Blood Thirsty

Ch. 4: It's complicated

There was no manual for life. Not even for vampires who have been walking the earth since the beginning of time. And yet, no one was around to prepare Anthony for meeting his fiancé for the first time. Anthony still couldn't get their phone conversation out of his head. He couldn't shake the feeling that maybe they hit it off. Did Knox flirt with him? Were his jokes really that funny, he could make that guy laugh? The guy Phoebe described as tightly wound. It was driving Anthony a little crazy.

It tripped Anthony up again.

He didn't know how to hold himself in front of Knox if he was going to surprise him like this.

"Don't be so nervous," Nino said as they got out of the black Lincoln that was sent to pick them up from the airport. Anthony couldn't stop fussing with his clothes. He thought his typical suit would be a good shield for him, but it wasn't fitting right today.

He glanced at the Lavigne castle for a second before he had to catch his breath. It was an actual castle made of stone and tall towers. He half expected a dragon to fly up from the back. Somehow this was tucked away just a quick drive away from the city, hidden by an enchantment. Magic this large reeked of money.

"There's no backing out of it now," Nino told him with an annoying tone similar to "I told you so". He wouldn't stop yapping on the plane about how this was a bad idea and Dante should've come and Anthony still hadn't spoken to Mathew. Anthony failed to see why this once again had to turn back around and be about Mathew.

Ben got out of the car first without a care in the world, followed by Nino quickly joining him. They did what they could to mask Ben's smell with perfumes and whatnot, but this was still a human going into yet another monster's den. One day, Ben was going to learn the hard way that vampires were not humans. No matter how much Ben loved them, he was still food to vampires and not just food, the greatest meal of all time. But if Ben understood that, maybe he wouldn't be the love of Nino's life.

The front doors opened wide, ready to swallow them whole. A woman appeared at the top with a strew of butlers behind her. "Hello! Welcome to our home. It's so good we could meet," she exclaimed and met them at the bottom of the stairs. This had to the Queen, Johanna Lavigne. She had swept back long white hair and long elegant features. Everything about her reminded Anthony of a long white feather. Her blues eyes sparkled meeting his and if he didn't know better, Anthony would think she was barely older than Dante... but Johanna had been queen of her coven long before Anthony's father sired his first vampire.

This little feather was sharper than she looked.

"I don't even mind this was so sudden," she said to Anthony, giving his arms a slight squeeze. "I was anxious to meet you as well." With a sigh, she squeezed him again and a little worry wormed its way into Anthony's stomach. He didn't think about how this might inconvenience them, but now the realization nearly toppled him over. His bitterness, thin they're the ones who started it put Anthony in danger of looking like an idiot.

"It's nice to meet you," Anthony put on a smile. "I'm Anthony."

"Call me Johanna."

"Johanna, it's nice to see you again," Nino said, appearing with his hand out to her.

"Yes," she agreed, and she did smile, but it was straining, threatening to crack. "Hello, Nino."

"And this is Ben," Nino introduced him and before he could finish, Johanna cut in.

"Oh, Nino, you didn't have to bring staff. We have plenty of help here."

"Sure," Ben said like he was used to it.

"No," Nino spoke up. "He's my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" She echoed with a small laugh. "How cute."

At least she wasn't angry. Anthony also didn't think about the repercussions of bringing Nino either. This was getting a little much. Anthony's chest tightened. Amazing how so much could go wrong so quickly.