Once Bitten: A Paranormal Vampire Romance (Arcane City Book 1)

by Tilly Hart

  I had been trying my luck with a girl who wasn’t from my side of town, from the underbelly of the city. After years of meaningless encounters, centuries of them, I had been sure something about the woman, Rebecca, had been different. The first time I’d walked past the pizza place when she’d been there, I felt a pull that I couldn’t ignore. I went in not knowing what it was and left puzzled that it had been to a girl. Why?

  Calvin was right, I had plenty of opportunity to get laid, why bother with a girl who had little interest in me? What was the point? Unless someone hit me with a stake in the heart, or I stumbled out in the daylight, I’d live on indefinitely. A human girlfriend? She’d be barely a smudge on my history. But I wanted more. More than meaningless sex, more than someone to keep my bed warm for a night.

  I kicked the trashcan at the back of the bar, lost in my own thoughts about Rebecca, when a shadow fell over the brick wall in front of me. Three shadows.

  Thugs. Not a problem. One advantage of being immortal was that I didn’t need to worry much about taking a beating even if they outnumbered me. Speed and strength were one of the main pros of vampirism, despite its many cons.

  My heart sank as I turned to face them, already spoiling for the fight.

  They weren’t thugs; they were three members of the Sons of Cerberus, Calvin’s club members. Less deadly than they were at their peak, but between three of them, our odds were fairly matched.

  Werewolves, just what I needed.

  ‘Jed.’ The ringleader spoke up, his voice lowering to a characteristic growl.

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘I hear you’ve been chatting to Calvin more than usual. I sure hope that you two aren’t buddying up.’ They circled me, their muscles taught beneath their leathers. Not just there for a calm chat.

  ‘I see him here and there. Not like there are many bars around here that accept our kind.’ I shrugged, trying to appear at ease, despite my mind working overtime to keep tabs on all three of them.

  ‘You are not our kind you blood sucking piece of shit. We’ve cow-towed to the governors for long enough. We are the superior races. Even you fanged fuckers. So why are we the scum? Greyson has big plans, and none of them include us grovelling to the meat.’

  I saw him heft something in his fist as he grinned, the thick spike of wood sending fear to my core. They meant business.

  ‘If you are starting a war with the humans do you really need to start one with the vampires too?’ Sweat gathered at the base of my spine as the men pressed me back toward the alley that led to the bar. Quickly, I dodged between them, feinting to the right before moving to the left and slipping between them. One man lunged for my arm, his sharpened nails digging into the leather while the ringleader lunged forward, stake outstretched. The man’s grip was no match for my supernatural strength, not while they were in human form, so I threw myself backward, knocking him over as the stake missed my heart, dragging down across my abs. I gritted my teeth as the skin split in two. After centuries of fighting, it would heal in a few days. If I survived the stake.

  The other lackey plowed into me, fists flying as I took a right hook to the jaw, my breath rushing from my lungs as his body slammed me after the punch. In retaliation I bared my fangs, feeling them slip through the gums and extend out beneath my lip. Fangs were of little use in a fight - unless I wanted to rip his throat out entirely - draining someone’s blood was a lengthy procedure, and while the victim couldn’t move during it, his friends would be free to attack. But the sight of the sharp white teeth still inspired fear. One man hesitated as I approached him, fear flaring in his eyes, while the ringleader fumbled with the stake. I had no interest in killing these guys tonight; it was the last thing the club needed, I just had to get to my bike. Werewolves only lived a few years longer than their human counterparts. The bonus of being ancient is that vampires are far more skilled in most things. Technology, vehicles, finance. You name it, we’ve seen it grow from times before any of it existed. I knew that I could out ride them, and they wouldn’t follow me onto my patch.

  I made a break for it, dashing toward my bike, which was in the carpark across the street, I’d barely made it to the road’s edge when the guy who’d been on the floor threw himself beneath me, sending my down hard on my knees. I rolled over as pain shot through my legs, momentarily deadening my ability to stand.

  The ring leader sauntered over to me, grinning ear to ear with a wolfish smile on his apparently human face. ‘I will enjoy this, you undead shit head.’

  My mouth went dry as he raised the stake, and I scrambled backwards as I tried to get out from beneath him. As his arm slashed downward I closed my eyes, ready for the inevitable pain.

  ‘Get off of him!’ A female voice screamed as a heavy thud sounded above me. Rebecca had thrown herself into his side, taking him off guard as he focused on me. His head hit the ground with a crunch as Rebecca landed on my stomach. A horn blared out through the quiet street, before a sickening sound met my ears. The ringleaders head exploded like a melon beneath the bus’s wheel as it screeched to a stop. Blood and brains sprayed out over myself and Rebecca as we watched in horror at the grotesque scene.

  The wolf minions stared as if unable to comprehend the situation, and I knew we needed to get out of there immediately.

  ‘Oh god. Oh god.’ Rebecca’s face went a worrying shade of white beneath the streetlights, as I stood up and pulled her to her feet. The bus driver looked just as shocked, his knuckles as white as Rebecca where he gripped at the steering wheel. ‘We need to call an ambulance.’

  ‘It’s too late for that.’ I grabbed her hand and pulled her behind me, crossing the road to where my bike sat.

  ‘The police then. Oh god, I’ll go to jail. I’ve just killed that man. We can’t just leave!’

  I rounded on her and glared into her face, watching as she withered beneath my touch and hating myself for it. ‘Listen. To. Me. If we don’t get out of here before they come to their senses, his buddies will kill you. They don’t want the police called any more than you do. Look.’ The men were already pulling the mangled body out from beneath the bus and hoisting it between them as one pointed to us. ‘They will call for backup, and if you are still here, you’ll lose your life for it. He wasn’t a good guy.’

  ‘It doesn’t make it right…’

  Green tinged her face as she stared at the headless body suspended between the men, his neck hole dripping fresh blood with every movement. She would not leave willingly, there was no way she could know what the man had been. So I did what I had to do. I picked her up and threw her on the bike in front of me.

  ‘Hold on,’ I said into her hair as the bike roared to life beneath us.

  She shook like a leaf between my thighs as we moved. Whether it was from the bike, or the death, I didn’t know.

  But I’ll admit that it did ungodly things to have her there squirming against my stomach.

  There was only one thing for it, I’d have to take her home.

  Five

  REBECCA

  My hair whipped over my face as I closed my eyes, the image of the man’s headless body burning at the back of my eyelids. Not for the first time during the brief ride, bile rose in my throat, bringing its beer tinged bitterness to the back of my tongue. I was only vaguely aware of Jed’s chest pressing into my back, the distant warmth paling in significance to the emotional turmoil screwing with my entire being.

  He was dead. The man was alive one moment, and then, because of me, he was gone. Forever.

  I was a killer.

  Lights flashed against my closed eyes as we sped away from the scene of the crime, my body feeling numb to sensation, Jed’s occasional words a jumble against my subconscious. The man had been attacking Jed, he’d had a weapon and if I hadn’t pushed him, Jed would be the one who lost his life. The thought brought little soothing. Was one man, one biker, more valuable than the other? No. What about his family?

  Tears traced fresh tracks down the length of my face
as I choked on a sob, the first of many, as we swerved around the late night traffic. Minutes or hours could have passed during our fleeing escape, and I would have been none the wiser. When we pulled up outside a dingy looking door in a brick facade, I’d barely even registered us stopping. If it wasn’t for the queue of chrome bikes lining the sidewalk, I wouldn’t have looked twice at the mundane entrance.

  ‘Come on,’ Jed instructed, manhandling me off of the bike when I failed to move on my own. He grabbed my hand in his much larger, much colder hand, and pulled me along behind him. Should I have followed a man I didn’t know into an unknown location? No, I shouldn’t have, but my senses had fled me the moment I had got on Jed’s bike and committed the act of leaving the crime scene, on top of the death I had caused.

  Jed knocked on the door and waited until a small window opened. An eye appeared in the crevice and took one look at Jed before slamming it closed. The door swung inward and Jed guided me inside the dank corridor, leading me past the tall security man with nothing but a nod. He looked from my tear-streaked face back to Jed, but didn’t say a word.

  The corridor opened out into a large, gloomy room, filled with a mismatch of furniture, and an equal mismatch of people. All focus turned to us as we entered the room, shock registering on the unfamiliar faces. Although I looked a mess, I couldn’t imagine a devilishly handsome guy like Jed didn’t have a string of women coming too and from his room. Why the surprised looks?

  ‘Where have you been?’ A gruff older man, with grey-streaked hair and a similarly salt and peppered beard, spoke up, his gaze remaining fixed on the newspaper in his lap.

  ‘Drinking.’ Jed’s hand squeezed mine as I stood just behind him.

  ‘I heard there was an incident.’

  ‘I’ll discuss it later, Pres.’ I peered around Jed and took in the others who were sporadically lounging about the room. There was a young guy with deeply red hair, his arm slung around a woman’s shoulders. She looked high, her face vacant as she leaned into him. A man I’d have put in his sixties sat at a desk in the corner, his hand paused mid scribble as he frowned over at us. A woman sat to the right of the one Jed called Pres, her legs crossed delicately over one another as she toyed with a strand of long blonde hair, so pale it bordered on silver. A tingle ran up my spine as we made our way across the room, I put it down to being strung out after the night’s events.

  ‘Who’s the girl?’ Pres asked, as we neared a closed door.

  ‘She saved me.’ Jed didn’t turn as he spoke. He took a key from his pocket and turned it in the lock.

  ‘She’s the one who caused the problems then.’ Pres stood up, and I slotted myself between Jed and the wall as Pres’ face darkened.

  ‘I’ll explain later. I had no choice but to bring her with me. They’d have killed her if I’d have left her.’

  ‘It would have been less hassle.’ I dug my nails into Jed’s hand as I listened, a wave of pure anger crashing through me. Before I could open my mouth, Jed pushed the door open and shoved me inside.

  ‘Later, Pres.’ He warned, his voice thick and his words clipped.

  The door slammed behind us with a definitive crack as I took in Jed’s room. It was far cleaner than I’d expected, with luxurious furnishings which belied his appearance. He saw me staring at the clean lines and expensive furniture and grinned.

  ‘Appearances can be deceptive. If I’ve learned once thing over the course of my life, it’s that having a comfortable space is key.’

  ‘Over the course of your life? You’re what? Thirty?’ I said, my voice still quavering as I spoke. My head was feeling a little clearer than it had been on the ride over, but guilt and fear still pressed at my mind from all angles.

  ‘Something like that. Sit down.’

  I sat on the edge of a large black leather couch and watched Jed as he poured out two double measures of whisky. I wasn’t a whisky drinker, but when he brought it over, I downed it in one gulp. The heat hit the back of my throat and left me spluttering as Jed raised his eyebrows.

  ‘Easy there.’

  And that was all it took to unravel me. Before I knew it, my breath was coming in harsh rasps as fresh tears flooded my cheeks. I babbled about calling the police and what had happened in an illegible string of words until I had no words left. All the while Jed sat across from me, calm as he sipped his drink.

  ‘Why are you so calm?’ I snapped when I had run out of things to say.

  ‘It’s not the first time I’ve seen death. I’m rather glad it was him and not me.’

  ‘I’m a fucking murderer and you are glad?’ I stood up and threw the glass at the wall, watching as it smashed into a million pieces.

  Jed didn’t even flinch. He just shrugged and smiled. ‘Yes, I’m glad, but you’re not a murderer. Did you plan for the bus to squash him like a beetle underfoot? Did you time it just right to know he’d fall right as the wheel would crush his skull?’

  The image of his flattened head, oozing with brain, and blood made me gag. ‘No. God, no.’

  ‘Then at worst you are guilty of manslaughter, but I know for a fact he was a dirtbag. He’s killed in cold blood. Few will mourn his loss.’

  ‘How can you not care that a man is dead?’ I paced in front of the couch, a sudden rush of energy and anxiety swarming around me like bees, buzzing at my thoughts.

  ‘It’s not that I don’t care. There is a lot more to it than you know.’

  ‘Care to be more specific?’

  ‘No.’ Jed leaned forward and set his glass down on a low table. He ran a hand through his hair, and for the first time, looked as tired as I felt. ‘Is there somewhere I can take you? As long as you steer clear of the Sons of Cerberus’ patch, you should be okay. They don’t know who you are.’

  I stopped pacing and sat down, leaning over and grabbing the last of Jed’s drink and downing it. ‘Is the motel on their patch?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then I’ve nowhere to go. I broke up with my boyfriend this morning, and I don’t want to go back. I can search for another hotel tomorrow, but none will be open at this time of night.’

  ‘What about your parents?’

  ‘They live in England and don’t talk to me.’

  Jed pursed his lips and looked up at the ceiling before sighing and looking at me. ‘You’ll have to stay here then. Until we can sort out a safe place for you.’

  And before I could stop the word splurge from exploding out of me, I ranted. ‘I thought in the bar, that maybe you were into me, for a good time if nothing else, and now you are acting like me being in your room is nothing but an inconvenience.’

  I stood up and grabbed my bag, heading for the door as the sentences continued to spill. ‘You know what, I don’t need the pity card. I don’t need to sleep under the roof with one more man who’d do anything to avoid touching me. My ex would prefer to jack in a fucking cup at the doctors than fuck me, and I won’t spend another moment being nothing but the bitch men would rather ignore.’

  Jed’s eyebrows all but jumped off of his forehead at my rant, and though he was still seated as my fingers wrapped around the door handle, somehow he was in between the door and I before I could yank it open. With one swift motion, he grabbed me and threw me back against the wall, his body pinning mine firmly in place so I couldn’t move.

  ‘Listen to me you little fucker, I not only want to touch you, but I want to dive between those thighs and make you come until you can no longer stand.’ His breath was fiery against my neck, and both fear and desire drove straight into me. ‘I’ve wanted you for weeks. Weeks! Why do you think I bother with the pizza place? It’s not Louis I’m there for. You turned me down in the bar, not the other way round.’

  Jed’s hand came up to my chin, gripping it firmly as he tilted my face to his. ‘You think I don’t want this? You think I don’t want these lips moaning around my cock, or to hear you begging for me to take you?’

  I could only whimper in response as I felt his rigid cock press
against my belly.

  Then his lips took mine with a ferocity that mirrored his words. His fingers dropped from my chin to my throat as my pulse thundered beneath them. I gave in; I surrendered completely to his touch. For a few blissful minutes,I forgot the horrors of the evening as I closed my eyes and let Jed kiss me. In that moment, I was his completely, melted into a puddle of wetness and desire for him to use as he pleased. My skin tingled as his fingers explored my neck and my back before pushing back into the hair at the nape of my neck, holding me firmly open to him.

  It was only when he broke the kiss, looking as flustered as I, that I noticed the knocking at the door.

  ‘Jed.’ The woman’s voice was impatient. ‘My dad wants you in his office. Now.’

  ‘Shit,’ he said. ‘I gotta go.’

  ‘Please don’t leave me.’ I placed a hand on his stomach, noticing a tear in his shirt that had been concealed by his jacket. ‘Fuck, Jed. You’re hurt.’

  Jed glanced down and shrugged. ‘Just a scratch.’

  ‘No, it’s not.’ In the gaping hole of the tee-shirt I saw his skin splayed open. ‘You need stitches.’

  It was surprisingly clean of blood, and though something was off, my jumbled mind couldn’t comprehend that there should be a shitload of blood.

  Another round of bangs on the door made me jump. Jed sighed before leaning in to kiss me once more, his mouth leaving fire in its wake. I was breathless by the time he let me go.

  ‘Get some sleep, I may be awhile.’

  He left the room, and I dumbly stared at the back of the door long after he’d gone. I found the bathroom and washed my tired face in the sink, discarding my still bloodied clothes on a chair as I crawled into the big, soft bed in my underwear. My phone blinked on the bedside table, as yet another text from Ben pinged through. I turned it off before rolling over and burying my face in the delicious spongy pillow.