“I don’t know.” His hands trembled, but Lauren still couldn’t make out what he was holding. “I just think maybe I should be more careful.”
Fuck! She needed him to get his nerve back. “Grow a pair, Matt! Dante has mocked you since the first second you met him. If you get him now, you’ll prove to Alex once and for all what a scumbag he really is—an undead scumbag. Doesn’t get much worse than that. She’ll be so grateful you saved her from vamps that she’ll be on her knees for your cock in a second.” Lauren played to Matt’s ego. She’d known him for enough years that she had no doubt he wanted Alex back. It wasn’t all about revenge for him. He was stupid, but not so stupid as to not realise Alex was the best thing he’d ever had. Matt would do as Lauren demanded just to get Alex back.
Matt nodded slowly, resolve showing in his eyes. He lifted the object into the light. Lauren suppressed a grin when she saw what it was. A wooden chair leg. Sharpened to a very fine point. Just then, Lauren heard a door open and within seconds smelt the burning embers of a cigarette being lit. The smoker was alone and on the ground floor beside the building. A security guard perhaps. It didn’t matter. All Lauren could think about was her empty stomach.
“Well...that should do nicely,” Lauren said, letting Matt walk past her. A devilish double meaning to her words.
Chapter Twenty-three
Goodbye, My Lover
Alex helped herself to a glass of champagne and watched as the bidding began. Dante had already introduced her and Margaret as well, though she noted he didn’t mention their last names or their relationship. It seemed he wanted to remain cautious a little longer when it came to them.
“How you feeling?” Michelle asked, taking a glass from a passing tray.
“I dunno” Alex replied, sipping. “Nervous I guess.”
“I understand. But you have nothing to worry about.” Michelle smiled and clinked her glass against Alex’s.
Michelle was dressed in a rich sky-blue gown that matched in length and shape to Alex’s canary yellow. Both girls had helped Margaret with a simple black pantsuit. A deliberate colour and apparel choice that indicated she was a former donor, and as such was under no responsibility of any vampire.
Glancing down at her own dress and comparing others, Alex wasn’t sure if she was over or under dressed. Some were breathtaking, yet there were some, like one she had just spotted staring back at her rather hungrily, who wore what looked like a one piece vinyl bikini with the love handles cut out. She had a shaved head and several facial piercings, and was being led around on a chain by another woman. Her “handler” however, wore an elegant, flowing gown that reminded Alex of merry old England.
The ballroom itself looked spectacular. Elegant trays of all types of fruit, cheese and wine lined a long white table. Human food. Alex stayed very close to Michelle and Margaret, taking notice of the people that had attended the party.
She spotted several women and one or two men with numbers hung around their necks, like a marathon. There was a lot of commotion going on, so she decided to pick one and focus on what happened. Her eyes came to rest on number 12, a very attractive blonde woman. She wore a sparkling charcoal-coloured gown and beamed at everyone as if she were a pageant winner, though the smile didn’t fully hide the underlying look of uneasiness. The woman didn’t seem to have a particular vampire owner so clearly she was up for auction.
Alex caught herself staring at the mysterious, buxom beauty. A rather plain-looking elderly woman marched up to her, took her wrist, and bit it. Number twelve looked shocked, but didn’t protest.
“I get what you meant by a wine tasting,” Alex whispered to Michelle.
Michelle saw the woman and nudged Dante and pointed subtly. Suddenly he clicked his fingers and pointed to the old woman. When Alex turned around again, the older woman had been grabbed by a burly bouncer and led out of the room.
“What was that all about?” Alex asked.
“Homeless vampire,” Dante replied. “They are not welcome here.”
“But she’s old. Isn’t that kind of harsh? Even for a vampire?”
“A homeless human and homeless vampire are two very different things. Homeless vampires prey on the kind-hearted when no one is around. It is not as if society has let them down, as is often the case with homeless humans, vampires always have the opportunity to work for blood. Vincent even keeps slave donors in his mansion for his workers to feed on. Everyone could get fed but they are afraid to be in the King’s service. I feel no sympathy for those who refuse to help themselves.”
“Now that’s the Dante I know,” said a pleasant voice from behind them.
Dante smiled even before he faced the speaker. Alex saw it was an aboriginal man. He had lots of bushy brown hair, lightened from the sun, and a kind round face beneath a tidy beard. In one hand he held a wine glass half full with blood.
“Hello there, young fella,” he said with a grin.
Dante embraced this man like a brother. “It’s good to see you, old man. Alexandra, I’m sorry, let me introduce you. This is the man who taught me how to feed and not kill humans.”
“Hi.” Alex held out her hand. “Sorry, your name was?”
“I don’t have one,” the stranger said with a wave of his hand.
“Uh…” Alex was taken aback.
“In Aboriginal culture,” Dante explained, “once a person dies, their relatives and tribe are no longer permitted to speak their name. So for all intents and purposes, he truly has no name.”
The
