Chapter Eight: Her First Taste
《What a wicked game you played, to make me feel this way
What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you》
Athena's muscles twitched with anticipation as she rounded the corner of the Mystic Grill and proceeded to hurriedly stalk down the alleyway next to it. The Mystic Grill had an area where they dumped trash and Athena found it poetic that it was where she was leading the two vampires. Straight to the trash.
There was a large door that led inside the establishment which they probably used as a side entrance and she could bet money it led to the storage and back room area.
Her nose flared as the two vampires rounded the corner behind her. She balled her hands into fists and whipped around to face them. They had killer smiles, but each set of teeth revealed the two fangs that mattered. Their eyes became dark as the veins bulged underneath their eyes and they stopped a good length in front of her.
"Oh, how sweet. Twins." She said aloud as the boys looked from one to the other. Their dark hair blended into the darkness of the alleyway and she knew her own hair glinted like a bright blonde halo compared to them. They smiled at her, but it was anything but pleasant.
"Found her." The one on the right with the dark red shirt said. The other on the left smiled and cocked his head to the side, "Think we should tell them where we found her, or should we just surprise the boss?"
The one on the right shook his head, "Nah, let's surprise the boss." The vampire on the right had a small mole on the right side of his neck, but the twin on the left was free of moles. It was the only defining difference between the two boys.
Despite being vampires, they had high cheek bones and model-like faces. In another world, she'd have gotten cozy with them, maybe even had a few beers with them. However, this wasn't a perfect world and they were monsters.
"You boys do everything together?" She asked, stalling time and figuring out which one to take out first. Her eyes started to glow and her body hummed with excitement. They both smirked, their eyes darkening with seconds, "Yepp."
They said this in unison and she felt her mouth tug higher into a smirk, "I wonder..are you prepared to die together?" It was the comment that ignited the alleyway into a rabid fight between a pair of vampires and a Werecat.
Athena launched her attack on the boys, but they went blow for blow to match her punches and her kicks. Everything about the boy's screamed vampire, but their movements matched hers equally and she faltered as the stench of Werecat dripped from their clothes and hit her nose.
"Why do you smell like me?" She yelled, her own eyes and fangs bared at them. It was a momentary pause in the fight and the boys smirked, barely panting, "Wouldn't you like to know." The one on the right with the mole spat back and the one on the left with tussled hair merely smirked.
She felt a swift kick to her gut that sent her slamming against the brick wall, but she righted quickly and hissed at herself for getting sidetracked by the smell of Werecat. Athena feigned right and then shot out left to grab one of the boys by the throat, specifically the one with the mole.
Her features started to shift and her hands prepared to snap his neck so she could subdue him. If she could subdue one, she could question the other.
The moment she flicked his neck at an unnatural angle, a voice sounded from the end of the alleyway, "You know, if there was a party and I wasn't invited..I'm going to get my feelings hurt." Athena paused and the last standing vampire twin to her left shot out towards her without hesitation, despite Damon being at the other end of the alleyway.
Athena lunged, grabbing the boy and right before she was about to snap his neck a hand emerged from the boy's chest and Damon appeared behind him, grabbing the kids heart right out of his chest.
Her mouth gaped open in shock as Damon pulled back and ripped the heart right out from his chest. The boy's featured stared at her, wide eyed and in shock. Her shock was equally reciprocated and then just like that, the boy slumped to the ground and Damon stood before her with a look of anger and relief.
"I had it under control." She bit out through gritted teeth and disgust as Damon threw his hand out to cast away any residual blood. Her eyes were wide and filled with anger as Damon cocked his head to the side, "Yeah, sure. But, my way is much more fun."
Athena looked away in disgust, her sneer more than enough to let Damon know she was not impressed with his behavior. "Your way is messy and I needed them alive!" She spat back, now looking at Damon with narrowed eyes and bared fangs.
It was the smallest of things that had Athena realizing something was wrong before it even happened. Like the way Damon cast his eyes over her shoulder to where the other twin had been laid out unconscious. It was also the way that Damon didn't give her a warning that something was about to impale her from behind.
Everything happened so fast she didn't even have time to blink. Something sharp impacted into her lower back from behind and the pain was so blinding she coughed, sputtered and then lost all feeling in her limbs as she collapsed to her knees to see a rather curious looking stake sticking out of her abdomen.
Damon shoved her aside and without hesitation brought the other vampire to his knees and she heard the large thud of Damon's hand shoving into his chest and ripping his heart out like he did the other twin.
The sickening sound hit her ears and she knew he had dropped his heart upon the ground. Athena felt blinding pain shoot through her abdomen and she stumbled on her knees, trying to right herself as a small pool of blood dripped from her mouth. No, no. This was bad.
It hit something…something that would not be able to repair as quickly as a gunshot wound. This hit something important. She could feel her body slowing down and her vision started to get spotty. "Damon.." She whispered breathily and her throat felt wet..something was wet.
She coughed and saw the dark crimson appear on the concrete and her groaned in agony. And pain. And anger. Damon's footsteps were getting farther away and her eyes widened in shock as she saw Damon start to walk away from her carelessly. Why was he leaving her? Why was he walking away?
"Damon, please..don't." Her breathing was becoming shallow and she realized her limbs were paralyzed from the abdomen down. She looked up as her vision danced in and out and saw Damon hesitate. His back was still turned to her and she groaned again as a wave of pain sent her retching on the ground, "Don't..leave.."
Something about this didn't feel right…something else was coursing through her veins, in her body. The stake! It was laced with something..something that had been made to cripple and paralyze her. She had enough strength to look up at Damon once more, but this time he was facing her.
His face was contorted in contemplation and she could see him mulling over a silent debate in his head. He grimaced and without another second thought he was by her side using his vampire speed.
He pulled the stake from her and she shouted in pain and even more at the sickening sound it made while he pulled it out. She had never experienced anything more painful than this..and she feared the wound was fatal, that maybe it was too much for her body to handle. She wasn't even healing.
Athena panicked at this thought and knew the stake was to blame. Damon pulled her up close to him and shoved his jacket sleeve back before biting into his wrist.
He tore open a spot that started to produce blood and shoving it into her mouth. This went against everything..it went against everything she was ever taught. Never drink vampire blood. Never take the poison from their veins. But, Athena wanted to live..she wanted to get revenge and she wanted to find out who was trying to hurt her.
Survival trumped the taboo nature of what she was about to do and she clamped down on his wrist with her mouth, sucking his life force from him and into her own body. Within a few gulps, she was already able to reach up to his arm and grab it for support, her body healing rapidly and mending whatever fatal wound had been slowly trying to kill her.
The taste was not pleasant, but it wasn't disgusting either. She closed her eyes and fed from him, her head cradled into his chest. Every fiber of her, from her fingertips to her nerve endings felt like they were on fire, but not in a bad way. It was addicting..intoxicating, even. Athena could have sworn she heard Damon audibly sigh.
Athena felt a strange sensation encompass her body, but her lower limbs still felt numb, but the feeling of newfound strength coursed through her veins. Athena was healing, but whatever had rendered her paralyzed was still wreaking havoc on her lower half, everything was still numb.
She felt his wrist leave her lips and there was a brief and very brief moment when she felt his free hand run through her blonde strands with a mildly affectionate undertone. It was also the same moment she actually craved for more of what he had given her.
As quick as it happened, it was gone and he pulled away from her, "Don't get too greedy." His tone was flat, but she ignored it. She was collecting her thoughts as she willed her body to stand, but it wouldn't. "I can't move.." She murmured aloud and Damon instantly was looking at her legs, giving her a once over and then eyeballing the stake.
"Must have laced it with something.." He murmured in shock and not a second later Matt and Caroline came from the side entrance of the Grill and Athena forced herself into a sitting position as Damon's hands grazed her while helping her.
"Oh my god!" Caroline's high pitched voice made Athena smirk and Matt looked less than stellar to be standing in an alleyway next to his bar with two dead vampires.
"Damon! What happened?" Her voice was shrill and she immediately came running to Athena's side, looking her over and Athena put a hand to Caroline's shoulder, "M'fine."
Caroline rounded quickly on Damon and he held his hands up, "Why do I always have to be the bad guy?" She gave him a pointed look and Damon shrugged, "You should be thanking me."
Caroline looked at the hearts that lay upon the concrete and steepled her hands to her lips, "This is all my fault. Oh my God. Klaus is going to kill me. And then you!" She pointed at Damon and Athena chuckled, shaking her head, "Not you Caroline. Just him."
Damon frowned and Matt exclaimed, "We gotta' get rid of the bodies. Now!" Caroline and Damon looked at each other, and Athena watched as they calculated momentarily, "You're right, Donovan."
Matt had to do a double take as Damon actually agreed that Matt was right. Damon bent down and pulled the cellphone out of one of the boys' pockets and skimmed through it.
"Whoever their boss is doesn't know they are in Mystic Falls." He tossed the phone carelessly to Caroline and she skimmed through herself before looking at Athena and then at Damon, "We have to get them out of here. If whoever is after her doesn't know their lackeys came to Mystic Falls..then.."
She paused and looked around before Damon finished for her, "Then we need to get their bodies out of town and make sure they are never found." Caroline looked to Matt and he shook his head lightly as if he wasn't going to say anything on the matter.
Athena groaned in pain and Caroline immediately flew to her side, "What did they do to you?" Athena looked away, her pride taking a huge hit, but quietly murmured, "The stake..it's laced with something. I can't..I can't move my legs."
Caroline gasped in shock and Matt look slack jawed before Damon stood up and clapped his hands, "She needs a little Bon-Bon witchy stuff." Caroline looked at the bodies, "But, what about them?" Damon gave her a look and she stomped her foot, groaning aloud, "Alright, alright. I'll take care of their bodies."
Damon smirked before looking over at Athena and Matt looked to Caroline, "I'm coming to!" He stated defiantly and Caroline shook her head, "No, Matt. It's okay; you need to stay as far away from this as possible."
Matt grabbed Caroline and shook her shoulders, "Since when do I sit on the sidelines, Car?" She paused, contemplating him coming with her before finally relenting. She nodded in agreement, and Matt smiled before they both turned back towards Damon and Athena. "Call me when it's done." He stated stiffly to Caroline and she nodded curtly in return.
Damon grabbed Athena's hand and pulled her up before lifting her effortlessly and carrying her in his arms. Her legs dangled and she grimaced as her pride took another beating. "How many lives you think you got left now, huh?" Damon asked dryly before whisking her away with inhuman speed to his muscle car and putting her in the passenger seat.
Her body was still weak, but the vampire blood that coursed through her veins gave her enough energy to keep her eyes open for a little bit longer. Damon was already in the car and he drove at a ridiculous speed, peeling out and getting back onto the main road.
Damon pulled his phone out as he drove and hit a name and she could hear the telltale ringing noise from her place in the car. She strained to hear the voice on the other end of the line and heard a girl's she couldn't recognize.
"Bonnie, I need you to get the house, pronto. We got a-well, a problem and I think you're the only one that can help."
There was muffled noise on the other end of the line like someone was gathering their things. Athena started to fade in and out but only heard bits and pieces as Damon recalled what happened to Athena. "Of course I got the stake." Damon chastised whoever was on the other end of the line and moments later he hung up in a huff.
There was silence in the car for a brief moment before Damon looked over at her and the faintest look of concern graced his features, "Make sure you don't bleed all on the seats." He muttered with distaste.
She felt a small chuckle rippled through her body, "Always so pleasant." The smallest of frowns graced her features though as she looked out the window and realized that she had been bested tonight.
As the car's engine purred she found herself caving to the darkness that danced around her vision. Her eyes drooped and she sagged against the seat as sleep overtook her body.
Somewhere in the distance she could hear Damon's voice yelling at her at her to stay awake, but she just didn't have it in her and when the darkness hit her completely, she relented and allowed it to take her to dreamland.
TWO HOURS LATER
Athena awoke to a plush feeling beneath her limbs and it occurred to her rather quickly that she could feel every limb in her body. The second sensation that hit her was a pair of warm lips upon her neck..and the feeling of being completely enamored and addicted to whatever was going on.
The feeling was foreign, yet exciting and her skin was lit on fire by the brush of the person's lips upon her skin. Her neck being the most sensitive part of her body and the person attacked it with no regrets.
Her breathing was labored and the body that was ontop of hers shifted and as if being propelled along by string, like a puppet, she wrapped her arms around the person's body and realized it was a man's body.
It was taut, lean and firm. The muscles in the man's arms humming beneath her fingertips as she traced circles on them.
The entire time Athena's eyes were closed and she couldn't seem to open them, but it didn't frighten her so much as excite her curious nature. She knew on some level that something wasn't quite right about what was happening..that something was off about what she was experiencing, but she didn't stop it. She couldn't stop it.
And if she could..would she even want to?
The mystery man had her wrestled her arms and pinned them above her head so that her chest was exposed to show a lacy black bra and by now she could smell the lust in the air.
Still, Athena could not open her eyes and the lips that had assaulted her neck were now plunging towards her ear where someone bit and tugged at a pace that made her legs squirm.
Their breathing was the only thing that could be heard in the dimly lit room and she arched her back as her body betrayed the inner subconscious of her brain telling her that something was wrong..something was not right.
It was at that moment her eyes flew open and she shoved the person off of her and saw the familiar smirk of Damon Salvatore, shirtless and his fangs exposed.
In an instant she blinked and looked around quickly and realized Damon was no longer standing there..because he was never there.
Athena had been dreaming. Her shirt was drenched in sweat and she shifted her legs nervously as the heat of a blush creeped its way across her chest and to her cheek.
Athena sat up in bed for a moment, panting quietly and trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened and why she would even dream of something like that.
She got up quietly and hesitantly, her feet hitting the floor of the familiar room that she had been staying at with the Salvatore's. Her lips were dry and she saw the glass of water on her nightstand and grabbed it.
After downing the water, she knew she needed to call Klaus and also face the music downstairs. Right now, Athena could hear the muffled voices of Elena, Stefan and a foreign female voice she hadn't recognized.
Athena strained to hear if Damon's voice came from downstairs, but she couldn't hear it. He wasn't down there and for that she was glad. He was the last person she wanted to see after waking up from all this shit.
And if she thought she already hated Damon..it made her hate him even more. Made her hate the way that he made her feel in the dream..as if she actually liked it. As if she actually wanted him.
Athena rolled her eyes as a familiar scent hit her nose and the curtains on her windows were billowing as if a breeze had just hit them.
"Have a good cat nap?" A sarcastic voice came from the corner of the room near the open window and at the mere sound she felt her body stiffen.
Speak of the devil…Damon.