The Vampire and the Alpha's Son

Intro

I sped across the dark countryside of some nowhere-ville in the middle of Montana. I could tell it was somewhere close to midnight by the position of the moon. I had passed a small town a few miles back, but I hadn’t bothered to stop. As a vampire, there wasn’t much I really needed from such a place. I could eat, but it did nothing for me. I wasn’t in need of blood either. I had found that the older I got, the longer I could go in between feedings, which was a relief. I didn’t much care for hurting humans, so I would avoid it as long as I could. Even when I did have to feed, I tried to make the process as painless and humane as possible.

I pulled out my phone as I ran to check my bank balance. As I was no longer part of any clan or coven, and hadn’t been for quite some time, money was a bit difficult to come by. Not that I needed it for much, but I had come to enjoy the trivial comforts of human life. I didn’t particularly need shelter, but I preferred the privacy and quiet it could provide. Also, occasionally eating food was useful for when I needed to pretend to be human, which also costs money, of course.

I sighed as I looked at my phone. It told me I only had forty-five dollars and sixty-three cents. That would not go very far, which meant it was time to stop running across the country and play human for a little while. While I was running alongside the quiet highway, at a safe enough distance to not be noticed by the occasional driver, I noticed large statues that advertised a casino I had recently passed. They were sparkling white and looked like giant chess pieces. They displayed the insignificant name of the casino and how many miles until the exit that would talk you to it. I decided to double back and try to earn some spending money at this particular venue. After having been a vampire for a hundred and fifty-three years, I had learned a few tricks of the trade and was pretty good at making money this way. However, casinos had only been around for the last seventy or so years.

It wasn’t a very impressive building, as far as casinos go, but the surrounding nothingness made it seem larger and brighter than it really was. I came at it from the side and, feeling too lazy to come around to the front entrance, lept the tall fence in a single bound. I was too fast for their cameras to catch, if they even had cameras. I composed myself before entering the building, smoothing out my clothes and hair to try and make it seem like I hadn’t just been running faster than a jet flies. I entered into a very unimposing reception room where there were a few sleepy and bored looking men of varying ages and shapes. The youngest of three looked up at me in mild surprise and put on his best customer service face as he greeted me.

“Welcome, miss,” he started, his voice oozing with foux cheerfulness, “How may I assist you on this wonderful night? Have you gotten lost out on the highway? Would you like directions?” He seemed to be assuming this was not where I intended to be, probably because I looked very young. I had looked young for my age, even as a human. I should be used to it, but I was annoyed anyway.

“Um, no,” I answered curtly, clearing my throat a little. It had been a while since I last used my voice. “I would like to enter this establishment and partake of its facilities.” I might have laid it on a bit thick so added, “please.”

“I’m so sorry, miss, but you don’t seem quite old enough for gambling,” he replied in feigned sorrow. I could see he was struggling to retain his composure, shocked that what seemed to him to be a pretty little young thing would be interested in the gambling life. “May I please see some ID?”

“Of course,” I answered with the sweetest smile I could muster as I handed it over. This little charade was familiar to me, but it was still exasperating, though I was very skilled by now not to show my irritation.

Moments like these were the very reason I had become close friends with the vampire who made our fake IDs before leaving my coven. He was a computer genius, among many other things, and making exceptional fake IDs was among his plethora of special talents. He already had these skills as a human, which was why he had been singled out by the coven leader to be turned and recruited. It hadn’t been hard to befriend him, as we had both been forced into this life without much consideration for our feelings on the matter. I kept in contact with him over the years, in order to ask for a new ID every few years. He was aware that I was mainly using him for this single service, but he had told me before that he didn’t mind. He was just happy to have someone to talk to who felt the same way about this life as he did.

His name at birth was Jasper, and he had been only eighteen when he was turned, about twenty-two years ago. It was tradition in that coven for a vampire to take on a new name of their choosing as they emerged into a new life, a new family. He had chosen the name Neo, since the Matrix movies had just come out, and he was a computer person. I had found the name choice quite profound, however, since they had both been rudely awoken to a strange and unkind word and could never go back to how things were.

As we were becoming friends, he confided in me that he still preferred to be called Jasper in secret, his last tether to his human life. It was the name his mother gave him, and he loved her immensely. His mother was still very much alive, but in this new and fearsome form he could never see her again. This was what he resented the most. I had been his anchor and his mentor during his first few years of torment and madness and bloodlust.

The vampire name I had chosen was Midnight, but the name on my ID that I handed to the man at the casino showed my human name: Elizabeth. Back in the 1800’s, when I had been born, nearly half the girls in town were named Elizabeth, so even then I had gone by Liz. This nickname is what I was called by humans, when I chose to interact with them long enough to need a name. Among vampires, only Jasper called me by this name. I chose to have my human name on my ID, as it required a lot less explanation. My ID also said that I was twenty-eight, even though I had been thirty-two when I had been turned. As I’ve said before, I’ve always looked younger than my age, so saying I was a few years younger also made things a little easier.The receptionist briefly examined my ID before handing it back to me with an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry for doubting you. I just hate to see a pretty young thing such as yourself get sucked into a life of gambling.” he sighed, unintentionally condescending, as he eyed me up and down.

I was aware of the effect my physique had on human men. I had curves in all the right places, ample breasts, a perfectly plump behind, and thighs that could crush skulls. My hair was jet black and flowed in subtle waves to the middle of my back. My eyes were emerald green but shone an iridescent yellow when caught by a light in the dark. Though his hungry glances filled me with disgust, I knew I could use this to my advantage to get what I wanted from him: access to the predictable systems I planned to expertly exploit.

I turned up the charm as I leaned toward him, revealing a small bit of cleavage from atop my practical button-up flannel. I flashed him a sultry smile, careful not to reveal my fangs, and batted my eyelashes at him as I spoke in a lilting, yet confident voice. “That’s so sweet of you to worry about me. But I’m ok, I know what I’m doing. I’ve done this before.” I lean a little closer as I continue in a near whisper, reaching out to slide my finger down his arm, “Even so, I’ll feel much better knowing someone like you will be here to look out for me.”

My cringe-worthy flirting had the exact effect I was hoping for. He sucked in a quick breath and I could see goosebumps appearing on his arms as his heart rate quickened. He quickly regained his composure. A normal human probably wouldn’t have noticed the change. He sighed in defeat, reluctantly preparing to give in to my requests.