by ML Michaels
That was until she found the strength to pull the trigger sending a bullet charged with ten thousand volts of electricity firing directly into the succubus’ stomach. She fell back, bleeding and spasming onto the toilet as Beck caught her breath, her heart still racing from the desire that had erupted inside of her.
“One down...now if only that idiot partner of mine would carry his own weight.” She looked down at the still jittering girl, her dress bunching up around her hips and more than likely getting stained with urine. “Or at least carry some of hers.”
***
“So, and I know this sounds like a line, but bare with me? Do you come here often?”
The beautiful girl, whose name he’d learned was Danielle, giggled. She’d been talking to Zack for a while and she couldn’t help but admit that there was something endearing about him. He was a bit corny, but it was cute. “Actually no, this is my first time. What about you?”
“My first time too. I’m actually supposed to be on the job right now,” Zack said, sipping a pint of beer that he’d ordered. “To be honest though, I’d much rather just sit here and keep picking your brain. So, what do you want to be?”
Danielle shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea. I’m trying to get my Bachelor’s Degree right now but I honestly don’t know what it would be for. I just know I want more...I want to see the world, have adventures.”
“I’ve had some adventures, sweetheart. Trust me, they’re not everything. Sometime you just want that person you can sit down and enjoy a nice day in with, no drama, no suspense, no nothing.”
Danielle smiled, showing a dazzling array of pearly white teeth. “You called me sweetheart.”
“Did I?” Zack asked, blushing. He had been feeling the effects of the blood all night. It had made him stronger, faster, more aware, and most surprisingly, more sure of himself. “I didn’t realize. I’m sorry, I must have had one too many, I hope I didn’t offend.”
“Not at all, handsome.” Danielle batted her eyes. “I actually enjoyed it.”
“Well…” Zack paused, looking at her and wondering if he should say words that were fighting to exit the tip of his tongue. He’d already established that the life that he led was no place for any kind of significant other—but when faced with a perfect girl like Danielle, who seemed to block out every other thought and worry from his mind, was he supposed to just let her walk away?
“Do you wanna take this back to my place?” Both of them said at the same time, unaware that either one of them had been contemplating the question.
“Definitely,” Zack answered. “But maybe back to your place? I’m staying in a hotel right now.”
“Okay,” Danielle smiled, standing up and downing her drink before closing out her tab. She would need all the liquid courage possible if she were going to actually go through with her plan for tonight. But, she’d already decided. It was time for her to actually become a member of the family and stop fighting her destiny. It was time for her to feed.
***
Julia didn’t begin to come to until after Beck had dropped her body out the bathroom window, searched the club for her Junior Agent and come up short, and then lugged the still unconscious woman into the back of her black SUV.
The first thing Julia registered when she woke up was the vulgar string of curse words that the woman driving, also the woman who had shot her, was spouting out. They all seemed to be directed at someone named Zack.
“Where are you taking me?” Julia asked, her voice groggy. She checked the wound on her stomach, which was nearly impossible with her bound hands, and was thankful to see that it had healed. She was lucky that she had just fed.
“Sit down and shut up, you’ll have your turn to tell me where your nest is. Right now I have to find out where my pest of a partner is.” She put the phone to her ear for the tenth time, waiting as the line rang to no avail. Once again, she hung up the phone, cursing in anger. “Well, idiot, let’s see how you like being tracked.”
She pressed a button on her keychain and the small metal square opened up like a tiny laptop. The charm on her chain had three tiny buttons. One of them was green, one of them was red and the last one was black. For a second, she entertained herself with macabre thoughts of what would happen to Zack if she pressed the black one, and then, after having her fun, she pressed the green button, the car now locking on to her Junior Agents location.
“I’m on my way, punk. And when I get there, you better either have a succubus apprehended and ready, or I’m kicking your ass.”
Julia, hearing the things that she was saying, realized that her worst fear was coming true. Somehow they’d gotten on the radars of some very special people—people who were specifically designed to hunt things like them. She sat in the backseat unable to do anything but hope that the contingency plan that she had set in place would work.
***
Whitney had been deep in the zone, typing out another book, when she’d gotten the call from her older sister. She’d almost ignored it but her hands were cramping up and she figured now was a good a time as any to take a break.
“What’s up Jules? Come to rub it in my face that you’re taking our little sister out on a hunt while I sit at home like a nerd.”
“Hello?” The voice that came through on the other side wasn’t her sister’s. In fact, she was sure she’d never heard the man’s voice before but there was something innately familiar about his speech. He had the same monotone way of speaking that all of her lovers had after she’d gotten inside their brain. “Is this 911?”
Whitney hung up the phone, not needing to hear anymore. They’d always known that this day would come sometime, and they’d planned for it. Julia was supposed to save Whitney’s number in her phone as 911, and if Whitney ever got the call, it meant that it was time to pay the Sarge a visit.
Whitney was out of the house, her keys in hand and her phone pressed against her ear in the next minute, knowing that both of her sister’s lives depending on her now. “Hello?” She said, when the husky male voice on the other line finally answered. “Yeah, it’s a code red. I need you.”
***
It had been hard enough for Zack to keep his hands off of her during the cab ride back to her place, but now that they were walking through the dark foyer of her apparently empty home, every muscle in his body was itching to join with hers.
“Whitney?” Danielle called, locking the door behind her. “I have a friend with me, we’re going to go in my room.” Danielle waited for a response from her sister, a hoop or holler, a catcall, a standing ovation—something. When she received nothing, she got a bit worried.
Zack however took it as his chance to make his move, sure that he wouldn’t be getting interrupted by anyone anymore. He placed his hand on the small of her back, feeling the ruffles of her adorable dress and the warm skin beneath the soft fabric, pulling her close to him. He gazed into her green eyes, noticing how they seemed to twinkle, and placed his lips on hers.
Zack had been kissed before, he’d even had his fair share of girls before that fateful night, but never had any of them made him feel like Danielle. His lips seemed to fit hers perfectly, and his body couldn’t get enough of hers, pressing himself against her, pushing her into the wall, and past the door to her room, until they both collapsed onto the bed.
Danielle, who had never done anything like this before, was already drunk with lust. Each time he touched her, each time they kissed, with every breath she breathed, she could feel him giving himself to her more and more. And she could take as much as she wanted.
She flipped him over, until she was on top, unbuckling his pants and pulling the straps of her dress down. He sat up to kiss her creamy exposed skin, his tongue trailing along her bare shoulders and pulling her dress down further, exposing her chest to him. She pulled his face to hers and bit his lip, sending passion-fueled electricity surging through him as he kicked off his slacks.
Both of them were atop the bed now, intertwin
ed with one another, clad in nothing but their underwear. They paused for a moment, gazing into each other’s eyes, sure that this was what they wanted. With a slight shake of her head and the removal of her panties, Danielle assured him that she wanted nothing more than this in the world.
Zack, feeling the same way, entered her, moaning from the very moment he felt her pleasure wrapping around him. Danielle’s nails scratched at his back, tearing at his skin and urging him to go faster, deeper, to give all of himself to her. Zack obliged, quickening his pace and his efforts, even the bed rocking back and forth to the rhythm of their lust, until he reached fruition, leaving him feeling more satisfied and content than he’d ever felt in his life.
For him, it was like every worry and care he’d ever had or would have had dissipated. There was nothing left but unadulterated bliss. For her, it was a completely different experience.
Danielle had never been with a man, and she’d definitely never fed. Her first experience had been eye opening in more ways than one. She’d learned that unlike her sister Whitney, she didn’t take the talents of her lovers after she was done with them. And also unlike her sister Julia, she wasn’t able to physically sap their vitality and essence to heal herself. What she could do, however, was like completely stepping into the life of another.
She’d seen everything. Zack’s childhood, his father’s death and his mother’s struggle with it, his eventual road to drugs and rehabilitation, and his rough childhood. She’d even seen what had happened to him the night he was turned. He and a group of friends had been looking to score some new stuff—it was called Blood. They got to the dealer’s house and found out that addiction wasn’t the only monster they’d be confronting that night. She felt his conflicting emotions about being the only one that survived.
But most important to her, she saw him for who he truly was. Nothing but a user. He’d come to her town looking for her and her sisters, had seduced her, and now he probably planned to kill her or worse—lock her up in some testing facility. She wasn’t having it.
Danielle stood up, conjuring the small amount of magic that she knew and focusing it where Zack lay, his eyes still closed in contentment. “Deyestra!” she commanded, her hands forming some symbol. Zack opened his eyes to see that he was floating, almost three feet above the bed now and unable to move.
“What the hell?”
“I can’t believe you lied to me and used me like that. You’re just here to kill me, huh?”
“What are you talking about Danielle? Where is this coming from?”
“You know what I’m talking about. The Order, you’re a Junior Agent, and your partner is probably somewhere chopping my sisters up right now.” Danielle was furious; she didn’t even realize that the small objects around the room had begun shaking with the power of her magic.
Zack, on the other hand, was just beginning to realize how badly he’d screwed up, and as he tried to move to no avail, he was beginning to think there was no way out of this. “What are you going to do to me?”
“I think I’m going to kill you. A life for a life, right?”
“Actually,” Beck’s voice came from somewhere behind her, causing her to whirl around and drop Zack back onto the bed. “You’re not going to touch him. I’m going to kill him, but not ‘til after we’ve got you and your sister here,” she motioned one of her pistols to the bound woman in a green dress that she was dragging behind her.
“Good job there, junior. I didn’t think you actually had it—”
A high-caliber bullet zipped past Beck’s face, close enough to slice a piece of her hair off. She stopped talking abruptly, looking down and seeing an infrared dot placed directly at her chest. “Damn it, I take it that’s the third one?”
“No more talking for you,” Julia commanded, the power seeming to come back in her voice now that she realized the tables were turning. “That’s my sister. She just slept with the best marksman in Washington’s premier naval base. In case you’re slow,” she looked at Zack when she said it, “that means that she can now blow your head off from about fifteen hundred feet away. I guarantee you she won’t miss.”
“So, what do you want? Us to leave you alone? We can do that.”
“Please,” Julia waved Beck off with a flick of her wrist. “Spare me your petty false promises. We both know the second I call her off, you’ll try to kill all three of us. I’m not really in the mood to die to day. I think I’ll just have her execute you both right now.”
Julia held up her hand, ready to give the signal.
“Wait!” Zack screamed, his eyes locked on Danielle. “You have to believe me, for me it wasn’t about just a job. I didn’t even know who you were. I just really liked you, and I wanted to share a special night with you.”
Danielle rolled her eyes. “Spare me, you’re just trying to plead for your pitiful life.” She said it, but didn’t believe it. There was something sincere in the way that he was looking at her, and she didn’t think she could just watch him die.
“Julia,” she said, her voice low. “I can’t watch this. I’ve fed like you asked me to. I’m one of us, and clearly I know we can’t let them go, but can we not kill him? I’d take care of him and make sure he never got out and he could be like a live-in meal for me.”
Julia shook her head at first. “It’s too dangerous, sis.” Then, she thought about what having a man living in the house would mean for her little sister. She’d actually become okay with who she was and what being a succubus meant. In a lot of ways, it could be a good thing.
Besides, she figured, he was nothing but a little pipsqueak. “You know what? Maybe you can keep the pipsqueak. After all, it’s really this bitch who’s been giving us all the trouble. And after Whitney takes this shot, the only thing that we’ll have to worry about is how the hell we’re supposed to get the blood bits out of the carpet.”
Zack’s ears perked up at the mention of blood bits, the pieces of a last-ditch-effort plan beginning to form in his mind. Now, all he needed was a way to get out of the sniper’s range.
“Take your new pet downstairs, Dani. I don’t want you to have to see this.”
Perfect. Zack obliged peacefully as she led him, still keeping his body paralyzed by some magical spell, down the stairs to a poorly lit basement. When they were alone, she waved her hand, dropping the spell and giving Zack control of his limbs back. She rushed to him, holding his face in her hand. “Tell me, did you really mean what you said up there?”
He looked at her. From this close, he could hear the waterfall-like rushing of the blood throughout her whole body. He held her face in his hand too, gazing into her eyes for one last time. “The sad part is, I actually did mean it.” Then, before she could react, he sunk his teeth into her neck, remembering the advice Beck had given him earlier.
Drink it. Drink it all.
And that’s just what he did.
***
After that, Zack had no idea what happened. It was a lot like the time he’d been at a frat party at Kappa Alpha Gamma. He’d woken up back in his dorm, penis scrawled on his face in permanent marker, and a picture of him naked curled up with a goat on his Instagram.
One of the main differences between that time and this time was that Zack had blacked out from alcohol, not too much blood. The other most striking difference was that at the frat party, Zack hadn’t left three dead bodies and a scene full of blood behind.
Well, almost three. After Zack had come up from the basement, he was nothing more than a blur as he sped past Beck and ripped into Julia’s heart with one quick motion. Before Beck had even known who had saved him, Zack was across the street, in the abandoned building where the beautiful and deadly Whitney was waiting, her eye pressed against the scope. She never even saw him coming.
He made it back to the Braylin sister’s house and passed out, deep scarlet blood congealing and pooling from his mouth. Beck had seen it once before—blood overdose. Even vampires had to take things in moderation. She knew s
he only had a couple minutes to get Zack to The Order Up, where hopefully they could reverse the side effects. But she wouldn’t even be allowed in, if she didn’t have a succubus with her.
“A-list missions,” she complained, “killing the bad guys is easy, apprehending them is a different matter completely.”
Beck crept down the stairs, checking on the last possible Braylin sister that could be alive, and was surprised to find a small heartbeat. It was weak and Zack had clearly tapped everything from most of her, but there was something. With no other alternative, Beck did what she had to do, leaning forward and placing a kiss on the cooling lips of Danielle, feeling her essence leaving her and pouring into the succubus.
When she figured that she’d given enough of her life force to sustain her, she carried her upstairs on wobbly feet, picked up her Junior Agent who’d just saved her life and piled them into the back of the car.
Beck turned on the radio as she drove down the highway, on her way back to The Order Up. She looked over at her unconscious partner as she rode, smiling genuinely at him, though she’d never let him see it.
“You did good Zackariah. You did very good.”
***
Danielle awoke, bound and a bit roughed up, in the backseat of a spacious mini-van. Her head was clouded in confusion and the rest of her felt empty and weak. The weirdest part about the whole ordeal had been the terrifying dream she’d had.
After Zack—her mind recoiled at the pleasant memories that his name brought with it. After the vampire, she corrected silently, demeaning him to his lowest form, had bitten her, she’d resigned herself to her fate. If this was how death came, she had figured, then so be it.