Not Just A Bite

Tainted

RECAP OF STORY THAT WAS UPDATED OVER A YEAR AGO;

Valerie Cross is an Unstationed living in the Inner, a city ruled by the Unholy. Vampires. One day, her sector members get ambushed by creatures from the Outer, leaving Valerie alone and in danger. Then, Stephan appears, an Unholy Master who is adamant about protecting Valerie and turning her  into one of his Blood Bounds. Fast forward through some drama, Valerie meets the rest of the Blood Bounds and after fighting with one, is dying. That's when the decision to Turn her is made. But something is wrong with her blood, she's tainted.

All up to date :)

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I don't know what I was expecting when I finally woke up. I knew I was being moved in the darkness by none other than Carlos once again, I knew that Ryker and I had fought and I definitely knew my neck hurt like an absolute bitch.

"Oh my God," I groaned, my hand rising up to cup the aching pain reverberating from my neck. 

Carlos laughed, jostling my body about, making my neck ache even more. I slap him hard, causing him to stop laughing and carefully place me on the ground. Glancing at my  surroundings, I realise we had travelled closer to the Tower than I had ever been before. The large fence seemed to stretch for miles, with thick barbed wire coiling at the top. A beacon on the top of the tower swirled around, casting an artificial light in it's path. Surprisingly, no one else was around, apart from Stephan who was leaning on the fence with his eyes closed and Mandy who was sitting cross-legged on the floor picking at the grass.

"Where's Ryker?" I hesitantly ask, not wanting to really know where the ass hole who caused my injuries was. Hopefully dead in a ditch somewhere. I smiled at the thought.

"Went on a walk," Stephan replied, opening his eyes to look at me. He walks over  inspecting the bite on the side of my neck. "Feel any different?"

"Not at all," I reply, concentrating on my senses. Everything was the same. I haven't got increased sight or a thirst for blood. I lift up my hand, but my tan skin still remains the same, scarred surface as usual.

"Well that was pretty obvious now, wasn't it Steph?"

We all turn around to see the devil himself strolling merrily towards us. Ryker casts me a grin, flashing his fangs before sliding into place next to his master. He nudges Stephan, gesturing towards me, causing Stephan to sigh and nod.

"You're tainted Valerie. That means that you've already got vampire blood in your system, but it's recessive compared to the human side of you. This means that you are already sired by whoever's blood you have inside of you," Stephan explains, his eyes looking everywhere but at me as I take in the information. "Thankfully, your body didn't reject my blood, so your wounds healed rapidly."

I nod, only now realising that my shoulder didn't hurt any more. I pull my jacket and shirt back, finding smooth skin in replacement of the shredded, bloody mess my shoulder had been not long ago. Registering what Stephan actually said, I look at Carlos who just stares back at me, not confirming or denying the thought circulating through my head.

"So what you are saying," I start of slowly, "is that one of my parents is a vampire who reproduced with a human and had me?" My eyebrows raise.

Stephan sighs again. "Well yes, technically. There's no other explanation."

Carlos jumps in fright as laughter bursts out my mouth. I'm laughing so hard tears are rolling down my face, collecting at my chin before dropping off onto my jacket. I clutch Marly's arm, who had jumped up immediately and ran to my side as I laughed my head off.

Glancing at Stephan's serious face, I sobered up pretty quickly.

"You have got to be kidding me," I whisper. "That's...it's impossible. Is that even possible?" I glance around at the four of them wildly, hoping for one of them to start laughing and calling me gullible. This cannot be true. My parents, they were taken by the Unholy. There is no way one of them was one! I grew up with them...they were as human as me.

"But I'm human?" I question, as if I didn't already know. "See look, no pointy teeth or good reflexes!" I bound toward Stephan, widening my mouth so he could see my perfectly average set of human teeth. He pushes me away, his face deep in thought. 

"I've never met a Tainted so I can't give you that much information. There'd be more research on your kind back home,  but I'm slightly unsure how I would get you in there without being questioned," Stephan finally says after watching me for a few moments. He then faces towards the Tower and I see the ideas swirling in his mind.

"Oh no. No, no, no and no. I am not going anywhere near that bloodsuckers den. Nope. Not happening."

"Well the good news is that you won't be bitten because tainted blood tastes horrible," Carlos jokes. 

"Oh thank god for that," I reply sarcastically, shooting him a glare. He looks taken aback and looks to the ground, but I haven't got time to feel guilty. Ever since they walked into my life I've been told that everything I thought I knew about myself, my friends and my family were lies. It was too much.

"I am not going in there with you, no matter what. I'm fine by myself."

With that said, I pivot, the heel of my boot squishing into the ground and stalk off, leaving the four vampires behind me, watching me walk away from them in silence.

I can only trust me, myself and I.

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Once I was a measurable distance away, I begin to notice my surroundings. More importantly, how unfamiliar they actually are. Big trees sway in the wind, covering the moonlight, but the light from the beacon flashes through the branches every once in a while. There was no path to follow and I walk wherever my feet decide to go. My mind is a mess. How could all of this happen to me in just a few days. I've lost my friends, I've lost Lucian, but then I got back Marco and Julie. Well, I had them until I found out what they are now, I think bitterly to myself.

Well technically, you're one of them as well.

Just the thought makes me shudder. My whole life I've been against the one thing that I am. That one of my parents is. The Unholy are evil, soulless demons who made my childhood a living hell, who ripped away my family. I was not one of them, I can't be one of them.

What about the Unholy who saved you from the Infected? Who reunited you with your friends? Who told you what you really are?

Forgetting the one that nearly killed me? I argue back with my unconscious.

Seemingly lost in my thoughts, I trip on a large root, throwing my hands out in front of me to break the impact. I hiss, automatically turning my hands over to see the damage, but what I find surprises me more than anything ever has.

My skin is healing itself.

'''''''

Who updated? I updated! Been legit forever, sorry. Changed the plot just a tad in the synopsis. Hopefully I'll actually continue to write NJAB because I'm curious to see where it goes.

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