Bloody Sweet

It was the aroma that awoke me. Fresh blood, tangy and bitter, sweet and metallic, infused the air and jolted me from my dreams.

My eyes fluttered open, struggling to adjust to the blurry darkness around me. Reaching out, my fingers brushed against smooth silk blankets that sent chills down my naked body. Every breath I drew seemed to be a battle, but I persisted and tried to rise up, only to discover that I was held down by a heavy weight, leaving me numb and paralyzed.

Suddenly, a warm and wet sensation pulsed between my thighs, a pleasant warning that sent my heart racing and my mind reeling. I struggled to break free from the looming presence that held me captive, every fiber in my being writhing and fighting for allies to aid me in my struggle.

In that moment, my captor revealed themselves, their lips dripping with blood and eyes ablaze, glowing like red rubies. Their merciless gaze bore into my soul, rendering me powerless against their inhuman strength.

With a slow, taunting smirk, they spoke, exposing their razor-sharp fangs, trapping me in a strange limbo of fear and fascination.

"You're awake," a deep voice chuckled, "my love."

A few months earlier...

"Are you being serious right now!? This is totally uncalled for!" I protested, stomping my feet.

"Your slip-up calls for us to take precautionary measures,” my "auntie" retorted. “We'll have to wipe their memories and-"

"Just stop!" I fumed, spinning to face her. "You're going too far. Erase their memories and what then? They'll forget all about me!"

She let out a heavy sigh. "I raised you on the rules, Agostiina. You jeopardized our secret. You're aware of the repercussions that come with that."

"But I swear they didn't believe me anyways!"

"It doesn't matter. They'll harbor the secret and, in turn, the authorities will come clawing for clues. And that's when they'll come for us."

"My God, Nilda. No one even believes in vampires!"

Nilda slammed her palm on the table, pinning me with a menacing glare as she snarled, "that’s enough! I've made the decision, Tiina! Begin packing your things, immediately!"

"How could you do this to me?" I pleaded with her. "These were my friends. Will you uproot me every time they catch on?"

"Tiina, do not be deceived by the facade of friendship. They were only temporary acquaintances, and you know it. Must I continuously remind you that nobody will ever truly accept you for who you are?" She let out a sigh of disappointment and shook her head.

Filled with frustration, I threw my hands up in the air. "But how can you be so sure? You only mingle with the elders and don't understand the value of having genuine friends."

She gave me a stern look and replied with unwavering firmness, "that's enough. If this is the only way to keep you safe, then so be it. Now, go! No more discussion!" Nonchalantly, she took a sip of her tea, completely unaffected by my outburst.

Feeling dejected and hopeless, I let out a exasperated sigh and stomped away. Angrily, I slammed my bedroom door shut, throwing a tantrum like a spoilt child. "AARRGGHH! I HATE YOU!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, but I knew she wouldn't hear me thanks to my soundproof walls.

The mystery of my parents' deaths has always plagued me, like a long-forgotten melody that I can't quite remember. The elders only ever spoke of my mother's illness, a condition that they claimed she passed on to me. And the cure? One pill a day. But it was a strange coincidence that it wasn't the illness that took her life.

Growing up under the watchful eye of the "wise elders", I was raised to become a vampire hunter—and a vampire hunter on. So, with my 21st birthday fast approaching, I was eagerly anticipating the chance to take down my very first vampire.

But when I jokingly let it slip to my friends about my true calling, they simply laughed it off, dismissing it as a silly game. Little did they know that this was no laughing matter. Now, as a result of my careless words, I find myself being exiled to a very private university in the middle of nowhere, far away from the only home I've ever known.

I sighed and tilted my head back, gazing at the empty black abyss of a ceiling above me. Nilda was curious as to why I always chose to paint my room in dark colors. First, it was dark colors like warm blues and purples, but now, most of my room was painted in black and dark, dark shades like forest green and blood red. It brought me comfort.

With much reluctance, I rose to my feet and grudgingly packed my bags. Nilda loaded my room with already fixed boxes way before she dropped the news of me moving so I didn't have to do much pacing around.

Finally, after hours of heaving and loading, my room was now empty. I dragged my feet down the halls and stopped at Nilda's room, knocking loudly on the doorframe.

"Can I at least say goodbye to my friends?" I mumbled.

She looked over her shoulder at me for a long time before nodding and turning away. With a sigh of relief, I rolled my eyes and walked away, grabbing my jacket on the way out.

I was glad that today wasn't raining. After putting on a theatrical show, Nilda bought me a Vespa for my 16th birthday, albeit for a price: I had to celebrate my party alone.

I shook away my thoughts and swung my leg over my motorbike, speeding away as fast as I could. My friends agreed to meet me at our favorite diner which was all the way on the other side of town. Nilda warned me not to go, but I didn't listen to her. It was my favorite spot, I could do whatever I pleased and be whoever I wanted to be without watchful eyes.

I made my way inside, taking my rightful place at the window, and waited. And I waited. And I waited some more.

Finally, as the sun started to set, the doorbell jingled one last time, and in stepped my friends, completely wasted.

"Haha, sooo sorry, babes," Vee giggled as she dropped into the cushioned seat. Her boyfriend sat across from her and sidled up next to me while his brother sat across from me, winking and smiling at me.

"Where were you?" I sneered, glaring at them all at once.

Vee's boyfriend sighed, rolling his eyes. "Clearly, we got caught up."

Lio smiled and chuckled lightly. "Forget about them," he nudged his chin at me, "what's new?"

"I'm moving," I sighed, "again."

"What the fuck, Tiina?" Vee was suddenly sober and sat up straighter. "We already told you we didn't believe you, why are you still leaving?"

I shrugged my shoulders, averting my gaze.

"Well, then, I'm moving with you," Lio winked.

"She doesn't want you there!" Vee hissed. "Besides, you can stay here, with me," she batted her eyelashes at him and lightly stroked his hand.

"Seriously, Vee?" Her boyfriend scoffed. She didn't take offense and only stuck her tongue out.

Lio rolled his eyes, inching away from Vee. "Where are you moving to?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know, my mom never told me."

"See, that's what I don't understand. Why is your mom so," Vee drawled, "old?"

"I have a lot of brothers. She had my oldest when she was 20."

"Ooh, how many?"

"13? Yeah, 13 brothers. I'm the only girl. I live with my mom, they live with my dad."

Of course, that wasn't even half the truth. There were 31 of us—13 boys and 17 girls. Yes, I considered the other members of our society my family, but I had no immediate family, no real family. My only family was dead and I still didn't know why.

"Well," Lio sighed, "keep in touch. You can't be moving that far away.

"Yeah! You have our numbers! Call anytime, darling," Vee beamed. Her boyfriend nodded in agreement, humming silently to himself.

"Well, at least she's letting me graduate," I sighed.

"Oh, what are you wearing? I'm wearing this cute short pink dress and my pink heels; you should match with me!"

"I'll have to see."

"Vee, come on. You know she inly wears those dark ass colors. You need to add some color in your wardrobe,"

"You can borrow some of my clothes."

"No thanks."

Lio scoffed, his eyebrows arching disapprovingly. "Absolutely not. Tiina's body is so very different than yours," he smirked.

"Hey," Vee pouted.

"Excuse me?" I scowled.

Lio chuckled, throwing his hands up as if to surrender. "Relax, baby. All I'm saying is that, with those curves, you have a jaw-dropping figure," he chuckled with amusement, prompting Vee's boyfriend to erupt with laughter.

"Anyway, I already have an outfit picked out, and you still have a week to worry about it. 'Sides, I'm just moving my stuff there and plan on being back before I walk," I informed them.

Vee grabbed my hands with desperation, donning her best puppy eyes. "Please tell me we're having a party afterwards. Pretty please?"

"It's not up to me," I sighed, reluctantly rising to my feet. "But for now, I gotta bounce."

"Not gonna eat?" Lio leaned back in his seat and gave me a long look.

"Not hungry," I shrugged my shoulders, pushing Vee's boyfriend aside. "I'll see you guys at graduation." I waved goodbye and quickly left the diner, making my way home.

After days of negotiation and animosity, I finally convinced Nilda to let me blow off steam after graduation.

But her approval, as always, came with a catch. Nilda has never been one to give a green light without a caveat. In this case, my ticket to party-town came with a killing spree pre-requisite—I was tasked with taking down a vampire.

Her endless monologue about her network and connections left me feeling drained, insisting that the club my friends and I planned to hit up was a hotbed for the undead.

According to her intel, these bloodsuckers served up a "special" drink to their VIPs, and I was about to become intimately acquainted with it.

"You're unleashing your inner seductress, you're stepping into your 'femme fatale' era," she told me, presenting me with an array of form-fitting dresses that left little to the imagination.

It was clear she had done her homework long before I started my assassin training at sixteen. Now that I was finally ready for action, she scrutinized every detail, determined to get it perfect.

My skin was a canvas of scars, a harsh reminder of the years spent honing my lethal skills. But Lio saw something different. He saw a beauty that went beyond my scars and curves that made him weak in the knees. I always tried to hide my body, but Nilda was having none of it and scolded me for not embracing my feminine power.

So, with bated breath, I found myself outside the bustling nightclub in my sultry, thigh-length red dress. It hugged my curves in all the right places, the expertly crafted corset woven into its fabric cinching my waist, giving me the desired hourglass figure.

However, it was also depriving me of oxygen—my chest felt constricted beneath the tight fabric, lifting my ample c-cups. I fidgeted with the fingerless, shoulderless sleeves that successfully clung to my toned biceps and attempted to ease the two confining shoulder straps digging into my skin painfully, trying to wiggle out of their grasp.

Gritting my teeth, I took a deep breath and gingerly strode forward, enduring the jolts of pain from the platform heels that encased my feet like a medieval torture device.

As I approached the towering security guard, my heart raced with anticipation, my nerves barely held at bay. With one final, daring step, I proudly displayed my invitation, crafted by none other than Nilda, and with a nod of approval, I stepped inside—ready for whatever was to come.

My steps came to an abrupt stop. It wasn't the deafening beat of the music thumping in my veins or the tempting fragrance of liquor that lingered in the air. It was the ravenous gazes of countless men hungrily devouring my curves that gave me pause.

I gritted my teeth in nervousness and fought the urge to slump my shoulders in defeat. Yet, I stood tall, refusing to falter under their lustful gazes. I had a job to do and nothing would stand in my way.

Raising my chin in defiance, I sashayed past the leering men, seeking refuge beside my friends. But it wasn't just the men who were mesmerized.