Crimson

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The two men, the two vampires, that entered the kitchen, looked to be in their mid-twenties, like most vampires it seemed. Both of them were tall and muscular and looked like they had spent all their days working out before being turned. From their clothing however, I ascertained that they had been born during different centuries. One was in a t-shirt and jeans, while the other wore pants, shirt, and a vest that seemed to fit more into the 1800s fashion.

They had both been talking merrily as they stepped in, but stopped when they saw us.

"Well, who do we have here?" the old-fashion one asked with raised eyebrows. "Haven't seen you around before."

The modern one sniffed the air and turned to me. "You're not a vampire."

The old-fashion one looked me up and down and a light ignited in his eyes. "So you're the witch, aren't you?"

"I am," I answered and tightened my muscles, got ready to fight if needed.

Before I could react, the old-fashion one was right by my side. He took hold of a lock of my hair and pressed it to his nose, smelled it.

"Delicious," he mumbled with his eyes closed. Then he opened them again and looked straight into mine. I could see the hunger there. "Would you be willing to let me have a little taste? I've never met someone with such an intoxicating scent."

Before I could answer the other vampire was at my other side. "Don't try to keep her all to yourself, Alair," he said.

"Don't worry, Everett. I'm certain that just a drop of her blood would be enough to satiate me for a month." As he said it, he gave me a wink and I was sure he was trying to flirt. That he thought he had just given me a great compliment. But I just felt sick to my stomach.

"If you two don't back off right now, you'll never get to drink any blood ever again," I threatened them and pulled my hair out of Alair's hands.

They burst out laughing.

"She's a feisty one," Everett said. "But don't worry, baby, if you're not willing, we'll make sure to control ourselves."

They both turned away from me and to Aideen. I saw as she immediately shrunk back as if she wanted to hide from their gazes.

"Now you have to be the latest addition to the family," Alair said and smiled at her, raised his hand for her to shake. "I'm Alair and this is Everett. It's so nice to finally make your acquaintance."

"I'm Aideen," she said and stretched out her hand to shake his, but instead he took a hold of it, moved it to his mouth and planted a kiss on the back of her hand. The small amount of blood that she had just consumed went to her cheeks.

"You have been a bit of a mystery," Everett pointed out and moved forward. "Soon been here a month, but almost no one has seen you. I do hope that you've be acclimating well, and if you haven't, we're plenty willing to help."

I watched Aideen carefully and saw how she continuously tried to make herself smaller, obviously uncomfortable by their proximity. The two vampires seemed to not notice however, or they simply didn't take heed.

"Are you still drinking from a cup? You ought to have gotten used enough now that you can skip that," Alair said and then raised her cup to take a sniff from it. He instantly grimaced. "That stuff can never compare to the fresh thing."

Both he and Everett sent me a quick covetous glance before turning their attention back to Aideen.

"You really should start trying some of the fresh supply. It's not going to get easier the longer you wait, and if you try, you'll know how you'll react and then know better how to keep on working on the control," Everett said in an obnoxiously knowing tone.

"No... no thank you. I... I'm good," Aideen stammered out and her eyes darted around as if looking for an escape.

"Are you certain?" Alair asked and stroke her cheek. "You would start with drinking from one of us, so no harm done if you lose control."

"Are the two of you blind?" I snapped, not being able to handle seeing Aideen in such a nervous state anymore. "Can't you see that you're making her uncomfortable?"

Both of them turned to first look at me, then each other, and then back at Aideen. Both of them had equally confused looks on their faces.

"Is that true?" Alair asked and took a step back from her, his face falling. "We had no intentions of making you feel uncomfortable."

"I, ehm, I just..."

"Then what the hell did you think you were doing?" I butted in again.

"Stay out of this, witch. It's not a concern of yours," Everett snarled back at me.

"Everett," Alair said in a low and warning voice, but both me and Everett stared daggers at each other.

"She's my friend so if some idiots are making her feel bad, it's very much of my concern," I retorted, getting up from my chair.

"Friend? Yeah, right. We've all heard how you like to pass your time, witch. Killing vampires for sport. She's a friend now, but what will she be in a month or two?" Everett's eyes had started to flash red and I knew exactly what was close to happening.

"Compared to you lot, I still have a conscious and would never harm someone I consider a friend."

Everett's eyes became red and stayed that way. He let out a snarl and at the same time he lunged forward. I swiftly dodged and counter-attacked. Without any weapons, I knew I couldn't make any real harm, but I'd be damned if I didn't try my best anyway.

He was sloppy in his fighting and I managed to get in several good kicks. But because of that, his movements became fiercer and fiercer. His nails even elongated and became claws. I felt a stinging pain as he went for an attack and knew he had managed to cut my skin. I made to kick him in the stomach, but he moved away, moved quickly to come behind me. There wasn't time for me to react and I got ready for the pain.

Only that it didn't come.

I felt an arm around me and I was pressed towards a strong chest. A scent of chamomile tea, thunder, and freshly baked bread filled my nostrils. Calmness, power, and comfort all wrapped up in one. I hadn't taken notice of that scent before but I didn't need to look up to know who it belonged to.

My body relaxed in his arms and it wasn't until then that I truly realized how much I had missed the man that I hated to my core but also couldn't resist to love.