Compromised Vampire Slayer Ch. 01 (Patreon)

August 10, 2020

INTRODUCTION

This story has a female main character, and is written in first person like my other stories.

> CHAPTER 1 <

When I got a job as a maid at Mr. Rowan Galloway’s mansion, I knew what I was getting myself into. The assassination job was simple. He was apparently an ancient vampire who had avoided our detection due to him starting over and changing his name a gazillion times, currently parading around as a philanthropic millionaire. And I was a vampire slayer supposedly looking for my first major job as a full-time housekeeper.

Even after being an adult for almost a decade, I still looked young enough to pull off the innocent ‘damsel in distress’ act, though I was far from innocent. I had more blood on my hands, both vampire and human, than most would have in twenty of their lifetimes, never mind at the age of twenty-seven.

However, currently my cover story seemed to be in the process of heavy scrutiny.

“I’m a fast learner,” I promised the well-dressed codger.

Mr. Lancaster eyed me with a cold piercing gaze over the top of my application, his white eyebrows slightly furrowed. I was glad they hadn’t required a résumé, because my lack of work experience would have made for a short read…even if I included my real career on there. Instead, it was a standard application for a seemingly standard job. I suspected the old man didn’t know his employer was a vampire – at least, I hoped.

He cleared his throat. “Very well, Ms. Autumn.” He stood up from behind the large mahogany desk. “As I’m sure you read in the job description, you’ll live onsite…” He motioned for me to follow him as he headed towards the door. I stood, prompting him to continue. “Which means there will be rules you must follow. When you are not attending to your duties you will have restrictions on where you can venture in the mansion. I’ll show you where you are allowed…” He paused to glance back at me. “And not allowed to go, so there will be no confusion on your part. Breaking these rules may result in your immediate termination.”

“Of course,” I nodded in agreement, wondering how literal that statement was.

As the man began reciting the list of rules, which I had already read from the job description, I took the time to admire just how big everything was. The hallway had a large vaulted ceiling that made it difficult to believe there was a second floor, and it was wide enough that three people could lay down head-to-foot and still not reach the other wall. The windows were equally as enormous, displaying ornate landscaping outside wherever I looked.

Had I not known better, it would have been difficult to believe a vampire lived here. Everything was so open and pleasant appearing. A house of horrors disguised as a mansion of wonders. Beautiful paintings decorated most of the hallways every ten feet. I suspected there was more art here than in most museums.

As we entered one of the lounges, my name being hissed caught my attention.

“Autumn,” Mr. Lancaster said gruffly.

“Yes?” I asked innocently.

“What did I just say?” he demanded.

“I’m not allowed to venture beyond the guest area, which does include this room, after dark.” Honestly, I wasn’t sure why they called it the guest area when the maids literally lived there.

He grunted in annoyance and continued on. I realized I should at least appear like I was listening, or else he might fire me before I even started. And I definitely couldn’t afford that, although my behavior was also part of my cover. The man might actually get suspicious if I was too attentive, since gawking at everything was undoubtably normal, but finding the right balance was important.

Part of the reason why I had taken this assassination job so eagerly was to find out what happened to Nathaniel. This vamp had been my friend’s target months ago, but he had all but vanished. No one from the Society knew what happened, though we all feared the worst.

Unlike my more subtle approach, Nate just snuck in at night and attempted the job head-on. His potential failure was a warning for me to take my time, to ensure I had all the details before I attempted it myself.

But there was another reason why I wanted to take this job. A more personal reason.

A week before Nate vanished, he asked me out on a date…and I declined. He was certainly both handsome and kind enough for any normal girl to consider him a suitable boyfriend – or at least to go out once with him. But after having lost my parents to vamps, I decided long ago I wouldn’t let anyone get close to me. I couldn’t risk it.

Thus, part of me was glad I declined that date, but part of me also wondered if he had been reckless because of my answer. Normally, I wouldn’t think such a thing, but he took my rejection really hard.

So hard, that it made me suspect the request for a date wasn’t as casual as it seemed. I had already suspected he liked me a lot, and had been interested for a long time. More than likely, it’d taken him a while to work up the courage to ask me, only for me to give him a firm ‘no,’ leaving zero room for even a ‘maybe eventually.’

However, he didn’t curse at me or call me a bitch like many others had done in response to my rejection. Instead, he only nodded silently in acknowledgment and did his best to change the subject. His deep brown eyes couldn’t hide how he felt though.

I hadn’t intended to be so harsh, but he wasn’t even close to being the first guy, or even the hundredth guy, who had asked to take me out to dinner or date them. Usually if I didn’t give a firm no, then they wouldn’t take the hint. And even then, some of them persisted. In a few instances, they even became belligerent from the rejection, which was one of the reasons I had human blood on my hands too.

Having brown hair, brown eyes, and a fairly normal-sized chest, I never would have imagined that men would find me so attractive. Yet every guy who offered to take me to dinner seemed enthralled by my beauty, some jokingly giving me an eleven out of ten rating on the hotness scale.

It was weird to me, because I felt like everything about me was average, except for my face. I couldn’t deny that aspect of my appearance was above average, and I was thin and toned – which just came with my line of work. But otherwise, I didn’t have the right assets to demand such attention. I didn’t even dress sexy, although I did put some effort into my appearance.

“And this here is Madam Elise Remington,” the old codger said, introducing the woman with prematurely graying hair, who looked like she was a hardass school teacher. “She will be your supervisor while you are employed here.”

Unlike what I might have expected from the head of the maids, Ms. Remington was dressed in business attire, indicating her duties were likely only managerial for the estate. I suspected I might not see much of her unless I did something to get in trouble, although I didn’t plan on being here longer than a week anyway. 

I smiled politely at the middle-aged woman, reaching out to shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you,” I said warmly.

She nodded. “And you as well, Ms. Autumn. Please note that this job can be taxing at times, with various levels of work depending on the month. There are only three of you girls to do the cleaning for the entire mansion, so while a forty-hour work week will be standard for most months, there will be times when you are expected to work twelve, or even sixteen-hour days.”

They both looked at me like I should be scared by that fact, but they didn’t know this wasn’t really my first job. I tried to appear confident without overdoing it. “When will I meet the other girls?” I asked politely. Despite what the woman said, I knew there were more than just the other two who lived at the mansion. In total, there were at least eleven who had various functions.

Ms. Remington seemed pleased by my response. “In a few hours, I would imagine.” She changed subjects. “I might also remind you that cellphone and computer usage are restricted to the guest area. The last girl was let go for violating that rule repeatedly.”

I nodded again, secretly glad the chick had been addicted to her phone, giving me this rare opportunity. The pay here was actually amazing, considering the work, which meant job openings weren’t common. “Of course. It won’t be a problem for me.”

Pleased a second time, she gave me a genuine smile and allowed Mr. Lancaster to continue his tour. As we reached the impressive main entrance, so large that it had two lounging areas with couches and coffee tables, I saw a man heading out the front entrance. For a split second, I thought it was Nate from behind – he certainly had the muscular build, including the broad shoulders. However, he glanced our way just before heading out the door, revealing it wasn’t my friend.

But holy shit was he handsome.

Brown hair like me, he certainly had all the assets a man should have – at least the ones that I cared about…if I were to consider caring about such a thing. However, he wasn’t the first guy I’d seen with the right build. Instead, it was his face that really caught my eye.

For the first time ever, I could understand how men could find me so attractive just because I was skinny and had an appealing face. Certainly, this guy had a decent amount of muscle on him, but I just couldn’t believe how hot that one part of his body was. It was enough that for the first time, I suddenly found everything about his physical appearance attractive, simply due to him having the right head on his shoulders.

And I could honestly say he looked away too soon.

“W-Who is that?” I stuttered like a schoolgirl. I had to admit I was stunned briefly, but I had already recovered by the time the old man answered me.

“The head of security,” he said sharply.

I met his gaze to try to convince him I wasn’t interested in the man I’d just seen. However, by the look in his eye, I suspected this wasn’t the first time one of the girls had reacted this way. I couldn’t blame them honestly, but I wasn’t here to gossip and fantasize. I was here because I had a serious job to do.

“What’s his name?” I asked in a flat tone, trying to appear as disinterested as possible. “In case I need to report something,” I clarified.

Mr. Lancaster seemed to buy my act, proceeding to walk towards the stairs to make our way to the second floor. “Tristan Myers.” He glanced back at me. “I wouldn’t recommend speaking to him unless it is necessary though. He’s not very friendly to most people, especially the girls here.”

I nodded absentmindedly, though really my mind was reeling. What did he mean by not friendly? I had been called not friendly before. Did he mean it like that? Or was the guy an asshole who deserved a sign above his head saying, ‘All women stay away for your own safety!’

The kind of guy I had killed before.

Despite my initial reaction, I wasn’t an idiot who would turn to mush just because I thought a guy was super hot. I tried to fish for more information, playing it up like I was scared. “Do I need to worry about him?” I asked seriously, a hint of fear tainting my tone.

The old man glanced back at me again. “No. If you leave him alone, then he will leave you alone.”

I decided to press for more. “Obviously, I won’t bother him unless it’s necessary, but I also want to know I’m going to be safe here.”

He laughed at that. “No, no, no!” He laughed again. “He won’t hurt you. But he does have the authority to fire you, so if you get on his nerves, he might do just that.”

I gulped. I definitely needed to stay clear of him then while I was here. “How exactly does he keep the place secure?” I wondered absentmindedly, a little reluctant to feel the smooth railing leave my hand as we reached the top of the stairs. “I didn’t see a gun or anything.”

Mr. Lancaster shrugged. “I said he was the head of security, not the security. The other men carry guns.”

“Right.” Of course. If he was the supervisor, then he probably didn’t do the actual protecting and securing most of the time.

After Mr. Lancaster finished his tour of the mansion, I found myself confused as to where my vampire target would be located. While I was confident I hadn’t seen every crevasse in the massive house, I still found it a little strange there didn’t appear anywhere for a vampire to hide. There must be a door that led to a basement, or even a series of basements. Otherwise, I couldn’t imagine how a vampire could thrive in this environment. There were far too many windows, and too few places to hide from the sun during the daytime.

My first goal when everyone went to sleep would be to try to investigate where there might be secret rooms. But first, I needed to focus on building rapport with my new coworkers, and roommates, in order to find out if they had any suspicions or knowledge that might help my search.

*****

I was used to the dark, and I was even used to creepy. But I had not anticipated how creepy the mansion would be at nighttime. Suddenly it was like the paintings on the walls were watching me, silently trying to scare me back to my new room. Even the paintings of landscapes seemed to have developed eyes hidden in the swirling scenery. I knew I must be hallucinating.

It was just pareidolia – the tendency to see eyes or faces in inanimate objects.

Yet even the shadows seemed to be eerie, moving on their own occasionally in the moonlight. I had to stop repeatedly, having been startled into thinking someone was there in the shadows, only to realize I was truly alone in the hallways.

But this was far from my first attempt on a vamp’s life. And this was by far one of the least creepiest places I had visited – or at least, it should have been.

I had taken all the necessary precautions. Weapons weren’t allowed of course, but they never said anything about pencils. I had a couple that were made of Australian Buloke, one of the hardest woods in the world.

They were as good as any inch-thick stake.

I also had rubbed rosemary into my skin to help hide my scent. While many believed garlic would repel vamps, that was only true if you ate it – supposedly it made your blood taste unpleasant. But I knew from experience that rosemary was good enough on its own.

My reasoning for choosing the nighttime to go searching for the vampire’s lair was simple. It was unlikely that Rowan would hang around here at night. Instead, he had probably long since disappeared to go feed on some unsuspecting victim, or otherwise avoid being cramped in his massive house any longer than he had to be. Which meant I should only need to avoid any humans who might be patrolling the halls.

Like…Tristan Myers.

“Shit,” I hissed underneath my breath. But it was too late now to hide. Even though I was in the shadows, it was obvious he had seen me. How had he snuck up on me? I saw him walk into view, but he didn’t even make a sound.

I stood up straight to avoid looking any more suspicious than I already did.

His gaze was piercing as he approached me with a stern look. “What are you doing?!” he demanded, his tone hard.

Even though he was loud, I doubted anyone would hear him. We were too far away from the guest area now. I tried to play dumb. “S-Sorry. This is my first day. I was just a little hungry, and–”

Unexpectedly, he paused midstride, his nostrils flaring briefly.

Panic gripped my chest when he abruptly closed the gap between us and reached out to grab my wrist. I tried to yank it away, but he was stronger than I expected. He held my hand up near his face, before glaring at me.

“Stop!” I snapped, trying to pull my hand out of his grasp again. “Get off me!”

What was this guy’s problem?

Instantly, he shoved my back against the wall, his weight crushing me. I gasped when his hands reached around to begin feeling my thighs and butt. My brain couldn’t make up its mind whether I should be excited, pissed, or terrified. I was all three at once, though pissed was quickly becoming the primary emotion.

I tried to push him away, his muscled chest not giving in to my strength at all. Even if this guy was stronger than he looked, I should have been able to force him off me. Yet it was like trying to push away a horse. As if he was three times heavier than a normal man.

“Get off!” I snapped again, finally reaching up to slap him in the face. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get much power behind my swing in the small space between us, but it should have still been enough to evoke a reaction. Instead, it didn’t even phase him.

He just glared at me, holding up a pencil he had found in my pocket. “What’s this?!” he shouted.

I turned my face away as he brought his own closer. His breath was hot against my cheek.

“It’s just a pencil!” I exclaimed, hoping someone would hear me. “Get off already! This is sexual harassment!”

“No,” he retorted. “I’m no fool. People don’t walk around covered in rosemary. You’re a hunter.”

Shit!

I grabbed the other pencil from my bra and jabbed it into his muscled chest. But it barely went in half an inch before coming to a halt. I stared at it in disbelief, knowing I’d shoved a similar pencil straight into a man’s heart before, only to look up at his hard gaze, fear erupting in my chest.

What in the hell was he? He certainly wasn’t human, but he couldn’t be a vamp either. Yet he was obviously working for a vamp.

Protecting a vamp.

I had never heard of anything like this – never faced something I didn’t know how to handle. In all my training, no one ever told me I might face an enemy who would be like him.

I only had one option left.

Scream.

He anticipated it. His warm hand slammed over my mouth just as I tried to shriek as loud as I could.

I squirmed underneath his grip, but he was much stronger than any man I’d encountered.

“Guuh uuff!” I attempted, my voice muffled.

Faster than should be possible, he reached his arm around my back and in between my legs, hoisting me into the air so that I was straddling his forearm while he kept his hand clasped over my mouth. He must have dislodged the pencil already, because I didn’t feel it as he pulled my back against his chest. I tried kicking as hard as I could, but to no avail. His arms were like a vice-grip.

I clawed at his hand and arm, but my fingernails didn’t do anything to his skin.

When I kept flailing, he readjusted his hand over my mouth and pinched my nose shut so I couldn’t breathe. Panic clawed at my chest as I struggled to escape his grasp. But no matter how hard I pulled on his hand, it wouldn’t budge. Not even his fingers. Not even one finger. For a solid thirty seconds, I thought I was going to die right then and there. I could barely see out of my eyes as they filled with tears.

Then his hot breath was on my ear. “Stop struggling,” he hissed.

I complied immediately, trying to control my body, despite my panic. He waited several painfully long seconds before releasing my nose. However, it wasn’t enough to catch my breath as I inhaled sharply. My heart was racing, and his fingertips digging into my stomach to hold me against him didn’t help my efforts to breathe.

It wasn’t until several minutes later that I realized he had been walking all this time. I hadn’t noticed because his gait was so smooth, and my thoughts were too escalated to pay attention to my surroundings. I attempted to wipe my eyes, moving slowly so he didn’t suffocate me again. I tried not to sob, but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to die.

Even though I hypothetically went into every job knowing it was a possibility, it didn’t make it any easier when faced with it. And I thought I was well prepared.

No wonder Nate failed – I had no idea how to defend myself against this guy, whatever he was.

We entered into a small closet, causing another surge of panic when I considered what he might do to me before he killed me. I was almost relieved when he elbowed a hidden switch to reveal that the wall opened into another hallway – this one consisting of plain concrete walls with florescent lighting.

Once the door closed behind us, he finally removed his hand from my mouth and threw me over his shoulder. I grunted as my stomach slammed into him. I didn’t dare scream, for fear he would suffocate me again. Not to mention I strongly doubted he would have given me the opportunity if I could be heard.

It was like he read my thoughts. “You can scream all you want now. No one will hear you.”

I tried not to start crying again. “Why are you doing this?” I asked quietly, feeling completely defeated.

He scoffed. “You know the risks of your chosen occupation. You shouldn’t be so surprised this is how your life would end.”

I grabbed ahold of the lip of his jeans, trying to stabilize my emotions by physically squeezing something. I briefly debated trying to lie about it as we began descending a set of concrete stairs, but clearly it was too late for that. “But you’re not even one of them!” I exclaimed. “Why are you helping them?! Why are you helping him?!”

He flinched, which wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. “It doesn’t matter,” he whispered harshly. His tone was still cold, but the lack of volume encouraged me.

“You’re right,” I agreed. “It doesn’t matter, since you’re going to kill me. So why not humor me?”

He barked out a laugh. “Oh, honey. I won’t be the one killing you. I have specific instructions on how to handle hunters like yourself.” He paused. “We have a really hungry one that’s been locked away in the dungeon. Any idea what a vampire does to a person when it hasn’t eaten in months?”

I tightened my grip on his jeans. No, I didn’t. And I was terrified to find out.

He decided to share anyway. “I don’t envy you, that’s for sure. You’d probably think getting mauled by a bear was an easier death.”

“Please don’t,” I whispered, tears slipping from my eyes. “Please.”

He didn’t answer. I sensed we must be getting closer to our destination, because his muscles were tensing against my gut. The hallways beneath the house were just as wide as above, but everything was bare concrete. It smelled dank and musty.

“Please,” I said louder. “Just let me go. I won’t say anything. I’ll give it up. I’ll never try to kill another vamp again.”

He flinched a second time when I said the word. “Why choose this life anyway?” he demanded. “You know how it ends for you.”

I decided to be honest. “My parents…they were both killed by one.” I sobbed again. “I just didn’t want that to happen to anyone else. Is that really so horrible?”

He shifted my weight on his shoulder, though I doubted it was because he was struggling to carry me. If anything, he handled my weight like he was carrying a very small child.

I didn’t think he was going to answer until he unexpectedly did. “Rowan…” He paused. “He killed my wife and kidnapped my daughter. She’s only eight years old.”

I felt all my muscles go limp as that sunk in, blood rushing to my head as I stopped holding it up. There was no way in hell he was going to let me go. Not if his daughter’s life was on the line.

Dread crept into my chest as that fact really hit me.

However, that didn’t prevent my muscles from tensing when the sound of a creaking door made me realize we were probably there. Tristan kicked the door closed behind him as he flicked on the light. He then heaved me off his shoulder and set me on my feet on the floor. He kept his hands on my shoulders, so that I had to face the horror before me.

A vampire in rags chained to the wall looked up at me, its red eyes glowing vibrantly in the shadows. Its skin was sunken in, giving it the appearance of a decrepit old man. Yet even still, I recognized it immediately.

I gasped. “Nate…”

The monster…my friend…didn’t seem to recognize me. His eyes were wild with thirst.

He greeted me with a snarl.

Tristan’s hot breath was at my ear again. “So you know him, do you? I guess that shouldn’t surprise me. Rowan wasn’t able to break him, so he turned him instead, to make him suffer a fate worse than death. Supposedly, being thirsty for this long is excruciatingly painful for their kind. He’s literally dying to get a drop of blood.” He paused. “Like I said, I don’t envy you.”

“Please don’t do this,” I whispered, trembling underneath his grip. Nate had picked up my scent despite the rosemary and began thrashing against the long chains, trying to reach me. I attempted to shrink away from the sight, but I might as well have been chained too, with how strong the man holding me in place was.

“Please,” I said again, trying to grasp for anything. “You’re not a bad person, so please,” I begged.

He scoffed. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know you love your daughter!” I exclaimed, craning my head to try to look at him. “You can’t be that bad if you love her!”

He looked away from me. After a moment, he sighed heavily. “It doesn’t matter.” He paused. “I’m sorry.”

He started pushing me forward then, closer to my death. I finally screamed as the hungry monster thrashed even more eagerly. “No!” I shrieked, trying to fight against him. I then tried to drop out from under his hands, but he just held me up in the air as if I weighed nothing. “Please!” I yelled, digging my heels into the ground again. “Anything! I’ll do anything! I don’t want to die!”

He didn’t stop. The monster could almost reach me now.

“Tristan!” I screeched, using his name for the first time. “Tristan, please don’t let me die like this!”

The vampire’s decrepit claws were barely a few inches from my face when he finally stopped. Unexpectedly, he pulled me away and shoved me into the hard concrete wall. The cold was suddenly seeping into my cheek as he pressed his body fully into the back of mine. My pulse was racing in my throat from my panic, my ears roaring, my chest throbbing – my heart was pounding so hard it hurt.

His hot breath was at my ear again, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he just made a low grunting sound. The contrast of the cold wall and his extremely warm body was jarring.

After a moment, he spoke in a whisper, his tone harsh. “You realize leaving here alive isn’t an option, right?”

I sobbed as I tried to respond. “Yes,” I said quietly. I was shaking again.

“Then you only have one other option besides death. You stay.”

I nodded against the wall, desperate to accept any proposition that didn’t involve being mauled to death by my friend. Or at least, what once had been my friend.

“He still needs to be fed though,” he snarled. “There’s a girl about your age in the other room. She was supposed to be his meal tomorrow to keep him alive and conscious for another few months. If I spare you, then she dies instead.” He paused as I sobbed again. “And you’re going to have to watch it,” he added. “You surviving doesn’t come without consequences.”

All I could do was continue to sob. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want any of this.

“Well?!” he snapped. “It’s your death or hers. Now choose.” When I didn’t respond, I could feel his hot breath on my cheek again. “Choose who dies,” he hissed. “You or her. If you don’t decide then it will automatically be you.”

“Her,” I whimpered, feeling the guilt already clawing at my insides. I tried to reason that if she didn’t die now then she would probably be the next meal anyway, but I knew it was just an excuse. My face scrunched in torment as I quickly changed my answer. “Me,” I sobbed.

“Too bad,” he hissed. “You already made your choice.”

“Stop!” I groaned. “Just…just kill me.”

He was silent for a few seconds. “Actually, it’s a problem that we’ve employed you,” he admitted, speaking almost to himself. “Your disappearance might cause unwanted suspicion.” He raised his voice. “So no. It will have to be your first choice.”

He paused again, seeming to continue to think it over, ignoring my sobbing. After a moment, he spoke even louder, forcing himself against me harder. I could barely breathe from his weight pressing into me. His tone was different now. More aggressive.

“I can’t promise that Rowan won’t still kill you,” he snarled, his voice deepening, sounding more bestial. “But either way, this is what needs to be done to avoid causing him problems.”

Confused and terrified again, I tried to see his face, only to find a snout full of fangs right next to my eyes. I gasped in shock, just before his mouth opened widely, instantly engulfing my entire shoulder in a vicious bite.

I screamed.

The pain seared throughout my chest, and several of my ribs snapped from the pressure of his jaws.

And then he let me go completely, allowing me to fall in a heap on the ground, whimpering helplessly. The smell of my blood was causing the chained monster to go into a frenzy. It desperately attempted to reach me, thrashing wildly. I couldn’t focus on that though.

All I could think about was the burning in my body. I desperately tried to breathe, to catch my breath, but it felt like I couldn’t.

As I gasped, I attempted to comprehend what had just happened. Tried to understand what I had just seen.

I could only think of one logical explanation, though I couldn’t believe it. I knew vampires were real. But werewolves? I thought those were myth. Or at least, I didn’t know anyone who’d actually seen one. His face hadn’t even looked like what I might have expected. It was like the snout of a lion attached to the head of a wolf, the fur as black as midnight.

And I had been bitten, which I suspected meant that if I survived long enough, then I might end up as one too.

Was being a monster really better than death? And if Rowan did decide to kill me, would it be worse than what I was running away from?

I didn’t know. I didn’t want to know. I wished it was a nightmare – a horrible dream I’d wake up from any moment. I didn’t want to be forced to defend a vampire. I didn’t want to be forced to work for one. But I was quickly reminded that it wasn’t a dream. Tristan had disappeared, knowing I was in no condition to run away now.

Another woman’s screaming was what alerted me that he had returned, tugging along a girl as he had promised.

I looked over at her in shock, seeing that she couldn’t have been much older than twenty. She struggled in Tristan’s grasp much like I had just done. His expression was hard. And unlike with me, he didn’t stop. He shoved her into Nate’s ghastly arms, and she shrieked at the top of her lungs while he bit into her like a ravenous wolf.

I slammed my eyes shut, desperately hoping the screaming would end soon, but it didn’t. I heard her bones breaking and flesh tearing even despite her shrieks.

She kept screaming.

And when she finally stopped, I was confident she still wasn’t dead. She kept making incoherent noises until the only sound left was the monster’s desperate gulping.

I cried on the cold floor for what felt like forever, pain seeping through both my body and soul. My chest and shoulder felt like they were on fire. My heart felt like it had been stabbed with a stake.

And then I heard the most horrible sound of all, echo in the room.

Nate’s voice saying my name.

“Autumn?”

*****

I woke up to the sensation of the cold concrete floor chilling me to the core…and the sound of whimpering. I bolted upright into a sitting position, all my muscles stiff, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from.

And then I saw her.

A woman not much older than me was slumped in the corner, a chain running from her ankle to a bolt in the floor. I immediately glanced down at my own ankles to see that I didn’t have a chain.

The next thing I noticed was the steel door leading out of the room. I stood up on wobbly legs, prompting an unexpected shriek from the woman. I almost fell over as I collided with the wall to escape whatever she had seen – whatever was after us.

But we were alone.

Deciding she must be delusional from a lack of food, water, or both, I hurried to the door to try to make an escape. But there was no handle on the inside – no visible way to open it. I banged on the door with a dull thud.

“Tristan!” I exclaimed. “Tristan, let me out!”

When there was no answer, I continued to bang on the door. After a few minutes, I finally gave up and slumped to the ground, cradling my head between my knees.

Unexpectedly, images flashed through my mind as I tried to remember what had happened before I passed out.

Horrible images. Ghastly images.

And sounds that suddenly began haunting me like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.

I wrapped my arms tightly around my knees, shivering from the cold and the terrifying memories. I wanted all of it to be a dream, but the fact that I was in this cell with some stranger told me it was real. It took me a few minutes to realize my shoulder didn’t hurt. I quickly straightened up and glanced down to see the lacerations in my dark gray shirt from Tristan’s teeth – the jaw size was clearly large enough to engulf my entire outstretched hand.

I pulled the partially shredded material away from my body to see that he had somehow missed my bra strap…and that I was completely lacking any physical wounds to mark the incident.

Were it not for the blood stains on my shirt, I might have wondered if it was all some kind of sick joke. Like hallucinating from a drug someone had slipped in my drink. Except that I hadn’t had a drink of anything in…how long had I been in here?

“Hey,” I whispered to the girl. “How long have we been here?”

She just sobbed quietly and shook her head. Of course, she wouldn’t know. It’s not like there was a clock in here, and I didn’t have my phone on me. There was no way to know even what time of day it was. I was quiet then as I tried not to let my thoughts return to what happened before I passed out. I only vaguely remembered Nate calling my name, recognizing me after he had…

I shivered.

Part of me was glad I didn’t remember anything after that. I didn’t want to talk to him, not after having seen him do that to another human being. Not after finding out that he was a monster now.

Unexpectedly a rectangular slab of metal slid open in the door above my head. I jumped up immediately, thankful that it was Tristan and not anyone else. I had never noticed that his eyes were green until now.

He leaned away immediately when I put my face right up to the peep hole and curled my fingers over the gap to hopefully prevent him from closing it on me.

“Tristan!” I said in relief, though I knew logically I shouldn’t be relieved to see him. Still, it was better than the alternatives, like getting a visit from the main vamp himself. “Please let me out, Tristan.”

“I can’t do that,” he said firmly.

“Why?” I asked breathlessly.

He hesitated before responding. “Two reasons. One, because even though Rowan has agreed that I made the right decision, he has not decided on what he wants to do with you yet.” He paused. “And two, you still haven’t had your first transformation.”

I gasped as I considered what he was saying. “I’m really…going to…”

He nodded slowly, knowing what I was asking, his emerald eyes cautious.

“Is that bad?” I wondered absentmindedly. I was attempting to not think about it too deeply. Attempting to separate myself from reality – to pretend like it wasn’t real. “That I haven’t…transformed yet?”

“No,” he said firmly. “You could probably start it now if you tried, but you won’t be forced to do it until later this evening when the full moon rises.”

I gasped. “How long have I been in here?” I whispered.

“Just a day.” He said it like it was an insignificant amount of time. I didn’t want to find out what he considered to be a long time. I, at least, thought a day was plenty long enough.

“W-Why can’t I come out until then?” I asked hesitantly.

He barked out a humorless laugh. “Did you forget you’re a prisoner? You’re basically on death row unless Rowan decides otherwise.” His gaze then darkened. “And, because you’ll be very hungry the first time you shift. We can’t have you accidentally going on a rampage. I’d have to stop you then, and trust me when I say you would have wished you were locked in here instead.”

I stared at him in disbelief, before a sob behind me got my attention. I glanced back at the girl, fear creeping into my chest again. My hands began to shake. “Tristan…” I hesitated, looking at his hard green eyes. “Please don’t tell me…” He didn’t say anything, but his cold expression said it all. “Tristan! Please! Surely you can put something else in here! Anything else! A cow! A goat! Slabs of meat!”

He still didn’t say anything.

“Please!” I begged, my whole body trembling now. “Don’t do this to me! Don’t do this to her!”

He shook his head. “There’s no hope for her either way. No one who comes here to be a meal ever leaves alive. And as for you, this is Rowan’s orders.” His eyes narrowed. “He likes to turn monster hunters into monsters themselves.”

I reached through the small gap and grasped a fistful of his shirt, though I knew he could easily pull out of my grasp. My fingers were trembling, and my voice was laced with desperation. “Tristan, please. I just wanted to prevent anyone else from having to suffer like I did.” I took a shaky breath. “I was only a kid when my parents were slain, not much older than your daughter.”

He didn’t pull away, but his tone was still unrelenting. “You knew what you were signing up for,” he chastised. “Young or not, you’ve had plenty of chances to get out of it while you could.”

“I’m twenty-seven,” I retorted, knowing what he meant by ‘young.’

His eyes widened in surprise, before narrowing again. “Well, then even more so.”

I glared at him for a moment, before deciding to change subjects. I didn’t know how much time he would entertain me with this conversation, and we weren’t making any progress with this topic. “What can I do to get Rowan to reconsider killing me?” I snapped.

He glared right back as he thought about it. “Honestly, nothing. The only one who might be able to sway him one way or the other is me.”

My eyes widened in shock, and I grasped ahold of his shirt tighter. “Are you going to try to keep me?” I whispered. I wasn’t sure why I phrased it like that, but it felt like the most correct way of putting it. Because I was a prisoner, and my only options were for them to keep me or kill me.

He grabbed my hand like he was going to pull it away, only to leave it there. I hated myself for liking the warmth that seeped down my arm, but I was freezing and he was exceptionally warm.

He held my gaze, but didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure if he was going to respond at all until he tightened his grip slightly and spoke. “Keeping you creates a problem for me,” he admitted. “If you try to run away, then I just have to hunt you down and kill you.” He paused, making sure that sunk in before he continued. “But if you do something really stupid, like try to kill Rowan, then I’ll pay the price for it.” He paused again, his eyes narrowing. “Or rather, my daughter will.”

I gulped as I considered that. Despite how rough he had been with me, and despite the fact that he had almost killed me, I knew he wasn’t really a bad guy. At least, I was pretty sure.

He was just a normal person who had been forced into working for someone bad, because he had his daughter’s wellbeing hanging over his head. Not to mention the memory of his wife’s death. It wasn’t much different than a mob boss threatening a cop to help commit a crime. Except the mob boss was a vampire in this case, and the cop happened to be a werewolf.

At the very least, committing criminal activities under duress was a real thing, and a valid defense in court.

I wasn’t sure how long this had been going on, but from his constant hard expression I suspected he had been forced to do this enough that he was long past dealing with the guilt. It was just a part of his life now, and there was nothing he could do to escape it.

“Can’t I just go back to being one of the maids?” I whispered. “I’ll just help clean the mansion and pretend like none of this stuff ever happened.”

He shook his head. “Unfortunately, you staying also means you’ll be required to help with the darker side of what happens here. Rowan’s only going to leave you with those two choices – either become a monster like the rest of us, or else die a horrible death.”

I felt my hand go limp, but he kept it firmly in his. I rested my forehead against the cold steel, feeling like I was going to pass out. “Tristan,” I whispered. “Please give me some options here. I understand what you’re saying, but surely there must be a way for me to stay here without eating…” I closed my eyes, trying not to think about last night. About Nate. Or the girl. Her screaming.

After a moment, he sighed heavily. “The girl is dead whether you do it or not,” he said firmly. “But if you want to avoid eating her when you transform, then kill her now while you’re still human. Those are your options.”

I gasped, hearing the girl’s whimpering escalate behind me. My mind raced, feeling trapped between two impossibilities. But I knew if I didn’t choose one, the other would happen. It was obvious there was no running away from that. Rowan wouldn’t let me.

I felt like my voice belonged to someone else as I responded. “What happens if I kill her now?” I whispered.

“Then I’ll take her body to feed one of the other monsters down here, and I’ll bring you something more agreeable to eat when you shift.”

I took a sharp breath, feeling my head begin to spin. “Will you stay here while I do it?” I wasn’t even sure if the words were loud enough to be audible.

“Yes,” he reassured me.

I nodded weakly. “Just give me a second.” He let go of my hand when I tried to pull it back inside the door. I then slumped to the floor and tucked my head between my knees. My vision was dark now, and my ears were ringing. I didn’t want to think about what I was going to do…because I knew I was going to do it. If it were me, I’d much rather be killed by human hands than be eaten alive.

After taking a few deep breaths, I looked up at the trembling girl in the corner.

No point in making her have to suffer longer than necessary. I slowly got back to my feet, trying not to think too deeply about what I was about to do.

If anything, I was doing her a favor. Of all the ways she could die down here, this was going to be the least horrible. I just hoped the look in her eyes when I strangled her didn’t haunt me forever.

The girl slumped against the wall as I approached, having nowhere to go. The fact that she had screamed earlier when I first woke up told me she must know what was going to happen to her. She knew she was in a room with a monster, though I hadn’t realized it at the time.

Still, it didn’t stop her from struggling as I grabbed her by the hair and threw her on her back to strangle her. She only got out one scream before my fingers cut it off. She clawed at my face and even tried wrapping her hands around my neck too, but it was obvious she wasn’t going to overcome me. Having trained for most of my life, I would have been stronger even under normal circumstances.

However, that was under normal circumstances. Instead, it was almost easy to do it – too easy.

I chose not to watch the life drain from her eyes as she struggled, instead focusing on her body thrashing desperately beneath mine. Unfortunately, the brief glimpse I caught of her panicked expression was already going to haunt me forever.

Once her body went limp, I kept it up for a few more minutes to make sure she didn’t wake up later and have to face the horror of being eaten alive.

The door opening is what prompted me to finally let go of her throat. I climbed off the body and leaned into the wall like I was trying to disappear. The room was spinning again. I tucked my head in between my knees wishing I’d just wake up from this nightmare. Wishing there was a magic pill to take to make it all go away. I supposed there was, if I considered overdosing as an option of escape, though I didn’t exactly have access to drugs at the moment.

I heard Tristan quietly unlock the shackle around her ankle and toss her over his shoulder. It wasn’t until he cleared his throat that I bothered looking up.

I gasped, realizing Tristan wasn’t the only person in the room. Although I had never seen him in person, I had no problem recognizing my original target – Rowan Galloway. His eyes were bright red. And he looked just as young as I expected him to, appearing not much older than me or Tristan.

I immediately leaned forward to throw my legs underneath me, resting on my knees, my rear sitting on my heels. I clasped my hands tightly into fists on my thighs and bowed my head, showing a sign of submission to the creature who literally held my life in his hands.

The monster chuckled at my response. “I see you broke quite easily,” he mused. “Unlike your friend.”

My eyes stung with tears as he reminded me how weak I was. I knew I wouldn’t have to put up with this if I had just died last night, but I didn’t want to die. I wanted to live. I gave one sharp nod in response, keeping my head down.

“I want you to say it,” he whispered harshly. “Call it what it is. You’re a coward.”

“I’m a coward,” I repeated in a shaky voice. I felt like it was the truest thing I had ever said in my entire life. I thought I was courageous before – a badass vampire slayer – but faced with death and I struggled to do anything to run away from it.

“Then tell me why I shouldn’t kill you,” he demanded.

I glanced up at Tristan to see him watching me with the dead girl still limp on his shoulder. I realized he probably wasn’t going to leave me alone with Rowan, not wanting to risk me trying to go for his life. But I was long past that now. I didn’t have a suitable weapon available to me anyway, and now my only concern was just survival.

I looked down again. “I’ll stay here and do what you want,” I whispered.

“Oh will you?” He snapped, quickly closing the gap between us. He grabbed me by the hair and tilted my head back. At first, I wasn’t sure what he was trying to do until he grabbed my chest. “Anything I want?” he hissed.

Oh shit, please no. I closed my eyes as they began stinging with tears again. I couldn’t answer him. I couldn’t agree to that.

Tristan unexpectedly spoke up. “Honestly, I could use the help. It will be easier for her to lure both men and women for me to kidnap.”

Rowan let go of my hair and bolted straight upright. “You’ll take responsibility for her,” he snapped. “I’m still not convinced you aren’t trying to protect her from me, by changing her.”

I tried to hide my reaction as I realized for the first time that Tristan hadn’t been honest with me. Rowan wasn’t as approving as he made it seem.

“Protect her?” Tristan said in a hard tone. “She would already be dead if I hadn’t decided this. Or are you suggesting you would have bitten her yourself?”

“Watch your tone!” he snapped again. “And you know exactly what I mean. This isn’t the first time we’ve had a female hunter come after me. You know I like to break them differently.”

Tristan’s tone was apathetic. “If you really think that’s what I’ve done, then kill her now before she shifts for the first time.”

Rowan barked out a laugh. “As much as I’d love to, I think I’d rather watch you kill her yourself.”

“Fine,” he retorted nonchalantly, tossing the girl’s body on the floor. Her skull cracked against the concrete. I began trembling as he approached me. “I’m still going to need someone to help me though. It’s not easy to find someone as pretty as her. Most guys would follow her into a dark alleyway without hesitation. Some women would too.”

I closed my eyes again when I felt his fingers clasp firmly around my neck. His hand was large enough that he only needed to use one to strangle me. The heat radiating into my throat only reminded me of how cold I was. I did my best to keep silent, knowing this was it, but a whimper still slipped out. I couldn’t stop my bottom lip from trembling.

“You’re responsible for her,” Rowan repeated harshly.

Tristan released his grip on me and walked away to pick up the girl’s body.

Rowan grabbed me by the hair again, forcing my head back. “And as for you,” he snapped. “If you want to stay here, then you’re going to prove it, starting by disposing of your little red-eyed friend.”

I nodded weakly, knowing I had no other choice.

*****

I didn’t realize my first transformation was going to last so long…or be so painful. With the way my bones snapped and reset repeatedly, I might as well have fared better having Nate tear me limb from limb. Though at least I was alive this way.

I screamed alone for hours, relieved to have brief pauses, but also horrified at the anticipation they caused knowing it was going to happen again. It was like waiting to vomit, feeling the tension and pain build up, dreading the coming sensation. Only, it was a thousand times more painful.

I knew it was stupid, but I couldn’t stop myself from wishing that Tristan were here to hold me. To comfort me. Really, I would have accepted anyone’s comfort – at least, anyone not a vampire.

I almost didn’t hear him come in at one point, tossing down a massive carcass of fresh meat wrapped in plastic. It made a sickening thud as it slammed into the floor, alerting me that I wasn’t alone. My eyes snapped open in shock, seeing that he was unwrapping it, the blood making the floor slick underneath.

I tried to reach out to him, tried to beg him to wait, to stay, but my voice was too hoarse from screaming. I coughed instead. He didn’t look as a bone popped and I shrieked again in agony. When it reset, I saw that I was alone again.

The longer the transformation lasted, the more I began to wonder if this was actually worse than being eaten alive. At least that might have lasted a few minutes at most. A horrifying few minutes, but then it would be over forever. I wouldn’t have to suffer like this.

I ended up slowly stripping down to my underwear in between pauses in the continued agony, my clothes growing more and more uncomfortable as the time passed. Granted, I only had a second or two to move my clothing a little each time, causing it to take me possibly thirty minutes just to get my pants off.

At least the floor didn’t feel cold anymore. I was burning up, radiating so much heat that I was sure they had slipped me into an oven without my knowledge.

I didn’t even realize my shape wasn’t human anymore until it finally stopped. I cringed, waiting for the next bone to snap, waiting for my throat to feel like it was being ripped out again from my now bestial shrieks, but then it never came.

What came instead was a sudden overwhelming hunger. A drive to eat unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Unexpectedly, every other thought left my mind, and all I could focus on was my sense of smell.

At least what I had available wasn’t alive, although suddenly I almost wished it were. I wanted something else to feel my pain, to suffer like I had. I wanted something else to scream as I sank my teeth in them.

When I woke up hours later, I had a splitting headache from ramming it into the door repeatedly. I wasn’t trying to escape, but rather I was just so hungry that I’d been desperate to find anything else I could eat. Anything.

While transformed, the memory of that girl haunted me the entire time for a much different reason. It was like someone had waived a juicy steak in front of me and I had rejected it because I had been a picky eater before starving. Before finding out what true hunger was.

I cradled my head in silence, lying on my side drenched in blood, while I waited for Tristan to return.

When he finally did show up, he grimaced at the sight, before tossing me a towel and demanding I cover up. I was confused by his reaction until I realized I must have grown slightly larger while changed because my panties and bra had both been torn off.

I was mortified that he was disgusted with what he saw, wondering if it was the blood or my actual body. I had never had an issue with self-confidence, because I was virtually at the pinnacle of fitness. My body was perfectly toned, and my bone structure created all the right curves, even despite the lack of fat.

Yet, it was the first time I had ever felt my self-esteem waiver.

I shouldn’t care what he thought of me either way, but it was still bothersome to see his reaction. Even if it was true that I had sworn off relationships, that didn’t stop me from appreciating and putting some effort into my own appearance.

I secured the towel around my chest and midriff as fast as possible.

I struggled to stand, my legs shaky and the floor slippery, prompting him to reach out to grip me underneath my armpits and hoist me out of the exit like I weighed nothing. I placed my hand against the wall to steady myself as he closed the door behind him.

“Thank you,” I whispered, feeling grateful for any help at this point.

He scoffed. “Don’t thank me. You might have made it to heaven if I had just let you die. Instead, you’re stuck in a living hell.”

“Well…” I hesitated, my voice not as hoarse as I was expecting it to be. “I wasn’t talking about that. But thank you for trying to keep me alive too.”

He scoffed again, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he began walking away. I assumed he wanted me to follow him, so I tried to catch up only to slip and fall from the blood on the bottom of my feet. I yelped when my knee cracked against the concrete, the pain shooting up my leg and into my lower back.

I could feel him standing over me, prompting me to be afraid again. After all, I really didn’t know what kind of a person he was. I didn’t know if he was going to hurt me for inconveniencing him. Given any other circumstance, I would have stayed clear from such a person no matter how handsome he was. But I couldn’t escape this.

I flinched when he touched me, and then gasped when I was suddenly being carried in his arms.

I was mortified again. “I’m sorry,” I pleaded, covering my face with my hands.

“It’s fine,” he snapped, though he sounded like he was more annoyed at himself than me. His tone then softened slightly. “It’s easy to forget how unsteady you feel after the first time. I should have just carried you from the start.”

“But I’m getting blood all over you,” I choked out.

I felt him shrug. “Better get used to it,” he said in a hushed tone. “It’s part of the job.”

I groaned as I was reminded of the ‘responsibilities’ I still had awaiting me, everything from killing Nate to luring people to their deaths.

He set me down on my feet in a large empty shower room that was basically exactly like the room I had come from, except it had a sink and several shower heads set in the walls. There were a few fresh towels and some of my clothes lying on a metal folding chair next to the door. My shampoo and conditioner were there too.

Tristan answered my questioning look. “The official story is that Rowan happened to meet you and decided you would be more suited to working as my personal assistant. He suggested that I was overworked and needed the extra help. All your stuff has been moved to a different room, but I made sure to grab a change of clothes for you.”

I nodded in acknowledgement, embarrassed to know he had been through my underwear too.

He seemed to notice my reaction and turned to walk away. “Don’t leave this room until I get back. I’m going to go hose down the cell you were in.”

“W-What?!” I exclaimed in surprise. “You’re just going to leave me here?”

He paused to look back at me. “You want me to watch you take a shower?” he asked in disbelief.

“N-No! I just…” I hesitated, uncertain if I should be honest. “I mean, aren’t you worried about me running away?”

He stiffened slightly, his green eyes narrowing. “Should I be worried?” he demanded.

I looked away. “Well, no, but…”

“Like I said before, if you do try to escape, then I’ll have to hunt you down.” He paused then, his expression unexpectedly gentle for the first time. “Don’t make me do that. Don’t make me regret keeping you.”

I gulped as I watched him walk away.

Chapter 2 >>