History Repeats Itself

Chapter 5 – Bite Slaves

Xander stared at her, so many more questions came to mind. But, then again, she gave up a lot of information. Not that it seemed like they were some big secrets, maybe just more unknown. His eyes glanced back at the building. No, not unknown, just unknown in certain crowds. “What else can you tell me about your life?” He wasn’t sure why he asked that in particular though. f**k, he wasn’t sure what she would even say. Maybe a lot of Hollywood was wrong, and these creatures weren’t ages old.

He honestly had no clue how old she was, but he would guess she had quite a few years on him. She glanced up at the night sky, and he looked as well. He figured they still had a couple of hours left till sunrise. And he had already asked a friend to clock him out, so he didn’t have to leave her, a thought he didn’t like, and couldn’t figure out why.

“I guess that could be a loaded question. Is there something special you want to know about?” she asked, glancing at him with a look he couldn’t quite peg.

“I’m going to assume you have quite a few years on me here, and tonight’s death wasn’t normal, so tell me about what you do see, what’s normal?” She smiled before turning around.

“Walk with me. It’s getting late and I need to head to my car. Hopefully, I can find another bite before I head home.” She chuckled before she shrugged. “I thought you were going to ask me how old I was.”

“No, my mother told me that is not a question you ever ask a lady, no matter how badly you want to know.”

“Time for us is not the same thing. If I had to peg it, somewhere over 270 years old though. Trust me, after a certain age, you just lose count. Birthdays don’t mean anything other than pang as to what you lost.”

“You get to choose in being a vampire though, don’t you?”

“Of course, you do. We don’t force anyone, at least not in this day and age; might have been different many centuries ago. But still, there are no adequate words for explaining how lonely this life can get, how hard it is to deal with the same thing day in and day out. Sure, some of us are richer, have jobs, and do more, but that still doesn’t break up the fact that many of us are centuries old.” She paused and he watched her. She had more on her mind, but he could also feel her close up.

“You look good for your age.” She rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t stop the smile. “I’m going to assume being that old, you’ve seen a lot happen in your lifetime, especially working for the council.”

“I’ve seen my fair share of life. Death is death, no matter what or how. It’s final, it’s harsh, it’s brutal. Your form of punishment is a lot nicer than ours, though. It gives someone a lot more time to think, to say any peace that needs it; within themselves or to others. Once the crime is committed, for us, you’re taken into custody, stand before the council, and sentenced. Literally, it’s all within a twenty-four-to-forty-eight-hour deal.

“There is no time for remorse or for repenting, not that one gets that.” She paused and sucked in a breath. “I’ve witnessed the executions. Of course, from the safety of enclosed buildings. Usually, a vampire is brought out to stand outside right before the sun’s rays peek over the horizon, and within mere seconds, the skin is fried and the vampire is turned into ash. It’s a painful, brutal, way to die, but it’s quick. However, that type of death, death by ice, I’ve never seen, but vaguely recall hearing about it.” He was quiet as was she. She couldn’t even count anymore how many of those she had seen throughout her long life. And compared to many other vampires around her, she was still a baby.

“Does being decapitated work for death?” Jade cleared her throat and shrugged.

“Can’t say. Never saw anyone pull it off. You have to be fast to be able to do that to a vampire and it’s just unlikely. And a law we have is no killing of each other, for no reason. We do not take that into our hands and that is a law any one of us will follow.” She tilted her head before shaking it and he wanted to ask what she had thought of, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t give him any more details.

“So, still hungry?” he asked, and she glanced at him, smiling and he caught the hint of the fang again. And he could admit he was curious about the feeling behind it. Was it so pleasurable to be fed upon like it was made out to be?

“I don’t feed nearly as much as I do or should. The bite I had tonight is not nearly enough, it’s more like a snack.”

“Why?” he questioned.

“I don’t have a regular donor which makes feeding a little more difficult.” But before he could ask any more, because that statement opened a whole new world of questions he had, and not all were innocent enough to ask a person he just met. “Enough about me. What about you here? You do not look like a typical cop.”

“Probably the furthest thing I wanted to be when I was growing up. I had my whole college mapped out to be some star football player. Could run like crazy and hold onto a ball as if my life depended upon it. In my senior year of college, when I was just months from being drafted, our playoff game was huge and there was someone gunning for me. I took a hell of a tumble and it cost me my dream.”

“Makes sense,” she told him. And it did. The build he had would go along with what he said, and she could see it. She could also see him having gone far if he still maintained some type of workout to keep the muscles he had. She also wouldn’t deny that she wished she could see more. “So, cop was the fallback?”

“Had quite a few members of my family who had taken on the badge, I thought it would be great to add my name to that list. My dad was proud, but he had wished the football dream too.” Xander shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I loved football but I’m glad I had something else I could have done. Looking back, who the hell is to say what could have f*****g happened had I gone into the NFL or something, you know?” To some degree, she did. But the outside world got old watching, so over the years, she just existed. She stopped looking at the humans and stopped seeing their lives. She just dealt with her own.

“Yeah, guess I do.” They had walked over to her car, and she leaned against it, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched him. She could feel the questions but couldn’t understand why he wasn’t asking. “You have more you want to know?” He chuckled as he nodded before running his hand over his face.

“Still thinking about that bite slave thing.”

“Yeah, they’re a common practice we have. What about them?” His gaze lingered on the night sky for a few brief moments before connecting with hers and she had to suck in a breath. His eyes danced in ways she hadn’t seen before, and it called to her on a level that she hadn’t heard in years. He was seeking it but didn’t know what for; however, she could read it loud and clear.

“You don’t have one?” he finally muttered.

“No, bite slaves don’t last long with me, which is why I come to bars and clubs looking for a free meal.” She licked her lips and shrugged. “It’s not uncommon to not have one, you know.”

“I didn’t think it was, but it sounds like they are good for a few things.” This time, Jade chuckled.

“They’re good for many things. It’s a constant source of food, a constant source of pleasure, and it’s a good way not to be poisoned.”

“You can be poisoned, Jade?”

“Of course, we can, we just don’t die. However, one can suffer severe pain from it. It’s not something we enjoy, but it’s not unbeknown.” She paused and he wanted to ask more about that, but let it go. “What do you want to know about bite slaves?” He cleared his throat and took a step forward, pushing her further against her car. This close to him, she hadn’t quite realized how tall he was, and she had to angle her head to look up at him.

“Don’t you want the pleasure they can give you?” He wasn’t sure why that question came out, but he couldn’t stop it and he didn’t want to take it back. He would be a fool if he denied that he felt something. Even her eyes told him that she was aware he felt something. And he found it odd. It wasn’t like he knew about them before anything happened. So, what the hell was this draw? Could they entice you without you knowing? Put some type of spell on you?

“Of course, I do, but my bite slaves never stick around. They always leave for something, or someone, better.” She shrugged, loving the look in his eyes. “Why the sudden interest in them?”

“It sounds like such a win, win for everyone.” She reached out and ran her hand over his jacket, smirking all the more.

“It is. There are tons of pleasures to be had when you’re f*****g a vampire.” His eyes flared at that, and she grinned all the more. “There are tons of pleasures to be had when a vampire sinks their fangs into your skin. There are tons of pleasure to be had to feel a vampire’s mouth and hands on your body. And there’s tons of pleasure to be had to protect your vampire.”

“So, I don’t see the bad side?” With that, he shifted a bit more, his body pressing against hers and neither could deny the sizzle they felt race over their skin.

“It’s hard to drop everything and give it all to a vampire.” She winked at him, her lips curling up a bit more to show her fang. “You can’t love anyone else or shouldn’t love anyone else. And you sure can’t f**k with another vampire while being a bite slave. There are rules set in place for bite slaves and for a while, it’s great. Over time, it can become old and annoying.” She stood on her toes and brushed her lips over his cheek before pushing him back slightly. “You wouldn’t do it, Xander, it’s not you, as tempting as it is.” With a once over on him, she winked and climbed in her car, heading away from the rising sun.