Bitten by the Vampires

by Sophie Stern

  That was when Benjamin was holding me in place, when Eli disappeared back into the town. They found underground storage units? Full of food? How could I have been so damn stupid?

  “Did you know those existed?”

  “I...”

  I shake my head.

  “I knew there were underground units, but I thought they were for waste. Everyone told me they were for waste. Only high level workers were allowed in there because it wasn’t safe.”

  “I can’t decide whether it’s sad or pathetic how little you knew about your own home,” Benjamin looks at me and shakes my head.

  It’s fine because I feel pretty damn pathetic myself.

  “Don’t shake your head, little warrior,” Benjamin surprises me by standing up and walking around the table. He pulls my chair back from the table and tugs me to my feet. Then he lifts my chin and looks at me.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t know,” I whisper.

  “You missed out on a lot,” he says. “You don’t have to miss out on anything else ever again.”

  Then he kisses me.

  This time, Benjamin kisses me like he means it.

  This time, the anger and frustration is gone.

  This time, he’s forgiving me for the sins of my people.

  This time, everything is going to be different.

  Chapter 9

  THE VAMPIRES DON’T make love to me after dinner.

  In fact, they don’t do anything else to me at all.

  “You need time to adjust to your new environment,” Eli explains as he undresses for the night. He speaks about me as though I’m some sort of puppy or kitten who can’t possibly handle having her environment jarred so suddenly.

  Haven’t I already had my environment flipped around, though?

  Haven’t I already been surprised?

  Haven’t I already...

  But my thoughts disappear as the other two men also begin undressing. They toss their clothing unceremoniously on the floor and once all three of them are naked, they stare at me, waiting.

  “Aren’t you going to undress?” Eli asks.

  “It’s time for bed,” Matthew says, watching me.

  “She needs our help,” Benjamin notices carefully. “She can’t get out of that dress on her own.” He strides toward me and steps behind me. I’m still facing Matthew and Eli, and they’re watching me hungrily as Benjamin whispers in my ear. “Luckily, I’m an excellent helper.”

  I don’t know how he does it, but he somehow slices my dress completely open. Did he have a knife with him? Does he have long, sharp talons he can use? How did he do that?

  All I know is that one moment, I’m completely clothed.

  The next, I’m totally naked.

  Eli growls and so does Matthew. Together, they stalk over to me. Benjamin grabs my arms, holding them behind my back. The movement juts my breasts out, making them even more visible to the vampires. My nipples harden and peak and my body seems to be both hot and cold at the same time. I want them. More than I’ve ever wanted anything else in my entire life, I want the vampires. I want these creatures.

  “I take back what I said about waiting,” Matthew murmurs. He reaches out and runs his fingers over my breasts. “These are too pretty to wait for.”

  “I agree,” Eli says. “You’re damn gorgeous, Tyana.” He leans down and sucks one of my breasts into his mouth. I lean back against Benjamin and groan.

  Okay, I thought what they were doing earlier felt totally incredible. This feels amazing, too. It feels different, yes, but no less wonderful. I can’t quite believe this is happening.

  I can’t quite believe I’m about to bed the vampires.

  It all happens very quickly. One minute they’re kissing and loving on my breasts. The next, the four of us are in the middle of their huge, oversized bed. There are bodies everywhere, but I’m in the center of the bed on my back, and they’re all kissing me everywhere.

  “I...I...”

  “Tell us what you need, Tyana,” Eli purrs in my ear. “Tell us what you want.”

  “More,” I answer. I don’t know what else to say. I just want more. More of them. More of this. More of all of it.

  “Touch me,” Matthew says. He kneels by my head and I can see his long, thick cock right here. I reach up, touching it, surprised by its velvety feel.

  “And me,” Benjamin says. He kneels on the other side of me. I look up at his dick and reach for it. “Stroke me,” he commands, and I start rubbing on both of them.

  At the same time, Eli pushes my legs apart and starts licking me again.

  “Oooh,” I groan, closing my eyes.

  “Don’t stop rubbing on us,” Matthew tells me.

  Okay, who knew he’d be the bossy one in bed? He seems so calm and demure all of the time. Not now, though. Now it seems like he’s a man on a mission, and that mission is to dominate me and my body.

  I keep rubbing as commanded, and I don’t know how it’s possible, but it seems like their cocks grow even bigger. That’s normal, right? I have to pretend that that’s normal.

  “Are you going to bite me?” I whisper, curious.

  Do vampires feed on their mates?

  “Oh, pretty girl,” Eli whispers. “If you insist.”

  I look down just in time to see him sink his teeth into my thigh. I start to cry out, but Benjamin reaches down and covers my mouth.

  “Not a sound,” he says. “Be a good girl.”

  I nod, reminding him that I’ll listen, letting him know that I’ll be good, and I close my eyes. Fuck. There’s a bite of pain, but more than anything else, this feels...

  Overwhelmingly good.

  No wonder vampires are so good at catching their prey. If it always feels like this, then this is heaven. I don’t ever want Eli to stop. He sucks, feeding from me, and then he pulls back. He licks my leg, and when I look down, I’m surprised to see that there’s no blood. There’s not even a wound left. It’s completely sealed.

  “How did you do that?” I ask him, and he smiles.

  “Keep touching them. Don’t stop, princess.”

  While I’m rubbing Benjamin and Matthew, they both lean over and bite me at the same time: one on each thigh. I don’t cry out. I remember to be a good girl, and I keep my mouth closed and my hands moving, but oh, this feels fucking fantastic. I can feel an orgasm building deep inside of me, and I realize that even as Benjamin and Matthew are feeding from me, Eli has his hand on my clit. He’s rubbing me faster and faster.

  “Come, little warrior,” he commands, and I don’t know how, but my body seems to react perfectly to his words, and I do.

  I fall apart for him, and Matthew and Benjamin come, too. Their cocks contract, quivering and pulsing as they cover me with their seed. I close my eyes and let the pleasure wash over me. I let it completely take me away. When I open my eyes again, they’ve moved away. A quick glance down and I can see that they, too, sealed the wounds they created on me.

  Then Eli appears, positioning himself over me, and he smiles down at me.

  “It’s time to make you ours,” he murmurs, and he thrusts inside of me.

  I can’t explain the way it feels to have a man inside of me for the very first time. I don’t know if being with a human is the same as being with a vampire. I don’t know any of that. All I know is that having Eli between my legs is the best fucking feeling in the world. I reach for him, clawing at him, and he thrusts deeper and deeper inside of me.

  “So fucking pretty,” Benjamin murmurs.

  “Such a good girl,” Matthew adds.

  Their words wash over me, wrapping around me like a warm hug, and I close my eyes as I accept everything they’re offering to me in this moment.

  Their safety.

  Their love.

  Their adoration.

  When Eli comes inside of me, it’s like I feel an overwhelming sense of completeness. He kisses me deeply when it’s over and then the three of them lead me to their en-suite bathroom. They put me in the t
ub, wash me, and then pull me out and dry me. Somehow, I feel like I’m floating the entire time. When they bring me back to bed – this time, to sleep – it’s like I’ve been waiting my entire life for this moment, and I don’t want it to ever end.

  Chapter 10

  “THEY DID WHAT?” ABIGAIL and I are walking through the gardens the next day. She’s really quite nice, and although I’m still worried about my ability to judge someone’s character, she seems very kind and a little bit wild. She’s gentle, but strong, and she reminds me a lot of Eli.

  “They said they won’t bite me. Well, they won’t turn me.”

  This bothers me so much more than it should. It feels like some sort of harsh rejection. Even though I realize this is completely unreasonable and a totally unacceptable desire, it bothers me very much.

  If they want me so much, why won’t they keep me around forever?

  That’s what I would do, if I was a vampire. I’d want them by my side. I’d want them with me for always and ever. If it were my decision, I’d make sure that my mates would never have to suffer, that they’d never have to get sick. I’d do everything to ensure they could live with me and just...be free.

  “But why not? You’re to be their mate.”

  I shrug and shake my head.

  “They said it wasn’t right.”

  “Even after everything you did? You were a virgin, right?” She asks.

  I blush furiously. She mentioned it before, but still, she seems so certain about this. How did she know? Does word really travel that fast around here?

  Abigail just smirks at me and nods.

  “Don’t worry. They didn’t tell me. They wouldn’t rat you out like that. I just guessed.”

  “It’s embarrassing, huh?”

  “Not at all. I still remember when I was a virgin,” Abigail tells me with a smile.

  “When was that?”

  “Oh, about a hundred years ago,” she laughs.

  “Is that how old you and Eli are?”

  “A hundred?” She raises an eyebrow and shakes her head. “Nah. I’m 120 years old. He’s 130 years old. I don’t know about Benjamin and Matthew. I think they were all turned around the same time.”

  “But they haven’t had a mate before.”

  “So?”

  “So, why not?” I ask. They’ve been around long enough. That’s more than enough lifetimes to fall in love a couple of times over. There’s nothing wrong with them, so why haven’t they found someone? Why haven’t they made that connection before now?

  “How much do you know about mates?” Abigail asks me carefully.

  “Not very much. I mean, they only took me away from Eagleton a few days ago.”

  “And the people at Eagleton never bothered to fill you in, huh?”

  “Not so much.”

  “There’s a lot to it, but the simple thing is that most vampires live in groups. Usually, vampires who are close friends will sort of bond together. Sometimes they find a mate. Most vampires don’t mate with a single person. They more mate with a group. Like you’ll have three vampire ladies who mate with a male. In your case, you have three vampire males who have found a human.”

  “How do you know it’s your mate?”

  “You just know.”

  “That seems a little...easy.”

  “It’s anything but. They’ve been waiting over a hundred years for you, love. Trust me, they’ve searched. When you were born, they all sort of felt it. They just had this feeling in their guts that you were the one.” She looks at me like this is the most incredibly magical and wonderful thing she’s ever heard, and it makes me feel...strong.

  Important.

  “They could feel that?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  We walk a little bit more, but I’m silent as I think about what she’s said. Could what Abigail is saying be true?

  Could the vampires really just have had a feeling about me?

  Could they really have just had an idea about me?

  “Have you ever felt the calling of a mate?” I ask her. It’s a personal question, and it’s probably not one I should be asking Abigail. We don’t know each other that well, after all, but somehow, I can’t help myself. I want to know.

  I need to know.

  Abigail looks at me and nods shortly, curtly.

  “What happened?” I ask. Obviously, she doesn’t have a mate now. Something must have happened.

  “You really aren’t as shy as everyone thinks you are, huh?” Abigail looks at me. “All right, I’ll tell you. He died.”

  “How?”

  “He got old,” she shrugs. “After he passed, the other vampires I shared him with...well, we all sort of fell apart after that.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  “Don’t say you’re sorry,” she says before I can say anything else. “There’s nothing worse than someone saying they’re sorry.”

  “I wasn’t going to say that.”

  “Good. Don’t.”

  “Abigail, it’s not fair what happened to you,” I point out. We’re walking through what seems like a sort of maze. We stop as we reach a beautiful fountain. It’s tall, and it’s lovely, and it’s the kind of place you can really lose yourself in.

  We sit on the side of the fountain and look at the water.

  “That’s the problem, isn’t it?” She asks, looking up at me.

  “We never get to have a fair life?”

  “We never get to have a fair life.”

  Abigail reaches for the water and swirls it with her long, pointy fingers. She looks at the water, but there’s no reflection there. At least I know that some of the myths I’ve heard about vampires are true. Not the sun thing, apparently. We’re in the sun right now and she is wholly unaffected.

  “You get a second chance, though,” she says. “What happened to you with Eagleton...with your family...that wasn’t fair.”

  “It wasn’t.”

  “Now the vampires have found you, though. The boys have finally caught their mate,” she looks at me and grins. “And I finally get to have a sister.”

  I reach for Abigail and hug her, holding her close.

  A sister.

  It’s something I, too, have always wanted. Always dreamed of. I’ve always wanted someone I could turn to for advice and help and guidance, and now I have her. I don’t ever want to let her go.

  Not Abigail.

  We sit together talking for a long time. We talk late into the afternoon, well until the sun starts to set, and then she turns to me.

  “You really want to be a vampire, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?” She asks. “Is it because you want to live forever?”

  “That’s part of the reason,” I admit.

  “What else?”

  “I don’t want to say goodbye to them,” I shrug. “I barely know them and I can’t imagine having to say goodbye before I really get to finish discovering who they are and what they care about. I don’t think one lifetime is going to be long enough to spend with them.”

  I can’t really explain how I know this.

  I just know it.

  Abigail considers me for a long time, and then she speaks.

  “There’s a reason vampires won’t always turn their mates. Some of them do. Not all of them.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because humans are weak. The process of turning someone...well, it’s very painful, and it takes a long time.”

  “Are we talking like ten minutes?”

  “More like ten hours. There’s no guarantee. Most vampires don’t want to risk losing the person they love, so they wait. By the time they’ve decided to suck it up and try, the human is old and weak and frail. The best time to turn someone is when they’re young. You know, when they’re still strong.”

  “So you’re saying I need to try harder to convince them.”

  “No, I’m saying that I’ll do it,” she says. “I’ll sire you.”

  “Are you s
erious?” I ask, shocked.

  Can she do that?

  Can we do that?

  “Yes.”

  “Is that...allowed?”

  Abigail laughs and shakes her head.

  “No way, of course it’s not allowed,” she says. “Siring another vampire’s mate? That’s like asking for a death sentence.”

  “Then why would you do that for me?” I ask. “What if it doesn’t work? What if they come after you?”

  “They aren’t going to come after me. They aren’t going to know until it’s finished.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Come here.”

  I scoot closer to Abigail. I don’t have to be told twice. I’m not about to give up this opportunity. Not to live forever. Not to be with the men for always.

  Abigail pulls me into her lap so she’s holding me. She cradles me the way a mother would her child. There’s only the slightest bit of fear pulsing through my veins. Mostly, I’m calm.

  “It’s going to hurt,” she says.

  “Okay.”

  “It won’t feel like when the men were feeding from you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure,” she laughs, shaking her head. “When it’s with your mates, it’s amazing. This...well, there’s a reason we don’t usually do this. I drink from you until you’re almost dead, and then you drink from me. Then it’s going to hurt more, and more, and more.”

  “Okay,” I nod.

  I’m ready.

  At least, I think I am.

  I’m probably never really going to be all the way ready. How could I be? How could anyone be ready for something like this?

  I close my eyes and wait. Abigail leans toward my neck. I can feel her breath on my skin, and then she pierces me, and I start to scream. Her hand covers my mouth instantly. She can’t alert her brother or the other men, after all, but she was right.

  It fucking hurts.

  She sucks, draining my blood, drinking from me. I can tell immediately that this is different: serious. She’s doing something to me and I’m starting to feel dizzy and tired and wondering if this was the right choice, but even if it’s not, it’s too late to say goodbye.

  “Drink,” she says, and I feel her wrist in my mouth. She’s cut it somehow. I know because I can taste the sweetness of her blood on my mouth, and I drink greedily, sucking down what she’s offering me. My throat hurts, and it’s dry, but the blood helps.