Casmiere lifted his arms to shield the light from the heavy morning sun, which bore down on him with great intensity. With a sigh, and sat up on the branch he had fallen asleep on, and leaned his back against the trunk. Never before had he felt as uncomfortable as he did now. He pushed his fingers against his back, attempting to massage the pain away. He let out a quite yawn, and stretched his arms to his sides. After taking a quick look around, he dropped silently from the tree, as is his nature.
“Where did you go last night?” a familiar voice suddenly called from behind him, startling him.
He turned to find himself staring into the narrowed eyes of Victoria Jade. “I don’t do well with crowds,” he conceded with a shrug.
“Well, it’s still kind of rude to just take off like that without at least saying something. “Where’d you go, anyway?”
He pointed upward to the tree he had just woken up in. Victoria followed his finger with a wrinkled brow. “Did you sleep up there?” she asked as if concerned.
“Yeah, why?” Casmiere demanded with a raised eyebrow.
“It looks uncomfortable,” she noted, staring at the large branch.
“It was,” he assured her with a wink.
“Victoria,” a voice called out from behind Casmiere. He turned around to see three girls running to join the two of them.
“Friends of yours?” he asked, pointing to them with his thumb.
“Who’s this?” Sarah asked once she got close, eyeing Casmiere suspiciously.
“Cas,” she replied, a smirk on her face.
“And who, exactly are you?” she demanded, snapping a harsh gaze at him.
“It doesn’t matter,” Casmiere replied, coldly, before turning towards Victoria. “I’ll see you later,” he promised.
“You have to go?” she asked, pleading with her eyes for him to stay.
‘Yeah, Cas, why don’t you stay?’ his voice spoke up. ‘Don’t you see how delicious she smells? She’d probably be a delicacy.’
Casmiere stiffened as he fought to ignore the voice. “Yes,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m sorry, but I have things to tend to.”
‘Some villages to destroy,’ the voice added, silently, causing Casmiere to stiffen again.
“Are you okay?” Sarah asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I’m fine,” he barked at her, and breathed deeply to calm himself. “I’m fine,” he repeated, much calmer than before.
‘What a way to make new friends,’ the voice mocked inside his head, though this time, he didn’t react.
“So I’ll see you later, then,” he assured Victoria.
“Next time, under supervision,” Sarah ordered.
Casmiere lifted an eyebrow at her. “And since when are you my boss?”
“I’m not, but I can hurt you if you make me.”
Casmiere smirked darkly. “You think you’re a match for a Tesheeran?” he challenged.
Sarah furrowed her brow. “Not since they went extinct,” she countered.
“Okay, enough guys,” Victoria said, stepping between them. “We don’t need anybody fighting, okay.”
Sarah turned her attention to Victoria. “Why is it you think you can trust this guy?” she demanded.
YOU ARE READING
Prey {editing and revising}
Vampiri**The Unwanted, Book 1** Casmiere has never had an easy life. Ever sense his birth, he's been nothing but trouble. He's the last of the demons known as Tesheerans, and doesn't believe he deserves the life he has. His past is filled with carnage an...
