Chapter Text
Prologue/Chapter 1
Shadows clung to every corner of the room. Moonlight tried in vain to push through the pale curtains that hung over the windows. A lamp that had been toppled over, flashed erratically, casting a warm glow over everything a half a second at a time.
The smell of blood was thick in the air. My hunger, which was rarely ever satiated, flared to nearly orgasmic levels. It took all of my strength to try and push it aside so that it wouldn't cloud my focus. My bare feet felt the warm pools coagulating along the carpet beneath me. I didn't look but I imagined I was leaving behind my small footprints, all of them leading to the big man crawling away.
Thanks to the lamp's sporadic light I could see that he'd been gnawed upon. A truly fitting end for a truly horrible person. When I caught up to him he'd stopped moving and rolled over onto his broad back. His white dress shirt was crimson now, clinging to his body like a second skin. I tiptoed close.
"Don't fade away yet," I whispered.
My body crouched near him, watching those shallow breaths. His dark eyes rolled over to look at me. I smiled. He spat blood into my face. It hit the right lens of my glasses and still my smile remained.
"Keep your eyes open."
My hands tucked my brown hair behind my ears while I dared to come even closer. My hunger rolled around inside of me, causing my inked flesh to prickle, nipples hard beneath my jacket. I leaned down to his ear, hoping he could feel my breath pushing against him.
"I want to be your last living thought before you disappear..."
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"I bet the guys in IT you were gonna change your mind at the last minute."
A smile pulled at my lips while I looked down into the cardboard box sitting on what was once my desk.
"How much did I cost you?"
I could see him shrug from the corner of my eye.
"Twenty bucks."
The stapler found its place in the box along with the cat shaped paperweight I bought during the work retreat in Maine. While the rest of my coworkers had been busy with team building exercises, I had snuck away to the forgotten souvenir shops to find a treasure. The memory was still so vivid that I couldn't help but hold onto the hunk of metal, running my fingers across the details of the cat's face before finally dropping it inside.
"Well, on the next Margarita Night, the first round's on me.
Henry stood in the doorway of what was now officially my old office. Everything about him was professional, from the dark dress shoes to the sharp suit jacket and tie. But it was the one silver earring that added a sliver of playfulness to his whole style.
"If you're not too busy with your new exciting life."
A small, framed photo was the last thing tossed into the box. I eyed the lamp which was the only thing remaining. Technically it belonged to the company but it had been me who'd picked it out. My hand reached out for it then pulled back. No, I was above stealing a lamp.
"I'm still in the city, you know? It's not like I'll be halfway across the country."
The box was heavy in my arms but I did my best to pretend it wasn't when I slid it off the desk. Henry moved from the doorway. His hands reached out but the frown I sent him caused my work bestie to rethink the gesture.
"I know, but it won't be the same..." He faked a pout while stepping closer to her. "Any chance for you to rethink this?"
Being so petite, I was forced to tilt my chin upwards in an effort to look at his handsome face.
"None," I said, giving a small shrug. "My family needs me."
"The family who hasn't once visited you since you moved out here?"
I sent him a look.
"Alright, alright. I get it, I do. I'm just going to miss you is all."
Knowing at least one person was going to miss me felt good. In the back of my mind I told myself to hold on tight to that warm feeling because where I was going would be devoid of any such things.
For most of my life it had always been strange to hear others talk about their families with smiles on their faces and heartfelt memories to share. Don't get me wrong, I had some good things to share if anyone ever asked, but on the other end of it was everything I couldn't speak of. The terrifying parts that still haunted me.
The rental car was filled to the brim with everything I owned that was worth taking which in the end wasn't much. In the life I thought I was going to lead, I imagined a sweet dog sitting in the passenger seat, ready to be my co-pilot for an exciting road trip that would take us both to wherever we wished in the moment. Denver? Seattle? The beaches of California?
Getting inside I pushed my glasses further up the bridge of my nose and looked to the passenger seat. Stacks of unread paperbacks sat beside me instead of an imaginary loyal pet. And when I made the turn for the freeway, the warm, sunny beaches of California couldn't have been further away.
It was dark by the time I made it to the neighborhood listed in my phone. From the pictures I'd seen online, the townhouse I'd agreed to rent seemed quaint, something a new divorcee would put her heart into and turn into a home with a few coats of paint and repurposed furniture. That's at least what I told myself when I parked and got out.
The neighborhood left... something to be desired, to put it nicely. In fact, whether or not the hubcaps and tires would still be there when I got up in the morning was a good question. But, at the very least, in the dark the townhouse looked just like the picture. Red brick, white shutters, a place for a garden in the front if you could do away with the tall weeds. Inside the smell of moth balls hit me like a smack to the face.
I reached in the dark and did a silent prayer before flipping the switch. The living room lights sprang to life. There was electricity. Before letting me get my hopes up any further, I meandered around the quiet house, listening to the floorboards squeaking under my feet. What furniture there was had sheets protecting them from the layers of dust I spotted in every corner. In the kitchen white cabinets were in desperate need of a coat of paint while one cabinet door hung from a broken hinge. In the end, the place needed work, but it was cheap and had enough character to distract me from contemplating my life's choices for a time.
After bringing in some of the more important boxes, I glanced at my watch. In the quiet of the townhouse the ticking almost seemed loud.
"Fuck... I'm going to be late."
The cab made good time getting through the city traffic, which made me happy to leave the rental car back at the townhouse so I wouldn't have to deal with the stress. The only problem was that with no road to focus my attention on, all I could do was obsess on the fact that I was going to be seeing family I hadn't laid eyes on in five years. In the end there was only one person I truly dreaded seeing. My father would keep me safe, at least that's what I told myself to chase away the fear. Of course he hadn't in the past, but that had been my own fault. I wouldn't make that mistake again.
Nothing had changed about the high-rise penthouse. Getting out of the backseat to stand on the sidewalk, I still managed to feel amazed at the endless sea of window panes above. There was no doubt that the views were still amazing up there, overlooking the lights of the city.
It was difficult to fight the nervousness creeping up in my bones the moment I stepped into the lobby. The receptionist's eyes found me and there was instantly judgment on her part. There was an urge to awkwardly toy with my fingers as I walked toward her, but I fought it off and gripped my clutch instead.
"Good evening, I believe the Astor residence is expecting me. My name is-"
"Zoey?" She asked with a raised brow.
"That would be me."
I gave my best polite smile, warm without showing too much teeth.
She returned it with a blink.
"Just a moment."
The woman turned away from me and picked up the nearby phone. Her whispers were so quiet it was impossible to eavesdrop.
"You're all set," she said with a voice that was now rather chipper. "The security guard will assist you."
She motioned toward a rather broad chested man who helped her into the elevator. After putting in a key card he hit the button for the floor and she was off, ascending through the building.
With the doors closed I was forced to stare at my reflection. The dress was rather modest. I knew that's what they would say or at least think when they saw it. It was black, as were most of my clothes, with long sleeves and the hem stopping right at my knees. It cinched in at the waist, making me look a little slimmer than I was as well as taming the rather plump backside I could thank my mother for.
Eventually the doors opened with a ding.
I tentatively stepped out. The entryway was still made of cool, slate gray marble. Old oil paintings hung in their usual places. The one of my father, the one I so greatly despised, was still front and center with two grand staircases curling around it. As a child I remember thinking he looked like George Washington and now as a twenty seven year old woman I found myself still seeing the resemblance.
Suddenly the space around me, which had once been eerily quiet, exploded with activity.
"We are running late. How does no one know how to use a clock? Weren't they around when they were invented?"
A voice called out, followed by the sound of heels clip clopping their way across the marble tile.
"The SUV's are waiting outside. Has anyone talked to Thomas? We have to get Rosalynn downstairs stat." Another said, furiously typing into his phone as he walked past me.
Before I knew it the foyer was filled with people, all of them human, mostly assistants running around frantically in an attempt to keep the night's festivities running smoothly. Among them were a few human servants that I recognized although none even looked my way. The technology glued to their hands had changed, but when it came to an important night where the city's elite were involved, it was all still the same amount of unbridled behind the scenes chaos.
I continued to move along unseen.
The hallways led to the same doors with ugly oil paintings looking down at my every move. But there was one noticeable change. My fingers reached out and touched a vase on one of the many tables scattered throughout. The soft petals of peonies slipped along my fingertips. Color, however subtle, had found its way into the penthouse of the Astor Clan. There was no question in my mind that it was my sister Rosalynn's doing.
Eventually I stood at the door I'd been searching for. A small core memory flooded my vision before I could even touch the door knob. Once I'd been so small I had to stand on the very tip of my toes to even try to open the door, and even then I remembered needing all my strength to do so. It opened with a small click.
His voice, calm and soothing reached my ears before my eyes even had a chance to fall on the back of his chair. One pale, strong hand rested off to the side. Three rings, one inset with a dark ruby, adorned his fingers.
"I understand Marcus, I just think we need to wait till next Spring. The climate is all wrong right now."
There was the briefest pause in his words when the door shut behind me.
"Right... Perhaps a meeting face to face is in order then. Next week we can plan something."
I heard him exhale slowly.
"We will talk then."
I stepped further into the office. The lighting was low. Strange shadows that once terrified a five year old me came to life in the corners of the room. The hand with the rings moved to press a button on the phone that sat before him. I swallowed twice in order to find my voice.
"The Dad I knew never even touched a phone. I think I even remember you writing letters and using bicycle couriers back in the day."
His chair creaked as his form rose. He was all shadows for a second until he turned to face me. I tried grabbing my purse tight in my hands to keep me from fidgeting, but there I was, plucking at my fingers, unable to hide the nervousness that had been gnawing at me.
"Hi, Dad."
Vampires didn't age. Dead or not they were cemented in time as the perfect versions of themselves. And yet, seeing my father for the first time in six years and knowing he'd not changed since the first time I could ever recall his face from my earliest memory, made my heart skip a beat.
His brows were thick and dark, giving him a constant serious gaze while his jaw was angled in all the right ways that spoke to the beauty standards of today.
"I was close to your age when my Master made me what I am."
I rocked back on my heels anxiously.
"I know. You told me all the stories."
He nodded slowly, reaching up to straighten his tie.
"But now here you are surpassing my mortality..."
A rare smile slipped across his masculine lips as his eyes, an ethereal deep green, looked me over.
"You haven't sent me a picture of yourself in years. You've changed so much..."
"Sorry, I'm not into writing letters like you."
There was a small laugh then he closed the distance and his arms didn't hesitate to wrap around my smaller form. He was warm, a sign that he'd recently fed. I was hesitant at first, but once I remembered how safe his arms made me feel, I couldn't help but return the embrace.
"Dad..."
He shushed me, sweeping his hands through my brown hair briefly.
"I won't get to embrace you like this in front of them. Please, let me enjoy this brief moment."
There was no question as to who he meant by them. My brothers and sister. Those he'd sired. The true way of procreation among vampires.
I didn't object. In fact I couldn't help but lean into my father's arms, allowing myself to break down all those barriers I'd built up to protect me from the rest of the world. But as soon as I felt him pull away I was quick to build those barriers back up again.
"You look lovely." A kiss was pressed against my forehead. "And you don't know how much it means to me that you came back."
"If my family needs me, I want to be here."
He nodded at that, pride dancing in his eyes.
"Then let us be off. We are already running late and I have no doubt our human handlers are beside themselves."