Page 10 of Shut Up and Bite Me

The first bid is announced over the speaker, pulling me from my thoughts. “We have five thousand from Juliet.”

If there are ever duplicate named attendees, they are addressed by first and last initial. If by chance those are the same, then the full name is read.

“Six thousand for Holland. Do we have seven thousand?”

Jason pauses, waiting for another bid.

“Going once. Going twice. Alex goes to Holland.”

We clap, even though only the booths directly beside us can hear. But it’s tradition, after all.

Six thousand isn’t bad for the first bid. Typically, people hold off bidding at all, wanting to see who the options are first. And thankfully, there’s a written rule about the amount that goes to the human.

The vampire’s bidding amount is a donation to the local council to use for the good of their community. The bidding amount is never known by the human. The money they receive comes from the vampire themselves, amounting to a minimum of one hundred thousand dollars. They can give as much as they want, but it has to at least meet that requirement.

There are no secrets during the Culling between the vampires and the humans. We both know what we are here for and what benefits exist for both parties.

Vampires can participate in tonight’s event, or they can choose a human on their own outside of the Culling, but the arrangement must still be reported to the council by October third, two days following our auction.

For the past one hundred and thirteen years, I have done it that way. I choose someone in need of the funds, and I arrange it outside of the auction, keeping my deals private from wandering, malicious eyes that tend to follow me.

As one of the founding members of the High Council, it comes with its advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages being that everyone else wants to know who I feed off.

They want to target those people for themselves, discover why I choose them, and to be frank, my favor puts them at risk. Not just at risk from the vampires who follow the rules but from the ones who don’t,especiallyfrom them.

My bloodlings don’t even enter my home; they haven’t for many, many years. Instead, I meet them at various locations during feeding weeks, never the same place twice. Our arrangement is strictly business. No talking. No getting to know one another. I drink, I leave.

Maybe I overestimate my own importance, but I’d rather that than put the human in harm’s way for doing me a favor.

The next individual is brought out onstage, a pretty brunette woman. Jason reads her card, and within moments, her bidding is over, and she is replaced by the next human. This cycle repeats itself over and over as a new potential bloodling is introduced and won in the auction by a vampire.

The next hour goes by in a blur of bids and celebrations of pairings. Human after human.

No one piques my interest, although even if they had, I wouldn’t have bid. I don’t participate in the Cullings. I never have. It’s too dangerous for the human.

They may be under my protection for the two-week stay. No one would dare touch them while they were mine. But afterward, when they went back to their normal life, I wouldn’t be able to save them from the dangers that would follow. And I know from experience that they would.

Sitting up in my chair, I set my empty wineglass down and anticipate the arrival of the next human to the stage.

The back of my neck tingles, and a shiver runs down my spine as I take a deep breath, every fiber of my being recognizing the delicious scent the second it breaches my nose.

It’s intoxicating. Invigorating. It makes every nerve in my body stand on end, begging to be touched. My shoulders shimmy as a shiver runs through them, remembering last night and the hot man behind the curtain.

God, the way he looked at me, the way he touched me…it was like he saw deep inside of me, down to the core. He saw the loneliness, the fire, the rage, every part of me, and pinned me against the wall anyway.

I haven’t felt anything like that…ever. I’ve had my fair share of romance over the years and thoroughly enjoyed my time. When you don’t need sleep or to regain your stamina, the options are endless, and I explored almost all of them. Aside from spending time with my vampire friends, I stick to the shadows and the confines of my home.

Last night was unexpected. I should have left him alone, but I couldn’t help it. Something deep within me called out to him. I was drawn to him, desperately needing to discover more. Being with him was like touching a live wire, and my entire being jolted back to life. And fuck, I want to feel it again. I was hoping to find him after tonight. I was going to search this entire city, looking for his scent. Every building, every street, every alley. But he found me first.

And in the worst possible place.

Did he know what I was last night when he kissed me? Did he come here searching for me?

“This is Greyson. He loves to play the piano in his spare time and is currently studying finance at the University of Saint Eldritch. He has O negative blood type. He prefers to date women.”

Fuck.

Fuck.

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