Diary of a Newborn Vampire (BOOK #1)

The Starry Night

 Ava

   After a week staying in a house full of vampires who hated me, those who liked me, and those who carried mixed emotions, I began to finally feel a little less like a pariah and more like a human being—well, the vampire equivalent to that I guess. Routines slowly fell into place. I grew to expect Jane's comments and William's odd gazes. It was odd; ever since Bernard's little talk with William that first day followed by our little hunting lesson, the guy had all of a sudden turned fairly quiet and maybe even fairly hospitable.

On the third day, he decided it was time for me to finally hunt. I expected it to be awkward with him following around watching my every move, but surprisingly, it wasn't. We fell into our places--he was the teacher and I was the student. I still managed to get blood all over the jeans Angelina gave me, and William rolled his eyes.

"Nice," he mumbled.

A new side of him came out, someone far different from the person who first attacked me. I realized he was sarcastic and impatient and stubborn when it came to his way of doing things, but he was also protective and helpful.

The night of my eighth day at the house, I had been in my room sorting through the clothes Angelina had loaned me. I was in dire need of a shopping spree, but I knew that couldn't happen anytime soon. Angelina told me I couldn't be around any humans until I learned to control my thirst. But how could I control it when I had nothing here to motivate me?

The room grew stuffier and stuffier as the night grew on. Soon enough, I wanted out.

Everyone else was in their own rooms reading or talking--whatever they usually did at night. Bernard and Jacqueline shared a room, as did Angelina and Victor. I wasn't quite sure of their situation. Angelina informed me on my second day that she had met Victor in the late thirties after joining Bernard and Jacqueline and the rest. Soon enough they fell in love.

"Are you two, like, married? Or just pulling a Brad and Angelina for a while?" I asked her.

She laughed. "No, we're not. Though we don't have a blood bond either."

"A blood bond?" I raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"With vampires, the bond is made during transformation," she explained. "A vampire gives his or her blood to the 'victim' during transition. If the 'victim' survives vampirization and is most likely the vampires first turn, they most likely form a bond with each other."

An uneasy feeling waved through me. The guy I had met at the party, he had been the one to bite me, to turn me after feeding on my blood.

"So this...bond only happens with the first turn?"

Angelina's eyes narrowed. "Yes, in most cases. Though I guess there have been some that have differed. Bernard, for instance, he transformed several before forming a bond with Jacqueline. Why do you ask?"

I swallowed. "No reason."

Now, I tried to avoid the thought of my attacker and I having some weird bond between us. I absentmindedly hung up a slinky black dress Angelina claimed didn't fit her anymore, which I knew was impossible. Vampires couldn't grow vertically or horizontally. Another perk of the lifestyle.

I heard the soft pat of footsteps out in the hallway and spotted a shadow crossing underneath my door. Someone else decided he couldn't stand being locked up in his room for another second. I followed him without much reason.