I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up. As his story unfolded, I found myself wishing – for his sake – that I had never asked.

CHAPTER 8: BEN

As we strolled over the white sands beautifully complementing the clear blue ocean water, I told Sofia my story, not bothering to mention that by making me recount my tale, she was forcing me to live out the horrors of The Shade all over again.

I was distraught. I once again let Sofia down. Ditching her on her birthday for Tanya – total babe that she was – was on top of my growing list of screw ups when it came to the best friend I always managed to take for granted. It felt awful to see the hurt look in Sofia’s eyes, but I figured she’d take a walk and get over it. After all, I knew that sooner or later, she would forgive me. She always did.

I sneaked into her hotel room just before the break of dawn the next day, fully expecting her to still be in bed, with my five-year-old sister, Abby, snuggled against her. I was disappointed to find my mom lying beside Abby. It was clear to see that my mom was pissed off about something, because even while asleep, she had a firm scowl on her face.

I shook her awake. “Mom, where’s Sofia?”

She blinked several times and frowned at me. “I have no idea where she is. What time is it? She was supposed to be here. Abby was terrified about having to sleep here alone.”

“Perhaps she just went out for a walk or something…”

“At this hour? What’s gotten into her?”

“I’ll find her,” I responded, starting to feel worse about what I did – or didn’t do – to Sofia the night before. It was unlike her to just run off. Between the two of us, she’d always been the more responsible one.

Worried sick and knowing that I’d been a complete jerk to her, I set out to the beach to look for her. I walked about half a mile down the shore line before realizing that I was wasting my time. If Sofia wanted to be found, I would find her. I kept trying to call her phone, but just kept getting her voice mail. I was ready to turn back when I bumped into a gorgeous blonde girl, wearing – of all things – a black leather jumpsuit.

She approached me, looking at me from head to foot, a sultry look in her eyes.

“I’m Claudia. You are?”

Distracted by how beautiful she was, I forgot about my quest to find Sofia. I flashed my best smile, all of a sudden also forgetting my obsession with Tanya.

“I’m Ben.”

To my surprise, she grabbed my neck and pulled my head down as she faced me for a kiss. It was arguably the best kiss I’d ever had. When our lips parted, she smiled. It was that smile that told me something was wrong, because aside from the fact that everything about her smile hinted madness, fangs suddenly protruded from both sides of her upper lip.

“You’re perfect,” she hissed before stabbing me in the neck with a sharp syringe. It took mere seconds for me to fall to the ground, unconscious. The last sound that registered in my mind from that early morning was the laughter and childlike quality in her voice when she said, “I’m going to have so much fun playing with you, Ben.”

When I came to, I found myself in a large bed, my wrists cuffed to the bedposts. She was on top of me, kissing my neck, my shoulders… I was so much larger than her, and yet I felt helpless and completely at her mercy.

“What are you doing? Who are you? Where am I?”

She chuckled.

“Ohh … So many questions, my pet.”

I grimaced at the word she used, turning my mouth away from her when she tried to kiss me. Obviously irritated, she grabbed my head with both her hands before forcing a kiss on me. When our lips parted, she cocked her head to the side and pouted.

“You ought to be thankful that I’m in such a nice mood, because I’ve decided to answer your questions … What am I doing? I’m kissing you. Who am I? I’m Claudia, your mistress. Where are you? You’re in my bedroom.”

Her lips and her hands were all over me and all I could think about was the way she smiled at me back at the beach before I lost consciousness. “You’re a vampire.” Saying the words out loud made me feel absolutely insane.

“Smart boy…” she straddled my waist and propped herself up over my chest as she looked down at me, the same manic smile on her face. “Now, I want you to shut up.” She gagged me, and then she sank her teeth down my neck, drinking my blood for the first time.

Once satiated, she lifted her head, my blood dripping from the corners of her lips. “You’re as sweet as he was. The Duke…” Claws protruded from her fingers and she began to trace one of them over my torso. “Do you have any idea what he put me through?”

Of course not, you insane bitch… I fought the urge to scream when her claws sank into my skin, drawing blood. The way her eyes lit up with delight at the sight of my blood was sickening.

“My mother was a whore you know… We were so poor and she was so sick, so she decided to sell me to The Duke. I was only six years old.” She began running her hand through my hair before gripping a clump of it with a tight fist. “You remind me so much of him.”

My heart sank at this revelation.

I felt myself inside her, every fiber of my being urged back, struggling against the restraints she kept me in, struggling against the degradation she was putting me through. All of it for nothing.

She slapped me with the back of her hand as she chuckled. “I struggled too you know. I screamed and clawed and fought back, but he had his way with me still. He always got his way. I’m going to have my way with you too.”