PETE
The green buttons beep as I type in my passcode and the steel door to my apartment buzzes open.
It’s past midnight and the exhaustion is hitting me hard, but so is the thrill of a night so enchanting, the smile has not worn off from my face or heart. How can a person that small be so troublesome and so sweetly grumpy?
The smile on my lips widen as I walk across the sitting room, replaying every second I laid my eyes on him. The curves of his features were so hard and sharp, yet so delicate and fragile. The fire in his eyes was almost as delightful as fierce of his touch. I want to explore him. I have a feeling spending time with him will feel like a rollercoaster on some days, and on others a warm hug.
He felt safe, and I can’t remember the last time I let my guard down that low with a total stranger. Maybe because he had no idea who I was, there is a sense of freedom I derive from that. Being around someone who treated me like a person and not one of the imaginary characters I play. He felt authentic and true. It is a scarcity in my world.
Though I won’t deny it stings to know he doesn’t like me. I haven’t met a lot of Incubi in life—scratch that, I don’t think I ever met one, but I’m very well aware of how an incubus like him would perceive me, a vampire. Who could blame them, we created the biggest racial divide of all time. Even worse than when his race ran the country. Economically speaking, there was still a sense of equality. Vampires weren’t denied jobs and cast away from society.
With a heavy sigh, I turn on the kitchen lights and the thought stays with me as reach for a bottle of lime water and chug half of it in one go. I dig my hand into my pocket and pull out the name tag: Luke-Fox Deliveries. Heavens, I’m glad he didn’t notice when I ripped it off as he drove away. With an attitude like that, I would have gotten more than an earful. Though I have no doubt I would have enjoyed that, too. He’s so stubborn, it’s the cutest thing I have ever seen.
“Hey you,” Zenipher's voice startles me as he struts into the kitchen.
“Heavens, Zen,” I gasp, clutching my chest. A small laugh escapes him. “Didn’t know you were coming over.”
“You said I could drop by whenever without asking.” He pulls out a bottle of strawberry water from the fridge, then bends lower to grab what I’m sure is a pack of strawberries. It’s his favorite fruit, and though I can’t stand the taste, I have grown accustomed to stocking it up.
“Sorry, still getting used to having someone else here.” For most of my life, I lived alone. Since I was five till now. It all began to change as Zenipher and I’s friendship deepened over the years. He showed up everywhere, all the time, and now he’s just part of my life.
“How was your day?” he asks, his head still in the fridge.
“Eventful.”
“Oh yeah?” He shuts the fridge and joins me by the kitchen counter. “You’re trending on Xwitter, I suppose it was.”
“Ugh…” I throw my head back. “I’m going to get an earful from Will tomorrow.”
“And you would deserve it. What the hell were you thinking getting into a fight in a sex club.”
“First, it wasn’t a sex club, and second, it wasn’t a fight, I was getting beat.” I chuckle and he throws me that stern look that practically screams at me.
“I warned you this would happen when they find out”—He pulls out a knife from the knife blocks—“You never listen.” He shrugs, slicing the berries.
“How was your day, don’t tell me you spent it all on set,” I ask changing the topic, or else Zenny would dwell on this lecture all night. He means well, I’m just too tired.
“Mostly.” He throws some into his mouth and crushes it.
“You work too hard,” I say, checking Xwitter to see what's trending.
A little smile grazes his lips and it is silent for a few moments as I type when he announces, “I’m ovulating.”
My head shoots up. “Aww, Zenny. Is that why you came over?” He nods and my smile broadens. “Which means I have to stock the fridge up with way more chocolates and cakes huh.” We both giggle. I watch him chew for a few more seconds before pushing forward with my question. “So… When does your heat cycle begin?”
“In three days I think.”
“Have you given any thought to what we talked about last time?”
“I can’t tell my parents, Pete.”
“Is it really such a terrible thing.”
Heaving a sigh, his tired hazel eyes meet mine. “If it gets out my career is over, and my parents will take away my trust fund.”
“They love you, Zen. Your father is obsessed with you,” I try to persuade.
“Everyone in my family is an alpha. It’s been that way for centuries. You have no idea how this will make my father look to his business partners. And mother?” He scoffs, shaking his head. “She’d rather kick me out than lose her social status.”
“You’re their blood. No one is going to throw you out.”
“No, they’ll just marry me off to the most available alpha and ship out of the country so I don’t bring shame to the family.”
His chops are angrier now as he slices the fruit and throws it in a bowl of greek yogurt. He is on edge. This particular topic always does that to him.
“Is it really such a bad thing to be marked?” I ask slowly, carefully with each word so I don’t upset him further.
“Of course yes, Pete. I’ll lose my free will and spend the rest of my life answering to someone who probably won’t give two fucks about me.”
“Not if you marry the right person.”
“You live in a bubble if you think there is one father that wouldn’t want to stake their claim over me. I’ll be pregnant the very second I’m marked, and I’m not ready to become a father.”
“Neither am I.”
An exasperated sigh leaves his lungs, as he carries his waist in the most omega way. I like that he feels safe enough to be that way around me. For years, Zenipher presented hyper-masculine to me, as though the very idea of femininity irked him, and he still does to the rest of the world. A facade to hide his secret. But not here, never when he is with me. I like this about us.
“That's what this is about. You want out of this?” His fingers flicker between me and him.
“Zenipher—”
“We have been very careful, and I have already started my contraceptives. And if you don’t want me staying here during my heat circle, I can–”
“What! No, that’s not what I am saying. It’s just… my venom makes you weak. Too weak. I worry for you. When I feed from you, I can’t stop worrying about if the poison would be too much, if you’re hurting. And yes, I’m not ready to be a father, but I know deep down inside if I do get you pregnant I won’t be able to walk away, I’m telling you how I feel.”
He stares at me long and hard for a minute before blinking. “I’m sorry,” he says, running a hand through his hair. “I wasn’t trying to be difficult.”
“Zen, you’re not difficult, you’re my best friend and I love you, I worry about you. That’s all.”
He sits in the chair opposite me with a small smile on his lips. “I’ll be fine. And besides we understand how things work better with your venom now. You know the right dosage, and I trust you.”
But I don’t trust me. Ever since we discovered vampires' venom helps stop an omega’s heat cycle, Zenipher has insisted I poison him with mine each cycle. It’s no secret most creatures get high from the venom–Vine. It’s designed to make feeding easier for the creature being fed from, giving the a high that drowns out the pain. Feeding is—let's just say, deeply intense.
Though most creatures, including alpha werewolves, can have it in their bloodstream without any major damage being done, omega’s cannot. Their bodies are just too fragile and too sensitive, especially when they’re in heat. The first time I fed from Zenny, I almost killed him by pumping too much venom into his bloodstream. It’s taken us years of practice to figure out what works, but even then, I am still extremely cautious. He tastes good, but I can never let myself enjoy it. I count the seconds from the moment I dig my fangs in. Sixty seconds precisely. Anything more and I could risk overdosing him. It goes against my very nature to not lose myself to it, and I am always afraid one day, I will.
“What’s that?” he asks, pointing at the name tag I had been fiddling with all night.
“Oh erm…” I laugh softly, suddenly a bit nervous “I met the most beautiful boy I have ever seen today.” There is a hint of pride in my tone that surprises me.
Zenipher rolls his eyes as he swerves back to his strawberries. “Oh please.”
“I’m serious.”
“I give it a week.”
“That's not fair!”
“You have never had the person in your bed twice.” He chews
“Not true. Remember Marcus?”
“Only because he liked eating ass.”
“Maybe, but it was still more than once.”
“Pete, once you fuck him and get him out of your system, there will be another beautiful boy. Now, let's go run lines.”
“But I’m so tired,” I grumble.
“Come on!” He pulls me along.
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