TO BITE WITH LOVE

MY FATED MATE

CHAPTER 4

“MY FATED MATE”

ALEXI’S POV:

With Dimitri speeding through the streets of Miami, it didn’t take us very long to reach the Club in my Maserati. We wandered in the rear entrance, avoiding the growing line wrapping around the front of the building. We walked through the rear entrance, and I was immediately bombarded by an overwhelming base and strobing lights.

“A good way to have a stroke.” I grumbled as I followed Dimitri inside. He shook his head and slapped me on the shoulder.

“And yet you invested in this.” He grinned. I set my jaw and followed Dimitri as he began snaking his way through the crowds of people.

“I like money, not clubs.” I retorted, although at this point, and noise level, I was sure he had not heard me. We ventured up the stairs to the VIP lounge, where the noise level was a little more bearable, and a mysterious black lighting staged throughout. This was much more to my liking than below where the dance floor was. We saw Karl speaking to a couple men at a private booth in the far corner of the room, the VIP section for the VIP’s. It was roped off to all, however we simply stepped over it, the bodyguard didn’t move as we did so.

“Hey!” Karl greeted us, arms spread wide as he noticed us. He was genuinely happy to see us. I knew this was a big deal for him. His smile was contagious, and I felt myself following suit and we all shook hands. “It’s so awesome that you came to my opening. This is going to be the Crown Jewel of all my clubs. So far, only in the first hour we have surpassed the New York and Chicago clubs for waitlists. It is all very promising.

Karl, like Dimitri, was smiling, beaming brightly from ear to ear. They were always ecstatically optimistic when opening a new club. Karl now had five clubs nationwide, and Dimitri had been to ever opening. And although I had invested in all of them, I had never attended an opening, this was my first. Both men were blonde, Karl sporting a light beach blonde and crystal blue eyes, his jawline was squared and chiseled, and like a Dimitri, a hair was never out of place on these two. Also, like Dimitri, he always invested in the best suits, his wardrobe was meticulous, followed up with regular manicures and pedicures, massages, and salon treatments. Frankly, other than we were all vampires, the three of us had grown so far apart in tastes and behaviors, it was difficult to find the men I had known in my younger years.

“It's great to see you, Karl. Honestly, I had forgotten that today was your opening. Had it not been for Dimitri here I'd be at home working on my computer and nosing through books.” I informed my undead friend as he wrapped his arm around me in a bro style greeting.

“No harm done, you came and are here now. That is all that matters to me.” He chuckled and slapped me on the back. Karl always had a genuinely gay attitude towards everything. He was subliminally happy and carefree. He, like myself and Dimitri, had been born of the undead out of necessity. Karl had been a soldier during World War I and had been wounded in a trench while in France. I had met him during the war, as he was the one that would meet us at the shipyards to garner supplies. We had become close friends during that time. However, one evening, another soldier had come in his stead. When I inquired as to where Karl was, he informed me that he had been seriously wounded while trying to traverse No Man’s land and getting the allies their supplies. I was able to locate him in a local hospital, he was dying from being littered with shrapnel in his chest from a mine. The lead was slowly killing him. He was in agony. I carefully assisted my friend in the dead of night out of the hospital and back to my ship. He was the first and only human I had ever turned.

The one thing I distinctly remember was how angry Doren had been when he found out that I had turned Karl. I never understood why he had been so angry with me. Karl had always kept my secrets, and luckily for humans’ ignorance is bliss. They just didn’t realize how many supernatural beings lived amongst them. Karl had become a stand-up vampire; he had learned to control his blood lust quickly and had become wealthy in a short order of time.

I surveyed my surroundings closely as Karl and Dimitri began conversing. A woman, a highly attractive waitress came and handed us each a glass of Dom Pérignon. I took the flute graciously and scanned the room. I caught a light scent of Madagascar cinnamon, it was spicy, sweet and sultry, causing me to close my eyes and inhale deeply. How odd that scent was lingering here. I casually walked over to the railing looking down onto the dance floor where the loud techno music and pulsating strobe lights eluded the humans below to seem like mere projections. I sighed and returned to my friends, because other than the countless scantily clad dressed women and elaborate showcased men, I could not define where the scent had been coming from.

As I returned to my associates, a young man strolled over to Karl, leaned in, and whispered something to him. I noticed his expression flicker dangerously although after a moment a wide smile graced his face. He nodded to the messenger, then glanced back to me as he pushed a strand of blonde hair away from his face.

“I hear there are some women of rather repute visiting us tonight. They have expressed interest in meeting us. I think we should do our due diligence and formally introduce ourselves. Karl said calmly. The look on his face made me falter slightly, as I watched him closely. He appeared almost hungry, and I wondered why he cared about this particular group of women.

“Are you sure they want a meeting with us?” I asked with my guard up, the hair on the back of my neck raising ever so slightly.

“Of course, they are looking to meet us. Courtney Mathers is Gerald Mathers’s daughter and next to you, my largest investor.” He paused as his eyes flickered a soft orange, then returned to his normal soft blue. “And she brought friends.” I raised my eyebrows at the notable hint of blood lust and felt myself become irritable. Whenever a Vampire was surrounded by this many available humans, it should be prioritized. A starving vampire was a murderous vampire and could easily lose their wits about them and become chaotic. I pulled Karl’s arm, drawing him closer to me.

“Have you eaten lately? Feasting on a socialite is unwise.” I growled threateningly. I was his creator and ultimately, I was responsible for him. He was only 125 years old after all. I watched as he smirked, revealing a hint of a single fang.

“Were all good here.” He slurred at me, and I felt myself grip more tightly on his arm.

“Don’t ever jeopardize us.” I hissed dangerously, and I noticed his confidence reined over to a moment of fear. The large blonde wriggled out of my grasp and slicked back his hair with both palms.

“You worry too much. Relax Alexi and let us go and meet these beauties.” Once again, he smiled with a hint of danger to his expression. “Besides, I have seen pictures of this girl and her friends, it’s like having your own barbie convention.” There was that light chuckle that I was accustomed to, and I felt my shoulders relax somewhat. I noticed Dimitri’s stare, he appeared unsure and took a position beside me as we followed Karl.

“What’s bothering you?” he whispered as we allowed Karl to get ahead of us. I shook my head.

“Does he use these openings, these clubs as personal feeding grounds? To satisfy s****l desires whist catching a quick meal?” I asked my longest and dearest friend with a bitterness no one could catch. I noticed Dimitri falter, after all, he had been privy to all former openings, while this was my first.

“I wouldn’t classify his openings as a free for all.” He defended our friend. However, I was less interested in defending a man, and much more concerned with the truth. Apparently, I was going to be forced to examine the club locations for deaths and disappearances. I was pissed off, and my mood had completely been destroyed. I couldn’t wait to get out of here.

Vampires had a healthy s*x drive, just because we were dead, didn’t mean we were dead if you got my drift. While it was not uncommon for us to take our pleasures on human women, we had to be careful that it didn’t turn into a blood lust drive. The carnal behavior between a blood lust and s****l lust were not that different to a vampire, and it was entirely possible for a vampire to feed on a human during s*x for his or her orgasmic level.

I reluctantly followed Karl, even lumbering behind Dimitri a bit. I had completely lost my motivation to be here. I knew if I left now, Karl would be angry, and Dimitri would be annoyed with me. I slammed down the remainder of the champagne and tossed the glass flute dangerously back to the red leather booth, shattering it once it hit the side of the table. My eyes flickered and I felt my lip curl. I paused for a moment and took a deep breath, calming myself. I didn’t need to lose my cool either. As we reached the opposite end of the VIP section, I noticed a group of women celebrating something at a private booth. Karl raised his hands and smiled, much like he had greeted us. Always a showman I thought cynically. A humble man he was not.

“Ladies!!” Karl exclaimed. I noticed the girls stop and stare with a classic annoyed look. However, the blonde, the one that most resembled Barbie, with equal parts filler in her lips and her ass smiled immediately recognizing him. Her smile was fake, as was the rest of her, but she squealed and mirrored Karl’s raised hands gesture.

“Like omg, Karl darling!! So wonderful to see you.” She purred. My friend glowed even in her fakery making me regret that I was here at all.

“Courtney, you look fabulous. The most stunning woman here by far.” He complimented.

“Well of course.” She agreed playfully swatting on his arm. I rolled my eyes and felt a sharp jab in the ribs from Dimitri.

“Courtney, allow me to introduce you to my closest friends, this is Dimitri, and this is Alexi. They, like your father are also fellow investors.” He advised her, the playfulness receded as he introduced us to her. I noticed the girl step forward to get a better look at us. She seductively placed the tip of her finger to her lips, examining us closely.

“Hmm, not bad.” she muttered, studying us like a piece of steak she was about to consume. I was standing just behind Dimitri, and I noticed as she craned her neck around to get a better look at me.

“Oh my.” She purred, openly gawking at me, furrowing her brows. “I can’t say I have ever seen eyes like that. Contacts?” she asked suspiciously. I felt my lip curl irritably.

“No.” I snapped.

“Hmmm. Well, you could totally be a model. Feel free to give me a call anytime…for anything.” She lowered her voice, a hint of raspiness as she addressed me. I could feel the attraction she had towards me and instantly felt a tinge of disgust.

“I’d rather not.” I growled at her, snagging another flute of champagne as another waiter scurried by. The prefabbed female grunted and rolled her eyes at me, realizing my complete shunning of her as she turned to introduce the women walking up from behind her.

“These are my besties Chandel and Scarlet.” Both girls were made up similarly to Courtney. Even had I been looking for female companionship, these would not be the type I would have gone in search for. The red head identified as Scarlet, was the only one of the three girls that blatantly didn’t have some sort of work done to her body. I curtly nodded to the girls, thinking of ways I could excuse myself and go back home when I caught that unmistakable scent of Madagascar cinnamon once again. I froze and looked up, searching for the scent once more. Courtney noticed my pause and glanced back at the girl taking her place beside Scarlet.

“Oh yeah, this Jade. I almost forgot. It’s just that, well, she rarely comes out.” I felt myself staring once I locked eyes on the rich brunette goddess that stood only feet away from me. That unmistakable scent of cinnamon was coming from her, and I felt my throat tighten as I gulped.

She was beautiful. And she was mine. I recognized her immediately, she was my fated mate. A human girl. I felt my stomach flip and my throat instantly went dry. I felt my hands twitch as a wave of panic and anger engulfed me, causing Jade to slink behind Scarlet. I noticed my beautiful mate’s face pale, and those soft chocolate doe eyes widen in alarm, yet she said nothing. I dropped my eyes immediately, realizing that my eyes had flickered from silver to black. The overwhelming emotion I felt was not something I could hold back. I cursed myself silently. She had already seen too much. Thankfully, no one else had noticed, but she had, because her eyes had been transfixed to my own.

“Excuse me.” I grumbled, spinning away from the group of people. There was no way I was going to safely be able to take a human mate, and although I had always longed for her, it was best if I walked away.

Jade’s POV:

I had no idea that tonight was that night my life would change forever. That a simple glance from a stranger would be my undoing. I had simply sauntered back to the group of women I had come to party with. Although I wasn’t a big fan of Courtney or Chandel, I knew Scarlett cared for them, and I loved her dearly. As I returned from the bathroom, I noticed Courtney, Chandel and Scarlett were intertwined in conversation with a trio of men. The man standing in the front of the other two appeared confident and jovial. He was animatedly expressive, flaying his hands around as he introduced himself. I noticed Courtney counter his flattery, although had not heard the words that had been spoken within the group. The one thing I did notice, was the blatant stare she had given the third man, the dark-haired man who loitered in the back of the three. I noticed clearly that he was less than enthralled to be here. The look on his face was one of annoyance and irritation. I smiled internally; he must feel the same as I.

I made a point to pause and refrain from emerging around the group, that was until the dark-haired man laid his eyes on me.

“Oh yeah, this Jade. I almost forgot. It’s just that, well, she rarely comes out.” He was staring at me, blankly at first, the expression reminded me of a person that couldn’t believe what he was seeing. I stared curiously back at him. Why would he be looking at me like that, I wondered. I noticed his hands twitch and his expression change, causing my eyes to match his, and that’s when I saw it. His uniquely silver eyes flickered black, like ebony, then reversed back to the signature silver. What just happened here! I thought to myself, and I felt a brief wave of terror linger over me. He dropped his eyes to the floor, acknowledging that he knew I knew.

“Excuse me.” he grumbled, spinning away from us hurriedly. I stood beside Scarlett dumbfounded. The man that excused himself was tall, dark, handsome, stereotypically handsome, his ice blue eyes were truly silver, something I had never seen before. I felt transfixed, as I stared at the man in my mind. Why did he leave? Was it something I had done? I lowered my head and bit my lower lip.

“I’m so sorry ladies. I’m not sure what has gotten into Alexi.” The tall sandy blonde man that had been standing nearest to my dark stranger stuttered.” I am going to head out and see if there is anything I can do.” He told us with an obvious forced smile on his face as turned on his heel and quickly departed after his friend.