I’d been almost eleven when we met and even then, his sweet smile had stolen me away.
Beneath the Changing Moon
Chapter Three
April 1995 - Metal Moon
My favourite place to play was a big park half an hour from my apartment. It was a long walk or a fast drive if one of my parents was around to drive me. Mostly I walked. It was beautiful and filled with big, lush plants around a peaceful lake. I loved two things about it. First, there was a woman who sold ice cream out of a little freezer on wheels. She made it herself and it was filled with fresh fruit and the best flavours I’d ever tasted. It never cost very much, either. Later, I learnt she charged a rolling price so the poor kids could have treats too, but at the time, I never thought about why I could afford the same treat as the rich kids who actually lived near the park.
The second thing I loved was the water jet fountain. A big swath of ground had been cleared and water jets installed. They shot cool water up into the air in various patterns and kids could run through them to cool off.
I was in the middle of that, hearing music in the rumble of the motors hidden beneath the ground, when metal crunched nearby. Water droplets clung to my eyelashes after I stepped out of the jets and the whole world glistened. I blinked them clear and realised one of the rich kids had driven his miniature car into a tree.
People turned to stare, but no parent came running up to make sure he was okay, so I walked over to check on him myself. He was slumped over the steering wheel. Before I got close enough to smell his blood—the air blew against my back, shoved my hair into my face, and carried his scent away from me—he leapt out of the car and gave a bow.
“Beautiful, yes?” He had black hair cut short, skin darker than mine, and warm brown eyes. At first I thought he was older, at least fourteen, because he was so big and tall, but something in the awkward way he moved, like his body was too large for him, made me think he was closer to my age. I had no idea he was younger. “I did a good job.”
“If you were trying to tear it up, then shit yeah, you did a good job.” I tried out a new favourite word, one I’d picked up from the mechanics at the garage near my apartment. They’d been letting me watch them work for years, and lately, I’d even been given my own tools, old worn out ones they didn’t use anymore.
“Yes.” He smirked at me and rubbed the back of his neck. There was a little blood on his upper lip from a bloody nose that had already healed. My throat tightened. I hadn’t been thirsty, but fresh blood was fresh blood. “Not much fun now though.”
“You could fix it.” He must be thick if he hadn’t even thought of that.
“How?”
“Is this the first time you crashed it?”
He shook his head and drew himself up to his full height. He looked offended, but I couldn’t imagine why. “Of course not! I crash it all the time. Then Mom gets me a new one. Why would I fix it?”
“Because it’s fun.”
His lower lip stuck out a little and he crossed his arms over his chest. “You can’t fix it!”
“I sure the hell can!” I’d heard the women at the shop say that too, when a guy came in and gave them grief about being mechanics. They always managed and so would I.
“I don’t believe you. Prove it.”
“Fine. You must get it to the garage though.”
He shrugged. “Easy.”
It was. He grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and called the driver waiting for him near the park entrance with a car and trailer for the miniature car. It only took a few minutes to load the car and haul it over to the garage.
I sweet-talked my favourite mechanic into letting me use her bay. Once the car was inside and the boy stood behind me, watching my every move, I hesitated. It was messed up pretty bad and I wasn’t sure where to begin.
“See? You can’t fix it! I told you so!”
“I can so!” I whirled around and crossed my arms over my chest, too, mimicking him. I even stamped my foot a little. “Just watch, Mr—what’s your name?”
“Darren Lin.” His chest puffed out a little more. I recognised his last name. His mother was one of the most popular vampires in the city and ran almost all the major society events. No wonder he’d never had to fix his own toy. “Who are you?”
“Amalia Vallen.”
“Well, Amalia Vallen, I bet you can’t fix it.”
I raised my eyebrows like my own mother did when she didn’t believe something I told her then spun around and got to work.
It took a while, but I fixed that damn car.
Got a new friend, too.
April 2011 - Metal Moon
Dinner was delicious, of course. Darren took me to his favourite restaurant, the top floor of a luxurious building. The lower floors were for the human donors who were kept in beautiful rooms, pampered, and fed different food and drink based on what flavours we wanted to taste in their blood when we drank it. I couldn’t afford it on my best day, and drinking freshly drawn blood from heavy goblets was a far cry from the animal blood I kept stocked at home or the rare human I seduced for blood at one of the local dive bars.
The fresh, flavoured blood was rich and left me quivering with untapped energy. I bounced my heels and tapped the edges of my thumbs on the table, until Darren leant forward, reached across the table, and put his hands on mine. We sat across from each other because I wanted more space between us, but he destroyed my careful planning with one simple movement.
“Want to go for a drive?” he asked.
I sipped my wine to give myself a minute. It was from Velvet Fall, a popular vineyard, rich, sweet, and laced with blood—and incredibly expensive. Only the best for Darren. I drained my glass and set it gently on the table. This wasn’t my life and I was uncomfortable playing like it was, even for the span of a dinner. I suddenly, viscerally missed the safety of my garage and the comfortable smell of metal and grease.
“Yeah, okay.”
He smiled at me and squeezed my fingers. “Thank you,” he murmured. My heart clenched. Making him happy—making us happy—left me feeling fantastic. I should do it more often.
That was a stupid idea and I blamed it on the wine. He discreetly took care of the bill while I went down to collect the car. I tipped the valet, the only part of dinner I could afford. The city was alive with parties and nightclubs catering to vampires—the older we got, the less time we could spend in the sun. I still wasn’t bothered by it, but some of my Fertile friends had started sleeping all day and staying up all night—but instead I drove us far from the city, out into the dark of night until all we could see were the moon and stars and the black silhouettes of trees whipping past the car. With the windows rolled down and our hands stuck out into the air, it felt like flying.
Darren put his left hand on my thigh and my heartbeat picked up.
I should have knocked him away. Instead, I pressed my leg into his touch and stepped on the gas, speeding ever faster.
He slid his hand along the inside of my thigh, gathering up my skirt as he went, then traced the edge of my underwear—black cotton boyshorts—until I trembled. His fingers were blunt and smooth and when he finally, finally slipped from the bend of my thigh and stroked my clit through the fabric, I tilted back my head and groaned.
A second later, I snapped open my eyes and focused on the road. Wrecking the Bimmer was not a part of the plan. Not that I had a plan anymore. My plan had been to extract him from my life, but obviously I was failing big time.
I shifted my weight and scooted forward a little in the seat so he could slide his hand beneath my underwear. I was already wet—I was pretty much constantly wet around him—and he leant closer and sniffed, taking in the scent of me.
That was hot as hell.
Darren eased one finger into me then a second, thrusting them as much as he could with his wrist bent at such a sharp angle. He rubbed his thumb against my clit in a rough circle and I knew I was going to come, and if I didn’t stop the car soon, I
would wreck it when I did.
I stomped on the brakes. The car bucked and the tires screeched as we careened to a stop.
“Keep going,” I ordered and jerked my hips into his hand. He laughed and pressed a warm kiss to my bare shoulder while he leant over me, loomed over me, fucked his hand into me, and whispered dirty things into my ear.
“I can feel your pulse,” he murmured, and his tongue traced the curve of my earlobe. “You clench around me all wet and warm with every beat. You smell delicious and I bet you’d taste even better. I can imagine it on my tongue, your clit so hard, so slick. Your heat burning for me.”
I came so hard I momentarily blacked out.
My feet slipped off the clutch and the brake at the same time and the car lurched forward. Darren slammed his hand against the dash to catch himself and left a wet mark behind. Traces of me and the smell of it would linger.
He glanced at me through his lashes and swallowed a laugh.
I slouched in the seat and giggled, my body buzzing with the aftermath of my orgasm. He was a gorgeous, fun guy who knew exactly what he was doing when it came to sex. Why had I stayed away from him for so long?
Darren leant in and kissed along my jaw until he reached my mouth.
“I love you,” he whispered against my lips.
Oh. Right. That was why.
I rested my head against his and tried to control my breathing. What we did felt so good, but the emotions were even better.
I love you, I wanted to say, but instead I swallowed the words in a kiss.
Beneath the Changing Moon
Chapter Four
July 2011 - Bone Moon
“I know you’re up to something.” Jessie crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at me. She was tiny, only five feet tall, and she wore her hair in a big afro. Her skin was a deep brown-black and she squinted when she frowned which made her thin eyelashes almost disappear.
I had mocha lattes for us and the heat seeping through the thin paper cups scalded my fingers.
“What are you talking about?” My voice shook. I was a terrible liar. How the hell was I supposed to pull off a secret life?
“Amalia.” She sounded calm, but the burnt metal scent of her anger was strong. I handed over her drink and sipped mine to try to buy some time. It tasted bitter on my tongue, too much coffee, not enough mocha. I’d forgotten the sugar packets I’d shoved in my pocket.
“I’m tired,” I said. That came out better because it was the truth. I was tired. I was exhausted from working all day and spending most nights with Darren.
“Yeah, I know.” She pressed her thumbnail into the plastic lid of her cup. “What’s going on?”
I sighed and my shoulders slumped. “Let’s go for a ride,” I said. I couldn’t risk anyone hearing us if we stayed here, but I didn’t want to keep the secret from her. I told her everything.
She eyed me then nodded. “Fine. Hurry up.”
Jessie drove a three-wheeled electric car. It didn’t get the speed I liked, but she was happy enough with it. I settled in the passenger seat and shifted, trying to get comfortable. The car was so small and cramped my arm pressed against hers no matter how I sat. She was one of the few people I willingly rode with. She was a good driver, a safe driver, and though her precautions bored me, I liked her company enough to let it go.
“Talk to me,” she ordered. “Who is it?”
“Who’s what?” But I knew exactly what she meant. Of course I did. It felt like Darren’s name was written all over me, a glowing brand proclaiming my love for him, like his fingerprints were visible on every inch of my body.
“Who’s made you fall in love?”
I jerked away from her, the lid of my cup popped up, and hot coffee splashed over the back of my hand. A red welt rose but immediately started to heal.
“Fuck,” I breathed, but very little of my response came from the pain.
“I imagine there’s plenty of that going on. Who is it?”
I cast a quick sideways glance at her. “Darren.”
To give her credit, the car didn’t swerve an inch, but her fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “I thought you said that was over.”
“It was.” I wiped my hand clean on my jeans. Since the lid was off, I dug the sugar packets out of my pocket, tore them open, and dumped them into my coffee. I swirled the cup a little to mix it and took another drink. Much better. “Things change.”
“Yeah, well, not everything.”
I pressed my lips together and looked out the window. The buildings were getting smaller as we left downtown and headed out into the suburbs where Jessie lived with a group of friends. She was Fertile but, like my mother, just barely, and she hadn’t gotten pregnant yet. I doubted she would, despite the pressure. Jessie preferred women and refused to fuck some guy just to have a baby.
“Amalia.”
“I know!” My voice was sharp and I tried to soften it. “I know. I’m still Infertile and nothing’s going to change that.”
“That’s not what I meant. You’re the only one who cares about that.”
“Not true.”
She sighed, but then nodded, giving in. “Okay, you and Rachel. Darren certainly doesn’t.”
“He wants to make his mother happy.”
“He wants to make you happy even more. And himself. He loves you.”
“You think I don’t know that?” I bit down so hard on my lips I broke the skin. Blood teased the tip of my tongue.
“I think you’re too worried about the damn label the Blood-Seer gave you to let yourself be happy. He loves you, you love him, what’s the problem?”
“He should be with someone—” I couldn’t bring myself to say it. She knew me too well though.
“Someone better than you? Someone more worthy?” She bit out the word and I winced. “Ridiculous.”
“That’s not quite what I meant.”
“Close enough.” She tapped her thumbs against the centre of the steering wheel. “You’re an idiot. No one else takes this whole Fertile and Infertile thing so seriously.”
“Yes, they do. We almost died out.”
“We did not. You’re so smart, why do you buy into that scare tactic?”
“I’ve seen the numbers.”
“So have I. Numbers can be faked. Even if they’re right, I don’t think you should have to sacrifice your happiness so he can, what, go be bound to someone Fertile. No one has to be bound to have babies.”
I drained my coffee and crumpled the cup. Bits of melted chocolate clung to my finger. “I don’t need him in order to be happy.”
“No, but you’re happy with him. Why can’t you just enjoy that?”
I pressed my elbow lightly into her arm. “I am enjoying it,” I admitted. “Your coffee’s getting cold.”
“You’re changing the subject.” Despite her words, her tone was light and she let me do it. “Did you ever fix that Volkswagen engine?”
She hated grease under her fingernails and didn’t know much about mechanical work, but she always listened when I told her about my favourite—and least favourite—projects and asked for updates.
“No. I’ve got some stuff on order, but it’s an old car and my suppliers are being slow. I need to lean on them a little, but I’ve been so busy I haven’t spent much time in the office.”
She tried to hide her smile by taking a big drink of her coffee, but I caught it.
“Busy with work,” I stressed, which was more or less true.
“Of course. You working this afternoon?”
“No.” I was meeting Darren later, but she’d probably guessed that already.
“Good.” She turned a sharp right. “Then you’ve got time to come by my shop. Your layers have grown out and you need a trim.”
I huffed a sigh, trying to sound put upon, but I didn’t mind. Jessie was really good at what she did and she loved the work. I didn’t much care for doing my hair and make-up, but I also didn’t mind being pampered sometimes.
“How’s your dad?” I asked, and we lapsed into comfortable family talk for the rest of the ride.
Beneath the Changing Moon
Chapter Five
December 2015 - Flesh Moon
The heat of the engine left a burning hot kiss against my stomach. It was a welcome relief after the bitter cold bite of the air outside. I bent far over the car, up on my toes, following the wires from the battery, searching for the short. There was a loose spot, or a split, or a knick, hidden somewhere, but I would find it.
I lifted myself higher, stretched a little farther, and I knew, then, Darren watched.
He walked quietly, but I caught the faint whisper of his movement and caught his scent even through hot metal, grease, and petrol. I knew him too well to miss it. He came up behind me, put his hands on my hips, and pressed his body against me in a long line, his stomach against my ass, his chest against my back. I could feel his muscles grow taut and the vibration that shook him, spurred by his desire, travelled into me.
My hair was bound back to keep it out of the way and he brushed his cheek against mine. He was silent, his mouth still, and his body heavy as he leant against me while I worked. He knew to stay out of my way, knew how to take a step back when I had to move or how to lean with me to keep contact. Somehow, without ever asking, he anticipated my movements.
His weight against me calmed my frustration at a repair job gone wrong. I hated cleaning up after the other mechanics, but I was the one who always stepped in when things went south. My hands stilled on the engine and I closed my eyes, basking in the feel of him. He rocked against me a little and our bodies sparked. I shoved away from the car and he gave me room to close the hood and turn around.
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