Sixteen Candles

Patrick’s POV

Walking inside, I found all of the guys, including Kyle, in the dinning room. Opening the door, I stepped in.
“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Your friends wanted to know about Violet.” Kyle answered.

“What about her?” I asked.

“Her age, her story, chiefly, why she’s here in Chicago.”

I stuffed my hands into my pockets and wandered around to the center of the table. “Why is she here?”

Kyle hesitated.

The door opened and Jordan walked in, clutching his side, and trying not to move to much. “Tell them.”

Kyle nodded once. Then looked at Jordan. “I’m sure you know this better than I do.”

Kyle gave him a look that said, are you kidding me? But sat down and began. “As far as I know, Violet is about two hundred years old. She was raised in a safe, coveted environment. Her parents were given what they needed, and in exchange, they kept Violet and her older brother from harm. There are dozens of rumours surrounding her brother’s death. The best we know, is that he was killed by contracted Vampires.”

“Contracted vampires,” Kyle picked up. “Are just that. They are hired to kill people. Violet’s brother was killed, in all hopes that he would change, when it failed, they destroyed the body, as insurance against themselves.”

“Orphious is in charge of keeping The Blood safe. Which is what originally lead us to believe that he was involved in the death. Violet was thirteen when the death occurred. In her time, it was old enough to be married off, yet there was debate over multiplying the number of Blood. Her entire life, being perfectly groomed, it would have been wrong for her to consider the death the work of her Benefactor.” He winced and grabbed his ribs.

“Vampire Protector.” Kyle explained. “After a few more years of grooming, the death was nothing more than a memory. She was older, past ready for marriage, in that time at least, and there was worry.”

“Every night guard, was exchanged for a vampire.” Ryan said, walking in with Brendon and Beckett not far behind. “They had been like that since the killing. The problem was, since she was getting older, her wardrobe changed.”

“Tight, lacy, frilly things. Tied with ribbon and bodices that kept you from breathing. She hated them” William remembered, sitting across from Jordan. “I saw her multiple times in past years. She was one of the most delectable maidens on the market back then. Her hatred of the clothing was seen as a sign or rebellion. The human men were not as interested in a woman who would fight and argue.”

“It was not a desirable trait, nor a useful one.” Kyle noted.

William nodded. “I was just turned then. Only in my second or third year. She was a beautiful creature, even to me. I viewed her rebellion in as bad, until I realized the thrill of an uncooperative victim.”

If I hadn’t hated William before, he was now getting on my last nerves.

The other vampires nodded, except Pete of course.

“I was young, but I still recognised signs.” Beckett continued. “The more she hated the clothing, the more she would deface it. Leaving her bodice tied loosely. Opting to go without all of the frill and contraptions of the time. She ripped away the lace that made her itch, and constantly took off her shoes, preferring the cold floor. Her fifteenth summer was the turning point. She became flirt when the spring had fallen, playing her weight, using her advantages. That summer, she would lock her doors and get dressed on her own. Leaving her bodice loose enough for her breasts to be obvious, and her skirts nothing but fabric. Her shoes never to be found again.”

Jordan nodded. “That winter, she had begun to ask about her brother.”

Ryan came back from wherever his mind had been. “Her father felt ill the previous fall. He passed away in November. Orphious stepped into the picture. He wanted her future in his hands, and she wanted to know why her brother was dead. When there was no answer, she began to insist upon and demand answers.”

“I was visiting on night, that winter. Myself and a human friend.” William picked up. “I could hear her marching through the estate. She walked into the room that had been her fathers and pounded both hands on the desk. She demanded the truth from Orphious. I won’t give the exact argument, but at the end of it, the sound off skin being struck upon skin was clear. Violet fled the room in the cold weather. She shed her shoes on the stairs of the ground, and ran for the stables. She jumped on a green broke stallion and rode across the estate. She wasn’t seen again until the morning.”

Ryan nodded. “She decided that if she couldn’t know the truth by asking, she would find out one way or another. The began her transformation in the spring. She began to flirt with all of the noblemen and even the lower-class. Her actions were frowned upon, and she was nearly labelled a tramp or whore.”

“The summer, she slowed her flirting in exchange for the clothing change.” Beckett. “She preferred to act in such ways after sunset. The vampires loved it. She was quite a tempting feast as she constantly walked the grounds after dark. The moon would rise and she would be gone out the door into the darkness. Orphious had to work overtime to keep her in-check. I was often charged to watch her and keep her safe. It was a tedious task.”

“Then,” Jordan picked up. “She found records. Ones kept by her father, or at least in his office. She read them and found something about her brother. I don’t know what it is, but I would love to.”

“She started a fight with her mother that night. Her mother was crying by the end.” Ryan noted.
William looked slightly confused. “I was out of town. That was the same weekend I made Brendon.”

Brendon’s face flashed slight recognition. “Yeah, you got called back to the estate right after I woke up. We left right away.”

William tapped a fingernail on the table. “She is a conniving girl. After we had been briefed by Orphious, we headed back to wait out the day.”

Brendon nodded. “She was waiting for us. Now I realize she was curious about how her brother could have possibly lived. Once we in our room, she started blabbering about us not saying anything and--”

“She wanted us to bite her.” Beckett simplified. “To drink her blood, when we wouldn’t, she sliced her hand open.”

Brendon’s face lost all expression and his eyes seemed to go elsewhere back in time. “The smell was unlike anything else. The perfect blend of every distinction. Sweet and spicy, tangy, sour, incomparable. The smell alone drove me to such want that I couldn’t stop, I still have trouble. I dove for the wound, but once I had gotten the blood off of her wrist it wasn’t enough. I grabbed her from behind and all I remember after that is driving my fangs so far into her neck that she screamed---”
“STOP!” I yelled, slamming my hands onto the table. “Just stop it!”

I knew they were all looking at me.

Beckett cleared his throat. “Any other vampire will tell you the same thing. It is only reaction. Even Pete would shatter his years of practice if he were to ever smell it.”

“I think you’re forgetting that I’m not you.” Pete snapped.

“You don’t have to be. It is beyond help. I have yet to see a vampire that can resist it.”

“What about her family?” I asked.

They were silent for a moment.

“She blames Orphious for her brother.”