The Dark Secret of the CEO by Sofia de Orellana

“We’re going to a different place?” I ask as he walks away from the bar, towards the main street.

“Even if you’re hot, Baby Vamp, it’s going to look suspicious if you keep picking up boys that don’t come back, no?”

Fair point. I sped up behind him, trying to rearrange my hair, pull down my dress… anything to make me feel like I didn’t just almost eat a random guy. I almost feel like there’s still blood dripping down my lip, but no, he wiped it all off perfectly. Bart chuckles at my nervousness, and puts an arm around my waist again.

“Relax, little sister, you’ve got this, I promise.”

“It’s not anything like I imagined,” I mutter. “I was thinking of something a bit more… action-packed.”

“You mean jumpin on the roofs, running in a forest? Yeah, no, this is the wrong century for that. We’d be on some stupid Social Media within an hour. A smart hunter is a hunter that makes the job quick and clean, Hera. We’re not savages… Although, some of us do like a messy job. But they don’t get to live long.”

“…Why?”

He glances around. We’re now immersed in the crowd again, looking like any other pair of young people, perhaps a bit more gothic with our pale hair and dark clothes. Nothing unusual for the ever eclectic London… Can any of these humans imagine that we are not like them? That we could… jump and kill them right now? A young girl walks by. She’s laughing with her friends, but all I can see is the fair skin of her throat, exposed, and that vein that pulsates vividly… Gosh, snap out of it. I’m getting mildly obsessed with exposed flesh now.

“The thirst is the first thing you need to learn to tame,” Bart drags me out of my pitfall thinking. “How well you can control yourself is what makes you less of a beast. If you try to resist it, it gets gradually worse. You have to resist the pull so you won’t kill your prey, but you cannot ignore it. It’s a thin line. You’ll lose control a couple of times while feeding, we all do. Accidents happen, we’re doing our best to avoid it. But it’s better than really turning into a beast. If you start to feel thirsty, go out and feed yourself long enough to hold back.”

“It’s like an addiction,” I sigh, my eyes on another neck. “If I feed too often, I’ll get addicted, but if I don’t, I’ll want it even more, did I get it right?”

“Yes. It’s our curse, there’s no end to it, you’ll have to find your own way to tame it.”

“…What happens if we make a… an accident?”

I feel him stiffen. He glances around.

“We… don’t like exposure. Risks. Some people got cocky and thought they could just go around emptying humans like blood bags. The problem is, if you get too addicted, you don’t stop. And if you don’t stop, you turn into a monster, and somebody else has to stop you. We will even attack our own kind, just like you hissed at me before. If you’re lucky, it’s your own family that intervenes. If not… outsiders get involved, and it gets messy. Trust me, our kind will take care of the problems before humans notice.”

“So other vamp-… Others could get involved?”

“Not often,” Bart shrugs. “Truth is, probably won’t, at least if you stay around with us. We usually keep the babies like you around until we’re sure they can manage on their own. Richard hates to get involved with others.”

“Are there a lot? Of others?”

“It’s hard to keep track. During some periods, it was easy to be what we are. Nowadays? It’s gotten complicated, to say the least. I’m guessing there will be fewer and fewer of us. Those who can adapt will be fine, but we’re already seeing some of… the older generations having trouble coping. They move to more remote areas, or just disappear. I can’t really blame them. Well, you’ll have a nice sample tomorrow.”

“Richard called

Come on, enough chit-chat, you’re still in class

streets. Just walking amongst humans is a challenge, now that I have tasted warm blood… It’s odd how I was like any of them just days ago, and now I couldn’t feel more different. I’m like a foreigner, every single thing reminds me of how different we are. My senses are heightened, and I can hear hundreds of voices at once, close and far, and the various tones in them. I feel the stampede of hundreds of feet on the sidewalk, the ruckus of pans and utensils from the restaurants, the sounds of the busy streets all mixed together like a concerto.

this. It’s crowded as hell, but we head to the bar first to get at the center of the action, two new glasses of

ask, seeing as he keeps glancing

easy Baby Vamp,” he laughs. “Come on,

hand, and pulls me to the dance floor. …Seriously? Bart smiles, and makes me spin. The rhythm of the music is easy, and I’ve never felt so confident with my body. I feel taller, stronger… sexier. Bart starts moving, and I just let myself move along to the music. The Caribbean rhythms are starting to get to me. I can’t remember the last time I danced, or felt so free… I’m aware of all the eyes on me, and they can keep staring. I’m fearless. I’m the predator, and they are innocent creatures with no idea what I

the heels, my movements don’t get any weaker, while we dance and dance and dance non-stop. I get drunk on the dancing, on the vivid sensations of my body, on following Bart’s lead. I laugh when he strikes impromptu poses, but I do notice he’s still scanning the crowd. He’s having fun, but also not letting anything out of sight, always aware of who’s around, what’s

are you checking for?” I

smelled trouble,

“Trouble?”

your next dish, Baby? It’s getting late and Richard

“What about you?”

I’ll pick one for myself

but as I suspected, he’s already found a target. I see him gratify a dark-skinned, muscular young man with a faint

your type?” I

drunk nothing but quality alcohol all evening, has nice muscles and from the stares he’s been giving me, it’s going to

can’t say I’ve been paying much attention until now. Unlike Bart, I’m more

“Another emergency exit?”

walk out the front door this time. Take a hard turn left, and there will be another street on your right.

alone?” I ask,

before you can kill them, we need to charm them anyway. You can try, but I’ll need

puts a quick kiss on

worry Baby, you’re a natural. I’ll

if I’d just been abandoned by my partner, and turn around, heading in the opposite direction. I don’t forget one last glance towards the duo of idiots. Will they both follow? Who knows. I fight the crowd a bit to get out, but damn it feels

Bart’s directions, quickly finding the empty, narrow street. I keep walking without turning back, acting a bit unsteady on my feet. Soon enough, I hear them. A couple pairs of feet, following me, flat and heavy enough to be male. I smile,

you

of times and open my lips slightly, an innocent look that’s enough to trigger a couple of vile thoughts in bastards like them. Indeed, I see their pupils narrow a bit. The alley’s pretty dark, too, there are only lamplights at each end, and a broken one in-between. I keep slowly retreating, shoulder close to

wait for us, let’s have a little chat, shall

them catch up to me, and one just grabs my wrist. It’s probably meant to be forceful, but

like a little spitfire earlier, Hun. Care to dance

“Shut up.”