My Fated Vampire Mate

You’re mine

Kori didn’t see Lee after that for the last month and half of her grade 10 year or around town during summer. It was odd but honestly, she was conflicted and confused and was glad about not seeing him. She hated herself for being turned on by him. He was her single most brutal abuser, the cruelest of her enemies. He violated her and her body wanted him? ‘Sick!’ She thought.

Lee returned to school for his 12th year while Kori was in grade 11, she didn’t see him often but there were a few times they’d pass by one another and he still stared at her with that hungry glare. It sent shivers down her spine.

After that incident with Lee, the bullying died down significantly. It wasn’t like people were kind to her by any means but most of the boys stayed away from her and the girls would just angrily stare. With the exception of the untouchables (the children of the remaining prominent families of Deep Hallow), predominantly Pricilla and a couple other girls and boys who still made it their priority to see that Kori’s reputation lived up to her names sake, Kori the whorey.

They spewed lies and rumours that Kori came onto Lee that day and that he pushed her into the lockers while trying to thwart her advances, resulting in her injury. Classic.

The rumours took, the obvious actions of the towns w***e daughter who takes after her mother. Whatever.

While Kori was grateful for the easier existence the last two years, some days she almost missed the teasing. Life was so quiet and painfully lonely most days. But as soon as she’d think that, fate would have her eat her words as she’d endure another torture session from the untouchables.

Nevertheless she put her head down, ignored the staring, snickering and the every-so-often cruelty of Priscilla and her gang. She plugged away at school. She really had to apply herself, she wasn’t just effortlessly smart! She worked stupid hard to be a straight A student, she had to.

Her mom wasn’t wealthy, they were outsiders to Deep Hallow, no old money here. They stumbled upon this town or as Sandra would say, ‘she was drawn in’ by some force she couldn’t quite explain. So if Kori had any chance at a different life than her moms, it was through gettin’ her hands on every scholarship, bursary and grant that was available to her!

Kori enters Deep Hallow High. It’s Wednesday, Grade 12. Three more days until she’s 18 and 3 more months until graduation.

She walks past the lockers, reaches and touches the scar on her left shoulder, feeling a little ripped off that she wasn’t only mentally marked by that day but physically, too, while Lee got off Scott free. She clenches her fists.

Lee graduated a year ago and Kori hasn’t seen him since, she grits her teeth wondering if she did the wrong thing by keeping the truth to herself. ‘Is he out there hurtin’ some other girl?’ She painfully thought to herself, remembering how dark his eyes were as he peered into hers, seemingly devouring her from the inside out. ‘Is it my fault if he is?’ She winces at the thought.

‘I don’t have time for this!’ She demands to herself! ‘Focus!’

She rounds the corner in the hallway and approaches her honours english class, filled with the same peering eyes as always. This wasn’t a big town, they had roughly 10 or so students in each class during each block.

She sits down unfazed by the judgey eyes, she sits in the back, no surprise attacks when you sit in the back. She Learned that in grade 3 and has refused to sit anywhere else from then on.

The school was old but beautiful. Designed like an 18th century Roman cathedral. Kori giggles and thinks, ‘ha! Old friggin’ money, man!’ Everything’s modernized but looks vintage. Smells vintage too, like old books and warm cedar.

She manages to get through the rest of the week relatively incident free. Pricilla and her pack of dogs shout out, ‘w***e!’ every time they pass her in the hall, Kori thinks out loud to herself, ‘sticks and stones Pricilla, I’m friggin’ iron man!’ As she flexes her arms across her body, laughing at her own expanse.

It’s Friday night, no homework. There isn’t much left but exams, the next 3 months will be about final assignments and cram studying! She sighs thinking about it. ‘I can’t wait for this to be over!’ She says, her office chair screaming for a little WD40 as she leans back, letting her body go limp.

Her moms still at work, if garnering the name of ‘town w***e’ wasn’t enough by sleeping with Seth Gray in the 90’s, then working nights downtown at the only pub this towns got, that’s known for showing a little skin- that sealed the deal.

Kori didn’t care though. She knew her mom’s heart and while Sandra never opened up about Seth Gray, Kori knew there was WAY more to the story than what she’d heard and that her mom was still hurt by whatever happened.

The most popular rumour was that Sandra was pregnant with Kori and running from her abusive fiancé. She stole his car and drove west as far as she could. She ended up at fork in the road, it was midnight, the street was like a black sea threatening to swallow her up. To the right a major city and to the left quiet, quaint, Deep Hallow.

She was drawn to Deep Hallow and came across the towns only motel that 17 year old, Seth Gray was managing that night as his family owned it, among many other businesses in town.

When Sandra entered the motel, she looked around the way too modern for the 90’s motel when she locks eyes with Seth. The vague rumours go on to say that Kori’s mom became obsessed with Seth and eventually wooed him despite his engagement to another

woman of the town’s prominence.

They say Sandra tried to say the baby was his to sway the family but she was pregnant before meeting him and wanted his families wealth and provision for the baby’s sake, since leaving the father.

The next day, the Gray family disappeared, taking their wealth with them, leaving broken bonds with the Pearson family whose daughter was set to wed Seth and the responsibilities of the town to the remaining founding families who had but a fraction of the power and money that the Gray’s had.

When Kori heard about this as a kid, she asked her mom about it. Mostly interested in whether or not Seth was her dad. Sandra began to cry uncontrollably and simply said, ‘Seth is not your father and we won’t ever speak about this again, do you understand?’ Shocked by her mother’s obvious pain, Kori simply responded, ‘yes, mom!’ And left it. She trusts her and knows her mom will tell her everything one day.

It’s 11:00pm- Kori usually tries to stay up until 1am to hear her mom come home safe but she was unusually tired. She could barely keep her eyes open.

It was the eve of her 18th birthday and as she drifted to sleep she started to see a fuzzy outline of a man walking towards her. He was tall, maybe 6 foot 4, wearing a black school uniform with a white tie. His shirt was fitted perfectly, she could see his biceps and slender torso. As he came closer she noticed he had white hair, long frayed pieces lined his neck below his ears. Shaved sides and messy on top. His ears were pierced, two black hoops on each ear, a black stud on the left, another black hoop on the top of his right ear and a snug black hoop on the right side of his nose.

Kori thought to herself, ‘who is this?’

Getting closer she notices his porcelain skin, almost translucent with the ever slightest hue of red on his inner lips. Scanning up finally she notices his eyes, at first she thought they were bleeding, ‘a nightmare?’ She thinks. No.

His eyes aren’t bleeding, they’re blood red! Hazy, hungry, blood red eyes, eating her up.

He stops inches before her, unashamedly undressing her with his eyes. Finally their gaze locks, he opens his mouth to speak. bearing sharp canine fangs and says…

‘You’re mine!’