As the haze of bloodlust cleared Bex looked down at the girl under her, really looked at her. The girl was breathing heavily, her body trembling from orgasmic bliss. She pulled back and looked around. Next to her Florence was also done, just resting with the man, running her finger up and down his chest as he slept.
Florence locked eyes with Bex.
“Done?” she asked.
Bex nodded and sat upright, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Well come along then,” Florence got up and outstretched her hand to Bex.
Bex looked around and found that the room was nearly empty of all the other vampires, only Willow continued to play with her human. Otto was coming in and out of the room, picking up drained humans and taking them somewhere else.
Bex grabbed Florence's hand and let the woman lead her out of the room.
“Can we look for Lyssa now?” Bex asked.
“Soon, promise.”
Bex frowned.
As they stepped into the elevator, she closed her eyes and tried hard to feel Lyssa but still, she felt nothing.
“What are you doing?” Florence asked.
Bex flinched and opened her eyes.
“Uh I was trying to feel her, feel Lyssa.” She said.
Florence narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips.
“Can I ask you something?” Bex said.
“You just did, but continue.” Florence sighed as the elevator door opened back to the third floor.
“Why do vampires join packs? Why not just do their own thing?”
“Good question Rebecca, come with me,” she led Bex towards a bedroom.
Inside was a normal-looking room with a bed, dresser, tv, bookshelf, etc. Florence sat down in a chair next to a small circle table close to the window. She crossed one leg over the other and folded her hands on her lap. Bex plopped down on the edge of the bed and kicked her legs back and forth.
“Vampires join packs for many reasons, but the main reason is to have connections. Take a look at yourself, you are fresh from the grave. Not a dime to your name. How exactly do you intend to provide for yourself? Where will you live? You can’t exactly get a day job now, can you? Well, I suppose you could but it wouldn’t pay much. Joining a vampire pack gives you connections.”
“What kind of connections?”
“All kinds. For example, if you were to join my pack you would have access to all of my wealth, but not just my wealth but the entire wealth of the pack. You would be instantly connected to a ton of powerful people in powerful places. People who would make sure that you always had a roof over your head, clothes on your back, and blood in your stomach. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
Bex nodded eagerly.
“Not to mention you would get so lonely all alone by yourself.”
“But I wouldn’t be by myself, I’d be with Lyssa.”
Florence narrowed her eyes.
“Say you didn’t have Lyssa—”
“But I do.” Bex quickly interjected.
“Say you didn’t. You would be all alone. Having a vampire family gives you a chance to have a normal life. Vampires, like humans, like every living creature, crave intimate connection. We want people to call friends, family. Humans can’t fill that void because they die, they age, but most of all they just don’t understand a lot of what a vampire must endure. Being in a pack helps ease your troubles. Ease that loneliness. The people here may not be my blood relatives, but they are my family none the less. I love them all as if they were my blood. Each one has a piece of my heart, some more than others.” She shrugged.
Bex giggled.
Florence smiled at her.
“You remind me a lot of someone I used to know.” She said.
“Who?” Bex cocked her head to the side.
“My daughter, my real daughter. I haven’t really thought about her in a while. Thank you for giving me back these memories. They are… nice.”
“What happened to her?”
“A tale for another time, so Rebecca. What do you say?”
“Hmm?”
“Want to join my pack, my family?”
Bex looked down and clenched the bedsheets in her hand.
“Can’t,” she said.
“Why not.”
“Lyssa—”
“What’s so great about this Lyssa girl anyway? Are you sure she has your best interest at heart? Maybe she’s just trying to control you. Have you thought of that?”
“Wrong. She saved me, she changed me into this. She’s helping me. Lyssa’s good. She’s nice. Please, I need her back. I… I messed up. I lost control. She’s the only one who can help me. Will you help me find her?”
“Of course I will, but I want you to think about what I said. It’s not good to be so dependent on one person. If anything were to ever happen to your Lyssa, god forbid, I would like you to have a place you could still call home. I could teach you, take you under my wing. You could think of me as your mother, your vampire mother. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
“We should really find Lyssa.”
“You must really love and trust this Lyssa.” Florence frowned.
“I do!” Bex shot her head up to meet Florence’s eyes. “It’s still fuzzy but I do love her. She’s my soulmate, literally. Our souls are linked. I don’t know how or why, but they are. She’s like my other half, I’d do anything to find her again. She’s the only thing I have that’s tying me to reality.”
“What do you mean?” Florence sat straighter.
“Lyssa says my change didn’t take all the way, that something went wrong. I can’t really remember much of my previous life, it’s all fuzzy. But I do remember that Lyssa is important to me, I remember how I feel about her. She makes me feel safe, makes me feel at home. Without her… I don’t know what I’d do. She was helping me remember, helping me become me again. Without her… what if I never remember?”
“And what’s so bad about that? You could think of this as a fresh start.” Florence’s smile grew into a wicked grin.
Bex looked down in deep thought.
“You remember how you felt about Lyssa, that was then. This is now. This is the new Rebecca. Do you really want to be defined by your past, to do what this Lyssa girl expects of you? Or do you want to be who you are now, start a new? Rebirth is a rare gift Rebecca, you should take this opportunity and use it to the fullest. Sometimes it’s best if we don’t remember our previous lives. Sometimes remembering will only bring pain.”
“I don’t know what to do, I’m so confused and lost. I need to find Lyssa,” Bex whimpered.
“There, there, Rebecca, trust me. We will find your Lyssa.” Florence got up and sat next to Bex, pulling Bex into a friendly hug and rubbing her shoulder.
“Please, we have to go look for her. Before the sun comes up.”
“Alright then, let’s go look for her. Let me get some reinforcements.” She got up and outstretched her hand to Bex.
Bex smiled at her and took her hand, glad she could trust Florence to help her. She had no idea other vampires were so friendly to each other.
Florence, Willow, Victor, and Otto all joined Bex in her search for Lyssa. They went back to Lyssa’s house and searched there, they searched all over the woods, but there wasn’t a single sign of her.
Bex was getting restless. She was getting desperate. She wanted to know where Lyssa was, what happened to her, why she couldn’t feel her. Was Lyssa hurt? The thought made Bex’s stomach turn.
“You should head in Rebecca; the sun will be up soon,” Florence warned as the sky turned a pale lavender color.
“No! Not until we find her.” Bex once again took off into the woods to do another sweep.
“Oh my god! What is the point of this?” Willow complained once Bex was out of earshot.
“Silence,” Florence chastised.
“Where is Val anyway?” Victor asked.
“I don’t know.” Florence shrugged.
“What do you mean?” Otto asked.
“I don’t know. I broke her neck and left her body on the ground. When I went back to look for it, she was gone. So, I honestly don’t know. Considering Rebecca still can’t feel her I’m assuming she hasn’t healed yet. Who knows what happened to her.” She shrugged.
“Wait, so your saying like you really have no clue where she is?” Willow crossed her arms.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Ugh! Can we just be done with this already?” Willow groaned again.
“What exactly is your plan here Florence? Rebecca will figure it all out eventually.” Otto said.
“Valyssa has eluded me and my punishment one too many times. This time it’s personal. I’m going to use the one thing she loves most in the world against her. Turn Rebecca into the vampire she could never be. She’ll never know what hit her, Valyssa Norwood will finally be taken down once and for all.” Florence shivered in glee at her masterplan.
“Uh, what about them being bonded. I think she’ll see it coming.” Victor pointed out.
“Them being bonded is an… unforeseen complication. I’ll just have to figure out a way around it or maybe break the bond.”
“Freaky is what it is, I’ve never heard of anything like that before,” Victor said.
“I’ll think of something, I always do,” Florence said sure of herself.
They all flinched when they heard Bex scream out in pain.
Florence rolled her eyes and was by Bex’s side in an instant.
Bex was curled up close to a tree, holding her shoulder. A tiny speck of sun had peaked through the leaves and burned her. Like a bad sunburn, her skin was bright red.
“I told you, we will have to postpone the search.”
“No! She’s hurt, I just know it. She wouldn’t just go away like this.” Bex’s eyes watered.
“Rebecca you are being ridiculous. We can resume the search tonight, promise.”
As the sun came up Bex moved closer to the tree.
“Come along now Rebecca, you’ve hit your limit.” Florence outstretched her hand.
Bex whimpered but took it.
They zoomed past the trees as fast as they could back to Lyssa’s house. When they got there Bex fell to her knees and let out pathetic whimpers as her skin turned pink and burned her.
“I don’t feel good about leaving you here alone. Slayers have been known to frequent here. You aren’t safe.” Florence faked concern.
Bex thought back to the slayers that attacked her and looked around in worry.
“Maybe you should come with us, we can move your coffin to a safe location just until we find your Lyssa.”
“I don’t know… what if she comes back?” Bex asked.
“Then we’ll bring you back. Simple as that. Please, we vampires must look out for each other. That is what a pack is all about. Let me protect you, I’d be beside myself if anything were to happen.”
“But…”
“Please Rebecca, I just want to help you. I swear to you I will do anything in my power to protect you and find your Lyssa.”
“Promise?” Bex looked up at her with puppy dog eyes.
“Promise.” Florence smiled sweetly at her and outstretched her hand to Bex.
In the background, Willow pretended to gag.
Bex grabbed Florence’s hand and struggled to her feet.
“Okay, I trust you.” Bex finally said.
“Thank you for believing in me. Why don’t you go lay down and we will move your coffin for you while you sleep. I promise to take good care of you.”
Bex nodded, gave everyone one last cautious look over before she eventually made it down to her coffin to rest.
“Grab her and take her back to the pack, put her in the basement,” Florence ordered once Bex was out of earshot.
“Roger that,” Willow rolled her eyes.
Otto cracked his neck before heading downstairs after Bex.
All the while, Yancy dragged Lyssa’s unconscious and injured body out of his truck. He had plans for her. He had gone into the woods in search of Rebecca but found himself an even bigger catch. Unable to defend herself Lyssa quickly fell victim to the slayer.
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