Page 35 of Those That Don’t Exist (Hidden Vampires #1)

AURORA

A fter nearly getting caught by Claire, Ty and I are much more careful about where we get each other off.

Sort of.

Okay, that’s a lie.

A few nights ago in the gym, it was late and we’d wound the other up so much as we practised some sparring it had ended with me on my knees in the male showers giving him a blowjob, and nearly getting us caught by the cleaning staff.

We’d started training together after the night we kissed.

On the one hand, I’m loving having an opponent, and a trainer, who has literally been through combat training and a war.

On the other hand, having a sweaty hot guy pin me repeatedly to the mats - which he does eighty percent of the time - is driving my libido insane.

I’ve never felt very good at oral but it turns out I just needed a coach in that too.

I might be developing a praise kink, because with very few words I had Ty’s dick at the back of my throat, gag reflex nowhere to be seen.

Seeing him break apart whilst whilst telling me how “ fucking fantastic you look taking this cock,” or “what a good girl you are” got me turned on so much I came with a few strokes of my own fingers to my clit as I swallowed him down.

I have never been so in lust with someone as I am with the tall dark and handsome male who has walked out of the shadows.

It might be time to admit my feelings are going deeper than lust, but for now I’m blaming the intense need I have to jump him at every opportunity on the purely explosive rush of endorphins each orgasm brings, his or mine.

We still haven’t actually fucked yet. It has been nearly a month since that afternoon on the sofa but Ty’s holding firm about going all the way. Our tongues certainly know each other’s bodies quite well now.

Whilst it's frustrating to absolute hell, and I want nothing more than to feel him inside me, I understand. I can tell he’s frustrated too.

Ty’s still joined to the pack. He explained in more detail the bond he has to his leader, how it means he can’t lie.

He’s playing with fire with everything we do, and gambling Adicious won’t ask him outright if we’ve fucked - the safeguard being that even if Ty does get asked he can say no.

It's a technicality at this point, semantics, but in his mind Ty is keeping our other sexual experiences as separate from fucking. The line is wafer thin but he hopes it’s enough if we get discovered.

Thinking about Ty makes me look towards the dark corners of the kitchen, where I’m currently sitting, in hopes to spot the swirling darkness that comes with his presence. There's nothing but natural shadow.

I’ve been spending the days of the solstice break alone.

Claire’s parents invited me to their house but I didn’t want to spend the week inventing ways to not eat all the meals I would have to sit through.

I also wanted to see Ty as much as possible, and an empty house certainly has its benefits.

Plus, whenever Ty isn’t here I use the alone time to decompress. And get some work done.

Finding out your mother had been a vampire, and a victim of the bullshit government, kind of throws you off a cliff. I’d dived deep into more research, even contacting my tutor to change elements of my dissertation so I could spend the time looking into the orphans of the war.

I’d managed to channel my sadness into something productive, even if I’d yet to turn up anything useful about my own lineage. It gave me focus, it taped together the cracks in my mind. It didn’t stop them rupturing at night however.

The nightmare was back and twisted into something new.

Sometimes I wake up in the car after the collision and I can feel fangs in my mouth.

Other times the figure we hit is more defined.

I still have no idea what Adicious looks like but the silhouette takes more shape.

I wake up shaking or sweating every time.

The worst version was last night, when my mum was also in the car. I saw her body, as still and lifeless as my dads. I’d tried to reach for her but the seatbelt had locked tight no matter how much I struggled.

I close my eyes where I sit at the breakfast bar, shaking the thoughts from my head.

Deep breath in, slow breath out.

Reopening my eyes, I drink the last remains of my coffee, hoping it will warm the lingering cold in my bones, before refocusing on the screen in front of me.

I’d found an article about an orphanage on the mainland.

It had been overwhelmed as parents placed their kids in their care s so they could join in the fighting.

Several friends or relatives also signed over children whose parents had already perished in combat - the guardians unable to look after them long term.

It's truly heartbreaking.

This article had printed the names of the children, in a plea for any distant relatives to claim some of them.

I’d started using Ty’s resources to trace names, to perhaps prove vampires were leaving their children in these homes.

The Vampires, however, if our theory was correct, were clever.

It seemed most names were false. The children had been given new surnames or new names entirely - I couldn’t trace any birth certificates from the family names used on the records.

I tried tracking some of the children identified as Fae, those with the pointed ears, and even they seemed to have false personas.

The records were an utter mess. Whether on purpose or a product of the war I couldn’t tell.

I wanted to believe this meant more vampires had survived - even if they weren’t turned to this day and had no idea of what they really were.

I slam the lid on my laptop shut as commotion comes from the entryway. I ease myself up from the stool, stretching out my body, before heading over to see which of my housemates has arrived back from their break.

I could’ve guessed which one from all the noise, and the explosion of stuff now in our hallway. Bree had spent the holiday enjoying the sun with her family on the other side of the globe, at some fancy beach resort in a private villa.

“Hey, welcome home!” Seeing her chaotic mess makes me realise how much I’ve missed my friends the last couple of weeks.

Bree launches herself at me in a bone crushing hug.

Her scent hits my nostrils, its richness and warmth, like she absorbed the sun.

I still as a pang of hunger etches its way up my throat.

Thankfully, she releases me and starts talking about her trip, sorting through her bags until she brings out a couple of bottles of wine from the depths of her suitcase, which has exploded all over the floor. She abandons the mess and heads to the kitchen. I can only follow her whirlwind.

“Alright, I have to be completely sober again come tomorrow so we are opening these right now.” She doesn’t even ask if I want one, just pours me a glass and hands it to me. I take a mouthful which eases my itching throat. It's a rich red which has the same notes as her floral scent.

She starts telling me about her trip as the door goes again. Claire swears her way into the house, clearly spotting Bree’s belongings in the hall, but is smiling as she hugs us both. It's funny that I don’t have the same reaction to Claire as I do Bree.

More wine is poured as we start chatting and before I know it Bree is opening the second bottle.

“So, how are things with the boyfriend?” Claire asks. They both got used to Ty being around before they left for Solstice.

“He’s not….” I pause. I was about to say he’s not my boyfriend but it doesn’t feel right.

“We’ve not really labelled it.” What do you call the male that was kind of stalking you and now you give eachother orgasms multiple times a week.

Oh and he’s helping you adjust to life as a creature which technically became extinct nearly five decades ago.

“Ppffft. You two are so sickeningly sweet.” Bree tilts her wine glass towards me. “And not to mention we share a house with fairly thin walls so we can tell how much you're getting laid. If that’s not a boyfriend I don’t know what is.”

“And the sappy look you get every time you think of him, or get a message from him too. Definitely a boyfriend right there,” Claire adds.

“I do not,” I gasp. My phone decides to chime at that exact moment, I immediately swipe it up from the counter.

Red’s Stalker: I can get over in an hour if you’re free. I know your housemates are back today so tell me not to if you want some alone time with them.

I can’t help my smile at his thoughtfulness.

Both my friends burst into laughter. I lift my face and glare at them.

“Totally not hung up on him at all,” Claire giggles.

“Go on, tell him to come over,” Bree adds.

“How’d you know?” I ask.

“Call it intuition,” she replies, hooking an eyebrow at me.

“Do you mind?” I don’t want to annoy them if they want it to be just us three. I can invite Ty over later.

“No, get him over. Tell him to bring another bottle. We can order some food from the sushi place a few blocks over and have dinner.” My stomach roils but I don’t know how to say no to that.

Come over, and I hope you like sushi.

Ty, it turns out, is an expert at sleight of hand.

I swear I see him take a fair share of the sushi rolls from the platter we ordered but I don't see him eat a single one. I’m going to have to get him to teach me this magic.

Whilst I have managed to not eat tons, I have had to force a few pieces down so my housemates don’t question my lack of appetite.

We’re all sitting on the floor of the lounge, with the food on the low coffee table between us.

Ty and I are leaning back against the sofa, one of his arms is slung over the cushions behind my shoulders, heating my skin with every brush of his forearm or fingers.

Claire sits to Ty’s left and Bree is opposite me, crossed legged on the rug.

Two bottles of wine have turned into four and we’re all mildly tipsy, except for Ty who isn’t partaking.

Conversation hasn’t stopped, I love how my best friends have taken to Ty like he’s always been around. I relax into his side, acknowledging the strange feeling in my chest. I’m happy. I cherish it.

Bree starts animatedly telling us about a boat trip she and her siblings went on during her holiday and how the crew challenged them to a diving contest. Everyone got dressed up as mermaids for it, it sounds absurd.

She swings her arms around as she talks, wine glass in hand. Maybe her Fae senses are dulled with the alcohol but she misjudges and her wrist slams into the corner of the coffee table.

The wine glass shatters, the red liquid exploding everywhere, including splashing me. Claire gasps and Ty freezes as Bree jolts back, swearing up a storm.

“Mother fucker, shit, gods undead that fucking hurts.” She drops the remainder of the glass onto the table as I inhale, moving to help her.

It hits me.

Blood.

I smell blood.

Time seems to slow as my heart rate pulses in my ears. I watch Bree, as if in slow motion, open her palm to reveal a deep jagged cut, blood weeping from the wound.

Pain shoots through my jaw as my eyes lock on to the cut.

The sight, along with the rich metallic smell, wakes the monster in me full force.

She clutches her sliced hand with the other, still swearing.

I barely notice as Claire jumps into action, leaving the room shouting something about a first aid kit and a towel.

I move again, reaching out to grab Bree’s wrist. I’m aware of one thing only. I need to taste it. My throat burning stronger than ever before.

The vampire at my back is quick to react and due to his longer arm span manages to reach around my body, grabbing my outstretched arm as he forcefully pulls me back by my waist with his other hand.

“Red. No,” he commands into my ear. “Stop breathing, now!”

The pain in my jaw intensifies so much I’m sweating. My vision swims before me but by smell alone I can locate the thing I want, like it's a physical pull.

“I said stop breathing,” Ty barks in my ear. His hand moves to cover my nose and mouth but I’m wriggling in his hold. He can't get a grip on me and his flesh meets my teeth.

On instinct I bite down, hard. Warm wetness hits my tongue and I suck it down. This blood is different, I can immediately tell its less potent but its sweet and earthy, my instincts all scream for more.

Ty tries to pull his hand away but my teeth sink further. He grunts as I tear flesh.

He yanks harder, freeing himself even though I’m now clawing at his forearm to keep his hand at my mouth.

“Claire, have you got this?” I hear Ty growl as he spins me, dragging me a few feet to the doorway. She must’ve come back into the room at some point.

I don’t hear her reply before we’re over the threshold. A hand appears around my throat. It's a vice-like grip which immediately has me light headed.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers as his grip on my throat intensifies. My vision blackens before I pass out completely.