Chapter Text
Abigail wasn’t stupid.
That’s what Juniper said when Abigail accepted the offering from Max.
Juniper was newer, she didn’t know Abigail as well as Mary and I did yet. Hell, Juniper had only joined our little family a mere 3 years ago. That was nothing in the face of immortality. She still saw Abigail as this maternal figure, who was motherly and loving to her girls. Who was wise and clever, and who could never be bested by anyone, especially a man.
But I knew better.
Abigail was not a bad person, there were much worse Makers. The three of us could honestly count ourselves lucky for getting turned by Abigail. She was motherly, yes, but mature? Especially when it comes to romance? No.
She was still a school girl at heart, waiting for her prince charming to come sweep her away. She was blind to to the ways of men, despite having lived well over 100 years at this point.
Typically, Abigail only ever got involved with human men. They were a lot more pliable, and much easier to deal with when things eventually got out of hand (which it often did). Human partners were also a great way to ensure that we were always well fed, without having to hunt.
Hunting requires a lot more tact and strategy when a female vampire. We can’t just rely on brutish, raw strength. Sure we were stronger and faster than the strongest of humans but not by much. I like to think of it as the universe’s finally “fuck you” to all women who get turned. Abigail says it has to do with how Vampirism originated and that male mammals are typically stronger than female ones, and blah blah, natural order, blah blah, sexiest comment about her own sex, blah. I think I’m going to stick to my “last fuck you” theory instead. Female vampires do tend to have much stronger talents though, which definitely make up for the universe being a giant sexiest. We might not be able to hold our victims down and take what we want, but with one tilt of the head Juniper could simply boil your brain and turn it to soup.
Max was the first vampire I had ever seen Abigail with. She always told me to avoid “the males” as she likes to call them, as much as you can. Male vampires meant trouble. They were territorial, impulsive, possessive, and they were experts at ruining a good thing.
I remembered this, as Max presented Abigail with an offering of blood. Abigail had mentioned in the past that vampires have very distinct, ceremonial ways of going about courting or mating.
Max and Abigail stood far enough away from the deck so that we could see them, but barely hear them.
Juniper leaned against the hardwood railing, all doe eyed and rolling with energy. Making remarks about how “it’s so romantic” and such.
Mary quickly joined us out back once she spotted through the window what was happening. She pulled out a chair from our patio set and calmly watched.
It was a beautiful night, the moon was full and there was a soft, warm summer breeze. I could hear the ocean waves crashing into the rocks on the east side of our home. An onlooker would take one look and think we were a scene straight out of a romance movie.
But, if they only turned their heads slightly to the left (as I had just done) and peered into the forest and shrubbery they would see four pairs of eyes poking out, expectantly waiting for an invitation.
I noticed them first, then Juniper.
“Who are they?” Juniper whispered.
Mary looked over to where the eyes were.
“Those would be Max’s boys, if I had to guess”
“His boys?” Juniper's ears perked up. Always the more boy-crazy out of the three of us.
“I’ve heard they’re dangerous. We should keep our distance” I interject.
Juniper squared her shoulders “so are we.”
“Not in the same way” Mary countered, clearly irritated at the growing male presence in our backyard
Max then bent down to the offering’s neck. I didn't recognize the man that Max had chosen to be his courting offering to Abigail. Max bit into the man’s jugular vein. He quickly retracted his fangs, and looked at Abigail. Abigail then turned her head back to the porch with all of her girls watching. Her eyes met mine with a look I didn’t quite understand.
I shook my head, this was a bad idea.
Abigail turned back to Max, she placed one hand on his shoulder like they were about to waltz, and her other on the man’s shoulder and sucked on the wound Max had created for her. Max grinned with the acceptance of his offering.
The shrubbery began to rustle then, and I could hear hushed swearing. Suddenly, a small blonde man came tumbling out of a tree and fell face first onto our lawn.
“Dam-it Paul.” One of the voices shouted.
The small blond man looked up at Max and waved. Max did not look amused.
The man then turned his head to us. His face was round, and dimples framed his curved chin. He had brown eyes, and a mop of thick, dirty blond curls that flayed about every wear.
He slowly surveyed us, and momentarily, looked almost shocked. I guess Max’s boys didn’t know about Abigail’s “girls.”
He then winked at Juniper.
“Hello ladies!” He shouted, waving at us more enthusiastically than he had at Max.
That had caught Abigail’s attention, and she turned from the now dead offering and Max and looked over at the small man. Her eyebrows lifted and her lips thinned.
“Well I guess now’s as good a time as any to introduce you to my boys, Gail.” Max gestured to the forestry. “You can come out now” he called.
The bushes shuffled, and one of the trees shook like something big was tossed from it.
A flash of black and white quickly darted from the bushes and ran over to the blonde man and slapped his shoulder. This new man wore a black leather jacket that barely covered his fishnet shirt, and tight (and I mean tight) white jeans. His hair was floppy and from the looks of it probably smelled. He looked like he lived and breathed rock and roll, and acted like it too.
The man, still laying on the ground, launched himself at this new paramour.
“YOU SON OF…!”
“That's enough, you two.” Max spoke heavily, with an air that demanded obedience.
Just as the two stopped and looked to Max, two more individuals emerged from the shrubs.
“How many of them are there?” Juniper mused.
The two newcomers were dressed similarly. They both looked at the porch and surveyed us like we were a new exhibit at the zoo.
The shorter out of the last two had cropped, spiky hair. He wore a long trench coat that was so black that it made his hair look like straight moonlight. He also reeked of cigarettes and gin so strongly I could smell it from where I stood. His eyes were ocean blue, and he had a smirk on his face that any devil would envy.
The last one was the tallest out of the four of them. He had long dark brown hair, and wore a striking earring that resembled an animal claw in his left ear. His face was made of sharp edges, he wore no shirt under his leather jacket beside two strands of beads that sashayed across his chiseled abdomen. He didn’t smile like the others, only observed us with an air of curiosity and a furrowed brow.
Max pointed to the curly haired boy, “this is Marko” the boy now known to us as Marko gave a mock bow to Abigail and then to us.
Juniper giggled, which earned a response from the rocker one who then bowed even lower to us and did a mocking hand gesture towards Marko.
Max rolled his eyes.
“The one acting like a fool is Paul.”
“My favorite role to play, old man” Paul countered. Max moved on from Paul’s comment and looked at the one in the trench coat.
“This is David, my eldest” David gave a barely noticeable nod to Abigail.
“And lastly, this is Dwayne.” Dwayne gave no gesture to signify the introduction and seemed to just stare into oblivion.
“Now Gail, I wasn’t originally planning on bringing our little families together tonight, but if you wouldn’t mind I would love an introduction to those heavenly beings that are up on the porch. I don’t mind sending the boys away either if you aren’t ready yet.”
“Don’t send us away!” Marko exclaimed
“Yeah, we only just got here” Paul purred as he slivered over to the deck railing and leaned opposite of Juniper. “And I for one would love an introduction.”
Juniper bent back a tad from Paul, as light pink tinted her cheeks.
I took a hesitant step forward, and Mary stood from her seat.
“I think we have had enough excitement for one night.” Mary stated. “Sun will be up soon, and i'm sure you all need time to travel back to where you came from”
That was Mary talk, for “go back to the slimy hole you crawled out from you filth and don’t come back.”
Max gave Mary a look. One that told me that he wasn't used to being challenged.
“What do you say, Gail? A quick introduction can’t hurt?”
Abigail, who at this moment seemed like she was in a trance staring up at Max, broke away and looked at us.
“Oh, it wouldn't hurt at all! I’ve been so rude; I should have introduced them right when you got here.”
Abigail gestured towards the porch.
“The one in front is Juniper. The one standing towards the back is Mary.”
Mary scowled, tossed her long braid off her shoulder, turned around, and walked inside the house.
Abigail looked at Max.
“I'm sorry about her” she placed her hand on his chest. “she reached that age where she is just angry at everyone and everything. It's nothing personal.”
I scoffed. Mary may be a frigid bitch sometimes, but this was definitely personal.
Abigail looked back to me, either choosing to ignore my little outburst, or it just falling on deaf ears.
“Oh, and right here is Eliza.”
Dwayne resurfaced then from wherever he went in his mind and looked up at me. His eyes were brown, but not the same shade as Marko’s.
Marko’s eyes were brown with bursts of bright amber that reminded me of tiny volcanic explosions.
Dwayne's eyes were deep, rich soil. I caught myself leaning forward slightly. He gave me a slight smirk.
I averted my gaze, not trusting my ability to hold back a blush.
The porch door slammed open, and hit the adjacent wall hard. I winched, knowing that the mark it would leave on the shingles would be a fight later.
Mary stormed past me in her mustard yellow jean jacket. She flew down the porch steps and continued on past Abigail, while simultaneously flipping Max the bird.
Paul gapped at the action, and Marko smiled with glee.
Mary hopped the hip-height, backyard fence, and landed on the sidewalk.
Abigail, looked back at the porch noticing the doorknob shaped hole that was now present on the side of the house. Her eyes flashed yellow momentarily, and then she looked at me.
“Go with her, make sure she doesn’t get us into any trouble. You know how destructive she can be when she is in a mood like this.
Max rolled his eyes “how destructive can a little thing like that be?”
Abigail's lips puckered “you’d be surprised.”
Abigail looked back to me again, “Go, now.”
I turned around quickly, and ran inside to grab my jacket.
When I returned, the boys were gone and Abigail and Max were sitting side by side in the wicker loveseat by the small pond in the corner of the yard. The scene looked romantic, and if it were any other couple it would have filled me with happiness for them, but knowing Abigail's track record with men, I was hesitant, and nervous.
I walked past them, offering Max a polite smile and giving Abigail a look that said I was going to try my best to wrangle Mary in.
I opened the back yard gate that led to the main road, and stepped onto the sidewalk.
Immediately, the rumble of a motorcycle engine and the flash of a leather jacket appeared next to me.
It was Dwayne.
He looked me up and down, slowly, in that very masculine way that guys do.
I snorted and started to walk towards the boardwalk. He slowly followed along beside me.
I looked over at him, and there was that stupid smirk again.
“Can I give you a ride?” His voice was deeper than I expected.
I looked over, “I need the exercise.”
Now it was his turn to snort, “we're vampires, we don't need exercise.” His eyes sparked with playfulness.
“I barely know you. Getting onto a motorcycle with a stranger doesn't sound like a good choice.”
“But walking two miles, in the dark, on a main road does?”
I paused, he had me there. I looked at the bike he was riding, the body was a deep cherry red, it looked to be scratch and dent free, which I guess is a good indicator that he doesn't get into a lot of accidents.
I huffed.
He smirked, and stopped the bike, gesturing me to hop on.
I hesitated, I'd never been on a motorcycle before. He must have read my expression because he followed with
“Put your hand on my shoulder and throw your left leg over the back.” I followed by lifting my leg over the seat. “ Place your feet on those.” he pointed to two foot pegs on either side of the bike. “And then place your hands around my waist.”
I slowly loped my arms around his waist, and loosely gripped his jacket.
He leaned back so that his mouth was close to my ear, I jolted back quickly at the sudden closeness of his face to mine.
His lip twitched up, “you ready, Mama?”
I could smell him more clearly now that we were pressed up against each other. Gasoline and salt hit me first, and then the undertone of spice from his cologne.
“Yes” I managed to get out, once I pulled my gaze away from him.