbedded with a pheromone that attracts prey. Men are your prey. Your food.”
“That’s messed up.” I shake my head. “And so far, I’m the only one that’s been the prey. There’s no excuse for him to hypnotize me into having sex with him, Daniel. That’s rape, and I’d bet my life I’m not the first woman he’s done that to. I’m just lucky you stopped him.”
“I’ll talk to him. It’s not how we do things, but understand…you are not a normal woman. In nature, animals will do heinous things to get the mate they want. Even rape them.”
“You’re making excuses for him?” I growl. I cannot believe Daniel is in anyway defending him in any way.
“No. I’m trying to teach you something.”
“Oh yeah? How to justify rape?” Anger boils in my chest and it’s obvious in my tone.
“Listen!” His voice booms. He runs a hand through his hair in a frustrated movement. “You know how a puppy grows very quickly, but even when it becomes a larger dog, it’s still a puppy…ya know, mentally?”
“Yeah,” I answer, not understanding why we’re talking about puppies.
“You are like a puppy. You don’t really understand your gift, but you possess a lot of physical power.”
“So you’re comparing me to a dog? Gee, I thought my night couldn’t get any better.” I cross my arms and stare out the window.
“You know what I’m saying,” he groans. “You have power, but you’re still learning. You don’t fully understand the ways of our kind yet, and how dangerous you really are.”
“You are still making excuses for him!” I shout unable to hide my anger anymore.
My body slams against the passenger side door as Daniel whips the car into a vacant parking lot.
“I’m not!” His voice booms as he slams the car in park and grills me with dark eyes. “Rape is never acceptable. I’m telling you, you will always face this! This is what you are! He isn’t the only man that has, or will do this to you!”
I’m pressed against the door staring at Daniel who seems to have quadrupled in size as he shouts at me. “So because he wants me, you justify what he did? Because he can’t help himself?”
“Kitten,” he says my unwanted nickname with a frustrated sigh as he recedes back into his seat. “Have you never wanted someone so badly you might go to any lengths to have them?”
Pretty much the story of my life. I’ve wanted Thomas and Rhett, but never had them. I mean yeah…in my dreams, but not for real. How could that be? If I have this ‘powe
r’ Daniel is talking about, how could they restrain and not Bridge? I remain silent, refusing to answer. I’ve wanted, but I won’t tell Daniel a thing about it.
“No. I can see you haven’t.” Daniel watches my face, looking for expressions that may clue him in. “I’m not talking about crushes, kitten. I’m talking about a desire that coils around your soul like ivy, cutting off your circulation. It’s selfish, it’s raw, it’s pure desire driven by the need for self-gratification. It’s a need to use the other person up, use them to fill that want, cut back that ivy because having that one person is the only way you can ease it. Have you felt that way before?” His voice is deep and rich and my toes curl as his words vibrate through me.
I lick my dry lips and swallow. Everything he just described is selfish. I’ve wanted sex with Thomas and Rhett, yes to feel them, be with them, but never to solely satisfy me. I’m terrified of what Daniel just described to me, but more so—I’m intrigued. Is this what sex is to him? “Don’t you think sex should be about both people, not just one getting their needs fulfilled?” I almost smack myself for asking him anything about sex.
A wolfish grin spreads across his face. “That’s the key, isn’t it kitten? You hope that if you find the one who consumes you, makes you crazy with desire, that you’re the one for them too.”
My body is tense with uncertainty. I can’t make up my mind whether I’m incredibly creeped out or excited by this conversation. “Bridge was still wrong.” I face forward in my seat trying to change the subject.
Daniel releases the parking brake and puts the car in drive. “Yes, well, it won’t happen again. I’ll make sure of it.”
“What about every other woman out there?
“I’ll talk to him. And know you’re safe. You’re protected now from Bridge, or any other man for that matter.”
“Do you think you’re the only one that’s offered me protection, Daniel?”
His brows rise, my question surprising him. “Apparently not, but I’m the only one that can really give it to you.” His answer strikes me silent for a moment. Mostly because I believe him. I have no doubt Daniel can fight off the worst of the worst, but too many people have tried to protect me in the past, and all they really did was lie to me.
