Not Even Human

Chapter Eight

I moaned slightly at the way the hot water hit my back, then got to thinking about everything. About the way Gabe held me… about the way he cared about me. I’d only just met him yesterday, but it took a lot for me to trust someone. I haven’t trusted anyone else besides Mr. Fernandez in… forever.

Then reality hit me; I’d live forever. Would my dad live forever? Would he chase me down for eternity? Then again, I’m here. They would protect me; Gabriel would protect me. I had to make myself useful to them for them to do that though.

I shut off the water after cleaning up, stepping out and drying myself with the towel. I rubbed lotion on my skin, brushed my hair, and put on my clothes. I walked out, seeing Gabriel on the living room floor.

“What are you doing?” I smiled as I walked over to him, curious to see what he got up to. He had a board game set up, and I raised an eyebrow, “Where did you get that from?”

“You were taking a while so I went to the store.” I sat across from him, the board game in between us, with a confused expression.

“So what’s this game about?”

Gabriel looked back at me with a bewildered and stupefied expression, “You've never played Monopoly?”

“I used to play games with my mom, but I don’t think I ever played this one.”

He chuckled, “Well now we have to play it.”

I rolled my eyes, but complied. “Okay, so what do we do?”

“Basically, this game is about buying property and making the most money. You start out with this much money, and then you start by rolling the dice. Whatever number it lands on, that’s how many spaces you go. Whatever you land on, you have to abide by the rules of the space.”

“So if I land on a property, do I have to buy it?”

“No, not if you don’t want to. But if you land on a community chest, you have to get a card with the same symbol, and the same with the chance space.”

“And I have to follow the rules on the card?”

“Pretty much. Wanna go first?”

“Okay.” I took the dice before he suddenly gasped.

“Oh, oh I forgot. Here, you have to pick a little one of these dolls.”

“Oh. These are cute monitos.”

“Really? Didn’t peg you for a cat person-“

“Well, you have the race car.”

“True.”

I rolled, and went to that many spaces. I landed on reading railroad, and bought it quickly. An hour later, we both had a significant half of the board. Gabriel already had Park Place, and I was two spaces behind it. No one had Boardwalk. If I landed right, I’d be able to prevent him from buying houses and hotels on the two most expensive properties which would cost her thousands.

I rolled. “Aha! I got boardwalk!”

“Damn.”

“You’ll never get a house on those!”

“Can I buy it for fifty bucks?”

“A thousand.”

“b***h, you’re tripping.”

I laughed, “Nah, you’re the b***h that’s tripping.”

Gabe grinned at me, rolling again before passing go. Another half an hour passed before I had him bankrupt. I stood, elated.

“AHAH! I got you!! I won! Ahahhhh!”

“Tch, beginner’s luck.”

“Pfft. Don’t be a sore loser, Gabe.”

“I’m not a sore loser, I’m just convinced you cheated.” He said with a smile as he started putting away the board game pieces, and I knelt down to help him.

“So… are you going to tell me where we’re going tonight?”

“It’s kind of a party, but also a little bit like game night.”

I gasped, feeling excited. “Really?”

“Yep. Every vampire in the city will be there.”

“Oh, I didn’t know your father would be so-“

“Immature?”

“Fun.” I grinned, thinking of how funny it was that he was embarrassed about his dad’s antics. We closed the Monopoly box, placing it on the coffee table. “So what game are we gonna play?”

“Hmm, we usually let democracy decide. We all electronically vote on our phones, and the game with the most votes is the one we play.”

“So what games are up for voting?”

“Well, there’s freeze tag, hide and seek, and sharks and minnows.”

I nodded, remembering those from my elementary days. It’d probably be a lot better with vampires though. Especially when I thought about the fact that since I was royal, I would be one of the fastest ones out there.

“Can I vote?”

“Oh yeah. Let me send you the link.”

“I’ll check it out." I said, going on my phone as I went over to my fridge. Nothing good inside...

"So, Monica..."

"Monica." I replied, teasing.

"You kissed her."

"Yep." I got out a bag of chips from my cupboards, opening the bag and going back to the couch. Gabe sat with one leg propped on the coffee table.

"I know you said the rules don't apply to you, and they don't... yet."

I sighed in slight annoyance, not liking to rehash something so soon already.

"But the werewolves have an intense disliking for us. Despite the treaty, they don't trust us or are kind. They only tolerate us."

"Monica is obviously different."

"She's literally the Alpha's daughter."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"The leader of the wolves - The Alpha and The Luna. They have kids. Monica is one of them."

I stiffened. Oh...

"She didn't know you were a vampire until you kissed her. Just be prepared for her to treat you differently, and try not to take it to heart."

"It was just one kiss. It didn't mean much anyways."

He could tell I was lying. He didn't say anything.

-

Gabriel and I arrived in Skylar Heights. We were almost to the base.

I had changed into leggings and a tee, letting my hair down instead of the usually up-do for when I was going to be active.

He grinned at me as he walked in, sunglasses on his head as always. I smiled as I finished up my snack before speaking, “Ready to lose again?”

“Oh, you better bet I’m gonna bring my A-game this time.”

I shook my head as we walked up the building’s stairs and to the roof. I hummed in appreciation of the night’s cool air, it’s cold feeling wonderful against my skin.

“I like the night air too. Something about it is so freeing.”

“Yeah. It makes you feel like you can do anything.”

Gabe and I stood in silence as we looked at the city. It was a moment of shared understanding that I really appreciated.

“So race you there?”

“Wait, what-“

“Ready, set, go!”

He took off immediately, and I stood there for a millisecond to understand what he said before taking off after him. We were both fast, but I also didn’t know exactly where I was going since I hadn’t memorized the route yet; I was mostly following him until I saw the building in the distance. I started going as fast as I can, making sure to take as big of leaps as I could in between rooftops as well.

I wasn’t even aware if I passed him as I got closer to the building that was a haven for all vampires; I just kept speeding. I was happy, giddy even to race someone that was my kind. I felt… normal?

I reached the doorway with a loud laugh. “AHA! Whoo!”

I looked beside me to see Gabriel had just made it about a second after me, and I grinned again as he crossed his arms with a huff.

“What? Sad you’re a loser?” I pouted at him, mocking him in my triumph. “You gonna cry, Gabey?”

He snorted as he playfully pressed his hand on my cheek and pushed my face away, “Oh, shut up.”

I laughed as he started to head inside, and I eagerly trailed after him. The building was empty, which was not as surprising considering every vampire was going to be there. We went to the back of the building where the concrete cut off before the forest. Basically, it was like a huge ass backyard. The buildings beside us had walls, unlike this one, allowing the forest/backyard to be completely open to only the Vampyr clan. Even though I saw the map, I wondered exactly how many acres there were of land…

I frowned, not seeing anyone around as I stopped to evaluate the place. Gabriel looked at me with a raised brow, and I spoke. “Where’s everyone?”

He held his hand out to you with his head c****d to the side, “Follow me.”

I took it with a skeptical look, following him as we sped through the forest until we reached a clearing that had the large crowd. It was hundreds of people, reminding me of the first time I ever went to school. I was so amazed at all the people here, all of different ages and backgrounds. All like me.

“Amazing, huh?”

I grinned, “There’s so many people! This game will be so epic, what the heck? Your dad is so cool!”

He shook his head, “No, he isn’t.”

“Uh, yes he is.”

“Glad to see someone thinks so.” His father, Benjamin Romaro, appeared in front of me with a smirk towards his son. Gabe groaned.

I smiled at Gabriel’s dad as I waved with a slight blush, “Nice to see you again, Mr. Romaro.”

“Please, I told you to call me Benjamin.” His red eyes narrowed slightly as he smiled, playfully scolding me. Gabe pretended to gag, and I rolled my eyes at him.

“Anyways, thanks for having me, Benjamin.” I made sure to use his name this time, and he smiled brightly. I swear it could’ve blinded me.

“Anytime! Plus, we should get to know a fellow Vampyr, a royal one at that. Hopefully, you'll be one of us soon enough.” Gabriel bumped his arm with mine, giving me a smile at the fact I could be part of the clan. “Now, it’s time for me to announce the game we’re gonna play. Ah, so exciting.”

Benjamin laughed heartily with an excited squeal before speeding in front of the group on the other side of the crowd before snapping to get everyone’s attention.

“My dad is so lame.”

“Only reason you think that is ‘cause he’s your dad.” I reminded him. I'd give anything to have a father like that...

“I guess so.”

His father’s smooth voice spoke loudly, “Thank you all for coming to our game night! As you all know, we voted on the following games: freeze tag, hide and seek, and sharks and minnows. Now, if I check my phone… the game we’ve voted on is...”

I waited patiently, hoping we’d play hide and seek. It was one of my favorites. Gabe leaned in, his close proximity making my skin tense with goosebumps, “Excited?”

“Sharks and Minnows! Victoria, put the tape lines down.” Gabriel’s sister was a blur, and she stood next to her father with a smug smirk. “Now, all the royals, including myself, stay here as sharks on the green tape line. All the minnows, go to the yellow tape line that’s ten miles away.”

My eyes widened at the mention of ten miles, though I did drink a lot of blood today so it won’t be that much of a problem. Victoria and Nico stood on the right of Benjamin, Gabe and I stood on his left. Benjamin chuckled, “Ready?”

I heard distant murmurs of ‘yes’ and other agreements.

Gabe nudged me with a smirk, and I raised an eyebrow at him. “Ready to win for once?”

He huffed as Benjamin shouted, “Go!”

We sped off.