Bitter Revenge

Chapter 1

Warning!

"Are you an idiot?!" Oh goddess, here we go. "No! I think this necklace would be a fantastic present for my mate on our anniversary!" Grayson Daniels, my tan werewolf friend, said back. "Are you joking?! Your mate is a blonde who's got baddie energy. And you want to give her a boring gold necklace?! Get her a black lace choker! I know she'd love it!" Cristina Serrano, my Hispanic demon friend, practically yelled back. I silently watched them go back and forth, sipping my water like the mature adult I am. Currently, these two squawking idiots are arguing at our famous LGBTQ+ nightclub named Devil's Corner. Which makes sense since Cristina made this place with her bare hands, we've got awesome customer service, and she's a demon so the shoe fits the foot. "Fiona, what do you think?!" Gray asked, and now both of them were looking at me. Fantastic, picking sides. "Honestly? Cris is right. Ally would appreciate the thought of a gold necklace, but she'd adore a black lace choker." I lamely stated, finishing my water. Cris fist bumped the sky with a yes! while Gray scowled. My word was final.

"Well, winning was tiring. And now, I'm starving. You guys want anything?" Cris looked back at us as she walked up to the bar counter where the chef, Scarlet is her name I think, awaited our order. "Oh! I want three pancakes." Gray happily yapped, immediately shifting his grouchy attitude for a peppy one. "I'm good. Although an apple would be nice." I barely grinned, while Cris repeated the order and then turned to pout at me. "I swear, why don't you eat better? I get that vampires can't handle 'people food' but you trained yourself to eat apples? Why not more?!" She said, exasperated. Her Hispanic accent started flaring up as she started pronouncing the r's harder. "Because the training process sucks. 'People food' doesn't sit right in my stomach, so I puke it out later. Plus, eating is a luxury to vampires. It doesn't fuel us and we don't need it to survive, only blood can do that." I shrugged, matter-of-factly. I ran my hand across my short, black hair. It's getting pretty long. I should cut it. "Ugh, right." Cris groaned, until the food arrived. They both shut the hell up to eat, while I looked around and admired the club.

The walls were made of matte black tiles and thick for obvious reasons; it gets loud at night and I just so happen to live here. With the window open, the cool morning breeze felt nice along my pale, freckled skin. The red booths up here on the VIP section are like clouds compressed into a seat. 9 a.m. is a pretty okay time to be up, especially since I left a lot of work for myself. So thanks past Fiona, you made my present a little more shitty. My eyebags weighed on my face while some strands of hair obscured my vision. I woke out of my daze when Gray stood up with his fists on his hips. "Well ladies, I'd love to stay and chat. But now that the breakfast date is over, I'm going home. I'll see you guys at 7 p.m." His chocolate brown eyes smiled at the thought of going back home to relax. "Sure thing, tell the Crimson Pack I say hi." I smiled a little, waving him off. I'm actually a very good friend of the Crimson Pack, most famous for their excellent warriors. And for the Black family. Michael Black is the alpha, and his family has continued to rule supreme for generations. I would know, I was friends with like, the fourth Black to become an alpha.

"Anyway Fi, I'm gonna skedaddle to watch some Netflix. Let me know when the club opens." Cris said with this huge smile, mostly because she knew she was annoying me. But she was already leaving for her private room in the club. I sighed and abandoned the core of my apple, that I didn't even realize I had eaten, and left for work. I manage this place financially, which means I decide what we should spend money on, investing, income taxes, and pretty much anything finance related. It's amazing that I've lived for 100 years, to be stuck doing investments for a majority of that time. I worked endlessly for hours, so much so that I found myself being sucked back into times best left forgotten. Dammit keep your eyes open! Sleeping is a luxury. But my body betrayed me as I hid my face in my elbow.

***

"Wait up! I can't run as fast as you!" I giggled and looked back at her. "Come on *****! Catch up already. Aren't you the younger one here?" I half chuckled, half snorted as she stopped to pant and catch her breath next to me. "Maybe- so... But we both know- ha ha... Jesus. We both know that you can run longer." She chopped her sentence up as she tried regaining her breath. "Besides, I could never beat you Nona!" The smile she wore as she said those words to me were burned into my memory. Like a photo, burnt and bent at the edges. Dusted over from time and neglect. Next in the dream were her screams. Piercing into the dead of night. I woke up from the sound of shrill screaming coming from downstairs. I ran down the stairs, tripping over my own feet. Then the gruesome sight finally beheld my eyes. My little sister, burning alive, on our kitchen floor. I panicked before running to the fridge and grabbing a water bottle, then started pouring it over the fire on my sister. But, the screaming, whimpering, hissing, stopped. I scooped her up into my arms before I heard a twig snap, and I whirled my head to our living room window. Where a tall shadow stood, and then ran into the night. I turned back to my silent sister. She was so still-

***

"Fi! We were supposed to open the club half an hour ago!" My head snapped up at the sound of my door banging against the wall and a distressed Cristina wailing like the end of the world. "Oh sorry, were you sleeping? Whatever! Come on! We have a job to do!" She grabbed my hand and dragged me downstairs, my feet barely touched the ground. She swung the doors open, and just outside was a very angry Grayson, our bouncer... whose name I can't remember, some other employees, and a longgg line of people waiting to get in. "What took you two so long!?" Gray yelled, then rushed in presumably to change into his uniform. As the bartender, he did most of the interacting. The bouncer nodded his head at us in greeting, a quiet guy. I appreciate that. "Devil's Corner is open and ready for the gays! Apologies for the wait. But you know what they say, 'Good things come to those who wait.' But to hell with waiting! Welcome guys, girls, gays, and theys!" Cristina announced, riling up the crowd to cheer and applaud at the end. I only stood there and watched. She smiled down at me before nodding her head to the bar. I followed her 5-foot-8-inches ass to the bar and sat my little 5-feet-4-inches bum down on the chair. And then, the night really started.