CHAPTER 3

Shadow was licking the blood off of his fingers when Rouge barged into his room.

"Must you treat my room as if it is yours?" Shadow sighed.

"Who is she?" Rouge demanded.

"Who are you asking about now?" he yawned.

"The strawberry scent."

Shadow's eyes flashed open and his ears perked up. "What did you say?"

He shouldn't have been surprised that Rouge was the one to catch it first, but to catch it on the first day... he had to give her some credit.

"She is not your business." Shadow said.

"But this is quite the surprise, Shadow." Rouge went on. "To be close to a girl enough that her scent lingers on you and not feed on her. That doesn't seem like you. Why is she so special?"

Shadow rose up from his seat by the fireplace and walked towards the door, pretending he didn't hear her.

'Rouge is too sharp for her own good.' Shadow thought bitterly as he made his way down the long hallway.

The vampiress's high heels clicked on the marble floor behind him. She was being very stubborn. However, Shadow was equally as stubborn, if not more. So there they went. Walking down the hallway. Shadow's feet silently gliding as if the marble was ice and Rouge's heels pecking away persistently behind him. They continued their battle throughout the entire length of the mansion, catching the attention of other vampires and vampiresses living in it. Click. Click. Slide. Slide. It was almost amusing to watch the scene play out.

Rouge gave up first.

"Fine! You don't want to tell me? I'll figure it out on my own!" Rouge screamed, throwing her hands up in defeat.

Shadow wasn't bothered. After all, there was no way that even Rouge would guess who the strawberry-scented female was. He was still smirking in victory long after she had disappeared to "interview" all of the vampiresses in the world.

Looking around, he realized it was getting too late.

"My coven," he addressed the crowd. "It is time to feed!"

The crowd cried out with pleasure, the idea of fighting stirring up thirst. The moon was at its highest point in the sky. It was usually around this time that the Night's children were at their strongest. It was also this time when both groups would go into the nearest city, Laurence Garden, and feed on the mortals.

!

(In Laurence Garden)

The hard music was deafening to the ears and bodies were pushing each other so that there was hardly any personal space anywhere in the room. Neon lights flooded the room with bright pinks, lime greens, and ocean blues. The glass by the bar area glittered as they reflected the light, invitingly calling to those who wished to forget. Within the crowd were a mix of all races: vampires, lupines, shapeshifters, and just plain mortals. In the middle of all this madness stood a lovely hedgehog, flirtatiously dancing with a green bird.

"Jet." Amy whispered seductively in the bird's ear. "I can't take it anymore. Let's go."

Jet happily agreed. The two sneaked through the crowd, slipping into the darkness outside unnoticed. However, one blue hedgehog gazed after them, a frown twitching into place. Sonic worried that the excitement was too much for Amy. The static in the air was making every creature of the night's adrenaline pumping as their bodies naturally went into attack mode at the presence of one another. He just hoped Amy wouldn't run into some trouble with a vampire.

Outside, Jet and Amy had managed to find a secluded ally. Amy proceeded to drown her first victim into a dream-like state of mind with lingering kisses and roaming hands, pressing their bodies together. Jet's body was screaming. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he was being taken advantage of, but the high emotions of lust won over. His arms moved as if they weren't his to caress the beautiful face of the pink blossom in front of him and his voice whispered nonsense in her ear. Amy tolerated all this as he fell more and more into unconsciousness.

Just when Jet was about to faint, a crackling flame interrupted them. Amy's body tensed as her eyes shot up towards the entrance to the ally. Shadow stood there with a vampiress wrapped around his body. The two had been looking for a secluded spot, too.

Shadow snarled at Jet. Jet, on the other hand, saw Shadow's demonic eyes and was engulfed in fear. Blindly, he pushed away from Amy and ran for his life. Shadow's anger didn't die away. In fact, it only grew. Soon, even the vampiress felt unsafe to stay any longer, so she left also. Amy, however, stood her ground. She refused to give in to this vamp a second time.

Shadow walked forward until his eyes glared straight into Amy's equally glaring eyes.

"Come with me." Shadow ordered, taking Amy's arm.

"Hey! Let go of me!" she protested.

She yanked her arm back and tried to kick him. Shadow caught her leg and glared again. She flinched away as his arms completely surrounded her and he picked her up. She hissed as she realized that the vamp had managed to lock her into his arms without a way to get free. Before she could even manage an attempt, Shadow sped away. Struck with sudden terror, Amy clutched her captor's fur in her hands, shrinking into him. She couldn't tear her gaze away from the rushing sights of city.

When they came to a stop, Amy was stiffly pressed against Shadow's chest. Of course, he didn't mind at all. It actually calmed him down. He gently lowered Amy down, but the frozen female showed no sign of moving. Taking advantage of the situation, Shadow kissed her. It was soft and quick, a light feather moving across her lips, but it did the trick. Blushing, she finally focused on the dark hedgehog. Shadow stared into her incredulous, large jade orbs that reflected the silver of the moon. He kissed her again. This time, more forcefully as a kindled hunger drove him. The speeding cars below honked and screeched with their towering guardians reaching for the sky. Amy gently pushed him away and took a deep breath of air. Her first kiss was stolen, but she didn't really mind at all. She actually sort of enjoyed it. She delicately touched her face and knew that she was blushing.

Smirking, Shadow slid his hands down to her waist and pulled her back towards him. She looked up into his red wine colored eyes and blushed even more.

"I think you look cute like this." Shadow whispered.

Amy scrunched up her nose. "Cute?"

"Beautiful. Lovely. Radiant. Divine."

"Stop." Amy's fingers tangled around Shadow's chest fur. "This isn't real."

"Why?" Shadow growled softly.

"It can't be." Amy sighed. "It's against the rules."

"Rules?" Shadow growled louder this time. "Forget the rules."

Yes, I know that this story is going at a fast pace, but this is usually what happens when I sorta brain-dump...

Haha. Sorry. I know that this isn't the best of stories...