Page 9 of Royal Bite
Stormey turned her attention back to the menu once Cecilia disappeared from her table. Everything sounded good, but she needed to stay within her budget. When Cecilia returned, she had her decision made and placed her order.
Her anxiety was rising. She peered down at her watch and saw that it was time for the news. She glanced back over to the television, and the opening credits were rolling. Stormey wiped her hands on her leggings and reached for her water. She pushed her lemon in it, picked out a few sugar packets from the table, and put them in. She chuckled as she took her spoon and mixed it together. She sipped then settled back and turned her attention to the television.
The anchors were discussing the latest string of robberies and investigations. None of this appealed to Stormey, but she knew they had a job to do to inform the public of the latest happenings in their city and across the nation.
One of the stories caught her attention.
“Another lycan sighting has been reported,” the male anchor announced.
Stormey inhaled sharply. She leaned forward to listen better. She was terrified at the thought of encountering one of these wolf shifters. Nothing she had heard was good about them. Between rogue vampires and lycans, she didn’t know which would be worse.
“Tom Jones has more on this story. Tom?”
The picture cut to older bald gentleman standing outside. He and the camera crew appeared to be in one of the public parks.
“Thanks, Michael.” The camera swung around and focused on Tom. “We are here where multiple people have stepped forward claiming to have seen lycans. Now we all know from mythical tales that lycans are beings who can shift into a beast. A ferocious wolf who is larger than their natural counterparts and is extremely dangerous.”
“Can these lycans be identified from regular wolves?” Michael asked.
“Oh, most definitely. These shifters are three to four times the size of a regular wolf and will attack at will. Allegedly, their bite is infectious and can pass on the virus that will turn a human into one of them.”
Gasps went around the diner. Stormey’s eyes grew wide at the announcement. She took another sip of her free lemon water and couldn’t take her eyes off the screen.
“Has this been confirmed?” Michael asked.
This same question was on the tip of Stormey’s tongue. She knew vampires could turn humans, but it wasn’t off of one single bite.
Word on the street was the human would have to be on the brink of death, bleeding out, and then would have to drink from the vampire. She had heard multiple stories that the drinking of vampire blood was only the beginning of the process. She had read conspiracy theories that said the human would need a full blood transfusion of vampire blood, or the vampires had a venom in their bite that they called forth that would initiate the change. There were so many stories floating around that Stormey didn’t know what to believe. She didn’t know anyone who had been changed into a vampire.
“We are waiting to hear confirmation from the Centers of Disease Outbreaks and the Vampire Caucus. As soon as we have word, we’ll share. Back to you, Michael.”
“Here you go, dear.” Cecilia returned with Stormey’s food. She placed a plate with honey butter chicken, biscuits, and a side of broccoli.
Stormey couldn’t help the splurge. This was her celebratory meal for finally being called down to the government lab. She had a good feeling deep down inside. This would be the last night she would have to worry about money and food.
She was going to be drafted.
She just hoped her vampire wasn’t too old and would be welcoming to her. Maybe they could start out as friends and it could grow into something more. Stormey was optimistic that everything was going to work out.
“Thank you.” Stormey’s stomach grumbled. The food looked amazing, and she was happy that she had decided to come out to eat. Whatever she would have scraped together at home wouldn’t be anything like this.
“Let me know if I can get you anything else.” Cecilia rushed over to another table.
Stormey dug into to her food. The taste exploded onto her tongue. It was delicious and everything she had hoped it would be. She turned her attention back to the news. She was growing impatient. Why didn’t they do the draft at the beginning of the show to get it over with? She couldn’t be the only person interested in seeing if they matched with a vampire.
“Good evening, America. Here are your nightly draft picks.” A beautiful brunette came into view on the television. The news broadcast was interrupted by the draft.
Stormey dropped her fork down and crossed her fingers. She sent up a prayer that she would hear her name called. Her heart raced while her leg bounced.
Would she hear her name?
A man’s name and photo came onto the screen. It had to be his photo from his registration at the lab. Another photo was shown, and a name was read. This time it was a young woman. They continued revealing photos and names.
Stormey Jaymes.
Her photo appeared on the screen.
Stormey bit back her excited scream. She felt eyes turn to her. She blinked a few times in disbelief. The odds of being drafted was one in a million.
