Night Walker (Undeadly Secrets Book 1)

by Aaron L Speer

  Alex jumped up and down. “Are you serious? We get to ride in this thing?”

  “No. Sorry you can only look at it, tell me where you want to go and watch me as I drive there, staring in complete bewilderment. But you will know that the car got there. And that’s pretty cool” answered Michelle.

  Alex straightened and with a deadpan expression said, “I like you.”

  Without another word, Alex let herself free of Matt, placed her hands on either side of Dante’s face and kissed his lips with a loud “Mmwah!” before scrambling into the car.

  But Matt didn’t follow. Alex looked to see him thrust his hand out in front of Dante. “Well then…yeah, I guess… Thanks.”

  Dante stared at him, ignoring the abrupt farewell completely. Matt wasn’t really polite at the best of times, so Alex knew the gesture wasn’t done in earnest. Dante can probably see through him.

  Matt stowed his hand again and got into the car. He made to pull the door closed, but it wouldn’t budge. Dante had his hand on the frame, holding it in place.

  “Take care of her,” Dante said to Matt, finally letting the door go.

  “Yeah…sure.”

  Michelle turned the Maserati onto the main street as per Alex’s directions, and when she looked out the rear window, Dante was gone. “Jeez, you guys and your testosterone levels. I’m going to have to put the hose on you two,” she said, an air of annoyance filling the back seat.

  *

  Matt and Alex got into the apartment after several attempts to find the keyhole and open the door, laughing as they did so. As it closed, Matt pounced. He had Alex against the wall, drunkenly fumbling with her pants.

  “Baby, it’s late,” she said, in between his kisses.

  “Yeah. It’s so late it’s early,” he said as he picked her up and draped her across his shoulder.

  Within minutes, he had removed her pants and underwear. She sat up on her elbows watching and giggling as he made heavy work of removing his own. He crawled on top of her, lips straining to reach hers.

  “Uh-uh. Aren’t we forgetting something?”

  Matt looked at what she was holding and groaned, and proceeded to rip the foil.

  “Three years and you still can’t make an exception?”

  “Not tonight,” she smiled.

  Alex gave a little moan as he entered, when out of nowhere he started slamming into her groin. He thrusted harder, gritting his teeth. Within a minute, he was spent and collapsed on top of her.

  “Sorry,” he said, breathing heavily.

  “It’s ok. That’s why I wanted to wait. It’s usually only shit when you’ve been drinking.”

  She pushed him off her and shook her hair, properly removing her clothes off the bed with a sympathetic pout. “But I still love you. Now cuddle me.”

  Matt removed the condom and threw it in the bin. “All right, look, I gotta ask, what the hell did you talk about with Dante? It was like he didn’t even notice Lauren was there. What’s the deal?”

  “We just talked. He’s a nice guy,” Alex replied, positioning herself on her side, facing away from Matt.

  “For two hours? Who has so much to say?” He wrapped his arm around her, which she shifted to accommodate.

  “Baby, you know when I said you were cute when you’re jealous? It’s wearing off. Let it go. Dante does not want me, and even if he did, have you noticed where I am?”

  “Here,” Matt said, kissing her shoulder. “You’re mine.”

  “And I always will be,” she continued. “But now tell me, what was that all about anyway? You’ve never been so rough before. What were you thinking about?” she asked as she held his hand.

  “Just doing what Dante told me to do. Taking care of you.”

  Chapter Three

  Promises, Promises

  Sophie Hasler took in the sight of the city lights. It was hard to imagine she had been in the middle of them less than an hour ago at her year 12 formal dance.

  She sat in the passenger seat of a convertible parked in a small gravel car park. The surroundings weren’t much to speak of, dark and far too bushy for her tastes. But she had been promised a breathtaking view and she wasn’t disappointed.

  Unfortunately, she had a feeling that this would be the turning point in her night. Her formal had been wonderful—everything she had hoped and her date, Steven Hawkins had promised her—but now she felt the burden of expectation on her shoulders.

  “So what do you think?” Steven asked, turning off the ignition and sliding an arm around her shoulder.

  “The view is really beautiful,” Sophie replied, hating how shy she felt.

  He turned to her. “That’s not what I meant.”

  His groping hands took her by surprise, as did his lips, fumbling around at her bare neck and chest. She scrunched her nose at the alcohol on his breath. For someone as experienced as he was supposed to be, she was surprised at how clumsy this felt.

  “Let’s get in the back,” he whispered.

  “Steve…wait.”

  “Don’t worry. I have a connie. Let’s make love under the stars, baby.”

  “No, I didn’t mean…just wait!” Sophie shoved him off her.

  “What the fuck, man? What’s wrong?”

  “Steve, I’m sorry…”

  “Great! Well, that’s my formal night wasted.” He threw up his hands and turned back to face the front windscreen.

  “I’m just not ready.”

  “And you couldn’t have told me this before I shelled out for everything tonight? Fuck this, I thought we were on the same page.”

  “That’s not fair.”

  “You promised me. I never pressured you before, but this is bullshit. Look, fine, whatever. I could’ve had two hot chicks tonight, two! Bi-fucking-sexual. Every guy’s dream. But I told them I wanted you. I believed you. You know what? You’re lucky I’m a nice guy. I could just throw you out right here, but I won’t. I’m taking you home, back to your nice comfy virgin bed. And one day you’ll remember this night and know that I actually deserved more. You’re never gonna see me again. All I wanted was something to remember you by.” Steven started the car in a huff.

  “You wanted…to remember me?” Sophie asked softly.

  “Forget it.”

  “No. Please tell me…”

  “So that no matter what happens in the future, you were with me on this night. We shouldn’t live for tomorrow, we should live for today. I thought I meant something to you. Oh well.”

  Sophie sat back slowly in her seat, looking thoughtful. Maybe he actually does care about me. She fumbled with his seatbelt, and ran her hand timidly over his groin.

  “I won’t go all the way,” she said, “but you really have been wonderful tonight, and I want to say thanks.”

  He turned off the engine again.

  She unzipped him. Smiling now, he jostled in his seat for her to get his manhood free. She leant forward and, shaking the feeling this was just a guilt-enforced blowjob, enclosed her mouth over him.

  Steven sighed and relaxed in his seat, grunting and moaning. He placed his hand on the back of her head and pushed it down. She gagged as he hit the back of her throat.

  “I hate that,” she coughed, coming up.

  “Keep going.”

  She adjusted herself by kissing his shaft and started to flick the head with her tongue. After several minutes of this, Sophie couldn’t help think how bored she was. Why did so many of her friends claim to love giving head? She just felt uncomfortable. Her neck was sore in this position and she was breathing out of rhythm, having really no idea what she was supposed to be doing. Is there a trick to this? Her friends just told her to keep her mouth wet.

  Steven suddenly jerked in his seat, trembling, slapping the inside of the door like he wanted to cry out. I guess I’m doing something right, she thought with some amusement.

  Sophie felt drops of wetness fall on her hair from above. Must be raining. She ignored it and kept her head moving a little faster
, hoping it would be over in a few seconds. His legs jerked violently as her hair suddenly became saturated. That did it.

  She released her grip and came up. “Can we put the top down—”

  She could not finish the question. She did not remember the question. Her focus was not on Steven, but on the mass of moving hair beside his neck. It was on the hand clamped over his mouth, holding his face to one side, the bulge of his eyes. It was on the woman in the back seat leaning forward, violently ripping his neck to shreds with her teeth, flooding his chest with a thick river of dark blood.

  The woman released herself slowly after Sophie’s scream of terror, a chunk of Steven’s neck still in her teeth. She grinned wide-eyed, like a sadistically proud cat presenting a mouse to its owner. Sophie unconsciously touched the wetness in her hair, pulling her hand back to see red stains on her fingers.

  “Did he taste as good to you?” the bushy-haired woman asked, spitting the skin at Sophie and wiping Steven’s blood off her chin with a finger.

  Sophie screamed again and tumbled out of the car, onto her back. Faster than she had ever moved before, she picked her dress up and ran, screaming for help. No one could hear her, there were no houses close by, and the nearest street was King George’s Rd, one of the main roads that connected several others around the city.

  Someone driving past would see her, surely. Someone would help her, if she could get there. But the main road was a good three minutes away, even if she sprinted.

  Sophie raced on, throwing her heels away, terror fuelling her every step, hoping she was going in the right direction, but everywhere she moved her head there was only darker, dense bush. She screamed again as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and a hand covered her mouth.

  “What are you running from?” The voice was masculine.

  Sophie burst into tears with relief as she mumbled, “…monster.”

  The figure put her down. “Stay here. I’ll take care of it.”

  “No, you don’t understand... Hello?”

  But he was gone.

  “Please… Don’t leave me! You don’t know what she is. Call the police.”

  Sophie heard no response, but a crunch of leaves silenced her. The numbing fear returned, fusing itself to her spine and freezing her in place. Her knees shook and her heart thumped, seeming to tick away the seconds of her life.

  Now she heard growling, high and deliberate. She looked all around but could see nothing. The sound appeared to echo all around her. The beast from the car was taunting her from the shadows.

  “Just leave me alone!” Sophie screamed.

  The woman burst from the bushes and enveloped her, crashing them both to the ground. The woman snarled and chomped, inches away from Sophie’s face but didn’t strike. The woman laughed victoriously, pinning Sophie’s hands to the cold dirt.

  “Please…don’t kill me,” Sophie sobbed.

  “Scream for me,” the woman purred, as she lowered her head. Her mouth opened wider, baring her fangs. She closed in, when suddenly she raised her head, looking over Sophie’s.

  “You?” she asked, astonished.

  “Me,” the masculine voice replied.

  In a whirlwind of movement, blood poured over Sophie as the female was pulled off her, screaming. A vicious mix of animal roars, bones snapping and howls of agony followed.

  Sophie wiped the blood and gore from her face, enough to open her eyes. She sat up and spit out a mouthful of the woman’s blood. Even in the darkness, she made out the aftermath. The man stood over the woman, her head in his hands. Sophie’s mind repeated this as he dropped it unceremoniously to the ground. Her head in his hands. Sophie thought she was going to be sick.

  “Did she bite you?” he asked her, still facing away.

  He did not seem surprised when she did not answer immediately. After a few seconds, she shook her head before replying meekly, “No…” Sophie tried to get her breathing under control “…she really… really was one, wasn’t she? I can’t believe this. They’re really real.”

  “There are more things in this world than you will ever know, love,” he replied. “Strangely enough, the only thing that doesn’t exist anymore—” In a second, he had her by the throat. “—is a real hero.”

  Before she could even utter a single sound, his own fangs had found the vein in her neck, the one the female had been searching for. He chewed twice to open the wound and Sophie’s blood flowed into his mouth and down his throat. He began grunting and moaning, seemingly in appreciation and longing of the taste. She attempted to fight, to claw at him. But the more she fought, the tighter he held on and the harder he sucked. Any remaining strength she had quickly evaporated. He drank heavily, contorting her body, insatiable. Finally, she went limp in his arms. He dropped her almost dead body and raised his head, smelling the air and licking his saturated lips. He turned his head from one body to the other, finally resting his gaze on Sophie. Sophie could only stare back, no longer comprehending.

  “Sorry love, Vincent’s orders. If you know about us, you turn or you die. I dunno what your formal night was like for you…” he said, noting her dress. He struck a match and lit his cigarette, taking a deep drag before tossing the burnt-out matchstick onto her. “…but it was fucking awesome for me.”

  Chapter Four

  Safety Of Day

  Lauren awoke slowly, the pounding in her head a less-than-subtle suggestion she should have remained asleep. She held up her hand as the sun streamed in from the bedroom window and realised it was not her bedroom window. She sat up quickly and instantly regretted it, dizziness and nausea sweeping over her. When it passed she looked around, trying to determine where she was.

  The room was a pigsty. Clothes, underwear, magazines and weights cluttered the floor. She closed her eyes and sighed, massaging her forehead. Sure enough, she turned and found the sleeping form of…whatever his name was, beside her. On his stomach and like her, naked.

  Dressing quickly, she rummaged around for her purse and phone. She found both on the floor next to a small rubbish bin. Not daring to hope, she looked inside and spotted a used condom. Thank god.

  She remembered next to nothing about last night, which meant she must have been pretty wasted, and if that was the case it was not unheard of for her to look past contraception. She’d been caught a few times. Grateful she’d remembered this time, she hugged her things to her chest and tiptoed out the bedroom door and through the surprisingly large and open apartment. The lounge room itself was almost as big as two of the bedrooms in the flat she shared with Alex. She noticed the large flat screen TV and all the home entertainment goodies surrounding it. Huh, guess he’s got some cash. It didn’t really matter, though. If she didn’t remember his name, then he probably didn’t know hers; no point in saying goodbye. She snuck outside and used her mobile to call a cab to take her home.

  Lauren walked in the familiar door just a half hour later and immediately set off for the bathroom. She threw all the clothes she had on into the hamper and stepped into the shower. She let the hot water soak her hair and back, and tried to recall the events of the previous night. All she could remember clearly was Dante. His face, his voice, his smile. The fact he’d shown absolutely no interest in her at all—she remembered that very well. And she remembered how much that pissed her off. He’d spent all night talking to Alex. Alex! The one with the boyfriend, the one who was cute-but-not-hot. And he’d ignored the gorgeous one, the one who was single and actually wanted to sleep with him. He must be playing some sort of game. But Lauren had never been played before. She was the player, the tease, the vixen. It was empowering to be wanted and it felt good. Now the shoe was on the other foot and she didn’t like it one bit.

  So what’s his deal? she wondered. She wrapped a towel around her body, left the steamy bathroom for the comfort of the couch in the lounge and reached for her phone. Maybe he has a wife or a fiancée. Maybe several. That would explain a couple of things.

  Lauren typed his n
ame into the search engine, but surprisingly, the only hit was a link to the T website. As the page loaded, Lauren scanned the screen, scrolling down with slow swipes of her index finger, looking for anything she could find about Dante. The screen filled with the week-long events that T presented throughout the year.

  ‘January hosts the AUSTRALIANA weekend, come celebrate everything to do with the sunburnt country. Local beer is free on AUSTRALIA DAY. February is for all the lovers (mostly). VALENTINE’S DAY is couples’ night with complimentary champagne for each married or engaged couple. (We want to see the rings! Or a full pash at the bar to get your drinks. Tongues a must! No cheating!) Plus, forget desperate and dateless, for the rest of us single folk, the day after is SEXY and SEEKING night. (PS what happens at S&S stays there). You’ll have the LUCK O’ THE IRISH in March, followed by tributes to the 60’s and 70’s in April and May. June hosts LADIES’ NIGHT and July follows with BOY-ZONE. (Please note – members of the opposite sex have always tried to get in to these nights. Some even dress to add to the illusion. Yes we remember you. It won’t work again. Therefore we reserve the right to check the baby making tools at the door of all dodgy looking crashers.) We round out August with the 80’s, then September takes us back to the 90’s, before we all gear up for the granddaddy: GOTHICFEST on Halloween. MODERNVEMBER brings all the HITS of the 2000’s and TODAY. We end the year with a CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR’S EVE BLOW OUT. (Please note, while all consideration is made to appease the hundreds of different cultures, religions, races and creeds we receive on any given day, if you are sensitive in any way to alcohol, fun, clothing-optional nights, loud music, even louder singing of varying quality by our patrons and the national flag among other things, we advise you to stay home. This is Australia, it’s what we do. Deal with it.)

  Lauren snorted as she finished reading, finally coming to the main menu.

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