Well This Sucks - CoraLee June Page 0,60

My fangs ached a bit, but I wasn’t feeling murderous. Since Diego ruined dinner with his courtship bullshit, I didn’t get a chance to finish eating. I had a lot of control, but I didn’t know if I could channel Diego’s experience and strength as a vampire from across the city. And I didn’t want to kill my best friend.

I pulled away and flashed him my teeth. “Try vampire.”

Ryan turned pale and clutched his chest. “Holy shit, are those real?”

He reached up and extended his index finger as if preparing to touch my tooth. I reached out and grabbed his wrist before he could. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It’s the equivalent of licking my kitty.”

Ryan shivered in disgust and pulled away. “What the actual fuck?” We both made our way into his apartment, and even though Ryan was a total slob who liked to collect superhero figurines and place them all around his six-hundred-square-foot apartment, I was happy to be in his smelly, crowded home.

The moment I was inside, I heard a hiss and a demon-like meow. “Pussy!” I cried out as my hairless monster stormed over to me. I picked her up off the floor and nearly cried when she clawed at me. “I missed you so much.”

She squirmed and scratched me, wordlessly demanding I put her down. Our love was one-sided, but after a week of insane changes, I was thankful for one little hint of normalcy. I held on to her for another minute before giving in and setting her on the floor. She immediately ran to Ryan and rubbed her traitorous little kitty body back and forth on his legs. Rude.

“We have a lot to talk about,” I said, watching as Ryan picked up Pussy and cuddled on the couch with her. Of course the bitch would snuggle him.

Drew

Ryan had given me a T-shirt and a pair of boxers to wear. I changed into them in the tiny bathroom and then scrubbed all the makeup off my face. I really wanted a hot shower, but that could wait until after we talked. I left my slinky black party dress crumpled up on the bathroom floor and walked out to join Ryan on the couch. He passed me a mug of hot cocoa as soon as I sat down.

“Have anything stronger?” I asked, eyeing the chocolatey drink.

“Trust me,” he said. I took a swig, and the peppermint from the schnapps exploded on my tongue. Ryan was a good friend. “So. You’re a vampire? And some other vampires are holding you hostage and hypnotizing me and Yaz to think you are on an all-expense-paid trip to the Bahamas.”

“Yep. Pretty much.”

“Vampires are real,” he stated. “What about werewolves? Or zombies? Or Bigfoot?” he asked, getting more and more excited.

“I’m pretty sure there are no zombies or Bigfeet walking around. I’m still unclear on the werewolves. Diego just kind of laughed at me when I asked.”

“Have you bitten anyone?”

“Eww, Ryan. No,” I told him, wrinkling up my nose. “Well, actually, I kind of bit and fed from the vampire king, and now I’m kind of his fated queen,” I admitted. “Or maybe we were fated before I fed from him? I’m not really sure about the logistics of it all.”

“What?” he choked, as he spat out the sip of hot chocolate he had taken.

“Um, yeah. He declared to the coven that I’m his woman, like a fucking caveman. So I ran, and now I’m here.”

“Let me get this straight,” Ryan said before taking another sip of his drink. Well. More like a gulp. “You became a member of an ancient mythological race and are somehow their future queen, so your first instinct is to run away?”

Of course Ryan would look at this through the eyes of a hopeful nerd. “No,” I corrected him. “I was changed without my consent into a bloodthirsty monster, then forced into an arranged marriage against my will.”

“When you put it like that...”

Ryan had the good sense to look slightly ashamed and majorly horrified at my predicament.

“I got overwhelmed, and I left,” I admitted. Maybe I should be happy that I got into this elite immortality club, but honestly, I liked being free and independent.

“And they let you?” Ryan asked.

“I have a feeling this freedom is short-lived. Go look outside. I’ll bet you a hundred bucks that a Vin Diesel look-alike is standing outside with a scowl on his face.”

Ryan shot up from his couch and went to go look. He peered