600 years later
Phe world around them had evolved. It was nothing new to them; they’d seen it change for centuries. Felix and his clan of vampires continued to rule over the other clans. Their strength and speed were
unparalleled, making them invincible.
Duke, Lucifer, and Theo dropped their bags at the front door, comforted by the smell of their home. They’d been on hundreds of missions to help other clans with whatever they needed. This mission had lasted five years– five long years since they’d been home and seen their clan. It went without saying that they were happy to be back.
“What a greeting,” Theo mused with an eye roll after noticing that no one came to welcome them home.
“Next time, we can give them more of a warning. That way, they can have balloons and confetti in the entryway for you,” Duke teased with a smile as he walked.
“A simple ‘welcome back, we’ve missed you’ would suffice.” Theo followed. Lucifer was already long gone, probably in his room. He preferred to be alone.
Duke pulled a blood bag from the refrigerator and began drinking from it. His clanmate, Dane, worked at a hospital as a surgeon specializing in reconstructive surgery for children. He had no need for additional income, so his career was more of a hobby than a job.
He had access to fresh blood to benefit his clan and himself. He kept the fridge well-stocked.
Duke paused when he heard a woman moan upstairs while handing a bag to Theo. It was then that they noticed the repeating slapping sound as one of their friends thrust into her.
Theo smirked at Duke. “Any guesses?” He wondered.
Duke sighed. “You’re here with me, so I’d have to assume Felix.”
It was no secret that Theo was quite the womanizer. Granted, they all were charming. Vampires were naturally known to be beautiful creatures: tall, muscular, and almost impossible to resist.
Theo laughed, drinking from the bag. The woman’s moans soon turned to screams of terror as the warm scent of flesh and blood filled the air. “Do you think Felix will ever fuck a woman without killing her?” He mused casually.
“That’s the best part,” Eugene smirked with a shrug as he entered the kitchen. “Their blood always tastes so sweet as they cum. It’s impossible not to indulge when they’re so willing to give themselves to us.”
Duke hated this about vampires, himself included. Sex and blood were a vampire’s favorite things, so once they started drinking, it was near impossible to stop. Learning when to stop drinking blood took several hundred years.
Rolling his eyes, Duke questioned. “Must you be so crude?” There was no doubt the vampire was stuck in his old-fashioned ways, and talking about women so indecently irritated him.
“Duke,” Theo teased while nudging Eugene, “Don’t act so innocent.
We’ve all heard you during sex.”
“You hear because you can’t mind your own business,” Duke stated, his posture straightening. It was apparent he didn’t want to talk about his sex life.
“We hear because you’re so annoyingly talkative,” Eugene chuckled before mocking his friend. “Oh, my darling! Look how perfect you are! You take my cock so well–”
Duke threw a kitchen towel at him. “Enough, Eugene.”
“Is Duke home?” Dane joked as he entered the kitchen, sporting a slight grin. He’d definitely heard Eugene’s parody.
Dane hugged Duke and Theo, welcoming them home.
They spent a few minutes talking and catching up before Felix and Quin entered the room, greeting the two with half hugs.
“How was it?” Felix asked, always eager to hear of bloodshed.
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Theo taunted as he gave him a knowing look.
“Nothing special,” Felix dismissed, obviously unaffected by taking his conquest’s life.
“It wasn’t werewolf packs this time–it was rogue werewolves. More of a challenge, but we helped the clan, rest assured,” Duke answered Felix’s question from earlier.
Rogue werewolves were more feral and animalistic than ordinary werewolves that were in a pack. Rogues had no structure, no rules, and they didn’t hold back when it came to a fight. Wherever there were rogues, there was bound to be bloodshed.
“Of course, you three get the fun missions. I’d do anything to fuck up rogues,” Quin commented with crossed arms as he leaned against the counter.
“Shall we celebrate your return with dinner?” Dane queried with eyebrows raised.
Theo held up the blood bag in his hand.
The surgeon rolled his eyes, “Actual food. There’s a restaurant half an hour away that serves wonderful steak.”
 |
The seven vampires walked down the sidewalk as the sun slowly set. They’d lived in the same town for hundreds of years, yet they were always surprised at how fast things changed. Where a woman once stood selling silk and apples eons ago now sat a four-star restaurant. Everything around them had adapted except them.
Duke feared that another couple hundred years would pass and he would remain the same. He craved something more. A meaning beyond all the fighting and bloodlust; he wanted white-picket normalcy. Unfortunately, that sort of normal and vampires didn’t mix.
Vampires and werewolves could only be males, which meant wives were finite and rare. Females could not carry the vampire nor the werewolf genes, and though several had tried to change their past loves, none had succeeded.
“You’re right–that was delicious,” Theo agreed. “Am I ever wrong?” Dane smirked.
“We should discuss who the next three are to go when the time comes,” Felix noted. Always planning and organizing, the royal wasn’t one for surprises or spontaneity. He liked things his way.
“Eugene and I will go,” Quin quickly answered.
Felix raised his eyebrows at his friend. Usually, the three of them went together, but Felix wasn’t feeling up for a fight. Had his evening’s conquest drained him of the need to dominate? Perhaps he would feel differently tomorrow.
“We’ll choose the third some other time,” Felix dismissed.
The faint sound of teeth chattering together disrupted their walk. It wasn’t loud, but they could hear a butterfly’s wing flap from a mile away. For them, the racket may as well have been right in their ears.
Felix, Eugene, Quin, and Lucifer didn’t pay any attention to the sound. They figured it was a homeless person, most likely begging for money, and continued walking.
The others slowed, quickly pinpointing where the noise was coming from.
Theo gave the perpetrator–a child–a stern look while studying her. None of them liked kids, but Theo had a particular distaste for them. Humans were disgusting, especially the little ones who caused messes.
Dane and Duke, however, stilled. Their cold hearts hurt for the girl.
She was curled up under a cardboard box, both her and her makeshift home soaked from the earlier rain. Trembling, she pushed herself as far into the corner of her shelter as she could. The girl was tiny, even for a kid, and it concerned Duke. He could only wonder: where was her mother?
He observed her further, though only for a short time. She wore an oversized t-shirt covering her whole body, leaving her bare toes sticking out from under it. Her grime–drenched hair was blonde, long, and knotted.
“Is there an issue?” Felix asked the two men, noticing their fixation on the child.
“It’s very sad, don’t you think?” Dane whispered, still watching her.
“I think it’s disgusting. Humans can’t fend for themselves at all. She’ll probably die of hypothermia or starvation. What a pathetic species,” the royal spat as he glared at the girl.
For the first time, Duke looked away from the girl and scowled at his clan leader. “Are you truly incapable of compassion, Felix?”
Without another word, Duke slowly approached the young girl. He knew he looked different from other men she’d seen in the past and didn’t want to scare her.
For one, he was much taller than human males, and if she looked close enough, she’d notice his eyes weren’t brown but dark red.
“Duke! What the hell are you doing?” Quin whispered, not wanting to bring attention to them. There weren’t many people around–actually, there was no one near. It was just them and the little girl.
Duke ignored his friends and kneeled a foot away from the child.
She slowly looked up, her big blue eyes studying him, from his polished black boots to his shiny brown hair. She’d never seen a man who looked so fancy before, which scared her. The girl curled further into a ball, scooting away from the strange man until her back hit the flimsy box and felt the cement behind it.
He was sad, but Duke smiled at the girl nonetheless. “Hello,” he began gently in an effort not to frighten the girl further. “My name is Duke. What’s yours?”
The child looked around everywhere, her gaze briefly landing on the other men observing the interaction from several yards away. They all scared her. She’d seen bad men before–the kind that rode on motorcycles and punched each other late at night. She always hid from them; she was good at hiding.
But these men didn’t look like the others. They were huge and incredibly intimidating, but the way Duke spoke brought her some level of comfort.
She looked up at Duke, her eyelashes wet with dewdrop tears. He looked nice, or so she thought.
Despite the cold, she answered, her voice small and wavering: “Elora.” “It’s nice to meet you, Elora. Are you here alone?” Duke asked. He had
a sneaking suspicion she was. Clearly, the child hadn’t eaten or bathed in far too long. The vampire sincerely hoped any parent or caretaker would put a child’s needs before their own.
Elora nodded. “Mommy told me to stay here, and someone will h–help me,” she explained. It had been so long since she’d seen her mom. The poor girl didn’t know any better, but it was evident to Duke that her mother wasn’t coming back.
With a sigh, Duke turned towards Felix, looking at him with an unspoken question in his gaze.
This child, finding her–this could be his purpose. Duke wanted to help people, and now he had his chance. He was more than capable of raising a child and had more money than he knew what to do with. In his mind, he could give her a good life, send her to college, and watch her grow old, knowing he did his duty to help save a life.
Felix tensed and shook his head. “Are you mad?” He hissed, dumbfounded by the very idea of a child in their manor.
Indeed, his friend was insane for even thinking of taking in a human girl. Their life was abnormal, and she’d be in constant danger. “Absolutely not, Duke,” the royal stated sternly.
The kind vampire’s mind was already made up. “I can’t leave her,” he objected, holding his friend’s stare. “She’ll be my responsibility, Felix.”
“So we’re taking in strays now?” Quin scoffed, already finding a hundred things about Elora that annoyed him.
Ignoring their comments, Duke turned back towards the girl. “Would you like to come with me? My house is warm, and we have food,” he tried, unsure of how to speak to her. He didn’t know how to relate to a human, much less a child. The last thing he wanted to do was come off as a creep.
Elora thought about his question for several seconds. She couldn’t think of a reason not to. Her mom had told her someone would help, and Duke’s invitation was tempting. She was hungry and cold, and the thought of not being alone delighted her.
“Cookies?” The orphan asked. She hadn’t had cookies in so long.
“Yes, we have a few sweets Lucifer keeps hidden,” Duke replied, chuckling as he held his large hand out to her. “Ready to go, Elora?”
She hesitantly grabbed it, her whole hand only covering his thumb. Standing up, Elora’s shirt fell below her ankles while Duke towered over her. She liked him much more when he was her height. His friends didn’t exactly help her nerves either.
Letting go of his hand, she reached for Duke. The vampire smiled and scooped Elora into his arms while she marveled over his surprising heat.
She didn’t know it was possible for a person to be anything but cold. Everyone else had felt like ice, but this man was different. As she pressed her little hands to his chest, she couldn’t help but smile. For the first time in forever, she felt warm; she was warm.
Elora
The men were quiet as they walked, Duke still carrying me alongside them. I spent most of the trip to his home–wherever that was–nuzzling into his warmth.
The sun was never out here–no, it was always raining with a cold wind to match. I’d lived in my little box for so long, and I couldn’t remember a time when I wasn’t curled up in a ball next to the building. There was no way I wasn’t going to savor Duke’s comfort.
I didn’t think I’d ever been this cared for, which made me happy.
Much happier than Duke’s friends were; they looked angry. Duke told me their names earlier, but they were too scary for me to talk to quite yet.
“How old are you, Elora?” Duke questioned as he glanced down at me.
Blinking up at him, I held out four fingers. “I’m this many,” I answered but was soon distracted by my own fingers. With my hands placed as close to his face as possible, I began to count each finger. “One… two… three… four.”
“And what’s your favorite color?” Duke asked with a smile.
My favorite color? I looked around at things as we walked, trying to pick one. The stop sign was red, the sky was black, the grass was green, and my shirt was gray.
“What’s yours?” I countered, needing another idea.
He raised an eyebrow at my question. “I like happy colors, yellow, blue, green, pink–”
“I like pink!” I remembered. I knew I had petted a dog with a pink collar long ago, and I liked that. So, it made sense. Pink was my favorite.
My attention was caught by the scariest building I’d ever seen. Eyes wide, my gaze drifted over the bricks and monster statues lining the roof. I shrunk in Duke’s arms, the large structure giving me the creeps.
“Scary,” I mumbled.
Duke bounced lightly. “No, no, it’s not scary. It’s just dark outside,” Duke calmly assured while bouncing me gently in his hold.
I buried my head into his chest, not wanting to look at the spooky castle. “This is where you live?” I whimpered, struggling with a few words.
A door creaked, and the world got quiet. Looking up, I saw a big room with stairs on either side.
Now that we were inside and the wind wasn’t drowning out the sound, I could hear myself breathing.
“It’s where you live now, too,” Duke whispered with a smile.
“Give the kid a bath; I’m tired of smelling her,” Quin snapped, crossing his arms as he stared at me. He had short and tidy brown hair with a sharp, angular face.
Duke glared at Quin before carrying me up the steps. “Do you like bubbles? I don’t have any bath toys for you, but I do have bubble bath,” he asked as we walked into a large bathroom. It reminded me of the ones in pictures I’d seen in newspaper ads.
My eyes were wide as I stared at everything. The room was practically sparkling and way different from the port-a-potty I’d had to use before.
I’d never seen a bathroom like this. It even had a bathtub! The only time I’d been able to clean myself was when a nice old lady had taken me with her to a shelter. Many dirty-looking people were there, and the shower was cold, short, and hard to use. No one helped me, and I could never figure out how to open the soap.
“I’ve never had bubbles,” I murmured, still entranced by the room.
Duke sat me down on the toilet as he messed with the bath, and I was in awe as clear water rushed out of the faucet. The water I was used to seeing was murky and white.
Settling near the tub’s edge, Duke let the water run off his hand.
“You can have all the bubbles you’d like here. And tomorrow, I’ll take you to get clothes that fit you and toys,” he promised.
I grinned, my heart swelling at the thought of having my own toys. I’d always seen pictures of soft things, but I’d never had any for myself.
“My own?” I pressed my hands against my chest, feeling overwhelmed.
He laughed, his chuckle deep and loud. “Yes, I promise none of us will want them. And we can get you your favorite foods, too.”
Sliding off the toilet, I reached into the bath water only to gasp at its heat.
“Is it too hot?” Duke grabbed my hand, a concerned expression stressing his features.
I shook my head, reaching into the tub again and swirling my hand around in the water. “It’s not cold,” I beamed. Was this warm water for me?
Duke exhaled deeply next to me, pouring a bottle of something into the bath. “Of course, it’s warm. You’ll never be cold again, Elora. I promise.”
The water began to bubble slowly until that was all I could see.
“Wow!” I jumped, not knowing how to control my excitement. “So pretty.” I played with the bubbles, clapping my hands together and making them go everywhere.
Smiling, Duke asked if I was ready to go in. I nodded eagerly, wiggling out of my oversized shirt and underwear as quickly as possible. He gently lowered me into the tub, and I couldn’t withhold my excited squeal as the water warmed my skin.
Duke watched and laughed as I played in the sweet-smelling bubbles.
They served as a great distraction when he began to wash my hair.
“You have hair like Rapunzel, you know that?” He questioned in an amused tone despite struggling to detangle my hair.
“Who?” I asked.
“She’s a Princess with very long hair. I think we have the book in our library. I can read it to you,” he answered.
“I like stories,” I hummed as I pushed some suds against my chin, giving myself a silly beard.
The sound of footsteps made me turn to see another of Duke’s friends, Dane, enter the bathroom with some comfy clothes in his hands.
He looked kind, like Duke, while the rest still seemed not so kind. “These should work for tonight until you get her real clothes,” Dane set the clothes down near the bathtub.
Leaning against the counter, the other man stared at Duke. He looked like he had something to say. “Do you really think this is a good idea?”
Duke continued to brush my hair, and I tried to focus back on my bubbles, though I kept looking back at Duke’s friend.
His eyes were red; he must’ve been tired. Whenever I was tired, my eyes got red–at least, that was what Mommy said.
“I do. This will be good for all of us. And her,” Duke said softly.
Dane was quiet for a few seconds, then nodded. “I hope you’re right.”
“Owie!” I cried, feeling Duke tug too hard on my hair. I rubbed the sore spot with a pout. With a finger pointed at my new friend, I spoke again, “That’s not nice.”
Holding his hands up in surrender, Duke chuckled. “I apologize. If you want to look like a Princess, I have to get these tangles out,” he explained and turned me around again.
I looked up at Dane, whose gaze seemed to move between the two of us. Pushing my eyebrows together, I couldn’t help but wonder why he seemed so upset. Maybe I could make him smile! My hands grabbed a giant glob of bubbles and held them out for him to see. “I have bubbles,” I mumbled shyly.
He looked amused, a small smile suddenly tugging at the corner of his lips. “I can see that.”
With a smile, I grabbed more with the full intent of sharing. After all, Mommy did say sharing was caring. “Here,” I chirped as I pushed the bubbles toward Dane. “They will make you happy.”
“I am happy,” he stated, though he seemed surprised. Grabbing my wrists, he placed them back in the tub so that I could continue playing. “Thank you anyway.”
I nodded, stifling a yawn as my body practically begged for a nap. Glancing back at my new friends, I noticed they looked just as tired. “My eyes turn red when I’m exhausted, too.”
Both men laughed, and I could have sworn I heard someone downstairs join in.
“This is going to be an interesting few years,” Dane said with a chuckle as he stood up and walked out the door.
