Irredeemably Me

"Vampires are...just bad."

Something was different. Something in her was different and the very idea unsettled Lauren. She sat at the bar as she watched Camila dance under the changing lights, her body flowing to the music perfectly and her mind completely tarnished by the alcohol she was consuming with fervour. It were as if she were willing her darkness away by numbing her very soul but Lauren could see past it. She saw the darkness seeping in slowly. So slowly, in fact, that if she weren't watching Camila as closely as she was, she was certain that the angelic being would adhere to her demonic side without resistance.

Vero was laughing along with the brunette on the dance floor, the clubs music drowning out the sound but her eyes spoke of a happiness that only an appreciation for life offers. Vero was encouraging Camila in all her endeavours because Lauren believed she felt a debt to the hybrid creature. Vero complied to Camila's wishes because she wanted to repay her for something she never could.

Because Lauren was almost certain that for Vero to be reborn...Camila had sacrificed a part of herself she will never get back.

"We cannot keep offering them these nights," Lucy spoke softly, knowing her cousin could hear her through the booming music. "The more we allow it, the more they get lost in it."

"I fear that if we are not careful in our approach, she may just kill us without intention." Lauren took a sip of her drink and willed her hunger to subside for the racing pulses around her certainly left her with a particular want she wished to alleviate with the fangs that were pleading to be released.

"She falls deeper into her darkness the longer we allow her to," Lucy watched as a man bumped into Camila, pushing her into Vero. It was purely an accident but the fire it lit in the brunette's eyes alerted Lucy of how dire this situation could turn into. She made to get up but Lauren held her back. "Cousin-"

"We give her a moment." Lauren knew she needed to offer Camila a semblance of trust in order have the upper-hand in the fight she was sure they were to have that very night.

And so she sat and she watched as Camila snapped at the man, his hands curling into fists as Vero chuckled behind her, putting her hand on Camila's shoulder to calm the girl down but only to have it shrugged off.

It was only when Lauren caught the light glow of Camila's fingers in her fist that she decided it was time to take action. She set her drink down with a calm that concerned Lucy. The vampire made her approach to the confrontation with control that Lauren very rarely showed.

"Camila." The green-eyed creature's voice was smooth and level. "Step back."

"Not until he decides to offer me a proper apology, not some drunken slur." The angel growled, her eyes slowly darkening.

Lauren stepped between the pair and made sure to have her back turned to her love. She smirked as she eyes the man up and down, he was not much to behold and she treated him as such.

She took the man's jaw in her hand and leaned in closer, running her nose along the column of his neck, his beating pulse drawing her in like nothing ever had before but she knew she had to allow her hunger to take the back seat in that moment. She drew his face down until their eyes locked, his confusion morphing into...oblivious. His eyes lost soul as her mind entered his.

She saw herself through his eyes in that moment, how he admired her appearance. Men were such easy creatures. So easy to appease with simply a smile, it was near tragic to the vampire.

"Forget you ever saw her," Lauren spoke with a husk in her tone. "Resume your night but refrain from disrespecting another woman."

She released him with a bit more force than necessary, his drink knocking into his chest as he stumbled back. He disappeared into the crowd and Lauren was able to return her attention to the woman who had a claim to her still heart.