"Come now, no need to be shy," she said. "I don't mind sharing you if Malachi doesn't."
Before my rattled brain could cook up a response, Malachi pulled me sharply towards him. I let out a small sound of surprise as I bumped into his chest.
But that wasn't the most surprising part. That happened a second later when Malachi opened his mouth, bared his fangs and let out a terrifying hiss. The sound was less scared house cat and more like a cobra threatening to strike. I'd never heard a sound like that come out of anybody's mouth.
The woman giggled, unfazed by his hiss. "My, my. I didn't expect you of all people to be so possessive over your prey."
Malachi glared at her, his rose quartz eyes glinting with fury. Why was he so angry? I thought it was normal for people in clubs like this to play with multiple partners as long as everyone consented. But Malachi seemed genuinely upset. Which, honestly, I kind of liked. I had no interest in playing with that woman, or anyone else for that matter. Malachi was the only one I wanted to spend time with.
"He's not my prey," Malachi growled. Like, honest to Godgrowled. His voice was deep and rumbling, sounding just as inhuman as the hiss he’d let out.
"Oh? Then what is he?" the woman asked.
Malachi didn't respond. Still gripping me hard, he turned and pulled me away from her.
"Come, Scotty. You don't need to give anyone your attention," he said.
I glanced over my shoulder at the woman, who looked deeply amused. Turning back to him, I asked, "Does everybody here know you?"
"They know me or they know of me, yes."
"Earlier you said this was your property. Is that true?"
"Yes."
"Wow. It must be really cool to live in a castle like this." I grinned. "You take the vampire roleplay thing pretty seriously, huh?"
Malachi hesitated for a split second before returning to his quick pace. "Mm."
"By the way, the sounds you made just now were really cool. Did you use a voice changing box or something? I know those are popular with prank callers and stuff."
"Something like that."
"Cool." I was aware I was rambling, but I couldn't stop. "Do you order all of your roleplay stuff online or is there a local place? All the vampires here tonight have great costumes, so I thought maybe you were all buying it from the same store. I like yours too, by the way."
Malachi stopped fully this time. We were in a side hallway with less people. Some of them watched, intrigued, as Malachi stared at me.
He looked stumped, like he didn't know how to respond. After a moment he let out a sigh.
"Thank you," he said with an air of resignation.
He continued leading me through the house, weaving through people like a pro. It made sense he knew his way around so well since this was his home. As he took me up a solid oak staircase, I said, "It's really brave of you to run a club like this out of your own home. I don't think I could do something like that. I mean, I only live in an apartment anyway."
Malachi made a sound of acknowledgement. "I've heard of people running clubs out of apartments. It's possible."
"Really? Wow." I tried to imagine throwing a party night like this in my cramped one-bedroom.
"But I'm not the one running the club," Malachi said. "This is my sister’s thing."
"Carnassial mentioned someone called Mallory… Is she your sister?"
"That's her. She's very into the whole vampire… Role-play."
He said the last word in a strange tone I couldn't read.
"Does it feel weird to have so many people in your house?" I asked.
"I'm used to it by now. At first I wasn't too keen on the whole idea, but it makes her happy, so I went along with it."
