ALEXIS' POV

The thud of the blood bag I dropped echoed in my room, then through the hallway disrupting my thoughts, I wiped my lips clean with my cuff and fell backwards to my bed—my eyes up, rummaging the crystal chandelier that hung above me, I hadn't noticed how golden brown it was till now — plastered with gemstones all shaped in U-drop prisms that fell to its sides, dangling every now and then as something moved, Every part of this fortress was connected in the most incomprehensible ways. An ancient, yet exquisite item. Only God knows how long it's been in existence, or maybe he doesn't too.

The strings of crystals that dropped from its edges began to dance in a pulsating sequence, it could only mean one thing, someone was coming. Judging from the heartbeat, one normal, one not so-, It wasn't one person.

My door creaked before it was swung by him, his monk strap clacking the wooden floor. Soon after, someone else followed, the person with the abnormal heart rate. I realise why now, she was a mundane.

"Alexis!" Father announced his unappreciated presence swaggering closer by the second, his left hand kneading his right wrist, he took off his cuff links and dropped them on the tree trunk stool a few feet away from my bed.

One click and the stained glass lamp was flicked on. A glow of honey brown swallowed the intensity of the dark that once was. I was in the light all day, I needed my dose of gloom — suited me more.

"A-ha! I'd like for my gift to be properly seen," His voice filled the room, "and appreciated."

I was sick of this already.

"What?" I mumbled before sitting up to see what the drama was.

"I, son, brought you something to feed from. Walk over there, sweetheart," He motioned to a dark corner of my room the dim glow didn't penetrate.

And so did she. Devoid of thoughts of her own, she had been dulled by father; another one of our numerous abilities. Compulsion was an important aspect of capturing feeds— a long stare into their eyes and we rid them of cognitive abilities including resistance and impulse. Therefore, they are fully surrendered to our actions. She walked into the dark and leaned on its thick walls.

I closed my eyes in frustration as my fingers rubbed the bridge of my nose. I made sure he saw it. why did I have to go through this again? He never learns, does he? I decide to take things slow.

"Where..." I let out a sigh "did you get this one, father?"

The skin around his eyes creased as his grin ripened. "Ah, yes. This one was wandering in the woods, drunk and lost, she was. I guess a mundane party didn't go as foreseen," He gulped.

"What made you think I desired a feed from your filthy victims?" I wasn't asking, he should know better than lead her to me. Again, can't say I'm shocked.

"I just thought perhaps your weakness had diminished and you wouldn't have to wait for impulse to dip your fangs into a live host," He adjusted his collar, walking even closer, my eyes fell to his lips where a faint blood stain stayed smudged against.

He let his tongue do its job and smiled. Of course, he's had his fun, it wasn't hard to figure out.

"She had a friend, a blonde — my exact preference. These two, they wandered the greens together and I happened to be close by," He made a face as though he bit into a lemon. "Too bad, she tasted like a mixture of chemicals, tramadol dominant but useful, nonetheless," His fang came into sight when his smile grew even broader.

"I see," was all I could offer. Yes, I did see all these against my will and I wished I didn't. "Now, get her and yourself out of my room while I have this little peace and tranquillity to myself."

"You wouldn't speak to me that way!", His voice was strongly laced with authority that I so degraded. He bit down and clenched his jaw as his brow furrowed.

I think I liked it when I made him mad, it reminded me of how much I disliked his roguery and undiluted pride, a recurring phenomenon with First-tier vampires, their pride led them more than eyes did.

"I have and I always will, take your feed and leave, Father," I found a cool in my voice to pass my message.

That did enough to cool him down, his shoulder settled a bit before he threw his hands behind him.

"Sometimes I wish I had Matthias instead," with this, he signalled to his dulled feed and departed the room.

Matthias would have been better for the kind of maliciousness he practised, I wasn't, I'm very much fine being a third tier.

Vampire hierarchy was unusual; even to me, it still was. Then again, nothing about us made sense to the mundane. We're grouped by tiers based on the number of feeds we've had, I was third tier because even after those long years; my mundane feed was less than ten thousand, and those contained in the second tier have lost count completely of how many mundane feeds they've had. The First then, was the highest class of the hierarchical structure contained by those who have not only lost count of their feeds but can shift souls — dumping one earthly body and gallivanting into another for preference sake or identity concealment.

Especially identity concealment, they could only do this once a century.

The door slammed and I was free of my worries for a brief second, till they came rushing back.

Selene. I hadn't seen her all week, what on earth was she up to?

Like it was in sync with my thoughts, my cellphone buzzed.

"Talk, 8 pm today"

Typical Selene.

~~

I heard a noise coming from a part of the house, again, it was against my will — my heightened sense of hearing won't let me ignore some things. I quickly recognized what it was and glanced at the clock glued stuck to the dark wall, it was eight pm on dot; she was here.

I made for the main room.

This feeling of uneasiness hung in the air as I walked in, watching Father prance and Selene seated on the brown leather couch at the far end of the room, her legs crossed and arms folded. Candle chandeliers were plastered around the room, in twos and fours; they gave a faint glow of light and warmth — lots and lots of warmth.

Her face brightened as I walked into the room, I didn't know how to feel about that, her smiling face means one of two things, she had a reckless plan she wanted to go through with or a mundane was dead. I silently wished it was the latter.

"Brother, I guess you missed me enough to be here in a heartbeat," She said tapping her fingers on her legs which were now on the couch.

"We could put it that way, what do you want?" I know well enough to go straight to the point with Selene. I needed to know what my new tribulation was.

Dad cuts in before she could form a reply.

"Apparently, your sister's new idea of fun is to go to a mundane school." I could hear the rage in his voice even as he tried hiding it, it was a good thing to hide it, seeing him angry made her happier.

Me even.

I froze, we knew better than to get mixed up with humans. It was bad for us, considering how easy it was to get exposed, and for them especially. It was the same locked in a room with your dinner.

Not to talk of, the last time Selene craved this, we somehow covered up the death of the mundanes as the outbreak of a rare disease, it was too frequent to be accidental. That was three centuries ago, in Greece.

I turned to her. "What is this that I hear of?"

"Well, you heard right, brother," She chimed. "I have a new interest, I've been bored for too long, don't you think?"

"Selene," I started slowly as she fiddled with her red hair, green pair of eyes stared into mine hungrily like she knew my response. "You can't do that, you know how preposteroush of an idea it is — for us, and them. We do not clash."

Father stopped prancing the room now, he settles into a chair with a champagne flute filled to the brim with red liquid contained in it, I didn't need a soothsayer to know what it contained.

"I came to inform you, in case you were wondering about my whereabout like you always do." She said with a hint of finality in her voice.

Of course, it was Selene, the most obstinate of our creatures that I have seen, she always had her way, always.

Trying to convince her was useless, we all knew that. There was only dealing with it.

"Which school?" I asked, finally.

"Brownston", her red lips curved into a smirk.

The same one Matthias was in. Oh, God, no. What kind of chaos was brewing?

With that, she walked out of the room like she didn't just state the demise of people who wouldn't see it coming.

I leaned against till wall, partially waiting for Father to say something. Only I wasn't ready for what I heard next.

"I'd need someone to monitor her closely, withheld her even", he paused, eyeing the empty glass that stood before him.

"If she's going, then you are too."