First Bite (Darkwood Manor Series) Read online

  Surprise

  “Good morning Darkwood, rise and shine. Classes start in one hour,” a loud voice says waking me out of a deep, peaceful sleep.

  I groan and get out of bed. Glancing at the clock I want to scream. Six in the morning?! I shake my head and look at a closed door. I didn’t get a chance to look around my room last night; it has dark blue walls with a white swirly pattern. It's beautiful, the curtains are white lace and they touch the floor. I walk over to the window, and I look out over a lake.

  The lake has white swans on it, and one large black one. I have never seen swans before, and they are quite beautiful.

  I sigh and look away. Animals don’t like me. They usually try to attack me, and all birds like to go for my eyes. Glancing at the closet I walk towards it. My mouth drops when I open it, it's not a closet it's a small bathroom with a shower.

  After a nice hot shower, I stare in the mirror at myself. I curl my long pink hair in thick curls, and my makeup is almost bare besides my eyes. I added black eye liner, and black mascara to make my blue eyes brighter.

  When I walk out I notice a uniform on my bed, and wonder who brought it in here. I pick up the red and black plaid skirt, and smile. It's cute, and I look at the black polo shirt it has the logo, Darkwood Manor, in white. I smile and get dressed.

  Walking out of my room I smooth my skirt, and the hem sits right above my knees. A large oil painting catches my eye, and its dark reds and dark blues show the beautiful Darkwood Manor. The next large painting is of a man’s portrait with the name plate, Jackson Wood. Slowly I make my way down the black carpet which lines the white staircase. I stop on the last stair and glance around. There are about thirty people standing around. The chattering from the students standing around seems to be echoing off the white and black marbled floor. The walls down here have swirly wallpaper, the background a beautiful dark red and the swirls are a bright white. My gaze goes to Jason as he’s talking to another guy. Forcing myself to look away from him I see someone that takes my breath away, and before I know it I’m running towards him.

  Feeling everyone’s eyes on me, I don’t care. He’s here and that’s all that matters to me right now.

  “Nathan!” I yell loudly and he turns around. He only has a second to react before I crash into him. He wraps his arms around me and I bury my face into his chest. He smells like lilies and home. I just hope he takes my mind off of killing Jason.

  “Honey it has only been less than a day since you saw me last,” he says and chuckles.

  “I don’t care.” He holds me tightly against his chest.

  I move my face away from his chest, and he puts his arm around me. Jason is standing in front of us eyeing Nathan and I. “We don’t get too many new students, and I take it that you two know each other.”

  Nathan kisses the top of my head, and Jason tries to hide his glare but I saw it anyways. “I couldn’t stay away from Victoria.” I bite my bottom lip to keep from smiling.

  Jason looks at me and I gasp. He seems to be able to look into my soul, and it makes my heart ache.

  “I see,” he says, and then looks back at Nathan. “Let me be the second to greet you. I am Jason Kaye. Welcome to Darkwood.”

  Jason puts out his hand for Nathan, and with his other hand Nathan shakes it. “Thank you, I am happy to be here.” Jason's eyes flick to mine for a quick second.

  “We need to get to our first class,” Jason says and turns around, leaving me and Nathan.

  I look at him and he grins down at me. “Surprised?” he asks.

  I nod and hug him tightly again. “What are you doing here?” I ask. The reason he couldn’t come before was because his family couldn’t afford it.

  “I called your mother last night after we got off the phone. I told her I was worried about you and she said she was too. I asked her if she could get me in, and she said it would be best.”

  I move away from him and stare at him dumbfounded. “Really, she said that?” I know my mother saw my reaction to Jason, but she didn’t seem that worried about it.

  “Yeah, but I think we need to get to class.” Nathan says, and when I look around, we are the last two. I nod and we walk to where we can see some other people walking into a room.

  The learning part of Darkwood is hard. It's advanced and I can already tell I’m going to need help in all of my classes. It's not like a normal school where you have lunch in the middle of the day; we have it after all the classes are over. We sit in one large classroom with a large white board in the front of the bright white classroom. I didn’t get a chance to look at what is hanging on the walls.

  Nathan and I were one of the last to enter the classroom. Every hour a new teacher would come in and teach a different subject. I guess it was easier this way rather than us being late to classes because we were fooling around in the hallways.

  After our first day of school being done, Nathan and I walk into the large dining room. There is a buffet style set up for lunch, and he drags me over to it. “Why are you acting like I’m your girlfriend?” I ask when he hands me a tray.

  “Well you need to stay away from him, so if I have to take one for the team I will.” He says as he scoops something that I think is meat on to his and my tray.

  “What if you have to kiss me?” I ask and he looks up.

  Nathan winks at me. “Well I can't say I have never thought about kissing you.” I nearly drop my tray, and look at him with my mouth open and eyes wide. Nathan laughs. “Don't worry your pretty head. That was a long time ago.”

  I shake my head and walk towards a table. I can eat real food, but I don’t need it. I can smell Jason before he says anything, and reach under the table for Nathan's hand for support.

  “Do you guys mind if we sit with you?” Jason’s now familiar voice asks from behind, and a shiver runs through me.

  I tighten my hand around Nathan's, and he groans. He turns his head to look behind us, and I see a grin on his face. “We don’t mind, do we honey?”

  Ripping my hand away, I shake my head to answer my best friend.

  Jason sits down with a boy. He has the same dark hair as Jason, but he has hazel-green eyes. “This is my cousin Kenny Kaye. Kenny, this is Victoria and Nathan.”

  Kenny smiles at me, but turns his attention to Nathan. “It's nice to meet you.” He says to Nathan.

  “It is,” Nathan says, as a slow smile appears on his face. I glance up at Jason as he’s watching Nathan and Kenny.

  I bite my bottom lip to hide my smile. I can tell my best friend has a crush on Kenny.

  “So how long have you two been together?” Kenny asks Nathan, and I look at him to see what he will say.

  Nathan looks at me, and I raise an eyebrow. He puts his hand on my mine and squeezes it. “We aren’t together. I’m her best friend.”

  Jason looks at me.

  “Plus I’m not your type,” I say, and Nathan tightens his hand around mine.

  “Honey, you are every man's type,” Nathan says. I look at him and he winks. I just shake my head, as I glance at Jason. He is staring at me like he is trying to figure out the meaning of life. “But don’t get me wrong, I love Victoria and I will make sure she is doing well. She is my responsibility.”

  I slowly turn my attention back to him, and rip my hand away. I can't believe he said that. “I'm your responsibility? That's what you think of me?”

  Nathan's face softens, and he tries to put his arm around me. Standing up, I glare at him. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  I nod at him. “You did, I can't be trusted on my own, right?” I feel like he betrayed me, and he doesn’t trust me. “All of sudden I’m not hungry anymore,” I look at Jason and Kenny. “It was nice meeting you Kenny, and I will see you later Jason.”

  I look back at Nathan, and his face is blank. I know he does this when he doesn’t want me to see his emotions. “Don't follow me. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

  As I walk away I know Jason is watching me, so I rush
to my bedroom to my bags of blood. The taste of Jason is still really strong in my mouth. I hope the blood will take away his scent. Opening my cooler I sigh, because there are only five bags left to last me the rest of the week. The way I’m going, they will only last a couple of days.

  I decide to drink only half of a bag now, and save the rest for later. I jump when I hear a knock at my door.

  “Coming!” I yell, as I close the blood bag and put it back in the cooler.

  I am shocked to see Jason standing there. He grins at me, and holds out an orange for me. “You didn’t eat anything, and we aren’t allowed to take anything besides fruit out of the dining room.” I can't stop my smile, or my heart from swelling.

  “Thank you.” I say as I reach for the orange, but before I can pull away he grabs my hand. I gasp as soon as he touches me, and feel the strongest urge to sink my fangs into his neck and suck until I feel his pulse grow weak.

  “Meet me tonight,” Jason whispers, as his eyes stare through me. I am about to say no, but he moves closer. I force myself to hold my breath. “There is something about you that intrigues me. Please meet me tonight.”

  I stare in his bright green eyes. I know this is a bad idea, and I know I should tell him to get lost, but I can't. I want to be around him, and I just hope I don’t end up killing him.

  I nod to answer his question.

  “Great. Meet me at midnight, at the lake.” When Jason smiles it lights up his whole face, and it makes him even more beautiful.

  He is the first man I ever thought was truly breath-taking beautiful. “Lake. Midnight. Got it.” I can't help but smile at him.

  “I can't wait to get to know you Victoria Eden,” Jason says and walks away.

  I shut my door, and lean my head against it. I can't believe I agreed to meet Jason at midnight, and be alone with him. I feel wetness run down my arm, and look at what could be causing it. I squeezed the orange, and the juice is running down my arm. I toss the orange in the trash and walk into my bathroom to clean up.

  I change into a pair of my favorite low rise, light blue jeans, and a white shirt with quarter length sleeves. There are three buttons on the shirt that I normally leave undone.

  I know I should tell Nathan about me meeting Jason alone, but he would stop me. I glance at the clock, and I have four hours until midnight.

  Chapter Three

  Midnight Meeting

  Sneaking out of the mansion, I head towards the beautiful lake. From what I saw at my window, it’s huge, and has a single light wooden dock that goes about ten feet out. I know I’m breaking a few of Mr. Martin's rules, but I don’t care.

  As I get closer I can see Jason, and he has his back to me. I have had a few boyfriends, but I haven’t felt anything like I’m feeling for him.

  Before I left my room I drank two full bags, and really hope that it helps with my blood lust. I take a deep breath and walk towards him. He must have heard me coming, because he turns around and gives me a big welcoming smile. His eyes seem to be glowing in the moonlight.

  “You came,” Jason says, and I raise one of my eyebrows at him.

  “I told you I would be here,” I say and move to stand next to him. I look at the lake and see hundreds of fireflies flying above the water. The glowing white moon is low and full, and looks like it’s coming out of the lake. “This is beautiful,” I say, and look into his brilliant green eyes. He is watching me and all I can see is the bright, round, full moon reflecting in his exceptional eyes.

  “That you are,” he says, and I can feel myself blushing. “My room faces the lake, and I come out here to be alone. I love how the fireflies look on the lake.” Jason moves closer to me as he talks.

  I try to think about anything besides how tasty he smells. I look at him and can feel my panic rising. “Jason, I shouldn’t be here,” I say, as he moves closer to me.

  He smiles at me, and I hold my breath.

  “Are you sure about that?” Jason brushes my hair away from my face, and leaves his hand on my cheek. My heart races as he moves even closer to me. His green eyes seem brighter with the full moon.

  “Jason,” is all I can say before his lips are on mine. I know I should push him away, and I know I shouldn't be kissing him, but I don’t do any of those things. I wrap my arms around his neck and I groan when I feel his tongue conquering my mouth.

  The moment his tongue finds mine I immediately regret it. He tastes better than he smells, and I move away from him gasping for air. That was the stupidest idea I’ve ever had, I can still taste him on my lips.

  “Victoria, are you okay?” Jason asks, and I move farther away from him. I turn my back to him so he won’t see my eyes turning bright red with my blood lust.

  I started wishing that I listened to Nathan and stayed away from Jason. I shouldn’t be out here. I need my best friend to help me calm down before I tear out his throat.

  “Jason can you get Nathan for me?”

  “Seriously? You want your best friend, right now?” I don’t miss the hurt in his voice. I want to hold him, and tell him that I don’t mean it, that I want to be kissing him. But that isn’t completely true. I want to drain his blood.

  “Please,” I beg him.

  Jason doesn’t say anything for a couple of minutes, and I don’t want to turn around.

  “I have never been interested in anyone here at Darkwood, and I’ve never brought anyone out here. This is my special spot.” When I hear him walking away, I can feel my tears threatening to break free. I feel bad that he doesn’t know why I’m pushing him away, and it's for his own good. The image of me killing him is still very fresh in my mind.

  I close my eyes and concentrate on breathing. A huge part of me wants to tell Jason that I’m sorry, and start to kiss him again, but I know I won't stop with kissing. I will kill him. When his tongue was in my mouth I wanted to bite it and let the blood drip down my throat. I would have, if I didn’t pull away, and now my head and stomach hurt.

  I drop to my knees, and cradle my head in my hands. I welcome the cool wetness soaking into my jeans. I wonder if this is what my father went through when he was drinking out of a bag, and not a human.

  “Victoria!” I nearly cry when I hear Nathan's voice. He will help me and keep Jason away. “Oh my God what did you do to her?” Nathan isn’t a violent man, but when it comes to me, he just might be.

  “I didn’t do anything,” Jason says, sounding confused and a little angry.

  “Nathan,” I say and start choking. I feel warn familiar arms wraps around me.

  “It’s okay honey. I’m here,” Nathan says, and I snuggle into his chest. “Are you completely out of your mind, or just a little?” he whispers into my ear.

  Nathan puts his arms under me and picks me up into his arms. “Thanks for getting me Jason.”

  As Nathan carries me away, I glance at Jason one last time, and he is staring at me. The beautiful lake is a deep blue, and the moon is shining down on Jason like he is some kind of angel.

  Back in my room, Nathan hands me another take-out bag, and I suck it down. “Are you going to tell me why you’re out there with your temptation?” Nathan asks, and takes my hand in his.

  “I like him. I know I shouldn’t, and I know I need to stay away from him. But I don’t know if I can.” I pause and close my eyes. My craving for Jason isn’t bad right now. “Maybe I should call my mom and tell her I can't be here.”

  “That wouldn’t do much good for you. Your mother told me she was going out of town and wouldn’t be back until Sunday,” Nathan says, and I open my eyes. This is news to me. My mother didn’t tell me she was going out of town.

  “I didn’t know that,” I mumble, and he smiles.

  “Honey, are you going to tell me what happened to make you freak out like that?” I don’t want to answer him. I don’t want to hear him tell me how stupid I am for putting Jason in danger. “Victoria, tell me or I will ask Jason.”

  I sigh, and nod. “He kissed me,” I whisper, and won
der if he heard me.

  “You what?! You’ve got to be kidding me! Victoria, you have a blood lust for him, and you thought kissing him was a good thing?” Nathan shakes his head, and narrows his eyes on me. “What would you have done if you had killed him? Throw him in the6 middle of the lake?”

  My mouth drops open. After all of the years we’ve been friends, he should know me better than that. “I would never do that.”

  “You told me you would never kill a human like your dad. You said you don’t want to be a monster like him.” I flinch away. My father has killed many people, but I only saw it happen once. The memory still haunts me, and I will never forget what I saw. As the traumatic memory soaks in, I start to relive it.

  He took me out to a movie, and said he needed to stop somewhere on the way home. We walked into a store, and a man with salt and pepper hair stopped in front of us with a genuine smile on his face.

  “We are closing in five minutes,” the man said, and I glanced at my dad.

  “I would like to speak with you…alone please,” my dad said to the man, and he nodded. “Darling stay here I won't be long,” he told me, and I stood there in the empty store alone. I didn’t move or follow my father, not until I heard screaming.

  I ran down the hallway to the open office door. My father had the other man’s neck stretched as if it would have snapped at any moment; his teeth were buried deep into the man’s carotid artery. I began fighting my basic instincts, at the smell of the coppery gold my father had spilled. Bright crimson soaked into the man’s collar of his white button up shirt. The victim’s eyes were wide open in terror; his mouth was stuck in a silent scream. Tears stung the back of my eyes, and my gums throbbed as my fangs grew longer.

  I just stood there, frozen, but I must have made a noise because my father’s eyes popped open. I could see a smile while he was removing his mouth from the man's neck. He stared at me with bright, red eyes.

  I had never seen a vampire feed before, and watching my father made me sick but excited at the same time.

  I ran from the back office and away from my father. I ran out of the store and didn’t stop until I was down the street. I pulled out my cell phone to call my mother, but I knew that she would want to stake my father. I called the only person I knew who would help me, and be there for me. Nathan.