Kurt

After a while, they all start to look the same. All the horrified expressions meld together, until I am unable to distinguish any facial details. I was getting used to it, not caring about them, using them up and spitting them out, so to speak. And to think, it only took sixty years. Nathaniel, the leader of my coven, had spent years mentoring me, molding me into his idea of the perfect vampire. When he found me, broken and battered by my attackers, slowly bleeding to death, he knew that he had to save me. Save me from the damning afterlife for which he believed I was headed. He still says that I was his angel, the only angel he would ever have the chance to meet. That was years ago, and I still laugh at the thought of his naivete. How ironic, a God fearing vampire.

I sat back in my ottoman, stroking the hair of my latest conquest soothingly. This one was decently good looking, for a human, with downy auburn hair, and crystal eyes that sparkled like water. He was young, younger than I was, with a sturdy figure for his age. He lay asleep with his head in my lap, exhausted from when I had fed off of him earlier. I don't know why I decided to keep him, instead of draining him dry like most. Maybe it was because he reminded me of myself many years ago. I took an immediate liking to him, and all of his boyish charm. He was rather easy to tame, Thad had him trained within days. It was as though he savored my attention, as macabre as it was.

The boy stirred in my lap, turning around so his face was flush against my stomach. He hummed as he awoke, sending a shiver of pleasure down my spine. Aroused, I gripped his hair, keeping his face where it lay. Realizing the position he was in, he whimpered in the back of his throat, nuzzling inadvertently at my abdomen in protest. How I loved that whimper, it was the same one that he made every time that I sank my fangs into his tender skin. It sent a jolt of arousal straight to my groin. I resisted the urge to turn his face downward, towards my erect cock, which was waiting patiently for the delicious fiction that it craved.

Even though Nathaniel tried to convince me that humans were only on this planet for the amusement of vampires, and I agreed with him for the most part, I still couldn't bring myself to use them for pleasure. Call me romantic, but I didn't want it to just be one sided sex. That could be the reason that I was still without a mate. After a few years as a vampire, I found myself unconsciously searching for someone to spend the rest of my eternity with. Even though I met close to hundreds of other vampires, they came to visit the manor every few years, and quite a few eligible gay vampires, I found no one. I even had a few flings now and then, some very naughty. However, I never found someone with whom I felt connected. I gave up after a few decades, resigning myself to the thought that I may be alone for the rest of my life- afterlife- on this planet.

My attention was brought back to the boy in my lap, who was squirming uncomfortably, attempting to loosen my iron grip on his hair. It wasn't as if I was being rough, I was being rather gentle with him, but my loose grip was inescapable to him. I looked down at him, a little amused by his feeble attempts at escape, my eyes meeting his. Human pets are trained to never make eye contact with vampires, it was seen as a display of disrespect. They avoided our eyes with utmost care, for fear of brutal punishment. He knew what he was doing, and he knew it was dangerous. It was a bit unnerving to see him staring back at me without the familiar gleam of apprehension in his eyes. I was intrigued.

Connor

I could feel it. The fear they instilled in me when they trained me to obey. The stabbing pain of when he sunk his fangs into my skin. The pleasurable feeling that I got from the rush of endorphins that followed. The way that his hard cock,- yes, his cock- was pressed against my cheek. The intensity of staring into his eyes, refusing to look away. I could feel it. The flutter in my chest when he stroked my hair affectionately, thinking I was asleep. I loved it. I loved every minute of it.

I was just another human that they had decided to snatch off of the streets. There was nothing special about me, nothing remarkable at all. I was a teenager in high school, misunderstood and hated. Hated for being who I was, hated for being gay. They would all laugh when one of them would humiliate me. They thought it was funny, my misery. Sadistic bastards. Every single one of them. I would refuse to listen to their insults, refuse to acknowledge their dirty looks. That got me by for a while, but I didn't get away with ignoring them for long. When they came for me, there was nothing I could do. I was helpless. I was weak. I was barely able to drag myself off the ground when they were done. I took inventory of my injuries and, after deciding that I could make it, I started for home. Needless to say, I never made it back.

I don't dwell on it much now. Even though they train us, they don't take away our thoughts, our minds. We can still think, we can still feel. We aren't mindless drones, as all the movies or books make us out to be. Some of us like this life. It is possible to be content, to be happy to be kept. Isn't it? It's almost as if I was swept away from a life of misery, just to be placed into the arms of this porcelain angel, evil as he is. This porcelain angel who has his hand wrapped in my hair mercilessly. I could feel his arousal, and it was turning me on. It had made him hard, to have me so close, yet so far. But he wouldn't do anything with me, even though Thad had trained me for this purpose.

It took weeks for him to even let me be this close to him, even though he was the one who saved me from becoming just another meal. I felt protected by him, safe in his arms, and not just because nobody would fuck with him. That's what everyone else seemed to think, though. The vampires and the slaves both thought that I was using him for protection, when actually...I think I love him. How do you not love such perfection? All I know is that I want to love him, and he won't let me. Maybe he's forgotten what love is. But...I know he hasn't forgotten what lust is.

Valkyrie

Fucking Noah. He always does this shit to me. He'll stand around trying to act like some ladies' man, and he'll forget what we came here for. Just like now, when he's trying to charm a young sorceress into giving him a potion that he knows she's not even supposed to have. Dumbass. Gotta love him, the fucking hypocrite. He'll bend the rules for himself, but the moment someone else does, he's on them like fur on a werewolf. I just shook my head as the Mohawked hunter leaned casually against the glass countertop, the cabinet adorned with magical apparatus. He was smooth talking her now, trying to get the short brunette to slip. Just one little misplaced word and he would have enough to put her away for God knows how long. I got the feeling that wasn't what he was here for though. I turned to the curvaceous black vampire next to me, pulling out my knife and twirling it in boredom. She didn't seem fazed when she saw me whip it out, it was as if she knew that I meant her no harm.

"He do this often?" she asked me in a sassy tone, looking me up and down casually. I laughed at her question as if it was incredulous to even ask. She looked a little taken aback, so I put my blade away and leaned back against the bookshelf she was arranging.

"Hah, this is all he does." I shook back my fire red hair, pulling it into a ponytail, getting frustrated when it snagged. We were supposed to be doing stings on several joints today. His idle chatter has put us back- I checked my watch- 2 fucking hours. Boy was I going to hear it from Sylvester when we got back empty handed because of his lazy ass. "It's not going to work is it?"

"Probably not. Then again, she is a bit lonely nowadays." she said sadly, stacking books on a cart. She looked worried for her friend, who was blushing at Noah now. Maybe he is a ladies' man...he's never been able to work his "magic" on me though, and I'm supposed to be his mate. Just as a beautiful- and yes, she was beautiful, I have an eye for these things- blonde girl walked into the door, I saw the vampire next to me set down a book that I thought I would never find in my lifetime. I picked it up in a state of pure excitement, turning to the vampire.

"Is this what I think it is?" I asked the vampire, holding up the book gingerly. It looked a good hundred years old, the leather cover worn and fading. I read the title with fervor. Directorium eget interfectores. Roughly, it translated as the Hunter's Herbal Guide...like I said, roughly. It didn't help that I hadn't needed to read anything in Latin for five years. Xander, one of my best friends, has been searching for this book for years, and I was not about to pass up the opportunity to make him indebted to me. "How much?"

"How much you got?" the vampire quipped, putting her hands on her hips. I sighed, so she was one of those kinds of merchants. I looked over at Noah again, who had turned his attention away from the pretty brunette, towards the blonde girl who had walked into the shop moments ago. The brunette witch didn't seem too pleased, and was shooting the blonde dirty looks, which were eagerly returned. I watched them for a few moments, keeping my eye on Noah to make sure he didn't fuck anything up, when the blonde realized who the two of us were. She said her goodbyes to the witch, who she called Rachel, and left the shop as if it were on fire. Must have been an underworlder.

Noah's eyes were still glued to the spot where the blonde had been standing, as if imagining her there would make her reappear. I looked around the shop quickly, trying to find anything that I could use as leverage. This shop is immaculate, not a single thing out of place. But- like Sylvester taught us- if you can't find anything, make something up. I turned back to the woman with a sly look on my face.

"Let's see. Those potions aren't labeled with side effects, that enchanted sword has no warrant, and I can see at least three things out of code with those books you are stacking. Not to mention that witch's shirt is butt ugly, and she's not wearing a nametag." I taunted quickly, trying to play up the half truths that I just spewed. She did not look pleased, and put on a face that clearly said "Bitch, please.". "How much was this book again?"

"How much you got?" she repeated, having seen that I had absolutely nothing to go on. I sighed in defeat and pulled my wallet out of my belt, flicking through the bills with discontent.

"How's a hundred?" I asked her curtly, not letting her know that I had twice that much. Xander is so fucking paying me back for this. She took the bills out of my hand without another word and counted them to make sure that I wasn't trying to hustle her. Yeah, like I was trying to hustle her. I like her, she can stay. Screw the other one though, she looks conceited.

"I get the feeling that you and I are going to get along." she said after she was done counting the bills. She held out her hand to me, a sign of respect, something hunters don't give to underworlders often. I took it, and shook it firmly, feeling the chill of her skin through my thin gloves. "I'm Meridian, but my friends call me Mercedes. At least this century they do."

"Valkyrie, but my friends call me "that-bitch-who-never-lets-us-get-away-with-shit". Or Val, for short." I said to her in a serious tone, and we were silent for a moment, until we both burst out laughing. When we calmed down, I walked over to where Noah was trying to sweet talk Rachel again, the book tucked under my arm. I gave Rachel a short nod to tell her that everything was fine, and yanked on Noah's arm, trying to pull him away from the counter.

"Come on, Puck, before I tell Sylvester that it's your fault that we're two hours behind schedule." I said threateningly, tightening my grip on his bicep. He looked at me incredulously, shocked that I would do such a horrible thing. "You know she's been looking for a reason to shave your Mohawk for three years. Do you want me to give her one?"

"You wouldn't." he bluffed, trying to look tough, but failing under my gaze. That's one thing I liked about Noah, he could play hunk all he wanted, but he was always at my mercy. I gave him that look that told him I was going to win, and he started for the door, grunting in anger as he did.

"Thought so." I said, watching him sulk out the door with a smile on my face. I gave Mercedes a quick wave, and followed him out, finding him smoking in the alleyway. He only smoked when he was seriously pissed. My guess is that it was from dragging him away from the chance to flirt with a hot witch. I may have the upper hand in our partnership, but there was nothing I hated more than to have to deal with a pissy Noah. This was going to be a long night.

A/N Reviews are love, and we know there's a lot out there.