Sun & Moon

Chapter 3 - Astrid

"A round of shots, please," Bianca reaches over the bar in her silver sequined top that catches the light of the neon bar.

The bartender, short-haired, bleach blond, two black voids for eyes, nods and immediately whips up two glasses with blue liquid, despite the growing crowd requesting for their orders to be taken first.

"Enjoy, Princess," he offers the shots with a wink. Around here, people like to call Bianca 'Princess' on account of her being the Alpha's only daughter. Personally, I find it a tad condescending, but Bianca doesn't mind the attention.

We cheers and she toasts, "To friendship!" I fight the urge to roll my eyes for the thousandth time today and guzzle down my shot. It stings the back of my throat with its sickly sweetness but jolts me awake. I shout over the loud music for the bartender to pour us another round. He gives me a nasty side-eye sneer, but obliges my request.

I've grown used to that contemptuous look from vampires. They're not too fond of tigers, given that we basically kicked their ass during the Lycan War. My dad's excellent scouting skills have also been the cause of many an unauthorized coven's destruction. But the bartender can judge me all he wants with his pretentious black contact lenses that cover more than just the natural span of his irises—an edgy trend they like to use to scare humans.

I take the second shot and breathe out hot evaporated alcohol.

"I wanted to make another toast, but that's fine," Bianca says as she throws her head back for the second shot.

Looking around me, the men and women are clad in shimmery, glittery, shiny clothes, much like the co-ord sequined set Bianca is wearing, reflecting the large multi-coloured strobe light hanging above the middle of the dance floor. I, on the other hand, didn't feel much up to dressing for the occasion, so I threw on a black tank top, ripped jeans and a pair of lace-up boots, with my wavy black hair hanging loosely just below my shoulders.

"Come on," Bianca grabs me and excitedly ushers me to the dance floor.

We jump up and down and dance to the electronic beat. Bianca's eyes are closed to the rhythm of the music, but I can feel the numerous male gazes on us and especially on her. With her mass of blonde hair and her mirror-like outfit, she stands out like an angel on the dance floor. For once since our arrival, I look down and feel a little self-conscious with my minimal ensemble.

A heavily remixed dubstep track starts playing and Bianca boos.

"Goddess, I hate this," she yells over the loud track, walking a thin line between music and plain noise. She looks over to the DJ. "He always sneaks one of these in. I hate it!" She throws her hands up, exasperated.

It sounds like senseless racket, but the syncopated beat and deep heart-pumping bass is so horrible, it seems to clear my anxious thoughts away.

"Wanna go to the ladies' room?" Bianca asks over the noise.

"You go ahead," I respond, feeling myself groove to this garbage music.

She shakes her head and scoffs then disappears into the crowd.

Over the stuttering beat and dirty synth, I hear across the distance, a very loud man with almond skin, deeply enjoying himself in the company of the infamous Vexxen twins. They are beautiful dark-haired witches, who like to lure men with their wicked enchantments. Nothing illegal though, I think. A little incestuous, maybe. And very creepy. By the looks of it, the swarthy-skinned stranger is deep in a drunken enchantment, though he looks strong enough to handle any side-effects.

I shiver and return back to the bar to order another shot. This time, however, the bartender is gutsy enough to talk back now that Bianca's not with me.