Oh. I tried to school my immediate disappointment. Ryder was theonly somewhat familiar person I knew here. Along with disappointment, there wasalso panic and nerves fighting to spill from me. Guess I couldn’t rely on Ryderany longer. It was probably best he left anyway. It would just make thingseasier all round if I didn’t go all Stockholm on this ash, and start fallingfor my captor. He was lethal in more ways than one.
“Thanks for…”Not letting me kill my mom. And so many otherthings.
He stared into my eyes again and I saw him inhale deeply, thesilver of his eyes pulsing. Clearing his throat, he nodded. “Welcome to the Hive,number forty-six. Try to stay alive.”
He turned on his heels and left.Number forty-six?Asshole.I let the door slam behind me before turning to sink into the closest chair.
An hour laterand I was still getting the tour of this crazy place. Jose, the Hispanic ashwho had been my guide thus far, was like a robot on crack. He spoke rapidly,mostly about all the Hive facts I was supposed to give a shit about.
“So, like I said, the Hive is a master of ingenuity. Eightystories. Twenty are dug deep into the earth. The other sixty tower high above,as you have seen from the city. There are shutters on all the upper levels sothe vamps don’t burn up. They stay closed at all times during daylight hours.As soon as night hits, then the entire Hive opens up and comes to life.”
I was following him aimlessly, trying to ignore the crazy stares Iwas getting. Apparently the rumor mill was already in full swing. They all knewa freakin’ unicorn mythical ash creature was amongst them and they all wantedto get a look. A few full-fledged vampires had passed us – and I’m not gonnalie – when their strange energy brushed against me, my heart started hammeringin my chest. Those bastards were so creepy. They barely walked – more likefloated.
“This is the floor.” Jose stopped and I walked into his back.
“Ooof.” Whoops.
He glared at me and then went back to robot mode.
“This is the most important floor of the Hive. Level eleven, feederand blood storage level. Every vampire and ash has a feeding schedule and apreferred feeder. Or if you like the bottled stuff, that’s fine too.”
He pulled out a tablet and looked down. “You’re O-negative. I’dsuggest for pure taste you stick with that blood type, but you can drink anysort. Hmm, I see here you have been cleared for six feedings a day. That’s alot.” His brow creased. I craned my neck to try and see what else the tabletsaid about me. He shifted it out of sight, turning it off and slipping it away.
He straightened, and continued the tour. As he opened the doors onthe feeder room, the distinct copper scent assaulted my nose and I felt thatburn in my gums again. Somehow I knew my fangs had lengthened. It felt likewhen my chocolate addiction kicked it. Blood now smelled as delicious as meltedchocolate, the kind humans dipped their strawberries in.
Humans. Oh man. I was alreadydrooling over blood and separating myself from humans.Not good.
Jose checked me in with the ash receptionist, a large, beefy,black-haired male, with really dark caramel skin. Beautiful like all ash.
“Well, this is the end of the tour. By the time your feedingsession is done, I will have your room assignment ready.”
I was trying not to salivate as I looked at the open glassrefrigerated cases behind the guy at the desk.
“Feeding session?” Shit, just hand me a few of those bottles and Iwas good. No session required.
“Your requested feeder is waiting in room seven,” front desk ashtold me.
Requested feeder? Had Ryder set something up for me already? Noway was I actually ready to feed from a human – I wasn’t sure I was ever goingto actually bite into a person like they were a freakin’ apple. I was justopening my mouth to give a definite “Hell no” to the guy behind the desk whenit hit me, a familiar scent. Under all the liquid chocolate was my bestie.Right … my requested feeder. Tessa, you crazy bitch.
“Thanks!” I opened the fridge, moving along the shelves until I foundthe O-negative shelf and grabbed a bottle.
“For later,” I said, before bolting down the hall. The doors wereall numbered, and as I dashed toward number seven, I lifted the blood bottleand inserted my fangs into the two holes perfectly placed in the lid. The burnin my mouth increased as the canines fully extended, piercing through theseals. It was like they could sense the blood. I chugged the liquid down asfast as I could. I wouldn’t talk to Tessa thirsty. She would not heal likeRyder. As the splash of deliciousness coated my tongue, I tried not to moan.Moans were strictly for chocolate and orgasms. Not blood.
I slowed as door number seven appeared, and after removing thebottle and making sure all the blood was gone from my mouth, I burst through.My body immediately gravitated toward the warmth in the room – I was a damnedpredator now, and already my body was attuned to stupid blood – but I forcedmyself to focus on the fact that this was my best friend. I drank in the sightof her. Finally, something that felt familiar and like the old Charlie.
Tessa looked like shit. Her makeup was smudged, her blond curlswild.
She stood as I ran to embrace her, but when we were about two feetapart her eyes widened and a rich, cloying scent wafted from her. I halted afoot from her. I’d smelt this heavy scent before, when I had been afraid. Tessawas scared of me.
Her eyes scanned over me rapidly. She was cataloguing all the changes.The blood I’d just downed was working its magic, and I knew my eyes would beshooting out all kinds of swirly ash vibes.
The smile slid off my face. I wasn’t sure what to do. You knowshit’s real when your best friend for most of your life is afraid of you.
“Hey,” I finally said. My eyes fell. I stared at my shiny boots. Ireally, really needed Tess to be my normal and annoying best friend right now. Iwas pretty sure I couldn’t handle one more disappointment this week.
As if she’d sensed that need, I felt a hand touch my cheek, and asI raised my head, a smile spread across her haggard features. This time shedidn’t hesitate to pull me into a bone-crushing hug.
“Sorry, your eyes freaked me out. They’re kind of really fuckedup, Charlie.”
