“What are we doing here?” Winter wondered when Cameron pulled her into Mario’s Diner.
He gave her a curious look at her question. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but…” she thought for a moment when they stopped at the hostess desk, “it feels weird when I’m eating a full-course meal, and you’re just sitting there… eating nothing….”
“I don’t have to eat nothing,” he stated, smiling down at her.
“Yeah,” she said sarcastically, “they can give you a raw steak, and you can drink the meat’s blood. Ain’t that nice?”
He only shook his head, looking up as a hostess made her way toward them from the kitchen. “You’ve been in the human world too long.”
“Hello?” Winter said, gesturing to herself. “I am human… and also… why did you say it like that?”
He gave her an amused glance.
“Looking at me is not answering my question, Cam.”
“I know, Winter,” he stated, chuckling. “But you’ll find out.”
“Wha—”
“Hello,” the hostess uttered, smiling politely, “just two?”
She wanted to snap at the hostess for interrupting, or maybe glare, but something caught her eye when she looked to the girl.
Winter’s breath caught, stomach swirling.
Two canines pierced through the hostess’s lips, a small amount of red trickling down to her chin from the cut.
Winter’s blood rushed… body growing cold…
She’s a vampire…
“Yes,” Cameron said, “just two.”
She nodded her head to the right. “Over here.”
Cameron caught Winter’s hand, following the hostess and pulling Winter along despite her whole body being frozen.
They sat at a two person booth, Cameron pulling out a chair for her like he was suddenly a gentleman…
But she sat down numbly, watching the hostess place menus on the table from the corner of her eye while Cameron sat in front of her.
“There you are,” she said, smiling. “Anything else?”
“No,” Cam said, “thank you.”
And she walked off…
They were silent for a moment, and Winter could tell he was studying her stance.
“Give me your hand…” he whispered suddenly, placing his on the table, palm-faced-up.
She stared down at it, black framing her vision as the panic set in.
“Winter,” he said.
She reached out then, feeling numb as she placed her palm on Cameron’s.
He closed his hand around hers, running a thumb along her knuckles. “I know you’re scared,” he said softly, keeping his voice low, “because you don’t know this world, right?”
“She’s a vampire…” Winter whispered, keeping her head down.
“I know.”
“Then why did you bring me here? I’m a meal to her.”
He sighed, shaking his head. “I’m being honest, your blood does smell really good, and it tastes good, too.”
She gave him a concerned look, wanting to pull her hand out but he held it tighter.
“Relax…” he whispered, “I’m not finished yet.”
When she looked back down to the table, he continued, “This place here… only magical beings come here. The table on our left? Werewolves. Right? Witches. Behind us? More vampires.”
She tensed.
“Winter…” he said again, “relax, Snowflake. We all have more restraint then you think we do.”
“Then… how do you get food…? Don’t you kill people?”
“No,” he said, chuckling, “that’s just me.”
She shot him another concerned look. “Explain….”
“Vampires get their food from humans, yes, but not by killing them. You know those blood donation stands?”
She nodded.
“Fifty percent of the blood from there goes to vampires in the city. We don’t kill unless we’re rogue, and you can usually tell when we’re rogue.”
“What about everyone else?” she whispered. “Do they kill?”
Cameron shook his head. “No, Winter. Werewolves, witches, and angels? They eat just like you do.”
She stared down at the table, swallowing down panic. “Who uses the swords?”
“Angels.”
“Why do they need them down here on Earth?”
“Where else do you think they live?” he questioned as if she were stupid.
“Heaven,” she stated, brows drawn together.
He looked confused. “What the hell is that?”
Her eyes rounded. “Heaven’s not real?”
“Maybe if you explain what the hell heaven is, I might answer.”
“It’s in a religion…” she explained. “It’s a place where good souls go… and where God lives….”
“Is that where the term ‘oh, my God’ came from?”
“Yes, and no,” she stated. “Usually people who are high believers in that religion get offended when you use ‘God’s name in vein.’”
“Weird…” he stated, thinking. “Who is this ‘God’ person?”
“He’s our creator…” she stated. “I mean… I haven’t read the Bible, but… I think in most religions they believe in some kind of Deity that created us and some people worship them… There are many religions that have God… Some have one, some have multiple… Each one is based off old stories and tales….” She looked to him then. “Which religion is true?”
“Well…” he said, looking up as if lost in thought, “the angels are real, and a long time ago, they did create humans… But there’s no Heaven… just a place in Hawaii that their leader lives.”
“Who’s their leader?” she wondered, tossing the fact that there was an Angel leader in Hawaii. What were they doing there? Sitting back and eating coconuts? Was that their job? If it was, sign her up.
“I think her name is… Lily Bron, or something like that?”
“I’ve never heard of her…” Winter murmured.
“No one really has,” he stated. “She and her husband Jason Bron have their own story, though the world’s changed since their reign.”
“How so?”
“Well… before the Angels were ruled by a queen named Nyla, but that was in the 1900s… There were other dimensions where they lived, though no human really had seen it. I’ve heard that… a werewolf named Damian tried to take over the world… And Lily was the daughter of the devil and an angel… A very powerful being at the time… In the early 2000s, Lily was tasked by Nyla to kill Damian, and she accepted.”
“Why?”
“I don’t honestly know…” he said, “but she did manage to kill him… and the devil, as well… So she became the ruler of the Angels, and moved both dimensions here to Earth.”
“So… were vampires, werewolves, and witches always here?”
“Technically, no,” he said. “We all are considered demons, and lived in hell….”
“So… now everyone lives on Earth?”
He nodded.
“Weird…” she whispered, then looked to him. “What did Vampires eat in hell?”
“Hell was a forest back then…” he stated, “Vampires killed werewolves and witches and drank their blood, werewolves killed vampires as a form of revenge… witches were the more human type of the beings… So hell was more of a wilderness thing… Lily knew this, so she wanted to civilize everyone and make them more human, give them better lives.”
“Do you think it worked?”
He nodded his head to the side. “Somewhat… some beings don’t agree with her ways and kill humans, though she sent the archangels to protect people from those monsters….”
“You…” Winter realized.
“Yes,” he said, nodding, “I was an archangel, until I was bitten by a rogue that was hunting you when you were little.”
She blinked, looking to the table, brows drawn together. “Does turning hurt?”
“Hmm?”
“Turning…” she said, “does it hurt?”
He watched her eyes glitter for a moment. “Yes… but only for a minute….”
“When that rogue attacked me,” she said softly, “it hurt like hell.”
“Vampire venom,” he explained.
“But…” she looked to the table, confused, “when you bit me… it didn’t hurt….”
“Because my intent was to heal,” he responded. “If his intent was to kill or to turn you, the venom hurts.”
“Hmm…” she breathed, staring down at the counter.
“Any drinks?” a sudden voice echoed through the room.
Winter looked up to find a different girl standing above her, though she still had the same fangs poking through her lips.
“Yes,” Cameron said, knowing that Winter was frozen so he spoke for her, “we’ll both have a Cola.”
“Alright,” she said, scratching down the order then smiled at them. “It’ll be right out.” And she walked off.
“How does no one see her…?” Winter said then.
“What do you mean?” he questioned. “Everyone in this room can see her.”
“No…” she whispered, “I know, but… Humans, I mean….”
“Oh,” he said, “there’s no humans here, Snowflake.”
She looked at him quizzically.
“This place,” he said, “this street is like a magical being monster town. It’s like a China town for us. But humans can’t see it. Most magical beings work here and live here, mainly the ones that want to be themselves.”
“How come I can see them?”
“Because you know this world now, Winter. Therefore, the magic that conceals this place can’t fool you.”
“Huh….”
“Remember how I told you before that Lily changed us?” he wondered.
A nod.
“She changed us for the better. Everyone can have lives now, isn’t that great?”
Another nod.
“We have to keep ourselves from the humans… It sort of a law… If we don’t, then she sends us back to hell.”
“Then why did you reveal yourself to me?” Winter wondered.
“Because you’re not human, Winter.”
She went cold.
“Here you are,” the waitress said, placing two cups of cola on the table. “Are you ready to order?”
“Yes,” Cameron said, smiling, though his voice drowned out in Winter’s ears due to the panic burning her inside.
She wasn’t human? Then what was she? A werewolf? A fairy?
Why didn’t she know this? How come no one had ever told her this before?
Then her mother’s words echoed through her thoughts...
I’m sorry... This wasn’t how I wanted you to find out...
Oh, God... It was true...
Winter thought she was talking about some kind of bad guy or something...
Maybe it was both?
What did she mean?
“I’m sorry for not telling you this world exists?” “I’m sorry for lying to you?” “I’m sorry, you’re not human?”
A loud snap echoed through the room, and forced her out of her thoughts, slamming her back into her chair.
It was just Cameron... snapping his fingers in her face to get her attention...
He stared at her with raised brows, though she didn’t know what his expression was asking...
“Winter,” he said, “you okay?”
“What do you think?” she questioned harshly. “I just found out I’m not human!”
“Oh, you’re not human,” a brown-haired boy said next to her, smiling softly. ”I can smell your angel scent a mile away.”
She swallowed down all the questions she wanted to scream.
Angel? How am I an angel?
Her mother was human, right? Her father was human, right?
“Don’t even try it, werewolf,” Cam said, shaking his head. “She’s mine.”
He glared at him, eyes like piercing daggers, then turned back to his friend as if nothing happened.
Winter stared for a moment before looking to Cam. “What do you mean, ‘don’t try it?’”
“I meant what I said.”
“Was he going to make a move on me?”
A nod.
“How do you know that?”
“I just do.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but shut it again, unable to think of what to say.
Seconds later, the waitress was back, placing a bagel with cream cheese in front of Winter and a tall glass of something red and thick in front of Cameron.
She swallowed down nausea. Blood...
“There you are,” she said, standing back up with a soft smile. “Anything else?”
Cameron shook his head. “Nope, thanks.”
She nodded, smiling and walked off.
When Winter studied his drink, she noticed in the blood there was a stick of celery poking out through the top of the glass, the green contrasting the dark red…
“What is that?” she said, pointing to his drink.
“This?” he wondered. “It’s just a Bloody Mary.”
“My mom used to drink those,” she stated, “but she had tomato juice… not blood….”
“Yeah…” he said, smiling and he spun the celery in the blood, “that was an inspiration for this… Hence the name, ‘Bloody Mary.’”
“It also had alcohol in it…” she stated. “Does that have alcohol?”
“Maybe a little,” he admitted, giving her a little smirk. “Not enough to make me drunk, if that’s what you’re asking.”
She was silent for a moment, looking around the room worriedly.
She noted some men looking over their shoulders at her, though some were smiling, some weren’t. But the girls kept to themselves…
“How can you tell which one’s a werewolf, vampire, or witch?” she wondered.
“The ones staring at you are werewolves,” he stated, sipping his drink when she gave him a concerned look, then swallowed. “But don’t worry, they won’t hurt you. The majority of us in this room like Angels, it’s usually the rogues who don’t.”
“How did you know they were werewolves?” she questioned, stomach turning. “And how did you know I was afraid?”
He smiled, though not sweetly. “I can read minds, Winter.”
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*****
“Hold on…” Winter said, “what?”
“I said, ‘I can read minds, Winter,’” Cameron stated. “Are you deaf?”
Panic burned her inside, turning her veins into fire. “How come you’ve never told me this before?”
“Because of how you’re reacting.”
She stared for a moment, heart pounding wildly against her chest. “This whole time,” she said, “in the last couple days… You knew what I was thinking, the entire time?”
“Yep.”
She swallowed down the screams edging up her throat. “Why couldn’t you tell me?”
“I said why,” he said sipping his drink with his brows raised, “because of how you’re reacting.”
She shook her head, attempting to clear her thoughts, but all that did was make them spin around in her head like a hurricane. “Can everyone in here read minds?”
“Only vampires and fallen angels. Sometimes werewolves, but mainly the older ones.”
“How does that work?” she questioned.
He shrugged. “It just does.”
“You’re confusing me…” she whispered, shaking her head again.
“I’m well aware.”
Winter exhaled a panicked breath, feeling her body cool ever-so-slightly. “Can… I go wash my hands?”
“Are you going to escape?” he quizzed.
She shook her head.
He studied her gaze for a moment, almost like he were reading her like a book. “Alright,” he said after a minute, “go ahead.”
Before she could stand he caught her arm, making her brows draw together when she looked at him. “I said I’d keep you safe, right?” he murmured. “I’ll protect you, Winter. There’s no need to be afraid.”
She dropped her eyes, nodding when she couldn’t find a response. Her body burned with his words, and he let go of her arm, watching her walk off to the restrooms.
When she made it to the restroom, she splashed some cold water on her face, attempting to ease the burning in her cheeks... After she accepted that the redness wouldn’t dull, she washed her hands, dried them, and stepped out of the bathroom, almost making it over to the corner within Cam’s eye-sight when something caught her waist, throwing her to the wall.
Her back cracked against it, knocking the air out of her lungs, and she found herself gasping for air when someone backed her against it, smiling menacingly down at her.
She looked up when she managed to catch her breath, seeing through the blurriness of tears that it was a boy with dirty-blonde hair and dark green eyes.
Her eyes rounded, body growing cold.
Kit.
He hadn’t pressed himself to her, so she tried to slip out from beside him.
But he caught her arm, dragging her back to the place she was and pressing both hands to the wall, one on each side of her head.
Like a cage...
“Ah—ah—ah,” he said, chuckling. “Not slipping by me this time, Winter.”
She glared despite panic settling in her chest, straining her lungs to the point of where she wanted to breathe heavily, but she refused to give him the satisfaction.
“Let me go,” she ordered. “Now.”
He shook his head, a smile still curving his lips.
This smile was similar to Cameron’s... mischievous, evil... but in many ways it wasn’t... Cam’s smile always had a touch of playfulness to the menace...
But Kit’s... was pure evil and psychotic... lethal...
She had never seen this look on his face before... How he eyed her like she was prey...
Something for him to eat.
She reached beside her, fumbling for her weapon when she found the holster empty.
Goddamn it... she left her weapon at the table…
She wanted to kick herself.
She parted her lips, about to scream for someone, but he pressed his hand to her mouth, breathing, “Shhh....”
His touch was like poison, burning her skin as he leaned in close, whispering, “If you scream, I’ll kill you, hear me?”
He pulled his hand from her mouth, smile widening when she stared back at him with hardened eyes.
“How did you get here?” she questioned, forcing the shakiness from her tone.
“I followed you,” he responded, breath burning her skin like acid.
“How did you know where we were?”
“It’s not that hard to tell, Winter,” he said, chuckling. “Cameron’s easy to track, you know. He smells just like you... though your blood... smells so good... I want to taste it....”
“Why?”
“Angel blood...” he said, eyeing her from head-to-toe, “doesn’t it sound so delicious? A lot of vampires say it’s the best… And it smells the best, too.”
“Smells good?” she almost screamed. “Are you a vampire?”
“Shhhh...” he breathed. “I can kill you right now, if I could. So shut up.”
“Why aren’t you?”
“The best blood is when you’re alive.” He leaned forward, mouth inching to her neck.
She could feel her pulse get faster, pounding against her skin...
“Hold still for me,” he said, fangs extending from his lips.
“No!” she cried, squirming from under him. “Don’t!”
“Hold still,” he growled, shoving her head to the side with enough force to snap her neck.
She cried out when his teeth touched her skin... and she waited for them to sink in, burning her veins with the venom, but his presence suddenly faded.
When she opened her eyes, someone threw Kit to the wall beside her like a wrecking ball...
She could’ve sworn she heard the paint crack...
Cameron.
He had Kit in the same position she was in within seconds, caging him with his arms while his fangs pierced through his lips, snarling at him.
Kit didn’t move... stuck in place like Winter was with a similar look in his eyes, widened in fear... hardened like rocks...
Was he... afraid of Cameron?
Why?
“Try that again,” Cam warned, baring his teeth, “and I’ll rip your throat out, hear me?”
Winter watched his eyes burn with rage, staring deeply into Kit’s who was still, almost as if Cam’s eyes pierced through his soul.
“HEAR ME?” he repeated, shoving him so hard to the wall that he was on his tip-toes.
A small nod.
Cameron let go of him then, and Kit lost balance and fell to the floor.
Cam then caught Winter’s wrist and pulled her back to the table while she looked behind her shoulder to see if Kit was following.
He wasn’t.
What was that look in Cameron’s eyes?
What was Kit thinking...?
She had never seen so much rage in Cam’s gaze before... They could’ve been burning so hard that his eyes turned orange...
But he guided her back into her seat, scooting in next to her.
He lightly caught her chin, turning it. “Let me see.”
She let him look to where Kit almost bit her, her pulse pounding against her skin when she watched Cameron’s eyes darken.
She pulled out of his grasp, looking at him worriedly.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered, reading her thoughts, “I’m not hungry. Let me see.”
He turned her chin away, sliding his finger along her neck this time.
A slight burn spread where he touched, making her whimper softly.
“He got you a little,” Cam said softly, though there was an edge to his tone... angry almost...
He slid his finger along it again, though this time she pushed his hand away.
“Does it hurt?” he wondered softly.
She nodded.
“Luckily I bring this everywhere I go,” he stated, shuffling through his pocket until he pulled out a vile of a clear liquid.
“Water?” she questioned.
“Holy water,” he said. “It’ll help. Drink some of it.” He held it out to her.
“Doesn’t it... burn?”
A nod. “You don’t want to turn into a vampire,” he said, “do you?"
“Would it really be that bad if I turned?” she wondered, making him stare.
“Drink it, Winter.”
She snatched the vile from his hand at his tone, downing a fourth of the bottle and threw back to him when the liquid burned her throat like she just swallowed fire.
She closed her eyes, though Cam watched her expression harden in pain.
“Drink some of your Cola,” he said softly. “It’ll help.”
She sipped the sparkling drink, swallowing down the liquid as the coolness eased the burning a little.
“Since he got you just a bit,” Cam said softly, “it shouldn’t burn for long.”
“How long...?” she questioned, her voice scratching her throat.
“Maybe a couple minutes.”
She nodded, continuing to swallow down the soda.
“After the burn dulls,” he said then, rubbing her back as she kept drinking, “we’re going to have some fun.”
Was it just her? or did his tone have a touch of mischief in it?
But she kept her gaze to the table, still drinking the soda as he rubbed her back.
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