First Bite

Chapter 3

Lara's POV

The door slammed loudly as my adopted parents entered the house.

"Where is she? She is such a disgrace to this family!" I heard dad shout angrily. "This is all your fault! I told you to just leave her but you wanted to adopt her. A weak little human. She is nothing but trouble." Mom countered as their voices continued to rise. Julian must have mindlinked them about the incident.

They continued to argue loudly so I assumed that they didn't know that I was back home yet. I pulled on my hoodie before opening my window. It faced towards the woods and was located at the back of the house so it would be easier for me to sneak out.

I climbed from the windowsill and onto the giant tree that grew near it. I carefully lowered myself to the ground and set off towards the woods as soon as my feet touched the ground. A quiet walk in the woods was just what I needed.

I quietly manuevered myself through the trees, dodging low branches and jumping over large roots. I was well aware of the dangers I could encounter. A rouge or a vampire could easily prey on me yet somehow, I didn't really care anymore. And no, I am not feeling suicidal just because of a stupid rejection.

My heart pained at the recent memories but I continued walking. My life was truly messed up. Adopted by a werewolf couple at the age of four with nothing but a name. They didn't like the idea that I was an ordinary human and not a werewolf like them. And so began the neglection and mistreatment. I'm only thankful that they never molested or tortured me. Now that would be horrid.

I would say my life was bittersweet. I have parents but they don't care about me. My brother verbally abuses me but he has never laid a hand on me. As for the other pack members, well, they have resorted to physical means of bullying but thankfully I was never too seriously injured. The worse was a concussion, three broken ribs and a twisted leg. That happened at our house when Julian threw a party. Some of his friends thought it would be funny to get me drunk and then push me off the roof of our two storey house. Even I'm surprised that I was not seriously injured or close to death after that. But I remember James wasn't there that night. He was off visiting another pack with his father.

I'm grateful that he wasn't there that night. James has never really hurt me until the rejection. He would just throw comments at me but most of the time, he was too busy making out with Audrey. Jealousy and anger rushed through me and I leaned against a tree for support. That asshole. He rejected me, his true mate, for someone else just because I was human? Damn him and that bitch to hell.

I took deep breaths to calm myself and opened my eyes to see a blur rush past me. I barely had time to comprehend what was happening before I was roughly pushed against a tree. I blinked quickly and opened my eyes to see beautiful chocolate brown eyes starring back at me. Feelings of recognition stirred in me but I couldn't pin a name to the handsome face.

His lips curved into a smirk as his eyes landed on my covered neck. It was only then did I notice the glittering fangs that peeked from the line of perfectly white teeth. Werewolves hide their fangs and only show them when they are angry or about to mark their mate. The blur, the fangs, it only adds up to one thing. He's a vampire.

"You have quite an unusual scent for a human, gorgeous." He lowly whispered in a tone that would have most girls weak at the knees. I rolled my eyes at his smooth talk.

"Whatever. Now move out of my way. I'm in a bad mood and you don't wanna be at the receiving end." The words confidently fell from my lips in a threating tone which surprised the both of us.

"Well, you're one to talk. Don't worry... I'll make this quick." He roughly pulled at my hoodie but before he could sink his fangs into my neck, I brought my right leg up and kneed him where the sun don't shine.

He bent over in pain and I had to stop myself from laughing at the poor guy. I took a step towards the right and a branch snapped underneath my foot. How cliché.

The vampire snapped his head in my direction, his brown eyes now became glowing embers as they blazed with fury. Wow. I didn't think the hit was that hard.

He lunged forward and tackled me to the ground. I struggled to throw his body weight off of me. Boy, was he heavy! "Hey! I'm not that heavy." He complained and I stopped struggling to give him a weird look.

"Are you serious right now? I'm trying to escape for my life and you're concerned about the fact that your victim thinks you're heavy. Unbelievable." I tried once again to push him off but the idiot pinned my hands above my head.

"I'm not going to kill you. I just want a drink. See, I haven't fed in a while." He explained. "Thanks for the explanation but I don't plan on being a blood donor." I snapped before head butting him.

He loosened his grip and I quickly got up. Ok I did not think that through. My head hurt like hell now. I brought my hand up to my aching forehead and glared at the back of the vampire's head. He turned around and returned my glare with the same passion. We had a small glaring contest before I looked away first.

"Idiot. I've had enough of this nonsense. I'm going home." I turned my back on him and realized that my hoodie had fallen and uncovered my face as well as the back of my neck. I quickly covered it up again.

"What that on your neck?" The annoying vampire asked as he appeared beside me. I ignored him and began to walk back to the direction of the house.He huffed and before I knew it, I was held up against the trunk of a tree. Again.

"What the hell is your problem? If you're thirsty, go find a drink somewhere else." I said in an exasperated tone. We were seriously just going around in circles. " I wanna see the mark on your neck." He replied in a serious tone. All the hunger and playfulness from before was gone.

"Why?" I asked curiously. "Because there was only one person I knew who had a mark like that. I lost her a long time ago." He explained with a hint of sadness in voice yet his face remained stoic.

"Fine." I replied in defeat. He let go of me and I sighed before turning around. I pulled down the hood and revealed the back of my neck.  I heard his breathing hitch.

I wasn't surprised. I got the same reaction whenever anyone caught a glimpse of the infinity sign imprinted on my neck. To be honest, it looked like a tattoo. It was usually black but it tended to glow and change colour depending on my mood.

"It's a special birth mark. I've always had it. My parents, well my adopted parents, told me that it was very unusual. They've never seen a mark like mine and the other kids would make fun of it so I always wore hoodies or I'd wear my hair down, anything just to cover it." I felt the mark glow and I knew that would be purple due to the nostalgia I was feeling. I turned to face him with a blank face.

"It's probably the only thing connecting me to my real parents. At first, I covered it up because I was embarrassed but then I realized that it was special. It was too precious to be seen and ridiculed by these people. So that's why I hide it now." I explained. His lips curved into a gentle smile and he looked at me with love. What in the world...

"I can't believe it. It really is you. After all these years, I was starting to lose hope but you're here. The weird scent, the sudden pull and how could I miss the fact that you have mom's eyes." He babbled and my confusion grew with each word. "Wait. Slow down. What are you talking about?"

"Your name's Lara. Lara Odell." He firmly stated and my eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?" I questioned defensively.

"Lara, it's me. It's Samuel. I'm your brother."

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Till next time lovelies
~ P