Just One Bite »ᴄɵᴍᴘᴌᴇтᴇ«

FOUR

FOUR

Dry from her shower, Ashley walked into her room to get dressed. Like the day before, she wore back jeans and a black top. The only difference was that her top now said "LIFE. DEATH. BLOOD." written across the front in red. The words were a vampyre's life. Life as a human, they died to become a vampyre, and then they had to live on blood to survive. Ashley had never had that life. Had never been human.

The school day was the same as the day before. Only the lessons were in a different order. Damon had tried to talk to Ashley again during P.E. to find out why she had left early yesterday, but she ignored him and moved away. But, even after moving, it was as though his scent followed her. Followed to torment her. To demand her.

She knew that she should eliminate him... her mate. She didn't want to fall into the same trap as her fellow originals had. She didn't want to be executed insane meaning that her vampyre's died. It wasn't fair. Yet, she also knew that she wouldn't be able to to kill her mate. And if anyone else tried, she be there in a flash to kill her mate's murderer.

Mate.

Ashley felt her head spin at the thought. She had a mate. But she couldn't do what the others had done and live with her mate because he'd end up killing her in the end. Killing her vampyre's along with her.

Lizzie had also tried to talk to Ashley in Maths. It was almost as though the two humans had joined forces to get her to talk. Especially since Lizzie was covered in Damon's scent again.

Jayden saved Lizzie from death by saying that Lizzie was a "huggy" person, and that Damon and Lizzie had never dated and weren't planning on it. For that piece of information, Ashley actually felt glad that Jayden had made friends with the group.

When the day ended, Ashley stuck several cars behind the sky blue Ford Focus that she knew Damon would be in. On reaching the outskirts of Rothersthorpe, Ashley pulled her car over and got out at an empty 'T' junction. Seeing they were to get out, the other two vampyre's did so.

"Jayden, you're to come with me and Catherine..." moving faster than any vampyre could see, Ashley was suddenly in front of Catherine. Catherine's sudden fear at Ashley moving so fast towards her made Ashley smile. Baring her fangs, her hand grasping Catherine's throat made Jayden growl. Ashley felt another moment of pleasure when Jayden didn't tackle her. Vampyre's protected their mates at all costs, it was almost like another instinct. Yet Jayden had only growled. Good, maybe he will learn from this. "Scratch my car and I will lay you out in the sun. Understood?"

Catherine's nod was so quick it was a blur.

"Good," Ashley let go and moved back a couple of steps. "Take my car home. Jayden, with me."

Falling into step, Ashley took a longer, but less likely to be followed by Catherine route. Not that Catherine would have disobeyed. The sound of Ashley's Chevy screeching to turn to return to the hotel got quieter and quieter the further Catherine got.

"You didn't have to do that," came from Jayden after a moment.

"Would you rather I blind her?"

"Temporarily."

"And destroy every other sense she has? You know as well as I do that vampyre's can use all of there other senses when one or two are not available."

Jayden stayed silent after that, following Ashley like a pet after a master – or like a kicked puppy. But Ashley refused to feel guilty, Catherine didn't belong here. She was only here because Jayden was blind.

Travelling through the fields would have been nice if there weren't so many houses around, memories that this was the twenty-first century. Reaching the end of the short field that felt more like a garden if it hadn't been over grown with weeds and long grass and wild flowers, Ashley moved into the shadows at a speed that would allow Jayden to follow. Jayden stuck with her, still sulking at the treatment his 'mate' had got. Finally, Ashley stopped at the tree she had gripped the day before.