bite.

Chapter 6

I watched Keira laughing as the man she was with ran his hands over her thigh. She leaned against him, opening her legs slightly to allow his hand to wander further up her skirt. I looked away in disgust - had she no shame.

Natasha shook her head in disapproval. "The slayers will not like that."

My ears pricked up and I saw Natasha point towards a large built man, standing in the corner of the room, holding an assault rifle. The man was huge, like a body builder, and stood against the wall, scanning the room.

"Who is that?" I asked.

"Take no notice of him, he's with the slayers. He's a -" she paused and lowered her voice, "He's a franken-vamp."

"A franken-vamp?" I repeated.

"An abomination and insult to our kind. The slayers use them as guard dogs to moderate and control our behaviour. They are supposed to protect us, but their true purpose is to spy on us. That big one over there is Uriel, Gabriel and Michael should be lurking around too."

My eyes widened at the mention of Michael's name.

"Oh yes," Natasha tutted disapprovingly, "Gabriel and Michael are indeed loitering at the bar."

I looked up and saw Michael staring straight back at me. Our eyes met and felt the need to go to him. I took a step forward and paused as he subtly shook his head and looked away from me.

Frustration and anger burst through me - he was mine, he had no right to deny me.

"I need a drink," I said, trying to make an excuse to go over to the bar.

"You're right. Let us go and find Sasha," she said grabbing my arm and dragging me past Uriel.

As we passed him, I couldn't help noticing the the letters,  'ARCHANGELS- V-O'  printed on his uniform.

"Do you know much about archangels?" I probed.

"I'm afraid not. Cousin Stephen seems to know a bit about them - he was the one who coined the term franken-vamps. He's such a wit. Personally, I avoid them like the Black Death. Are you bothered by them? I can have them sent away if you wish."

I shook my head, "No, I'm fine."

Natasha led me away from the bar to a cornered off area where a group of men dressed in black were sitting at a table, drinking and laughing. 

We approached their table and not one of them acknowledge us. Instead they just carried on talking while Natasha fluttered around the table, waving her arms, trying to grab of the man sitting in the far corner.

"Sasha? Sasha, dear?" she chirped.

Her brother, ignored her.

"Sasha, I have someone very special to introduce you to, this is Lorna" she said, gauging no reaction. "She is Magda's daughter."

Sasha looked up and locked eyes on me. "Magda's daughter, you say?"

He stood up and waved for me to come and sit by him. "Cousin Lorna," he beamed, "What a delight to finally meet you."

I smiled politely and took a seat next to him. He snapped his fingers at the waiter, who quickly placed a cocktail down in front of me.

"Now, let me see those eyes," he murmured.

He leaned forward, getting a little too close for comfort and whispered, "You have Magda's eyes. What a delight."

Leaning back, he straightened up and said, "So, tell me, Lorna. When did you arrive here?"

"Yesterday," I replied.

"You weren't due back for months, I thought your parents wanted to keep you in Prague all for themselves."

"They decided to comeback when they heard about Emma."

"I thought it would be an incentive to stay away from London with all the missing vamp-" Sasha glanced at around at the human company and corrected himself, "-missing people."

"People are missing?" I asked, curiously.

"Yes, it's a terrible business, but I don't want you to fret. I promise to offer you my full protection, my dearest cousin."

There was something about his voice that made me feel sick. He was looking at me in a way that didn't feel very cousinly. He inched his body closer to mine and nodded to the opposite alcove. Keira was there, sprawled across the table, dancing for a couple of guys.

"That one loves to dance," he remarked. "Do you like to dance, Lorna."

"I don't know, I've never done much dancing."

"I could teach you. I know all the dances, waltz, Charleston, foxtrot, and even some of the new ones."

"I'm okay," I replied.

He suddenly leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "I bet you could dance like that, just for me."

My whole body cringed in revulsion and I stood up. Sasha's fingers wrapped around my wrist and he growled, "Where are you going?"

"I need to go to the bathroom," I excused myself.

Sasha let go of my wrist and smiled, "Fine, but I need you back here in the next ten minutes. We have a photoshoot and I want you to be the girl seen next to me."

I retreated away from the table, rubbing my wrist. Natasha quickly followed me. 

"Well, I think he is rather taken by you," she clapped her hand excitedly.

"I need to get out of here," I said. 

"Why? Didn't you hear Sasha, we're staging a paparazzi shoot and he wants you to be the girl he is pictured with. You, my dear, are going to be the envy of every teenage girl."

"Why would I want that! He's my cousin!"

Natasha grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop and look at her.

"Cousin Lorna, vampires are not like humans, we pair with our cousins to keep our bloodline strong. This might be hard to digest, but it is the deepest wish of our coven that you should take Sasha, as your chosen mate."

"Look, I don't know how to tell you this, but...I'd rather eat shit and die."

Natasha's mouth dropped opened and before she could say another word, I retreated back into the crowd. 

Pushing my way through the bodies, I found a fire exit at the back of the bar. I pushed through the door and jogged down a dusty old corridor, hoping to find another exit.

Behind me, the fire door suddenly opened and slammed shut. I panicked thinking that Sasha had followed me, but my anxiety evaporated the moment I turned and saw Michael, standing in front of me. 

"You smell of him," he growled

"I couldn't shake him off, I tried-"

I was cut off mid sentence as Michael bent his head down and sank his teeth right into my neck.

I gasped out loud as hot white electricity burst through me. My knees buckled under me and quickly had to grab onto Michael's shoulder's to stop myself from falling to the ground.

He held me there, for a few seconds and let go.

I staggered backwards, completely bewildered.

Michael proudly stared at the mark on my neck and murmured, "There, he will now know that you are mine."