Page 3 of My Bloody Valentine

Pulling up my phone, I once more flip through the people on the V-Date app, my heart sinking as none of them look right. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, but so far, no one is scratching that itch.

They all look too hopeful, too bubbly. I need someone broken like me, wanting to just fuck with no strings attached until we’re both sated. These girls seem the type to want a tomorrow and a day after that.

It may work for other vampires, but not for me. I thought I’d found a potential forever last year, but she ended up with Joe. Not that I begrudge them at all, but part of me thought we could make a threesome work.

He and I have done it before, and so, I thought it would be easy. But he and Lissa were adamant that they were committed to each other. Rory need not apply.

Yes, I’m jaded. Yes, I’m angry. Yes, I feel hopeless in this situation. However, I’m not going to find my fix in this app. Not like last year.

Sigh heavy on my lips, I flip to the guys, thinking maybe there’s something on that side that appeals to me. Again, it’s the same problem. Clean-cut guys with something to prove, a bad boy to drown themselves in. I’m not their little rebellion.

Walking over to the bar, I knock against the wood, waiting for my turn. “AB positive in a scotch. Don’t care what type. Just make it potent.”

With a nod she turns and grabs the shot glass, putting it under the counter to fill it halfway with blood. Then, with her preternatural speed, she pours the scotch in and stirs until there’s no trace of anything other than alcohol. Not to the casual eye at least.

I’m tired of blood on the tap, but until further notice, that’s all I’m allowed to have. That and whatever victim I bring to the dungeon down below. Fucking Luka. Though I shouldn’t think ill of the vampire that turned me, this is all his fault.

The fact that he decided to just take off with a high-ranking member of the FBI means that all of us are now under scrutiny. I don’t know exactly what happened, and no one will tell me. Just last year, everything was fine.

No one bothered us. No one really even knew we existed. But now, we have government officials sweeping through at least every other week. All Luka has to say about it is keep pushing the drugs but no needless draining.

As vampires, they can’t really hold us with anything. We can just glamour our way through. But if the bodies continue to stack up, there will be no way of keeping the public from demanding justice.

Though I’ve never been the type to take a life that wasn’t warranted, I can’t say the same about some of the newer vamps. They come hungry. All the time. Nothing will satiate them. Even when I was freshly turned, I don’t remember having the same dark urges.

Luka must be recruiting these people for a reason, but whatever it is, it’s far above my head. I don’t dare ask. I don’t dare question. Even if I am lonely and somewhat depressed, I’m not suicidal enough to ask my maker anything.

Tipping the cup, I drain my shot in one go, sighing as the burn makes its way down my throat. I can always count on a blood shot to perk me up. With a hard slam, I put my glass on the counter and gesture for another.

It’s going to be a long night, and I need all the fortification I can muster. Just as I bring the fresh shot to my lips, Joe and Lissa waltz in. Her eyes shine in the light, revealing her vampiric nature.

Unlike the other newer vamps, she seems to have her thirst in control. But then, as a prodigy of Joe, I’d expect nothing less. He always did hold himself to a far higher standard than the rest of us.

Downing my drink once more, I turn and leave, not waiting to see them more than I have to. Perhaps there will be a couple downstairs that wants an extra. It worked last year, why not tonight?

But even as I descend the hall that leads to the secret club, I know it’s not going to make a difference. This time, I want someone all to myself. Shaking my head, I place my palm against the wall and wait for it to whoosh open.

The music pulses under my feet, slithering through my veins… practically begging me to join in. Behind me, I hear soft laughter. So familiar it makes my balls ache and my cock twitch.

I don’t even have to turn around to know that Joe and Lissa are behind me, no doubt waiting for me to move so they can get to the play space. Easing to the side, I let them pass, but they don’t. They stay behind me, waiting.

“You both go on ahead,” I finally murmur. “I think I want another drink.”

Joe eases around and flashes me a bright smile, showing off his fangs. “Find someone on the app?”

“Not yet, but the night is still young.”

Frowning, Lissa slides her hand along my arm, making my stomach clench with need and anger. I shouldn’t still want her. And honestly, I don’t. It’s not Lissa herself, but rather what she represents—the one that got away.

“Is something wrong? You don’t feel okay.”

I stifle the urge to roll my eyes. Of course her vampiric powers would manifest into a heightened sense of empathy and intuition. Flashing a smile of my own, I shake my head. “Nothing at all. Just a little hungry. I’ll catch up with you two later.”

Before she can interrogate me further, I turn and make my way back up to Club Euphoria proper, desperate to find someone to take this edge off. But honestly, what I’m looking for probably doesn’t exist. Not in here at least.

The only people here are either couples or victims lured here by V-Date. Either way, no one will want me to come in and spoil things. It’s probably best if I just prowl the streets.

As I walk through the door, I scan the people, doing one last sweep before resigning myself to walking up and down the alleys like a common bloodsucker instead of the Bratva I was created to be. What would Luka think if he saw me right now? Would he strip me of my honorary title and force me out?