Page 45 of Night of the Vampire
And when she moaned softly, when I heard that sound I'd so longed for, I nearly fell to my knees. "Lizzy..." The wanting was there in my voice, raw and eager. I felt her hands press against my chest, fisting in my shirt. "Yes, Acushla," I whispered against her lips.
Pain, fierce and swift as she bit down hard on my lower lip and shoved me away from her. "I'm not yours," she told me. "I belong to one person and one person only. And that's me."
A low growl rose up inside of me. I took a step toward her. She would submit to me tonight if it was the last thing she did.
"Stop!" she yelled. "I don't want you!"
Just like before, I couldn't move my arms or legs. I flashed my fangs at her. "Release me, Lizzy."
Her eyes travelled over me, frozen in mid-step. I watched as understanding dawned across her face. She'd just discovered a new power.
"Lizzy..." The warning was clear in my voice.
She turned and unlocked the door, then slipped inside. I heard the bolt slide into the lock as she barred me from my own home.
Suddenly, my foot slammed down onto the pavement as I broke free and stumbled into the door, the force of her magic dissipated. I raised my fist to punch through this feeble barrier, but stopped myself. "Fine, then," I spit out. "You don't want me? That's fucking fine. I will live without you, witch." Turning on my heel, I slammed out the gate and hit the streets of the French Quarter. I left my car where it was. Let the witches find it. I was in the perfect mood for a fight.
But in the meantime, I would prove to that woman, and to myself, that I could—and would—live without her. I didn't need a temperamental witch as my mate. One who didn't appreciate everything I could give her. Everything I could offer.
For Christ's sake! She could be immortal. Other humans would give their limbs for such a chance.
Maybe she just doesn't want to be with you. Just like Jamal. Just like every other person you've brought into your coven. Even Kenya will turn on you. She's probably terrified after the way you acted tonight. It's only a matter of time.
As I stalked through the Quarter, jazz coming at me from every corner and humans stumbling over themselves to get out of my way, I couldn't get the truth of that out of my head.
She didn't want me. It was as simple as that. She wasn't even willing to give me a chance. The only saving grace to it all was the fact that I wouldn't have to suffer long, because I would be dead before long if I couldn't feed from the one who was meant to nourish me.
Or, would I?
There was only one way to find out if the stories were true, or if telling a vampire he or she could only feed from their true mate—once they'd found them—was nothing but a tall tale to add to the lore...
* * *
Five hours later, I sat with Wiggles in the chair in the bedroom of my home, petting his soft fur as I watched Lizzy sleep. Despite the fact she hated me so, the predator inside of me was comforted by her presence. I would just have to be content to wait. To snatch what tiny figments of sustenance she would give me until she came around and learned to accept her fate.
I'd prowled the streets of the city all night, drinking whiskey that did nothing to numb my pain, all while silently cursing Lizzy to the gates of hell and back again. It hadn't taken long to attract the attention of an ideal group of humans. As a vampire, everything about me was irresistible to them. My looks, my smell, the way I moved. They sensed the danger I presented, but it was easily overridden by the weapons nature had given me. It was why we were the top predator of the species over any other supernatural creature. Humans couldn't resist us.
Except for one, apparently.
Three college students approached me on the street, two females and one male. They asked me if I was a local, and before long I'd wooed them away to the cemetery, far from prying eyes. I could've taken them to my club, but I had no desire to go there and let the others see me in the state I was in. Besides, bringing people there by fucking with their heads was against the rules. I never would've heard the end of it.
There, behind the crypts, we drank my whiskey, we toasted the dead, and then I ripped open their throats.
The first one I attempted to feed on was the young man. Tall and muscular, he probably came along on the trip thinking he could protect the two girls he was with, and maybe get into one or both of their pants, and he'd put up a valiant effort. But in the end, I'd taken him down easily, his blood like tar in my mouth.
Gagging, I threw him to the side and grabbed the blonde. It was much the same with her.
By this time, the last one snapped out of her horrified shock and had the intelligence to run, her dark hair—much like my Lizzy's—flying out behind her like a flag. I smiled as she dodged around the graves, desperate to escape me, and to her good fortune, she did.
I was running parallel to her, focused solely on the hunt, when the red-haired witch appeared in my line of vision. Ducking behind a tall tomb, I remained perfectly still, watching as she turned her head this way and that. She sensed me here, just as I would have her if I hadn't been so distracted by my games with the humans. Exposed and with nowhere to run, I waited for her to find me. I'd gambled with my life tonight, and if she found me, I would lose. And for what? To prove something to myself? Something I knew instinctively wasn't true?
After only a few seconds, she spun on her heel and walked swiftly out of the graveyard. But it had been enough time for the human woman to get away. Mother fucking shite! I went back to the other two bodies. I needed to remove them before the witch came back with reinforcements. Throwing one over each shoulder, I gave them a proper burial in the Mississippi.
Now, my thoughts as dark as the moonless sky above me but my blood lust calmed, I watched Lizzy sleep. The scent of her mixing with the disgusting smell of human remains on my clothes, diluting it so I could breathe.
Wiggles, after a cautious sniff or two, had turned his face away from me but stayed close enough that I could scratch his back end. My hand shook as I trailed my fingers through his fur. It was all I could do to remain sitting quietly in that chair while the female whose warmth I craved more than anything in this world or the next lay in my bed not six feet away.
Never taking my eyes from her, I gave my new friend one last pat on the head and stood up. I needed to leave. The longer I stayed here the more tempted I was to join her in that bed. I hungered for her to the point of physical pain. For her blood. For her body. For something as simple as her smile.
