My Vampire Queen

“Got anything interesting?” Jaxon asks, leaning against the marble wall, crossing one leg over the other like we were just pals talking about the weather.

“There are a few cases I’m working on, maybe one or two you can help with.” He wasn’t going to like those, because they were divorce cases. I normally don’t handle divorce cases, but a friend asked me to while she helps her daughter after she just had twins. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to help, I just really hate divorce court.

“You don’t seem happy about it.” Jaxon catches onto everything too quickly. It’s what makes him a great P.I.

“Well talk about it in my office,” I said not willing to run him off just yet. Gripping my briefcase I stand straight and straighten my tie before taking a few steps to round the corner towards the entrance. With it being so late, there is barely anyone around, except for two people who just walked in.

The tall woman catches my eye first, in a sleek business skirt suit, heels clicking on the tiled floor, a leather-bound file holder tucked under her arm. But on the other side of her. So short, with messy white hair, and pale skin that stands out against the soft black fur of her jacket. We aren’t that far from them, allowing me to see most of the details of her face, and I can’t seem to catch my breath as she turns to the woman she’s with, facing down the hall.

“She’s beautiful,” Jaxon says it in a bewildered tone that has me bristling next to him.

“She is.” I agree, I watch her and the other women for a moment before turning to Jaxon. “Want to find out who she is?”

A grin spreads across his face, he doesn’t take his eyes off of them as he answers. “I’ll do this one for free.”

I breathed out a breath because, of course, he would follow her around for free. I at least have a better plan than just to follow her, I was going to at least get her name so we had something to go off of. I grab my phone out of my pocket and make my way down the hall, staring at my phone like I had something important to read. Hurrying, I walked down, aiming to the right, where the white-haired woman was walking pretty close to the wall talking lightly with her companion.

I purposefully shoulder her, not hard just enough so when I dropped my phone, it clattering to the floor it seemed believable. I didn’t even get a word out before she went. “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry.”

“No I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” We both reached down to grab my phone, I timed it just right so I wrapped my hand around her much smaller one. Looking up at her, I see her cheeks are bright pink, I feel her push my phone into my hand and I take it. When she looks up at me through her lashes I have to stop myself from doing something stupid. Her eyes are so light the blue is almost white, and her lips are pursed out making a perfect heart shape.

“Marcus Carter,” I said putting my phone into my pocket, I intend on shaking her hand but the woman behind her puts a hand on her shoulder making her back up a step.

There’s a small smile on her lips while the taller woman scowls at me. “Luna Tyet.” She manages to say before the taller woman huffs off with Luna by her side. I would have loved to talk to her, but I at least had her name now.

“This is the house?” I ask Tabitha knowing it was a redundant question. The house we were pulling up to, I could just see past the iron gates. Big, three stories, high roofs with a sky blue and white paneling wall, it kind of looks like one of those old colonial-style houses in the south, with a big rounded porch and white columns. It was separated by the neighbors by some land and a few rows of trees and brush just outside of the gates.

Tabitha parks at the gate and gets out to open it before getting back into the car and drives us to the side where there’s a two-car garage. When she opens it, there’s a car already in it, some type of SUV, one that’s large but also clean and looks relatively new. “Who’s that?”

“That is yours now,” Tabitha said, throwing me a smile before parking her car next to it. When I step out she herds me out of the garage into the first room of the house, it’s a mud room slash laundry room with two large closets attached to it. The walls are a cream color, deep colored wood floors, and molding that matches the floors. “The house is old, nothing has been updated in twenty years. I’ve had people come out to test the electricity, and plumbing and install the best internet and cable they can in this area. The fridge and pantry are empty, I didn’t know when you would be around so I didn’t keep up with the food, that can be changed quickly though.”

“Don’t worry about food,” I said it quickly. “I can go and buy food.”

Tabitha twists her lips into a frown. “A Queen shouldn’t have to go to the grocery shop.”

I give her a small smile. “I love grocery shopping, and once I have no budget I’ll love it even more. Plus if I’m just shopping for myself and Caine I can handle it, once I get more Blood I’ll let you get someone to do it.”

“Alright.” She seems to nod to herself. “Your mother’s old butler and his wife, her head housekeeper have been waiting to serve a Tyet, I will let them know you will be ready for them soon. Just give me the okay and we will have them working again.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, on one hand, I didn’t want people working for me just because of my mother. On the other, she said they had been waiting to work for me. I would have to have a talk with Tabitha about the fact I don’t want people working for me unless they want to. I don’t want them around just for the money, I want them to enjoy their work, to be happy with what they do.

Tabitha leads me past the mud room, into a hallway, to the right I can see past the open double doors into a large office and library, the left opens up the kitchen and living room. She ends up showing me the whole first floor. Medium to dark-colored wood floors, cream walls with the same colored molding as the floors, with white accents, and almost black columns almost randomly throughout the house. With tall ceilings, lots of pretty windows, and wall sconces, it’s a bright and airy house with minimal furniture that looks like someone from the 2000s tried to recreate 1920s style.

Baby grand piano and huge standing clock included.

The first floor is the office, a bathroom, living room, dining room, the impressive kitchen that looks like it doesn’t belong with all the new modern appliances, a large pantry, and a large porch area that’s closed off by only windows and a whole ass bar. The second floor has all bedrooms, five including the master three bathrooms between them. The master takes up a room that almost three of the other rooms do, and a bathroom that you could make another bedroom out of. Then don’t even get me started on the walk-in closet. The third floor opens up to a game room, a pool table, a large TV with big boy recliners with cup holders, some gym stuff shoved in a corner, and a small kitchenette in the opposite corner, just a few counter spots, a smaller fridge, and microwave.

There are two smaller bedrooms on this floor with one bathroom. One of the bedrooms has a bunch of racks of clothing. I run my hands through them. All black or white, sweatpants, sweatshirts, tank tops, slacks, and a few pairs of jeans all in men’s and women’s sizes. There are even shoes. “What are these for?”

“Basic clothing for your Blood if they need it in a pinch.” Tabitha’s tone is nonchalant like it was the obvious answer. “Once you gain more Blood we can get more specific clothing for them.”

“Caine?” I ask out loud, remembering his clothing problem. He appears next to me, fingering through the clothing on the racks. “Look for something for now, once we know your size we can buy you more clothes.”

“Yes, my Queen.” His voice is gruff as he pulls out a black t-shirt that might be his size. “I’ll catch up with you before you leave.”

“We can go look at the backyard and property,” Tabitha said leading the way out, I have a feeling it is going to take her a bit to get used to Caine. It’ll take me a bit too. Tabitha leads me out to the back porch, then out down a few steps into a large well-kept yard. The sun was almost gone, we were minutes away from nighttime at this point. “Do you feel any more Blood coming?”

“How do I tell?”

“Close your eyes.” I close my eyes. “Now breathe in and out slowly, center yourself.” That’s a hard thing for me to do when my mind is racing trying to process everything happening. Taking another deep breath in, I try to shut down as much of my mind as I can. “When you feel ready, try to envision the world around you, without opening your eyes. Push yourself out into the world and see it.”

It takes a moment of me calming myself enough to feel myself slipping. I imagine the shadow Caine turns into, but it’s a part of me, not him. Behind my eyelids the backyard lights up in black and gray hues, little lights of white show me the squirrels, birds, and other small animals darting around in the yard and trees around us. Even Tabitha was a white star in the black and gray, there was just something different, a small little orange-red light in the heart of her white star, like a small flame.

“When you are ready, push up into the sky, look around, and explore. I’m not sure what Blood will look like to you, your mother only explained so much.” I do what she says, slipping up into the air while turning around. There’s one light I notice, like Tabitha’s fire, just much bigger with no white light. It’s Caine, in the house. When I focus on it I can smell the smokey scent of him and feel his warmth.

I look past Caine, look past the house as I raise up and up. The world under me spreads out, like a high-quality black and white map, where every human is a white star. Nothing close to us stands out, in the few miles I can see I can’t find anything. So higher, to the point where I feel uneasy because I don’t know how far I can go. I’m able to see over the horizon, turning in a circle, when I face southwest I see it, little dancing flames so far in the distance I don’t know how to measure it. Then I try to reach out. I can only get so far, making them grow a little bigger. From that, I could see them moving, towards me, every second just a tiny bit bigger.

“I think they are coming, on a highway, they are going fast,” I said it to Tabitha. “At least as close as they can get, I don’t know if they know I’m in Chicago because I fucking have no idea where they are.”

“Well, it’s a start.” She said and I pull myself back, feeling like a rubber band that was pulled too tightly. When I open my eyes she’s smiling at me. “The closer you are to them the easier they will find you. It’s just a matter of time.”

That was good to know but also made me freak out a little. I was still getting used to the idea of Caine, and now Tabitha. They look to me, for what I’m not completely sure. I don’t know what a Queen is supposed to do, I’d have to have a long conversation with Caine later. Who is stepping out of the house now, in black slacks, a black t-shirt, and dress shoes.

“He looks like a bodyguard,” I note and get an affirming noise out of Tabitha. As he gets closer I notice his eyes are no longer completely black. The pupil and iris are still completely black but he has whites now, so he looks more like a normal person if you didn’t pay too much attention.

“If you wish to stay here or make your nest here...”

“How do I know if it’s my nest?” I still wasn’t even sure what a nest was, just that it was supposed to be a safe space.

“If you have to ask, it is not your nest,” Caine said walking to me. “You will feel a deep connection and be more curious about the land. You like this place but it doesn’t feel right, does it?”

I slowly shook my head and looked over the house in front of us. “I love the color, I love the older feel of it. It’s just that it isn’t wholly mine, it’s not what I picked and I don’t know how I would change it to make it mine.”

“We can look for a proper nest then,” Tabitha said, nodding to herself. “The house is nice I agree, but it is not the size a nest should be and it is too open.”

I also agreed with that, I had always lived in city areas, or suburban areas where you could see what your neighbors were doing. I wanted some privacy, some land of my own to do whatever I wanted to. “I’ll move in here for the time being, because I’m not moving a bunch of Blood into my uncle’s house. If you could take me back to the office I’ll drive home, then in the morning can you pick us up in the larger car? I should be able to fit my things in the back.”

I don’t know if the look on Tabitha’s face was horror or pity, maybe a mix of both.