Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/4178430.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      The_Gates
  Relationship:
      Andie_Bates/Dylan_Radcliff
  Character:
      Andie_Bates, Dylan_Radcliff, Emily_Radcliff, Ensemble
  Additional Tags:
      Underage_Sex, Dubious_Consent
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-06-07 Chapters: 6/6 Words: 14446
****** Allure ******
by Tenshinrtaiga
Summary
     A vampire and a succubus meet on an empty street. It sounds like the
     beginning of a bad joke, but in The Gates community it’s a more than
     likely occurrence. When Andie refuses to eat life force, her strength
     wanes and her powers go awry in a desperate attempt to feed and
     survive. So you can imagine the problems that arise when she bumps
     into the gorgeous vampire Dylan alone on an empty street in the
     middle of the night. What’s a succubus to do?
***** Chapter 1 *****
Warning: Dub-con this chapter.
 
Andie tried to focus as she continued to walk. It was getting late but she
couldn’t stop walking. She hadn’t fed on human energy since the incident with
Charlie and that was almost three weeks ago. Lethargy had set in after two
weeks and she knew that if she kept this up, she would die. She needed energy
but she refused to risk it. She had nearly killed Charlie that night and she
didn’t want to hurt anyone else. Maybe it would be better if she died. At least
then she would no longer be a risk to everyone she loved.
She had spent the last week completely exhausted. She barely had the energy to
get out of bed every morning and she’d begun sleeping through all of her
classes. Hence why she had taken up walking. If she stayed still for any
prolonged amount of time, she’d fall asleep and each time she was unsure
whether or not she’d wake up again. Her life was now spent in a complete daze
of sleep and hunger.
Andie had just turned the block when suddenly she felt something. Looking up,
she spotted an older man in his early to mid thirties stepping out of his house
for a moment. It took a minute to recognize him, but she realized he was Mr.
Radcliff, Charlie’s neighbor. The man was attractive – beyond attractive, if
Andie was being honest – but didn’t appear to even notice her. He walked over
to his car in the drive and opened the door, reaching inside to grab something
and then coming back out.
Look at me.
Suddenly, he paused as if finally noticing that he wasn’t alone.
Notice me.
He turned cautiously, eyes checking the surroundings before finally resting on
her. “Hello,” he greeted. Andie immediately noticed his delicious English
accent. “Can I help you with something?” he asked as he moved down the drive,
stopping in front of her.
Adore me.
The man’s blue eyes unfocused slightly before he leaned down and kissed her.
Andie’s hand immediately wove through his blond hair as she tugged on it in
ecstasy. His tongue slid against hers and the next thing she knew, he had
picked her up and was carrying her inside his house, their mouths still fused.
Andie wrapped her legs around him and took the opportunity to grind against
him. Again, time passed around her and soon she was being thrown on a large,
comfy bed. He stripped off his dress shirt before crawling on top of her,
laying kisses on her stomach from where her shirt had ridden up before moving
up to her collar bone, then her neck and finally back to her lips. As they
kissed, she began tugging his white undershirt out of his slacks, pulling away
enough to slip it over his head. He reached out to do the same for her own
shirt.
His lips planted themselves on her neck, nipping down to her shoulders where he
slid the straps of her bra down to nibble on the skin. She tilted her head back
to give him plenty of room as her hand reached up to grip his hair again. He
moved to the other side of her neck to do the same thing before giving up on
her bra and simply reaching behind her to unclasp it.
He leaned his head down and took a pebbled nipple into his mouth earning
himself a throaty groan before Andie quickly got impatient and reached down to
unbuckle his belt. He left her breast to unbutton his pants and get out of
them, then doing the same for her. Then he returned to his earlier work as
Andie wrapped her legs around him once more. He took his time laving her breast
with attention and soon had her moaning and grinding against his erection. He
moved to do the same to the other breast, but Andie’s patience had reached its
end and she reached into his boxers and gripped his erection firmly causing him
to pause.
“Now,” she commanded, her voice rough from arousal.
Taking heed, he removed his boxers and her panties before settling back between
her thighs. He lined up their bodies and carefully pushed in, his head falling
into her neck with a groan as he realized how tight she was. He moved slowly,
paying careful attention to see if there would be a barrier. She was young and
he was uncertain whether or not she was a virgin. Feeling absolutely no
resistance, he finally pushed all the way in and then paused for a minute to
give her a moment to adjust. She may not have been a virgin, but it was easy to
see that she was still inexperienced.
In the back of his head, this really caused him worry. He had no idea what he
was doing with someone this young, but that voice was quickly and easily
silenced as he took a deep breath and caught a whiff of her delectable scent.
He felt the urge to bite down and almost gave in, but Andie shifted at the last
minute, distracting him from the urge and making him focus on more pleasurable
pursuits.
He began with a slow rhythm that had Andie kneading his shoulders under her
hands in an effort to control the onslaught. She gasped as he grabbed one of
her thighs and lifted it up, effectively tilting her hips to allow him deeper.
She took the hint and wrapped her legs around him once more, using them to urge
him faster. He groaned but complied, slamming into her with more power. Soon,
things began getting ferocious as she clung to him, raking her nails down his
back, drawing blood while his own hands left bruises on her hips and thighs.
Sensing that he was getting closer, his eyes began to focus on her throat. With
a low growl, his face transformed; his eyes turning black and his fangs
descending. And with that transformation came clarity. What the hell was he
doing? She was a teenage girl for Christ’s sake and his daughter was only down
the hall.
Even though his mind had caught on that something was wrong, it was too late.
His body was so close to the edge that he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to.
Wanting this over as quickly as possible, he reached down and thumbed her clit.
“Oh. Oh GOD!” She screamed as she came, her back arching high off the bed, her
nails digging into his shoulder.
Meanwhile, he surged forward, biting into her neck as he came. Biting was half
vampire instinct for him and half revenge for whatever magic was at play here.
As soon as he got a taste though, he realized that he was unsure if he could
stop. For one, it had been a long time since he’d drank fresh human blood. The
last time he’d done it was almost three months ago in order to kill Theresa
before she could murder the Chief of Police. That was purely to kill and he
hadn’t focused on the blood so much as the death. But this… this he savored. It
had been eight years since he’d last drunk blood purely for the pleasure of it
and even longer since he’d done it during sex.
He forced himself to stop as he felt her come down from her own orgasm. The
minute his lips detached from her neck, he’d thrown himself on the other side
of the bed, as far away from her as he could manage.
The surprise clearly jolted her and awareness quickly crept into her eyes. “Oh
my god,” she whispered, eyes wide. She quickly clutched the messed up covers to
her chest as she surveyed him and the room as if seeing them all for the first
time. “Oh god,” she muttered, tears beginning to come to her eyes. “What have I
done?” Andie quickly turned to him, but was unable to look into his eyes. This
was probably a good thing since his fangs and eyes were still blatant. He
quickly changed back to his human side before she could notice. “I am so
sorry,” she apologized, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. She grabbed
the sheet and quickly stood, obviously about to grab her clothes and run.
“Wait,” he commanded standing up, but remaining on the other side of the bed.
“What exactly did you do? What… what was this?” he asked.
Andie’s eyes went wide. “I… I…” She had no idea what to say. She couldn’t tell
a stranger the truth about her.
Sensing this, he took the first move. “I know that you’re different. It’s
rather obvious. And if you’ll look at your neck, you’ll realize I am as well.”
The minute he said the word neck, Andie noticed a throb coming from the area.
Her hand automatically went up to cup it but she quickly pulled it away when it
came back sticky. Looking at it, she realized her hand, and thus her neck, was
covered in blood. She quickly spun around and looked into the mirror behind
her, tilting her head as she noticed the two puncture marks.
“You’re a vampire,” she realized.
“Yes,” he admitted. “And you are…?”
Andie turned back to face him, acceptance in her eyes. “A succubus,” she
answered. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. He had never met a succubus before.
“I am so sorry,” she apologized once more, the tears threatening to return.
Originally, he had been more than a little upset at having been an unwilling
participant in their little sexual encounter, but he could see now that she
might not have been all that willing either. “What happened?” he asked again.
Andie nibbled on her lower lip, her eyes trained on the ground as she answered.
“It’s my fault. I haven’t been feeding.”
“Feeding?” he asked. The terminology was the same as that of a vampire, but he
knew that she didn’t need blood. According to myth, succubae killed their
lovers.
She nodded her head. “I need the life force of others in order to survive. I
get this through touch. A handshake gives me about half an hour, a kiss from a
human gives a couple of hours, maybe a day and a kiss from a werewolf lasts me
a few days.”
“Then why haven’t you been feeding?” he asked.
Andie took a shaky breath. “A couple of weeks ago, I nearly killed my boyfriend
Charlie and since then, I haven’t dared to feed,” she admitted. “I entered the
Haze a week ago.”
He had heard about an incident with Nick Monohan’s son but he had no idea what
it was. Now he did. “The Haze?” he asked instead.
Andie nodded, finally looking up at him, though with hesitance. “Without
energy, a succubus’s powers begin to turn on them and they will die. The Haze
is meant as a warning system to let the succubus know that she needs to feed
immediately. It starts with lethargy and an inability to focus. Then the vision
blurs along with the need to sleep constantly. Lastly comes delirium,
hallucinations and finally death,” she explained.
He took a moment to process her words before cautiously asking, “Were you
trying to kill yourself?”
“No!” she replied, eyes wide with shock before she began nibbling on her lower
lip. “Maybe? I don’t know,” she admitted softly. “I just didn’t want to hurt
anyone.”
“And there’s no way to get energy without hurting someone?” he asked. “I mean,
I seem perfectly fine.”
Andie took a moment to assess him, her face burning as she realized that he was
still naked. However, true to his words, he did appear fine. “I’m not sure how
that happened. Maybe because you’re a vampire?” she questioned. “I’ve never
gotten this far,” she admitted with a blush. “Not since before my powers
manifested. Even Bre… my werewolf friend,” she hastily covered up while
internally berating herself for almost naming her friend that was a werewolf,
“nearly died from a kiss.”
“Hmmm,” he nodded but internally began wondering. That was odd. A vampire’s
regeneration ability is similar to that of a werewolf so there would be no
reason why he was better off than a werewolf would be. In fact, how did her
powers even work on him if she fed off life force? He was dead. “You still
haven’t explained what happened,” he gently changed the topic back.
“Oh, right.” She gave an awkward smile. “Well, before the hallucinations and
death, there’s a bit of a defense mechanism,” Andie explained. “My powers are
at their strongest as they try and ensnare someone under my thrall. That’s what
happened out front. The minute you kissed me… my powers… I couldn’t resist,”
she admitted.
“Thrall?” he chuckled. Vampires were widely rumored to be able to thrall their
victims but that was just a story. It seemed that it was true for succubae
however. He quickly got serious. “So you had no control over what you did?”
“No. I’m so sorry,” she apologized for what had to be the millionth time.
He nodded. “Alright. I understand. But perhaps you should find a werewolf
boyfriend or something so that this never happens again,” he cautioned.
Andie nodded. “I’ll figure something out. I promise. I’m so sorry, Mr.
Radcliff.”
“Dylan,” he offered automatically before wincing. It was really best he not get
any closer to the girl than he already had. She nodded awkwardly, clearly
thinking the same thing. She headed for the door but he cleared his throat
causing her to turn back around to him. “I think you’re forgetting something…?”
“Andie,” she offered reluctantly.
“Well, Andie. You’re wearing my sheet.”
Andie looked down completely mortified as she remembered that she was indeed
still wearing his sheet. Reaching down, she grabbed her clothes and changed
into them while still awkwardly holding the sheet to her body. It was a move
that was rather unnecessary given that they’d just had sex, but considering the
circumstances, made perfect sense. Once clothed, she dropped the bedding, her
face entirely red by now. “Sorry. Thanks,” she muttered as she scampered out
the door.
It wasn’t until she was half way home that she even realized how good she felt.
She hadn’t felt like this since before she even found out she was a succubus.
After finding out the truth, Dr. Peg had put her on a horrible round of
medication that caused drowsiness, nausea and, most worryingly, aphasia. She
couldn’t focus or think and her words came out all mismatched. It was no
surprise that Andie had thrown the pills out. She’d tried to control it on her
own, but one kiss to Charlie had him passed out. Even Brett, her ex-boyfriend
and a werewolf, couldn’t last longer than a kiss against her powers.
Just when she had given up, her friend Mia had given her Devil’s Weed which, at
the time, seemed like a miracle cure. As a witch, Mia had access to all sorts
of herbs and potions. But she was also still learning the craft and hadn’t
realized how dangerous Devil’s Weed really was.
One day a little over a month ago, Mia made a tiny miscalculation with the
potion and Charlie nearly died as a result. They brought Charlie to Dr. Peg
who, luckily, was able to save him, but when Peg asked what happened, they had
been forced to confess the truth. That was also when Andie and Mia found out
that the reason why Devil’s Weed controlled Andie’s powers was because it was a
poison. It had been weakening her and with prolonged exposure, would have
killed her. Peg had put Andie back on her original medication, but once again
Andie threw the pills away. She refused to live her life the way she had while
on those meds. Instead, she simply chose not to feed on anyone’s energy,
purposefully going out of her way not to touch people and even though it was
getting to be summer time, still wore long sleeves.
But now, Andie felt like a million bucks. She wasn’t sure if it was the energy
or the sex itself (which, she had to admit, was amazing), but she was
positively jumping out of her skin at how happy she was. This amazing feeling,
this natural high, lasted about a week. That was longer than any other energy
feeding lasted.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Summary
     A vampire and a succubus meet on an empty street. It sounds like the
     beginning of a bad joke, but in The Gates community it’s a more than
     likely occurrence. When Andie refuses to eat life force, her strength
     wanes and her powers go awry in a desperate attempt to feed and
     survive. So you can imagine the problems that arise when she bumps
     into the gorgeous vampire Dylan alone on an empty street in the
     middle of the night. What’s a succubus to do?
“Thanks.” Andie smiled at the guy working behind the counter before she and Mia
took their ice cream outside to sit at one of the tables out front. She grinned
and basked in the sunshine. School was out, life was good and she hadn’t had to
feed off anyone in a little over a week. She was back to wearing tank tops and
shorts with no worry of hurting anyone.
“What’s got you all smiley?” Mia asked as she took a bite of her sundae.
Andie shook her head. “Just having a really good day.”
“You’ve been having a lot of those lately,” Mia commented before she tilted her
head to the side in thought. “My mom’s medicine helping you out?” she asked.
Andie froze. She was supposed to have begun taking Peg’s medicine after her
last run in with Charlie, but hadn’t. Instead, her powers began eating her
alive because they couldn’t get any life force. She hadn’t told anyone about
her unwillingness to take the medicine and she definitely hadn’t told anyone
about her encounter with Dylan Radcliff.
“Andie!” Brett called as he and his two friends – and by friends, Andie now
knew he really meant werewolf pack – came up behind her luckily preventing her
from having to answer Mia’s question.
“Hey!” Andie smiled a little too widely, grateful for the interruption.
“Ooh, what flavor is that?” Lexi asked as she peered into Andie’s cup.
“Peanut butter banana.” Andie pushed her cup toward the girl in invitation.
“Mmm, awesome.” Lexi nodded after trying a bite. “I’m gonna grab me some.” Lexi
stood up and Brett and Lukas immediately did the same, following her into the
store.
“When is Brett gonna get a clue?” Mia asked as she watched Lexi flirt with said
boy inside the shop.
Andie gave a small smirk. “Apparently Lexi said something about it when she and
Brett came to find Charlie and me in the woods but ever since he’s been
ignoring that she ever said anything.”
“Ouch,” the girl said with a wince of sympathy.
The three werewolves exited the store and headed toward their table when Lexi
accidentally knocked into one of the people sitting down. She turned to
apologize but the words got stuck in her throat once she caught a whiff.
“Sorry, Mr. Radcliff,” she forced out before promptly turning her back to him
and continuing toward Andie’s table.
Andie choked on her ice cream when she heard Lexi speak the name. A glance out
of the corner of her eye confirmed the fact that three tables away, sitting
with his daughter, was Dylan Radcliff. He, too, appeared to only just notice
her. There was a moment where their eyes met in surprise before they both
hastily looked away. Andie’s cheeks burned red and she took a large bite of her
ice cream to cool her embarrassment down. This was awkward.
“Hey, we’re gonna head to the movie theater to catch that new supernatural
flick. We thought it’d be funny. You wanna come?” Lukas asked the two girls.
Ever since Brett found out that Andie was a succubus and told his pack, they’d
all been much friendlier to the girl and her witch friend. Supernaturals had to
stick together, especially since they were all the same age.
“Uhm.” Andie and Mia exchanged looks. “Sure, why not?” Andie finally replied.
“Let me just go throw this away and call my dad to let him know I’ll be late.
I’ll meet you guys there.”
“Okay,” Mia replied as she and Lukas immediately headed out.
Brett lingered for a moment causing Lexi to wait as well. “I can wait for you,”
Brett offered immediately, completely ignoring Lexi’s eye roll at his behavior.
He was always chasing after Andie, even when she’d made it perfectly clear that
she wasn’t interested.
Andie didn’t miss the other girl’s annoyance. Deciding to help Lexi out, Andie
shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine. Go ahead with Lexi. I’ll see you soon.”
Reluctantly, Brett left, Lexi not far behind, but before she was gone, Lexi
looked over her shoulder to mouth a ‘thanks’ to Andie for the assist. Andie
grinned and lifted her ice cream cup in a joking salute.
The girl reached into her pocket to dial her father’s phone. Receiving the
voicemail she left a quick message about going to the movies with friends and
stated that she’d be late to dinner. Finishing up, she went to the side alley
beside the ice cream shop to throw her cup in the dumpster. Turning around, she
gave a startled gasp at the realization that she wasn’t alone.
“Dylan,” she breathed before realizing what she’d just said. “I mean, Mr.
Radcliff.”
The vampire nodded in greeting. “Dylan is fine. Hello, Andie.”
“Hi,” she greeted hesitantly, looking at him in confusion. What did he want and
why was he cornering her in an alley to get it?
“I noticed you are out with the werewolves,” he said with a hint of distaste in
his voice. Andie fought the urge to roll her eyes. Brett had already filled her
in on the natural animosity between wolf and vamp. “I was just wondering if you
were feeding off of one of them.”
Andie coughed a little as she shifted in embarrassment. “No,” she replied. She
then noticed his admonishing look and got defensive. “What does it have to do
with you?”
Dylan gave a bland smile. “Given what happened last time you didn’t feed, I was
just making sure that you have a source of energy so that another incident
doesn’t occur.” Andie shifted uncomfortably at the reminder of what happened.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that,” she muttered, not looking at him.
“I’m still riding high on your energy.”
“Interesting,” he muttered softly, almost as though he was talking to himself.
“Interesting?” Andie asked, catching the word. “How so?”
Dylan winced. He hadn’t meant for her to catch that. “We had discussed before
that while normally your feeding causes people harm, I remained unscathed. If
you recall that night, I also fed off of you.” Andie’s hand automatically
reached up to touch her neck. The wound had been difficult to conceal and had
only just begun to heal over nicely. “I have noticed a decline in my appetite
since that night. I believe that your blood contains powerful properties that
strengthen me far more than normal human blood does. I also find it interesting
that my energy also serves to strengthen you more than normal energy does as
well.”
Andie nodded carefully. “That is interesting,” she replied, deep in thought.
“Can I try something?” she asked.
Dylan looked at her suspiciously. “What?”
“I’d like to try and thrall you. Purposefully,” she answered. When his eyes
widened, she hastily clarified herself. “It would be different than last time.
Before, I was in the Haze so my powers were at their max, but now, they should
be normal. I’m curious to see if your reaction differs from others as well.”
“I see.” Dylan pondered on the possibility for a moment. “Very well, let’s try
it.”
Andie looked at him intensely for several moments. “Hmm, nothing?” she asked.
Dylan raised an eyebrow. “No.”
“Huh,” she tilted her head to the side in thought. “That usually works on a
human. Let me turn it up a bit.” She stared at him some more, tapping into the
center deep in her chest. She remembered his kisses, the feel of his body on
top of her, in her.
Notice me.
Dylan cocked his head to the side. He could have sworn her just felt something.
Want me.
Dylan took several involuntary steps forward before reach out to gently cup her
cheek. Andie suddenly stopped using her thrall and Dylan blinked as though
coming out of a trance. He looked at her again, this time as though examining a
fascinating creature. “I didn’t even realize that I was being thralled.”
“That’s kind of the point,” Andie smiled, a little worn out. “That was harder
than I expected,” she admitted. “My powers right now might not be strong enough
to hold that for long.”
“Right now?” he asked.
“I only gained my powers a few months ago. As I grow older, they’ll continue to
increase until it’s fully mature about ten years from now, give or take. The
power I used during the Haze is just a taste of what my powers will one day
be.”
Dylan looked at her speculatively. “That’s rather impressive,” he complimented.
Andie looked at him incredulously. “Sure, if you ignore the part where I’ll
never be able to kiss someone without killing them.”
“Ah, yes,” he said with a wince. “That part’s less so.”
They were silent for a moment before Andie gained a mischievous smirk. “Wanna
see what I can do to a human?” she asked. Dylan looked at her curiously before
nodding. The two moved toward the mouth of the alley, overlooking the main
street. “Pick someone. Preferably a male.” Dylan raised an eyebrow at her but
obligingly pointed someone out. Andie focused on the boy sitting on a bench
nearby as he waited for his bus. He was playing with his phone while sipping a
soda.
The boy looked up for a moment, quickly scanning the crowd before returning to
his phone. After a second he did it again. The third time, he locked eyes on
Andie and it was as though he couldn’t look away. Leaving his backpack behind,
he stood up and walked towards her.
“You’re beautiful,” he complimented the minute he came with in range.
“Thank you,” Andie replied, trying not to giggle. “Do me a favor?”
“Anything,” the teen replied breathlessly.
“Give me your soda?” The boy easily handed the drink over. “Now return to the
bench.” The teen spun on his heel and did as told. Andie grabbed Dylan’s hand
and tugged him back deeper into the alley. “Sorry,” she said as she hastily let
go of his hand. “But if he saw me again he’d probably follow me home.”
“How does your thrall work?” Dylan asked curiously. It had seemed different
from what she did to him. The boy had been willing to do anything for her.
“It makes people find me absurdly attractive,” she admitted. “It’s actually
kind of ridiculous. They’ll do anything for me as long as I ask.”
He shook his head. “That’s not what happened to me.”
“Well, first off, I didn’t ask you to do anything, so you don’t know that,” she
pointed out. “Second off, I used more juice with you so I’m not sure that it
would have worked.”
“More juice?”
“Uh, scientifically speaking? More pheromones. It appeals to your more baser
instinct; the need to mate. That guy just got a taste; enough for him to want
to show off for me, to please me. You got a bigger dose which is less ‘be my
woman’ and more ‘I want you now’,” she explained with a grin and a small blush.
Dylan chuckled at her analogy. “That’s fascinating,” he admitted. “It sounds
similar to vampirism. We also give off a small amount of pheromones to attract
our prey, although I’m sure it’s nowhere near the amount you give off. That
would be interesting to study,” he muttered to himself lightly.
“You want to study me?” she asked hesitantly, her tone illustrating her worry.
Dylan looked up, suddenly realizing what he’d said out loud. “Well, certainly
not if you don’t want to. But it sounds like our species has a lot in common.
It might be interesting to look into. But I’m hardly going to force you into
anything.”
“What else do we have in common?” Andie asked.
Now it was Dylan’s turn to explain. “Well, there’s the obvious. We both feed
off other people’s life force. You’re more literal, but… Your blood and my
energy has kept us both fed for far longer than normal. And now we find that we
both secrete pheromones to attract our prey. It just sounds like our species
might be closely related, that’s all.”
Andie nodded thoughtfully. It did sound really interesting. “Alright, I’ll
submit to some tests.”
“Excellent,” Dylan smiled. “I’m not sure if you realize this but I own a
biotech firm. I can have those results by the day and ensure they remain in
safe hands.” He looked at her meaningfully. She nodded in agreement. He then
hesitated for a moment. “While we’re discussing this, I was wondering if you’d
be partial to another agreement.” Andie looked up at him in curiosity. “What do
you plan to do once the energy you took from me wears off?” he asked instead.
“I… don’t know,” she replied in confusion.
“I would be willing… to provide you with more of your kind of food,” he worded
carefully. Andie’s eyes widened in surprise. “In exchange for more… of my kind
of food.”
Andie looked around, suddenly paranoid and suspicious that they were being
overheard before leaning in closer. “Sex for blood?” she whispered harshly.
“To put it bluntly…” Dylan shrugged. She looked at him incredulously. “Look,
you need the energy or you will die, or worse, kill someone else. And do you
know how long it has been since I drank fresh human blood? The Gates’ policy
states that we are prohibited from killing anyone inside the Gates. Even on
accident. This is a low risk solution to both of our problems.”
Andie nibbled on her lip as she contemplated the offer. At first glance, it was
ridiculous and to be honest, made her feel kind of dirty. But he made a good
point. She needed the energy, she didn’t want to hurt anyone and she definitely
didn’t want to get her and her father kicked out of the Gates. When she’d first
moved here from Seattle, she’d hated it, but since realizing the truth about
the suburb – that it was a safe haven for supernaturals – she’d realized
exactly what her father had given up in order to raise her in a safe
environment. Dylan’s offer was indeed low risk and contained many rewards. And
it didn’t hurt that he was so damn good looking. “Aren’t you married?” she
asked instead.
“Divorced,” he replied tensely, clearly uninterested in discussing the subject
further.
“Right, sorry,” she muttered. After several minutes of further contemplation
she spoke again. “Alright,” Andie finally agreed.
“Good.” He gave a small smile. “For obvious reasons, no one can find out.”
“Obviously.”
***** Allure *****
Chapter Summary
     A vampire and a succubus meet on an empty street. It sounds like the
     beginning of a bad joke, but in The Gates community it’s a more than
     likely occurrence. When Andie refuses to eat life force, her strength
     wanes and her powers go awry in a desperate attempt to feed and
     survive. So you can imagine the problems that arise when she bumps
     into the gorgeous vampire Dylan alone on an empty street in the
     middle of the night. What’s a succubus to do?
Andie took a sip of her tea for no reason other than it was something to do.
She could hear the ticking of the clock in the room or perhaps that was her
imagination as she felt every second pass by. She gently cleared her throat
causing Dylan to look at her. “So…” she started off, but was unsure what to
say. “Where’s your daughter? Emily?” she asked for lack of anything better to
say.
“She’s staying with her aunt for the weekend,” Dylan replied, sipping at his
own tea. He too felt the painful sting of awkwardness, but masked it much
better than she did.
“Vampire aunt?” Andie asked, still unsure how that worked. How did a vampire
end up raising a little girl?
“Human,” Dylan replied vaguely, unwilling to expand on the complication that
was raising a human daughter.
Andie nodded, the awkwardness quickly returning. “Right.” They spent several
minutes in another long silence before she couldn’t take it any longer. “Okay,
this was a bad idea.”
“Or a good idea that we’re having difficulty executing,” he offered instead.
“We need to figure out how to relax in order to accomplish our arrangement.”
Andie looked at him in contemplation for a second. “Alcohol or thrall?”
Dylan gave a startled laugh. “I’ll get the wine.” He smirked in genuine
amusement. He stood up and went into the back room, coming back with a bottle
and two wine glasses. He quickly filled them and handed one over.
“Did you find anything out from your test results?” Andie asked after they’d
had a second to relax into their glasses.
“Mmm,” he replied. “Yes, actually. In your normal state you give off a small
amount of pheromones; more than a human does, but not as much as a vampire.
However, when you use your thrall, the amount increases significantly; about
four times as much as a vampire and five times more than your normal amount.
It’s rather fascinating.” A small smile made its way across his lips. “I truly
think that vampires and succubae must be some kind of supernatural cousins for
how closely our abilities relate to each other.”
“Huh,” Andie replied, vaguely interested in his words, but more interested in
the way he looked – which was to say, like a kid in a candy shop. He seemed to
really enjoy his work. It was cute.
Andie’s face flushed lightly as she realized that she just called him cute. She
got the feeling that Dylan would not appreciate the sentiment.
“How’s the wine?” Dylan asked. He was trying his best to think of Andie as an
adult (if a young one).
“A bit sweet for my tastes,” she replied honestly. “I prefer them dry.”
“I’ll remember that,” Dylan said, taking note of the fact. Well, it was no
longer awkward, however now she felt like a guest or a business associate. “The
wine isn’t working, is it?” he asked before she got the chance to.
“Nope,” she replied setting the glass down. “Thrall?”
Dylan hesitated. “How strong?”
Andie smiled reassuringly. “The same as in the alley. That’s pretty much as
strong as I can go right now, remember?” she reminded gently. She hadn’t grown
into her full powers yet so unless she was in the Haze, she wouldn’t be able to
thrall him the way she had the night they first met.
“Good.” He nodded. “Very well, then.”
Andie rolled her eyes. He made it sound like it was a business arrangement,
which she supposed it sort of was, but still… “Aren’t you romantic?” she
muttered.
“What?” he asked despite having heard her very well.
“Nothing.” She smiled innocently before starting to work her magic. Look at me.
Notice me. Want me.
Dylan surged across his seat to plant his lips on hers, suddenly unable to
resist her. He quickly reached out to tug her shirt over her head. She gave a
gasp as his warm mouth planted itself on her neck as her hands wrapped around
his shoulders. “You want to know something else I learned about you?” he asked
in between kisses, his hands wandering low to unbutton her jeans.
“Mmm?” she moaned in question. He pushed gently on her shoulder causing her to
obligingly lean back against the sofa.
“Vampires focus on their hunger in order to bring out their fangs. In order for
you to thrall, you need to get aroused first.” He reached into her jeans and
underneath the hem of her panties to feel her. He chuckled when he felt her
wetness.
“It depends on how much power I put into my thrall,” she distractingly
corrected, but rubbed herself against his hand.
“I stand corrected,” he replied with a smirk before picking her up to take
things upstairs.
Later, she would try and put her finger on a moment when they became
comfortable enough around each other to just talk. If she had to pick one, this
would probably have been it, but the truth was, it just sort of happened. A
month went by before she even noticed that Dylan had become something like a
friend to her.
“You really don’t have to worry about me,” Andie said with a light laugh as she
came out of the shower, towel drying her hair. Dylan lay sprawled on the bed,
just watching her.
“Even given what you know about the Gates, you really still feel comfortable
walking alone at night?” he asked.
Andie dropped her towel and threw on her underwear. “Technically its morning,”
she pointed out, purely to be a smartass, looking over her shoulder at him.
When he just glowered at her, she smiled. “I trust Chief Monohan,” she answered
honestly as she came closer to the bed. “Don’t you?”
Dylan’s face appeared reluctant and she knew he was trying to find a way to not
discredit his friend while still convincing her that he was right. Andie gave a
grin of amusement and pecked him on the lips for being so cute. Not that she’d
ever admit that aloud to him. “It’s not that he’s untrustworthy,” Dylan replied
once Andie had turned back to changing her clothes. “But he is only one man and
a human one at that.”
“Are you being racist?” she asked rhetorically, knowing that he wasn’t. “Or
species-ist,” she added confusedly before tossing on a pair of jeans.
“I am not being species-ist.” Dylan scoffed. “I’m just saying that he might not
be fully equipped to handle all of the special problems that occur inside the
Gates.”
“So you’re saying he’s a bad Chief of Police,” Andie stated.
Dylan scowled in response. “No.”
“So what are you saying?” Andie finally asked, at the end of her patience. She
turned around to face him fully, crossing her arms in front of her body in
annoyance.
“I’m saying that I should walk you home,” he repeated himself from while she
was in the shower.
Andie threw on a floral top before making her way back to the bed. “And I said
no. I can’t risk someone seeing us and neither can you. Besides, you have to be
here for when Emily wakes up,” she pointed out logically. “Why are you suddenly
on this all of a sudden?” she asked in curiosity.
Dylan gave a small sigh, looking away from her. “I can’t help it, it’s a
vampire thing.”
Andie tilted her head in curiosity. “Explain?”
The vampire gave another reluctant sigh but answered easily. “We’ve been…
together… for a while now. The vampire in me sees you as mine.”
“So you’re being possessive,” Andie stated in a less than impressed tone,
blatantly ignoring the way he said they were ‘together’. It was difficult to
classify their relationship. It had started off more like a business
arrangement, but given the intimacy involved, had quickly developed into…
something else. Something undefined.
“Protective,” he corrected lightly. “And you’re right. I know I’m being
ridiculous. It’s just…” Andie looked at him inquisitively. “It’s been a long
time since I’ve been possessive – protective,” he hastily corrected, “over
someone not a vampire. Other than Emily, obviously.”
Andie gave a sweet smile. “I’ll be fine,” she reassured before checking her
watch. “And late.” She reached down and gave him a quick kiss before heading
for the door, barely pausing enough to grab her overnight duffel bag off the
floor. “See you next week,” she tossed over her shoulder before quietly
creeping down the stairs. She was halfway to the front door when she heard
something behind her.
“Hello,” a small voice greeted.
Andie whirled around, eyes wide as she took in Dylan’s daughter. “Hi,” she
squeaked. Oh, this was bad. It was an unspoken rule between her and Dylan that
Emily never find out about them and now… This was bad.
“You’re a friend of my dad’s?” Emily asked innocently.
“Uhm.” Andie shifted uncomfortably. “Yes?” she asked more than stated.
“Why do you always sneak out?” the little girl continued to question.
Once more Andie froze. Always? Exactly how long had Emily known that Andie was
coming here? “I didn’t want to wake you,” she answered honestly. “Why are you
up?”
“I’m always awake early on Saturdays,” Emily replied. “Cartoons,” was the only
thing she said in explanation.
“Andie?” Dylan asked as he came down the stairs. “Who are you talking to-” His
eyes widened and his words cut off as he noticed his daughter in the foyer.
“Oh. Emily.”
“Hi, dad,” the eight year old smiled up at him.
“Yeah, hi,” Andie also said, although her tone was more of a frantic ‘help me’.
“Emily was just telling me how she’s always up early on Saturdays to watch
cartoons.”
“Always?” Dylan asked worriedly before looking down at his daughter. “You never
told me that.”
Emily shrugged. “Mom knew.” This caused Dylan to wince and Andie to shift
uncomfortably.
“Right, well. I didn’t so I’d appreciate it if you told me next time,” Dylan
replied. “Now, about Andie. Emily, I would appreciate it if you kept this a
secret.” Andie cocked an eyebrow, unsure if they were really counting on an
eight year old to keep quiet.
“Is she…” Emily trailed off as she looked at Andie meaningfully.
“A vampire?” Dylan asked. “No, she’s something else. Similar to a vampire,
though. And Andie and I would appreciate it if you kept this a secret.” Andie
was shocked. She had no idea that Emily knew Dylan’s secret.
Emily shrugged easily. “Okay,” she agreed. “But can Andie come later and play
with me next time?”
Dylan choked as he struggled to answer. Luckily, Andie stepped in. “Sure,
kiddo. I’d love that.” She smiled down at the girl. “But I have to get going
right now. How about tomorrow afternoon?”
“Sure!” Emily agreed excitedly.
“Alright, Emily. You go ahead and watch your cartoons. I’ll walk Andie to the
door,” Dylan forced through a smile, relieved to end the situation.
“Bye, Andie.” Emily waved before turning on her heel and going back into the
living room.
“Bye!” Andie said over her shoulder as she nearly ran for the door. The minute
the two were on the other side, they both sighed in relief. “I can’t believe
she’s known this entire time that I’ve spent the night. Do you think she
knows…?” Andie asked. Normally, she’d say no, but Emily seemed like a bright
girl. She might know the truth of what they were doing together at night.
“I don’t think so,” he replied carefully. “I think she knows something is going
on, though. You don’t need to come tomorrow,” he said, changing the subject. “I
can make your excuses.”
“No, it’s okay,” Andie smiled. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think she
needs another girl in her life. Someone not a mother figure,” she was careful
to say, “but not just a friend.”
“Like an older sister?” he asked before wincing at the implications.
She too winced. “Let’s go with aunt,” she offered, not liking the thought of
being even remotely compared to another daughter. “Or babysitter,” she
realized.
“Babysitter?” he asked in surprise.
Andie nodded. “Sure. She gets an older female presence and I get an excuse if
anyone ever sees us together. Plus, she seems like a cool kid. I was her age
when my mom died and I know it’s not the same, but the fact is that she needs
someone. A female someone,” she said gently.
Dylan nodded thoughtfully. He too had been thinking along the same lines
although he hadn’t really considered that Andie could be that presence.
“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
She smiled and gave a wave before darting across his yard and down the street.
Over the next month, she and Emily got more comfortable with each other and the
closer she got to Emily, the closer she felt to Dylan as well.
Dylan smirked as he entered the house through the garage door. He immediately
spotted Andie and Emily dancing ridiculously to some loud pop music. He
chuckled and gave them a wide berth so as not to interrupt their fun while
making for the kitchen. Andie spotted him out of the corner of her eye and gave
a laugh. She finished the song before stopping the music. “Look who’s home.”
She grinned as the two girls made their way to the kitchen to join him. Andie
opened the fridge and got two bottles of water, tossing one to Emily.
“You looked like you were having fun,” he murmured lowly to Andie as she came
to stand beside him, Emily practically devouring her water.
Andie shrugged. “It’s a girl thing.”
“Mom never danced like that with me!” Emily enthused. “I’ll have to do that
with Dana sometime.”
Andie laughed. “You should,” she encouraged. “Dance party.”
“You and your friend Mia should come,” Emily invited, totally excited by the
idea.
Dylan looked down and smiled at how happy his daughter was. “You could have it
here,” he offered.
“I’m in.” Andie shrugged easily. “But…” She looked at Dylan hesitantly out of
the corner of her eye. “Never mind.”
“What?” he asked curiously.
“I have this other girlfriend, Lexi,” she said hesitantly.
Dylan sighed. “The werewolf.”
“Forget it,” Andie waved her hand. When Dylan opened his mouth to protest, she
gently laid her hand on his arm to stop him. “No, seriously. Forget it. I know
that the treaty between you two is tenuous and I would never put Emily in a
situation where you would worry about her,” she said seriously. “Besides, Lexi
probably wouldn’t even come. It’s a vampire house after all.”
Dylan blinked in surprise at how mature her answer was. Sometimes, like when he
walked in on her dancing crazily with his daughter, he couldn’t help but
remember that she was only sixteen. But other times, like right now, he
realized that she was truly wise and mature.
Emily gave a sigh and got off the kitchen stool. “I’m going to my room to do
homework if you guys are just going to stare all googly eyed at each other,”
she announced leaving the room.
Dylan gave a chuckle as he leaned down to give Andie a kiss. “I’ll see you
tonight?” he asked, knowing that she had to get back to her house to see her
dad and also to grab her overnight bag.
“Mmhm,” she replied against his lips.
***** Allure *****
Chapter Summary
     A vampire and a succubus meet on an empty street. It sounds like the
     beginning of a bad joke, but in The Gates community it’s a more than
     likely occurrence. When Andie refuses to eat life force, her strength
     wanes and her powers go awry in a desperate attempt to feed and
     survive. So you can imagine the problems that arise when she bumps
     into the gorgeous vampire Dylan alone on an empty street in the
     middle of the night. What’s a succubus to do?
“Look, Brett, I’m telling you. I have no idea what’s up with Andie lately,” Mia
said with an annoyed scowl.
“She’s been weird all summer,” Bret complained ignoring the eye roll both Lexi
and Lukas gave him.
“Look, there’s Andie now.” Lexi pointed down the street. “Why don’t you just
ask her?”
“What the hell is she doing here?” Brett asked instead. “Her house is on the
other side of the Gates.”
Lukas looked around. “Isn’t this where that Charlie kid lives?”
Lexi looked around too, recognizing the surroundings. “Yeah, it is,” she
replied.
Brett scowled, but before he could say anything, Mia butt in. “No way. I know
what you’re thinking, but there’s no way that Andie would go back to seeing
Charlie after what happened last time.”
“Wait,” Lukas said as he noticed something. “That isn’t the Monohan’s house.”
The four teens watched as she walked up to the front door of the house and
simply let herself in. “That’s the Radcliff house.”
“Are you sure?” Brett asked him in worried surprise.
“My dad was alpha. You think I don’t know vampire houses?” Lukas replied
incredulously.
“Should we go knock or something?” Brett asked.
Lexi looked at him like he was stupid. “And say what? That you’re stalking your
ex-girlfriend and want to know what she’s doing in his house?”
Brett scowled in response but didn’t have a reply. “No,” Mia replied instead.
“We’ll just sit it out. She has to come out sometime, right?”
The four teens planted themselves across the street and watched the house,
quietly talking amongst themselves, but as the hours wore on and it got later,
they began to worry. “What if he did something to her?” Brett finally broke
worriedly.
“No way is a vamp dumb enough to break Gate rules,” Lukas responded, though he
sounded unsure of his own words.
“That’s it,” Brett said standing up. “I’m going over there.” The other three
stood up as well, whether to help him or stop him, he didn’t know because they
were soon interrupted.
“Can I help you kids?” Chief Monohan asked as he slowed his car to a stop in
front of them. He and his family had just gotten back inside the Gates from a
night out when he spotted the four teens lingering on his street in the middle
of the night.
“Uhm, no,” Brett hastily replied. Unfortunately he was a terrible liar.
“Uh-huh,” Nick replied, unbelieving.
Lexi nodded. “Honest, we weren’t doing anything.”
“Then why are you sitting out here?” Nick’s wife, Sarah, asked from the
passenger’s seat.
“Yeah!” Dana asked, popping up from the back seat.
Charlie scowled. “Shut up, Dana,” he scolded from the back. It was no secret
that he and Brett didn’t get along. Brett and Andie had dated until Charlie had
moved into town. Then she and Charlie dated before she oddly broke up with him.
After that, he wasn’t sure if she went back to dating Brett or if they just
became friends again. Then Andie randomly reappeared, claiming to have missed
Charlie. When Charlie’s family threatened to move away, she had run away to the
woods with him, but something happened and he got sick. Charlie hadn’t heard
from her since, but he had seen her out and about with Brett and their friends
all around town. Finally, Charlie gave up on Andie. She always seemed to be
going back and forth between the two boys.
Nick looked between the four nervous kids before sighing and taking the keys
out of the car and opening the door. He stepped out of the car and turned to
face the teens fully. “Alright, what’s going on?” he asked.
The teens all looked at each other. “Okay,” Brett finally said.
“Brett!” Lexi scolded immediately.
“She’s been in there for hours!” Brett hissed back. “Who knows what happened to
her?”
“What happened to who?” Sarah asked worriedly as she too stepped out of the
car, her two kids not far behind.
“Sarah,” Nick said, turning to face his wife. “I’m Chief of Police. I should be
asking the questions,” he scolded gently, reminding his wife that this might be
official police business and that she needed to let him do his job. “Now, what
happened? Who are you worried about?” he asked once more.
“It’s Andie,” Brett said hastily, ignoring the groans of annoyed disapproval
from his friends.
“Andie?” Charlie asked, worried.
Brett glanced at him before purposefully ignoring him. “She went into the
Radcliff house hours ago and hasn’t come out since,” he said, nodding his head
to the house. “I know that you… know,” Brett said carefully, unsure how much
the Chief’s family knew about the special residents of the community. “So you
should understand how worried we are.”
Nick nodded his head. He didn’t think that Dylan would hurt Andie, but at the
same time, it was his job as the Chief to check it out. “Alright, I’ll check it
out.” He turned and crossed the street, but noticing that he’d gained a posse,
turned to look at them. “Stay here,” he commanded before walking up the drive
and knocking on the door.
After a quick second, the door opened. “Nick,” Dylan said in surprise. After
the vampires had killed Devon, the Gates had been quiet and the two friends
hadn’t seen each other much except on social occasions. “Don’t tell me there’s
another supernatural problem.”
“Not exactly,” Nick replied. “Is Andie Bates inside your house by any chance? A
bunch of her friends said they saw her go inside.”
Dylan blinked in surprise, but gave nothing away. “I’m not sure I see how
that’s any of your business.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Nick asked before realizing the man was serious. “If
there’s a teenage girl inside your house alone without parental permission,
that is my business. Now, do I need to call up Mr. Bates or are you just going
to be straight with me?” Nick gave the other man a moment to come clean, but
Dylan remained silent. “Okay, fine,” the Chief muttered, pulling out his cell
phone and calling into police headquarters. “Hey, Leigh? Yeah, I need you to
patch me to Mr. Bates. Thanks…. Mr. Bates? Yes, hello. This is Chief Monohan. I
was wondering if you know where your daughter’s whereabouts are? At Mia’s,
huh,” Nick threw a look over his shoulder at said girl who was on the other
side of the street, looking nervous. “Yeah, I need you to get down to the
station, please. It’s about Andie. Thanks.” Nick hung up the phone to look at
an annoyed Dylan. Nick said nothing before waltzing into Dylan’s house and
quickly heading up the stairs.
“Technically this is trespassing,” Dylan said wearily, but made no move to stop
the man.
Nick methodically searched through every room before reaching the master
bedroom. He slammed the door open and was sickened to see Andie, naked under
the covers except for a large men’s dress shirt. “Dylan?” she asked sleepily,
opening her eyes to find Nick Monohan. “What the-”
Nick shook his head in disgust. “I don’t suppose you’d believe me if I said it
wasn’t what it looked like,” Dylan tried but at Nick’s angry look stopped. “No,
I guess not.”
“You have the right to remain silent,” Nick said, reading Dylan his Miranda
rights as he cuffed the man.
“What the hell is going on?” Andie asked as she threw on a pair of jeans.
“Are you okay?” Nick asked the girl, before wrapping a comforting arm around
her. “Let’s get you to the station okay?” he said kindly.
Nick walked Dylan and Andie out to his car. Andie ignored all of her friends’
questions as she figured out what she was going to do about the situation.
“Sarah,” Dylan said, stopping in front of the woman. “Emily’s still inside the
house. Could you look after her for a bit?” he asked as though he were merely
going out for a stroll.
Sarah looked at him incredulously. She too had noticed the men’s shirt Andie
was wearing, but she agreed. Emily was an innocent child in all this.
Andie was forced to sit up front and Dylan in the back in order to keep the two
separate. On their way to the station, Andie asked, “Have you called my dad?”
“He’ll meet us there,” Nick replied.
Andie turned in her seat to face Dylan. “Don’t say anything,” she cautioned.
Nick turned to look at the girl out of the corner of his eye. He briefly
wondered if Dylan had brainwashed her into believing he loved her or if perhaps
there was more going on here than he realized. He hated to believe that he was
such a bad judge of character that he would trust a rapist. “Is there something
I need to know?” he asked.
The two exchanged looks but remained silent. Nick walked Dylan into his office
before coming back out for Andie who was standing in the waiting room. “Leigh,”
he called the only female police officer there over. “I think Andie’s been
raped,” he muttered lowly. “Can you talk to her? See what you can get. Her dad
should be here soon.”
Leigh nodded seriously, looking at the girl in pity. “Of course.”
Andie sat in a chair, making sure to get the one that had the best view into
the Chief’s office so she could see what was happening to Dylan. Noticing
Leigh, Andie shook her head. “It’s not what you think.”
“Sweetie,” Leigh said solemnly. “We need to take a rape kit.”
“No, you don’t,” Andie replied, not moving.
“Sweetie-” Leigh tried again, but was cut off.
“Andie? Andie!” Mr. Bates called out as soon as he was inside. The minute he
saw his daughter he gave her a hug. “What happened? I got a call from Chief
Monohan… Where were you tonight?” he asked.
Andie looked up at Leigh. “Can you leave us alone for a second?” Leigh nodded
and left. Andie waited until the girl was far enough away to turn to her dad.
She noticed that both Dylan and Nick had noticed her father’s arrival and she
nodded at Dylan, knowing that she’d be able to help him. “Dad, I’ve been
sleeping with Dylan Radcliff,” she started.
“What?” he asked in anger, turning to look at the man in question. Mr. Bates
looked torn between anger and confusion at how the man was still alive.
“Dylan is a vampire,” she whispered. “He’s been giving me energy. He’s been
helping me.”
“And getting sex with a teenager out of the deal,” Mr. Bates said with a sneer.
“It’s not like that,” Andie insisted. “After Charlie, I stopped feeding,” she
confessed.
“But Peg’s medicine?” Mr. Bates asked in confusion.
“I couldn’t go back on that,” Andie despaired. “Do you know what I was like on
it? I spent hours throwing up, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t
focus on anything. Dad, I was failing out of high school!”
Mr. Bates looked at her in surprise. “I hadn’t realized it was so bad,” he
admitted.
“I didn’t feed for three weeks,” she confessed.
“But the Haze,” he said in worry.
Andie nodded. “I would rather die than hurt someone the way I hurt Charlie,”
she replied, tears building in her voice. “But I couldn’t control my powers and
they ensnared Dylan. The first time, neither of us were in control. Afterwards,
I explained what happened. Dad, he should hate me for what I did to him,” she
said softly. “If anyone was raped, it was him. But he didn’t. He understood
that it wasn’t my fault. He forgave me,” she cried, finally letting her tears
fall.
Mr. Bates wrapped a comforting arm around his daughter. He had no idea this had
been happening and right underneath his nose. He looked up at Dylan Radcliff
once more, this time analyzing the kind of strength this man must have had.
“During the sex, Dylan bit me,” she continued explaining. He looked at her in
surprise and a bit of horror, but she quickly ploughed through. “And he wasn’t
harmed by my taking his energy at all. His energy lasted me a week and my blood
lasted him that long as well. We both realized that this could turn into
something beneficial. We could both feed without the worry of killing someone.
It’s like we have some sort of symbiotic relationship.”
Mr. Bates looked at her in surprise. This was the oddest thing he had ever
heard. “A symbiotic relationship?” Andie nodded. “How do you know there isn’t
some sort of long term negative side effect?”
“Dylan owns a biotech research firm. We’ve been testing this,” she admitted.
“We think that vampires and succubae are closely related species. We have many
similar qualities,” she added. “Please, dad, you have to help.”
Mr. Bates gave a small sigh and nodded. “Yes, it appears I do. It looks wrong,
but he’s clearly been helping you. You haven’t hurt him and he hasn’t hurt you,
so…”
“And who would I feed on without him?” she also added in. “I would die.”
“Don’t say that!” he scolded but nodded, standing up. “Alright, but we’ll be
continuing this discussion later.” The two made their way to the Chief’s door
and knocked. Nick opened up and let them into his office.
“Have you decided to take the rape kit?” Nick asked Andie.
Andie scowled. “No. Because I wasn’t raped.”
Nick looked at Mr. Bates as if asking whether or not she was serious. “Ah,
yes.” Mr. Bates nodded in agreement. He probably should have come up with a
story before entering the office. “Andie has just explained to me that she was
babysitting Emily.” That part he hoped was true as that was what Andie had been
telling him all summer.
Nick looked at him oddly. “With Dylan there?”
“With Claire gone, Emily’s needed a female figure in her life,” Dylan spoke up
for the first time since the arrest. “I’ve hired Andie as her babysitter to do
just that.”
“And that required spending the night?” Nick asked skeptically.
“Your daughter’s never had a sleepover?” Dylan replied.
Nick turned to Mr. Bates. “She was in his bed,” he stated clearly.
Mr. Bates winced, but Andie was the one who responded. “Dylan slept in the
guest room.”
Nick looked at her oddly for using Dylan’s first name, further proof of
something hinky going on. “You were wearing his shirt.”
“I was wearing a shirt,” she stressed. “And I don’t see what my choice in
sleepwear has to do with you.”
Nick choked while both Dylan and Mr. Bates looked at Andie in surprise and
pride. “Mock trial,” Mr. Bates murmured in thought. “Good program.”
“If that’s all, Chief Monohan,” Dylan said standing up. “Then I believe we’re
finished.”
***** Allure *****
Chapter Summary
     A vampire and a succubus meet on an empty street. It sounds like the
     beginning of a bad joke, but in The Gates community it’s a more than
     likely occurrence. When Andie refuses to eat life force, her strength
     wanes and her powers go awry in a desperate attempt to feed and
     survive. So you can imagine the problems that arise when she bumps
     into the gorgeous vampire Dylan alone on an empty street in the
     middle of the night. What’s a succubus to do?
“Okay, what is going on?” Mia asked the minute she entered Andie’s room, Brett,
Lexi and even Lukas right behind her
“What?” Andie asked distractedly, looking up from her book.
Lexi sat next to the girl on her bed. “Don’t ‘what’ us, girl. The whole town is
talking about you and Mr. Radcliff. They’re saying you’re having an affair.”
“Yeah, so what is going on?” Brett asked angrily, his eyes threatening to turn
a wolf-like yellow if he didn’t calm down.
Andie sighed and gave the same abbreviated speech she’d given to her father.
“How does a vampire have life force?” Lexi asked immediately afterward.
Andie shrugged but Mia knew the answer. “Life force is a lot like your soul or
spirit. It has nothing to do with whether or not your body is alive. Vampires
are sentient creatures who have free will and can make their own choices
therefore they are ‘alive’ and have ‘life force’. In fact, now that I think
about it, this makes sense.”
“How so?” Andie asked in curiosity.
“A vampire can live for hundreds of years. That’s hundreds of years worth of
life force accumulated. That’s perfect for a succubus. They can take what they
need and, if the vampire’s old enough, they’ll never even feel the difference,”
Mia explained. “I’m so sorry I never thought of that sooner,” she apologized to
Andie, knowing how difficult things had been for the girl as she struggled to
find a way to survive without hurting others.
“It’s okay,” Andie replied, smiling at her friend. There was no reason for Mia
to have put the two together. It was complete coincidence that even led Andie
and Dylan’s paths to cross.
“No, it’s not okay,” Brett broke in angrily, glaring at Andie. “I can’t believe
you’d go to a vampire over a werewolf.”
Lexi, Mia and Lukas exchanged uncomfortable glances. “Guys, could you give us a
minute?” Andie asked as she stared Brett down. “Brett and I need to have a long
overdue conversation.” The other three reluctantly vacated the room leaving the
former couple alone. “Brett, I think I’ve been pretty clear and patient about
this,” she stated gently.
Brett scoffed and looked to the side of the room. “I can’t help it, okay?”
“Yes, you can,” Andie insisted. “I know that you think you love me-”
“I do love you!” he interjected, angry that she was degrading his feelings.
“Okay, I’m sorry.” She raised her hands in surrender. “But I don’t love you. I
care about you as a friend, but I don’t feel anything more for you and you need
to accept that. I’m not going to come back to you. I thought if I gave you
time, you’d move on, but you didn’t. So then I thought if we could just be
friends, you’d realize that there couldn’t be anything more between us, but
still you didn’t. Brett, I’m at my rope’s end here. What am I supposed to do?
What can I do to help you move on?” she asked.
Brett looked at her seriously for a moment, before scowling and looking away.
“I guess you can’t.”
Andie gave a small, sad sigh. “I think you need to date other people,” she
said. “Find someone new. Someone who will like you back.”
“Like who?” he scoffed but fell silent at her knowing look. “You know about…?”
“Lexi’s huge thing for you?” she asked with a small smile. “Find me someone who
doesn’t.” Brett awkwardly cleared his throat, his cheeks turning red. “Look,
you should give her a chance. She really likes you and she’s done a lot for
you. Couldn’t you at least try and go out with her on a few dates? See if
there’s even anything there?”
Brett thought about it for a minute before giving a small sigh which Andie knew
meant agreement. “You’re such a meddler, you know that?” he asked with a small
smile.
“It’s a talent,” she replied with a nonchalant shrug and a small smirk.
“I’d better go,” Brett said as he made for the door. “I told the pack we’d go
running.” Andie waved him off as he left.
After a minute, her bedroom door opened again, surprising her. “I heard what
you said,” Lexi said hesitantly as she stepped into the room. “You didn’t have
to do that. I’ve been pretty horrible to you this past year.”
Andie shrugged lightly. “I was dating the guy you loved. You were allowed to be
a bitch to me.”
Lexi gave a small laugh. “Thanks,” she said. “You’re a good friend.”
“Us supernatural girls have to stick together,” Andie grinned. “Tell me how the
date goes!” she yelled as Lexi left.
The next day was the day of the Monohan’s end of summer pool party. Everyone
would be there and unfortunately that included Andie and Dylan. Andie put on
her bikini and then threw on denim shorts and a purple tank top. She and her
friends had agreed to go to the party together because of how much gossip was
going around involving Andie.
She walked out the door and immediately spotted her friends waiting for her
across the street. She grinned and ran over to them. “Ready to be put on the
spot?” Mia asked as they made their way to the Monohan’s house.
“Nope,” Andie admitted easily.
“It’s a weird situation,” Lexi spoke up. “What are you going to tell people?”
Andie shrugged. “Dylan and I haven’t talked about it, but I figure we’ll go
with what we told the Chief. That it was a misunderstanding and that I was at
his house babysitting Emily.”
“You think they’ll buy that?” Lukas asked.
Andie shrugged. “I’m not sure. I figure, worst comes to worst, we’ll tell the
truth. Everyone at the part is one of us, right?” she asked.
Brett nodded. “I think so. My mom said the pack was going to be there.”
“My mom’s going and she’s picking up Leigh on her way,” Mia added in.
“Dylan said that the vampires were coming,” Andie added, “which should make
things tense with the werewolves, but manageable. So like I said, it’s going to
be an all-supernatural party.”
“It’s weird how the Monohans got so close with our kind without even realizing
it,” Lexi spoke up.
Brett, Lukas and Andie nodded in agreement, but Mia shook her head. “Not if you
think about it. The people with the most to hide tend to be the most friendly.
If they act like they’re hiding something, then people will get suspicious.
When the Chief and his family moved here, our kind were the first to welcome
them because we wanted to seem nice and normal and like we had nothing to
hide.”
“Ah, psychology.” Andie nodded. “There you go, making sense out of nonsensical
things.”
“I try.” Mia laughed as they all walked up to the Monohan house. Mia reached
out a hand and knocked.
“Oh, hey!” Sarah grinned as she opened the door. Her smile froze when she
spotted Andie and her gaze changed to something between pitying and confusion.
“Come on in. We’re all in the back.”
The teens trooped through the house, but Sarah reached out and gently stopped
Andie before she could follow her friends. “You know, Andie. You can talk to
me, if you need to. I know that your mother’s gone but if you ever need any
motherly advice…”
Andie shifted awkwardly. “Uh, thanks, Mrs. Monohan,” she replied awkwardly
before hurrying to catch up to her friends.
Lexi was giggling uncontrollably and even Lukas and Brett were having a hard
time hiding their smiles. “They were eavesdropping,” Mia said, stating the
obvious. “But they didn’t tell me what they heard.” She pouted at the
werewolves at the unfairness of it.
“Good,” Andie replied to Mia before turning to her other friends. “You guys
suck.” The five teens finally made it out to the backyard and quickly claimed
one of the smaller plastic tables by the pool as one of their own. A bunch of
men were seated at a table near the grill where several were grilling up
steaks, burgers and more. The women were all relaxing by the pool on lounge
chairs, though a few were noticeably in the shade.
Andie caught Dylan’s eye and gave a small smile before quickly looking away,
not wanting more gossip to be started about them.
Nick caught the look and once more glowered at his friend causing Dylan to
sigh. “You’re really not going to let this go, are you?” he asked in a low
voice, his eyes still trained on Emily playing in the pool with Dana.
“No, I’m not,” Nick muttered back. “She was not babysitting.” Dylan gave a
small sigh in response. “She is sixteen years old for fuck’s sake.”
“Seventeen,” Dylan corrected mildly, having celebrated the girl’s birthday only
a few weeks ago. “And you should understand, Nick, why, as a vampire, age
doesn’t really matter to my kind. When I was her age, I was married and my wife
was pregnant with our second child.”
Nick blinked in shock. Dylan had never disclosed his age and even less about
his human years. “That was a long time ago. Things are different now,” he said
instead.
“And they’ll be different again in another twenty years and then again twenty
years after that. You can see why such rules don’t matter much to us when
they’ll just change soon anyway,” Dylan pointed out.
“So are you saying that there is something going on that’s against the rules?
Our current rules,” Nick asked, trying to trap the man in his words.
“Even if there was, I think it’s obvious that Andie’s father knows the truth of
the situation and as her guardian, has given his okay,” Dylan pointed out,
trying to sidestep the situation without giving too much away. He wanted his
friend to trust him again, but he didn’t want to give up Andie’s secret. He
could feel the burn of everybody’s eyes boring holes into him. The entire
community was talking and while the vampires could understand, it was still
frowned upon for him to attract so much attention to himself.
Nick glared at the man. That wasn’t the point. And before he could say
something to that general effect, a loud crash was heard, drawing the attention
of all the party goers. A large wolf had just jumped over the Monohan’s back
wall and was now growling at all of the people at the party.
***** Allure *****
Chapter Summary
     A vampire and a succubus meet on an empty street. It sounds like the
     beginning of a bad joke, but in The Gates community it’s a more than
     likely occurrence. When Andie refuses to eat life force, her strength
     wanes and her powers go awry in a desperate attempt to feed and
     survive. So you can imagine the problems that arise when she bumps
     into the gorgeous vampire Dylan alone on an empty street in the
     middle of the night. What’s a succubus to do?
“That’s Simon Ford,” one of the men whispered, recognizing his former alpha.
Zach, the new alpha, had stood up and transformed into his wolf form. He stood
protectively over the people at the party as they all congregated together at
the back, near the house. Dylan searched for Emily in the middle of the
commotion and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her and Dana next to a damp
Andie. He realized that Andie must have gotten into the pool to fetch the girls
when the chaos started. He smoothly made his way over to them, careful to pat
Emily dry before touching her. If his sunscreen came off then he’d be
vulnerable to the sun, a weakness he couldn’t afford in the middle of a
werewolf fight.
He and the other guests watched as the two wolves fought viciously, bleeding
each other and breaking bones only to heal almost immediately after. Out of the
corner of his eye, he noticed Nick Monohan sheltering his family. Sarah looked
unsurprised so she must have already known the truth about the Gates community
but Dana and Charlie both looked shell shocked at the sight of a werewolf
brawl. Nick was talking to the other werewolves, asking them to stop the
struggle, but it was against pack rules to interfere with a fight for position,
especially if that position was alpha.
Finally, Nick was forced to ask the vampires. “I know what you’re going to ask
and the answer is no,” Dylan said before Nick could even open his mouth. “It
would be suicide for a vampire to get in between two werewolves and more
importantly, it goes against our truce with them.” Before Nick could respond,
Dylan was forced to pull Emily and Andie closer into his body as the two
werewolves’ fight got closer to the crowd.
“There has to be a way to make them stop,” Nick said, looking around. “Peg?” he
asked as a last resort. If werewolves or vampires couldn’t interfere, that
really only left the witch.
“Not without my herbs,” Peg replied with a helpless shrug, her arm around her
daughter Mia.
Lexi gave a sharp scream as one of the werewolves, Simon, got a little too
close to her and nearly knocked her over. Brett lunged forward and wrapped an
arm around her waist and then jerked her forcefully out of the way. “They’re
out of control,” the teen boy realized looking on. He’d never seen a fight this
vicious before. He knew that there was a lot of bad blood between the two
wolves, but this was ridiculous. “Why is Simon so pissed? Zach beat him for
alpha fair and square.”
Lukas shifted awkwardly in realization. “No, he didn’t,” he finally confessed
causing everyone to look at him in surprise. “Zach didn’t beat dad in a fight,
I did.”
“What?” Karen asked in surprise, the entire pack shocked.
“He was beating on mom!” Lukas replied. “I had to do something or he would have
really hurt her. He was drunk and… and I was angry.”
“It’s okay, son,” Nick said, clapping a comforting hand on the boy. He was one
of only a handful of people who knew the truth about what happened that night.
“You did what you had to in order to protect your mom. We don’t fault you for
that.”
“But this is my fault,” he replied, staring out at the increasingly violent
fight. “I couldn’t be alpha so Zach said he beat dad, but now dad found out and
it drove him to this!”
“Now, calm down. We don’t know what drove your father to confront Zachary,”
Karen soothed the child, her own hand rubbing up and down her son Brett’s back.
The tale of Simon hitting his wife and child had upset her more than she
realized. She couldn’t imagine anyone harming their child.
“It doesn’t matter what caused it,” Dylan pointed out, knowing he was probably
overstepping his bounds with the werewolves, but they needed to re-focus. “What
matters is stopping it now. They can fight anywhere else, just not in front of
so many witnesses.”
“Technically, they would both be expelled from the Gates for this,” Lexi
pointed out, her hand clenched in Brett’s. “For transforming in front of
others.”
“Zachary might get leniency since he was only protecting us, but Simon can
never come back,” Karen agreed.
“So the winner of this fight doesn’t even matter?” Brett asked. “Then why can’t
we interfere?”
“He brings up a good point,” Nick said, pouncing on the opportunity, but Karen
was already shaking her head.
“They’re too strong for us,” she replied. “They’re too deep in the primal
animal bloodlust. Even if we did try and help, they’d just turn on us. They’re
not seeing clearly right now.”
Dylan started at her words before looking down at the girl tucked into his
side. “Do you think you could…?” he asked, drawing everyone attention to him
and Andie.
Andie looked at him wide-eyed. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly.
“If they’re tapped into their primal nature, it should make your job easier,”
he pointed out logically.
Andie nibbled on her lip before nodding in hesitant agreement. “I can try.”
“Try what?” Nick asked. “What’s going on?”
Andie ignored the Chief in order to focus on her powers. She moved away from
the crowd, Dylan hovering protectively right behind her. “If they’re too
entrenched in their primal instinct, you might have to get them off me before
they rape me,” she cautioned.
“What?” Nick asked in disgusted shock, his emotions echoed by everyone else.
Dylan, however, nodded resolutely. “I will.”
Andie let out a deep breath before focusing on her thrall. Her normal amount of
power did nothing, the two wolves still fighting. So, she turned it up a notch.
Look at me.
For a second, the two wolves turned their heads to look at the girl before
quickly returning to the fight.
Notice me.
One of the wolves, Simon, turned to look at her again, but Zach took the
opportunity to pounce on his distracted form.
“It’s not working,” she muttered to Dylan. “They’re hearing me, but they’re too
angry. They won’t give up the fight in favor of me.”
“What is she talking about?” Karen asked, looking at the girl curiously. She
could sense something different about the teen than normal, but she wasn’t sure
what it was.
“Have you turned it up?” Dylan asked, continuing to ignore the bystanders.
“All the way up to ‘vampire’,” Andie replied. “I’ve never had to thrall a
werewolf before but I’d assume it would be the same amount.”
“Well, these werewolves are in their wolf form, so maybe they need more. Can
you turn it up even more?” Dylan asked, worried. He knew that the more power
she put behind her thrall, the more energy she used. He wondered if she had
enough.
“I can try and Call for them, but I’ve never done that before,” she admitted.
“Call?” he asked. Andie had never mentioned anything about a Call before.
“I’ll explain later,” she mentioned distractedly as she focused on her powers
again. She practically glared at the two fighting wolves, as if trying to bend
them to her will with her stare alone. “Look at me,” she commanded.
Immediately, the two wolves stopped fighting. They turned to look at her, their
head cocked as if staring at her in confusion. “Adore me,” she commanded again.
The two wolves stared at her; one of them even let their tongue loll out. “Want
me.” Almost as one, the two wolves began to make a run for her and suddenly the
crowd realized why she had separated from them and what she had meant about her
needing protection from the two wolves.
Quickly, Karen and several of the other wolves transformed and pounced on their
distracted pack mates. Andie immediately let her thrall go and the two men
transformed back into their human selves, completely confused. “What the hell
just happened?” Zach asked, looking at Andie in confusion.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Nick spoke up.
“Uh, surprise?” Andie replied sheepishly, her eyes drooping in tiredness. Dylan
quickly pulled out a chair and sat her down, gripping her hand to give her some
of his life energy. The others crowded around them, Nick taking a seat next to
the girl. Charlie looked at her in complete confusion and amazement. “I’m a
succubus.”
“A succubus?” Nick asked in surprise.
“I get it from my mom,” Andie explained with a nod.
Nick looked back and forth from her to Dylan and then from her to Zach and
Simon. “What… what does that mean?”
“I need life force in order to survive,” she started out simply. “I get it
through touch.” She lifted up her hand that was clasped in Dylan’s. “I also
have the power to thrall which is what I just did to those two.” She nodded her
head to the two wolves. “Normally, I give off a level amount of pheromones but
when I thrall, that amount increases in order to ensnare my prey. But I’m young
and still new to my powers; they haven’t fully matured yet, so I was forced to
Call for them. I’ve never done that before,” she admitted.
“Yes, you mentioned that,” Dylan said. “What is that?”
Andie turned slightly to face him. “Have you ever heard about the legend of the
siren?” she asked.
“Yes, a beautiful woman who lured sailors to their death with the sound of her
voice,” Dylan recalled the myth.
“The siren legend was based off of succubae,” she explained. “Our powers are
amplified when we speak.”
“So, wait,” Charlie butt in. “What about the luring to death part?”
Andie winced before looking at her ex-boyfriend. “That part is true. We feed
off life force, as in take too much and you die.”
“All those times I fainted after we kissed…” he realized, eyes wide in shock.
“What?” Sarah cried out, throwing a protective arm around Charlie as she glared
at Andie. Charlie had always been sickly as a child and they had been worrying
about his fainting spells. To realize that this girl had been hurting him…
“I’m so sorry,” she apologized. “I tried to stop seeing you when I realized I
was hurting you and then I thought I was okay because I was being medicated and
it was just a huge mess,” she rushed out.
“And you and Dylan?” Nick asked. “You’re touching him and he seems to be fine.”
Andie and Dylan shared a quick look. “That’s because I’m a vampire,” Dylan
admitted. “Andie can get all the energy she needs from me without harming me
and in turn, I can get all the energy I need from her as well.”
“What do you mean?” Nick asked suspiciously. “Are you talking about blood?” he
asked lowly even though everyone could hear him.
“Yes,” Dylan admitted, ignoring the looks he was getting from the other
vampires. “She gets her energy from me and then I, in turn, get fresh blood
from her. My energy allows her strength for over a week and her blood is
strengthened by that energy which allows me to last a week on her blood as
well.”
“It’s like a real life symbiotic relationship,” Andie added in. “Dylan keeps me
strong with no risk of me accidentally killing him and I give him fresh blood
without the risk of him killing me. It’s a partnership.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” Peg realized.
Mia smirked up at her mom. “That’s what I thought, too.”
“You knew about this?” Peg asked her daughter before looking back at the
succubus in question. “Andie, you should have been taking your medication.”
“There’s medication?” Nick asked in surprise.
“I couldn’t, Dr. Peg,” Andie said shaking her head. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t
go through that again. I was throwing up, I couldn’t think or focus, I was
mixing up my words and I was failing out of all of my classes. Your medication
was making me worse, not better.”
Peg sighed but nodded in understanding. “I’m sorry for that, but there really
wasn’t anything that can be done. It’s your nature to take other people’s
energy. But your father asked me to try and come up with something, so I did.
Speaking of which, does he know about your arrangement with Mr. Radcliff?”
Andie nodded immediately. “Totally. He’s grateful that Dylan’s helping me.
Without his energy, dad knows I would have died.”
“So that’s why he was so okay with everything at the police station,” Nick
finally realized.
“He’s still a little mad that I didn’t take Peg’s medicine and that I kept this
from him, but I figure he’ll forgive me in like fifty years,” Andie laughed.
Nick looked at her oddly. “Can other supernatural species be turned into
vampires?”
Andie blinked in confusion before turning to look at Dylan who shrugged,
looking at the other vampires. “I haven’t the faintest,” he replied.
“Sorry,” Nick apologized. “It just sounded like Andie was planning on living
forever.”
“Oh, I am.” Andie nodded seriously ignoring the surprised and outraged looks
she was receiving from the vampires. “Succubae are eternal.”
“Really?” Dylan asked, surprised yet again.
Andie nodded. “We are born the same way humans are and start out aging, but
once our succubus powers mature at around 25, our aging halts – provided we’re
still feeding. My mother was 65 when she met my father and had me. My
grandmother was 305.”
“Impressive,” Dylan said, eyebrows raised. It was rare for a vampire to live
that long. They tended to die before then; sun, werewolves, hunters and other
vampires taking care of them.
“I hope to find her one day,” Andie admitted. “I’ve never met my grandmother.”
“What’s to stop succubae from over populating?” one of the vampires asked,
curious to see how another immortal species worked.
Andie and Dylan both looked at him incredulously. “We kill our lovers,” Andie
spoke slowly, trying very hard not to insult the man, but at the same time
thinking of him as a complete idiot. “Do you have any idea how difficult it
would be to have a relationship, let alone get pregnant from a human? It takes
decades of hard work and, to be honest, pure luck.”
“I’m sorry that we had to lie to you, Nick,” Dylan quickly apologized, hoping
to intervene and change the subject before the vampire could get offended at
Andie’s words. “But we could hardly be expected to tell you Andie’s secret
without her permission.”
“I understand,” Nick said looking at the two of them. “Although I hope you know
now that I can be relied on to keep your secret and help in any way I can,” he
said to Andie.
“Dylan said we could trust you,” Andie nodded. “Thank you.”
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