Newborn

Trigger warning: This story uses strong and/or offensive language, and describes violence.

“It’s impolite to talk with your mouth full. Didn’t anybody teach you that?” Erik said, smirking at his companion.

Kirk was holding his meal’s elbow in one hand and their wrist in the other when he looked up. His eyes were like flames, ravenous and burning a glistening gold. His deep crimson chin filleted upwards as he smiled amusingly. “That’s a rule I left behind in a past life. But for your sake, I’ll repeat myself. What I said was, why do you always choose the same girl?”

Erik’s expression turned serious, and he glanced down at the person in question, a young woman with red-tinted brown hair who was sprawled across his lap – his meal for the evening. Having drunk most of what he needed from her, Erik had paused to stroke the unconscious woman’s arm with the back of his fingernails, trailing up and down between her shoulder and wrist lightly in a way that might have tickled if one were awake.

“I guess, in a way, I’ve convinced myself that she chose me.” Erik nearly whispered, knowing very well Kirk could hear him loud and clear.

Kirk, who had returned to drinking his victim, a middle-aged male he had taken from a dive bar a couple blocks down, spit out the man’s hairy wrist and laughed loudly. “You sound like some sappy Twilight asshole! Don’t you like trying different flavors?”

“I have a feeling I’m not missing out on much by avoiding old hairy guys who drink too much. Thanks, though,” Erik quickly rebutted.

Grinning through a full mouth, Kirk muttered, “Hasawnahtoobohd.”

Erik rolled his eyes. Kirk saw them and lifted his head, laughing, “Sorry, man. I said, he’s not too bad. The alcohol in him helps.”

“If I didn’t know better, I would think the alcohol is having an effect on you,” Erik joked.

Feeding always made Kirk a little intoxicated. Erik could relate, especially when he drank from her. He allowed himself to let out a low chuckle as he weaved his fingers through her hair, knowing her scent would remain with him for a little while after he returned her to her home. “She doesn’t need alcohol to be enjoyable,” he whispered, sounding like, well, a sappy Twilight asshole. Even he couldn’t deny what he was becoming. What she was turning him into.

Dropping the man’s arm in his lap, Kirk gasped for air he didn’t need – always so dramatic – and looked up at Erik, “Alright, Edward, you ready to take these blood bags home?”

“Don’t call her that!” growled Erik, narrowing his eyes at his companion.

“Jesus Christ,” Kirk rolled his eyes. “I really don’t see how you can literally kidnap her, drink half her blood, send her home with no memory of it ever happening— night after night—, and somehow still convince yourself you’re protecting her! You’re a real piece of work, man. Now, c’mon, let’s put these people back where we found them before someone notices they’re gone.”

Settling down, Erik sighed. He hated this part: the return. It was inevitable; he had to do it. But he didn’t have to like it. And he certainly didn’t have to rush it. If someone noticed either of these two were gone, they would have no memory of it come sunrise.

Kirk pounced to his feet, and flung his person over his shoulders roughly like a sack of potatoes, which was actually quite fitting for the pair. If anyone saw them, they would probably assume Kirk was merely helping his drunken friend home safely like any good buddy would. Erik scoffed in disgust. He stood up slowly, cradling the woman in his arms, as if he were holding a fragile newborn, fearful that even the slightest movement could wake her.

He let Kirk take the lead down the alleyway, not for any other reason than the fact that he did not want Kirk to see this part of his evening ritual. Closing his eyes, Erik leaned down slightly and pressed a soft kiss onto the woman’s lips, lingering there for a moment to soak up her lavender aroma and comforting warmth. He inhaled her scent, let it sweep up the walls of his nostrils, and fill up his body in a way that was almost as satisfying as drinking her blood – almost. He couldn’t help it; he had to taste her one more time. He allowed his tongue to slip out between his lips and lick an opening into her mouth.

God, she’s so good, he thought, starving for more.

He parted her teeth with a gentle push. Just a nibble, he promised himself, as he softly clamped down on the tip of her tongue. Though a small incision, the blood poured into his mouth quickly like a stream of milky syrup being squeezed out of its bottle. On the verge of absolute ecstasy, he could not deny the low moan that escaped him as he sipped and gulped and chugged her, gripping her against his body to seal any fragments of space between them.

Erik was about to release his bite on her, when he felt a gentle pat on his cheek and heard a body thud loudly onto the pavement.

“FUCK!” exclaimed Kirk.

Erik, still clamped down on the woman’s tongue, opened his eyes to find that her eyes were also open, – bulging, actually – and she was violently punching him in the face. He pulled away from her mouth, releasing her high-pitch shriek.

“Shit, man, what the fuck are you doing?” Kirk was now very close, arms and fangs out, ready to catch the woman if she sprung for escape in his direction. The woman must have thought Kirk was the sane-not-tongue-blood-sucking-one, because she jumped out of Erik’s now limp arms directly into his. Kirk was quick to wrap his arms around hers, swiftly killing any relief she thought she might find in him.

Erik, who was in shock, just stared at them, taking in the horror on both of their faces, while still somehow appreciating the beauty of her wakefulness.

“Please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me!” the woman pleaded, thrusting against Kirk’s grip.

“Dude, what the fuck! What’s your plan here?” Kirk demanded.

“I— I don’t—she wasn’t supposed to wake up!” Erik stuttered frantically. “She’s never woken up before! How is this happening?”

The woman looked between the two men. “Before?!”

“This is your problem, man. She’s yours!” Kirk said, glancing back to make sure his meal was where he left it.

So many thoughts raced through Erik’s mind, but hearing Kirk say she was his, brought a smile to his face. She was. And she was magnificent.

More confused and more terrified, the woman yelled, “I’m not his or yours or anyone’s! Now, let…me…GO!” She pushed against Kirk’s grip, which to him felt like nothing more than a heartbeat, but he loosened his hold on her slightly.

“Erik, seriously, what’s your plan? Do we turn her?”

“No!” Erik shouted, angrily.

The woman froze. “Turn me? What? Turn me into what?”

“We can’t let her go, Erik. Sunrise can’t reverse this. She was awake when you dra—’

“I know, I know!” Erik hushed him. “I’m not sure. Let me think…” He began pacing in front of them.

“If you won’t do it, Erik, I will,” Kirk said impatiently. “I won’t let your little pet drive us out of here.”

Erik lunged at Kirk, hissing in his face. “You won’t touch her!” Snarling, he grabbed the woman by her wrist and pulled her from Kirk’s arms. In one swipe, he was cradling her in his arms again.

Too stunned, the woman didn’t fight Erik. “Wait… are you guys… vampires?”

Erik and Kirk were still, staring directly into each other’s eyes, daring the other to answer her question. This was a first for them both.

Clearing his throat, Erik broke eye contact first and looked down at the woman he’d been admiring – and draining – from afar for months. “Yes, darling. We are.”

Kirk tilted his head back, looking up at the sky. “Jesus Christ!” he groaned.

The woman took a moment to process before finally asking, “And you’ve drunk from me before?”

Erik nodded, but Kirk answered, “Yeah, he’s some kind of weirdo who thinks only drinking from one person equals love.”

Erik shot him an angry look. Kirk rolled his eyes. The woman, if you can believe it, blushed.

“That’s actually kind of sweet,” she whispered.

“Great, we’ve got a Twilight lover over here!” Kirk placed both his hands behind his neck and began pacing, muttering to himself about how the entire series really ruined their whole vibe.

“But how come I don’t remember it? I don’t have any marks or –,” she gasped. “That’s why the doctors can’t figure out why I’m suddenly anemic!”

A loud laugh escaped Kirk, who was now further down the alleyway checking on his victim.

Erik was staring at the woman as she calmed down in his arms. It was like a dream that he had wished for a thousand times finally unfolding before him. He titled his head as he tried to memorize the color of her irises. She met his gaze, and smiled softly.

“So, what is your plan? What are you going to do with me?” she asked.

“This is turning into a goddamned vampire porno,” Kirk murmured, as he lifted his person over his shoulders again. “Figure your shit out, and let’s go!”

Erik and the woman laughed. “Well, I’m not going to turn you…” Erik said.

The women looked up at him, her eyes widening ever so slightly.

“…unless you want me to.” Erik finished. “But I can’t let you go home… Now that you know, it’s not safe. For either of us.”

The woman, who did not appear bothered by either of her options, considered briefly. “Will it hurt?”

Erik looked pained simply by the thought of this woman being hurt. “No,” he said. “It won’t hurt. But you will…die.”

The woman chuckled, “Well, obviously.”

Surprised by her response, Erik chuckled too.

“Let’s gooooooo!” groaned Kirk.

“I guess we better make our decision, then,” the woman said.

“It’s your decision,” Erik said, using a finger to lift the woman’s chin. “Your life will never be the same.”

The woman nodded. “I want to do it. I want you to change me, Erik.”

He thought tasting her was the best thing he’d ever experienced, but hearing his name come from her voice, that made his entire body tingle with warmth, something he hadn’t felt since before his own death.

“Are you sure?” he had to confirm. He could hear her heartbeat quickening.

She exhaled loudly, “Yes.” Looking right into his eyes, she said, “Do it!”

Reflexively, his fangs sprang down and an excited hiss leapt from his throat. “Where?” he asked.

Her only response was a tilt of her head backwards, exposing her neck. In no time at all, Erik was biting into her skin. Her blood rushed down his throat with the eagerness of a broken dam. It was incomparable to his previous meals of her, as if her consent was its own seasoning. She moaned beneath him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in. He had no reason to hold back this time, so he didn’t. He let his hands roam wildly over her body, squeezing her tender landscape as if it would increase the flow of her into his mouth. Erik felt her pulse slowing, heard her moan become quieter, willed their worlds together. He was almost done, and she was almost his. He released his bite, and looked up to watch the last of her life leave her face. Pale skin claimed her, and Erik waited.

“She done yet?” Kirk hollered, sounding bored.

“Shhh!” Erik hushed him, stroking her cold cheeks with his finger.

Rebirth starts with a gasp – your body’s most natural reflex is to draw in air. Then her eyes opened wide, burning a deep and bright red. She gasped again, and then coughed, as her new body rejected the oxygen. She grabbed ahold of Erik’s neck, hoisting herself up.

“That’s it, darling. I’m here. Take it slow,” Erik coaxed her.

Looking around, panting, she said, “Holy shit, I feel incredible!”

“It’s pretty dope, huh?” Kirk chimed in, excited that things were finally progressing.

Erik stroked her hair. “You’re incredible.” He paused a moment, waiting patiently as she took in her new body. “I just realized… after all this time, I don’t know your name. I never knew it.” He laughed, embarrassed by his confession. “Of course, you can use your old name, or you can choose something else that feels more suitable to the new you.”

She met his gaze, and smiled sweetly, hungrily, showing all of her teeth. Like a flash of light, her fangs shot out, and she lunged for Erik, pushing him onto his back. Erik chuckled at her newborn strength, as she was crouched on his chest, and cradled his head in her hands. Sneering flirtatiously, the woman twisted Erik’s head violently and pulled it off entirely in one quick tug.

“You can call me Black Widow,” she hissed, tossing his head to the side. “And I am not yours!”

“Holy shit!” Kirk dropped the man in his arms and sprinted out of the alley in a blur.

Licking her lips, Black Widow said, “I guess I should have told them that my favorite Twilight character is Victoria.”