The Feeder

Sleep Now, Share Later

"It's on the house." A handsome male bartender said, pushing a crystal wine glass filled with blood my way, as he examined me from behind the counter. I could tell right away that he was a vampire from his features, which included porcelain skin, wavy deep brown hair and deep dark brown eyes that were lined with fine, thick eyelashes.

"No thank you." I replied, then sighing, as I turned my attention back to examining the crowd for the tenth time. I could feel the bartender's eyes watching me intently. His stare was cold but not in a harsh or creepy way. He was curious.

"You know where I can find Joesph?" I asked, not bothering to turn around to face him.

"Last name?"

"Cook," I bit my lip in frustration as I searched the crowd desperately. Tonight, Moonstruck was packed with tipsy supes, carelessly drinking and socializing. Most were in groups of 6 people. Some were busy flirting and kissing in dark areas of the club. "Joesph Lee Cook."

"I don't know... You supposed to meet him here?" He asked, trying not to sound to curious.

"Yeah... He said he'd meet me here at 8."

"It's ten past 8... That's odd." What does he mean by odd? I mentally asked myself. Turning around in my seat, I stared at him for a couple of seconds before he spoke.

"Name's Luke. Yours?"

"Ella. How do you know Joe?"

"He's a friend of Lia's. He's also one of my best customers."

"I see... Before, when you said odd, what did you mean?" Raising his right eyebrow a bit, Luke grinned at me as he cleaned a wine glass with a gray wash cloth.

"Joe is an efficient man. When he makes plans, he makes sure to stick to those plans; he makes schedules and uses his time wisely." Nodding my head slightly, I absorbed what he was saying very negatively. Was he saying that I waste Joesph's time?

"You seem him to know him a lot better then I do," I smiled lightly, not wanting him to notice that I was confused and a bit annoyed at what he'd said before. "So, tell me, when was the last time he dropped by?"

"Yesterday. He's here often. He's been drinking a lot more, though. Not to sound concerned, but his taste has turned sour."

"Sour? Care to explain what that means?"

"It means that he's back to drinking human blood." He said, keeping his voice low.

"Oh," I was speechless. He's back to drinking human blood... "From a donor?"

"No," Luke nodded no as he passed a bottle of expensive blood over to a skinny, tall female vampire. After handing her a few wine glasses, he continued, "He always drinks the bottled stuff. He just prefers it, I suppose... There's your friend right now." Nodding his head towards the front of the club, I turned around to see Joe making his way towards me. Moving around through the crowd, Joe made his way over rather quickly.

"Hello," Joesph kissed my cheek respectively and nodded hello to Luke. Luke returned with a quick nod. "Sorry I'm so late. Lia needed to speak with me."

"I understand. How are you?" I asked Joe as he sat down in the chair next to me.

"I'm good. You?"

"Everything's great for me," I examined a scratch on a part of his right arm and wondered why it wasn't healing. That's when I realized it's not healing because he just was scratch. Reaching out to the cut, I touched and was shocked by how warm he was. This wasn't a scratch; he was cut by someone.

"Joe, why is this cut so warm?"

Looking at me with a knowingly look, Joesph replied, "Just is. So, how is everyone doing?" Why was he dismissing the topic? Who was he protecting?