Cursed Vampire's Kiss

1. Micheline Lambert

Micheline Lambert

Suddenly, I sat up from the bed. Sweat poured down my body as my clothes clung to me like Velcro. Every time I closed my eyes, I relived last week’s incident in the Dark Realm where I almost died. I hated to think it, but it seemed like I was getting good at finding myself in life and death situations. The air conditioner vent blasted cool air over my damp skin and goosebumps rose on my arms. Tonight, was just like every other night, sleep evaded me until my exhausted body won the battle.

Tossing the covers aside, I stretched and slipped on my pink velvet robe. Now that I lived in the house with three alpha vampires, walking around in my tee-shirt and panties wasn’t an option. Strolling down the hall, I passed Domenico’s bedroom. The door was cracked so I looked in. He was thrashing around in his bed. His bare chest and dark navy-blue sweatpants were visible against the white sheets.

“Domenico, are you awake?” Leaning against the doorframe, I watched as his body went still, and his eyes opened.

“No, I was asleep. What do you need?” He sat up.

I padded over to his bed and sat down next to him. “It seems like both you and I are having trouble sleeping. Maybe we should talk about what happened in the Dark Realm and get it off our chests.”

Glaring, he leaned over and crossed his arms. “There’s nothing to talk about. It’s pointless to focus on things in the past.”

Biting my lip, I looked away. “I’ve apologized to you several times for what happened. The Shadow King threatened to kill all of you. What was I supposed to do?”

He flinched then stood. “He didn’t make you drug me or come into my bedroom and pretend you wanted me.”

I felt my cheeks get hot.

“I thought I was protecting my sister and getting him away from here. Valen threaten to kill all of you. I didn’t want to be responsible for your deaths.”

Squirming, I glanced at the door behind me, second-guessing my decision to come into his bedroom.

“That doesn’t explain why you drugged me. You came into my room and we kissed. Your kiss held promise. You didn’t need to kiss me to drug me. Why did you do that?”

I sighed. “I drugged you because I didn’t want you to feel obligated to follow me to the Dark Realm. I knew what going there meant for me.”

His eyebrows lifted. “And the kiss. What the heck was that about?”

I stood up. His towering over me demanding answers for these probing questions was too much. “Have you looked in the mirror lately?”

Tilting his head, he studied me. “You never acted attracted to me before. You spent our noticeably short time together sneaking away from me.”

I rolled my eyes. Things between he and I had become glacial. He was cold toward me but what bothered me more was the distance between us. We lived together but it was as if we were separated by a continent.

I’m mourning the loss of my humanity, and now I must deal with his temperamental moodiness too. It’s just too much.

Turning, I walked to the door. This conversation wasn’t getting us anywhere but at each other’s throat. I had apologized so many times until I didn’t know what else to do.

Grabbing my arm, he spun me around. “You didn’t answer my question.”

I looked down at his hand wrapped around my elbow before looking him in the eye. “You’re extremely attractive, and I don’t know why I kissed you. I hadn’t planned on doing that; it just happened. The fact that I didn’t want to be turned into a blood-sucking vampire was nothing personal.”

He dropped his hand. “Don’t look at me like that. That stunt you pulled almost cost me my life. It’s only fair that I asked you why you kissed me. I can feel your emotions rolling over me like warm salty waves. You and I are tied to each other, and our connection is deeper than you realize.”

Frowning, I stared at him. “Wait. How can you feel me, but I can’t feel you?”

Domenico shrugged. “You haven’t fully transitioned into becoming a vampire, so you are not able to do that yet.”

Running my hand through my hair, I glared at him. “It would help if you told me what to expect so that I would know. That is, when you get a moment. I only have the entire world and Shadow Spirits after me.”

“I will teach you. You could’ve started learning a while ago if you hadn’t run off to Earth and almost caused it to fall to save your sister who was never in danger in the first place,” said Domenico.

I snorted. “We aren’t getting anywhere with this conversation. You shouldn’t have turned me if you were not going to train me. I will ask Genziano or Nicenzio to train me.”

Reaching the door, I started padding down the hallway, when he pushed me against the wall.

“I will teach you. Me and me alone. I’m going to work out in the gym,” said Domenico. He pushed himself off me and flew down the stairs.

Like a flash of light, he was gone. Biting my lip, I stomped down the stairs too. Rounding the corner, I stepped inside the chef’s kitchen. After searching all the cabinets and drawers, I took out everything I needed to make red velvet cupcakes.

Some women cry when they are angry but not me, I bake.

Two hours later, and two cupcakes scarfed down my throat, I was still mad. It doesn’t matter that I had run away from him. Humans want to remain human and alive, not be turned into a blood thirsty, soulless woman. That was in the past. I was trying to reconcile myself to the fact that my old life was over and that I was entering a new one as a vampire. However, he didn’t have to be an unreasonable jerk. Opening the pantry door, I took out the mop. After I’ve cleaned and mopped the floors I might feel better.

My eyes felt like someone used sandpaper to scrub my eyeballs. Every second my eyes itched, watered, and felt like gritty debris coated my irises. I hadn’t seen any sign of Domenico and I hoped he was sleeping off his crankiness downstairs.

I need to speak with my sister. Madeleine would understand.

Putting the mop away, I strolled upstairs. It was four in the morning and she was probably asleep. I should be too. It would only be a matter of time before my body would cave under the extreme exhaustion that rode my muscles. Stepping into my bedroom, I flopped on the bed and reached under my pillow for my cellphone.

I gasped. There were five missed calls from Quin. Unlocking my phone showed that he had even sent an emergency text message with the 911 code. Pacing back and forth, I dialed him. His phone went straight to voicemail.

Oh God. What is going on?

Taking a deep breath, I called Madeleine.

Her phone rang. “Hi, you’ve missed me. You know what to do at the beep.”

I left a voicemail. “Hey, are you with Quin? He called me but I missed his calls and I am worried. Call me when you get this message.”

Hanging up, I slipped out of my silk pajamas and donned on my ripped black skinny jeans and a black tank top. I opened the tracking program and tracked Quin’s phone. My steps ceased and I leaned against the wall when I saw his location. He was at Mo’s Bowling Alley.

Why would he go to the place where I was murdered?

Running down the stairs, I slid into the wall and almost tripped on the oriental runner as I sprinted to the basement.

Flinging the door open, I looked around. “Domenico, are you in here?”

Stopping in the middle of the floor, I frowned as a cool draft came in from outside. Sliding my phone in my pocket, I rushed past the mancave to the gym room. Opening the door, I looked around. There was a white towel lying on the leg press machine but there was no sign of him. Walking over, I closed the window, and locked it.

Why would he sneak out of the house? He should’ve let me know he was leaving.

Pulling out my phone, I swiftly called Domenico. Gritting my teeth on the sixth ring, I waited for his voicemail to come on.

“Domenico, where are you? Something’s happening with Quin. I need to go check on him.” Running back upstairs, I walked to the hidden compartment, and grabbed a set of keys. Opening the garage door, I beeped the key fob, and watched which car’s lights flashed. I slid in the canary yellow Ferrari, opened the garage door, and reversed down the driveway.

The night was foggy. The streetlights seemed bright against the thick fog that hovered around. At the stoplight, I squinted to get better visibility. It was hard seeing anything in front of me. I dialed Domenico several more times and left more messages. Drumming my fingers against the steering wheel, I parked down the street from the bowling alley.

Stepping into the shadows against the wall, I tried one last time to reach Domenico. Again, I got his voicemail, so I hung up. The streets were empty and eerily quiet. Quickly running along the side of the bowling alley building, I slipped in through the side door.

Pulling my gun, I crept through the building. The air smelled damp and moldy. The place had been shut down since Leonardo and I died here last month. What the hell was Quin doing here? Coming uninvited to the werewolf’s territory was asking to be torn limb from limb. Creeping past the bowling ball case, I stopped as something shiny caught my eye, lying near the circular booth to purchase bowling shoes. Stooping down I picked up the bracelet. It was a sterling silver bracelet with charms of a unicorn, the Eiffel Tower and a heart. Turning the unicorn charm to the right, my heart sank at the chip on the side.

This was my sister’s charm bracelet. Slipping it into my pocket, I swallowed the hard lump in my throat. The urge to scream their names almost overpowered me. Walking into the room on the right, I gasped.

Quin was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Hot bile rose to my throat as I breathed in the blood-scented air. Stepping over several of his severed body parts, I bent and closed his eyes. His body was almost unrecognizable. If it hadn’t been for the wolf tattoo on his right shoulder and the skull tattoo on his left wrist, I wouldn’t have known who he was.

Silent tears flowed down my cheeks. Quin had taken care of my sister and I since we were in the womb. His death was like losing my parents all over again. Except this time Madeleine and I were on our own. I hoped Quin was smart enough not to come here alone.

Why had you come here Quin? Was Madeleine here?

A loud growl broke through my convoluted thoughts. There was no place to hide in this cramped room. There were growls and snorts heading my way.

Slipping inside a locker, I softly shut it.

Closing my eyes, I prayed that the werewolves couldn’t smell me. They always had a keen sense of smell when it came to tracking humans. Pointing my gun at the locker door, I held my breath. The scent of wet pet dander filled my nostrils. Two. There were at least two werewolves here, and probably more in the building. I waited for them to rip the door off and maul me, but after hearing them sniffing Quin, silent communication passed between them and they rushed out of the room.

Did my scent change now that I’m a vampire?

After thirty minutes, I crept out of the locker. The building was silent, and I didn’t smell any more werewolves, but that didn’t mean they weren’t around. What if Quin had come here trying to protect us from the Shadow Spirits?

Had the Shadow Spirit managed to escape the Realm of Vatakula? Where the hell was Madeleine?

The fog was still thick outside. It was impossible to see anything or anyone. Creeping through the bowling alley, I took the side door closest to the alley where I parked. Soon more wolves would be here.

Running to my car, I slipped inside. If the Shadow King had found his way to Earth, I needed to get to my sister before he did. Luring Quin out of the house and killing him meant that my sister would be at home unprotected.

Parking a block from the house, I ran through the woods. Climbing a tall oak tree, I jumped from tree to tree, just like I did when I was little. Reaching the tallest tree, I jumped from the longest limb to my bedroom window. All the lights in the house were off. There was no sign of her inside.

I hope I’m not too late. Please don’t be here.

Sliding the window up, I crawled inside. Strong hands wrapped around my waist and a hand went over my mouth. Bucking against my attacker, I was lifted off the floor like I weighed five pounds. My vision blurred as adrenaline surged through me causing my body to shake like a leaf in a tornado.