Page 8 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Thrall

I struck, sinking my teeth deeply into his soft skin, and flicked my tongue across his neck, repeating the motion when Hayes gasped. His hand slid from the wall and bunched in my hair, pulling me closer instead of pushing me away as his body finally relaxed.

He tasted impossibly sweet, more so than I remembered, and I let the bite turn sharp as I dug in a little deeper, the venom in the bite making him pant in pleasure until I pulled back.

I’d successfully bitten someone without killing them. Progress, as Hayes likely would have said, if he wasn’t high out of his mind right then.

I waited with him until his flushed cheeks faded to their normal paleness and his eyes cleared, and then we stepped out of the alcove.

“Elowen said something about you showing me to a room?”

Hayes grunted and I followed him down the corridor and up several flights of stairs that would have winded me before my transformation but were mere blips in time now.

“Here,” he said, stopping outside of a dark hardwood door and producing a key from his pocket. “You were expected.” He dropped the key in my palm and turned to leave, pausing only briefly when I called out.

“Hayes? How did you find me in the cemetery?”

He tilted his head in my direction but didn’t look back as he said, “We take care of our own.”

ChapterFour

I’d fallenstraight into bed after Hayes had left, the events of the day finally catching up with me. My new body was likely still completing the final parts of my transformation, it wasn’t as instantaneous as the movies always made it out to be and I still felt… unsettled.

Kick-started by my death, I’d awoken. If I hadn’t fed on blood, my body would have eventually withered, unable to sustain the transformation, and I would have gone mad as my brain decayed.

I laid in the cool white sheets and stared up at the ceiling as I remembered the girl from the lake. With the block on my mind firmly broken, I could now remember some of the details without the confusing jumble I’d had before.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Whoever had done this to me hadn’t only murdered me, they’d also made me into a murderer too. First feedings were supposed to be in a controlled environment, usually after the training like that which Ashvale provided. Vampires were supposed to care for those who provided for them, it was considered bad form to kill the humans you drank from. Secrecy, integrity, strength. My childhood self had received some training in the court of the vampires—their values, the hierarchy, and that in itself raised interesting questions about who my sire line fell with. Not every vampire got to experience the court, nor meet the twelve council members who each ran their own version of Ashvale in their respective territories.

Of course, it was the monarchs who had the final say and most influence among vampiric society, but as far as I could remember I’d never met them.

Even with the small amount of information I now had unlocked inside my brain, I wasn’t sure what my blood bond with Hayes truly meant. I could feel him inside me, like a tiny little knot entangled next to my heart, thrumming quickly in a way that mine never would again.

I sighed, blowing out a harsh breath as I pushed out of the thick duvet and let my bare feet hit the hardwood floor. Hayes had said I’d been expected, and that I’d find what I needed inside the room, but I’d been too tired to look around much yesterday. I’d simply shucked off my boots, yanked off my jeans and climbed into bed, sans bra. But now I headed over to the armoire with more than a little trepidation, opening it to find three white T-shirts hanging up inside as well as a pair of black jeans. Basic, yes, but if they fit then I’d be happy. I didn’t want to have to put on the clothes I must have died in. The clothes I’d killed in.

There was a toothbrush still in its wrapping and some cheap shampoo and shower gel in the en-suite, so I spent a long time making myself feel more human, even if I no longer was one. Even if I never had been. I ran the plastic comb they had provided through my long hair and winced as it snagged on a curl. As soon as I was allowed, I was going to have to go out and get some products for my hair or my curls would start to rule me instead of the other way around.

Things felt less unfamiliar this morning, like maybe I’d been dreaming about my human life or like sleep had somehow reacquainted me with my body.

A cheap, apricot scented lotion was also left next to the sink, sealed. The pot was laughably small and I wasn’t sure if it would last to cover both my thighs and my stomach, but I knew that usually if I wanted to keep my colourful tattoos looking fresh then I needed to moisturise them.

This place was a strange blend of modern and classic. Ashvale was a literal castle, but the en-suite was fairly modern and the mirror was hot to the touch to prevent it from fogging. A pair of pale green eyes blinked back at me, ringed with black lashes still wet from the shower, and for a second I just studied myself, taking in every little detail. It was an opportunity not many people had, to see themselves unfiltered with no preconceptions of their own image. I liked what I saw.

My skin was smooth and pale in the places not covered by tattoos. The colourful artwork spanned both my arms, curling down to brush against the back of my hands, and a large piece spanned one thigh from my hip downwards, a lithe tiger’s body uncurling as it struck. Possibly my favourite of the bunch was the gothic moth situated between my breasts, its wings curving beneath as its head nestled in the centre between. They were all gorgeous designs, but I had no idea what the meaning behind them was—or if there evenwasa meaning.

Vampirism didn’t alter the body, only froze it in time. So theoretically Ididn’tactually need to moisturise my tattoos or do my cleansing routine, they would never fade and I would never break out. Of course, I remembered being fascinated by the magick users in our world as a child. They brewed tonics or crafted with their bare hands, mostly vanity potions that would enable some small amount of change in our frozen bodies, and there had been nothing as exciting to me. In some ways, it was infuriating that my forgotten childhood as a living vampire was now so much clearer than my recent past masquerading as a human.

I wrapped a white towel around myself and headed back out to try on the clothes Ashvale had provided, drops of water beading on the wooden bathroom floor as I walked. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do after that.

One step at a time.Get dressed. Make the bed. Track down Hayes, face the rest of the vampires at Ashvale, maybe hunt down my murderer—I let out a shaky breath and bit my lip as I assessed the clothes in the mirror.One step at a time.

The clothes were plain, but they fit and that was the main thing. It wasn’t easy to get jeans right at the best of times, let alone for a fat woman, and I made a note to find out who to thank for this blissful piece of normalcy. I had nothing else except the clothes I’d arrived in, didn’t even know if I was missing things that might be important because I still couldn’t remember anything about my stupid fucking life before some shithead—

Breathe.

I let out one shuddering breath and then took another. Technically I didn’t need the air any more, but the rhythm was comforting nonetheless. The first few days after the change were supposed to be emotionally volatile and so far that appeared to be true, unless I was always this angry. Though, to be fair to myself, it wasn’t every day that someone murdered me and robbed me of all choices in my life. I would never give birth, I would never reach twenty. My hands shook and I balled them, standing abruptly from the edge of the bed where I’d been staring absently into the free-standing mirror next to the armoire. I couldn’t sit here thinking and moping and getting angry again all day. It was a quick way to get someone killed, having an angry, baby-undead vamp running amok.

I pulled on yesterday’s socks, they’d neglected to provide me with any underwear —though one perk to vampirism was never having to have a period again so I supposed I wouldn’t have to worry about where on earth I might be in my cycle right now. I’d never get sweaty again either. Small mercies—maybe I’d swap to an aerosol deodorant instead of the roll on I typically used, which doubled up as chub-rub. It was both confusing and irritating that I knew stupid shit like that but nothing else from my ‘human’ life.

I left my hair to air dry, figuring the dryer might just make it frizz more, and took another calming breath before I hauled open the heavy door and stepped out, immediately almost walking into a passing woman.

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