In Love With a Vampire

Chapter Eighteen

Donna



I gave myself a once over on the mirror before reaching for my burgundy purse on the dressing table and rising from my seat. It was a foolish habit; searching for my reflection in the mirror even though at the back of my head I knew I would never be able to see myself. The habit was introduced to me by my mother who enjoyed humming and powdering her cheeks in front of a large mirror. After she was done, she would release a peal of hysterical laughter before banging her head on her dressing table and sobbing uncontrollably. The memory of my mother’s quaking body and scary laughter sent a shudder through my being. I visibly shook my head and rapidly shifted my body to face my bedroom door. The sudden twist sent waves of pain through my body and my hand automatically reached for the wound on my side. I had not told Lory or Pete about how I had not healed; how could I be sure that they too were not working for these so-called Vampire Assassins? I made a mental note to communicate with my father upon my return.

You mean if you return, Donna.

I agreed with my subconscious; I was not feeling particularly confident about my odds of survival. The only creature I trusted has been kidnapped and taken to an unknown location which I was meant to infiltrate. Clearly, I did not have a tangible grasp of what humans were capable of. What if they all had this weapon that had the ability to incapacitate one of the strongest vampires in the realm? What if they all agreed to attack us? Obliterate us? Images of vampires roaming the beast realm at night scavenging for food painted themselves in my mind. Only the nobles were strong enough to fight back. The question was, would they? These were high-classed vampires who were used to being served. I knew many who had never hunted for an animal in their entire lifetime. I knew a handful of those who could not throw a powerful kick or a punch despite their heightened senses. I let out a strained sigh, if at all my kind was going to survive, I had to find a way to destroy the humans. It was the only way.

I opened my purse and fished out my two leather-strapped daggers. Like my dress and my purse, the hue of the leather draping the base of my knife was also burgundy. I fitted one dagger inside my left boot and the other in my right hip. I had ensured that the dress was hugged my body and that it had a long slit at the side so that I could easily retrieve my knife. While the slit had a purpose, the tight feature of my dress was simply for fun.

Before leaving my room, I glanced at the mirror and for a brief moment, I could see my reflection.

It was scared.

* * *

“Why is it that you women can never dress quickly even if the situation called for it? I mean she knows that life under our care is in danger yet thirty minutes have passed and she still has not decided which dress ‘makes her look badass’!”

The air quotes were the c****x for me. It was already quite funny that Pete’s neck was covered by a bright orange scarf which I had automatically assumed belonged to his wife but his impatience and blatant mockery of Lory made me release a heartfelt chuckle. We were currently at the foot of the stairs waiting for Lory. I had applied my heightened hearing senses earlier and discovered that she was indeed looking for an attire that would come across as ‘badass’. I turned to look at Pete. He was currently mumbling a string of complaints and cusses while occasionally staring at his watch. He tapped his finger nosily at the banister and sighed repeatedly.

“You said this man who invited you to the party was the leader of a radical and dangerous group. You also said that this man was your brother-in-law, I believe that means that he is Lory’s brother?”

Pete averted his gaze to regard me. His mouth twisted sourly as his eyebrows furrowed.

“What do you think genius?”

I ignored the retort and shifted my gaze back to the staircase’s landing.

“All I am saying is that your wife is clearly unnerved by this whole ordeal.”

“Of course she is. She is being forced to house teenage vampires and now that one is royalty, she is being forced to intervene when miss royalty gets into trouble. You are the reason my wife can no longer make simple choices…Goddamit Lory pick a f*****g dress already!”

“Don’t you dare hasten me Peter McVoy or I swear I will call your mother and tell him what you did last week!”

I watched as Pete opened and closed his mouth successively. He reminded me of a fish who had found itself in dry land. Lory was good at making her husband shut up.

“What do you mean? When you say she was forced to house us? Why are you even helping vampires in the first place? You clearly do not like my kind and your wife is related to a human who is trying very hard to destroy us…What does my father have over you?”

Pete stayed still for a while before suddenly turning and making his way to the kitchen. His large frame swayed from side to side and once in a while, he would wiggle his neck. A pang of guilt tugged at my intestines.

“I am sorry, truly. I have never…I have never fed on a human before and when I saw your pulsating vein…I lost control; it was like having an out-of-body experience. I was there but I was not and now, try as I might I cannot recall the incident. Once again, I am sorry.”

Pete took a swig of what I assumed to be whiskey from a tiny glass. His face scrunched as the liquid made its way down his throat. He then proceeded to play with the glass, turning it from side to side. After a few minutes of pregnant silence, He lifted his head and parted his lips to speak.

“You are right, I do not like your kind and if it were up to me I would wipe your godforsaken species altogether but it is not up to me, just like it is not up to me when it comes to you and your friend or Hand or whatever staying here, in my house, with my wife. I am doing this because believe it or not, I have a heart and it beats for my wife. I would do anything for that woman even if it means protecting creatures who…God, what is taking her so long!”

“Who what? What did we do to you?”

“Don’t stand there and pretend to care for me. We both know your kind looks after their own and that if it ever came down to it, you would choose your realm over ours.”

We were facing each other, our elbows pressed against the kitchen table, our bodies hunched over the table, and our breaths fanning each other’s faces. Pete’s eyes searched mine attempting to solidify his theory, his perception. I did not flinch under his intense gaze and neither did I respond to his thoughts. It was no use trying to defend myself and I was not going to insult this human’s intelligence by blatantly lying to him.

“Your wife is done.”

Pete’s face contorted in confusion before he averted his gaze towards the kitchen’s entrance. I could hear Lory’s nervous breaths and soft footsteps from the staircase. When she finally emerged in the kitchen, a gasp escaped Pete’s throat. I watched as his eyes lit up, as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. It reminded me of Sorokin; how excited he would get when he spotted game in the wild.

“You look…Lory, you look incredible…”

I finally shifted my body to view Lory, incredible was an understatement. She was dressed in a stark sleeveless dress with two bold slits at each side.

“Woman, give me a 3-D view…”

Before I could process what exactly a 3-D view was, Lory was twirling and giggling in front of us. I found myself clapping, momentarily forgetting that Maria and Diana were in danger and that the event we were headed to was no social call. Like my dress, Lory’s too was backless showing off her pale, milky, smooth skin. Pete made his way to his wife and wrapped his arm around her lower back. He then closed the space between them with a noisy, passionate kiss. A smile made its way to my lips. I could not help but wonder if I would ever love so deeply, so candidly. When they finally pulled apart, the human couple pressed their foreheads against one another and retained that intimate position until Pete spoke.

“How urgent is all this again? I mean are we sure that the VA really kidnapped those vampires? Can we not just run upstairs for like forty minutes?”

Lory playfully swatted Pete’s arm.

“Fine fifteen minutes…”

A giggle escaped Lory’s throat.

“Alright who am I kidding? Five minutes? If you say yes, I will do that thing you like…”

Lory’s cheeks reddened as Pete wiggled his eyebrows. As curious as I was about how humans copulated, we had more pressing matters. I noisily cleared my throat earning an eye roll from Pete and a deeper blush from Lory.

“You shall have your five minutes after we save the two lives that are at stake at the moment. As you said earlier Pete, you do not want to do this, any of it but you have to. So come on, let’s go to this human party…”

I flinched when I straightened my body. I had forgotten about my wound and as a result, I had moved too fast, too aggressively. As I made my way to the exit of the house, I felt a pair of eyes bore into the back of my head.

* * *

It was spectacular.

Flutes of champagne clanked in the air accompanied by controlled sophisticated laughter. The overwhelming, centrally placed crystal chandelier brightened the room causing women’s jewelry to glimmer magnificently. The attire colors were either white, silver, gold, or black; no burgundy, no hue that did not scream class. Bodies swayed rhythmically on the dance floor to the softly playing music that could easily put anyone to sleep. I decided that whoever this Andrew McAllister was, he was one wealthy human. This made the VA all the more intimidating. I knew firsthand the power that lies in wealth.

“I cannot believe I let you talk me into wearing a freaking orange scarf!”

“No one cares Pete…Now if you excuse me, I need to find some wine and my brother always buys the best for his little parties…”

Lory left our trio without uttering another word. Pete and I stood awkwardly next to each other. We both felt uneasy, like we did not belong.

“You could always dump the scarf…”

“Smart…then all the VAs at this party will know that I was attacked by a freaking vampire and I too will be kidnapped because well, of course, they would want to know who f*****g fed on me!”

I rolled my eyes at Pete and returned my attention to the party. Across the room, there were golden poles erected at the foot of a single staircase leading to the upper section of the house. Suspended on the poles was a large sign saying, DO NOT TRESPASS. I started making my way towards the staircase. Before I could go far, however, I was forcefully yanked backwards. I flinched, the movement had strained my wound.

“Remember, we do not know that they are here…It is a hunch or well, an educated guess. Also, it might be a trap to draw you, royalty, out…”

I had not thought about the last bit. I nodded my head suddenly wondering if the VA knew what I looked like.

“Be careful. I know you are still hurt so try as hard as you can to not show it. They might have weapons that can hurt you but you are still a vampire, you are stronger, faster…you can take them.”

I looked at Pete with widened eyes. I had not expected him to care, I felt a strong tug in my chest.

“Come on, I will cause a distraction so that you can make your way up the staircase. If they are not here there has to be some information about their whereabouts lying around in Andrew’s office. I doubt he would keep that stuff in his bedroom…Why are you still standing there like a freaking statue? Move!”

I abruptly turned to face the crowd and suppressed a painful moan when the movement strained my wound. I perked my ears, depending on my heightened senses to capture any sound or voice that could lead me to Maria and Diana. I came to a sudden halt at the edge of the staircase having heard a familiar voice.

“What? What is it? Do you hear them or something?”

I rapidly shook my head, my eyes roaming the room for the source of that familiar voice. At the far end of the room, I spotted the very angry human boy crouched before a tiny human child. Before I could vanish from sight, the very angry human boy lifted his gaze and looked straight at me.

Shit.