Page 36 of Blood Lust

A semi-timid-looking man in the corner is nursing a beer, and his eyes keep flicking over to our table. I meet his eyes and offer a wink, suppressing a giggle when a blush creeps up his neck and into his cheeks. He points to himself like he isn’t sure I mean him and even adorably tries to make sure nobody else is beside him that I can be signaling instead.

Maybe this won’t be as difficult as I think. Charlee made me look fierce for a reason. Allowing myself to run with it and try to fake it ‘till I make it, I rise to my feet. Never taking my eyes off the embarrassed man, I stride over as confidently as I can. Shoulders back, my head high, I tilt it with curiosity. When I am standing directly in front of him, I smirk. His heart is beating fast, and he smells sweet, like pastries and chocolate.

“Hi,” I say flirtatiously, inviting him to speak with me.

He gulps. Lean and tall, with no natural muscle to speak of, his golden hair is a bit too long in the front. It keeps getting in the way of the top of his glasses, making him try to move it from his face with a futile effort. He offers a nervous smile back at me, “Hi.”

Now what?

I may be pretending to be the confident goth goddess that Charlee naturally is, but I still don’t know what to do. Do I say, ‘Hey, bruh, can you hook me up with a bite to eat?’ I don’t know how to compel him, but I also don’t know if he will be brave enough to follow me back to my seat. I suppose it is my only real option, though. “Care to join my friends and me,” pointing my thumb over my shoulder, and I watch his eyes grow wide. I could only imagine the tangle of limbs the three women were now.

“They seem rather busy.” His blush deepens.

“That they do,” I pretend to look back. “I’m Wren. What’s your name?”

“Luke.”

“Well, Luke,” I look him in the eye and feel something.

Compulsion.

The other Wren is whispering in my ear again. I don’t trust her entirely, but compulsion is something Charlee and Oz have both mentioned to me as a standard skill all vampires have. Is that what this feeling is?

“Come with me outside then,” I said, feeling a weight in my voice that hadn’t been there before. I see something shift in his eyes, and I feel what seems to be his very will become mine. I know I have him.

See? I can help.

Irritated at her for being right, I inwardly grimace. So she helped me with this one thing that doesn’t erase what happened before.

“Okay,” He says, no longer blushing, no longer shy. He is merely willing to do as I ask. Taking him by the hand, I lead him to the back where Charlee smiles and winks at me.

“Want me to come with you?” A knowing look in her eyes tells me she thinks I have a handle on this. I am inclined to agree.

“I think I’m okay, but keep an ear out?” Biting my lower lip, I’m not sure this will work easily, but I am hopeful for the first time in days.

“Absolutely,” She says before nuzzling her face back into Danielle’s neck, I can hear a distinct slurping sound.

I lead Luke out the side door to the alley and press him against the wall. He is pliant, trusting, and unafraid. Had fear set me off the last time? He seems almost empty. It must be the way I compelled him. Charlee’s humans are beguiled in a way that they lust for her attention. I’m not interested in a fake romance with a human. I just want him to survive this.

Stepping forward, I lean into Luke and take a deep breath. That sweet smell clings to him, and my mouth begins to water. So far, so good. Pulling back slightly, I look into his eyes, feeling that tether to me that is already present and tugging on it again. “I am going to bite you,” I tell him. “It will not hurt, you will not be afraid, and you will not remember anything about tonight.”

“I’m not afraid, and I won’t remember,” he agrees, his voice strangely devoid of emotion.

Luke is hollow.

Unnerved by the strangeness, I try to tell if my other self is stirring. She seems docile for the moment, not drawn out by the prospect of feeding. Score one for eating beforehand.

Relieved that she is absent, I line my teeth up to Luke’s neck, feeling the pulse coming off of him, teasing me like a freshly baked pie that has to cool before cutting. I moan at the deliciousness of his scent as the wind blows. My hair is a fluttering curtain around us. The smell of cigarette smoke and hops fills the air, and I step back from Luke.

My focus snaps toward the alley opening, where a man is walking. He has a pharmacy bag in one hand, an arm in a sling, and he is talking on his phone to someone.

“Luke,” I command my friend from the bar. “Wait here for ten minutes and then go inside and forget all about me.” I can’t wait to hear his agreement. Instead, I creep to the alley entrance with the stealth of a cat. My body is moving on instinct. I am hunting.

Waiting until he is a fair ways ahead of me, I follow on the sidewalk, about thirty feet behind him, my eyes locked on his back.

Mine.

The other Wren is stirring. The thrill of the hunt pleases her. I shove her to the back of my mind, ignoring her persistence. I imagine the stances Chandra and I have been working through. I imagine controlling every inch of myself, including my mind.

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