Chapter 1
The hunger was evident in his eyes. Yet, Pietro controlled himself, willing his urges to stop. He was not here to feed. He was here to repent. Looking at his companion, he tried hard to avoid glancing at her bare neck but he couldn't help it. Dominique had her hair up in a tight bun leaving her throat very exposed. He saw them, the arteries, all tempting him for a taste. Pietro promptly looked away.
It was then that Dominique glanced his way. Why did this have to happen? She had betrayed the covenant. She, a slayer, had fallen in love with this vampire and what did she do? Accompany him to the cathedral to repent that's what. At first, the thought was ludicrous but seeing his pained reaction of pleading, she relented.
Now, here they were together, in front of Notre Dame. With determi-Knock! Knock! Knock!
White blonde hair whipped around to glance at the door in annoyance. As if to mock her still, the sound of hand hitting wood continued. The girl's hair was thick and bushy from its curls. Standing up lazily, she stretched planning on removing the three-hour tension her body felt from reading. Before opening the door to her room, she pushed her glasses that hid her dull brown eyes up the bridge of her nose. She then approached the doorway.
Opening it slowly, she came face to face with her very irate mother. "Honestly, why do you bother locking your door?" she asked tersely. The girl merely shrugged. Her mother was about to leave her daughter alone but did a double take upon seeing what she was wearing. "What is that?" she inquired pointing to her attire.
The girl rolled her eyes. "A costume," she started. "You did tell me to wear one for the party did you not?"
Realization crossed the features of her mother and was soon replaced by curiosity. "What are you supposed to be?"
The girl sighed and twirled around showing her mother what she wore. Her top was a blue green blouse that was decked with beads of all kinds making a beautiful wavy design by the shoulder to shoulder neckline, which was rather low for her liking. The sleeves were short and puffed out slightly tightening up again with the help of a garter by the hem. She also had on many assorted necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. The latter almost not seen due to her very long wavy oriental skirt with colors ranging from orange to green. On her feet, she wore faded beige sandals and on her head was an orange bandana.
"A gypsy," the young girl replied as she faced her mother again. The woman nodded her head in approval.
"I like it," she said smiling.
"You should. You were the one who picked it."
The woman nodded and grinned not hearing the sarcastic tone her daughter had used on her. Having other things to do, she left and delved deeper into the house. Given, it was not that big. She was probably just headed to her office located in her room.
Just as the girl thought her mother had finally left her alone, a voice rang in the air. "Get yourself ready Lea, I'll be dropping you off soon."
Another sigh escaped her lips. She opened her closet and looked down to the floor in the far most right part of it where her bags were supposed to be. She picked a big striped pale yellow, her favorite color, shoulder bag that reached her knee when she wore it and put her book, cellphone, some pens, a journal, and her wallet inside of it. Not caring if the bag still had enough space for more materials, she left her room dejectedly.
Alethea Malloy, or plainly known as Lea, was angered by this. She was being forced to attend a Holloween party that a popular kid from school was having. She wouldn't have gone if it wasn't televised and her mother hadn't seen it. Being forced to go was bad enough but actually conversing with the likes of the preps, Lea was not too keen. Reading was a much more preferred choice in her part. Especially now that her current obsession was nearing its end. Oh, how she loved vampire romance.
Going back to the party, Shelly Gregory, the daughter of a famous movie director, was having a Holloween party in their house, or rather their mansion. It had been declared one of the biggest to be held in over seven years in their city. Of course it was televised. Shelly herself was even interviewed.
She said, as quoted, "Oh, I'm extremely excited. Especially since all the students in my school are invited. I'm sure they would enjoy the party immensely."
After that, Kendra, Lea's mother, was extremely delighted and often badgered Lea on going to that supposed party. She had even bought an outfit for her daughter. Not wanting to anger her mother, Lea agreed. Now, she couldn't help but dread the event. She knew a few people and she doubted they would want to talk to her in exchange of missing the party. Lea could be overly boring at times.
With trepidation, Lea stepped out of their house and sighed as she found her mother already in their 1995 Honda Civic. So, naturally, she followed the older woman's example and went in the car in the passenger's seat. With the sound of the engine being turned on, Lea saw herself pale from her reflection on her window.
To walk home or not to walk home, Lea thought nervously. Kendra had already left her in the vast iron gates of the Gregory mansion. Peering inside the property, she saw many parked cars and her uneasiness grew ten folds. At least, she believed it did. With a defeated sigh, she entered the gates and walked to the mansion.
Lea noticed that it would have been easier if her mother drove her up to the front of the entrance and not the gate. It would probably take her ten more minutes to reach her destination. With that conclusion in her mind, she inspected the large mansion before her.
Like many others, there were columns that supported the roof by the main entrance of the vast house. A common feature as well was the white exterior walls it had and the high windows that littered it. No fountain was situated in the front yard though. From the looks of it, it seemed that they didn't have any. Lea knew better, however. It was just probably somewhere else in the property.
Finally reaching the stairs that led to the main doors, Lea inhaled deeply to ease her turmoil of emotions. Begrudgingly, she walked up and upon reaching the double oak doors, she sighed and was about to open them when suddenly it opened without her even touching it.
She thought it was so high tech but that thought soon vanished when she saw the butler looking man behind the doors. Showing her id to prove she was a student of Beauchamp Prep she was then allowed to come inside. Once she did, her eyes landed on a large fountain with an intricate statue in the middle of it sprouting out water in strategic places.
Ah, so that's where it was.
Lea was then led to where the party was supposed to be by the funny looking butler. It took them a while to reach the place but soon they were in front of double doors again. Behind that, Lea distinctly heard the loud sounds of music. The bass was even making her heart thump like crazy. A much bigger surprise for her was the news that the party was to be held in that section of the mansion alone. All five floors of it.
Just how many people were coming? She thought feeling even more anxious about entering.
With a final sigh, she entered the room opening the doors herself and found that the chamber looked precisely like a ballroom. Once she was inside, the doors closed behind her and the loud music from the hidden stereos around the room made her head throb. The many people, ranging from teenagers to the middle-aged, occupied the space and danced to the beat. They were all wearing costumes that ranged from the prehistoric to the futuristic era. It was thoroughly entertaining to watch really.
Lea, however, knew that she wouldn't enjoy just standing here by the entrance. So, she trudged along and aimed to find a more suitable place for her. Preferably, somewhere quiet where she could read the last chapters of her book. With her mind already set, she looked for anymore doors that could hopefully lead her somewhere more peaceful. Craning her neck she found that there was indeed a door in the far end of the room. It would take some time though to get there.
Pushing herself through a mass of very sweaty bodies, she couldn't see any DJ playing so Lea wondered where the music was coming from. Looking overhead, she saw a tinted window. Coming to a conclusion, she believed that that led to a room where the supposed DJ was.
Still pushing through bodies she persisted to her destination. When she finally reached it, she looked back at the big mass of bodies and found that in the opposite side of the room, a stage was set up and amps, electric guitars, and a drum set was there among other things. With a sigh of victory, she entered the next room.
The sudden change of atmosphere hit Lea full force. From the dark, noisy impression the previous chamber had left her, she felt quite relaxed here despite still hearing the audible thumping next door. This room though had a warm ambience as the chandelier glowed pale and illuminated the place quite comfortably. Upon looking around, she found many tall rounded tables, some having two to three high stools. Again, a lot of people littered the place. All of which were eating some sort of snack.
Must be thedining room.
Not really feeling hungry, Lea left the room as she saw another set of doors in the opposite corner from where she stood. Once inside, she frowned. She was standing in a hallway with couples making out just standing there or leaning on the wall for support. Some people there were merely talking but the atmosphere still felt uncomfortable.
Looking to her left, Lea saw that it was a dead end and the wall there had a wide high window that was covered by rich red colored curtains. Turing to her right, she noticed that the hallway opened to a vast chamber. Not even bothering to hide her disgusted expression after seeing one girl already being stripped by her make out partner, Lea proceeded to get as far from the passage that she was currently in as soon as possible.
An awed expression soon covered her face the moment she stepped unto the vast chamber and stared at the tricky designed chandelier overhead. She took in everything else she saw including the beautiful carpeted stairs that led to the second landing. Three teenage girls were sitting somewhere in the middle of the steps obviously a little drunk already. All of them were wearing similar outfits. Gowns that would've passed as that belonging to a princess. Them sitting there seemed fitting for the scene somehow gave away an illusion that showed this to be a remarkable interior of a magnificent palace and here were its occupants.
Smiling to herself, Lea climbed the flight and avoided looking at the girls for they seemed to be conversing about something important. Finally reaching the second floor, more people littered the place. Lea furrowed her eyebrows. She couldn't seem to find a place where she could read her book.
In the moment of her annoyance, she felt the back of her neck start to prickle. A feeling she recognized she felt whenever someone was looking at her. Sure enough, studying the people around her, Lea noticed a man standing beside her. Surprised, she stepped back almost falling down the flight of stairs and she would've too if the man didn't steady her. Inspecting him further, she saw that he looked to be in his early twenties and was strikingly handsome.
"Here," he said as he handed her a shot glass.
Lea looked at him with a look of confusion. "What?"
He smirked at her. "This is a party is it not? Drink."
She gave him an incredulous look. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"This doesn't have those date rape drugs that you hear about ok? If it makes you feel better, I'd be leaving you once you get it."
"Why are you even bothering to give it?"
"It's my job," he replied smoothly.
Lea was startled and looked at his attire. A waiter. She blushed hotly. "Sorry."
"No need to apologize. Just take it. I don't bother using the tray when I only have one shot glass left."
Lea took it and with a final smirk, he left her. Sighing, she shook her head and walked away from stairway and gazed at what she was holding. She had drunk before when her cousin invited her one time to go bar hopping and found that she was actually good at holding her alcohol. With a final shrug, she directed the shot glass to her lips and drank it in one gulp. Wincing from the rough taste, she almost blanched. She couldn't pin point what alcohol it was but was sure if she took five more of that, she'd be drunk in no time. That was one strong drink.
Not finding another waiter, she looked lost, as she didn't know where to put the now empty glass in her hand. Deciding that they wouldn't miss it, she put it in her bag thinking it would do her good to bring home a souvenir.
That finally done, Lea proceeded on her previous task and looked for a room to read her book. After much searching, she finally found the perfect place. It was a vast living room with four cozy looking sofas that littered the place in strategic places. One, situated in front of the lit fireplace, was empty. She sat down on it and upon looking around noticed that only at least twenty people were lurking around the room. Lea was thankful that none of them seemed to be in the brink of making out there.
Grabbing her book from her bag, she opened it to the bookmarked page ready to read. She stopped, however, due to that prickly feeling she had yet again at the back of her neck. Glancing around, she finally found the culprit.
Standing just a few paces from the sofa Lea was sitting on stood a man that looked to be at least six feet tall. Probably four to five inches taller then her, she concluded. He had jet-black hair that reached the middle of his back that was tied very loosely just down his shoulder blades allowing a few rebellious strands to frame his face. The contrast from his skin to the color of his hair was strikingly eye-catching due to his rather pale complexion. His attire of black coat, black fitted shirt, black pants, and black boots made him look strikingly handsome. After looking him over, Lea resolved that he was supposed to be a vampire. Although she thought his attire ridiculous, Lea had no qualms about his mien.
Very slowly, as he still looked at her, the man sluggishly walked to her side and sat down beside her. For some reason, Lea couldn't take her eyes off him and found that his eyes were of a royal blue shade, a color she found just perfect for him. On further inspection, she found that his age would at least be somewhere from eighteen to twenty-four.
"I knew a Pietro once," he said with a soothing tenor voice as he looked at her book.
For some reason, Lea blushed. Seeing that she wasn't going to say anything, he continued. "It's dangerous to roam around alone in a place like this, lady."
"Well, I didn't come here with anybody so it's only natural that I'm alone."
"Very well," he started, "I'll accompany you then."
After a short pause, Lea put away her book and looked at him curiously. "From your looks, I can tell you're supposed to be a vampire," she noticed him raise an eyebrow but she continued with her point, "but what's with the attire?"
"From my looks? Why? Do I look pleasingly attractive to your eyes?" he asked teasingly and chuckled as she blushed. "I'm wearing this so as to easily blend in with the crowd."
"Since I spotted you, I don't think it worked."
"Tell me, when you entered the party just this evening, did you notice some of my companions there lurking around?" When she said she didn't, he smiled victoriously at her. "See, it's easier to blend in when you're wearing all black in a Holloween Party. The only reason why you noticed me was because there were only a few people here. Besides, what would I wear if not this? A medieval outfit?"
She scoffed at his mocking tone. "I don't really care. It's your choice."
The guy gave her a toothy grin and upon seeing his teeth, Lea saw his canines looking rather sharper than normal. Still, from the looks of it, it wasn't sharp enough to pierce through skin, she thought.
"I saw you holding that book awhile ago, The Covenant. Do you like reading those kinds of stories?" he asked curiously.
Her eyes lit up at this. "Oh, yes! I've been reading them since I was eleven. Although, the vampires differ from each other depending on the book. Some are allergic of garlic, some aren't. Some die due to the rays of the sun and all that while others are day walkers. So, there's a lot of variety."
"I'm a real one. Why don't you ask me how vampires really are?" he asked sounding amused.
Lea looked at him skeptically. "Ok . . .sure." she turned so that her whole body was facing him and she had her feet Indian style on the sofa to save space. "Are you afraid of the cross?"
"Nope."
"Garlic?"
"I love that actually."
"Holy water?"
"Wrong again."
"Can you walk in day light?"
"I'm alright with it but my eyes are rather sensitive to it."
"Do you die when you get staked on the heart?"
"Who doesn't?"
Sha paused. "Are you just being sarcastic with me?"
"No, I'm honestly saying the whole truth."
"How old are you?"
"One eighty-six."
"Who turned you?"
"I was born one."
Lea's eyebrow rose in curiosity. He answered everything straight away as if it was stock information. "I don't get that. How come you stayed looking like that if you were indeed born one. Shouldn't you continue to age or something?"
"Well, it depends on the vampires genetic structure. Some stop aging when they're forty while others stop at eight. I guess I was one of the lucky ones."
"O-kay . . .do you drink blood?"
"Why do you think I'm called a vampire in the first place?"
Lea stopped for a moment and he just grinned at her. He cocked his head to the side. "You don't believe me do you?"
She smiled then. "No, but I think the interview was very interesting. Nice job."
He smiled too. "I'm glad you think so."
Lea had never met anyone who she could talk to about her favorite topic, vampires. Even though she thought he was simply being friendly by thinking up such ridiculous things, she was glad she met someone who could stand her.
Finally realizing that they haven't been properly introduced, she jumped at the opportunity. "We've been talking and we don't even know each other's names. Mine is Alethea Malloy. People call me Lea though."
He smiled at her. "I personally like Alethea. That's a beautiful name."
For the first time in Lea's life, she thanked her mother for giving her such and odd name. "Well, what's yours?"
"Tobias."
"That's it?"
"Tobias Mordikai."
"Wow, nice name."
"Mordikai fits Alethea nicely don't you think?" he grinned at her teasingly.
She blushed. "So, vampires are flirts too, huh?"
"Only to a selected few." Tobias laughed as she turned a darker shade of red. "I enjoy watching you all flushed. You look quite –"
Tobias stopped from talking and his features suddenly turned serious. He looked around the room as if searching for somebody he dreaded to see. He then sniffed in the air. Lea thought it weird. Sudden realization painted his features as he looked at her in panic. He sniffed at her as if to make sure.
Lea felt offended. Was he joking around? She asked herself curiously. "What's wrong?"
"What did you drink?"
"Excuse me?" She asked suspiciously.
He looked impatient now. "What did you drink?" he asked again looking very alert.
Recalling the waiter awhile back, she replied unsure where the conversation was heading. "A shot glass some waiter gave me, why?"
Tobias hastily stood up and grabbed a pocket watch from the inside pocket of his coat. Its cover was intricately designed in Gothic style. "Eleven forty-three," he mumbled to himself.
Lea stood beside him and furrowed her eyebrows in concern. "What's wrong?"
When he looked at her, Lea stepped back in surprise. His eyes were different. Instead of the royal blue tint it had on awhile ago, his eyes had a blue shade so pale it almost looked white. He grabbed her wrist and ran out the room.
Lea protested from going anywhere but she couldn't get free from him. He was really strong. After climbing up a few flight of stairs, they soon reached a guestroom so big it had it's own living room. Inside, there were four people. All of which had the same outfit Tobias had on.
One of them, a girl with beautiful shoulder blade length auburn hair, approached them. "Tobias, what's wrong?"
"It's starting," he replied back sounding alert.
She looked at Lea and upon realizing what Tobias meant, took hold of Lea's wrist. "We'll take care of her. Go inform the others."
He nodded and left the room. Lea was getting annoyed and pulled her wrist free from the red head. "What the hell is going on?"
The girl smiled kindly at her and she noticed she had bright neon green eyes. "You'll be safer here, don't worry." After she said that, she too grabbed her own pocket watch and upon seeing the time, mumbled. "Eleven forty-seven."
Lea didn't understand any of these and so decided to look around. She saw three more people in the room and found them to be male. Two looked relaxed while the other one looked rather fidgety.
The latter looked at her and had a crazed look on his face. Then, with an audible whisper, he spoke. "Just a taste. She smells so delicious."
Upon hearing this, the other two men approached him. "Denny, snap out of it. We're not here for that."
Without warning, he sprang up from where he stood that, if the two guys didn't stop him, he would have tackled Lea to the ground in an instant. Lea backed away in surprise. The red head was now screaming. "Hold him! I knew it was a stupid choice to bring him here! He's not even stable!"
"Denny! Snap out of it!" shouted one of the guys holding him back.
"Shut up! Let me feed on her!"
Lea was now scared. As this 'Denny' screamed for her, she saw his fangs. He looked demented. Soon, even the red head was trying to help the two of her companions hold him down. Shaking with fear, Lea looked to the floor where the girl's pocket watch fell. She picked it up and saw the time. "Twelve oh-one."
Hearing a frightening shriek of anger from Denny, Lea bolted to the door. As she did so, she bumped into someone. Looking up, she saw a pale man that towered her wearing a very evil smile, his fangs clearly showing. Licking his lips, Lea saw his tongue redder then normal.
With a cold amused voice, the man spoke, "Oh, look. Dessert."
Next thing she knew. She passed out.
Author's note:
Be kind. Errors in this fic only prove how human I am. So, give me time to improve. Oh, please do review. :) It would mean a lot!
Names here are purely from my imagination. As well as the plot.
I do hope you found it nice enough though. I love vampire romance hence the story. :) Again, please (on my knees) review...