Page 39 of Newly Undead in Dark River

Walker effortlessly maneuvered the BMW down the dark, twisty roads of middle-of-nowhere Alberta, as fast as the sportscar could go. His reflexes were impeccable, and we were all used to going so fast that the sportscar was almost hilariously slow. But I enjoyed the quiet purr of the engine, and the comforting smell of the leather, anyway. Quicker than would have been humanly imaginable, the lights of Calgary were in sight.

“Does the ‘no biting’ rule apply outside of Dark River?” I asked, wondering if Walker was here in his capacity of Sheriff as well as a babysitter.

“Yes. Though not quite as strictly enforced,” he said begrudgingly. “While we promote abstinence completely, we understand that sometimes accidents happen. As long as you don’t drain anyone dry and cover your tracks well, then it will be forgiven. Out here, you are under the purview of the Vampire Nation rules. If you fuck up, it won’t be just me you are answering to. It’s the Enforcers as well.”

Again, the word Enforcer was a conversational anvil, quieting the chatter from the backseat. These guys must be some seriously scary mofo’s if saying their name was like saying Beetlejuice one too many times. I really needed to look into the Vampire Nation again, and Enforcers. These were my people now, and living in blissful ignorance wasn’t going to cut it.

We parked at the lowest level of an underground carpark, and as I unfolded myself from the front seat of the sports car, I couldn’t help but notice how Walker’s eyes took in the long line of my exposed legs. Exposed because Ella had given me a dress that was basically a long t-shirt. It sat just under my ass cheeks, and I would never, ever have considered wearing it as Mika.

But Mika was dead, and I put it on, along with the expensive hooker heels, and owned it. Now, seeing the heat in Walker’s eyes, I was glad I owned it.

Cresta linked arms with me and dragged me along. I’d forgotten to tell Walker about Cresta’s mind-wiping abilities, but I pushed the thought down. Cresta wasn’t my maker/tormentor. She was a friend, and tonight I was out with people who liked me and wanted what was best for me. So I was going to enjoy the night, forget that my psycho maker was out there somewhere trying to passively kill me, though at the rate they were spiraling, probably aggressively kill me in the end. I was going to pretend to be a twenty-something human who just wanted to dance with cute boys, drink vodka that wouldn’t work on me anyway and have some fun.

When we got to the club, the line zig-zagged down the pavement for three blocks.

The sound knocked me like a physical force. And the smell. So much blood. So many heartbeats that thrummed in my ears like a siren’s song.

“I’ll take her from here, Cresta,” Walker’s low voice said from behind me, and he tugged me back to his side. He tucked me tight against his body in a move that would have seemed almost affectionate, if I didn’t know he was just keeping me close in case I decided to go rabid.

I looked at the end of the line as the three vampiresses in front of me just strode straight past. They walked right up to the bouncer, who was looking at them like his eyes were about to fall out of his head.

I stared and tried to judge what he was seeing. If I looked at them as they were right now, all shiny and otherworldly, although a human wouldn’t know that, they were a bit awe-inspiring. Cresta’s hair was huge, her skin was golden, and her curves made her look like a bombshell. Ella looked like a model, straight up, and Angeline looked like a wet dream. I definitely couldn’t blame the bouncer.

He opened the rope, and we all strode in like rockstars, right past the coat check, because we didn’t really feel the cold anymore.

“Well, I can tick that off the bucket list,” I said to Walker, though the girls could hear us too. “I always wanted to walk into a nightclub, like I was a celebrity. I think that the closest I was going to get.”

“Never say never, Sweetie,” Cresta said over her shoulder and then squealed. “It’s been so long! How long has it been, Angie?”

Angeline bit her lip, and if anyone had been looking close enough, they would have seen her fangs. “I think the last time was ‘78?”

Ella looked dreamy. “Disco. What a time.”

I laughed. Looking at their outfits, I wasn’t so sure they’d left disco too far behind. I concentrated on just Walker’s scent, his slow pulse that was so different in comparison to the warm thrum of blood rushing through the club. I breathed through my mouth slowly and gripped Walker tighter.

“You got this, Raine. You have amazing control for a newbie. Brody is proof of that.”

He was right. If I could stop myself with Brody, whose blood was like an orgy in my mouth, then a few humans should be fine. We walked to the bar, and Ella was pawing hot young guys like she’d been in a nunnery for thirty years. Considering she’d never said anything about having a bed partner, maybe she had been?

We got to the bar, and Angeline ordered five Bloody Mary’s. Even though I was strung tighter than a g-string on a sumo, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Really. Now we really are playing into the cliche.” But I still gulped down a massive mouthful.

Ella walked over to a couch, where three kids who looked like they were high, or hipsters, were lounging as if clubbing was so basic and they were only here ironically.

“Move,” she said pleasantly. One scowled and opened his mouth to argue, but instead he just nodded and left, and the other two followed, confused looks on their faces.

“Ella has compulsion. As her ability, I mean,” Walker whispered in my ear. I stored that little factoid away in my brain as well. I wonder if she could only compel humans, or if she could compel other vampires.

I wondered if she could use it to feed on humans, whether they’d just offer themselves up as sacrificial lambs? I wasn’t sure if I was envious or disgusted by the idea. Maybe a little bit of both, which was basically how my life went now. The constant war between my human sensibilities and the predator's needs.

No sooner had we sat that Angeline was standing again, dragging everyone onto the dancefloor. Walker just laughed and shook his head, but he moved to the edge of the dancefloor to watch. “Relax, Sheriff. We’ll watch Raine. You don’t have to be so uptight all night,” Cresta said, laughing as she swayed to the music, kicking her legs out in a discordant rhythm that was as funny as it was oddly mesmerizing. I downed the rest of the Bloody Mary that was still clutched tightly in my hand and joined the circle of the dancers. I didn’t know what it was about a group of dancing women, but all too soon guys were swarming the four of us. A guy danced behind me, his arms at his sides, completely respectable. My eyes looked around wildly for Walker, and as I met them across the dancefloor, I felt better. I danced back against the guy, enjoying the flood of music and pheromones. One song turned into another, then another and the vampire in my blood decided that this was some kind of primal release. Not as good as blood or sex, but there was something similar in the way your body just moved without thinking, the way it rolled with the people around you.

It was hard to pick the moment when it turned though. Whether it was the third or tenth or thirtieth song. But one minute I was dancing with a different guy, the third or fourth of the night, and another one joined in and rubbed his hand across my ass, and that was it. The predator snapped.

My body whipped around of its own accord, even as my eyes searched for Cresta or Ella or Angeline. I couldn’t see Walker, but my body was wrapped around the guy in an instant, my teeth to his throat. I pulled hard at the reins of my control, drawing back, so my aching fangs didn’t pierce the skin, even though they skittered along the surface. I stumbled backward, inhumanly fast, hoping that no one noticed that I was moving at a frantic, preternatural pace as I ran from the dancefloor.

I banged into a guy, almost knocking him over, trying to escape the club. My hand whipped out and caught him, the heat from his skin searing my flesh as I let go as quickly as possible.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” I mumbled, trying not to think how good he smelled. I ran past him toward the exit, ignoring whatever he yelled after me.

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