Chapter 1 — MY ALPHA MATE

It had been raining heavily.

The nice after smell of petrichor would excite any vampire. Our senses were sharp, sharper than the average humans. It was why I was able to perceive the scent of every human that used our town. Humans were not supposed to use our town, little did they know that this quiet, small town harboured only blood drinking occupants.

I had no memories of myself, I had just woken up in a dusty attic decorated with cobwebs. I could hear my own heart beating from inside my chest. I could see the other vampires that I woke up to live with, through the wooden walls. It was like I had developed the sense of a bat.

Although I couldn't remember much about myself, the remainder of my memories came to me in short flashes. Those flashes usually brought a strong sense of nausea with them.

I remembered some of it very vividly, the pain, the numbness, the pungent smell of unknown chemicals and medicines that always hung in the air, the constant urge to vomit, the constant wish for death. Yet the doctors came every day to tell me that death wasn't coming soon, wearing a smile on their faces.

I remembered the stiff face of the emaciated boy that was very pale it was fair to call him stack white, as he breathed out his last and I couldn't help but feel envious of him; why would death pick him over me? My cancer had spread far beyond his yet he died first. It was only till when the doctors rushed to his bed and picked up his drip cord that it all made sense. He had removed his drip cord and let himself die.

Dying was preferable than living in that condition anyway. After they took his body away and night fell I had decided to do just the same. The moment the lights in the ward went out, I had said my final prayers; begging God to forgive me for what I was about to do, pulled the needle out of my left hand and waited patiently for death to come.

I remember smiling, I had been happy that soon enough the pain would end. My heart had skipped a beat, then two, then three, and then I was suffocating. It was a rather torturous state and the thought that I had made a mistake crossed my chaotic mind. I had almost started to reach for the cord that was dangling at my side when I chastened myself with the thought of dying a noble death, rather than begging for life and regretting my mistake like a pathetic coward.

The feeling of suffocation came to a stop and then I had felt myself loosing grip on consciousness. If this is what death felt like, then I was more than glad to die. I had let a small smile creep its way onto my face. And as I was finally being pulled away into oblivion the image of my mother had crossed my mind and then just in that moment, I wanted to live again.

Then I felt like I was being drowned for very long time before I sprung to wake in that old attic.

The first time I saw Jhan I attacked him. He lifted me to the air and slammed my back to the floor boards. His dark skin was even darker and colder than mine. He told me everything I needed to know about my new life as a vampire. I listened in like a child that was being told an intriguing fable. So far I knew that I was in a clan of five. Five vampires like me. I had half identified them as I peered through the walls when they returned from their unknown destinations at night.

There were three males including myself and two females. Jereum, a rough looking male, seemed to be younger than Jhan. He had a rough beard shave and always wore a black jacket. Tia seemed to be a teenage girl who liked reading romance novels and Leya was just a child, the girl seemed to be a twelve year old at least.

Today I was lolling in an alley, the surrounding apartments were all empty. No humans in this small town. Just vampires. The cold air of morning bit at my dry skin yet no goosebumps rose. My bones felt like steel rods, twisting in my arm every time I moved my muscles. It was like I was remade out of flesh-like sand and steel bones. The blood that flowed through my veins was almost as light as air. My injuries healed almost instantly now and had realized sometime ago that I did not need light to see. I could hear the slightest sounds bounce off near objects and I used that to navigate my way. It was like I was human-bat.

The first time I perceived blood, it was like a burst of bright colours exploded behind my eyes. The metallic smell had never smelt so nice to me. I perceived it off the jacket Jereum wore, at that instant I had wanted to lick it off his clothes.

I hadn't seen anyone of my clans except Jhan (who was our clan leader) and Jereum who seemed to be our soldier. Tia and Leya only came home when I was in my attic-room. Tia's voice was loud and high pitched, she laughed a lot and liked to pick childish bickers with Jereum, who mostly ignored her. I had only heard Leya's voice once. It woke me from sleep, somehow she had called my name from her room. I had heard her voice through the walls. It was like a faint whisper that sailed on the air.

Unlike humans vampires rarely fell in love, but when they did the vampire they fell in love with is their alpha mate for life. Although some other vampires that easily showed emotions were dubbed abnormals.

I was only allowed to walk around the block. The quiet empty block. Jhan had warned me not to go any further so I don't cause a clan war. Our neighbour clan was a clan of all males, Jereum hated them more than he hated me. The boy had a resentment against me I could not understand.

The scent hit me like a warm cloud. Savoury and light. I inhaled slowly. Taking my head back in the pleasure. All my nerves relaxed under the warm cloud, I had only tasted this kind of sweet smell when I perceived the dried blood from Jereum's jacket. But this time it was different. The scent didn't make me crave like an animal, instead it made me calm like a child. It was fading, slowly being replaced by the thinner cold air around me.

I needed it. Whatever it was I knew where it was coming from. The wind had brought it into my nose. It if I could follow that trail I could locate the source. I moved quickly but quietly towards the beginning of the alley. The scent was getting stronger with every step I took, and with every ounce of it I took in I only wanted more.

I started to a jog, whatever was bringing the scent was just at the entrance to this dirt alley. I needed to get to it fast, as a vampire my senses were sharp. I could perceive even the slightest odours or fragrances from very far distances.

The scent hit me again, slower this time. I retorted at it. Slowing down my jog to a speed walk. It was becoming even stronger as I was almost at the alley entrance.

I stepped onto the main road. No cars. No people. No vampires, but just that scent... I felt the gentle push at my back. My vampire instincts kicked in and I swilled on the spot. The bright colours from before exploded again behind my eyes. Reds and yellows, blues and greens. I was staring at an angel, a beautiful angel. She fell slowly, I cocked my head to the side. It was like someone had hit the slow motion button on her.

I saw her heart thump in her chest. I saw her eyes slowly moving to my face. Everything happened so slowly. I could walk around her while she fell and she would have only fell about a foot lower to the ground.

Slowly I put my hand around her waist and anchored her back up. Whatever instinct that was working on me before had dissipated now. She took in her breath in short gasps, her golden strands over her face as adjusted her vision.

"Where did you...?" Her eyes met mine and I watched her pupils dilate within her light blue eyes.

The scent from before clouded over my nose now. It was then that I realized it was her all along. She was the source of the scent that made me feel like a dozen butterflies had been allowed to flutter in my stomach. This feeling was one that made you want to be with someone you had just met.

"Are you alright?" I asked, seeing that she was just staring at my face blankly.

"Um. Yeah. I'm good... Who are you?"

Her voice was warm, silky and smooth.

"I'm Kaldar."

"Where did you come from?" Her eyes did not shift from mine. The singlet she wore was wet with sweat. Her sweat. She had been jogging. I spotted an MP3 player lying a few feet from where she stood.

Quickly I grabbed it before handing it over to her, but she didn’t take it.

"Sorry I... I didn't see you there." I focused my dark pools into her blue ocean.

"No no. I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

This was not a vampire. Vampires did not sweat. Or breath, except out of habit. Our heart rate was always at a very slow pace it was as if it wasn't even beating unless we raise it by working.

This was a girl. A human girl. And her scent was the most relaxing thing I had ever breathed in.

But I had seen her before. I had once spied her from my attic window some days ago when she was on a jog. She spotted me and waved but I ducked under the windowsill. Since the first day I saw her I knew she had had an influence over me. And influence I had wondered why could be. I was a vampire and she was a human. Jhan had told me that bonds like this were outlawed and punishable by death.

"Okay Kaldar. I'm Dawn."

"Dawn? Like the brink of morning?"

She smiled slowly or I just saw it that way. With a pink tipped finger she brushed away a few stray strands of hair from her face and looked at the ground.

"Do you live here?" If what Jhan had said was right she was supposed to be living at the end of this town. Where the human town began. A town I was warned against going into.

“No I…”

I stared into her eyes; it was like our mere eye contact took her breath away.

She shook her head slowly before looking at anywhere on my face but my eyes.

“I’ll see you around.” She collected the device from my outstretched hand, plugged the buds into her ear, gave me one last glance before she continued on her jog away, carrying her sweet scent her.

I stared after her, wondering why a human had had such an influence over me. Was this the feeling I had been told I would never experience again? I looked at her golden hair, the way it swished at her back.

I had to get back home, the others may soon return.

But I couldn't stop thinking about it. Was this human girl my alpha mate?

Was this love?