"Tell me their names so that I can track their families down and destroy them," she hissed, her claws coming out and eyes going bloodshot.
Her fangs emerged and ears went pointed as a red aura of rage emanated from her.
"No," Alaric grunted, crossing his arms. "I don't think that's a smart idea. Besides, that was before I even met you."
Her rage stopped abruptly, along with all related effects. "What do you mean by that?"
"Before we—well, now you say we're exclusive, whatever that means."
"And that should include the past! But yes, it means that you must stop throwing yourself at women so aggressively, and that you belong to me and I belong to you. We are bloodbonded, and perhaps it's that which has given us complex feelings for one another, but I intend to follow them to their
logical conclusion."
Alaric's brow furrowed. "Again, I take issue with the wisdom in this plan."
She crossed her arms and struck a haughty pose that would have looked impressive if not for all the sheets and towels wrapped around her.
"Take issue with what you want. I am Countess Vladira Noctyra, Descendant of Dracula—Ruler of the Dark Realm. No one can keep me from what I want—even if it's a Voss."
"So. This is you telling me that you'd like to…court me," he said, feeling sweat pooling under his chin.
Vladira looked away shyly. "Well—I just…I think maybe we could…see what happens. Maybe we can hook up a TV later and rent a movie and…go with the flow?"
Blood was currently flowing to his penis, Alaric noted, and he'd very much like to go with that particular flow.
Still, he knew that heading down this road with his sworn enemy was a bad idea. But he had to confess—the power of the bloodbond was getting to him as well.
Every time he looked at her, she seemed even more lovable, and his forgotten penchant for insane women was more than satisfied by her displays of jealousy.
Oh, but the sex they would have.
He wouldn't have to hold back with her,
and she with him. And yet—as sexy and voluptuous as she was, it almost felt wrong having impure thoughts about her.
Not because she was an evil Vampire Queen—but because she was so cute.
He shook his head. "We'll revisit this later. We're burning daylight. I need your help—the City Clerk can fill my request for an ID but there's all this documentation I need which I obviously don't have."
"That's where I come in," she said, grinning, her fangs still out even though her claws and that malevolent aura was gone.
"Right," Alaric agreed with a single nod.
"However, it's only open until 4:30 PM. So—we have a problem."
She gasped. "I need to go out in daylight?!"
"Yes," he said. "Honestly, I'm not sure why that should surprise you. You look equipped to do so already." He gestured to her unusual ensemble of clothing and sheets.
She blushed. "That's different. This is my slut-murdering attire. We're going to a government office. Do you think they'll let me in like this?"
Alaric shrugged. "One way to find out."
As it turned out, they would, and did, let her in like that. Once Alaric mentioned that she had special needs due to a rare skin allergy, they stopped asking questions, but security seemed to keep a close eye on them.
The woman at the desk was named Gertrude and was apparently too old for Dira to consider a threat to her claim on Alaric.
He explained all the items that they would need help with, and used her mesmerism to
make sure that they accepted every excuse he gave as to why he didn't have any form of ID at all.
Waiting in line took about an hour, but once they were in front of Gertrude, the process really only took another thirty minutes.
They left with temporary IDs for Alaric, including a Social Security Card and a State ID.
Alaric rushed Vladira back to the motel room and unwrapped the bedsheets to inspect her, but of course she was fine.
He didn't feel any burning or pain himself, after all.
Vladira looked up at him, lying on her back against the bed as his hand ran up and down her body looking for places where her protection hadn't been enough.
"I'm fine," she muttered shyly.
"I know," he said. "I'm just being thorough."
He got up and looked at the door. "Get some rest. I'll be back soon. I'm going to fill out the job application for the Pump N' Go and drop it off."
She nodded at him, watching carefully. "Oh—about the TV. I'll call Charlotte and see if she can help me hook it up."
Alaric looked back at her, his brow arched. "And then what?"
"And then…snuggle on the bed and watch a movie with me?" she proposed, batting her lashes and smiling sweetly. "It'll be the first movie either of us sees. Aren't you curious what they're like?"
He smirked. "We'll see," he told her, unable to refuse her outright, though he knew he should.
He left and closed the door behind him, then headed to the gas station to drop off the job application. He had no idea just how well
he'd ace the interview.
———ALARIC POV
The monster hunter was starting to feel more like a former monster hunter than anything else.
There was something dark and dreadful about filling out the job application to a gas station and handing it over to the spiky-haired man he'd met the first night.
It was quite the downgrade from his former position.
Justin looked its contents over and shrugged at Tammy.
"Under former employers you wrote The Bloodbane Order" he noted. "Under years
employed, you wrote years in the 1700s."
"Mine is a complicated story," Alaric said, furrowing his brow. "I realize it may not seem credible on my face, but—"
A shout rang out that silenced everything.
"Everybody down!" The man who spoke those words was a nervous but aggressive youngster.
He let the words go from the top of his lungs, drawing the ire of the monster hunter and a startled shriek from Tammy.
"Oh fuck, Justin! We're being robbed!" she shouted, and she hit the ground on her belly.