“Fine.” I take off the long-sleeved shirt I have tied around my waist to wipe the blood off my arm as best as I can. Maybe when I knock on the door I can pretend I got hurt and need help. That is, if someone actually answers the door. I pray no one does. Maybe I don’t even need to knock. How would anyone actually know if I didn’t?
Wait. What if the girls in the sorority know whoever lives here and they will report back to them? Or what if I knock and I’m kidnapped and murdered? There are lots of possibilities. They told all four of us that this was the key to initiation, and if I want in then I need to do it.
“We’ll wait right here,” Kelly says, breaking into my thoughts.
She nods as she says it, but I notice all of them take a step or two back from the gate. They are going to leave me. I know it. I turn towards the house, not wanting to look at them anymore. It’s the story of my life. I’m not going to watch them screw me over if I don’t have to. What I am going to do is prove that I can do this. With or without them.
Like everything in my life, I have to do it alone. I only hope this time I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew.
Two
Kane
I feel the shift when the sun sets. It’s the same every time for the last one hundred years. That’s the way it is when you’re a vampire. Your body is automatically honed to protect and hide in the light of day, but I would do that even if the light didn’t turn me to ash.
Pushing out of bed, I walk to the window and draw back the thick blackout curtains. There’s pink in the sky along the horizon, but the stars aren’t far behind. I can’t see a reflection of myself against the glass and turn away. I’m always careful to avoid mirrors, but sometimes it can’t be helped.
Vampires are seen as the most beautiful creatures. It’s how we lure our prey. But I never expected the scars from my previous life to follow me into this one. I was hiking in the Rockies and fell to what would have been my death, but a vampire came along and saved me. My body healed and became stronger than I ever dreamed possible. But the damage to my face was too much for even the venom to erase.
I peel off my boxer briefs and step into the shower. I run my hands along the ridges of my stomach and the dip between my hip bone and thigh. The weight of my cock fills my hand and I begin to wash myself. I haven’t gotten hard in one hundred years and I’ve pretty much forgotten what it’s like. It won’t happen again unless I find my mate. But with the way my face is scarred, I don’t have high hopes.
The staff is cleaning up the kitchen and leaving for the day. I can hear them even as the water sprays in my face. It’s one of the many benefits to being a vampire. This place requires a lot of people to run it, and humans are the best for it. They all think I work nights because I manage businesses in Tokyo. They’re not completely wrong. I have businesses all over the world, but that’s definitely not why I don’t go out during the day. If they suspect anything, they’ve never asked. But I like to think the pay is what keeps their lips tight and their questions few.
When I get out of the shower I dress in a suit. I’m planning on going into the city tonight. There’s a play my sister wants to see, and I’ve got box seats. This is a benefit for the both of us. She gets to be up close to the stage and I get to sit in the back and hide my face. She tells me it’s not as bad as I think it is, but she’s just trying to get me to stop being such a recluse. Another reason she’s making me go tonight.
I walk downstairs and check in with the head housekeeper, Mora. She’s an older woman with gray curly hair she wears pinned up and a round rosy face. She’s used to my scars by now, but still her eyes always move to my cheek and down my neck. They healed some after I was changed, but the red lines won’t ever fade. She’s been with me a long time and I like that she’s never asked me about them.
“Your breakfast is on the counter in the kitchen. And I saw your note about not needing dinner tonight. Are you going out?” she asks as she smiles brightly.