Going to the bar was a mistake. He knew that. But he couldn't help himself. As soon as he walked through the door and saw Rad and the others sat in their corner he was sucked in. He should have turned around right there and gone home to his friends, but the atmosphere was drawing him in.
He signalled to the bartender to get him a drink. The bartender, Chase he thought his name was, gave a quick nod, avoiding eye contact. He went to college with his girlfriend. He was in her quantum physics class. A native. He could tell by the leather band around the bartender's wrist.
He walked toward the table where the guys were sat. Rad looked up and gave him an acknowledging nod. He grabbed a chair and sat, taking in his surroundings. He glanced over to a group of girls standing at the bar. One of them looked around and winked at him. He quickly diverted his gaze to Chase, trying to see if his beer was on its way. When he saw the bartender walking over to him he stole another glance over at the girls, taking in their long tanned legs.
Sandro looked up at him.
'You in?' he said with a slight grin playing on his lips.
'What?' he replied, he had been distracted and wasn't paying attention to the men's plotting.
'Jeez, have you not been listening. We have a plan, one that will take down Vassily and the main guy behind this fighting shit. '
This was bad. He knew no one should go up against Vassily. Chase came over and put his beer on the table.
'Hey, pretty boy' called a man named Kyle, who was sporting a buzz cut and had a tattoo of barbed wire winding around his neck, 'bring us some scotch. Lots of it. Pronto.'
You could tell by the look on Chase's face that he knew Kyle wasn't to be messed with. The muscle flickering in Kyle's jaw was only a small hint.
'Be right with you' Chase replied, face hard. He didn't appreciate being spoken to like that but was in no position to challenge the man. He had a business to run.
'So when do we put this plan into action?' Sandro said, his mouth opening into a smile wide enough to expose a set of crooked, yellow-stained teeth.
'Not yet' Kyle sneered, not liking Sandro's claim to superiority. 'We need to give them what they want first. After that we can take control. The vamps won't know what hit 'em.'
Chase walked back over with two bottles of scotch and about 10 glasses on a tray. By this time he had finished his beer and was developing a taste for something stronger. All this talk of vamps was making his temper flare.
Kyle seized the bottle and poured the bronze liquid into the glasses.
'Drink, men.' They all lifted a glass and raised it in a silent promise. He joined in, still not sure of the plan, but anything to take down the bloodsuckers. He drank the contents in his glass, feeling the burn in his throat but not caring. With the vamps gone, they would be free. He could leave. And never come back.
His glass was hastily refilled and he drank the contents quickly. After three more glasses and some casual banter between the men, he felt a presence in the bar. He knew who it was as soon as she walked through the door. She had a glow about her, one that caused the eyes of every man in the bar to focus on her. She ignored the gazes and focused her attention on him.
'Shane.' Her words came out in a purr and hypnotized him. His eyes couldn't leave hers. 'I need to talk to you. Alone.'
There was a glint in her eye. He knew that he shouldn't go with her, but he couldn't help himself. He rose from his chair while finishing his scotch, barely aware of the dizzy feeling that told him he had drunken to much, and followed her out the front door, aware of the eyes following them the whole way.
She turned to him, wearing a smile so bright and beautiful he was sure he was dreaming. The feeling of guilt he felt in his stomach didn't register in his brain.
'You have a fight tomorrow' she said, her voice so soft he was sure she wasn't real. 'Jester has demanded a rematch.'
He couldn't look away from her eyes. He had never seen eyes that colour before.
'Go home now. Rest. We need you at your best tomorrow.' She leaned forward. Their faces so close he could to move his face forward only a centimetre before their lips touched.
'Shane. Did you hear me?' she whispered. He nodded. A small action that earned him his new favourite smile.
She put her hands on either side of his face. He never knew who made the movement forward but in the next moment her lips were on his. He froze. He knew this wasn't right but he couldn't remember why. Her lips were so soft; he had to double check to see if they were there.
She pulled away and winked at him. There was a flash of red in her eye, one that didn't register with him until later.
'Go home and rest. Dream about me, Shane.' He knew he would.
She kissed his forehead and walked away. He watched her until he could no longer see her sleek, elegant frame. Once he was sure she wasn't going to come back, he turned around and made his way home.
He didn't care that it was dark. The memory of the kiss burned in his brain, arousing feelings around his body he had never felt before. He didn't care she was a vampire. He didn't care that she was everything he didn't want.
The walk home was short and under normal circumstances he would run, avoiding the vamps, but tonight he took his time, sorting his brain.
He had drunk too much; his head was pounding and his body felt weak. He needed to sleep it off. His mind and body needed preparation for tomorrow.
Halfway home a thought entered his mind. Something he hadn't given a thought to in two days. Claire. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. He had been ignoring her calls. Eve and Michaels, too. He stopped walking. A familiar feeling filled his stomach. Guilt. He hadn't been around much the last few weeks. He had been caught up in the fight. He had neglected his friends and, more importantly, his girlfriend. Their conversations over that last few weeks had been brief and the arguments had increased.
No doubt Claire was worried. She worried about everything. His recent actions were not helping. But then he remembered where the majority of his anger came from. Myrnin. He had feelings for Claire and there was nothing he could do about it.
He picked up his pace, the anger surging through him causing him to walk faster. He hated him and Claire didn't care about that. She cared about Myrnin. Sometimes too much he thought. That pissed him off. Big time.
If Claire ever cheated on him with Myrnin, he would kill the bastard. He had his suspicions that it was already happening.
From a small alleyway a figure appeared. The smell that came off him made his stomach turn. He saw the man's red eyes in the moonlight and immediately put up his guard. Adrenaline raced through his veins.
'You've been drinking, boy. Bit young aren't you? No matter. I am sure you will still be delicious.' A grin spread across the vampires face. The vampire lunged forward but he backhanded him into the wall. The vampire stayed down for a few seconds before rising. He could see the moonlight glinting off the vampire's fangs. The man moved so fast he didn't have time to register the movement. The bloodsucker threw him against a wall. His face impacted with the wall and he felt warm liquid trickle down from his eyebrow. He saw red. He stood up and went for the leech. He went to punch him but the vampire ducked and punched him right under the eye. The vampire laughed. That pissed him off. He punched the bloodsucker and got him on the ground. He repeatedly kicked the man. He bent down lower to the ground and looked at the leech.
'Stay the fuck away from me.' He turned around and ran the rest of the way home.
He reached the front door of the Glass House and pulled his key from his pocket. He hadn't been home in two days.
When he opened the door, the lights were off and the house was quiet. He closed the door behind him, making no effort to be quiet. He had to take his anger out on something.
He walked to the kitchen, opening and closing cupboards looking for something to eat. When he got to the fridge he noticed the beer on the shelf. He grabbed one and pulled the top off with his teeth.
He couldn't sleep. He was wound too tight. He stumbled into the living room. The excessive amounts of alcohol in his bloodstream were starting to take affect.
He heard a noise from upstairs. Great. Someone was awake. He turned on the television and put the channel on a mindless sitcom, not paying attention. He heard someone walking down the stairs.
'Shane?' he heard someone whisper. He turned around to see his girlfriend standing in a hoodie and shorts. He held her stare for a few seconds before turning back to the television. He couldn't talk to her right now. He was too angry. She moved around to the front of the couch, trying to get his attention.
'You scared the shit out of me.' He didn't respond. He just took a sip of his beer and continued to stare at the figures on the television screen. A few seconds past and she didn't say anything but he could feel her eyes burning into his skull.
'I was out.' He replied, providing no explanation to his whereabouts.
'Till 3:30 in the morning?' To be honest, he hadn't even noticed the time. He had been distracted. 'You're drunk aren't you? For Gods sake Shane! And getting into a fight? Smart move.' She was really getting on my last nerve now.
'That's none of your business, Claire.' He replied gritting his teeth together, attempting to gain control of the anger that was threatening to come out. He lifted his eyes to hers and glared at her. There was such a difference between her eyes, filled with worry and anger and the eyes he was looking into an hour ago.
'You can't just disappear for days and not answer my phone calls. You can't just turn up in the middle of the night with bruises and cuts on your face Shane. That's not cool with me. You know better than most of us that it is not safe out there at night.' She was getting angry but he didn't care. Good. She should worry about him. It would mean that she spent less time thinking about her crazy, vampire boss. He didn't respond to her, just kept his eyes on hers. Her eyes used to make him speechless. They were beautiful. But now he could not feel anything except anger.
'Whatever. I am going back to bed. I will see you tomorrow I guess.' She said in defeat. She knew she wasn't going to win against him. He never backed down when he was angry.
He wasn't sure she heard the next words that came out his mouth but it was instinct. The words were true.
'You don't control me. No one does.'
'
