Bridget

Curled up in the corner of the basement, I stare out the dirty window at the blue sky ahead, wondering if I’ll ever have the chance to see the outside world again.

I’ve made a friend down here, thanks to a small hole in the concrete wall. A dog comes down here every day, searching for food. Because I don’t trust the people, I give the food to the dog.

I mean, the dog hasn’t died, so I guess the food is okay, but most of the time it looks like it’s not edible.

I pet the dog. The dog is a girl, and I’ve named her Rat, because she’s small enough to fit in that hole, and she eats practically anything I give her, just like a rat.

The wooden door of the basement swings open, and a man comes down the stairs. I know that everyone here is not human. Probably except for me, of course.

The man sets food down at the bottom of the stair, then looks at me, then the dog.

“Why the fuck is there a dog in here?” he asks, his eyes turning red.

“She um… comes through a hole somewhere,” I answer blandly.

“This isn’t your parents’ house,” he snaps. “You don’t get the luxury of having a dog.”

“I don’t think she likes me very well anyways,” I reply blandly. “Just comes here whenever she knows I’m eating.”

“Sounds like a damn rat,” he hisses.

“And what’s the problem with me having a dog anyways?” I ask. “You have several dogs.”

The man bares his fangs at me in anger before walking back up the steps and slamming the door shut. It’s true though—these vamps have werewolves working with them.

I think the werewolves were prisoners of the enemy pack, else they wouldn’t be here, because legend has it that werewolves and vampires do not like each other.

I mean, I’m basing my legend off Twilight, but to be honest, I don’t know if it’s exactly true.

Unlike, Twilight, however, I don’t have the luxury of having a hot ass male vampire into me, protecting me, saving me from whatever human ailments try to take my life away. It would be nice though.

I push the food over to Rat and she eats up the burger with no problem. I stroke her ragged fur mindlessly, still staring out the window.

The dog finishes up and leaves, leaving me with a cup of broccoli since that’s clearly not edible. I munch on the fresh broccoli until my captor comes down.

Now, I’ve never been much of a murderous person, but the thought of him floods my veins with white hot anger. And I think he knows it too, because he grins at me before heading over to a sink. He turns the water on, checks the temperature, then walks over and bends down.

“I have great news for you, sweetheart,” he says, his alcohol smelling breath hitting my nostrils. I wrinkle my nose and move backwards against the cold concrete wall.

“You have been sold,” he says, then clasps his hands together behind himself, pacing the floor. “And I have to admit, I don’t like who you’ve been sold to. I mean, he’s rich as fuck and we got some good money for you, but that doesn’t mean I have to like him, does it?”

It sounds like a rhetorical question, so I ignore it.

“I said, does it?” his voice gets darker.

“No,” I answer quietly.

“You seem to have enough balls to sass someone higher than me, but not myself?” he chuckles. “Scared I’ll jab you up again?”

I shudder.

“You know, Bridget,” he says. “You might as well stop sitting there thinking your billionaire adoptive parents are going to fish you out of here, because they’re not. You don’t have a pedestal anymore, girl. You are going to be a human slave to a vampire coven. I don’t think you know that’s the lowest of low ranks. Just a tad bit lower than myself. I wish to God you hadn’t been sold to him. I wish you hadn’t been sold at all.”

You and me both, buddy.

“But money is money, right?” he chuckles again. “Listen up, girly girl.”

I scowl at him.

“This isn’t just a regular vampire coven—no, it’s a mafia vampire coven,” then smirks at his words. “Which means you have to be in pristine shape to be presented.”

I look at him with a blank look. I’m by far pristine. I’m covered in dirt, I stink because I haven’t showered in a week, and my hair is probably so oily I could make a dozen eggs with it.

“Which is why the hot water has been turned on,” he says, then gives me a sharp look. “I know you’re a smart girl, but let’s not be stupid, huh?”

He leans down in front of me. “Got it?”

I nod mutely and he pats my cheek like I’m a little girl.

“Good girl,” he says, then clunks his way back upstairs. “Thirty minutes, Bridget.”

As soon as the door clicks shut, I stare at the water. I’ve been down here far long enough to know that the whole place smells of sulfur and other chemicals. I’m surprised that I haven’t died yet. I must have a strong liver and immune system for it to be able to keep me safe from everything that’s happened to me.

I slowly get to my feet and clean myself up, but not for the guy who’s buying me, no. For myself.

I finish cleaning myself up, then go around the corner of the basement where I’ve never been before. I’m afraid of spiders and you can’t really see shit on this side, and I’d die if a spider landed on me.

But I think at this point that a spider should be the last of my concerns.

I grab a few lithium batteries and pry their tops off with a crow bar. Inside is lithium, pure lithium.

I take some out and place it within the sink.

The next time someone turns this one, they’re going to get one hefty explosion to the face. I put the rest of the batteries away and crawl back to my usual corner. But first I go and cover the hole up that Rat usually comes through, because I’m humane enough not to kill an innocent dog within my escape process.

My captor comes back down with another man.

The man has silver eyes and dark black hair. They roam the basement until they land on me. He grins.

“Well, a beautiful female he has bought, wouldn’t you say, Preston?” he asks my captor.

“Yes, my lord, I would,” Preston says, looking like he just put a lemon in his mouth.

“Hmm,” the silver eyed man says, then comes close to me. “You know you’re coming with me, right?”

I nod slowly.

“Good,” he says, then chuckles. “My cousin has bought you.”

I roll my eyes and he laughs.

“Well, Spitfire,” he says, then looks up at Preston. “I think we’re ready to go.”

I wipe my hand across my face, leaving a dirt streak.

The man frowns and looks up at Preston, who gives me an angry look.

“I’ll get her some water,” Preston says, and I get up quickly. Maybe my wish for him to die is sooner than expected.

As soon as the water hits the lithium, it explodes, blowing up the whole pillar, sending concrete chunks everywhere. I duck into the corner just as a piece spears right through the man’s chest. He falls to the ground and his silver eyes roll into the back of his head. Preston lies on the ground as well, either unconscious or dead.

I step over the body as other chemicals burst into flames, filling the room quickly with smoke. The plan wasn’t to kill myself as well.

I grab a smaller chunk of concrete, holding my breath so as to not breathe in the burning chemicals, then throw the piece as hard as I can through the glass.

It breaks into little pieces, and I hoist myself up and through the window.

I land on the grass just as frenzy breaks out in the building, people screaming and desperately trying to find a way to put out the fire.

I run for my life.

Bridget

I’ve heard a thousand times that freedom never tasted so good, but I never thought that I’d actually use the statement myself.

I finally made my way to a police station, where I told an officer everything. The funny thing was is that he turned pale and had to leave the room after interviewing me.

And that’s the current situation at this point; me sitting here, waiting on Officers Keaton to get back, wondering what the issue is.

A few moments later, a man walks in with Officer Keaton.

“Bridget, this is Agent Rawling,” he says, introducing me to the man. I stand up and shake his hand, then sit back down.

Officer Keaton continues speaking. “Agent Rawling will be dealing with your case since the supernatural world is none of the common people’s business.”

“It’s never their business,” I spit out bitterly. “That’s why I’m in the boat I am.”

“I know it’s hard, Bridget,” says the agent. “But you’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I warn him, and he gives me a look.

“Now, your parents cannot be informed of this,” the agent continues. “And besides, you are the legal age. You do not need a parent and you are no longer a dependent. That means you have to make decisions for yourself. One of those is whether you’re willing to come with me or not. Are you?”

I nod. “Anything to get the rest of the bastards dealt with.”

The agent’s face flickers with a small smile, but it goes quickly away.

“Let us leave, then, Miss Wayne,” he says, then nods to Officer Keaton. “It was a pleasure speaking with you.”

“You as well, Agent Rawling,” Officer Keaton turns his attention back to his monitor as I get escorted out of Valley Jones Police Department. It’s surprising to me that my captor chose a town right by the city in which I came from.

Agent Rawling leads me to his black van and orders me to get in the back. I comply quickly, fastening my seatbelt.

“You may call me Tegan,” he says, then starts the car.

“Tegan,” I ask timidly. “How often are there kidnap cases involving a human and the supernatural?”

“That is classified information, Bridget,” he says, then looks at me through the rearview mirror. “But just know that you aren’t the first.”

“What agency do you work for?”

“I work directly with the President himself,” Tegan says. “The CIA and FBI aren’t informed as often of the supernatural like we are. I work with Navy Seals, to be exact. It’s the Seals job to keep peace and balance between both worlds so no war happens.”

“Wow,” I say, then look out the window. “Are we going to D.C?”

“Yes,” he answers, and the drive continues.

Upon arrival to Maryland, Tegan has a driver take us the rest of the way to D.C. I guess the guy has had enough driving. He had to drive from a small town in Florida to the Miami airport, then we got our flight to Maryland.

I sit in my stinking and dirty clothes still since nobody bothered to stop by any store to get me some clothing. I’m allowed to go home to see my siblings, nor my parents until everything is worked out. I tried to play the adult card that Tegan played on my earlier, but it unfortunately didn’t work since I am now directly involved in an upset of balance between the two worlds. To be honest, it’s still hard for me to think about the fact that the U.S. government works with the supernatural world. I’m really afraid that they’re going to hand me over to the guy who bought me and say good-bye just so they don’t have to battle with creatures more powerful and strong than they are.

I’d be saying good-bye to freedom for sure, because I’m sure that guy didn’t appreciate me killing his dude that kidnaps innocent girls like me, and I’m sure he does not like the fact that I killed his well-respected cousin.

The name is Bridget Wayne, bitches, and I’m officially a vampire slayer.

Can I get my own TV show like Buffy?

The car stops in front of a big silver building, surrounded by several guards. Several high order guards.

“I feel like I’m going to meet a king,” I say, staring out the window. “Or this more looks like the Avengers tower without the ‘A.’”

Tegan stares at me for a little bit, then chuckles.

“Typical teenager,” he says, then opens the car door. “Let’s go, Bridget.”

“What happened to me being an adult?” I ask him, and he shakes his head at me.

“As long as you keep throwing that at me, I’m not going to consider you one,” he says, and I roll my eyes.

We enter the building and go through the lobby to the elevator. When we enter, Tegan tells me that I’m going to have to recount my story again.

“You’re going to introduce yourself as Bridget Wayne, and specifically mention that you’re eighteen years old so they don’t contact your parents,” he says. “You are graduated, correct?”

“How else would have I have known that lithium and water causes explosions?” I question, and Tegan’s lips form a straight line again. He doesn’t like the part where I become Bridget the Vampire Slayer.

I, on the other hand, love it.

The elevator dings and the doors open to reveal a whole secret operation, as I want to call it, since the common people aren’t informed about the creatures that could be literally living next door.

Heads pop up as Tegan leads me by them.

He stops by a desk, where a woman with tightly wound black hair is.

She looks up at us, her hazel eyes glancing back and forth between me and Tegan.

“Rawling, what is a child doing in here?” she asks with a trace of suspicion and annoyance.

“She’s an adult,” Tegan says, then gives me a look. Yeah, yeah, I get it.

“Right,” the woman leans back in her chair. “Another supernatural case?”

“Yes,” Tegan says. “But this one is a hell of a lot more complicated, so we’re going to have to bring Lyle in on it.”

The woman nods, then gets up and escorts the both of us to a large office, where a man with several monitors sits, typing on keyboards and speaking on a phone.

“Yes, yes, I’ll get back to you,” he says, when the three of us walk in.

“Lyle?” the woman questions.

“Yes, Uriah?” he asks.

“Supernatural case,” she says, then leaves the room. I guess Uriah was the ticket into the office. I stand by Tegan like he’s my dad.

He’s not though, but I wish he was so I could just go home.

“Please, have a seat,” Lyle says to me, then nods at Tegan. Tegan goes and stands in front of the office door. “Your name and age, sweetheart.”

“Bridget Wayne, eighteen years old,” I reply, my eyes darting about the room, looking for anything sci-fi like.

“Eyes right here, Bridget,” Lyle says sternly, and I look back into his silvery blue eyes. “What happened?”

I recount the story to him, starting way back in the beginning when I was coming from Halsey’s house.

I had gone to Halsey’s house to help her babysit her little cousins. We both had put the cousins down for their naps and were enjoying popcorn and catching up on Buffy the Vampire Slayer when my mother texted me and asked me to come home to make dinner for the boys who were coming home from school since she wasn’t there.

Halsey told me I could go and I did, going on the usual path through the woods that sort of connects her house to mine.

And that’s when I was taken.

I had put up a huge fight against Preston, doing all the tricks I could possibly think of to get myself out of it, but I didn’t know I was dealing with a vampire and that there was no way for me to escape his grasp.

He had injected me with some kind of liquid to make me pass out, then took me to that dreadful location.

I told Lyle about my friendship with Rat and then about how I used lithium and water to blow up the bottom of the building and effectively killed the man’s cousin, and probably killed Preston too.

Just like Tegan, Lyle’s face drops whenever he hears me tell him about how I murdered two vampires (hopefully two).

“This just got very complicated…” he murmurs. “You see, Bri, we’ve been getting paged by the vampire leaders about having a meeting about the murder. You’ve upset the balance between the worlds. You also have to consider the fact that you are already paid for.”

I sit in shock. “Are you telling me that you’re going to hand me over?”

“We might have to,” Tegan voices from behind. “Bridget, it is never fun for us to hand over a girl to the vampires, but we can’t risk the rest of humanity for your dangerous mistake.”

“It wasn’t a mistake,” I tell him, and both men exchange a glance. “It was a well thought out plan to escape from that hell hole.”

“Listen, Bri,” Lyle interrupts. “Under normal circumstances, you would be returned to your family with no issue whatsoever. Girls that normally have the chance to escape aren’t already bought, and they haven’t killed an important man’s cousin either. The exchange will be peaceful, and we can only hope for your safety.”

“This is absurd!” I yell, standing up. “If this is the case, then I’ll just move to another damn country where they don’t allow girls to be sold to evil demonic things that you people call another race!”

“Bri, calm down,” Tegan says.

“No, you shut up!” I seethe. “Put yourselves in my shoes. I’m an innocent girl who was abducted walking through the woods to my house! This is wrong! Morally wrong! What has happened to the United States? It was literally formed on Biblical principles and now look at it! The government works with evil creatures and thinks it’s okay to basically kill a girl for the safety of others!”

“Just consider yourself Jesus then,” Lyle says dryly. “Tegan, put her in one of the cells. We’ll have an arrangement set up with Lucien’s men to get her to her proper place.”

“What?” I yell, then Tegan comes over and lifts me off the chair. “No! Put me down!”

But, once again, I’m injected and out like a light.

Bridget

Thoughts begin flowing in my brain as consciousness comes back to me. As I look around, I notice I’m in one of those maximum security cells that hold psychotic murderers. Is that what they consider me?

I stare down at my hands, glad that they were humane enough not to cuff me to something. It’s not like I was going to blow my way out of a maximum security cell too.

A few moments later, the door opened and revealed Tegan, the guy who put me here. I literally have no trust in anyone except for my brothers at this point. Everyone has taken advantage of me and has more concern for the supernatural world than me, one of their own.

“Here’s something clothing for you,” he says. “Don’t worry, nobody can see you in here.”

I don’t even look at him.

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry,” he says gently. “But you made this mess that you’re in.”

“No, I didn’t,” I state coldly. “I didn’t ask someone to kidnap me.”

“No, you didn’t,” he agrees. “But you did kill two vampires.”

“And you wouldn’t?”

Tegan doesn’t answer me, just like I thought.

“Just get dressed,” he says, then walks out of the room. I hear the security lock click back into place and I let out a breath. I go over to the clothes and see that there is a pair of blue jeans and a white tank top. I pull off my stinky sweatpants and hoodie and pull the fresh clothes on.

I then go back to the bed and sit upon it, waiting for death. At least I look decent.

What feels like hours later, Tegan comes back in and gives me some food. A fruit salad and a protein shake, of which I eat, because I trust human’s making my food and not vampires.

Tegan reaches over and pats my brown head before gathering up my tray and leaving.

“When is he going to be here?” I ask, and Tegan gives me a sympathetic look.

“Twenty minutes.”

“Tell my brothers I love them,” I say, then lay down and stare at the wall.

“I will,” Tegan whispers, then leaves the room again.

I don’t know what exactly I did to deserve this. I didn’t do anything, as far as I’m concerned.

My life has not been at all hot.

My biological parents left me to other people, who are Brandon and Brendan’s biological parents. Their parents abandoned us in the woods somewhere when I was only six and the boys were five. I decided that as the older sibling that I should take charge and took upon the responsibility of seeing that my siblings were safe and taken care of.

I did everything with them, and we are so close. I can’t believe that yesterday morning I forgot to tell them good-bye before they went to school. I’ll never get to speak to them again, see them again, or tell them that I love them.

I failed them, didn’t I?

I mean, they have billionaires as parents now, but they will always look to me. Now that they don’t have me, they’re going to feel lost, since they always turned to me when they needed someone to trust in.

And I did the same to them.

I twist the corner of the bedspread, winding and unwinding it around my fingers until the cell suddenly unlocks and Lyle comes in without Tegan.

“Bridget,” he says, then comes over to me. “Time to get up, honey.”

“Time to die, is what you should say,” I say to him, and he sighs.

“I don’t think death is what Lucien has in mind for you,” he says.

“Don’t think, Lyle, it doesn’t do you any good.”

I turn around to see his confused expression.

“Let’s go,” he says, then gives me a hard look. “I’d hate to have to restrain you to get you there.”

I swing my feet to the floor and pull on the black boots given to me by Tegan.

Lyle escorts me to another meeting room, where a man with sunglasses waits, his skin pale and very muscular.

“Sebastian,” Lyle says smoothly, and the man turns around.

His face is rather blank, and he removes the sunglasses swiftly upon sighting me.

“Naughty, naughty girl,” he coos at me, then smirks. “I got it from here, Lyle.”

“First, I need to know something for the sake of humanity,” Lyle says.

Sebastian raises his eyebrows.

“Do you consider Bridget the treaty between us?”

“You mean compensation?”

“Yes.”

“We do,” Sebastian says, then breathes out. “As long as you let us take Bridget.”

“She is still a child,” Lyle says. “We are willing to let you take her on the terms that she will not be killed.”

“Excuse me?” Sebastian says. “Do you think we are that cruel?”

“N-no,” Lyle stutters. “I—”

“We will not kill her,” Sebastian says. “Lucien is the one who dictates who dies and who lives. She will be going to see him shortly after her arrival at our grounds. Does that make sense, Lyle?”

“Yes sir,” Lyle replies.

“Good,” Sebastian says. “Now leave the girl.”

Lyle squeezes my shoulder then walks off. Sebastian looks me up and down, then lifts my chin and stares right into my eyes.

“Damn,” he says, then laughs. “I wonder if Lucien believe in ghosts.”

The car ride to vampire grounds is silent. I’m sat between to large vampires who already made it clear that they had strict orders from Lucien to murder me if I tried anything. So much for Sebastian’s reassurance that I wouldn’t be killed until I saw Lucien.

“Dude,” the man on my right says, leaning up towards Sebastian, “are you sure we can’t have a taste? She has a damn sweet smell.”

“Don’t you dare,” Sebastian warns. “She’s for Lucien.”

“The fuck I’m for anyone,” are my first words in the past half hour. That causes heads to be turned in my direction before dark chuckling fills the van’s atmosphere.

“You’ll find out, chickadee,” says Sebastian from up front. “Just hope Alec is there with Lucien or you might die.”

I look down at the car floor and don’t say another word for the entire rest of the journey.

“Rise and shine!” someone calls out, shaking my shoulder. “You have a meeting!”

“With death,” I murmur, sunshine hitting my eyes. I bolt upright when I realize I’m laying in a vampire’s lap. The man chuckles.

“It was nice to have you all snuggly over my dick,” he says, and the whole van roars with laughter.

I burn red, and the man on my left quickly grabs my arm and pulls me out of the van.

Sebastian joins the man.

“You going to stay in there, Alec?” he asks, and I look up at Alec, noticing for the first time that he has light blue eyes and brown hair. He looks very human. I wonder if he is.

“Depends,” he says, his voice sending pleasing chills down my spine.

I ignore it. Sebastian walks off while Alec continues to lead me towards what I believe is my death.

He arrives at a big mansion looking place and throws open the door, then leads me up a flight of stairs.

“Are you human?” I quietly ask, and he gives me a look.

“No,” he says, and I push his hand off my back. I don’t want anything that isn’t human to touch me.

Alec respects my decision and leaves me alone.

“I have to admit,” he says. “I think Lucien is going to have a hard time hating on you.”

“Why?” I inquire.

Alec shakes his head, then stops at double doors at the top of the stairwell. He knocks on it, and the door creaks open a little bit.

“Who is it?” a rough voice barks out.

“Alec,” Alec says. “I have the girl.”

The door opens wider, and Alec and I are admitted. We go through a dark room before Alec comes up to a door with a gold handle. He turns the knob and opens the door.

As we enter the room, I timidly look around. I notice a balcony out the window, but that must be connected to the bedroom. Alec leads me through an expensive looking area that has rich material everywhere, along with books, into a smaller space.

He opens another door and inside, a man with his back turned to us stand at the only window in the room. He sips a glass of whiskey quietly.

“Don,” Alec addresses, and Lucien turns around.

I suppress a gasp as his body comes under the light.

He is one…hot…creature…

Bridget

Every inch of Lucien is enough to make a girl throb.

He has dark hair, almost black. His brows curve over his eyes in a way that sort of makes him look sinister, but it makes him look attractive and desirable as well. He has long black eyelashes surrounding silver eyes, a straight nose, visible cheekbones, a sharp jawline, and perfect pink lips.

If I wasn’t a girl that had been abducted and bought by him, I would have fallen in love with him or at least requested a one-night stand.

“You may leave, Alec,” Lucien says, not even looking at me. He turns back around.

“Don—”

“Leave,” Lucien repeats his order.

Alec quickly reaches out and squeezes my shoulder, then turns and walks away, leaving me in a room with the devil himself.

A hot devil…

I let my eyes run down him while his back his turned.

His arms are enormous, probably as big as my thighs, or maybe even bigger since I don’t have thick thighs. He looks to be cut out of perfect god-like material.

He turns around so quickly that my eyes hurt from trying to follow his movements.

He sets his whiskey glass down and slowly approaches me, watching my facial reaction as he comes closer.

He doesn’t speak to me, but just stands two feet away from me, studying my face.

“I never believed in them…” he mutters, “until now.”

I don’t bother to ask him to elaborate, because to be honest, I’m not exactly paying attention to anything he’s saying. I’m more concerned about watching his bodily movements so I can react if he tries to kill me.

Unfortunately for me though, my human eyes cannot trace the speed of a vampire. He closes the space between us and lifts me up by neck so fast and I can’t process what just happened until my brain begins to notice the lack of oxygen.

But the strangest thing happened when our skin made contact.

Tingles spread out everywhere on my skin.

He drops me so quickly and so fast and it hurts when air comes back into my lungs. I moan in pain, and he does his lightning speed to get away from me. He stands back at the window and looks out it, still not speaking.

My body readjusts my breathing as my body recirculates the necessary oxygen throughout me.

“The irony is fucking pathetic,” he hisses to himself. “And the look factor is as well.”

I don’t speak, for fear something will slip out and he’ll try to kill me again. To be honest, I was kind of expecting to die, and I can’t believe disappointment literally set in when I didn’t die. I guess death to me is more livable than serving a vampire.

He sits down at his desk and picks up his glass of whiskey. He drains it in one swallow.

“The name is Bridget, isn’t it?” he asks, and I look up at him, right into his eyes.

He hisses at me, and I lower my eyes.

“Yeah,” I say tiredly, and the sound of a glass being set down hard makes me look up again.

“Yeah?” he repeats.

“What the fuck do you want me to say?” I say, exasperated and annoyed. “‘Yes, Your Highness?’”

“Not a bad idea,” he says, smirking, drawing his fingertips around the top of his glass. “Would be nice if people did that, but they don’t. Just Don or Boss, and the brave few who die for calling me by my first name.”

I stare at him. “The government—”

“I don’t give two fucks what humans call me, they are of no importance,” he states, then his silver eyes bore right into my light green ones. “You, however, are different.”

“I’m…human, the last time I checked,” I say, and he chuckles, still drawing his fingers around the top of the glass.

“You have balls, don’t you?”

“While speaking of that checking, I am female,” I reply, and he blankly stares at me.

“I’m not stupid, but maybe you are,” he says. “I was referring to you having guts. You realize that you were literally about to die a few moments ago?”

“If it meant not having to be here, then death is a great idea,” I say. “How can the plan be executed?”

“You are one interesting being,” he murmurs to himself, then comes around the side of the desk and bends down in front of me. “I am the Don, Bridget. I am the leader of both a coven and a very powerful mafia. You are playing with one dangerous fire.”

He hooks two fingers under my chin, and the contact immediately sends those tingles throughout my body again.

He stares at me for the longest time before getting back to his feet.

“Carson!” he calls out, and a man quickly comes to the door. “Take the new slave to her quarters.”

“Yes sir,” Carson says, then dips his head respectfully and drags me away from the Don.

Bridget

I meet the head human slave girl, Marilyn, and she immediately goes about, digging out stuff that I could wear as a slave.

This is…different.

I was totally expecting to die, but perhaps Lucien has other plans for me…such as making me serve him.

“There are not a lot of rules around here,” Marilyn says, clearly having the role of being the human mother to all the girls here. “But I think a few of the most important is to never call the Don by his first name in front of him or any of his men. They will report you quite quickly and you will receive a punishment. And can you, as a human, imagine what a punishment from a vampire consists of?”

I shake my head and Marilyn gives me a kind look. “Don’t test them, little bug. I can tell you have a fire in your soul.”

I give her a small nod and she smiles.

“Don’t burn the vampires, but don’t let them put it out, either,” she says. “A few other rules would be to not disrespect the Don’s mistresses. Layla, the black hair with blue eyes, that’s his favorite and she gets away with everything.”

“Figures,” I say, then bite the inside of my cheek. “Marilyn?”

“Yes?”

“How long have you been here?”

“Twenty years,” she says. “I’m the oldest slave girl here.”

“Have you ever thought of…?”

“No,” she says instantly. “There is no way. You’d have to be here a long time to plan it out, and by then, all the vampires will know you by your scent. Once you even dare go through the woods, they’ll find you before you even reach the river. They are fast, strong, and unsatiable creatures, Bridget. Don’t, for the love of God, be stupid. You’ll die.”

I give a brisk nod before two girls come in.

“You!” a blonde points to me. “Get to the kitchen, now!”

Marilyn gives me a little encouraging push and I follow the bitch out into the kitchen.

“Clean the floor,” she says, pushing a broom into my hand. “The others will serve the vampires, then the mistresses, and then we shall eat.”

I give her a look.

“What?” she asks.

“Does it look like I’m hungry in any sort of a way?” I ask her, and she scowls at me.

“Attitudes don’t last long here, new girl,” she snaps back at me.

“You’re the one talking,” I say, and she grows angry.

“Don’t disrespect your own species!” she hisses at me. “What are you trying to do, die by my hands?”

“I’m nobody’s maid, darling,” I tell her, and she looks shocked for a moment, then laughs.

“Let’s see how long your insubordination lasts, girl,” she says, then goes to the stove and lifts a lid on a pot, letting out the smell of a roast. It makes my stomach nudge me a little bit, but I ignore it and continue to sweep the dirt up off the floor.

In a flash, a girl appears in the room, and begins to look around. I take her blindingly fast speed to mean that she’s a vampire.

Her blue eyes land on me and I notice she has raven black hair. She must be Layla, Lucien’s favorite.

“Who are you?” she barks out.

“Bridget,” I answer quietly, and she laughs lightly.

“Lucien always has a thing for human girls with older style names,” she notes, then examines me from head to foot, then scowls. “Rosanna!”

The girl who I was just arguing with turns around.

“Yes, Miss Layla?”

“Doesn’t Marilyn have a looser fitting uniform for Bridget? I don’t need her flaunting her assets around Lucien!”

I snort, then pull my laugh back into check. Both women look at me.

“Was there something funny about that, slave?” Layla hisses at me, her eyes turning red.

“No offense, Layla, but I could give a shit about your Don,” I say, and her face twists from anger to pure shock. “I’m not interested.”

Rosanna blinks in astonishment, while Layla studies me, debating her next move. I thought these creatures were supposed to be smart.

“You do understand that you’re at the lowest of low position here, right?” Layla asks, her voice no longer holding any venom. She sounds genuinely intrigued by me. I must be a new kind of human being to her. Someone who isn’t quite apt to follow orders from a creature that’s not my own.

“Of course,” I say quickly, plastering a fake smile on my face. Layla blinks again in surprise. I must be one damn thing after another to her.

“Then why are you talking to me?”

“You engaged the conversation by asking who I was,” I point out, setting the broom against the wall. I pull on the hem of the black skirt and adjust the dark blue top before letting out a breath.

“True,” Layla muses. “But after that, I stopped talking to you.”

“Last time I checked, I was on American soil,” I say, and Layla cocks her head to the side. I guess she is more stupid than she is anything else. Maybe that’s why Lucien likes her so much—he can do anything to her because she’s a literal dumbass.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that anyone on this soil has a right to use the United States Constitution as their grounds for human liberty,” I say, and she blinks again.

“Can you use English?”

“I am.”

Layla balls her hands into fists. “I didn’t go to school, bitch.”

“Oh,” I say, then smirk. “Well, that sounds like a personal problem. But what I mean is that I have a right to the freedom of speech, which is entailed in the first Amendment.”

Layla’s face drops of all emotion.

“You know what?” she hisses. “I don’t need education. I’m higher than you are, so don’t speak to me, and if you keep talking back to me, I’m going to report you to Lucien. Understand?”

“And what’s he going to do? Choke me again?” I stare right into her menacing blue eyes. “Fact check: I’m not afraid of death.”

Layla removes herself from the room in two seconds while Rosanna stares at me with her mouth open.

“You are one damn brave soul,” she says, then goes back to the pot, sprinkling paprika and red pepper flakes on it.

I pick up the broom and ignore Rosanna’s comment.

A few moments later, a brunette girl, who I can tell is human, comes in and starts loading food upon a food tray.

But that is quickly interrupted by a redheaded swoosh of air that knocks the girl across the room.

My reflexes go to spring to action, but I hold it in check.

What the hell just happened?

Rosanna continues stirring like nothing just happened.

“How dare you make a move on my man?” the redhead shrieks at the brunette, her pale skin shining white against the light of the ceiling. “What’s wrong with you? You’re human, bitch, human!”

The brunette whimpers something in reply, while my blood slowly begins to boil.

When she goes to smack the brunette across the face, my hand intercepts and I roughly push the redhead away, her body slamming back into the cabinet. She goes through the cabinet and cleaning supplies spill all over her body. My chest heaves in anger.

“What the fuck is wrong with you people!” I yell. “These are human girls! They cannot take this damn abuse! Where is the morality these days?!”

The redhead is so shocked that when Alec comes into the room, she is still standing there, covered in cleaning powder and various sprays.

“What the hell is going on in here?” he asks Rosanna, and Rosanna quickly informs him of everything.

Alec sighs and pinches his nose, then looks up at me. My green eyes meet his blue ones and for a moment, I see a look of awe cross his face before it vanishes and he looks between the redhead and the brunette.

“Rowan,” he says to the redhead. “Shelia didn’t make a move on Cody. He approached Sheila and took her during the slave break hour. Don’t blame Sheila.”

“She could have said no!” Rowan hisses, suddenly coming to life. She takes a step towards me and I give her a murderous glare.

“Careful, bitch,” I hiss at her. “I might turn into Bridget the Vampire Slayer again.”

Rowan takes a step back and then looks at Alec before storming from the room with powder falling out of her red hair.

“Bridget,” Alec says. “You come with me.”

Bridget

Alec leads me through all those halls again, right back to Lucien’s office. I wonder why we’re here. I didn’t exactly do anything wrong.

Alec taps on the office door.

“What is it now?” Lucien demands.

“Can I come speak to you for a few moments regarding our newest edition?”

“Whatever,” Lucien mumbles, and Alec positions me outside the door.

“Do not to anything stupid, Bri,” he says, and I wonder how he knew that I liked being called that.

I nod, because there’s some sort of a connection between Alec and I that I can’t put my finger on. No, not a love connection, a mutual connection, like I know him from sometime and somewhere in my life.

Alec disappears in the office.

I wonder if eavesdropping is considered stupid?

“What seems to be the issue, Alec?” Lucien asks.

“Don,” he sighs, then I hear him fall silent. “She’s already getting into fights with the mistresses.”

“I’m not surprised,” Lucien says, then chuckles.

“With Layla and Rowan,” Alec says, and the chuckling falls silent.

“What about?”

So he likes those two damn bitches. I wonder if they’re besties or something. Maybe they have an orgy together.

Nasty creatures.

“Well, I guess she was defending Shelia against Rowan, but with Layla, she was just flat out insulting her because Layla requested that she have a looser fitting uniform.”

“What’s wrong with the one she has on?”

IS HE DEFENDING ME?

“It’s a little tight around her breasts and butt, and it shows off more of her legs than the other girls’,” Alec explains, and Lucien chuckles again.

“How is that an issue?” he says. “I find it delicious.”

“Not to the mistress you’re bedding,” Alec answers mildly. Why the hell is Alec defending Layla? Are they secretly having sex?

Just when I thought I had respect for Alec...

Lucien sighs. “If you want honesty, Alec, I have no interest in any of the human slaves. If Layla is concerned about losing me, she should come to me herself and I will show her that she has not lost me to a petty human. Do I make myself clear?”

I sit comfortably on a chair next to the door as Layla and Rowan sashay past me right into Lucien’s office without asking.

“Don!” Rowan shrieks. “That bitch outside your office door ruined my clothes!”

There is no response from Lucien...until...

“What did you do to her?”

Wow...

“Nothing!” she states. “I was hassling out my conflict with Shelia in front of her and she stepped in.”

“Defending her own kind is likely an instinct,” he tells Rowan. “That’s not going to change. This is Bridget’s first day here. You cannot expect her to respect you when you’re abusing her kind in front of her face.”

“And so you think it’s okay that she was making me out to be a dumbass because I never made it to school?” Layla asks in disbelief.

“Call her in,” Lucien says, and Alec’s voice calls me into the office. I enter and timidly stand away from all the vampires whose eyes practically see right through my soul.

“Bridget,” Lucien begins, his silver eyes gliding up and down my body. They darken a little, but then he snaps out of it. “Did you push Rowan through a cleaning closet and insult Layla?”

“Yes,” I say flat out.

“She threatened to kill me too,” Rowan points out.

Lucien’s eyes become interested.

“Really?” he says, but not to anyone in particular. “Bridget, is that true?”

“Do you think it isn’t?”

Lucien gets up from his desk and goes over to a whiskey cabinet. He grabs a glass and pours himself some.

He then goes and stands and looks out his window, his back to all of us.

“All but Bridget leave, please,” he says, and everyone quickly leaves the room.

When the door clicks shut, my heart beat speeds up, detecting danger.

Lucien sips his whiskey, reminding me of earlier today.

“Must you be so frustrating?” he finally asks.

“Did you get over your anger kick?” I ask him, and he turns around and lifts a perfect eyebrow. “From earlier.”

“Now, Bridget,” he says, then sets the glass down. “I wasn’t ever angry with you.”

“Bullshit,” I say, and his eyebrows flash up in surprise for a second.

“How do you think I was angry?”

“You choked me out, almost.”

“I’m not angry with you.”

“You were.”

“You don’t know anything.”

I just shrug my shoulders.

“Bridget the Vampire Slayer?” he questions, his eyes unreadable as he says it.

“I thought it was catchy, sort of like Buffy.”

"Buffy?” he questions, clearly confused.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” I say. “Was a television show for the longest time. I can tell you don’t watch television.”

“No, I don’t,” he says instantly. “But I don’t think you understand the gravity of the words you speak. You see, killing vampires isn’t funny.”

I go to speak but he holds up his hand.

“We all could have cared less about Preston’s life, he’s an asshole that nobody likes, but killing my cousin Lucas?”

“I didn’t--”

“I don’t want to hear what you have to say, Bridget, you did it,” he says, his face filling with an unreadable emotion. Probably fury. “Insulting my mistresses, throwing them through cabinets and being rude to everyone is not going to fly around here.”

He closes the distance between us and I suck in my breath, waiting for him to do something to me.

“You are a slave,” he says, leaning closer to my face. “You--”

His voice stops short and he leans towards me a little more. He suddenly grabs my hair and yanks my head to the side, burying his face into my neck.

“Mmm...” comes out of him, and he wraps an arm around me, pulling me into his body. I feel something sharp graze over my neck and a bolt of desire runs down my spine as his fingertips tug on my hair a little more. “Your smell...”

I whimper as the sharp graze goes over my neck again. My body is excited though. I don’t know why, but heat flows throughout my body and my blood begins to rush faster, causing Lucien to pull me against him again.

His lips kiss my throbbing pulse.

A small moan comes from me, and my brain is screaming at me.

What the fuck are you doing Bri?

My whole face bursts into flames when I feel something hard pressing against my abdomen.

“Fuck,” Lucien hisses. He pulls back and stares at me with red eyes and fangs extended. I feel like if I wasn’t hazy with this weird lust I’d be afraid of him.

He reaches out and runs his fingers through my hair, letting it fall behind me in a gentle curtain. He touches my face, his slightly cool touch making my close my eyes as tingles spread over my face.

“You’re such a tease,” Lucien mumbles, his eyes still red.

I gaze up at him, and he stares down at me.

Our eyes connect, silver and green gaze at each other as Lucien suddenly starts getting closer to me again.

He dips his face into my neck again.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he mumbles against my skin. “But I’m quite thirsty for you right now...”

My head instinctively tilts to the side, allowing him access to my vein. Lucien takes advantage of it and sticks his teeth right into my neck.

A euphoric feeling takes over my body as tingles, sparks, and warmth spreads throughout my body before heading straight to my core. I feel wetness and a loud moan comes from me as Lucien begins sucking on my neck. I groan and run my fingers through his hair, tugging on it, encouraging him to drink from me.

Lucien’s free hand begins moving up my bare thigh, getting closer to my panties.

It’s then that my rational mind suddenly appears and I realize what’s happening.

“No,” I suddenly says, trying to push him off. “No! Get off me!”

Lucien suddenly pulls back and when I see my blood all over his lips, my food from this morning rushes up my esophagus and comes out my mouth.

Lucien rushes over to me and quickly licks my neck. I push him away, and he hisses at me.

I grow angry.

“What the fuck are you hissing at me for?” I yell. “You fucking bit me and was drinking my blood!”

“You let me!” he yells back. “You tilted your head and was fucking moaning!”

My chest heaves. “I wasn’t...there...”

“How the fuck was I supposed to know that?” he demands of me, grabbing my face. The tingles come again, and I feel the familiar cloud.

NO.

“Don’t touch me,” I say, batting his hands off my face.

“Get out!” he yells, pointing at the door. “GET OUT!”

I hurry out of the room, running towards the nearest bathroom so I can either cry or break something.

Lucien

I am not quite sure what to think of Bridget. My mind is constantly in confliction whenever I think of her, especially since I had a taste of her blood, which is something I definitely should not have done.

With vampire bonding, once you drink the blood of your mate, your soul feels as though it’s burning until you have more, and more...until you satisfy your sexual desires and give into the bond.

The problem with Bridget and I is that she committed a wrong against me, a wrong against my people.

She killed Lucas without a second’s thought. She seems to always have something to say, some sort of an excuse that she needs to tell me as to why she killed him.

I mean, I could see why a human girl would want to escape from bloodsuckers who took her when she was walking from her friend’s house to her own, but everything has a purpose, and she’s my mate, anyways. It doesn’t matter if she’s here to pay the debt owed for the death of my cousin and she completely paid it off and more, she is going to stay here because she’s mine and I would truly die if she left here.

She’s been here for a week already, and I can tell by the impact she has unknowingly made.

She has united the slave girls. It’s easy to tell that now when I head into the kitchen to watch her with the others. They joke and kid around, and Bridget fills them in on the years they missed in the human world. Different movies and celebrities that the girls knew about before they came here.

Twilight is mentioned quite often, and I don’t see why girls fawn so much over it. In my opinion, it’s bogus. Vampires do not sparkle in the sun...but I do like the relationship Edward takes with Bella. They are definitely a perfect kind of relationship.

Right now, it’s break time for the slaves, which in other words means that the vampires have a chance to have sex with any one that they choose--except for Bridget.

I told them all to leave her alone, that she does not understand how things work around here, that it’s best that she not be bothered, and surprisingly they listened.

Then there’s me, who finds her incredibly hard to resist with that glorious mid-back length hair and light green eyes...tanned skin...beautiful shape...

I just tighten at the thought of her.

By now, I know Bridget goes to the library when the other slaves are getting fucked.

I switch my monitor to the library cam to stalk her as usual, and this time I see a whiskey bottle in her hand as she reads through on of my gothic novels.

How did she get her hands on one of those?

The bottle is 3/4 of the way empty already, and her eyes are starting to look glassy. She puts the book down, drains the rest of the bottle before leaving the library.

I get out of my office and begin heading her way, knowing I can make something of her drunken state.

She runs right into me and falls into my arms, just like I want her too.

My, my, she’s a perfect girl...

Tingles run through my body and my insides burn to have a taste of her.

I grab her ass and pull her towards me, making sure her face lands in my neck. The last time I got a taste of her she was seemingly high on my scent, so I need her in that state again on top of her already alcohol infused state.

She groans as she inhales my scent, her eyes rolling in the back of her head. I sigh in pure bliss at the sound of her before tossing her over my shoulder effortlessly.

She lets out a girly squeal and I find myself chuckling at her.

I take her back up the stairs, through my office, in through another door, up another set of stairs and through yet another door to my bedroom. I finally set her down and she gazes up at me with hazy eyes.

Oh...those beautiful fuck me eyes...

I feel my fangs come out and she sees them, instinctively tilting her head to the side. Yes, that’s my good girl.

I sink my fangs into the side of her neck and take a long, slow drink of her delicious blood.

The sweet taste melts into my tongue and satisfies my being before I start drinking, taking more of her in. She lets out a loud moan, which causes my cock to spring to life.

My only thought is that if her blood tastes this good, I wonder what her pussy tastes like...

I push the back of her skirt up, gripping her ass tighter, suckling her neck, getting as much of her as possible.

She groans even louder and I notice something.

Her hands, her left on my neck and her right on my abs, have become extremely hot.

I unbutton my shirt, allowing her to trail her fingers all over me. I burn on the inside, moaning at the feeling of her hot fingers trailing on my cool skin.

I tug on her shirt, unbuttoning the dark blue material. When I see the silky black bra, I groan. I reach out and cup her breast, and she moans. I yank her towards me, wanting to feel that hot skin against my cool.

Her toned stomach presses against my abs, heat flowing throughout me.

Her lips search for mine, but I know that if we kiss, I’ll end up pinning her to my bed and fucking her deep into the mattress. I need to hold off on her for the meantime, and besides, I’m not that bad of a guy. I would never take advantage of a drunken woman like that.

She whimpers and starts grinding against me, which almost sends me through the roof with lust and want.

She is desperately seeking a release, so I slip my hands up her skirt and gently rub her through her underwear. Her head falls back and I push her against the bed rail, watching as her eyes roll back in her head, her lips part as she pants and moans, her chest heaving and her breasts rising and falling from her heavy breathing.

When she comes, her back curves into an arch and she lets out a loud moan, rubbing herself against my knuckles. I feel the dampness and hiss in anger that I can’t take her like I want to so badly.

She gazes at me with beautiful, satisfied eyes. I stare into them for the longest time and she goes to kiss me again but I dodge it. She goes to my neck and gently kisses my throbbing pulse, then sucks on it, causing me to moan and hiss in pleasure. Every touch is sending tingles and heat throughout my body. I need to get her in bed and slept off before things get out of control.

I push a pill between her lips and she swallows immediately without having a drink. Quite honestly, I don’t care.

I pick her up, lay her down on my bed. I button up her blouse and pull the covers over her.

I smirk as I shut the bedroom door behind me.

At least humans get the pleasure of forgetting what happens when they’re drunk.

Bridget

I wake up with a delicious scent plastered on my nose. I breathe it in deeply, then sit up, looking around.

This is not the bed I was assigned to in the slave girls’ bedroom. Where am I?

Everything is so fancy and neat. There are bookshelves lined along the walls, and the sheets are made of pure silk, I can tell.

I slip out from under the covers and walk over to the door. I push it open, then peer curiously down the staircase.

I walk down it and go to open the other door when it’s suddenly thrown open and Lucien pushes me against the wall, shutting the door behind me.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

I was in his room.

I mean, it shouldn’t surprise me considering he’s been practically stalking me the entire week that I’ve been here. He watches me cook, watches me serve, most likely stalks me on the camera when I’m in the library, and bothers me when I’m trying to sleep.

I wonder what he’d do if I pretended to pass out or something. It’s like he’s waiting for something to happen.

“Did you have a nice rest, little human?” he breathes against my ear. As much as I’d like to loathe him and ignore him, I can’t. My brain screams in rationality, wanting me to stay as far away as possible, but my body and heart yearn for him, crave him in this way that I can’t explain.

I don’t know what’s wrong with me.

“Can I go work?” I ask in a whisper for some reason I don’t know.

“Would you want to work if I told you that you didn’t have to?” he asks, watching my facial expression.

“Yes,” I answer quickly.

He chuckles before stepping back. “Inform the girls that there is a beach meeting happening today. Have them try on some different clothes. If some of the mistresses aren’t going, Sebastian and Alec will pick from them. Understood?”

I nod, and he opens the door, making me leave the area, which I will gladly do.

I hurry to the slave girls’ bedroom, where all the girls are, sitting on the floor, playing Uno with Marilyn.

“Hey,” I say quickly, coming over to them. “Lucien says that you guys should prepare for a beach meeting.”

The girls squeal.

“Are you sure?” Libby asks, standing up, her shoulder length brown hair uncombed and messy.

“Yeah,” I say, sinking down onto my mattress.

“What were you doing with the Don anyways?” Rosanna asks curiously and I shrug.

“I guess he put me in his bedroom because I don’t remember what happened after going to the library to read poetry.”

The girls shrug, and Marilyn begins laying clothes out. I sit and watch as the girls pick out stuff.

“Can I be of assistance?” I question, and they look at me. “I used to model, remember?”

“Oh, yeah!” Shelia says. “But you should put some stuff on too, because you might be able to go!”

“First, everyone knows that I’m not available for some fucking reason only known to Lucien, and second, what’s the point? Lucien is going to take Layla, not me.”

“Still,” Libby insists. “You’re the model here and I wouldn’t mind seeing a few outfits on you.”

“Fine,” I grumble, then go over the clothes. I select a black tube top, blue mid-thigh length jean shorts, and a white business suit jacket.

I disappear into the bathroom and come out, twirling around for them to see.

“You are definitely model material,” Libby giggles, and I select the yellow sundress for her. She puts it on, then comes out. I seat her on the bed, order Rosanna to wear the pink tank top and white shorts, Shelia to wear the blue off the shoulder shirt and black shorts, and then start combing through Libby’s hair. My hair looks great when I just roll out of bed, because it has that natural slight wavy look, and all I have to do is run my fingers through it to look nice. It’s a chocolate brown color.

I remember Eliza used to tell me I could pass for mint chocolate chip ice cream, with my chocolate brown hair and light green eyes and beautiful tan skin.

I use a curling iron to curl Libby’s golden hair, letting it lay in softly on her shoulders. I put the left half behind her back and push the right half forward.

When Rosanna comes out, I braid her hair, put it in a bun and pin it to the back of her head. I don’t have plans on going, or allowing myself to be picked, but these girls probably need a good day at the beach. If I am to go, however, I want Rosanna or Libby to go with me. No offense to Shelia, but she’s way too girly and gossipy for my likings. Rosanna likes to chill quietly and Libby and I get along because we have similar interests and feelings towards the creatures we’re stuck with.

I part Shelia’s hair down the middle when she comes out in her outfit and put two buns on top of her head. I pull little pieces of hair out on each side of her face.

“You could be the model and the make up/hair stylist,” Libby says as we all stand in the mirror, looking at ourselves. Marilyn has on a pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt, her hair in a ponytail. She looks like a hot mom.

We all laugh amongst ourselves before the door opens and Carson reveals himself.

“Let’s go, ladies,” Carson says, and I stay behind as the others go up. Carson gives me a look. “You too.”

I shake my head in defiance and sit back down on my bed.

Carson shrugs and shuts the door, leading the other girls out. I fall back on my bed and stare at the underside of Libby’s bed that’s above me.

I’m always afraid I’d fall off the bunk bed, so I requested one on the bottom, and thankfully Libby didn’t mind taking a top one.

I need to figure out what’s going on between Lucien and I, because right now, I have control over the cloud that seems to fog my brain whenever I breathe in that delicious scent he carries on him. To be honest, and don’t call me weird, it kind of smells like a freshly baked boston cream pie, and it’s absolutely mouthwatering. It makes me want to eat him or something, but that’s a very far-fetched thing.

A few moments later, the door opens to reveal Carson once again.

“Don requests that you come to be seen as well,” he says without missing a beat.

“Why?” I ask blandly.

“Just listen for once in your damn life, Bridget,” Carson says, clearly aggravated. “I wouldn’t have had to come back if you had just listened earlier.”

I sigh and slip off the bed, running my fingers through my hair before following Carson.

As we go downstairs, I catch sight of Lucien’s piercing silver eyes, watching me come down the staircase.

When I come down, I see Libby is standing next to Sebastian and Marilyn is next to Alec. The other girls are just happy to be in regular clothes, sitting on the couch side by side.

“I’m taking you,” Lucien says to me, his eyes darkening as his eyes sweep down my body. “You...Miss Bridget...are a piece of art.”

“That I’ll say,” Sebastian says, then whistles. A quick hiss from Lucien silences Sebastian, but he gives Lucien a strange look, while Alec looks completely engrossed in Marilyn who looks very much the same with him.

I can see right through them. They are definitely in love.

Lucien slips an arm around my shoulders and tugs me towards the door with the two other couples following us.

“Don’t try anything stupid, Bridget,” Lucien mumbles as he pushes me inside a car that someone is driving. I recognize him as the man who sat on the right side of me and wanted to “taste” me.

Lucien climbs in beside me.

“To Corolla beach, North Carolina,” Lucien says, and then shuts the divider between the driver and us.

“Where are we?” I ask, and Lucien grins at me.

“We’re in Tennessee, darling,” he says, “so we have a long drive ahead of us. Don’t you just love being in close quarters with me for two and a half hours?”

My face pales and he grins.

“Oh, and Bridget,” he says, turning to look at me with those silver eyes. “This is by no means a beach date.”

“Oh, I know,” I murmur back, then stare out the window

Bridget

The ride to Corolla beach, North Carolina, was quite quiet. I didn’t say anything to him, and he didn’t say anything to me. We made sure there was a big distance between us.

I suppose I have a correction to make; for the first 45 minutes of the ride, nobody said anything, and the big space was established.

Within 45 minutes of the ride, I have a headache. I really bad headache. I tried rolling the window down a little bit, thinking fresh air might help, but it didn’t. I then developed a stomachache, which wasn’t even alleviated when the driver, Harvey, got me some ice cream per request of Lucien.

In fact, it only seemed to make me sicker. I seemed to be in want of something else that I could not figure out for the life of me. I never felt like this before.

I have this intense, insatiable craving that I cannot explain.

And for some damn reason, Lucien thinks it’s funny.

“I don’t see what’s so funny about this,” I snap at him when he gets that amused look on his face.

“Oh, it’s nothing, little human,” he says, then smirks at me. “Mind explaining exactly how you feel? I’m quite used to dealing with slave girls’ issues.”

“It’s inexplainable,” I say, then wince at the sharp pain in my gut.

“Try me,” he says back. “I have heard all sorts of things in all of the 467 years of my life.”

I gasp and look over at him in shock. “467?”

“Confirm my year of birth, little human.”

He wants me to do math right now?

“1556,” I murmur.

“Correct,” he says, adjusting the sleeves on his button up shirt. “Now, explain.”

“It’s like this intense craving for something...” I trail off. “My throat feels dry and it aches...”

Lucien’s head snaps over to me so quickly that I’m surprised that he didn’t break his neck in the process.

He narrows his eyes at me for a moment.

“To be honest, that’s a new one coming from a human,” he says, then takes in a breath. “But it’s an old one if you were a vampire.”

“Huh?”

“When vampires have a lack of blood, that’s usually how they feel. That insatiable desire that burns until you have your fill,” he explains, then gives me a strange look.

“If you’re thinking I’m a vampire, you’re nuts,” I affirm, and he just grins.

“Oh, sweetheart, I would know if you were,” he says, then drops the grin.

I roll my eyes and stare out the window again at the passing palm trees.

“We’re almost there right?”

“You talked my ear off for thirty minutes, so we only have 75 minutes left.”

Thank God.

Speaking doesn’t happen again until I see the North Carolina sign.

“Finally in the state,” I murmur, pulling on my shorts.

“You’ll have to come up with the story of how we met, because I don’t do that romance shit.”

I look over at him in surprise.

He isn’t even looking at me.

“Oh, I know,” I say. “You’re the type to take what you want and leave, never to be seen again.”

“That’s right, little human.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“Would you rather me call you Bridget?”

“Bri would be fine.”

“News flash, I don’t give people what they want.”

“Noted.”

I replay the little conversation in mind again, then burst out laughing. Lucien finally looks over at me with a raised eyebrow.

“What’s so funny?” he asks, clearly getting annoyed.

“You’re a trip,” I say, then go back to looking out the window.

Lucien gives me a glare that I can see through the window, and I hold back a smirk. I like getting on his nerves when he decides he isn’t going to be violent towards me.

“You do have a bathing suit on, correct?” he asks me, and I look over at him again.

“No, I do not,” I say, and Lucien rolls his eyes.

“Harvey, stop by a mall,” he says, and I hear Harvey’s gruff reply.

“Of course, Don,” he says, and at the tone he gives, I wonder if he likes Lucien. Preston had a bad impression of him, and I have to wonder what his own men think of him.

A few moments later, we’re pulling into a mall. I start getting excited for some reason, maybe the fact that my parents--no, wait, I forgot. Agent Rawling probably informed them that they wouldn’t ever see me again so there’s probably no missing person thing going around.

I sigh, and that causes Lucien to give me another look.

“I thought girls liked to shop,” he says.

“Most do,” I reply with a twinge of annoyance. “But then again, Lucien, I’m not most girls.”

“Noted,” he says, and that causes a smile to go across my face. He notices it, but his facial reaction doesn’t change in the least. But a warm feeling develops in the pit of my stomach, and I have this weird feeling in my head that this is not my feelings.

I shake it off, then get out of the car when the door is opened for me by Harvey.

“Thank you,” I say to him, and he looks completely shocked. What, does he not think I have manners? He hasn’t done anything wrong; in fact, he may have given me the opportunity to escape by driving Lucien and I the whole way out to North Carolina, then taking us to a mall.

“Bridget,” Lucien says, catching up with me as I push open the mall door. His arm slips around my waist and he holds me protectively to his side.

We go straight to the women’s department and he busies himself by looking at his cell phone, which I’m surprised he has since he’s 467 years old.

I look through some bikinis, wondering if I should flare Lucien’s lust or not. As I’m looking through some white ones, two teenage girls around the age of sixteen come up to me. I want to tell the chicks that they should keep their distance, that we have a teenager girl kidnapper to the left at about a distance of four feet, but I don’t. I don’t need to cause more trouble.

“Excuse me,” the light blonde one says. “Are you Bridget Wayne?”

Lucien’s head snaps up and he watches me.

“Yes,” I say after a moment’s thought. “You are...?”

“Oh, you don’t know me,” she says, then smiles. “But I know you’re a model and you’re Eliza and Dean Wayne’s daughter. Do you like modeling?”

“Yes,” I say, then give a genuine smile. “Are you thinking of pursuing it?”

“I am,” she says, then looks down at the floor.

“She’s a little nervous though,” her friend says. “Winter isn’t sure she’d make a good one.”

“You are?”

“Her sister, Summer,” she says. From what I can see, Summer would make a good model as well.

“Summer and Winter,” I say, then give a little laugh. “Your parents were pretty original.”

Summer shrugs.

“Say, how about you grab some clothes and then we’ll go to a dressing room and you can do some poses,” I say to Winter, and she brightens.

“Really?”

“Yeah!” I say, then look over at Lucien, who has this adorable look of admiration. It fades though when he sees me looking at him. “As long as my...boyfriend doesn’t mind. You don’t, do you?”

“No,” Lucien says, and when Winter and Summer hurry off to get some clothes he gives me a look. “You couldn’t think of anything better than boyfriend?”

“I could have introduced you as the guy who ruined my modeling career,” I say, fishing out a cute black bikini. I put it under my arm with the white one and go to the dressing room with Lucien a bit of the way behind me.

He doesn’t go in the dressing room, because he’s male.

“Your boyfriend is fucking hot,” Summer whispers to me. “How do you snag such a good looking guy?”

“Slid into my DM’s,” I lie, and Winter giggles.

“I hope that’s way it is with me,” she says. “Did you two like...meet up person and it was like, love at first sight.”

“You could say that,” I lie again, disgusted that I’m literally faking a relationship with Lucien.

“So romantic,” the sisters sigh, and I order Winter to go into the dressing room and put her stuff on.

When she comes out in a tight white tube top and black shorts, I give her a thumbs up.

“Now, from the photographers that I’ve had, they seem to like natural,” I say, then gesture at her hair. “Pull your ponytail out and run your fingers through your hair. Toss it up a little bit.”

Winter does as I ask and I can immediately see the modeling quality in her.

“Lift your chin,” I say, and she does. “Lean back slightly and move your left foot forward a tiny bit.”

I grin when she follows the order. “Nice, Winter. Summer, go up there with her and give me your cell phone for a picture. I know you have the same ability in you.”

Summer gets into a bit more than Winter, because she’s more confident of her body.

I change the photo lighting to soft and snap a picture of them.

I hand Summer her phone.

“Can we take a selfie?” Winter asks, and I stand in between the girls and give them my best smile.

“Do want tagged?” Summer asks.

“No,” I say, then smile. “You girls will make it, no matter what you decide to do.”

“Thanks!” Winter says, then her phone starts ringing. “Oh, that’s Mom. We’d better go.”

I nod, then go into the dressing room. I try on the white bikini, then the black. I think about it for a few more moments before deciding on the white.

As I put the black one back, I see Lucien watching me with that same look on his face.

“What?” I ask him, and he just shakes his head.

“Are you ready to go yet?”

“Yeah,” I say, then he takes me to the counter.

The cashier lady scans it and Lucien pays, then I grab the bag and we vanish back out to the car, where Harvey opens the door. I head inside and Lucien goes in the other side.

“Do me a favor and don’t order anyone to take those girls,” I say, and Lucien gives me a look of utter surprise.

“Why would I do that?” he asks, like he’s totally the most innocent guy on earth.

“Because you have a knack for doing it,” I say. “They’re not eighteen, and they have a big life ahead of them.”

“Whatever you want, Bridget,” he says quietly, and I look over at him.

“I thought you didn’t give people what they want,” I say, and his lips form a ghost smile.

“I don’t,” he says, then turns towards me. “But you’re not just any person, Bridget.”

“I don’t know what to think of you sometimes.”

“Keep trying to figure me out, little human.”

We are silent as Harvey begins moving the car again.

“For your information,” I say, catching his attention again. “We are very much faking it.”

Lucien gives a nod, but for some reason, deep down on the inside, I feel that he doesn’t want to fake it.

Bridget

We arrive at the beach a little later than what Lucien would have liked, and I know he probably blames it on me, and to be honest, it’s probably my fault.

I took all the time in the world picking out a bathing suit, and then teaching Winter and Summer how to do a few poses.

As we exit the car, Lucien says, “I hope you have that freaking romance shit story or whatever they call it, because I guarantee that Olivia will ask you how we met.”

“I already told Summer and Winter the story,” I say blandly. “I mean, I am the daughter of billionaires after all.”

Lucien rolls his eyes and wraps an arm around my waist again, pulling me flush against his side.

We walk along the beach, with Alec, Marilyn, Sebastian, and Libby. I would rather walk near Libby so I can tell her about the mall trip, but she looks happy enough to be by Sebastian’s side. I have to wonder if these slave girls are demented or something. Who in their right mind would be happy to be with a vampire who abducted them? Maybe Libby didn’t have a good life before she came, or maybe she’s faking it just like Lucien and I are. But from what I can see, Alec and Marilyn are pretty engrossed in each other and Libby clearly thinks highly of Sebastian.

I, on the other hand, wish I was home playing War with Rosanna and that Layla was walking with Lucien across the beach. I mean, before me, who did Lucien go with?

As we’re walking towards a group of people sitting near the shoreline, I feel that craving bubble up again. I groan in annoyance, and Lucien clearly notices it.

“What?”

“That feeling is back again,” I mumble, and he sighs.

“Speak to Alec and Marilyn about it,” he says, and I light up. ”After you get introduced to Olivia and Sean.”

“Okay,” I comply to his surprise. To be honest, Lucien seems to get surprised at me pretty often. I must not be something he’s used to dealing with.

I like that.

“Hello,” a slender, drop dead gorgeous lady says, standing up. She gives a beautiful red lipped white teeth smile to both Lucien and I. “I’m Olivia, Sean’s wife.”

She shakes my hand and I at once note that she’s a vampire. She’s light skinned and her hands feel slightly cold. Sean looks up and gives a nod.

“You are?” she directs at me, and I give my name. “That’s a lovely name. You know, Bridget, you’re the first girl Lucien’s ever introduced, so I’d like to know how you two met.”

“Drag her away,” Lucien mumbles, and Olivia does just that, taking me to the beach bar. I have to wonder if she knows of Lucien’s abductions, or if she is in the dark and her husband knows...

“So?” she prods, ordering me a fruit cocktail.

“He slid into my DM’s,” I say, and she laughs.

“Really?” she questions. “How did that work?”

“Well, I’m a model,” I say, taking a sip of my drink. It tastes like grapefruit and peaches, which I instantly like. But that craving still lingers. “And I posted a few pictures that were taken of me and he commented that he liked it. He then later messaged me and told me he thought I was beautiful.”

“So cute,” Olivia breathes. “How was meeting up the first time?”

“Bliss,” I lie, and she smiles.

“So, you’re human?”

I nod, and she gives me a knowing glance.

“I was human,” she muses. “I honestly don’t know what I like better; being a vampire or being human.”

“You were human?”

“Oh, yes,” she says, then smiles. “Sean changed me two years ago after we got married.”

“Why did you pick him?” I question, taking another sip.

“I didn’t,” she confesses. “Fate choose us to be together.”

“Fate?”

“We are mates, Bridget,” she says, then cocks her head when I look confused.

“What are mates?”

“The term is short for soulmates,” she explains. “Sean and I are soulmates, and he changed me to abide by vampire laws.”

“A human and a vampire cannot be together?” I ask, and she shakes her head.

“Creating dhampirs is not allowed,” she says. “But sometimes it does happen. There are currently no laws for dhampir’s, but I think that if one existed they’d have to be reported to the counsel and the counsel would decide what to do with them after that.”

“How did you know that you and Sean were mates?”

“Well, you see--” Olivia is cut off by Lucien clearing his throat. She looks up at him.

“Olivia, Sean and I are done speaking and he requests you,” Lucien says politely, but I can see a twinge of worry in his eyes. What is he so worried about?

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Bridget,” she says, then smiles at Lucien. “You have a wonderful girl here.”

Lucien smiles.

“Thanks,” he replies, and I look up at him with raised eyebrows.

“You interrupted her,” I protest, and he rolls his eyes.

“Who even cares?” he says, then eyes my drink. He grins. “Haven’t you had enough of alcohol?”

“I doubt this has much of anything in it, and whatever are you talking about?”

“Oh, nothing,” he says, still grinning. “Just an attempt to kiss me, and you getting a clitoris orgasm.”

My face completely falls and I widen my eyes in panic.

“WHAT?!” I practically yell and he laughs.

Lucien laughs.

“How funny it is that you humans lose your memory after getting drunk,” he says, then leans toward me. “Don’t worry, little human, I didn’t fuck you, though with you grinding on me, it was sure a very hard thing to resist.”

“Oh my God,” I say, burying my face in my hands. “Forgive me for acting like such a whore...”

“I don’t forgive you, little human,” his husky voice murmurs in my ear. I suddenly become aware of the fact that he’s caging me against the chair with his body. “I enjoyed myself and it’s rare that ever happens, so don’t apologize.”

I burn red again and take another sip of the drink.

“Would you like to head to the water?” he asks me, and I nod, wanting to get away from the scene here.

He takes me up to the changing room and I change into the bathing suit, checking myself out in the mirror. I run my fingers through my chocolate brown hair and lay it gently down. I step outside the door and give Lucien my clothes. He just stands there, gripping them as his eyes take in every curve of my body.

His Adam’s apple bobs.

“I...um...you look nice,” he finally manages before blinking and his eyes clearing. I smirk at him.

He looks delicious himself, with his abs out on display for the world to see, every part of him toned and strong.

He sets the clothes into a lock box.

“Last to the water is a rotten egg,” I yell, then charge down to the beach, forgetting that vampires have speed and this is apparently a vampire zone in which it’s okay to show off your blindingly fast speed.

I feel his arms around my waist and I yell, trying to break free.

“Not so fast, little human,” he says, but when he drops me I grab onto his legs. He falls backwards and lands into the water before dragging me in right along with him. “Whose the rotten egg?”

I push his chest and he pushes me right back. I fall down into the water and come fighting back up. I yell a war cry before throwing myself at him, causing him to fall backwards into the water.

When we finally come back up, my arms are around Lucien’s neck and he has me by my waist. We stare into each other’s eyes for what seems like eternity before I hear Olivia’s voice combine with a male’s.

“Kiss!” they’re yelling at us, and Lucien eyes me for a moment. We’re still faking it, right?

He leans in and presses his lips against mine. I bask in the tingles and warmth, kissing him back. He takes my bottom lip between his and sucks on it, causing me to moan. I wrap my arms and legs around him, the ocean water spraying all over us as he deepens the kiss, sliding his tongue into my mouth. It feels incredibly amazing as his cool tongue slides neatly against my warm one. He tastes my entire mouth and I moan in pure bliss.

The kiss deepens further when my tongue finds its way into his mouth, and I roam around, picking up a taste that seems to make the craving inside me roar. I kiss him passionately without a care in the world, my rational mind gone somewhere. The inside of his mouth is pure fucking heaven, and the taste is driving me nuts.

I want more...

Lucien breaks off when he suddenly realizes that I need a breath. I press my face into his neck, inhaling that delicious scent.

“You’re fucking heaven, Bridget,” I hear him murmur.

I tilt my head to the side, allowing him to have what he wants. He sinks his teeth in and the blissful feeling inside me forms and I sigh.

He drinks a little bit before licking my neck, healing it. I plant my lips on his again, and he recoils, but melts into me. The craving grows a little bit inside me as I get a taste of my own blood.

I pull back after a minute, the taste still lingering on my tongue.

“You little tease,” he says, then gives me a half smile. It seems genuine. “Ready to go, little human?”