Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
~Harlow~
Leon doesn’t bother to give me a chance to sit down and calm my nerves. No, he has one intention, and that is to take what he wants with no regard for who he is taking it from.
To Leon, I am just some whore; an Omega who works in a seedy strip club and would do anything for money. Disposable. And damn, do I feel used. The moment the curtain closes, blocking any light from invading the gloomy looking booth, his teeth sink into my neck.
As his tongue laps at the surface of my skin, I release a startled, broken gasp from my lips. The pain intensifies as he pulls my body tight against his, eliminating any space between us.
A loud growl leaves Leon’s lips as I try to thrash against his grip, desperate to escape him, to escape the pain and the room. It wasn’t this painful the last time he fed off me. The pain this time is almost unbearable, until the endorphins flood my system and overwhelm me.
I begin to lose track of time, and my surroundings blur slightly.
Yet, the longer Leon feeds on me, the more the pain dissipates, and ecstasy starts to vibrate through me.
A feeling of euphoria washes over me as my body tingles, which only scares me more because I have to fight against this feeling, too.
His hand moves to my hair, and Leon tilts my head to the side a little more, exposing my neck to him and giving him a more beneficial angle. Leon’s grip rips hair from my scalp, leaving a painful, tingling sensation behind, and my eyes prick with tears at the discomfort of his grip.
A whimper escapes me when he bites another spot on my neck, this one slightly lower but close enough to the previous one, and I hiss at the new stinging sensation while feeling my blood slip down my shoulder and onto my chest.
As his sharp teeth puncture my skin, I can feel the blood draining from me, gushing out of my neck as his lips latch on to suck harder.
Pure, raw, and wild panic sets deep in my bones when Leon doesn’t stop. His grip on my hair becomes nearly unbearable, and fight-or-flight kicks in.
I pivot enough to force my knee right in between Leon’s legs. He still has a tight grip on my hair though, so the action tugs on my scalp, sending waves of pain through me. I ignore it—all that matters is getting away from him.
The dangerous fangs keep sinking into my flesh, slowly draining me of life, and Leon doesn’t seem to care about the damage he is causing. Maybe he doesn’t see value in my life, but I do. I want to live. Led by pure fear and adrenaline, I bring my knee up with all the force I have left.
Leon’s lips instantly unlatch from me as he tears his teeth out of my neck and grunts loudly. He lets go of me, and I stagger back on instinct, desperate to increase the distance between the blood sponge he is being and myself. The asshole was absorbing all the life from me.
I slap my hand over my neck, hoping it will stem the bleeding. Leon glares at me, as if I’m the one at fault. I kneed him in the nuts, yes, but it was self-defense. How else am I supposed to stop him from killing me?
I force down the lump that somehow forms in my throat. Leon’s blood-red eyes blaze as a crazed gleam makes them glaze over. A deep, thrumming growl resonates from him, making my legs wobble. If he commands me, I am fucked.
Leon steps toward me, and I can’t help but yelp in fear as he stalks closer. Didn’t he have enough? I’m pretty sure he took more of my blood than he needs, so it can’t be that he wants more. Or can it?
The backs of my knees hit the small table behind me, and I know there is nowhere I can run, no way to escape him.
But then, Leon shakes his head, and I nearly fall backward, unsure if it’s a sign that Leon won’t touch me anymore or if it’s because he’s not in the mood to chase me around and is disappointed at my attempt to get away from him.
“Sorry, I got a little carried away. Happens,” Leon mutters as if it’s something usual and I shouldn’t feel violated by his doings.
Which I do. I do feel violated and taken advantage of. This man just leeched on my blood to the point I had to fight him off to survive. What’s he want, a fucking pat on the back? A thumbs up and reassurance he did no wrong? ‘Yeah, no biggie, we’re good.’
I watch him dig through his pocket, stalk closer, and toss some money on the little table beside me. I stare at him, petrified at what he will do next, when Leon wordlessly turns on his heel and swiftly walks out of the room, leaving me alone in the darkness of the VIP booth.
I don’t dare move an inch as my hand still clutches my neck.
I’m so scared. Frightened to the core, I fear any movement might cause a tear in the deep indents left by Leon’s teeth, which would result in a slow and agonizing death.
The Omega who bled out after a vampire played around with her sounds like some horror movie title, not real life.
I feel disgusted with myself. I feel like a cheap whore who sold something of herself to get another dose of whatever drugs those people use.
I wonder if this is how Brianna feels when she does unspeakable things like this.
Does she feel as violated and disgusted as I do now?
Can she get up and leave this place without a single pang of guilt or hurt to her heart, or does she need time to rid herself of the thoughts before she carries on with her life?
The more I think, the more I doubt my thoughts. Perhaps at first, she struggled with conflicted emotions the same way I do now, but in time, she got used to how her life is. It’s a funny phenomenon but true—eventually, everyone gets used to their life and suffers comfortably in their own misery.
However, even though I know how getting used to your circumstances comes along with the journey, I don’t see myself ever getting used to doing such things or getting used to the feeling currently tearing me apart inside.
I glance at the table where Leon tossed his money.
I must look like a fool while I stare at the cash, until I gather enough courage to scoop it up and check how valuable my life is in the eyes of a vampire.
After all, that’s what he paid for—my blood.
Blood he took too much of and nearly killed me for.
A few dollars. A few dirty dollars are all Leon believes my life is worth. Disgusting, impossible, blood-sucking leech!
I sigh in defeat and focus on counting the money to make sure all of it is there. But the curtain is ripped open and Tal rushes in, so I don’t get a chance to properly count it.
A heavy sigh leaves his lips as Tal’s wary gaze takes me in. Was he worried that Leon might have killed me?
“Thank god,” Tal groans, walking closer to me. “Leon told me to check on you. He said he lost control, so I…” Tal shakes his head and stops himself mid-sentence, looking somewhat guilty about the entire situation.
I nod as Tal steps in front of me and pries my hand from my neck. I watch him bring his wrist to his lips, bite it, and then offer it to me as my eyes widen in disbelief. Did he just…?
“Drink it. It will heal you,” Tal explains.
I gape at Tal, appalled, but he just thrusts his wrist toward me, and only then do I realize he is a hybrid. How had I not noticed that before? Then again, I never really paid much attention to Tal.
“You’re a hybrid?” I gasp, and stare at him as if Tal is a unicorn, despite just being fed on by Leon, who is also a Hybrid. Yet I never pictured Tal being one.
“I told you, Leon is my cousin,” He mutters and rolls his eyes at me.
“Yeah, but I just thought you were a werewolf.”
He shakes his head. “Easier this way. No one really likes vamps now, do they? Would you even think of working here if you knew I’m a hybrid?”