Chapter 1: Something Dangerous This Way Comes

"Yes, yes." My breath dropped as my phone nearly fell from between my shoulder blade and ear. "Sorry! Yes, no I can definitely be there tonight." I paused as I listened to the manager on the other end. "You want me there in an hour?" My eyes moved to the wrist of my full hand. "Yes, I can make it." "Great," the coordination staff member said into my ear as I hurried through the threshold of my apartment. "We'll see you for the party at six in an hour then. Please don't be late." I sighed loudly once the cellphone shut off and dumped all my books and bag onto the couch. Today had been another restless one of classes. It seemed it was going to be the same for the night as well. Rubbing my eyes, I hurriedly made my way to the bathroom to freshen up. It wasn't like I had a choice whether to accept the offer or not. My current economic status was less than satisfactory, which was just a nice and fancy way of saying I was flat broke. I laughed at myself in the mirror as I dried my hair after my shower. A broke college student scrambling at any job opportunity that presented itself… Wasn't that a cliché? Pulling on my clothes, I made my way out of the front door and toward the hotel that I would spend the rest of the night at. When I walked into the hotel lobby, I made my way to the front desk to greet the woman I had seen only hours before. "Boss said she could use an extra pair of hands for the ball tonight, so here I am. Where do I go?" She pointed toward the ballroom where everything was going on. I made my way there. From the looks of the extravagant decorations, I could tell the hotel would be hosting pure-blooded vampires tonight. The thought made my bones chill. Once I found the boss, I was placed straight into the throng of cacophony, quickly putting on the waiter's attire and setting the tables and chairs right. It would be an hour before the guests arrived and things truly started to pick up. I busied myself, as the rest of my co-workers did, with the flowers and the tassels and little cakes being set up on the dessert tables. Champaign bottles and a tower of glasses were being set up in the middle of the room to the side. Everything was just about done as the first of the guests began to arrive. It wasn't until two hours later that the party was in full swing. Men and women flooded the ballroom dressed in elegant and extravagant attire. Each represented their social status and powerful standing within the social groups. If I hadn't been working at this hotel for as long as I had, I would've been overwhelmed by all the glamour of the night. This sort of scene was second nature to me now. I was pouring wine for a particularly well-dressed woman when I overheard their conversation. "Honestly Sol, you would think at your age, you'd have things sorted by now." "Apologies, mother, for having disappointed you yet again," Sol, I assume, said. My eyes neither lifted from the task at hand nor moved from where I stood, so I could not recognize who exactly it was. Still, the conversation happening in front of me sounded strained at best. "Don't give me that attitude Sol, you know–" the woman started again. Her voice was low as she berated her son. His voice spoke out above hers. "Excuse me," he said and left without another word. The man's hand brushed mine as he placed the empty glass he had been nursing into my hand. Suddenly, the glass slipped from between my fingers. I began to apologize profusely as I bent down to gather the glass, my hand still yielding that burning, tingling sensation. Just as I was about to leave, the woman called me back. I watched her down her glass of champagne before indicating for me to refill it. Heaving a tired sigh, I indicated to one of the other waiters that I'd be taking my break. It was a sort of euphoria that washed over me as I stepped outside through the back door and felt the cool air of the night wash over me. The feeling didn't last long, however, as I was gripped from behind and pushed roughly onto the hotel building's cold and wet stone wall. Unnaturally colored eyes stared back at me. I felt something pull at the back of my mind as though my own emotions didn't belong to me anymore. My mind was swayed by the will of the man in front of me. It was unnerving and foreign and screamed of everything wrong and unnatural. I tried to scream as a wide grin stared down at me. It wasn't for the fact that the man was smiling down at me, but for the large sharp teeth that were housed inside of his mouth. "Do you feel afraid?" I tried to fight off the vampire's compulsion, but he was stronger than I was. 'Sh*t,' I thought. 'He must be a pureblood vampire.' There was nothing more dangerous and threatening to halflings such as myself than pure-blooded vampires. I was saved from most things being a half-blooded vampire. I could eat natural food and walk in the daylight. Because of my innate human characteristics, vampire coercion worked on us as well, though the vampire would have to put in the extra amount of effort. My body was wracked with an all too familiar fear in the presence of this pureblood. My voice escaped me, so I found myself shaking my head at the man's question, knowing it was what he wanted to hear. I felt afraid despite my answer. "That's good." The man's smile was a sort of comfort to me. I hated that it was. I hated that it was beginning to lull me toward something that I did not want. His eyes—wide and unnaturally colored—were trained on my neck. "Please…" I heard my broken voice beg out. "Please, please don't hurt me I–" The man shushed me, and I felt the sob die in my throat. I could feel how wet my eyes had become as he rubbed at my cheek. As quick as a wink, the man's looming, fear-filled presence was replaced with another. Though I could not see his face, I could tell he was much larger than the previous man. His back was covered in a velvet, pristine suit. Large muscles strained against the fabric. I watched as it moved the closer he walked to the man. Somehow, the guest from tonight was in front of the other man, who stood in front of me. I had not seen them move. Their speed was far faster than what my eyes could keep up with. They were moving again in front of me, slicing at each other with their arms. Hisses rang out in that alleyway. I watched as the figure of the new man easily avoided all the attacks from my previous attacker. He was smooth like water running between the earth. Had I not felt such an overwhelming fear encase me, I would have thought it was almost beautiful. In a fluid movement, so fast it was almost soft and calming, the attacker fell to the ground in a lifeless lump. The man who saved me stood over the body of his opponent for a moment. I watched him as he stood there. His face was only half-turned to me. I could only see his profile, but my breath caught in my throat even then. He looked as though he were carved of soft marble, powerful and full of purpose, as though he were made from it. Every crevice and line on his face screeched of intention as though an amorous artist created him from perfection alone. He was walking toward me. Long strides, purposeful and strong, reached me within moments. I was again trapped against the cold stone wall of the hotel building. He invaded me like an eclipsing moon. He stared at me. His long delicate fingers stroked the skin of my cheek. I felt them as they trailed up toward the temple at the side of my head. Suddenly, the fear that the previous vampire had placed within my heart melted away. My breath was snatched as he said, "He should have known better than to touch what I have claimed." My eyes began to feel heavy as the man approached me. The last thing I remembered was his eyes gleaming down into the mine. ###