Kidnapped By A Vampire

Chapter 36

ARABELLA

"I don't know why they let her join. She isn't even a real vampire." Gee, I thought since I knew almost everyone on the council, then this would be okay. Yeah I know I wasn't born a vampire, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm one now.

"I heard she has powers. How can we trust someone like that."

"She's too different." I look up when Theo steps in front of me. He glances around the corner at the open doorway.

"Aren't you going to go in?" I give him a small smile.

"Yeah, I was just waiting for you." With a smile he wraps his arm around my waist and leads me into the room. The three council members quickly quiet down when they see us approaching. They look me over quickly their faces clearly showing their dislike for me. I notice they're giving the same looks to Theo. Have I made him a target to them? I didn't hear them say anything about him, so it must be that he's so close to me.

"Don't worry about them. Older vampires can really have a stick up their butt." Theo whispers so only I can hear. He takes the seats directly across from them at the table. He gives them an easy smile.

"Theo, I'm surprised you willingly came back." The older woman says leaning back in her chair. If I didn't know any better I'd say she was trying to put some distance between us.

"Nice to see you too, Dominique." She just scowls as Vlad and Rebecca walk into the room. "And who is this?" She says eyeing me with distaste. She's one of the oldest vampires I've seen. She had salt and pepper hair pulled back into a tight, low bun. Her face even showed some wrinkles. Vampires don't physically age. How can she be this old? They were just complaining about me not being born a vampire, so she can't have been changed.

"This is Arabella. She is joining us by John's request." He says coldly. I rest my hand on his. It's okay if they don't like me. I can handle their stares. I think sending the thought to him. He relaxes but doesn't take his eye off of them.

"John wanted this." The man on her right says like he couldn't believe it. I glance behind me as the rest of the council walks in. "Is it true John?" John takes his seat at the head of the table before answering.

"Of course. She was a major asset in winning the war. I think it's only fair she gets a say in what happens now. After all she was fighting on the front lines." The man scoffs.

"She knows nothing about us. She can't be more than eighteen. That is a baby to us." I shoot him a glare. I hate when they say that. Besides I've been working hard to learn their history and I'm not about to let them dump all over my hard work.

"Since becoming a member I have been studying hard to learn your history." The man on Dominique's left laughs.

"Learning is nothing compared to being there. John, there are plenty of other more...eligible vampires who would be a better option than her." John sighs loudly.

"It's already been decided. Besides she's already done her fair share of work for the council. She went overseas with Theo and Joey to talk to the others. None of them had a problem with her." Actually they did, but most of them were too afraid to say anything in front of Theo. Their looks, however, could not be missed. "Now that's enough of that. We have more important things to discuss."

The whole meeting was to discuss the appearance of the vampire hunters. The three that hadn't been there were as doubtful as John was when we told him. Eventually it was decided that we try to get in contact with them. Before the hunters turned to killing the vampires they were working with. They were just supposed to kill the vampires that drank human blood. They were there to keep peace between humans and vampires. Before long they decided that all vampires should be killed. They couldn't be trusted not to drink from humans.

I don't think talking to them is going to fix anything. The way that woman was talking about us, about me...there's just no way they'll go back to the way things were. I wanted to say something, but I don't think those three would have listened to anything I had to say. The others only agreed to their solution because they didn't want to end up in another war so soon after this one. Theo tried to warn them, but it seems being associated with me has made him lose some of his credibility. They're acting like I've brain-washed him.

I follow Theo out of the room and up stairs to our room. Until things calm down all the council members have to live in this building. I flop onto the couch with a sigh. I thought humans were bad with people that are different, but I think these vampires are going to prove to be much worse. They didn't threaten me out loud, but their expressions told so much more. They would kill me if they knew they could get away with it.

"How is Dominique so old?" I ask as I watch Theo go through some papers. "She wasn't once human was she?"

"No, vampires can choose to stop aging whenever they want. They don't have to worry about physical limitations. Back in the day it was more popular to look older. Like humans, vampires elders used to be in charge." He continues to flip through the papers.

"What are you doing?" He can't stop his smile.

"It's a surprise." There's a knock at the door and his smile only grows. I answer the door to find all of my friends standing on the other side. They pull me out in the hallway. "Have fun." I hear Theo say before they close the door.

"Where are we going?" I ask as they pull me down the hall and out the front doors. I don't know about leaving. Theo said it's not safe for me to leave by myself, but as soon as the thought crosses my mind I see Joey and Alexander waiting for us by a van. "Seriously, what's going on."

"We are here to distract you for the day." Valentina smiles shoving me into the van. Is this the surprise Theo was talking about?