Risking Immortality (Loch & Key #1)

1. One

One

T oday is my twenty-ninth birthday. To so many, this year is insignificant. But to me it signifies an inevitability, one I have been desperately running from since I was born; a truth I am woefully unprepared to handle. The reality that one year from now, when the sun sets, I will be forever changed. My thirtieth year will mark either the start of my immortal life as a mated vampire, or my spiral into madness.

Before I go on, I think it is important to explain the origin of my kind. The truth, not the fabrications spewed by humans for millennia. First, vampires are born, not made. I have a mother and a father. I also have seven siblings. We are carried in the womb and born in the same manner as a human baby.

Second, we are creatures of light, not darkness. However, we are forced into the shadows by the lies told by a species frightened of anything “different.” A species that has vilified us because they are too ignorant to learn and accept our differences .

Third, we do have elongated upper canines—“fangs” as humans like to refer to them. However, they are not retractable, and they are not two inches long. In fact, unless you were really looking, the slight differences between vampire and human teeth are hardly noticeable.

The canines are a leftover evolutionary facet. In the early days of creation, vampires had to hunt their own food. Just like those of gorillas or big cats, elongated canines helped them take down their prey. We have no need for such things now.

Vampires walk among you. Since the first human evolved, there has been a vampire right beside them. Many stories and mythologies paint us as the devil’s spawn, born from darkness and evil. Another flagrant lie. Vampires are simply a different species, evolved with a different genetic code.

The sunlight does not scorch our flesh; we do not burst into flames at the sight of a cross. Hallowed ground is sacred to our kind just as much as humans. We live and love, but we are cursed. Humans got that right.

Our elders would frown at the term I use. To use the word cursed implies something more than what it is—a simple glitch of nature. Unlike humans, a vampire must have mated by the end of day on their thirtieth birthday. I don’t mean in the physical sense. A vampire must find their mate, their other half. Why? We do not know. Vampires have spent countless years searching for the answer, but it eludes us still. Our knowledge is based on the results of thousands of years witnessing the poor, unfortunate souls that were unable to find their match in time.

Humans have depicted vampires as blood-sucking animals. I will admit, there is a degree of truth to it. But what the human world fails to explain is why a fraction of our species behaves in such a way. Let me enlighten you.

As the sun rises on a vampire’s thirtieth birthday, a cellular change begins. If that vampire has found their true love, their immortality is guaranteed. Destined to live for thousands of years in bliss alongside their mate.

However, if the vampire begins this change without their soulmate, the process is corrupted. Instead of bliss, the vampire descends into madness, craving human blood with an insatiable thirst. Those are the vampires etched frighteningly into the human psyche. Laughable really when you examine the history of humanity and the countless bloody wars they waged in the name of power and greed. For us, it is unavoidable. Our choice is taken from us the moment the sun sets on our birthday. Of the two species, who are the real monsters?

Another by-product of our condition—that’s how it should be defined, I think; if it’s not a curse, it is a condition, and one that must have an answer—is our fertility. The only way vampires can bear children is if they are mated. A vampire can sleep with the world’s population before they change and no pregnancy will occur. It is an impossibility. Thankfully, our condition does not discriminate against those of us who are attracted to their own sex. Our community helps same-sex couples find surrogates and sperm donors. We celebrate life and often have large families. Although that isn’t a given. Each vampire couple determines if they wish to be parents or not. Which wasn’t always easy before birth control. A vampiric invention, I might add.

Another glaring difference between humans and vampires, don’t you think ?

My kind works together, celebrating love in its purest form, no matter how that may look. Humans ostracize, discriminate and persecute their own kind because one woman may love another. Shame is brought upon families because a man fell in love with another man. Again, I ask you, who are the monsters?

It is my dislike of humans that fuels my desire to keep a distance from them. My parents wish for me to interact with humans. They feel we should embrace them, teach them about our kind. Come out! I wholeheartedly disagree with their beliefs. Why try to teach them about our kind? Humans don’t even want to learn about their own species.

“Happy birthday, Amelia.” My eldest brother Laurence perches on the end of my bed. Oh, yes, we sleep in beds. Not coffins. Although, it is fun to play up the stereotype at Halloween. Inside jokes and all that.

“Good morning.” What I am least looking forward to today is the worry on the faces of my family. Every member of the Loch family found their mate, except the youngest. All of them before their twenty-fifth birthday. I am the last but one of our family and I am no closer to finding love now than when I was as a young vampire.

“Brought you breakfast,” Laurence says, handing me a plate of pancakes and a mug of type A. Yes, we drink blood, we have to. Our blood requirement is the same as a human’s need for water. But—and this is a big but—we do not feed on humans. We do not hunt them… Only the unmated are responsible for those kinds of behaviors. Those of us under thirty and those who are mated drink only animal blood. The taste of human blood is repulsive. It doesn’t sit well in our stomachs .

“Thank you.” I take breakfast and begin eating. Laurence sits there watching me. I know he wants to speak of the coming year. Over the past six months, he has tried in vain to get me to talk about my upcoming birthday and what it means for me.

“Amelia, we need to talk.”

“About?”

“Playing dumb doesn’t suit you.” Laurence shifts a little closer. He is a handsome male. Tall, closing on six-foot-five, thick dark hair, perfectly styled. Our family is blessed with good physical genetics. We all have good looks. It’s not my ego talking, it’s the truth. We are a family of raven-haired beauties.

“Laurence, there isn’t anything to discuss. I have a whole year to find my mate, otherwise I will go insane. There. Topic covered. Can I eat my breakfast in peace now?”

“Why are you taking this so lightly, sister?”

“How else should I take it? Be realistic Laurence. It’s unlikely I’m going to find the one . All the family, including our youngest cousins, matched well before their thirtieth birthday. Julien found his mate at sixteen. I am the odd one out, the blip on the family’s immaculate record. Instead of worrying about me finding a mate, I suggest you worry about which one of you has to take me out.” I’m not being dramatic or fatalistic, but realistic. There is no point ignoring the obvious. I am an anomaly in the Loch family.

“Do not let Mother and Father hear you speak of such things, Amelia.” Marcus, the second eldest, marches in with a severe face. He has been listening at my door. This is why I dread coming home to stay. Everyone gets far too comfortable in everyone else’s business .

“Marcus, you must see that I’m right?” Marcus is a realist like me. If anyone should see my point of view, it’s him.

“I understand your point of view.” Marcus earns a scowl from Laurence. “But I don’t think you have given it your all to find someone.”

“I agree,” Laurence barks.

“I go out. I socialize. No one has pinged my interest.”

“When was the last time you went out, Amelia? Hm? I’ll tell you when. Three months ago, for my wedding anniversary.”

He’s right, of course. I’m not the type of woman to go out on a Friday night. Well, not every Friday night. Not when I have a good book waiting for me in the comfort of my own home.

“Laurence is right. Staying in with your books is okay after you have found your mate. Now is the time to be scouring the land. I will not lose you, Amelia.” Marcus has a fire burning in his eyes. I can feel the fear radiating from him… the fear of losing me to madness, the fear of watching as I become unhinged.

I have been awake for ten minutes, and already I want the day to be over. Laurence and Marcus are just the beginning. My other siblings will be on the same mission. As for my parents, I know they will have plans in place. I expect to be set up on multiple dates.

“Amelia, you own three bars and two nightclubs. Why on Earth aren’t you frequenting them, looking for your woman?”

“First, I have four bars and three nightclubs. Second, they are all unfortunately overrun with humans. Not so good for me. Third, I have staff who manage and run those establishments, meaning I don’t have to go there. ”

“They are not overrun with humans. You’re just bitter that Mother wouldn’t allow you to make your establishments vamp-exclusive.” Laurence rolls his eyes at me.

“Do you blame me?” I feel indignation course through my veins. Humans offer us nothing but pain and suffering. Of course, the general population of humans is unaware of our existence, but there are few among them that hunt us down. Believing in the bile spewed by uninformed hypocrites. Claiming to do the Lord’s work. It makes me sick. What’s so wrong with me wanting to stay away from them? Be amongst my kind, safe?

“Vampires aren’t saints, Amelia.” Laurence laughs mirthlessly.

“I’m not saying we are.”

“We’re getting off topic,” Marcus growls. Out of all my siblings, Marcus is the one I am closest to. “You have to start trying harder. Whether or not humans are there.”

“Fine, I’ll go out. I’ll visit my bars and clubs.” I don’t have the energy to fight them. A drink in each place should suffice. Prove to them it’s a futile exercise. “Can you go now, so I can dress?” Neither brother looks satisfied with my answer, but it’s the only one they will receive.

“Fine, we’ll meet you downstairs, but Amelia… this conversation is not over.” Laurence warns.

As soon as they are gone, I flop back down to my bed. I want nothing more than to close my blinds, hike up my duvet and sleep the day away. My desire is rudely ripped from me, as are my covers. Lucille, my sister, stands glaring at me. We are usually the more combatant family members. Lucille is the opposite of me. Where I like quiet and comfort, she likes noise and turbulence. Lucille loves humans—I do not. She has them rotating in and out of her bed daily. The thought makes me gag.

“Get up,” she orders. I have lost count of the physical altercations I have had with Lucille. Although I can be the calm to her storm, I am no pushover. When things get heated between us, there is usually a wake of damage left behind.

Vampires have a couple of traits that bear a resemblance to the stories crafted over time. Our physical strength is elevated. We can’t lift cars or bend metal, but we are slightly stronger and faster than our human counterparts. Our vision is generally better, too. “If you leave, I will dress,” I hiss.

“You have five minutes, then I’m coming back up here and dragging you downstairs. The entire family is waiting for you.”

It’s my twenty-ninth birthday, the day the clock begins its countdown to my impending fall into madness.