“Delicious…” The shadow stalking the hallow corridors spoke to himself. He had followed the human and her little posse for hours. Her smell was positively tantalizing! Just being in her general vicinity made his heart race! At one point he found a small puddle of sweat that was unmistakably hers, he bent down and licked it up lavishly. 

      That damn Seraphine! He grumbled just thinking about her. Slowly the man curled up in a small janitors closet, he was close to where they had hidden the human. It was foolish that they came back to the Stryx’s room, as if they were somehow safer there. He licked his lips just thinking about the woman’s blood, she was so close. 

      Soon…

      He let the darkness drape over him, his fingers scratched at the floor. The very first moment he saw her he knew he had to have her! Her blood was so pure…so rich! She should never have come here, his hands twitched. 

      It took every fibre of his being not to let himself go, to rush through the door and take her for himself! He knew the Seraphine was there, always watching. She had already tasted her blood! Power, real power, flowed through her veins. 

      But he was a patient creature, the shadow waited and watched quietly. Soon he knew chaos would give him an even greater advantage.    

 

…

     

      Rose couldn’t help but rub her eyes in pure frustration. Her head still throbbed but some color had finally returned to her cheeks. She hadn’t even truly digested the fact that Rebecca had feasted on her yet. Inner pragmatism stirred Rose to focus on one thing at a time, rather than tackle the terror of being a succulent smoothie for the blonde vampire. The trio had quickly vacated their room, grabbing their luggage with them, and travelled to the only other vampire they knew would not immediately report what happened to the ships security. Upon bursting in his room, Kyle was half naked and snoring loudly. His shattered window was covered by a trash bag and duct tape. Rebecca hovered over him while poking his forehead until he awoke in fright.

      After a fairly short introduction, and a couple awkward stares from Maggie, Kyle was brought up to speed with everything that happened. He wasn’t pleased.“So let me get this straight,” Kyle’s voice was brimming with suspicion. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed while facing the trio of women who had invaded his space mere moments ago. 

      Rose was surprised how quickly Rebecca and Maggie exposed the story to him, during which he couldn’t stop chewing his lip and playing with the stubble of his chin. His hair was disheveled and his boxers loose around the waist. But Rose tried not to pay too close attention, morning wood was a real thing especially when facing three gorgeous women. 

      “Aight,” Rebecca seemed all too cheerful while sitting cross legged on the empty bed of his cabin. The blonde vampires skin seemed less pale than before, her lips held more color as well. She was the most cheerful among the three, and somehow the most active. Rose couldn’t help but wonder if her generous donation had something to do with that.

      Kyle narrowed his eyes at Rebecca before continuing. “You treated the poor woman like a spring of tap water,” Kyle started with an accusing tone.

      “Yup,” There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice, and no guilt what-so-ever, in Rebecca’s answer. She kept swinging her legs back and forth as her pink blouse glowed from the grey morning light.

      Kyle continued, “Then you knocked out a guard.”

      Rebecca chuckled with a nod, “sounds about right.” She rolled her eyes as if it wasn’t a big deal.

      “Ahem…three guards to be exact,” Maggie interjected in disappointment. Her dark shirt fully exposed her abs, perky nipples pocked against the fabric. She was reluctant to wear a bra that morning, Rose had a feeling she was purposely trying to get a rise out of Kyle…literally.

      Rebecca just rolled her eyes again. Her fingers were fiddling with the cross necklace around her neck, “Minor details.”

      Kyle just tapped the back of his head against the wall multiple times. Rose could practically feel his frustration from just watching him. He continued this for some time before finally returning his attention to the group. With a groan he cleared his throat, “and now you are looking for a place to hide. Does that sum it up?”

      Rose nodded quietly. It hurt too much to speak, even after consuming an entire pitcher of orange juice and downing several pain killers. Where Rebecca had gotten the juice was beyond her, and it was likely some of the last left unspoiled on the ship. The pain reliever was still working its magic however, Rose hoped it would alleviate her soon. 

      This time it was Rose’s turn to remain in the shadows, away from the light, to curb the pain behind her eyes. It was like she was suffering a terrible hangover, one that left a strawberry aftertaste in her mouth.

      Earlier that morning, without mentioning out loud where they were going, they had thrown all their belongings in their bags and left there room. The guards who were tied up would certainly be discovered eventually, and so they had to move quickly. It was Maggie’s decision to go to Kyle’s room. Judging that the ship was still idle and drifting at sea, it was likely the sailors had bigger issues to deal with. Rose hoped there wouldn’t be dire repercussions for just leaving the sailors there…tied up.

      Kyle looked over to Maggie, his morning wood suddenly grew stiffer. He had to sit down on the floor to hide his shame, Rose imagined it must have been terribly uncomfortable for him. “And you just let her get away with all of that?” He asked once seated.

      Maggie sighed, “why don’t you try it, see how that goes!” The way she planted her hands on her hips and arched her chest made her seem even more provocative. Even Rose couldn’t help but get a little wet watching those massive tits heave in the air. 

      They all remained silent for a few minutes, the ship’s bones seemed to groan around them as the waves brushed up against its hull. Rose was surprised how clean and organized the guys room was, it certainly wasn’t that way before. His room was a little larger then their own, to afford such a room to himself meant he must have had some serious cash.

      A knock came at the door behind them, causing them all to jump. 

      “Quick! Hide in the restroom,” Kyle lunged forward to grab both Rose and Maggie’s shoulders and drag them into the small enclosure. Rebecca was already inside the restroom on queue. He slammed the door and Rose felt the air grow thin with the three of them pressed together in the small room.

      “Shit did they find us!” Maggie squealed.

      Rebecca elbowed her in the side, “No way, I made sure those knots were tight.”

      “Reby I told you to loosen them so they could get out!” Maggie said.

      “You’re a monster Rebecca?” Rose found her voice shaky and cold.

      Rebecca somehow was able to swiftly move in the tight space, flowing behind Rose without scraping the edges of the sink or disturbing the piles of folded towels. In mere seconds she was behind Rose and folding her arms around her waist, perching her chin against her shoulder. “But I’m you’re monster.” 

      “Really Rebecca, not now…” Rose tried to keep her voice to a whisper. For some bizarre reason Rose didn’t feel like shrugging off her advances. In fact she felt a strange warming sensation bleeding through her body while pressed so closely. Rebecca smelled like summer rain or early morning dew on the grass, it was nice. 

      The trio listened carefully through the thin walls as the door to the cabin opened with a sliding motion. Maggie pressed her palms to the restroom door and planted her ear against it to hear better. They did their best to keep silent, Rose could hear her heart beating in her chest. 

     “Is it him again? The one from before?” Rose whispered to Rebecca. They all saw the claw marks on Kyle’s door when they entered. Ever since then Rose only felt safe when Rebecca was nearby. 

      “No,” Rebecca answered quickly.

      Rose raised an eyebrow, “How can you be sure?” 

      “You really must really be looking forward to me rescuing you huh,” Rebecca teased.

      Maggie scoffed, “you two really need to get a room.”

      “I doubt one room would be big enough,” Rebecca joked.

      Rose clenched her hands into fists, “How do you know its not him!”

        “Relax Rosie, I’ll protect you. Besides whoever it is they don’t smell the same.” Rebecca leaned in closer and tightened her grasp around Rose’s waist. 

      “Sssh,” Maggie shot them both a ‘your being annoying’ look. Rebecca caught it and swiftly returned cheeky smile. 

      For several short minutes the three of them remained quiet as whoever had knocked on the door to Kyle’s cabin spoke to him. Whatever they were talking about it caused Maggie to grumble to herself and press her ear into the bathroom door. Rose noticed that Maggie was also blushing. 

      Then suddenly the door slid open causing Maggie to fall forward and crash onto the floor. Rose and Rebecca were fully visible in the light pouring from the main cabin. The one who had opened it jerked away in fright, she didn’t even try to catch Maggie. 

      “What the fuck? I knew you had company! What gives?” The woman was short with wavy dark hair and narrow brown eyes. She wore a sweater with the cruise ships emblem ablaze, and a skirt that actually caught Rose’s attention. At first she just looked at the three of them in confusion and then shrugged, “Seriously Kyle what…wait I know you?”

      Rose realized she was talking to her, and for some reason she recognized her too. The memory was hazy but Rose knew the random girl was familiar. 

      Kyle just scratched the back of his head while trying to explain, “I’m pretty sure they just made me an accomplice to something terrible, I’ll spare you the details.”

      “What the hell are you doing here!” Maggie cried out. She was still on the floor. 

      “Me? what are you doing here bitch!” Sophia Fame LaRue responded.

      “Aren’t you the stripper from the nightclub?” Rebecca asked surprised. 

      Rose realized she was right, she was the stripper from the club they had all partied in two nights ago. Right before the last of the power went out. 

      The new acquaintance stomped her foot right next to Maggie’s head as if marking her territory, “If you’re asking for an autograph you can go blow yourself.”

      Kyle finally summoned the nerve to advance and patted the girl on the shoulder. He spoke to Sophia apologetically, “As you can see my room is fully occupied. But your welcome to hang out if you’re ok with sharing the only other bed with…all three of them? Now that I say it out loud I have no idea how that would work.”

      Rose wondered how the three of them would manage a bed to themselves. She imagined Maggie would sneak by Kyle’s side if she could. She didn’t want to share a full sized bed with two others, with Rebecca maybe…but not some random stripper as well. Rose filed that thought away to think about later. “What was your name? And did we get between something?” Rose asked the stripper.

      “Sophia Meletros Stryx,” the woman sighed. “And no thats not my stage name, and also no not really. With everything about to go crazy I felt it was a good idea to find solace with another Stryxian. When in doubt stick with your clan. He’s the only other one on board that belongs to it.”

      “Makes sense,” Maggie groaned before standing upright. Her breasts bounced as she took a step forward, “So things are getting that bad? The families are consolidating…” 

      “Does that make you siblings?” Rose felt it weird that another member of Kyle’s clan just happened to be there without his knowledge. Then again she was still trying to understand how vampire society worked.

      “Distant cousins…very distant cousins maybe.” Sophia paused, “I guess a human wouldn’t understand. Most clans are made up of a collection of families. They don’t have to be related to each other at all, although most clans bear a common ancestor.”

      Rose could tell that Rebecca was getting bored. “Well at least you have a clan,” Rebecca spoke quietly.

      “You’re that Seraphine everyones been talking about. The one that is wanted by security?” Sophia asked cautiously.

      “Yup,” Rebecca just glared at her. Her eyes had changed to a reddish hue that made Sophia’s legs begin to shake.

      “I’m just going…to…pretend I didn’t see anything.” Sophia stuttered, a bead of sweat ran down her face. 

      “Good choice…tying people up is such a chore.” It wasn’t a joke, Rebecca was completely serious.

      Sophia took two steps back until she was well outside of the blonde vampires range, but should she decide to strike Rose knew Rebecca would cover the distance in mere seconds. “Ugh, where am I going to go now…my roommate already ditched me and everyone else will just want to see my tits and demand I give them a lap dance.” Sophia was talking to herself more than anyone else.

      Rose couldn’t help but feel kind of bad for the girl, she knew what it felt like to be alone and hated the idea of just throwing her out. She pondered where Sophia could go, there had to be others that would take her in. But the only other people she knew were that odd couple she met on her first day aboard. She supposed there were worse options, “I think I might know a pair you could ask, but I’m not sure where they’re staying.” 

      Sophia raised an eyebrow, “Well that would be a first, a human giving decent advice to a vampire. But peggers can’t be choosers…shit sorry, beggars can’t be choosers.”

      “Thats disgusting…” Rose felt like she was going to puke. 

      Even Kyle didn’t seem to like the joke, the expression on his face was that of a man visualizing something disgusting, “Sophia is a Stryx…I can’t abandon a member of my clan. She’s my family, I know you two understand.” He looked over to Rebecca and Maggie, both of which seemed to understand. “Lets just come up with a list of things to do. First lets find some supplies and maybe a spare blanket or two. Then we might want to look at finding a better place to lay low. Security aren’t the only ones looking for you, isn’t that right Rose?” 

      Rose shivered as he looked over to her. She knew he was right, a sudden gust of wind strained against the trash bag on the window while they stood in silence. Kyle continued, “Lastly I need to get some clothes on, so do you mind leaving me the restroom for a couple minutes.”

      Maggie smirked, “A couple minutes?” 

      Kyle scoffed, “Its not what you’re thinking.” 

      Rose just breathed a sigh of relief. “So you’ll let us stay?”

      “Sure why not, what could go wrong?” Kyle asked sarcastically.

      Rebecca held onto Rose tighter and whispered into her ear, “I’m putting you on my to-do-list for tonight.”

      “Say what now?”