Page 7 of Cinderella and Her Vampires (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 5)

Once I was ready, I stepped inside and took a seat at the bar.

She approached me with a smile on her face. Her deep blue eyes were like staring into an ocean. Her smile was warm and inviting. I stiffened as she stopped in front of me. “What can I get for you?”

“Nothing yet. I haven’t decided,” I said. I breathed in deep. My nose filled with the scent that lured me to the place. Much, much stronger, and definitely coming from her.

She nodded and tapped the bar top. “Wave me down when you’re ready.”

I nodded and then sank into the shadows surrounding the bar, making myself scarce. There was no way I was going to order the crap on the menu. A drunk human did the trick for me just fine. But the night wasn’t right for such inhibitions. I was curious about the woman and simply wanted to observe. There was so much more to her than met the eye and I found myself willing to throw every caution to the wind if that meant I got to know her a little more.

But she wouldn’t notice me again until I wanted her to. Same with the rest of the humans. Far as they were concerned, I was nothing more than a fly on the wall.

There was something about the woman I couldn’t get enough of. I knew beyond any shadow of a doubt I could spend the entire night watching her every move and still not get enough. I wasn’t sure what it was about this woman who had captivated me so completely. Even her essence called to me.

If I believed I had a soul, then I would say we were soul mates. The connection to her was instant.

Her bouncer joined her. He was a brute of a man. I already didn’t like him. His eyes were too soft toward the woman. Though I realized it was unreasonable to be so protective and possessive over the woman, I couldn’t help it. Already I had it in my mind she belonged to me.

The man gestured toward the front of the bar. I followed the direction of her sight to the very human who had come to me, demanding I help him with his vengeance. I smirked. This night was just getting better and better.

Eventually, he stumbled through the doors. He seemed Angry, judging by the scornful look on his face.

Then he spoke, and I realized I had a problem with him. A growing one that was going to need to be rectified with a quickness.

A ruckus broke out toward the front of the bar. The bar tender’s attention was caught by Collin’s antics. He was causing a scene. Inciting the patrons of the establishment to hunt my kind.

I narrowed my eyes on the man.

“Join me in fighting off these monsters,” he said.

Instead of reacting, I sat back, curious to discover exactly how far he was going to take his incitement. As I observed him, he stumbled and slurred his words a little. He must have been drunk. But the wild, crazed look in his eyes suggested he was high on something as well. It would make sense too. With the way he rambled, he had to be on something or several things to behave in the way he was.

Luckily for me, he didn’t notice me sitting at the bar just a few feet away from him. Had I needed to, I would have had to prove my non-existent humanity by eating and drinking like a human, which wouldn’t have been a pleasant experience. During or after.

I took pride in my disguises and could also appear as someone entirely different if he wasn’t so close. But he was, and he was too focused on getting the crowd to join him in his fight. Though it did come with a great dose of displeasure knowing he was bringing me and my kind into his fight. We had done nothing, far as I knew, to him.

Other than denying him the thing he apparently desired the most.

None of that made a difference though. It was clear he was a problem. And I was second-guessing my decision to not allow Brock to drain him. But if I wasn’t careful and didn’t get ahead of the damage Collin was causing, the attention would soon come to me. If that happened, it wouldn’t matter what I did to the human.

The damage would be irreparable.

I sighed. Colin was forcing my hand. I was going to need to take care of the man myself.

The woman who had captured my attention approached the man and tried to force him out of the bar. Her little, love-sick fool of a bouncer joined her side shortly after. As they managed to wrestle the man out of the bar and onto the sidewalk, I slipped out the back, unnoticed.

I maneuvered myself toward the front, thanks to a shallow alleyway and kept out of sight, and waited for the next steps. And a few moments later, Collin headed down the street, passing me as he moved. Another minute later, and the bartender and bouncer headed back inside.

I left the shelter of my hiding place and followed Collin. Though I wasn’t sure of what I was going to do exactly, I knew he couldn’t be left to his own devices. Not anymore. He couldn’t be trusted to keep his mouth shut. I wasn’t necessarily prone to mixing with humans often, but I had found myself curious enough by them from time to time to venture out for a night or so. I never pushed myself to stay out longer. It was too much of a gamble. The thirst would challenge my willpower too much and the last thing I needed was to expose my kind. They already had suspicions, for sure. Superstitions that caution them against mysterious creatures of the night. And true, every day it became harder and harder to stay hidden, but I didn’t want to chance it and tip the scales out of my favor.

3

CINDY

A couple of days had passed since that strange man came into my bar trying to rally my patrons to his crazy and delusional cause. I held my breath more and more as time passed without a sign of him, hoping beyond reason the other night was the last I would see of him. I didn’t need him adding further upset to my customers. And my business was already starting to suffer thanks to that night.

I didn’t need the reputation a man like him brought to the table. And given enough time, the other night would fade out of existence and memory. For everyone involved.

And as far as business went, the last few hours of my shift had been unusually slow. Dead to be exact. The whole day had been excruciatingly slow. I was considering closing early when a gentleman came in. He wasn’t a regular, but he seemed familiar. Regardless, I was grateful he showed up and headed to where he sat, which was close to the door at the end of the bar.

---