Chapter 3: Pure Blood
Three Years Ago.
Malik’s POV:
The party lights flashed with electric purple, black, and red. The music and the seductive atmosphere had every human heart pumping fresh, hot blood through their veins. Humans were so easily entertained. Malik Cromwell stood up on the balcony of his night club and looked around. Like any other night, the same thing happened. Tourists entered his domain thinking the same thoughts.
A couple made out in the corner, and it was the woman’s first tongue-twisting moment. Malik chuckled to himself at her amateur thoughts. The hot guy kissed her and touched her, and Malik could sense when her panties grew damp. The boy was experienced and picked up on it as well, even though he hadn’t touched here there. Not yet. A few guys on the dance floor were trying to dance with beautiful women. The sweat dripped from their pores, creating an aroma of salted heat.
Malik turned his attention to the bar where humans scarfed down chicken wings and beer. He knew the ecstasy of sex. He’s had many women in his years. Virgins were his favorite. They got wet so easily. He could control how they felt during sex. He never let a lady feel pain, and once he worked past her barrier, he’d send her away and make her forget everything.
But the taste of food—he’d never known it in his life. Malik was a pure blood vampire. He’d never known the struggle of human existence. He was born into the world of vampirism. Manipulation, power—Malik got everything he ever wanted with a simple snap of his fingers. Too easily did women get lost in his dark brown eyes. Men respected him just by looking at his tall, dark persona. Being a black vampire made him devastatingly handsome and intimidating.
He was also the vampire king of New York. His family built this city. He was around to see Lady Liberty herself placed in the Hudson. It was a city designed for vampires only, but Malik wanted humans there. He saw them as a form of entertainment. He believed humans and vampires could co-exist so long as they knew who was in charge. And he was in charge.
He made a deal with the Balthazar blood line that he could co-exist without incident. He was bound to a law that he could not kill more than a hundred humans per year and couldn’t kill his own kind. If one of his vampires killed a pureblood, they were sentenced to death. He could turn humans if he took responsibility of them, and he did. They became his family.
Malik had lost his parents centuries ago when he was only a child, so he craved the loyalty and unconditional love of family. The only problem with turning a human was that if he didn’t let them feed from him, they would lose their humanity—reduced to nothing but a rabid beast with an insatiable hunger for blood. They also had a sensitivity to the sun. A pure blood could be in the sun, but the night life was preferred.
Malik chose his family carefully. The decision to turn someone never came lightly. That was until he noticed a tall, confident man walk into his club—a college stud with a group of frat brothers. He normally had Chad, the bouncer, throw out these types, but the one who went by the name Byron Owens caught his eye. Owens…Owens…where had he heard that name before? Why was it so familiar? Malik rubbed his chin in thought and gracefully made his way down the balcony toward Byron.
“Welcome to Lust. I am the owner and would like to introduce myself.” He held out his hand. “Malik Cromwell.”
Byron took a firm hold of Malik’s hand and shook it. “Byron Owens.”
Malik studied him a moment, taking in Owen’s thoughts. Tragedy swam through Owen’s mind, as well as thoughts of the sister he had left behind. The anniversary of his parents’ death and feeling like he hadn’t done enough for his younger sister. And finally, Owen thought about the fact that he was unable to be with her at this time of year.
Malik had seen how humans react to tragedy in more ways than their little minds could comprehend. He almost saw himself in the boy, not just because they had both lost their parents, but because he refused to be what happened to him. Humans loved to victimize themselves. They were either the purest souls in the world, or the most corrupt. More than a blood-thirsty monster could ever be.
This Byron was no victim. He was not one to cry about things that happened. He simply set out to do what was best for himself. Malik took Byron under his wing, leading him away from his friends. He built Byron’s trust up, and then made a decision. He grabbed Byron by the neck and sank his teeth into him.