Vampire Fidelity

Prologue

Amy's POV:

It's been twelve years since they revealed themselves. All the stories about their hidden existences and their secret rules it was all real. They were all real and about all those rumours about the vampires and werewolves being sworn enemies - yes that is real too. Almost a century ago the werewolves became known as the conquered, the inferior race. They lost the war and were nearly annihilated. Those that remain are living on borrowed time. Day and night are ruled by the vampires now; the sun doesn't affect them like all the myths and legends say it does, some are good and others are worse than the devil.

I never had any intention of becoming a vampire or a fledgling (which is what we're called if we've drunk blood from a vampire). Then there are those born as Dhampirs, but they are rare and aren't really powerful, so they keep to themselves and live among the humans.

Now let me shed some light on the change; in order to become a vampire you have to be bled i.e. excessive blood loss an example would be getting your throat ripped out. It's painful, so not many humans are eager to become vampires and the vampires don't really desire to have unnecessary fledglings running amok in their newly ascended kingdom. Anyway back to the explanation; so first they bleed you and then you have to drink the vampire's blood. This makes you a Fledgling - a creature that craves blood and has heightened senses, you're stronger than a Dhampir, but nowhere near as powerful as a vampire and although you crave blood you still retain most of your human qualities.

If you remain in this form, after a few years you become what they call a Familiar. That is when your become crazed and lose your free will, you become a slave to the vampire that changed you. It is that vampire's blood coursing through you and it is that vampire's venom that holds the key to your final transformation. It's a cruel punishment for anyone and thus Familiars are even rarer than Dhampirs.

Finally if the vampire who started your change infects you with their venom and ingests your blood you complete the last step of the change and you become a full vampire. You are initiated into the vampire society as one of their own. You are trained to control your thirst and if you turn out to be gifted you are taught to control that too and then when you're fully in control of your new self you take your place among their kind.

Another thing the myths got right about vampires is that they have soulmates. Most of them however are already mated, but those who aren't speak of a homing instinct much like a pigeon's. It is this unique ability to locate the one they are most likely to successfully mate with, their bonds are like magnets pulling them together.

Now I think it's time to remind you... when I was human I never wanted to be a vampire, I never wanted to join this dark world of blood and passion and undying loyalty, but when the choice was death or the eternal love of a mate, I would be a liar to say the latter wasn't more appealing. It would seem even more alluring when you, like me, just had your throat ripped into and lay dying on a filthy sidewalk. That's what I was reduced to; a nearly soulless corpse, my blood painting the alley, my body numb and heavy from struggling to stay alive.

I remember the pain, I remember my attacker's haunting laugh and then I remember tasting the ambrosia of his blood. I remember the burn that filled my body at the taste. I remember my skin tingling as it healed. I remember strength returning to my body and I remember the first sight of him, his eyes black with concern and then his throat, but the last thing I remember is lunging for it and tasting his blood again and then feeling his arms wrap around me as darkness pulled me under.

If I had known how this would change everything, would I have chosen differently? Had I known how my fidelity would be tested, could I have chosen another way?