One week until Lucas and I breed. I can't find a better word for it in my head. It's been two weeks since I last saw him. That's because Lucas and Celeste are on a work trip. Well, Celeste is working. Lucas is just along for the ride. Tomorrow I have a health check, to make sure I can get pregnant. Some humans are infertile, and they never think to check when you're brought in.
"Pet, we are going for a walk," Alaric says and grabs my leash. He likes to go for walks, sometimes randomly. Mostly when he's frustrated.
I get up and walk over to him. He attaches my leash and we leave. Even though I've been here for what feels like forever, people still stare. They wonder why I'm not chained up, why I'm not pale and dead. To be honest, I wonder about that myself sometimes. We reach the gardens and Alaric heads toward the gate into the forest. He opens it and we both step through. The gate swings shut behind us.
I take a moment to breathe in the fresh air. You can smell the pine trees and some of the exotic flowers. I look at a big red one. It has patterned leaves of red and yellow. The yellow looks like lightning strikes through the red. I feel someone looking at me, I turn around and catch Alaric's gaze. I look down because no Pet should ever look their master in the eye. Alaric doesn't reprimand me, and we continue our walk.
This garden isn't the usual type of garden. It's wild, left to its own chaos. I miss the woods whenever we walk here. I like to imagine Jack and Iva watching from the trees, keeping watch over me.
***
Tomorrow, Lucas and I breed. Before we do, Alaric wants to get a DNA test to make sure I'm human. He still has doubts. He also hasn't tried to drink from me again, which I'm thankful for.
We walk past a pet shop that offers, 'the most tame pets you will ever see,' The poor people inside, some are covered with bruises and others are scratched all over. In the window, I see a shifter girl crouched in a cave. She growls at anyone that walks too close, and the shop owner keeps sending her dirty looks. Her red dress is ripped and her white blonde hair matted.
The next shop sells equipment and DNA checks. Alaric goes into this one. He walks up to the counter and the warlock behind it bows.
"What can I do for my prince?" he smiles. His teeth are rotten and yellow, some missing, others chipped. Pale dread-locked hair frames his face. Unlike warlocks in stories, he does not wear a blue pointy hat with yellow moons and stars. That would be silly.
"A DNA test for her." Alaric points at me. I don't look the warlock in the eye, scared of him and his magic.
"She looks human," the warlock leers at me. It's obvious what he thinks my job is. Turning slightly to the side, I display the bite marks, and the warlock shudders. Clearly, he's never been drunk from and hopes to never be.
"Did I ask for your opinion?" Alaric sounds bored. The warlock immediately regrets his words and hurries to build the kit.
"No," the warlock pulls out a needle and tube, places it in a case with a swab and bag. He then places a mini machine in the case and snaps it shut. He slides it over the counter to Alaric and Alaric hands him some money. After counting, the warlock grins at Alaric. "Good doing business with ya, your highness." he bows again, and we leave the shop.
***
"It says to swipe the swab on the inside of your cheek," Kaira and I are trying to carry out the DNA test. Neither of us has done this before, so it's a guessing game.
"Ok," I say and touch the swab to the inside of my cheek. "Like this?" I ask, my words come out jumbled from the swab in my mouth.
"I think so?" Kaira studies the instructions carefully. "Now take the blood." She carefully places the swab in the machine and hands me the needle.
I study it and hope I won't get an infection. I carefully insert the needle in the same place that a vaccine would be. Kaira reaches over and helps by pulling the blood into the syringe. I pull the needle out and try not to spill any, but a drop falls on the carpet. Milliseconds later, Alaric is standing over my shoulder. His fangs are out, his eyes red.
He reaches down for me and roughly pulls me to my feet. Seconds later, fangs are in my neck. Thankfully, Alaric only takes a few sips before setting me down and licking the wound. The needle entry is still bleeding from the needle being yanked out, so he seals that too.
Kaira just watches the whole thing without blinking. I take it that she's seen it happen many times.
"You didn't scream." she whispers after Alaric stalks off.
"Why would I?" I ask, mentally reliving the whole episode. My hand goes to the new scar on my neck. It matches the one on the opposite side.
"He drank from you," Kaira acts like it's a big deal. She must have seen it happen many times. Maybe the others weren't expecting it and got a fright.
"Have you ever been drunk from?" I study her.
Kaira shakes her head. "My skills were not to be risked. Let's finish this test now."
I place the needle into a box thing, and it sucks the blood out. Pressing the on button, I watch as the machine turns on and starts whirring. A little screen reads, 'test ready in 48 hours,'
"48 hours!" Alaric throws a pen at the wall. The royal vampire super strength kicks in, and the pen forms a hole in the wall. I'm hiding in my cage, hoping to avoid the wrath of an angry vampire. I guess finding if I'm human will have to wait until after Lucas.
Eventually he calms and goes off to hunt. I curl up on my bed and slip into a weirdly calm sleep...
***
"Where are you taking me?" I ask my parents. I sit in a cage that is pulled by a wagon.
"Somewhere safe," My father answers. His green eyes glint in the moonlight.
"Be quiet, we don't want anybody to hear you," My mother looks around, worried. I follow her gaze, nothing out of the normal. When I face the front, my mother's cat eyes meet mine.
"Always know that we love you, Gracea," she sounds worried and rushed. Then, my mother fades into the night. I look around for my father, but he's gone too. I'm on my own, in the middle of the woods, locked in a cage.
***
I sit up, panicked. My parents had boring brown eyes. Both of them. They never called me Gracea, they didn't believe in nicknames. So who were those people that I felt so connected to? Why am I dreaming about seeing them when I was little?
Soon I lay down again and close my eyes. My body relaxes all at once and I get that falling sensation. I jolt awake but don't move. This time I dream about normal things. I dream of my upcoming, fast approaching, breeding. I dream of my DNA results. Mostly, I dream of a world when humans are free.
BINABASA MO ANG
Fangs
Teen Fiction-Sometimes you gotta be a beauty and a beast. ~Nicki Minaj - Grace Evans grew up in the woods surrounding Venmonte. Her family wanted to take the city from the vampires. Once Venmonte was taken, Ireley would fall next, then the rest of the cities wo...
