FANGED

Prologue

Drake ghosted to the darkest most obscure corner of the parking lot and waited until he could manifest into his true form. If a human spotted him now, they would see nothing more than a shadow. If the human were paying particular attention, they might see what some would call an apparition. Drake snorted. Ghosts...as if that was all the blood donors had to worry about.

He paused, watching a staggering drunk and his equally inebriated female mate as they crashed and giggled their way to a parked sedan, not far from where he was standing. Drake snarled in impatience waiting for the man to crank over the brown piece of shit which was more rust than vehicle.

But the engine never turned over. Instead, it started to bounce, shake, squeak and squeal as the occupants worked overtime to fog up the windows. Drake rolled his eyes.

"Humans are fucking savages," he muttered, allowing his molecules to reassemble into his solid form.

Marching past the sedan as it continued to get its boogie on, Drake headed for the ornate doors of Sin, a night club which catered to the rich and bored. For enough money and the right connections, you could purchase all sorts of deviant desires. Women, drugs, sex slaves...it didn't matter. If you possessed the dough, Sin would find a way. Just another reason to avoid the human parasites, Drake thought as he entered the dark confines.

The stink of sweat, desperation, sex, drugs, booze and tainted blood made him sneeze. Fuck, he hated these kinds of places. A tall, leggy blond dressed in a tight leather black corset and very little else, danced her way up to him. Her breasts jiggling happily to the thumping beat of the music being pumped into the room at ear-splitting levels. She was one precarious shimmy away from them popping out over the top.

"Can I get you something big guy?" she snapped her gum, wiggling against his leg as if she was trying to hump it.

Drake shook his head, refusing to encourage her with actual speech and brushed past.

"Call me!" she shouted after him.

Though vampires didn't carry and couldn't catch human diseases, it didn't mean they willingly dove into a cesspool. One whiff was enough to tell him she had more things cooking between her legs than he wanted to mess with.

He finally reached the reason he was in this human sewer of degradation and he didn't hold the man seated at the table in any higher regard. If anything, he was lowlier than the swamp monkeys dancing and gyrating all around them.

"Well...look who finally showed up," the man tisked, making a show of looking at his Hublot Classic Fusion Haute Joaillerie watch, easily worth a cool million.

Drake yawned. "You asked for a meeting, you didn't specify the time."

"Indeed." He swirled his drink. Judging by the smell, Drake was guessing a well-aged and undoubtedly expensive Irish whiskey. "I'm surprised the Elders appointed this task to you. Isn't the colony's lead guard dog kept on a short leash these days?"

"I was unlucky enough to pull the short straw." Drake leaned in and menacingly flashed his fangs. "I suggest you get to the point of your requested meeting before I lose my patience and decide to use your jugular for an appetizer."

The man showed no fear on his stony features, but Drake could hear the acceleration of his heart and the quickening of the flow of blood. Sitting back in his chair, he gently pushed the heavy metal booth table out with the toe of his shitkicker so he could stretch out his impressive length, causing his companion to quickly grab his cocktail before it spilled across the table and all over his expensive suit.

"As you are aware, my family has been burdened for many, many years to the keeping of your species secrets."

"Burdened?" Drake raised a critical brow. "I would say over the century, your family has been more than well compensated for your troubles."

"You sound as if you don't approve, vampire."

"I never have, human," Drake drawled. "I was the first to vote against paying off your family for your cooperation. It would have been a lot less costly to dispose of you the good old fashioned way." He smiled allowing his fangs to show. "But for some reason, the Elders started to instigate laws to protect your simpering species."

"Perhaps it was to keep foul beasts, such as yourself, from running amok." He waved a dismissive hand at Drakes growls. "We digress. The point is, my family has kept their word for over a hundred years and we continue to sacrifice each generation to the keeping of your existence beginning with the dismissal of my ancestor's effulgent discovery of your kind."

Drake's sudden movement from lounging to being centimeters away from the man in front of him happened in a blur. "Your ancestor was nothing more than a psychopath who hunted down and tortured one of my kind for his own sick amusement before leaving her to die." His fist pounded the table leaving a fissure across the polished stainless steel top.

"Careful, vampire. You would not want me reporting you to your superiors for making a nuisance of yourself in public, now would you?" The man eased back into his chair, removing himself from Drake's seething close proximity. "Besides, it was the ways of the time and we have more than proved our allegiances since the day my great, great grandfather Abraham "Bram" Stoker wrote his little book."

Drake snarled, but eased himself back in his chair. The man's chuckling making him crack his knuckles in agitation, the Elders strong warnings the only thing keeping the annoying hominid breathing. "Get to your point."

"My point is simple, I want more."

"More money?" Drake laughed harshly. "You've already agreed to the updated contractual agreements. Sorry, but you are SOL." He moved to leave.

"You miss understand, vampire." The man's softly spoken words made Drake resume his seat. "I already have more money than I could possibly spend in one mere lifetime. What would I need with more trinkets?" The man adjusted his silk tie. "After all, you can't take it with you when you go, now can you?"

"Would you care to test that philosophy out?"

"Ah, I do appreciate your sense of humor." He took a slow sip of his drink and set it precisely over the water mark on the table. "But, as appealing as that would be to you, no."

"Then what is it that you want." Drake snapped, leaning in making his annoyance perfectly clear.

"I want more lifetimes."

Drake set back and clenched his teeth together so hard they made an audible sound. "Then I suggest you do what the rest of your kind do so prolifically and breed."

The man snorted. "What would I want with a child? Much less a woman to bear me one?"

"Adopt yourself a whole herd of possible inheritable delinquents then."

"I would still be left with the same conundrum." The man leaned forward and narrowed his beady eyes. "I would be forced to share what is mine," he hissed.

"Sounds like a personal problem to me and I'm not fucking Dr. Phil."

The man cleared his throat, pulling himself together from the rare show of emotion. "Truly what I ask for is a pittance compared to the sacrifice I make daily on your behalf. It would be a pity if the truth was accidentally revealed and my ancestor's good name restored."

Drake glared at the man. "You haven't stated your demand."

"I figured that would be clear by now," he sighed. "I want what you have, vampire. Immortal life."

Drake threw his head back and laughed. "You're one sick son of a bitch. Even if I wanted to, which I can most assuredly tell you I don't, it's against our bylaws. The Elders would never allow it."

"Shame." The man swirled his glass. "As you know, I have a lot of money..." He left the rest of what was obviously a bribe unstated.

"Surly you don't intend to whip out and compare bank accounts." Drake rolled his eyes, unimpressed.

The man smiled. "It was just a thought."

"Well as entertaining as it was to pop your bubble, I'll be on my way." Drake started to get up.

"Make no mistake, vampire." The man warned over the brim of his glass. "I will find a way."