After the Turning [c o m p l e t e d]

Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Idiots

Jason

She was tall, blonde, most probably stupid and I was going in for the kill.

Jane had the angst of a teenager—well, she was a teenager so I supposed I could forgive her for that—and she was spreading it all over this love triangle.

To be honest, I was becoming more than sick of it. I hadn’t feasted on  live prey for more than a month and even though it felt a bit like cheating, I decided that the kick I could get out of it was better than all the drama Jane was giving us.

“What’s up?” I crept up behind the girl and laid my hands on her hips. The restaurant was crowded but nobody bothered. It was a shady place—things like that happened all the time.

She gasped and spun around. “Get your hands off—“

I hadn’t expected her to react so flustered. Girls in this joint were normally used to this kind of stuff. I laid my hands on a few of them before. They were easy to bring to the back for a quick, hot snack.

Her voice trailed off. “—me.”

Now that was expected. They always ended up the same way. Except for Jane of course. She was the only woman that was capable of going all mad crazy on me. That was to be fixed.

I smirked at my prey. “What’s your name sweet?”

“Jennifer.”

I leaned to her ear and whispered in a husky voice. “Want to follow me to the back?”

She took in another sharp breath and tried to push herself away from me. The innocent ones were always the most fun but also the most annoying. My patience for the day had already been used up.

I stared into her eyes. “Follow me to the back,” I said in a soft murmur; soft enough so that nobody else in the place could hear me.

She nodded. I held her hand and pulled her along, maneuvering past the chairs and tables. Everything about this felt so wrong. It was the first time it ever felt wrong. I never had second thoughts about feeding from a live human.

I dragged her into the alley through the back of the restaurant. The staff ignored that I went through the back door. They were used to me doing such things; always thinking that I had a thing for their waitresses. Well, their blood tasted sweet.

“Come here.” I pushed Jennifer against the wall with more strength than necessary. She winced. Unlucky for her, saying that I was in a bad mood today was an understatement. I grabbed her by her throat and allowed my canines to lengthen.

No need for formalities. I threw my head back before diving in and letting my fangs sink into her neck.

Her rich, metallic-tasting blood gushed into my mouth. I knew that it was a painful experience for the victims—her screaming and begging was enough to confirm that. Not that I cared. Normal people fed on cake when they were depressed or pissed. This was no different.

I lapped my tongue over her punctured wound before lifting my face off from the nape of her neck. “You’re not afraid,” I said, looking into her eyes again. She returned the same nod that everyone did after being compelled. I quite enjoyed the taste of her blood, although it could never beat Jane’s. I wanted seconds for the night.

Jennifer’s lips were slightly too pouty, or too full. I couldn’t decide. It was a bit crooked to the left. No other lip could be better than Jane’s. I didn’t want to do what I did next, but the thought of Jane clouded my senses, and my head dipped down…