Chapter 1
The roads were darker travelling this way, but she didn’t want to be bothered with the busyness of the main streets. Besides, this way was shorter. She liked the quiet and serenity of the back roads, and since it was Friday, everyone would be out on the main drag loudly enjoying the revelry of the weekend night-life. Not something she really wanted to put up with. Drunken catcalling didn’t really appeal to her. She was lost in her thoughts when she heard a rustling in the trees to her left. She started slightly, but blew it off as the wind and continued on her way. It wasn’t long until she heard the sound again, and picked up her pace. She wasn’t far from home, and she wanted to get there as quickly as possible now. The rustling kept following her, and she broke out into a run as something very large and very hairy burst out of the trees onto the road behind her. She chanced a look behind her and saw that whatever this creature was it looked like a dog, but it was bigger than any dog she’d ever seen. And it was closing in on her. She couldn’t run any faster, but could see her house in the distance. She hopped the fence that surrounded her small yard, and went to throw the door open, only to find it locked. The creature had broken through the fence and was halfway through the yard when suddenly it was knocked over and rolled a few feet. She tried to see what had knocked it over, but couldn’t see anything in the dark. The creature stood, dazed, and didn’t seem to be able to find its attacker either, so it headed toward her again. She fumbled with her keys, desperately trying to unlock the door, but before she could even find the lock there was someone standing in front of her. He was dressed in all black, was thin, but not dangerously so, and was taller than her by about six inches. His hair was black and just long enough to be messy. He was facing away from her, so she couldn’t see his face, and in fact if it weren’t for the light of the full moon, she wouldn’t have seen him at all. While she was still trying to figure out who this man could be, the creature had reached them and lunged, but was easily repelled by the stranger, who quickly overpowered the beast and sent it running.  She had watched in silent amazement and was still staring in a sort of shock until she noticed the rip on her rescuer’s sleeve, revealing the pale skin beneath turned crimson. He hadn’t escaped unscathed. She regained herself and ran to him, fumbling through slightly incoherent thank you’s and pulling an old scarf out of her bag to wrap around his arm, but falling silent again when she reached him and finally saw his face. He was very pale, though his skin had a hint of color that seemed to be fading by the minute. His dark eyes were almost black and stood out strikingly, and in them was a sort of wisdom that came from many years of experience. She wanted to run, but seemed rooted to the spot, held prisoner by those deep eyes. He moved first, lifting his injured arm towards her and holding it there level.
“Weren’t you going to wrap this? It’s a rather large gash and you did run over here with that scarf in your hand for a reason right?” he asked, indicating the cut on his arm with a slightly quirked eyebrow. She jumped slightly at the deepness of his voice and realized she’d been clutching her scarf so tightly that she’d left marks on her hand from her nails.
“I…um….yeah….sure…” she stammered, taking a small step closer to him and wrapping his arm tightly while glancing up at his face every few seconds. As soon as she’d finished she took a wider step than was necessary away from him, not taking her eyes off him for a second. A small smirk formed on his lips and he chuckled silently.
“You really don’t have to be so afraid. Don’t you think if I wanted to hurt you I would have by now? You just saw me scare off a werewolf after all,” he said, taking a step toward her. She took another step back and found herself with her back up against the fence.
“Oh, and by the way, trying to run is just foolish. I’m faster than you by far. You might as well stay here and have a conversation with the person who just saved your life. So, tell me your name,” he told her, putting a hand on the fence next to her and leaning on it. She blinked at him a few times and decided he was right. There was no way she could outrun a vampyre, so she decided to keep him talking for awhile.
“Kaetvyn. My name is Kaetvyn.”
“Kaetvyn? That’s interesting. Don’t think I’ve heard that one before.”
“Um, thanks, I think. So, what’s yours?”
“Blayk.”
“That’s, um, interesting too. So, how is it that you’re bleeding? Vampyres don’t bleed do they?”
“I just ate. I’m not bleeding my own blood.”
She shuddered and paled a little herself. “Fascinating,” she said, barely trusting herself to open her mouth. He laughed a little, showing his fangs as he did, which did nothing for her fear.
“Well, it’s very late and after this whole ordeal I’m really tired, so I’m just going to go inside now and go to bed,” she said, trying to inch away from him.
“Come now, you call that a conversation? And besides, the night is still young. Stop being so afraid. If you were my dinner, you’d be dead by now. I don’t play with my food. And I told you, I just ate,” he replied while closing the distance between them again. Every word he said made her pale a little more, so that by the end she was nearly as pale as he was.
“Thank you. I feel much better now. So, is that werewolf going to come after me again?” she asked, trying to change the subject.
“I don’t know. You don’t have to worry about it until the next full moon though. I wouldn’t think about it.”
“So I’m supposed to hope another vampyre will show up next full moon?”
“No. You’re supposed to stay out of dark wooded areas and rest assured knowing that I’m not going to let some werewolf kill you.”
“You’re going to stalk me now?”
“Can you really call it stalking if you know about it?”
“Yes.”
“Why can’t you trust me?”
“Because I don’t know anything about you, and you’re a bloodthirsty killer. Literally.”
Blayk sighed and shook his head. “Come on,” he said, grabbing her arm and leading her down the street towards the city.
“Where are we going?” she asked, wrenching her arm from his grip.
“Into the city. Maybe you’ll be more trusting there. Oh and again with the running thing: useless.”
Kaetvyn sighed to herself and shrugged. Oh well, she thought. No point in fighting it. And besides, you’ve always been fascinated by vampyre lore. May as well get to know one. If you can convince him to be a sort of bodyguard to you, you’ll never have anything to worry about again.
“You make amusing faces when you’re thinking to yourself, you know that?” Blayk said, chuckling.
“At least that’s the only time my face is funny, unlike you,” she retorted, fighting the urge to stick her tongue out at him. This time he laughed out loud and had to stop for a moment to regain his composure. She just stood there with her eyebrow raised and her hands on her hips.
“And just what is so funny?”
“That’s the most childish thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Oh shut up.”
They made it into the city and Blayk dragged her into dress shop that was, to her surprise, still open in the late hours of the night. He told her to stay by the door while he went and talked to the woman behind the counter. She took this time to look around. It was a little store that she’d never been in before, mostly because she hated wearing dresses. There were all sorts of them hanging around, mostly in dark rich colors like deep amethyst, forest greens, blacks, and very dark blues that sparkled when the light hit them just right. They ranged from casual classy all the way to some that looked like they could be wedding dresses if it wasn’t for their dark colors. She was just about to walk over and touch one that was a lovely crimson that looked like it was made of pure velvet when Blayk walked back over with a dress in his hand and a large and somewhat mischievous smirk on his face. It was another crimson dress and made of the same velvet, but there was black fur that lined the bottom and the skirt looked like it would flow out into a perfect circle if she were to put it on and twirl around in it. The bodice was plain with wide shoulder straps except for a large black rose at the bottom where it met the skirt in the middle. She cocked an eyebrow at him as he handed it to her.
“What do you want me to do with that?”
“Run in a circle twirling it over your head. I want you to wear it.”
“I don’t wear dresses.”
“You’re wearing this one.”
“Who put you in charge of my life?”
“I did of course. Now go in there and put this on,” he answered, forcing the dress into her hands and pushing her toward a changing room. She sighed and cursed herself for taking the back roads at all. She swore to herself she’d never take them again as she, followed by the owner, who was carrying a pair of heels that apparently went with the dress, walked into one of the large changing rooms. They emerged about ten minutes later, Kaetvyn almost clinging to the owner’s arm for support.
“What kept you?” Blayk asked, trying his hardest not to laugh at her inability to walk in heels.
“I told you I don’t wear these things,” she snapped at him, letting go of the owner and standing up straight. “Now, I wore it. Can I go take it off now?”
“No. That’s already paid for. It’s yours. You’re wearing it tonight.”
“What!? Why would you buy me a dress? I’ve only known you for a few hours.”
“Because if you’re going to be seen with me you have to look the part. Not like you just got home from doing laundry. Besides, I’ve got the money for it.”
“If I could walk I’d come over there and pummel you.”
“I’ll save you the trouble,” he replied, walking over to her and offering his arm. “Come along. We’re going to own this town tonight.”
She went to knock his arm away and instead overbalanced and would have fallen if he hadn’t caught her.  Instead she glared at him icily as he helped her up, laughing.
“What makes you think I want to be seen with you anyway?” she asked him, not dropping her glare.
“Because I saved your life.”
“So in return I have to be your prisoner for a night?”
“Can’t you at least try to enjoy yourself?” he said, leading her out of the store and onto the sidewalk, which was getting more and more bare as the night wore on. She sighed and stumbled slightly, gripping his arm. He slowed his pace until she became used to the heels.
“So where are we going exactly?”
“Well, that depends on just how sophisticated you want to be.”
“This outfit is as sophisticated as I get.”
“Then I know the perfect place. And you might even get to take your shoes off.”
She meant to glare at him again, but stumbled at that moment and had to cling to him instead. He led her into what on the outside looked like a slightly run-down little store, but once inside she saw that it was a very large building that had been turned into a dance hall. The crowd was smaller than you would expect, but she assumed that was because of the late hour. The music was loud and currently had a fast salsa beat playing. Blayk dragged Kaetvyn down to the dance floor and, much to her dismay, attempted to get her to dance with him. She managed to get away and sit down at one of the tables nearby, slumping down into the chair, Blayk right behind her and much of the crowd staring at them because of their over-dressed state. He tried to drag her back to the dance floor but she firmly refused.
“I. Don’t. Dance.” she insisted.
“So what? What does the ability to dance have to do with anything? Kick your shoes off and come with me.”
“No.”
Just then the fast rhythm of the salsa beat ended and the music slowed to a waltz-like rhythm and sound. Many of the people around them paired up on the dance floor, while the rest sat down at the tables and watched.
“Kaetvyn, come dance with me. I insist,” he said with his hand held out toward her.
“Why?”
“Because it’s fun.”
“Oh alright,” she said, kicking off her shoes and taking his outstretched hand, not looking forward to being in the middle of a much less crowded dance floor in a big flowing gown with a vampyre. He pulled her to the very center of the floor, which seemed to clear for them. It seemed that everyone wanted to watch the couple in the formals.
Great, she thought, everyone will see me make an idiot of myself.
“Calm down. Just trust me,” Blayk said to her with a grin. He took her right hand in his left, put her other hand on his shoulder, and his own on the small of her back, leading her around the dance floor in a simple waltz-step, patiently letting her catch on to the step. The song ended, and another slow song started, though it was faster than the previous one. His mischievous smirk had returned, and, without warning, he picked her up and twirled her around before setting her on the ground again, fully expecting that now-familiar glare to be back on her face. Instead he found her laughing when she hit the ground. He continued to spin and twirl her around the floor in a complex waltz that she struggled through, but managed to pull off fairly well. He put her into a dip just as the song ended and held her there as the people around them started to applaud. He pulled her up, both of them laughing, and bowed with a flourish. They both went back to their table and flopped into their chairs.
“Now,” he asked her, “was that so horrible?”
“Of course it was. You just had me so dizzy I couldn’t pay attention,” she replied, smirking at him.
“That was the master plan after all.”
“I thought so.”
“Well, grab your shoes. It’s time for us to go.”
“Already?”
“I’m afraid so. It’s almost dawn. I have to get you home and get to my own home before daylight.”
She nodded and pulled her shoes on. She stumbled trying to stand and he offered his arm to her again, leading her out of the hall and onto the street. They made it to her house without incident and she took her shoes off before going inside.
“’Night, Blayk. And thanks for saving me.”
“Well don’t get used to it. I can’t go rescuing foolish mortals from werewolves every night.”
“Good thing you only have to do so once a month then isn’t it?”
He laughed and started for home as she went inside. She put her dress on a hanger and hung it on her mirror.
“A vampyre. Wonder if I’ll ever see him again. I’m not usually out at night. Oh well,” she said aloud to no one with a shrug as she turned her light off and went to bed. A few miles away in an expensive penthouse Blayk pulled the door to his coffin shut contemplating how he would find an excuse to see her again the next night.