“Pretty much everywhere. Never found a pack that had the same ideals until now. It feels nice to finally set roots down somewhere,” he says.
We drink and eat; the conversation is easy and I wonder why I can't make myself want him. Why can’t I have a nice thing?
“I’m going to go to the restroom. I’ll be right back,” I tell him with a tight smile.
He gives me an easygoing nod as I head toward the back of the restaurant, only I go out back to get fresh air. The door creaks loudly as I let the cooler night air hit my face and I press my back against the bricks. It’s dark back here, the main street light is and the next one is a good fifty feet away, glowing over the restaurant dumpster.
I turn to go back inside, but the door apparently automatically locks.
“Fuck,” I hiss, about to pull out my wand, as someone grabs me by the hair.
“God, I know you’re going to taste good,” the voice says, but as quickly as they say it, their hand disappears from my hair and a thud smacks against the concrete behind me.
My wand is fully in my hand now as I turn around. The gasp that slips out of me is heavy as I look down at the body with a stake protruding from its back. With a flick of my wand, it glows and I can see the black veins creeping around the body as it slowly withers. It shrinks and shrivels like a raisin, pooling in its own blood.
All that’s left is a pile of goop, a stake, and his clothes…and whoever staked it is still out here watching me.
I keep my wand up as I walk backwards, using magic to open the door as I rush back to the table. I’m clearly flustered as Bobby looks at me with wide eyes.
“Is that blood on your dress?” he asks.
Shit.
“I’m actually not feeling so great. I’m sorry, Bobby. Thank you so much for taking me out tonight.”
“Do you need a ride home?” he asks.
“No…no, thank you.” I take out forty dollars and place it on the table so he understands my intentions as I head out of the restaurant and down an alley where I can teleport home.
My skills still aren’t top tier in this department, but if there’s one place I can easily get to, it’s home. With a deep breath, I portal myself right outside the gates.
Only, I don’t even touch the wrought iron as three large men in suits wait for me.
I keep my voice even.
“Is there something I can help you gentlemen with?” I ask sweetly.
“You’re being brought in by the parish deputy vampire for the murder of a member of our nest. Come willingly or you will be subdued.”
I weigh my options, and I choose violence as I lift my wand.
Before I can even say a single incantation, my wand is out of my hands and my wrists are tied before me. Fear prickles up my spine and I wonder what the hell I just got myself into.
Chapter 3
Iswirl the lowball glass, hating the warmed up blood in it. Nothing has tasted good in years. The only reason I still drink blood is so I don’t succumb to bloodlust and ravage a town, or let myself fall apart, it’s completely lost its luster.
“Sometimes I think about staking myself so I don’t have to watch you mope around anymore,” Samantha says, as she twirls a knife in her hand. “The last decade has been rather depressing, father.”
I glare at her, hating when she uses that term. I’m her sire, and I wonder if I made the right decision to change her every day. She was dying, young, and begging for her life. I never wanted to be responsible for a progeny, yet here she is, still with me for nearly a decade.
“You’ve only been a vampire for nine,” I say back and she sighs.
“The statement still stands. Come on, I’m bored. Let’s go travel. Forget about this place.”
I glare at her. “You know we can’t leave.”
“No, you. You can’t leave,” she says and I look away.
