Michael's Soul Mate: A Steamy BBW Vampire Romance (Vampires of London Book 2)

by Lorelei Moone

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing in ecstasy with the empty glass in her hand. By the time she opened her eyes, she found that Lucille looked even more bored than she had before, and Michael had started studying his mobile phone.

  Weird, watching a vampire doing something that natural and seemingly human.

  And where was her phone? That would give her some clues regarding her old life, surely.

  “She’s back,” Lucille observed.

  Anna ignored her and focused on Michael instead. Their kiss, followed by his sudden rejection, had confused her deeply. Now that the effects of the blood were starting to wear off, the embarrassment and awkwardness she’d felt last night returned with a vengeance.

  Michael looked up without making proper eye contact. “Wonderful. Now that you’ve fed, we can consider going out.”

  Lucille got up and folded her arms. “We’ve received some tips which could possibly point to your attackers.”

  Anna turned to face her. “Where are they hiding?”

  Lucille shrugged. “That remains to be seen. But there has been some suspicious activity around the derelict power station in Chelsea.”

  Chelsea? That was a very upmarket part of the city. Why would anyone want to start trouble there of all places?

  Michael put his phone in his pocket. “Very well, let’s investigate.”

  Anna hesitated. Was it a good idea for her to go out and possibly end up attacking some random passerby like what had almost happened last night?

  “Ready?” Michael asked.

  Anna hesitated and scanned the room. Lucille had already left, leaving the two of them alone. “Wouldn’t it be risky for me to come?”

  He shook his head and smiled at her briefly. “You’ve fed on human blood now. It’ll be fine. The first step to resisting temptation is to feed regularly.”

  That was human blood? Anna wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Sure, it was her natural source of food now, but the thought still freaked her out a bit. Someone had been hurt and made to bleed to feed her.

  “Don’t worry, they didn’t feel a thing, nor will they remember,” Michael said.

  Anna looked up at him. When their eyes met, she could see nothing but warmth in his. Perhaps he really did care. But then why had he rejected her last night?

  “Fine. Let’s go,” she said.

  It didn’t take the three vampires long to reach Chelsea by cab. And despite the close proximity of the human driver, Anna was able to keep her urges under control. Michael was right. That glass of blood she drank before setting off had made all the difference.

  How often did vampires need to feed to stay in control? This was just one of the many questions she still had about her new reality. Hopefully she’d get the chance to speak to Michael in private at some point, without Lucille’s presence adding to the awkwardness.

  “So this is it,” Lucille said as she pointed to the fenced off industrial complex. Large chimneys on all corners of the building towered over their little group.

  On the road, cars and pedestrians passed them by, oblivious to the potential danger. They were three vampires, among a sea of humans, and yet they managed to blend in perfectly.

  Michael scanned the fence. “Let’s find a way in. There are too many onlookers for us to simply jump across.”

  Lucille nodded and marched down the road, while Michael and Anna inspected the perimeter of the lot in the opposite direction.

  Anna tried to do her bit, but she found it hard to focus. There were still so many scents in the air that tried to pull her in all directions. It had been easy enough to see the variety in the human population before she’d been turned, but only now did Anna realize just how varied their scents were. It was almost like being faced with a colorful buffet, in which every dish looked and smelled more appealing than the one that came before.

  “I’ve found it,” Michael whispered. He’d spoken just loud enough that Lucille had heard him from the other end of the street, but quiet enough that none of the humans had noticed.

  Anna tried her best to drag herself away from all the distractions and joined Michael in front of an innocuous breach in the chain link fence. He stepped aside and allowed Anna to enter first.

  Lucille followed, and finally the three of them were inside the abandoned yard in front of the old power plant.

  It was obvious that it had been out of use for a long time. The yard was overgrown with weeds and had been used as a dump to discard unwanted household appliances and other garbage. Still, the place had a strange beauty to it which Anna probably would have never noticed as a human.

  She gazed up to the roof of the abandoned power station. How amazing would it be to climb all the way to the top of one of those chimneys? The views would be amazing from up there.

  From the corner of Anna’s eye, she saw Lucille approach the front of the building, where one of the previously barricaded doors had been broken open. Inside, a shadow moved past the opening, startling Anna.

  “There’s someone in there,” she whispered, pointing at the entrance.

  “Probably a squatter,” Michael remarked.

  “But if those vampires are hiding here…” Anna wondered aloud.

  “Vampires would never let themselves be seen so easily. They’re probably long gone by now.”

  Anna hoped he was right, but still kept a distance behind Michael, as the two of them followed Lucille inside. It would take some time for her to become as fearless as her two companions.

  Although it was pretty dark inside, Anna could see her surroundings in astounding detail. Indeed, there were some people inside, squatters like Michael had assumed. A few of them had made beds for themselves using cardboard, newspapers, and discarded clothes.

  Lucille ignored them and walked further into the building, but Anna caught a whiff of something she couldn’t ignore.

  The scent was so familiar, and yet she couldn’t place where she’d last smelled it. She followed it to an empty squat. After she pushed some newspapers aside with her foot, she found what she was looking for. A plain black messenger bag. Her bag; she was sure of it.

  “I don’t believe it,” Anna muttered as she picked it up.

  It looked slightly worse for the wear, but she recognized the way it felt to the touch, the scuffs on the buckle that had developed over time, and even the nearly invisible coffee stain on the strap.

  Michael appeared by her side. “What is it?”

  “This.” Anna turned and held up the bag. “This is mine.”

  Michael leaned forward to inspect it. “It has your scent.”

  Anna’s heart was beating faster. Would the contents of this bag help her figure out more about her life? Only one way to find out.

  She opened it and found that it was mostly empty. No wallet, no phone. If those things had still been in there when the bag was found by whoever’s squat this was, they were long gone by now. She rummaged around inside. There were just some chocolate wrappers and a pack of tissues.

  Then she found the zip to the inner compartment. Inside was a solitary business card. She picked it up and almost instinctively held it to her nose. Yes, this was unmistakably hers.

  She remembered the moment she’d first received the stack of fresh new business cards from the printer.

  Anna felt Michael’s eyes still on her as she turned the card over, revealing the most important clue yet: Anna James Catering.

  Underneath, there was a phone number as well as a website address, though unfortunately, no physical address.

  “Where are the two of you? I found something significant,” Lucille’s voice called out from somewhere much deeper inside the building.

  Anna and Michael shared a quick look. This trip had already paid off as far as Anna was concerned. Who knew what other clues lurked in the depths of this abandoned industrial complex.

  They joined Lucille, who had found what looked like some sort of control room. Inside, she was poring over old blueprints of the facility, pointing
to the center of it. “There. If I were a newcomer in this city, and I was up to something I wouldn’t want to draw attention to, that’s where I’d do it.”

  Michael leaned forward and also studied the plans, but Anna couldn’t take her eyes off her old business card.

  It wasn’t as pristine as in her memory. Something had changed, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

  She cleared her throat. “I think I’d like some time alone to think,” she told Michael, as Lucille looked on with one eyebrow raised.

  “That’s understandable,” he said, glancing over at Lucille. “I’ll take you home then.”

  Lucille rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything.

  “No, no, I’ll just take a cab back,” Anna mumbled. “It’ll be fine.” It had to be, right? She’d been able to control herself on the journey here, so why would the way back be any different? She couldn’t expect Michael to babysit her wherever she went; she’d lose her mind.

  “I must insist. I’ll accompany you.”

  Lucille put one hand on her hip and shook her head. “Michael, I understand that you’ve got a shiny new toy, but this is important. We’re not done here yet.”

  Did Lucille honestly just refer to her as a toy? Anna couldn’t believe her ears.

  “Excuse me?” Anna snapped.

  “You’re new to this, I understand,” Lucille started, then glanced across at Michael. “But believe me, I know his type very well. His dedication will wear off once another woman catches his eye. You might as well learn to stand on your own two feet early on.”

  “I’m not—I mean, things aren’t like that!” Anna protested. Why bother, though. Who did Lucille think she was, anyway? She didn’t know the first thing about what kind of person Anna was; she’d never allow herself to be used like that. Not that it was any of Lucille’s business.

  Michael crossed his arms as he faced Lucille. “Before you disrespect me, you might want to consider whether or not you want my cooperation in your little investigation.”

  Lucille shrugged. “I can just have Julius summon you and compel you to help me. It makes no difference to me. But remember that you’re on shaky ground with him already.”

  Michael glared at her, and Lucille glared back.

  Anna, meanwhile, turned away from the two riled up vampires and left. She didn’t care what these two got up to next, she was going back to the house to research her own past. That was her priority. Nothing and no one would be able to stop her.

  Chapter Nine

  Anna had every intention of heading straight back to the mansion when she left the derelict lot. She’d even hailed a cab and started to talk to the driver, when some peculiar new sensation overwhelmed her. The more she spoke with him and made eye contact with him, the more she felt a strange new presence in her mind. He was in there with her, or was she in his mind with him? It was hard to tell the difference.

  “Say, do you have a phone?” Anna asked the man.

  “Sure, love,” the cabbie responded, his voice monotone, as though he didn’t realize what he was saying.

  “Show me.” Anna stretched out her hand. “You don’t mind if I borrow it for a bit, do you?”

  The man didn’t hesitate, just handed his device over. “Not at all. Glad to help.”

  Anna smiled at him and opened the rear door of the cab, taking a seat inside. “Just wait here for a bit, I’ll let you know where I want to go in a second,” she said.

  So this was the hypnosis thing Michael had been talking about. It was a lot easier than she’d thought. In fact it came almost completely naturally to her. No way was a hardened London cabbie going to hand his phone to just anyone who asked for it. She could have so easily stolen it; not that she was planning to.

  Anna held her breath as she typed in the website address from her old business card. It was basic, just a couple of pages of information, but no address. She read through the whole thing, studying it in detail. Slowly, memories of herself writing these words came back to her. She’d been full of excitement and hope at the time. Setting up her own catering business had been a longtime dream.

  Something wasn’t quite right, though, as though that memory had been tainted by a negative event.

  It hadn’t been a success, she thought. I couldn’t make it work. A sense of disappointment filled her chest, as though she’d just now made the decision to give up on the business.

  She looked down at the card, with its dog-eared corner and slightly faded text. She’d started off with a stack of 200 brand new business cards and this was the only one she had left.

  And since the website hadn’t pointed her to her home address, this clue seemed to be a dead end.

  Anna looked up through the side window. The small shops on the other side of the road didn’t look familiar. Her bag just happened to end up inside that building. As far as she knew, she’d never been here before.

  “Just take me to Kensington Palace Gardens like I said,” Anna instructed the cabbie.

  She handed him his phone back through the coin slot in the Plexiglass partition between them.

  “As you wish, dear.” He started the engine and pulled out into traffic.

  Anna sat back and listlessly looked out the window. This had been a waste of time. The memories she’d gained had only brought her down.

  What would she have done in the past to cheer herself up? Anna closed her eyes and tried to remember. It was like all of her memories were right there inside of her head, but something was blocking them and keeping them from her.

  Chocolate.

  Anna opened her eyes. The scent hung heavy in the air. Molten chocolate. Hints of vanilla and cinnamon, and the smell of freshly baked wheat tying it all together.

  “Pull over here, will you?” she said.

  The cabbie did as asked.

  She rummaged around in her pockets for money to pay him, but there was none. In her eagerness to start investigating the business card, she’d forgotten to ask Michael for some. “How much do I owe you?” she asked.

  The cabbie turned around and smiled at her. “This one’s on the house, love.”

  Anna smiled back at him. She could really get used to this hypnosis business. “Thank you so much. You’ve been very helpful.”

  He just kept on looking at her with a vague smile on his face. Now what? Was he just going to hang around here, stuck in a trance?

  “You best be on your way back to where you picked me up and wait for your next fare,” Anna said.

  He nodded and put his hands back on the steering wheel.

  Whew. She didn’t want to consider the possibility of this man hanging around here endlessly, waiting for her like a lost puppy.

  Anna got out of the cab. It pulled away almost immediately after she shut the door.

  Now that she was outside, those familiar scents she’d just picked up on had only intensified. She started to follow her nose up the street, dodging other pedestrians, until she felt compelled to turn off into a smaller street.

  The cobbled street underfoot felt familiar. This was a part of the city where she’d spent a lot of time in the past. She continued on, zigzagging through the tighter streets until she had reached her destination.

  The shiny, modern building stood out starkly against the historic buildings all around. This bakery had been a part of her walk to and from work for quite a while. Being back here provided a sense of belonging and nostalgia.

  She looked around, hoping for further clues. Which way was home?

  Anna then closed her eyes and tried to figure it out by scent. The sweet aromas emanating from the bakery covered everything else. She simply couldn’t make out what was under them.

  But Anna wasn’t easily discouraged. Instead of giving up, she started to systematically walk through the streets surrounding the bakery in a grid pattern. Sooner or later, she would see something familiar, she was sure of it.

  This went on for ten minutes or so, until she inadvertently walked into an alle
y with a dead end. The graffiti covered buildings surrounding her seemed abandoned; broken windows marked the upper floors, some of which were boarded up. No way was this place going to provide clues as to where she lived.

  Anna was about to turn around and continue to explore the neighborhood, when a tall, slender figure materialized in front of her.

  “Will you look at that,” the man said.

  He looked old; just how old, Anna couldn’t be sure. His skin was papery and almost translucent. His deep black eyes stood out starkly against his otherwise faded appearance.

  “Do I know you?” Anna stammered. She could barely stand looking at the man. The moment she made eye contact, it felt like the man’s hand had penetrated her chest and started to squeeze at her heart. It was painful, terrifying, otherworldly.

  He approached her and looked her over top to bottom like one might inspect cattle at an auction.

  “This is unexpected, to say the least.”

  Curiosity had brought her here, but Anna was over that now. She wanted desperately to run, yet her feet refused to move.

  “Who are you?” she tried again.

  The man smiled, revealing an entire row of razor sharp teeth. His longer canines gave him away as a vampire, but the rest of him was unlike what Anna had seen in Michael or even Lucille. He didn’t look entirely normal, even for a vampire.

  Anna opened her mouth to question him further, but she was unable to make a sound.

  “Take her.” The man stood back and waited as two figures, entirely dressed in black, flitted out of the windows above and flanked Anna.

  She tried to turn around to leave, but they had grabbed her by the arms so tightly she couldn’t move at all. Within seconds, a hood of some sort ended up on her head, cutting off her vision completely. Even in this new form, she felt as helpless as a human would have been.

  They lifted her up and started to carry her, presumably into the building they’d just come from. The only senses Anna had left were smell and sound. Wherever they were taking her, it smelled damp and moldy, as though someone had discarded a lot of rubbish here and left it to rot. Occasionally, the ammonia-laden scent of urine overpowered everything else.