Blood Born by Tanya Contois

“Are you almost ready? I want to get to the club before the line gets really long.”

I looked in the mirror to make sure my makeup looked perfect and adjusted my red strapless dress before answering Emma. I grabbed my clutch purse off my bed and headed for the door.

“Let’s go.”

I locked the door behind us and unlocked the passenger side door for Emma. I walked over to the driver side, unlocked the door and climbed in. I stuck the key in the ignition and turned the key. The engine roared to life and I pulled out of the parking garage.

“Have you called Tansy yet? You know how long it takes her to get ready.”

“Don’t worry, I told her we were picking her up at 8 sharp.”

“I hope she’s ready when we get there.”

 “She will be. She already texted me to ask if we were on our way.”

Emma sat back in her seat and relaxed as we pulled up to Tansy’s apartment building. I pulled out my phone to let her know we were outside waiting. I touched up my lip gloss and brushed my hair out of my eyes. I glanced down at my watch to check the time and honked the horn a couple times to get Tansy’s attention.

“Here she comes. Be nice Tanith.”

I grinned widely. “Don’t worry I’ll be a perfect angel.”

Tansy opened the passenger side door and climbed in, hitting Emma in the head with her purse in the process.

“Watch it. It took me an hour to get my hair like this.”

“Sorry Emma, your hair still looks great.”

“Thanks. Um, your hair looks nice too. Did you use a new shampoo or something?”

Tansy patted her hair self-consciously before answering. “I used the same shampoo that I always use. Is there something wrong with it?”

I shot Emma a look. “No, it really does look good. Emma is just teasing you.”

The rest of the drive to the nightclub passed in silence. I was looking forward to tonight. I had been working extra hard at my paralegal job and I needed to blow off some steam. I pulled my car into the garage and grabbed the parking permit from the attendant. I parked in the first empty spot I found and turned the car off.

“Now remember girls, be cool and let the guys come to you. We don’t want just any guys. There has to be something special about them.”

Tansy and Emma nodded their heads in agreement and we got out of the car and I locked the doors. The line to get into the nightclub was already a mile long and it snaked around the corner. I walked over to where the bouncer was standing and ran my fingers up and down his tattooed arm.

“You’re going to let us in ahead of everyone else,” I whispered into his ear and he nodded as he held open the door.

“Good boy.” I patted him on the arm and gave him a peck on the cheek leaving a red lip print.

We each paid the cover charge and hung our jackets in the coat room before making our way to the bar. The entire place was decorated with colorful streamers and balloons and there were waitresses carrying trays filled with festive green and red drinks. After ordering our drinks we sat at the first unoccupied table we found and scanned the lounge area for potential dates for the evening. I briefly made eye contact with a tall and rugged man who was sitting a few feet away.

“Hands off girls, this one is mine.”

Emma pouted and crossed her arms and Tansy just sat there staring off into space. I really needed to find new friends that didn’t grate on my nerves so much. I smiled as I saw the guy I had been checking out walking in our direction.

“Ladies, can I buy your next round of drinks?”

I batted my lashes at him flirtatiously. “That’s very kind of you to offer. We’ll have whatever you’re having.” I downed what remained of my drink and signaled Emma and Tansy to do the same.

“So what’s your name and are you here alone or are you here with friends?”

“My name is Ross and I’m here with a couple friends from work. What are your names?”

“I’m Tanith and this is Emma and Tansy.”

“Nice to meet you all. Would you ladies care to join us at our table? I promise my friends will be on their best behavior.”

“Thanks, we’d love to join you and your friends.”

Ross smiled widely, revealing a set of perfect white teeth. “Great, I’ll go get your drinks and come back to get you.”

He turned and walked over to the bar. He gave the bartender our drink orders and handed her some money. He dropped a couple bills on the bar as a tip and walked back to where Emma, Tansy, and I were sitting.

“Ready to go?”

“Yes we are.” I stood and Tansy and Emma followed suit. We made our way through the now crowded bar to the pool table area where his friends were sitting. Ross grabbed three chairs from an empty table nearby and pushed them over to our table before introducing us to his friends.

“Tanith, Emma, and Tansy meet Jax and Liam.”

We said our hellos and sat down. After about 5 minutes of small talk we decided to hit the dance floor. We spent the remainder of the night dancing except for the few times we stopped to get a drink. The countdown to the New Year began and at midnight the bar was full with the sound of people saying Happy New Year to one another. Ross pulled me to him and pressed his lips to mine, taking me by surprise.

“Happy New Year Tanith.”

Before we knew it the bartender announced last call. My friends and I went to get our coats and when we got back the guys were talking about what to do next.

“Are you three up for a nightcap at my place?”

“Will you give us a minute or two to decide?”

“Sure, not a problem.”

We excused ourselves to go to the ladies room.

“So what do you guys think? Should we take them up on their offer?”

“I think we should.”

“Good, it’s settled then. Tansy, try not to suck the guy dry this time.”

“That only happened once and I hadn’t fed in over a week.”

“Whatever. Just don’t let it happen again.”

We made our way back to where Ross and his friends were waiting for us.

“We’ll be right behind you guys since we don’t know where Ross lives.”

“Alright, we’re ready if you are. I just need to pay the tab I started.”

We followed the guys to the bar and out the door once the tab was taken care of. We got into our separate cars and pulled out of the parking garage stopping to pay the attendant.

“Do you have the powder to slip into their drinks? This has to go as smoothly as possible. There is no room for error.”

“It’s right here in my purse. Everything will go as planned so will you just relax?”

I clenched the steering wheel tighter. “I’ll relax once I’ve fed.”

“I only told you to relax because your fangs are starting to show. If the guys see them before I’m able to slip the drug into their drinks everything will go to hell and you know how I get when I don’t get to feed.”

Ross pulled his truck into his driveway and turned it off. He stepped out and locked it using one of those automatic door lockers once his friend had climbed out. He stuck a key into his front door and turned the knob while signaling for us to enter. His house was well furnished with two oversized chairs and a black suede sofa. Emma, Tansy, and I sat down on the sofa while Jax and Liam sat in the chairs. Ross headed for the kitchen and I could see him open the refrigerator.

“What’ll you guys have to drink? I have beer, a half of a bottle of white wine, and an unopened bottle of red wine.”

“We’ll have the red wine.”

Ross handed Jax and Liam each a bottle of beer and set our wine on the coffee table.

“Are guys hungry? I can order a pizza or something.”

“We’re starved so a pizza sounds great.”

“What toppings do you want on it?”

“Whatever you choose will be fine. We’re not picky eaters.”

Ross went back into the kitchen to order the pizza and Jax excused himself to use the bathroom. Liam got up to turn the TV on. When his back was turned I quickly dumped the powder in each of their drinks hoping that it would dissolve quickly into the liquid. I sat back down and smiled widely at Liam as he turned back around.

“So what do you do for work Liam?”

He picked up his beer and took a long gulp before answering. “I work for an architecture firm in Manhattan.”

After several more attempts to start up a conversation with Liam failed I gave up and hoped the drug would kick in soon. I watched him carefully for signs of drowsiness and within minutes I knew the drug had taken effect because Liam’s eyes started to droop and his head flopped to the side. He struggled to stay awake but it he was fighting a losing battle. I motioned to Tansy to go check on Ross and Jax. She stood and excused herself, saying she had to use the bathroom. A minute passed and my phone beeped. I took my phone out of my purse and opened it to see that I had a text from Tansy telling me that Jax and Ross were out cold.

“Help me get Liam into the car.”

We each took hold of Liam’s arms and stood him up, draping his arms over our shoulders. Emma yanked the door open and we clumsily made our way to the car. I fumbled for my car keys and unlocked the car as quickly as possible. Once it was unlocked I opened the door and we shoved Liam inside. I shut the door and instructed Emma to go help Tansy with Ross and Jax. I got into the driver’s seat and started the car while keeping an eye on Liam to make sure he didn’t wake up. I was starting to get anxious. I wanted to get out of here before any of the neighbors got nosy. Five minutes dragged by and I decided to go find out what was taking Emma and Tansy so long. As soon as my hand was on the doorknob the door swung open and out came Emma and Tansy. Each of them was dragging a guy by their arm.

“It took you guys long enough to get them out here. Put them in the car so we can leave. We’ve already been here way too long.”

I opened the door for them and they shoved the guys inside next to Liam. I slammed the door shut and got back into the driver’s seat.

“Tansy you’re going to have to sit on Emma’s lap since there isn’t room for you in the backseat.”

Emma got in the car and Tansy climbed behind her. She sat on Emma’s lap and her head was touching the roof.

“Just try not to hit too many bumps because this is so uncomfortable and don’t speed. If we get pulled over we’ll have a hard time explaining why we have three guys passed out in our backseat.”

“It won’t be that hard to explain. It is New Year’s after all. We’ll just say that they had too much to drink and we’re driving them home.”

I turned right onto the highway and speed up. I knew that Marilee was probably wondering what was taking us so long so I wanted to get home as fast as I could. There were very few cars on the highway so I was able to make it home in under a half an hour. I pulled up the driveway and put the car into park. I got out and opened the back door and pulled Ross out. My knees buckled at his weight and I went down taking Ross with me.

“Emma, go get Garrett and Duke to help get these guys inside. Tansy, get Ross off of me.”

Emma was back in seconds with her two brothers. Garrett picked up Jax and heaved him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and Duke did the same with Liam. We all went inside and I shut the door since I was the last one in.

“Bring them to the feeding room.”

Duke and Garrett gave a slight nod of their heads and left the room with Liam and Jax still over their shoulders. Emma and Tansy followed, dragging Ross along by his arms. I stayed behind for a minute to let myself calm down a little before catching up with them. When I entered the room Garrett and Duke had already laid the guys down on the three marble slabs in the middle of the room.

“Are they ready now?”

“Yes they are. You should feed soon because the drug will start wearing off soon.”

I didn’t respond instead I walked over to where Ross was laying and sunk my teeth in the hollow of his neck. His blood was delicious and I could feel it running down my throat. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Tansy and Emma feeding as well. I retracted my fangs and licked the blood off of my lips.

“That’s enough you guys.”

They both pulled their fangs out of Liam and Jax’s necks with a groan. I reached for a small dagger that lay on the table next to me and made a shallow cut on my wrist. I handed Emma the dagger and then I opened Ross’ mouth and held my wrist to it. Both Emma and Tansy did the same and soon the guys were sucking at our wrists. When the pain got to be too much I pulled away and Ross started bucking and crying out in pain.

“When they’re turned completely get them ready for their first hunt as newly turned vampires.”