4 - KILLING TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE

ALYSSA

My original plan was to get out of the house as early as six, so I wouldn’t have to confront mom or dad or worse… both, but as soon as I stepped into the living room, ready to leave the suffocating prison, the lights switched on and I found my dad in his pajamas, resting on the wall with his eyes on me.

That starry blue pajama was what he must’ve been wearing yesterday when he unknowingly dropped the bomb on me. Mom was not in sight and I was terribly grateful to the goddess for that.

I wore no makeup, and hid no imperfections because there was no use dressing up for someone who would hardly pay attention to my face when I strip naked.

Dad had chestnut brown hair, with rogue grey strands fighting for equal rights in appearance. He appeared stressed, not as lively as he normally was, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he slept here tonight because of their life-changing argument.

He smiled at me, folding his hands and dipping his chin. “And where are you going?” he asked in his usual playful tone that sounded so fake now.

It was hard to keep a straight face, to not break down… knowing everything that I did and wishing I knew it thirteen years ago… or didn’t even at all. I kept asking myself why… why they didn’t tell me. How could he act so typical? How could he lie and pretend right to my face? It shocked me every time I realized that he’s been doing it for thirteen years.

I was angry but I chewed on my lip to hold it down. Lashing out was not the solution.

“Out. Is that a problem?” I asked, caring less about his approval because nothing he said could stop me from leaving.

He sighed, stroking his stubble. “You sneaked out yesterday, didn’t you?”

You’ve lied to me my whole life, didn’t you? I almost screamed at him, my self-control on the edge.

Lazily looking at my phone and shrugging my shoulders, I answered. “Yeah, and I would’ve done the same this morning if you didn’t show up.”

“Alyssa…”

“Look, dad…” I blurted out, ‘dad’ had never sounded so foreign. “…I can take a lot of things but the moment you two decide to lock me in this prison, I’m gonna bail.”

I held on to my jacket like it was my lifeline. To be honest, it was at this moment.

“It’s for your own safety…”

“Suddenly, it’s for my safety. It wasn’t for my safety merely a week ago!”

He left the comfort of the wall and tried to walk up towards me but I stepped back like an abandoned cat refusing to be approached by a human. I felt a lot like one now.

He stopped and gave me a weak smile, rubbing his arms. “I wish I could tell you why…” I wanted him to continue because I was dying to let this weight off my chest but he just changed the topic, like he wasn’t hiding the biggest secret of my life from me. “I hope you didn’t forget it’s your birthday. Eighteen's the legendary age.”

All this faking was making me sick. I looked away from h and glanced at the living room. The lavish cream walls, the chandelier, the million-dollar sofas, the lush paintings, the infinity inches TV that all screamed we were fine and doing okay but we weren’t. Our family has always been broken and it only made sense now that I knew we weren’t a real family.

“Since when did we start caring about my birthdays? You guys normally looked depressed on them, like it’s meant to be a funeral or something,” I said, feeling conscious of the white crop top I was wearing, the blue jacket over it, and my black leggings.

My straight hair was let down free and no sunglasses was going to cover up my shining red eyes today.

Alpha Evans has been ruling Moonfall for years now. Moonfall, being the only pack to surrender to the Alpha King, was now like a slave pack to him. We lived according to his rules and the members complain bitterly about it every time.

Now that I see the truth, it’s made me question so many things. If I wasn’t his real child, why didn’t they have any? Why hasn’t another Alpha tried to take the title from Evan, did the Alpha King make it a law? Where did he get me from and why did he even take me in the first place if he knew the Alpha King would eventually drag me away?

Trailing his hands through his hair, he took in a deep breath and crashed into a dining chair, opening up a bottle of brandy that was on the dining table. “Let’s make a deal, I’ll let you hang out with this boy you’re going to meet…” I stared at him in shock when I comprehended that he knew, he knew all this time. He only smiled at me cunningly and that made me feel like the day could get better. “…if you tell me what’s worrying you when you get back. Hmm?”

I nodded, still holding onto my jacket. “You can fix mom, right?”

He tsked. “I’ll handle her, go have fun.”

Out of all the troubling emotions inside me, this was the only thing I understood. “Thanks, dad, I won’t get into too much trouble.”

I turned around and left the living room and the packhouse before that evil woman showed up to ruin all my plans. Maybe, just maybe, this day wouldn’t be so bad after all.

~~~

‘Are you sure this is the right place?’

I checked the map on my phone, looking around me just to be certain that it was the exact address he texted me. I wasn’t wrong, this had to be it… unless there were two Monsten Borders of course.

I was at the outskirts of the pack, a step more and I could be out of Moonfall territory… but I wasn’t ready to take that step, even though it wasn’t literal.

There was nothing around me but trees, grass, and more trees. No signs of rivers, animals, or anything that could’ve made this area deserve a name of its own.

Except for a large path so unused and forgotten that if given a few more years, you’d never believe it was there. This must have been a road, borderline for territory, between Moonfall and the former Greysten pack that’s now nothing but runs.

I would usually lie to myself that I wasn’t anxious about seeing the secret man I’d been texting for weeks at this point but this time, I didn’t deny it. I kept rubbing the knuckles of my fingers, darting my eyes all over the empty forest. My well-hidden social anxiety was making its way out.

What if he bailed on me? What if he just tricked me and never wanted to see me? What if he lured me out here to suck my blood dry and has already done it to many others?

‘Now, you’re getting delusional. Vampires only suck their favorite animal’s blood, right?’

‘But some do.’

‘Purebred vampires? I doubt they even exist anymore.’

What would I say if he did show up? What if he didn’t like me and rejects me?

“This is all a big mistake,” I muttered to myself, feeling utterly stupid. “I should leave.”

I turned around to make my way out, a hasty decision, but slammed right into the huge frame of someone that was over a foot taller than me. Shit. My dizziness stepped aside when I staggered back, and the first thing I noticed was how beautifully he smelt of saffron. The earthy mix of spice and its honey scent finish eroded my senses, and when I could see again, I met a dark shade of amber-brown eyes staring right back at me.

I lost my breath and just stood there, looking from his ash blonde hair, to the dimples in his subtle smirk, and the mouth-watering physique he had molded for himself. Of course, I would be stunned, I’ve never seen anything like him.

There was a magnificent tattoo of a bat hanging upside down on the side of his neck, surrounded by deadly snake-like vines. It looked mysterious with stars twinkling all around it and I could bet on Carmine’s tail that there were more under the grey Henley shirt he wore. All buttons of his shirt were loose, with sunglasses hanging at the end of the placket, and if his muscles filled up those long sleeves, he had to have some load in those sweatpants.

‘What did you say about my tail again?’

His amber eyes swept over me, amusement in his eyes, and I immediately felt a rush of anxiety. He took a step back, hands in sweatpants and silver watch over his hand as he just… looked at me. Why was he just staring? I felt small under his menacing predatory gaze but there was no way I was going to show him that.

Clearing my throat mutely, I smiled and stretched my hand out, keeping my other shaking one by my side. “I’m Spiderqueen, you must be Thirstydracula,” I tried to say professionally.

His eyes went down to my outstretched hand and his brow automatically lifted. I watched him curiously as he pulled a cigarette out of his sweatpants, placing it in my hand and pressing my fingers over it so that I was holding it. Then he pulled a lighter out and fired the end of the smoke up, taking the cigarette back from me and fixing it between his appetizing lips.

The fucking jackass. I was about to say something but he beat me to it. “What exactly are you meant to be?”

I folded my hands and stared at him in disbelief. “Excuse me?”

“Demon? Werewolf? Witch…” he paused, a grin coming up his face. “…spider,” he said chuckling, blowing out a puff of air and leaving me in fits of anger.

“And you must be a jackass because you sure act like one.”

His amusement faded and his predatory gaze darkened. “She bites right back…” he said, licking his teeth. “I need to know what I’m about to fuck. I haven’t seen anything like you.”

He didn’t just fucking say that. “Can’t you read… or did you even bother to check my bio?” I snapped at him. “I should’ve known there was a reason werewolves stayed away from vampires, your cliché texts were such a turnoff.”

He growled—I didn’t even know vampires could do that—and threw the cigarette off in the distance… while I secretly worried that it would cause a fire and burn my favorite forest to the ground.

‘For the record, it’s the only forest you actually know.’

“You better watch what you say, little bat. Did your mother not teach you anything about vampires?”

He took a step toward me and I took three back, glaring. “So you brought me all the way out in the forest just to humiliate me. You’re no different from the fucking bullies in my pack.” Fucking people always fucking judging me just because of how I looked. I hated it and I wasn’t going to stand here and let this stranger ruin my day. “I knew this was a mistake from the start. I’m not doing this with you so you can go fuck yourself!” I sent my middle finger up his face and brushed his side as I walked away but just as fast as I left was how quickly he drew me back.

My ass landed right on his cock when my back hit his chest. I gasped at the harsh force he used to hold me but more because of how hard his cock was in those sweatpants.

“No one walks out on Irvin Sloane,” he snarled into my ear, making heat rise in me. “I came out here to fuck something and I fucking like what I see so you better be a good little bat and listen to me or I’m gonna fuck you the hard way.”

I’m insane, why did that make me wet? “You’re a psychopath.”

He placed his hand on my chin and forced me to look into his mesmerizing eyes. “I’m nothing like the obnoxious bullies you have wherever you came from because I know a pure sexy bitch when I see one.” He knows that… Could he smell me? Did he know I was wet too... fuck. His fingers danced away from my chin and went for my hair, feeling it with an engrossed look on his face. “I need your name, little bat.” Like that was ever gonna happen. “Or would you prefer me moaning spiderqueen?”

Why not, what’s one more mistake? “Alyssa.”

“Well, Alyssa, I’m not sure what you are but I’m always looking forward to new flavors.”

My glares couldn’t get harder than they already were. “Flavors? I’m not fucking chocolate.”

“But you do smell like it.” What? “I need you to close your eyes or I’m gonna spank that ass and make you wish you never met me.” I was a second away from saying I already did but because I believed my day couldn’t get any worse, I closed my eyes and waited for something magical to happen. There was a slight change in the wind but apart from that, we didn’t transport to a magical world as I expected. Or I thought so. His hands slid away from my body and I was trying to get my bearing when he said, “Open those bright little orbs for me.”

When I did, I couldn’t believe where I was standing in. I was in a bedroom, that looked so much like an office because of the desks of files and official pictures hanging on the wall, but it was brightly lit in red and smelt so much of him. I found the jackass sitting on a work chair, staring at me intently.

“How did you…”

“I don’t need your mouth moving just yet, just your hands.”

I’ve had my share of psychos but this guy was as complicated as complicated could get and a one-night stand wouldn’t be enough to unravel him—a single encounter with him said that much. But I wasn’t here for a wholesome meal, I was here for the sick taste of vampire and the goddess knew just what I needed to achieve that.

Besides… I would be killing two birds with one stone by getting revenge on my mother.