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Ava

T he smell of sugar and chocolate permeates the night air, contrasting with my mood.

After taking my colorful pictures for the night, I’m still down, feeling alone after recently losing both of my elderly parents, my mother to pneumonia, and my father a month later to a broken heart. His doctor called it Widowhood.

Lately, I’ve found myself longing for a relationship with the kind of deep love and affection my parents had.

My life became even more dull when my best friend moved away from San Diego, but there’s hope and light at the end of the tunnel. Sticky sweet warm hope. Midnight Donuts is my lifeline, and I’m here to feature their wares to my followers.

The tall giant of a man in front of me clears his throat, and I’m about to ask him if he’s willing to be interviewed for my post on Midnight Donut’s feed.

This job doesn’t allow for shyness. To receive my end of the deal—fresh donuts anytime I want—I need to keep their social media presence popular and growing.

Casting aside my apathy, I reach out and tap his shoulder. “Excuse me, sir. Have you tried the donuts here before?”

He turns and smiles at me, and I get a good look at the white, very pointy fangs resting on his lower lip.

Oh, my God! This is the first time I’ve met an actual vampire.

I mean, sure, I’m low-key obsessed with vampires, but I’ve never actually spoken to one before.

They keep to themselves for the most part.

In San Diego, people don’t know a whole lot about them—only what their PR firms allow us to know.

My shock has sucked all the oxygen from my lungs. Deep breaths, Ava, deep breaths.

“Well, hello. No, I can’t say I’ve ever had them before.

I’m getting them for my wife. She has a bit of a sweet tooth.

” He stares at me, and I can’t help but feel self-conscious.

I mean, this man is wearing dress slacks and a button-up shirt, rolled at the sleeves.

He looks like he just stepped off a runway, or he’s just come from a late-night business meeting.

His brown hair is pulled back in a man bun, and his full beard makes him look rather bohemian.

I snap out of my stupor. “Oh, you can eat food too? I thought vampires only drank blood. You learn something new every day. Your wife is in for a real treat! These are the best donuts in the city. You should have one, too.”

“I’ll have to try one, now that I’ve heard the rave review.” He nods at me, and I rack my brain for more to say. I’m dying to know more about vampires.

He runs a hand over his face, and I notice his eyes. I startle. They’re almost otherworldly, like glowing rubies. “Um, sir. Has anyone ever told you that your eyes glow a deep red?”

“Please, call me Marcello. And my eyes are red only because I’m in the vicinity of an Omega. They’re usually a boring brown color.”

His thoughtful expression makes me curious. “Well, Marcello, I have no idea what an Omega is.” I chuckle. “I’m Ava.”

“Lovely to meet you, Ava.” He pauses. “ You are an Omega. Your eyes have changed color, too. Right now, they’re silver, in fact, because you are in the presence of an Alpha. Me.”

I frown. How can I be an Omega? I’m a human. “Okay…Is that one of the vampire things we lowly humans don’t know about? I’ve never met a vampire before. I’ve just seen them on Instagram, but they—I mean you, your kind anyway—are fascinating.” Stupid mouth, stop babbling.

“Fascinating? Interesting.” He glances at the line in front of him, then lowers his voice.

“Being uncloaked as an Omega makes your eyes a shiny silver, and it’s one of the signs that you’re a compatible mate for an Alpha vampire.

All Alphas and Omegas can see each other’s inner lights through our eyes. ”

“ Me ? A mate for a vampire?”

He looks around again, but no one’s paying us any attention. “Yes. For an Alpha vampire, to be specific. Does that alarm you? You seem to be taking this news rather well.”

If by “rather well” he means the world is shifting under my feet? Sure. “I mean, I’m processing it, is all. I didn’t know vampires had mates, let alone that I might be one.” Now I’m laughing at the situation. “A mate is like a wife, right?”

“In a way. To us—my kind—a mate is more than just a wife.” He watches me closely, as if I’m a skittish animal.

“So, your wife who wants donuts is your Omega mate? Should you be telling me this?” Please, Ava, snap out of it and start asking important questions. He doesn’t owe you his life story!

“Yes, my wife is my Omega.” His entire face lights up, I want a man to look like that when he thinks of me. “Tell me, Ava, what do you do for a living?”

“Umm, well, I’m a social media influencer—a donut influencer.

” I wave my phone and realize I forgot to hit record on any of this, my task forgotten with this bizarre news.

Some influencer. “I’m a bit famous—I have five hundred thousand followers, and the number is growing daily.

I’m here working for Midnight Donuts, actually.

I was going to ask your permission to interview you for a post.” Stop it, mouth, stop it.

I bounce on my heels, trying to feel the ground beneath my feet, solid and immovable. Real. This is nuts.

“A donut influencer.” He grins down at me, “Hence the rave review of Midnight Donuts. You are a breath of fresh air, Miss Ava. You’re a modern influencer who looks like a 1950s secretary, with your high ponytail and vintage glasses.”

I swallow and try to process this news, compliments aside. Apparently, I’m the future mate of a real, actual vampire. “Marcello…What now? Now that I know of my Omega status, I mean. I thought I was human.”

“Well, that’s a little complicated, actually.” He clears his throat and moves forward with the line, still looking around a bit furtively.

“Complicated.” I take a deep, calming breath. Of course, it’s complicated. You’re a potential mate to a vampire. Breathe, Ava. No big deal, right? You’re just no longer a regular human. How did you not know this?

“Well, it doesn’t have to be. The usual first step would be for you to come to my vampire house, House Stryker. You would meet my lord, Kestrel Stryker, make a vow to Lord Stryker in exchange for his protection, and then live in luxury in our Omega sanctuary until you meet your Alpha mate.”

Wait, wait, wait. I would go with him to meet his lord?

An actual vampire lord? I can’t believe this is happening to me.

Living in luxury, whatever that means to a vampire, would surely beat staying in my small, run-down, and now lonely family home, with its aging roof and never-ending list of repairs, all of which cost more than I’m making now. “Is Lord Stryker vampire royalty?”

“A bit like that, yes. He’s our leader, and a very good man.” He studies me for a moment. “Tell me something. What do you love about being an influencer, Ava?”

That’s easy. “The community. In some ways, my followers are like an extended family. We share a passion for donuts, and the social nature of being an influencer suits me. I’m able to show them my love for donuts and meet other passionate people who share my love of sugar. I would never have met them otherwise.”

“You must be quite creative, to have built such a popular Instagram feed.” He studies me again, and I start to fidget. What is he looking for? “Does your popularity ever make you uncomfortable?”

“No, not really. I see my followers as friends. Some of them have become really special to me.”

Marcello glances over my shoulder and then down at his loafers.

He meets my gaze. “Well, Ava. An Omega is supposed to be brought to live in an Omega sanctuary until she meets her future mate, but I have a proposition for you. I want you to meet my son instead and consider working for him. I think you would hit it off, and with your job, I imagine that you already understand some of the nuances of fame. You may have heard of him, and he’s in need of someone with your skills. ”

I stare at him, confused. “You think I would know of your son? That’s not likely. You’re the first and only vampire I’ve ever met.”

He smirks. “My son is Nolan Szasz.”

Oh, my God! I must be living in an alternate universe. He can’t be for real.

“Your son…is Nolan Szasz. The lead singer of Death by Dawn. You must be joking.” I try to close my mouth—by now, my jaw has got to be grazing the ground. Their latest and greatest hit, “Cold Dead Heart” has been playing all over the internet.

“I’m quite serious, actually. It just so happens that Death by Dawn needs a new social media manager.

And while we’ve just met, I have a strong sense that you’re the right person for the job.

” He laughs at my expression, then turns to the counter to order his donuts.

Donuts for his Omega. Nolan Szasz’s mom. What the hell?

I pull out my phone, needing a distraction while my world spins off its axis. I’ve gained four new followers and have fifteen new comments on my latest post, but I don’t care about that right now.

Catching my reflection on the screen, I realize that my eyes really are shining silver.

Before I realize what I’m doing, my thumbs type Nolan Szasz.

Death by Dawn has fifteen million followers.

Fifteen million! I can’t even relate to that.

Marcello wants me to meet his famous rock star son—the most famous vampire in the world.

I see the resemblance between father and son.

Clearly, Marcello is telling the truth, and something in the pit of my stomach—a knowing feeling—tells me I can trust him at his word. There is nothing insincere about him.

When I woke up this morning feeling down about my life, I had no idea this was coming, not at all. People’s lives don’t change like this in real life, only in movies.