Bite Me

Chapter 3

     "A goddamn pack of lycanthropes moved in not too far away," he growled, and I knew I'd chosen my words well. As angry as he was, Cedric wouldn't give up an opportunity to vent about wolves.

     I tuned out as he ranted, and my brain went back to Mason and how much I wanted to rip his throat out. My face must've reflected my anger, because Cedric said, "I know, it's horrible!"

      "Yeah," I trailed. "I've gotta go catch up on homework, man."

     Cedric scoffed. "Yeah, whatever," he snapped and stormed off. I knew he wasn't angry at me, just the situation, so I didn't let his tone affect me.

   Cedric was hard to get used to, but I'd had all sixteen years of my life to adapt to his attitudes. He was the type of sibling that you don't exactly get along with, but you don't not get along, either. He believed and said and did a lot of things that I didn't agree with—such as his radical detestation of werewolves—but he was still my brother. So, even though he was an ass 80% of the time, I still loved him in a brotherly way. We weren't particularly close, but I knew he cared about my well being and what's best for me, so I felt the same for him.

    I wandered into the kitchen, feeling horribly thirsty, to see my father already in there, pouring himself a glass by the fridge.

    "You want some, K?" He asked. I nodded gratefully and he pulled another cup from the cabinet and poured me a glass of the thick red liquid. I downed it in seconds. "Woah, there," he laughed. "Slow down, champ. When was the last time you drank?"

    I shrugged. "Few day ago, I guess."

    My father gave me a strange look. "I don't get it, Kieran. We've always got plenty of blood here, but you go days at a time without having any."

    He was right, I had a tendency to do that. Why? I had no idea. It wasn't like food was hard to acquire. Just like humans had places to go to buy groceries, vampires had places where they could get blood supplies. Everyone had this idea in their minds that vampires had to go out and kill someone to feed—that was like saying that humans had to go and hunt down a cow if they wanted a burger. We always had a constant supply of blood for meals.

     Given, it wasn't the most appetizing blood. We weren't allowed to drink human blood, so it usually came from cows and other livestock. It wasn't particularly bad, it was just bland, and it didn't keep you full for long.

    "So, how was school?" my father asked. I stopped halfway through the process of pouring another glass just so I could throw my head back in a dramatic groan. My father laughed. "That bad, huh?"

   I quickly drained the contents of my cup and then said, "There's this new kid; I hate him."

     "If he's only been in school for a day, isn't it a bit soon to know that you hate him?"

   "Nah; he can bite me."

***

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Marcella asked as she parked her car. Since I left my car here yesterday, Cella gave me a ride to school.

      I shrugged. "Sure, what's up?"

     "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

     I raised my eyebrows expectantly, figuring she would elaborate on the vague question. When she didn't, I said, "Er, no?"

      "Are you absolutely positive?" Cella asked. She took my hand, which was resting on the center console, in hers. "You know I would never judge you for anything, right?"