Chapter 3 #2
Her obsession with vampires was a part of her identity. Just like Tammy accepted me for who I was and overlooked the parts of me I didn’t share with her, I accepted her quirky vampire tendencies.
Tammy admired the idea of immortality and found a social circle of friends who regularly got together to pretend to be vampires. Once she saw I wasn’t as excited about vamp-ish things, she didn’t ask me to attend another party.
But Tammy didn’t know how deadly, cruel, and ruthless real vampires were. If she knew, she wouldn’t want to be like them.
Tammy sucked on her straw and finished her sugary cold drink in a matter of minutes. She slid her empty cup to the side of the table and rummaged in her small black purse hanging on the side of the chair.
“You don’t have to wear the fangs or drink the red drinks, Bree… Wait, it’s somewhere here,” she muttered, pulling out a sealed package of glow-in-the-dark fake fangs.
I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry, so I sighed.
“I’m partnering with a vendor to sell these in my cafe for Halloween.
” Tammy stopped fidgeting with the small package and looked me straight in the eye.
“Okay, then, how about this is the last time? The only time you come with me there. For my birthday. After all, I was meant to be born a vampire since my birthday fell on Halloween.”
Tammy knew nothing about her birth parents, who dropped her off as a baby at an orphanage. She didn’t search for them. She didn’t talk about them. But I could feel that she was hurting deep down.
Every year around Halloween, her birthday, she became moodier and more emotional, and she would come up with ideas about short trips, going to the movies or parties to distract herself. I wouldn’t let her spend that special day by herself.
Tammy was the sister I never had. But I couldn’t ever truly tell her how much she meant to me.
My friend was always ready to lend an ear and share my joys and sorrows, but I couldn’t fully share myself.
I was forbidden to talk about the existence of supernaturals—a rule every supernatural had to follow.
I exhaled loudly. “Fine, but I’m not dressing up as anything.”
“You can even come in your work clothes. Guys love a sexy librarian look.”
I for sure wasn’t telling her about the magic book. I’d only pique her interest in the supernatural. In her enthusiasm, Tammy could accidentally tell someone my secret. History showed that humans often put a negative spin on all supernatural stuff, making all supernaturals sound evil.
But there were also people, like Tammy, who were drawn to the idea of immortality and thought it was cool and appealing, although it was a curse with a high price.
The werewolves believed our reality was the mortal, physical realm, so the immortal vampires had no place in it and should be eliminated.
Vampires, however, believed the mortal realm should have been the immortal realm. The Vampire Queen’s long-term plans involved vampires coming out of hiding, compelling the humans, and turning them into their food and slaves.
My father still stood as the only obstacle to this crazy woman’s plans.
Centuries ago, all Alphas of the five territories in the country and the werewolf King were on good terms with the vampire King. But around the sixteenth century, a newly created young vampire, Victoria, seduced and killed the vampire King and forcefully proclaimed herself the vampire Queen.
Every werewolf was taught she’d risen to the top using vicious methods and violated the peace treaty, declaring war on all werewolves.
I didn’t know why this woman was so bitter and ruthless besides the obvious reason that she was crazy. She hadn’t grown tired of attacking the packs and the werewolf kingdom for hundreds of years.
Dad said villainy and immortality went hand in hand because the vampires didn’t value life as much as the mortal werewolves and humans did.
As the only heir to my royal family, I was expected to become the next werewolf Queen and deal with Victoria’s tantrums. But I was defective. How could a mere human stand against a psycho vampire woman?
Her attacks had changed from being in the open to quiet battles in the shadows, taking us out one by one.
Because the vampire Queen turned out to be the villain of the supernatural world, my dad and my grandparents decided to ensure werewolves wouldn’t live their lives by manipulating humans, cheating, or starting fights like our enemy.
With the help of all five Alphas, they created a culture of humanity, courage, temperance, pride, and trustworthiness.
These guiding principles were taught to every young pup in the kingdom and were painted on canvas and hung in Dad’s boardroom as a constant reminder.
“Bree? Bree? I lost you there.” Tammy smiled when I finally looked at her. “You usually daydream like that when you have a book in your hand.”
“Let’s go, missy.” I stood and held my unfinished latte in my hand. “If you want me to go to that club with you, you’ll have to do something in exchange.”
Tammy groaned exaggeratedly and picked up her empty cup. On the way to the stairs, she threw it in the recycle bin. We started to climb to the tenth floor.
“You never want to come work out with me, so this is your punishment for making me go with you to the fake vampy club,” I said and let out an evil laugh.
But the truth was Dad would be disappointed with me if he knew I didn’t train as rigorously as I did back in the kingdom. I had embraced the human life, and that excluded the type of brutal training Dad had put me through in the past.
Tammy giggled in between her huffing and puffing and stopped at the fourth floor. She leaned on the rails and took a deep breath.
“Will you have time to help me with the invitations for my birthday party? It’ll be at the same club.” She paused to take another breather, placing her hand on her chest right over the bug necklace. “Your calligraphy skills are mad, girl.”
I snapped my gaze to hers. “What club? I thought we were celebrating your birthday now at that other club. You’ll have another party there?”
“Yeah, but since it’s Halloween, I’ll invite the gang to the club to celebrate both. It’s only fitting,” she said and straightened up, ready to start her climb again.
“What was the name of it again?” I asked as we slowly put one foot in front of the other.
“Crimson Sunburn Nightclub.”
Halloween was celebrated around the world, not only by humans but also by supernaturals. They’d use any excuse to drink and have a party. In that regard, I wasn’t so different from the werewolves.
My parents used to spend the kingdom’s resources, against my protests, to decorate the manor. I suspected my royal parents wanted to do “human” things with me.
But no matter the holiday or the celebration, the King would use any opportunity to talk to the werewolves about our enemy.
He would first start his spiel about Halloween as a celebration of life.
He would emphasize next that we celebrated Halloween to remind ourselves how precious life was and how death was imminent—even for werewolves who lived longer than humans.
And finally, the King’s speech would always return to the topic of vampires—the immortal supernaturals who had no regard for the value of life.
But before the reign of the vampire Queen, the werewolves and vampires co-existed in peace. So what happened to the vampire Queen to brainwash her vampire followers to believe werewolves were the enemy?
When Dad was younger, thirty years ago, he led the last war against the vampire Queen after being fed up with the killing of his species. The problem seemed deeper than just some competition for power.
I read in some mythology books that the werewolves were created first as uncontrollable monsters, and the vampires were later created to counter these beasts.
On the tenth floor, I turned around to find the space empty. Tammy’s heavy footsteps echoed closer, and when she appeared at the bottom of the last stretch, she grinned at me.
When we made it to my office, Tammy flopped on a chair and dropped her purse on the floor.
“I’d be delighted to do the invitations. What do you want them to say?” I asked.
“Bite and drink. Costumes required.”
I laughed and shook my head. I walked to my desk, picked up my bag, and let my fingertips feel the book inside.
“Gosh, everything is about vampires,” I said. “Why don’t you want to be a werewolf?”
Tammy sprawled her body on the chair and let her head drop back.
“Why would I want to be hairy? I pay money to wax my hair, not to have more,” she said in a sassy tone. “Also, werewolves are not immortal.”
I scoffed at her remark, and she bobbed her head to look at me with raised eyebrows.
“Oh, I feel like you have a story to tell.” She giggled and straightened up in the chair.
“Stop mocking me. These are good stories.”
“I know, but if you talk less about mythology, it’ll be for the best, girl. The guys would rather look at your C-cup boobs than listen to your vast knowledge.” She laughed.
“Their loss.” I shrugged. “According to ancient Greek mythology, twelve gods and goddesses sat atop Mount Olympus. No one knows where the humans came from, and everyone believes different stories.”
I breathed in deeply. “It’s the same with supernaturals. The gods created magic, having realized that people are in for a lot of grief, heartache, and trouble. Feeling remorseful, the gods invented magic power to help humans ward off the harsh blows of fate.”
I paused for a more dramatic effect. “So you see, the supernatural creatures used to assist humans with agriculture and hunting and, in exchange, shared the living space—Earth, the mortal realm.”
Tammy’s eyes brightened, and I could tell she deliberated something in her head.
“You always make the humans sound so weak. But how about if the humans could be more like vampires—strong and fast and never getting sick?”