Secrets of His Rejected Mate

ATTACKED BY A VAMPIRE

"What do you want?" Rain asked as Helios walked up to her. The night was dangerous, but Helios looked even more dangerous. He was a perfect temptation. Must he always look this good? She swallowed, maintaining her stance, and hoped her face wasn't crimson. When he came close enough, she wished she'd had a drink before coming outside.

"To take you home."

Her eyes flared up and she looked sharply at him. His face held a sinister smile and she tried to concentrate more on her resentment towards him. What did he just say about taking her home? She made sure her curiosity showed in her eyes. She arched a brow at him.

As if he read her mind, he raised his hands in surrender and took a step back. "Woah, I feel responsible for your situation—I mean you are stranded." he gestured towards her. "So, I thought I should take you home since I am the reason."

If she didn't know him, she would have thought him a very thoughtful man, maybe her heart would have fluttered. But she knew him well enough to know he was only flirting with her. But she didn't even trust herself enough to keep standing there waiting for this tempting offer he was making. She would like to seat alone with him in the car and maybe chat a little, besides, she was feeling so alone, and walking home alone scared her these days. She wasn't going to give in to this man again. She looked away from him so that his eyes won't charm her and walked around him.

"Thank you, I can find my way home." She overcame the tempting thought.

He grabbed her arm and brought her to halt, then he turned to face her fully. "Come on, don't be so hard-headed. I just want to help."

"I don't need your help!" she snapped, snatching her hand away from him. She said that out loud but her heart wanted him to persist, she wanted to climb into the comfort of that black sleek car of his park at the corner. "I can find my way home, I have been doing it for years, with or without my scooter, so back off!"

He pulled away and raised his hands again in surrender. His face didn't even show any signs of disappointment. "I was just trying to help. You might have been hitching a ride home ever since, but it could be dangerous and my car is more comfortable and safe."

"Really? You want me to believe I am safe with you? How will I know that when I don't even know you?"

This was his chance to disarm her. "Come on, pretty, I know you know me more than you are willing to say. Maybe our paths have crossed before, but I guess it wasn't on a really good note."

She was getting more confused. She has been thinking he was pretending not to know her or maybe she was just being blind. There was no sign of recognition in his eyes and she wondered what must have happened that he forgot her so much. She changed a lot but her face was still the same. He changed too but she still recognized him. She was somehow enjoying the attention he gave her, so she wouldn't want him to remember her, he might reject her again. Who was she kidding? He was never going to accept her as a human. Why was she even thinking about all of this? Helios was her past and it would remain that way. If he never wanted her then he wouldn't want her now. But this time, she would be the one to reject him.

"I don't know you," she blurted, avoiding his gaze, afraid to look at his face, she knew he was still watching her and the spike in her heart might become something more fatal.

"I am the safest person you can be with right now."

Who does he think he is? She wouldn't fall for his words any longer. Anger burned in her and she looked up at him clinging to that anger as his eyes bored into hers. "What do you want from me? I am not going to sleep with you, so find the next stop."

"Hey..."

"You have been stalking me for a while now and I will be forced to report you if you don't stop following me around."

"I was just trying to help..."

"And I told you, I don't need your help. I have been living before you came here and I have been okay. I don't need help that comes with conditions."

"Conditions? Who said anything about conditions."

"As I said earlier, I will not sleep with you, since you want me to spell it out for you that way." She expected him to flare up, she expected his eyes to change colours, to full black or whatever shade they turn to when wolves are mad but he sent her a charming smile. The smile made her heart thump so loudly that she barely heard the next words she spoke. "Just leave me alone, Mr. Castillo." With that, she stomped away, not sure she would be able to resist him if she stood there another second.

He didn't go after her, he stood there, staring at her until she was standing by the sidewalk, waiting for a ride to hitch back home. Suddenly, a truck pulled up in front of her and she went in without looking back. Something about the truck was unsettling, it didn't sit right with him. But he sighed and shrugged. He shouldn't interfere with her affairs again. She had already accused him of stalking her and threatened to report him if she sees him again. He was to stay low here until he completed the mission that has brought him and his brothers to this city. He strolled back to his car, got in, and pulled out of the parking lot in no time.

~~~~

Mr. Jameson has always been her and Jenny's saving grace. He worked at a factory in town and was always going home around the time Jenny and Rain went home. They were more acquainted now and chat a lot whenever he was driving them to the junction where they would find their way home, while he takes the next road to his house. Rain knew Mr. Jameson and his family well. He has a lovely wife and three children, who were all fond of her. But something about Mr. Jameson seemed off tonight. First, it was not his usual truck, it was a new truck and he pulled up just in time to pick her up as if he had been lurking somewhere, waiting for her to finish her discussion with Helios, and then he had come earlier than expected. They finished earlier that night, because of the promises Claudia had made her and Jenny make. If not for wanting to get far away from Helios as quickly as possible, she would have declined to go with Mr. Jameson tonight, after all, she had enough money with her.

"Mr. Jameson, you got a new truck?" she asked.

"Oh, yes," Mr. Jameson replied sharply. He was moving a bit too over the speed limit and Rain knew Mr. Jameson was never a reckless driver.

He wasn't so chatty tonight and appeared as if he was in a hurry. She knew he was a chatty person and loved talking with her. He has not even asked about Jenny. The first thing he does whenever Rain was hitching alone. "Are you okay, Mr. Jameson? Did something happen at work today?"

He glanced at her. "I am fine, why?"

"You seem a little quiet tonight, I mean it's unlike you."

Mr. Jameson guffawed loudly, and Rain's brows furrowed into a frown. "I am fine it's just work stuff, you know..."

"And you got a new truck?"

"Oh, yes. You know how rickety the old one is." He seem to increase the car, as the night air tossed Rain's red hair about.

"Mr. Jameson, I am glad you got a new truck and you want to taste the road but do you want to get us killed?!" Rain yelled over the breeze that was pushing into the car as it sped forward.

"Come on, there are no other cars on the road and I need to get back to my wife."

Mr. Jameson never uses 'my wife' for Mrs. Jameson, it was always 'my baby girl ' or her name Joanne. Rain knew immediately that she was in some kind of trouble. From every indication, the man sitting beside her was not Mr. Jameson, but he had the face and the looks of Mr. Jameson. If he wasn't Mr. Jameson, then who was he? Vampires have the ability to shape-shift into another person. But what would a vampire want with her?

She slowly took her phone out of her pocket, hiding it, making sure the man didn't see her. She opened her chat with Jenny. Luckily, she was online.

'Hey, Jenny,' she typed.

'Hey, you. Are you back home yet?'

'No, I am in this new truck with Mr. Jameson, heading home, but something seems so different about him.'

'Which Mr. Jameson? I met him and his wife earlier at Drake's and he was a bit sick, so he didn't go to work today. Where are you?!'

Even though it was a text, Rain could feel the anxiety building up in Jenny. What was she going to do?

'Rain! are you there? Do something quickly, try to distract him, it's a blood-sucking vamp. Make sure you fight him. Drake and I will be there in no time. Turn on your GPS so I can find you!"

Rain's hands were already shaking and the howling of the wind suddenly sounded eerie to her. This was why her mom has always warned her against staying out late. But this vampire didn't meet her by chance, he must have planned this whole thing. Why her? She turned on her GPS like Jenny had requested and turned to look at the man on the wheel.

"Stop!" she yelled. At that instant, she considered that it might be Tyler, the vampire boy, who was pursuing her. Maybe he just wanted to play tricks on her and get some alone time. God help him if he was the one because she was going to break every bone in his body. She would make sure he heard them crack.

"What's the matter, are you alright?" he asked, glancing at her and turning back to the road.

"I know you are not Mr. Jameson! Stop this damn car or..."

The man brought the car to an abrupt stop, the tires screeched on the gravel, tossing Rain forward, but the seat belt held her in place. She quickly unstrapped the seat belt and opened the car door. The man just watched her as she left and she knew why. Vampires move very quickly and if he was really a vamp, he could just appear in her presence. She walked faster, knowing she was slow, but she was walking fast. She turned to look at the car, the man was still seated there. Tears stung the corners of her eyes. She should have listened to Helios. He might be a casanova, but she would have been safe with him. She had never had an encounter with a vampire who wanted to suck blood, especially not her blood.

She looked away from the car and turned front only to come face to face with a younger man with dark features. She hasn't seen him before.

"Hello, Rain." He grinned at her and she saw his fangs.

She turned her back to him to walk the other side, but he was standing there in front of her. The tears strolled down now. She was helpless, the bones in her body were all weak now. How long was she going to be able to hold off this fast creature? How long was it going to take for Jenny and Drake to get here? How long was it going to take before this blood-sucking vampire sucked her blood? Was she going to turn into a vampire? Was the sun going to be able to burn her skin soon?

The young man quickly put his hand around her throat; before she knew it, her back was gummed to a tree bark. He looked into her eyes, still grinning and his fangs so visible, it made Rain shudder.

"What do you want?" she asked, but her voice came out in a whisper.

"You have something I want."