Alphas Vampire Mate

Part 4

The eight-year-old could hear the beating of her heart, fingers damp as she gripped at the edges of her skirt. She gulped noisily, not even daring to take a step back. It seemed as if time stopped and the only thing she could focus on was the giant creature in front of her.

As she kept her eyes on the creature it began walking slowly closer to her, Pink curled her hands tighter around the dress material, faintly mumbling under her breath.

In the blink of an eye, the creature had moved forward, so close that the eight-year-old could see his eyelashes. Golden. That's the colour of the eyes, bright and almost glittery as they bore into her skin. The vampire was stunned into silence. Blood began pumping loudly in her ears when she felt him exhale loudly, the stench of his breath making her recoil. Panic began setting in her as she felt a strong arm wrap around her wrist, another reaching around to cover her mouth.

The eight-year-old started to struggle to get herself free which only elicited a laugh from the creature but she couldn't break away. Her attempts appeared futile and her voice muffled as she tried to beg to let go.

"Sshh, little one," The voice whispered, hoarse and sinister. "The more you fight, the worse it will be."

Pink ceased all her attempts at breaking free, tears springing into her eyes. Her breath hitched, fear taking over when she was pushed into the nearby cold wall. As her head was shoved to the side the vampire saw the blurred lights of a vehicle drive past. The eight-year-old motioned it with her, as the creature hovered over her, squeezing her eyes shut.

"This will hurt."

That's all she heard and was vaguely aware of a sharp pain on her wrist, the burn making her whimper. Then there was nothing.

When she woke up, the room was dark and there were wires and cords attached to the eight-year-old- surely, they were pumping her full of blood as she had been deprived of for so long. One was monitoring her heart rate, and the vampire could feel the tubes in her nose —oxygen. Fluttering her eyes open, the eight-year-old took in her surroundings.

Their coven clinic. She's in one of the most luxurious suites, judging from the closed drapes. There's a huge double door in front of her, one that leads to the bathroom with a bathtub and wide faucet sink, and another off to her right, open wide. Pink knows all this because her grandmother was admitted to one of the rooms.

Of course, their family owned the only clinic in town. She took it the white walls, pristine tiled floors, white blankets and a bunch of bouquets lined up on the shelf. A lady dressed in pale beige scrubs walked past and peeked into the room, and upon meeting her eyes, a gasp slipped out of her.

Pink opened her mouth to beckon her in but she ran in the opposite direction.

Before the eight-year-old could sit up, the same woman came rushing back with three more people trailing behind her. One of them was the doctor, dressed in a long white jacket.

"My baby! You are awake!" Her mother engulfed her in a warm hug while she could see her dad's eyes turn misty. Never in the eight years of her life, had she seen that look on her father.

She tried turning her head towards the voice, but her neck burned.

"Easy there, you're going to be weak for a while, Miss Luther. Do not exert yourself."

Pink blinked.

"Do you need something?" Her dad cleared his throat, straightening his spine as he came to stand next to her, his hand patting her back.

"Give her a moment." The doctor pressed his lips together, taking a step closer in her direction. "You must be very confused. You are at the coven clinic, and we've been pumping your body with fluids. I assure you that in a day or two you can go home..." He looked at her father for a brief second, seemingly unsure of how to proceed.

Her father gently lifted her wrist and turned it around, showing her the marks that marred her skin. "You are imprinted by a werewolf."

The machine to her left started beeping erratically along with her heartbeat. From the corner of her eye, she saw the doctor rushing to slowly pull out the tubes from her body while she reeled from the shock. Her body stiffened and the vampire tuned out her mother, knuckles turning white with the way she kept clenching the sheets in her hands.

"Pink your dad took care of it. They will not come to our land anymore. He cut off the ties with..." As tears slipped past her, her mother choked on a sob, "I promise no one is ever coming near you anymore..."

She took a deep, shaky breath in, "I-I don't want it. Please...I don't want the imprint on my body..."

The fledging begged, her voice breaking.

When no one moved or said anything, just giving her a look, those sympathetic eyes as if she were a hurt puppy and not someone to take seriously, the vampire began to panic. Pink thrashed around, trying to tear her body away from the bed, the needles, and the tubes.

"I-I don't want to live like this...Dad, please do something..." She said it over and over again, voice dropping and arms shaking. The thought of having an imprint, a werewolf mark permanently etched into her skin meant she could never fully reach her potential as a vampire. There will always be a part of that wolf lodged inside her.

A pair of strong hands held her down, but that only made her yell even more, becoming distraught and hysterical. "I-I need it off..."

Her father appeared stoic at that, that was enough response she needed. Vampires are prideful creatures, headstrong beings who only do what they want—something she hated at the moment. Pink begged, cried, and thrashed until she felt exhaustion taking hold of her, dragging the vampire under and she blacked out, willingly sinking into the darkness.

***

"Pink!" At the sharp jab at her side, she jolted from the daydream, blinking hazily at her friend.

It's been a long time since she thought of that memory. The vampire could still remember everything that happened after the attack. Only that night was foggy to her, the events that led up to her being cornered by a werewolf, all alone. Her parents enrolled her in many activities in hopes she could forget about it but Pink remembered it all. She had so many questions and kept going to their elders only to get half-baked answers which seemed rehearsed.

Finally, on her last birthday, she got hold of a witch and thus Pink began searching for the werewolf. The solution to her imprint was easy—find the wolf and kill him.

"Hey! Are you alright?"

Pink sighed. "Yes." She eyed her friend who was rolling the sleeves of her jacket. "Where are you going?"

"It's Wednesday. I have my shift today."

"Ah...right."

Pink had no idea what Alice did could be called, all she knew was her friend had to drop in and check on different clubs five days a week.

"I made some mac and cheese it's in the fridge. Heat it and oh...that strawberry cider you like in there as well." Alice mumbled already picking up her purse, hastily looking for the keys. "What's your plan for today?"

"Umm...I think I will go back to that club again."

Alice froze. "Again?"

The vampire sheepishly pressed her lips together, leaning against the chair with a nod. "That's the only place I have seen with a lot of crowd and I am sure I will get something this time."

"Pink you blacked out last time..."

"It won't happen this time. I promise I'll take better care and won't step inside."

"I'll call you to check on you. Please don't turn off your cell."

"Yes, mother. Anything else?"

Alice rolled her eyes, shaking her head when she stared at the clock on the wall behind her. "I-I don't have time but stay safe. Bye."

***

Pink waited outside the club, more like hiding behind a bush to watch every patron that went inside the club. After a few hours, the crowd dwindled and she was all alone back slumped against the wall.

A few minutes passed by when she spotted a girl stumbling from the club, all alone. There’s a rustling in the bushes that grabbed both her and Pink’s attention in one go. The vampire’s eyes go directly to the bush that's located just a little bit off to her left, and she kept her eyes directly on it for the whole time.

The girl seemed to be taking very slow steps away from the bush, and her eyes dart between her and the bush. She’s studying it very closely, and her breath hitched in the back of her throat when the vampire finally saw something come out of the bush.

***