by Lena Moore
“I know you’re here. I can feel you. Show yourself you fucking creep!” she yelled.
Draven stepped out from behind a tree and leaned against the rough bark. He didn’t say anything, only drank her in from head to toe, feeling his canines elongate slightly.
“YOU!” she screamed. “You were the one inside my head. Why? What do you want from me?” She backed away slowly, leaving the spilled bags on the asphalt. The way her eyes raked up and down his form didn’t go unnoticed either. Snowflake liked what she saw, even if she was scared shitless.
She was going to run if he didn’t speak up. He cleared his throat and it felt as if there were rocks grinding his Adams apple as he said, “Don’t run. I mean you no harm. Please. I just need to talk to you.”
She ran.
“Fuck,” he cursed. Draven was avoiding the whole vamp speed thing but he couldn’t let her get away. He appeared in front of her and she ran straight into his chest.
“Wha–what the fuck?” she stuttered. “How the fuck did you do that?”
Draven sighed. “Can you please calm down? I need to talk to you.”
Snowflake started screaming. Fucking hell, what the fuck is wrong with this girl? Oh wait, a huge monster bikey looking bloke stopped her and said he just wants to talk. Right. I’m sure she’s watched enough horror movies to have heard that line.
Draven clamped one hand over her mouth to muffle her screams as the other circled around and found purchase on her hip. This was not how he envisioned their first encounter. Even though she was fighting against him there was no denying how her body involuntarily leaned into his. It must have been her blood that he’d inhaled previously, the dark chocolate and whiskey wine, because he now smelled the subtle aroma of her perfume: cinnamon and vanilla.
Draven shook his head and tried to avoid rubbing his hard on against her leg. “I will remove my hand, but don’t scream and don’t fucking run. This is important,” he hissed. “Nod once if you understand, and know that there will be consequences if you defy me.”
Snowflake nodded once. Draven peeled his hand away from her mouth lazily but kept her flush against him. “I need to ask you a few questions, ok?”
She snorted, “Not like I have much of a choice is there, asshole.”
He shook his head and tried not to laugh at her comment. The woman had spunk. Stepping away he released her. “First question: how old are you?”
“That’s none of your god damn business!” she spat.
“Look, this can go two ways—the easy way or the hard. It’s your decision. So, I’ll ask you again, how old are you?”
She groaned, “I just turned eighteen, psycho. You happy now?”
“When?”
“When what?”
“When did you turn eighteen?”
“You are fucking weird, you know that, right?” she waved her hands up and down his body. “Five days ago.”
“Hmm, that makes sense then.”
If Draven had any reservations that this woman had impacted the way his feeding was not satisfying him recently, or the fact his constant blood and fuck lust was off the charts, it all evaporated there and then. She had to be the reason.
“What makes sense? You arreeen’t making sense! And what with the dreadies, man? You some sort of serial killer?”
Draven chuckled under his breath, she had grit and he fucking adored it. She looked cute when she dragged out her word and was flustered, and Draven guessed it wasn’t just her anger seeping through.
“Why are you fucking laughing at me?” She squinted and her violet pair popped wide. “Wow, your eyes! They’re fucking awesome! Are they contacts?”
Draven wasn’t going to entertain that comment.
“Tell me, Snowflake, have you noticed any inconsistencies since your birthday, anything happen out of the ordinary?” His eyes flickered down to her wrist then back up to her big eyes.
“If I’m Snowflake then you’re Shrek. I’m just saying,” she retorted, rolling her eyes. “No, nothing.” She looked away.
Draven knew she was lying. One of his abilities, thanks to the Goddess for her giving and enhancing it, was the capacity to decipher when someone wasn’t being honest. It was a fickle ability mainly because if he didn’t know the person personally, or he wasn’t concentrating enough, then he had to rely on his gut instincts, which were rarely wrong. Draven knew this ability hadn’t flourished because he hadn’t nurtured it like he should have.
He growled, “I know you’re lying. Tell me the truth because I can smell your dishonesty.”
“What the fuck do you mean you can smell it?” She quirked an eyebrow but the question seemed more out of curiosity than an outburst.
“I’ve piqued your interest, Snowflake? Let me dumb it down a little for you.” She scowled at him and he laughed. “Since your eighteenth, your senses are heightened, in more ways than one.” He grinned, remembering how horny he was when he was transitioning from boy to vampire. “You somehow received a tattoo on your wrist that appeared out of nowhere and you’re starving, but not for food. Should I keep going?”
She worried her bottom lip and her eyes grew three sizes bigger than normal. “How–how… Are you stalking me?” She turned on her heels and bolted. Thank fuck she wasn’t aware of her abilities because that would have made this a hell of lot harder.
Snowflake ran into his chest again and started punching into him. Draven growled in her ear, “I told you if you ran or screamed there would be consequences. You’re coming with me.”
Draven was hard up. He felt the arousal bubbling up inside of him, but what surprised him the most was the fact she was turned on as well. That didn’t help his raging hard on one little bit. He threw her over his shoulder and ran to his car. Once there, he threw her in the passenger seat, raced around the vehicle and hopped into the driver seat before she could recover and jump out. He locked the doors and took off down the street like he was racing for V8 supercars or some shit. This woman was making him do questionable things. He usually harnessed more control.
Snowflake screamed the whole way. Draven was thankful she at least didn’t try and jump out of the fucking car while it was moving. They arrived at the back of Jadis’s shop where he parked the car. Draven could try and transotic her, but he didn’t want to deceive her like that. And then there was the fact that she was part vampire, so the possibilities of it not sticking were problematic.
Stepping around the vehicle, he opened her door and offered his hand. She slapped it away.
“Fuck off,” she clipped.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Easy or the hard way, your choice, Snowflake.”
“Ahhh man you’re aggravating, Shrek. Easy. Just so you know I’m supposed to call my mother tonight. If I don’t, she’ll call the cops. She has always been so overprotective of me.” She smiled smugly.
Draven shook his head and rolled his eyes again. “I’m not going to kill you, nor am I going to lock you up in my shameless fuck room, ok.” It was Draven’s turn to smile.
“Wait, what?” she squeaked.
“Come, we don’t have time for this. Now, if you run or scream, I won’t be as lenient.”
She blew air out, causing a stray lock of her black hair to swish out of her face. “Whatever.”
They began walking closely together. It was close to nine at night and things were heating up around the quarter. He heard leaves crunch to the right so he looked, and that was all it took, Snowflake ran off.
Fuck this girl! I am going to make her ass so fucking red!
Draven vamp sped again, threw her over his shoulder, and raced to his lair before she could scream the whole of New Orleans down. He opened the impenetrable steel door and plopped her on the couch.
She sat up, her hair dishevelled and falling out of her ponytail as she folded her arms across her chest, causing her tits to push together. Stay focused, hornbag!
“What the fuck is with you! And where the fuck are we?” she huffed, taking in he
r surroundings.
“I fucking told you if you ran or screamed there would be consequences. You’re getting off lightly considering what I would like to do to you,” he jeered. “Now, next question: what’s your name?”
She mumbled, “I can’t believe I’m even entertaining you.”
“What?”
“Aliyah.”
“Hmm, that is a pretty name and it definitely suits you.” Draven appraised her body.
“Eeeww, stalker alert. You basically eye fucked me into the next universe.”
“Oh Aliyah, you have no idea. Truly. I’m Draven, by the way.” He looked up to find her eyes roaming over his body once again. He celebrated on the inside like a fucking pansy.
“Question Four: have you been craving anything in particular?”
Aliyah’s eyes averted and she found the sealed concrete floors. “I–I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Oh but darlin, you need to. And I’m the only one around here who will understand you. Believe me.” He rubbed his hand over his stubble. “Actually, before we continue, the other night when you were with your friends you sensed me and cloaked your scent, then again when I was inside your head, and tonight it was as if you were conscience of my presence. Tell me Snowflake, do you feel me?”
Her head whipped up, and those beautiful big eyes darted around his home. “How do you know so much about me, are you following me? Just be fucking straight with me, Shrek.”
Draven softened. He felt for Aliyah. He remembered being her age, but at least he understood and had some expectations of what would happen to his mind and body. This girl had none, which made him ruminate if she was adopted. Surely if Aliyah had vampire parents she would be aware of what she was.
Draven walked over and sat on the single lounge. “No, I’m not following you. I went through what you are experiencing,” he paused before continuing, “a very long time ago. However, this compulsion I have toward you, well that shit is tentative and new as hell. I don’t understand it. I think you feel it too. I could be wrong but something tells me I’m not.”
Aliyah stood up and paced the seating area. Draven watched her move intently and tried to stay focused on the task at hand.
She released a deep breath and said, “You’re right. I do feel you, which I find eerie as fuck. No offence Shrek.” She shrugged her shoulders. “My body, my mind, it feels like its changing and it’s scaring the shit out of me. Those things you mentioned earlier, I don’t know how you knew about them, but I have felt all of what you said. I feel like I’m going crazy. Tell me I’m not going crazy. Or am I? Either way, give me some idea of what the fuck is going on with me.”
What Draven wanted more than anything in the world right now was to comfort her. He knew what she felt happening to her would feel overwhelming. Hell, she’d just admitted as much.
“Did you only start to feel me after you turned eighteen?”
“I felt something a couple of weeks before. I actually saw shadows in my dreams which I now realise looked like you. After my eighteenth, the urge and draw toward what I know to be you now was more prominent.”
Progress. She isn’t cussing me out with every question I ask, he mused. “Have you spoken to your parents about what you’ve been experiencing?”
Aliyah scoffed. “Oh hell no. I mentioned something off the cuff to my mom last week and she looked at me like I’d grown three heads. And then she suggested that I needed to see a doctor and get him to write me a prescription for happy pills.”
“Is she your biological mother?”
She jumped to her feet. “What kind of question is that? Of course she is! They are both my biological parents.”
Draven’s eyebrows knit together. “I don’t mean to push the subject, but are you absolutely certain?”
“Don’t you fucking dare start talking shit about my family! Who the fuck do you think you are anyway, and why the hell would you ask that you wanker!” she chided.
Draven leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees and shook his dreadies out of his face. “The answer to your first question: I am the wanker who is going to walk you through your transition and help you make sense of what is happening to you and who you are. Question two: the reason I wondered about your parents is because if they were your real parents you would understand what is happening to you. Capiche?”
“Transition?” her voice wobbled.
“Sit back down, Snowflake,” he instructed.
Aliyah seemed reluctant at first, then she sat down and wrung her hands together, watching Draven’s every movement.”
“This will be a lot to take in so prepare yourself, pretty eyes.” He took a deep breath and continued. “Your transition from human to vampire.”
Aliyah’s head snapped up, her eyes locking with his. “The fuck?” Then she fainted.
Chapter Seven
~ Aliyah ~
Vampire? What the fuck is this schmuck on? She knew she was still borderline between conscious and unconscious. Shit! What if he tries to rape me? Think Aliyah, think! You can’t be a vampire. That shit is just downright fucking preposterous, right? Shrek is spinning me out, though. How the hell does he know all this stuff about me? And how is it that I never sensed him until recently? The fuck? How did he know about my tattoo? I wonder if he knows about me trying to scratch the fucking thing off. But vampire? What is that all about? He has to be off his head on crack or something. Surely. Shit, I’m asking myself a lot of questions.
Aliyah felt a cool hand brush some hair from her face and she internally screamed for herself to wake up.
“Snowflake? Aliyah? Can you hear me?”
Fuck, why does he have to sound so fucking exotic? I bet he’s just a plain old American douchebag. His voice does something to me though. It stirs something within me. Hold up, why am I tingling? Aren’t I passed the fuck out? His eyes… There’s something familiar yet beguiling about them. What the fuck am I saying? He’s a pervert! How old is he anyway? He looks maybe thirty five? Something bright drew Aliyah away from her ruminations. She knew she was still nestled deep in her subconscious, but she was pulled toward the light. A mixture of white, red and black screamed in front of her.
“Aliyah, child. You are of age. You must learn to trust Draven. He is the answer to all of your questions.”
The voice sounded ethereal, calming and compelling. Aliyah couldn’t make out the woman. All she could see was a shadow with long hair. She was about to ask the woman a question but was silenced. Aliyah felt something sinister in the distance and she started to shake.
“Something is coming. WAKE UP!”
Aliyah sprung up, holding her throat and breathing erratically. She searched the dark purple room until her eyes landed on Draven’s.
“Wha–what happened? I— What is happening to me? Please help me. She said you would help me!”
Aliyah noticed Draven’s brow furrow. He looked confused.
“Wait, back up. Who told you?”
“The woman. She said I needed to trust you. You didn’t see her?” she replied breathless. Good one, Liah, you sound like a fucking crackpot!
“Ummm, no. You were kind of out of it, Snowflake. Can you describe her for me?”
Aliyah tried not to react to the nickname he’d given her. She hated to admit that every time he called her that her belly fluttered with butterflies. What would a grown ass man want with me? Hold on, I don’t want him. He took me against my will! But damn he’s glorious. Look at his face; it’s as if he was sculpted by Michelangelo himself.
A voice clearing stopped her meandering mind.
“You in there?” Draven tapped her skull.
Aliyah canted her neck to the side and inhaled quickly. When did he get so close to me? Damn he smells good. What is that? Clove? Sandalwood, chocolate and an aroma I don’t recognise. What a bazaar concoction. None the less fitting, though.
“Shit, yeah I’m here. I’m just groggy after waking up from when I fainted. Fuck. What were you sayin
g? Oh yeah, what did she look like. I couldn’t really make her out. She had long hair. I can’t be certain of the colour because she was shrouded in shadows. I didn’t see her face but I instantly knew she was beautiful. Damn that sounds crazy.”
Draven folded his beefy arms in front of him, causing his biceps to ripple. He smirked. Asshole caught her ogling.
“What did she say, Snowflake?” he drawled.
“This is all crazy.” She threw her hands in the air and jumped off the bed. Wait, bed? She looked around and realised she must be in Draven’s room. A massive king size sleigh bed with four posters occupied most of the space, a black comforter covered the mattress and there were two black matching side tables on either side of the bed. His room was inebriating, and the scent made Aliyah heady. She felt lightheaded again and closed her eyes.
Grounding herself, she inhaled and exhaled a few times then opened her eyes. She was met with one amethyst and one ruby red staring intently at her. Aliyah swore she saw his nostrils flare. How was that even possible, she mused. Although she didn’t want to admit it, Aliyah kind of liked those dark dreadlocks and wondered how they would feel sliding between her fingers. She shook those wandering thoughts away and straightened her spine.
“The woman said I need to trust you, that you are the answer to all my questions. It was…odd. I was readying myself to ask her questions then I sensed a change in energy. Then she screamed for me to wake up. Obviously I did, because I’m talking to you.”
Draven began moving back and forward around the small area; he seemed stressed. The scowl was deep-seated and his eyebrows crinkled as he ran his hands over his dreadlocks. Aliyah hadn’t realised earlier but he was no longer in his jeans and shirt. He now frequented the room in grey track pants, a black tank top and was barefoot. Damn, the man even had sexy feet, and Aliyah hated feet with a passion. She drank in every single inch of his glorious monstrosity form. Compared to her 5’8 frame, Draven must be close to 6 and a half feet. Every single piece of him was crawling with tattoo-defined goodness, and Aliyah wondered if he felt as hard as he looked. Draven turned abruptly, his eyes meeting hers. “It was the Goddess. It has to be. Was there smoke? Mist like?” His voice wavered a little.
