[Nine Years Later]
-Raven-
When I opened my eyes, I found Keegan's grey eyes intently staring at me in the darkness. It was later, a couple of hours after dusk at least. I felt content and well-rested, just hungry.
"You're finally awake," he said, stroking my cheek. The look that he gave me still made me feel flushed all over. I loved the way he looked at me as if nothing else mattered in the world.
"I am...Have you been waiting long?" I asked, kissing his palm.
"No, only about twenty minutes. Long enough for me to check the house and call my mom is all," he said, shrugging. When we got married, we moved into a large, two story house with five bedrooms and a large backyard. We both knew it was a little much but we figured that one day we could possibly start a coven in the future.
"How is she?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Lora had been literally badgering us for grandchildren ever since the ceremony... and she would not take 'no' for an answer.
"Oh, the usual: 'When are you guys coming to visit and when are you guys giving me grandkids?' Except she had a date this weekend," Keegan said matter-of-factly. I knew he did not want his mother to be dating again but I knew that he also did not want her to die alone. With us being married for just over nine years, he finally understood what I meant about humans being impermanent... He watched as his mother aged while we remained the same.
"-And how did that go?" I asked, knowing how overprotective Keegan was about his mother.
"Fine, I guess. He's a stuffy old retired college professor.... I guess he just seems a bit too boring for my mom. She needs excitement," he grumbled. He was too cute.
"Keegan, no one will ever be good enough for your mother in your eyes... Give him a chance," I pleaded, probing his eyes with mine.
"Fine... Are you ready?" he asked, changing the subject. He wanted absolutely no part of that conversation.
I got out of bed and changed into my outerwear, nodding to him as he got to his feet.
~*~*~*~
In no time at all, we were on the snow-crusted, city streets prowling for our next meal. Winter was a really tough season for vampires. Not because of the temperature, we could survive in sub-zero temperatures. It was just that the cold kept the humans inside, therefore, making it harder to hunt.
After searching the main streets for awhile with no sound of life other than the faint crunching sound of our footsteps in the snow, we nearly gave up. We were almost ready to attack some poor soul walking innocently to his car before we heard it: crying.
It was a woman's voice, her agonized cries filling our ears. We followed the sound until we saw her: A young woman that was huddled under a blanket, in an alley, next to a dumpster. She looked to be in her late teens or early twenties. Her cheeks were red and wet with tears, her long, brown hair was blowing in the frigid air, and she was sporting a rather noticeable black eye. Keegan, always being a softie for a crying woman, approached her first.
"Excuse me, Miss... Are you alright?" he asked, startling her.
"Kill me," she said, simply, her shoulders slumped.
Ignoring her comment, Keegan continued to try to reason with her. "Are you hurt?"
"Yes. Kill me, please," she repeated again, her young, frail body being shaken by the force of her sobs.
"Miss, I have no desire to harm you in anyway. I want to help you," he said, keeping his calm, smooth tone.
"You can't help me... no one can," she said, looking down... the tears continuing to fall down her young face. Before Keegan could say another word, he heard it: more crying. It was only then that he noticed that the girl was not alone.
"Keegan, back away," I said, seeing his shoulder tense, "Now." He looked back at me with wild eyes and extended fangs. "As your Maker, I command you... and retract your fangs."
I walked over to the young, battered girl. "Now, Dear, tell me everything," I said, probing her red, swollen eyes with mine.
"He beat me," she said, monotonously. Her eyes never leaving mine.
"Who beat you and why?" I asked.
"My pimp because I got pregnant. When I found out, I ran away. I thought I got away but he found me... he always finds me. I went to another city and he still found me," she said, tears falling again.
"Shhh, it is okay, now," I said, stroking her cheek, "Now, continue."
"When he found me, he beat me and by then, I already had my babies. He told me to throw them away and here I am," she shrugged. She pushed her blanket aside to reveal to me the two crying infants. Their lips were blue from the cold and they were shivering... They needed to get inside and soon. My heart sank. She covered them back up.
"Kill me, please," she pleaded, "I saw the man's teeth. I know what you are. Just kill me."
I instantly knew that killing her wouldn't be enough. I had to find this man...this pimp and rip him limb from limb. My hunger pangs ripped through me like a knife.
"I'll never be able to live a normal life after this. I want to die," she said, her bottom lip quivering.
"What if we killed him? What if we took him out of the equation? Would you still want to die?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, Ma'am. My life is fucked. I'm a teenage prostitute, I haven't made it past the seventh grade, I have no-fucking-where to live, and I have no food or money. And to make matters worse, I depend on a man that wants me to kill my babies. Would you want to live my fucking life?" She asked, sadly. I sighed.
"I do not wish to kill you, Child... I just have a feeling that if I do not do it, you will," I said, running my hand through my hair.
"I would. If you didn't kill me, I'd do it myself," she said, "What will happen to my babies?"
"We will make sure that they are safe and taken care of, I promise," I said, reassuringly, "Keegan, the children."
The girl stood to her feet, she looked to have only been about five feet tall and one hundred pounds, soaking wet. He looked at me, questioningly. "Are you sure you want me to take them, Babe?"
I nodded. "You will not hurt them, do you understand?" He nodded and walked over to the girl, taking both of the tiny infants in his arms.
"Are you sure about this, Dear?" I asked, giving her a final opportunity to change her mind, "We will still take the children, regardless of your decision."
The girl looked up at me with wide, tearful eyes and nodded. I returned her nod and turned to Keegan. "I will take care of her... you can take care of her 'pimp'," I said to Keegan. He nodded his understanding.
"Now, what is his name, Love?" I asked her, extending my fangs.
"His name is Jeremy, he goes by Snow. You can find him off of 23rd and Euclid," she said, closing her eyes, "He'll be waiting for me to come back in Room A17."
"Consider it taken care of," I said, flashing her a fangful smile. I walked over to her, turning her neck to the side. Her eyes closed peacefully as my fangs enclosed her pulsing jugular. I drank and drank, until her small, young frame grew limp in my arms. In a matter of minutes, she was gone...
-Keegan-
When Raven finished draining her, she lovingly wrapped the girl in her jacket as a single, crimson tear fell down her brown cheek.
"I'll go," I said, handing her the babies, "You get them some.... formula(?) and take them home to get them out of this cold."
She nodded and was out of sight faster than I could blink. After taking a final look back at the dead girl, I was trudging down the quiet street. This motherfucker was gonna fucking pay.
~*~*~*~
Before long, I was approaching a cheap, rundown hotel called the Whisper Inn. I could almost swear I could've heard the moans from every room even if I had still had my human ears.
Wasting no time, I walked up to Room A17 and knocked loudly. I heard rumbling followed by a man's voice.
"Jesus, Ashley! I said to dump the brats, not have a fucking memorial for them," he said, opening the door without checking the peephole.... Mistake #1.
When he opened the door, I stepped out of sight. From a distance, I saw a tanned, cut man with slicked back, black hair step outside.
"Ash? Ashley, are you there?" he asked, walking away from his open door: Mistake #2. I slipped inside, having a seat in an empty chair. When Jett finished looking around outside, he came back inside grumbling about 'people not knowing who they were fucking with.'
"Hello, Jeremy," I said from behind him. He grabbed a gun from his waist and aimed it at me as he turned around.
"Who the fuck are you?" he asked, aiming the gun at my head.
I got to my feet and smiled. "A friend of Ashley's."
"You must be the father of those fucking brats," he growled, hate bubbling inside him.
"Something like that," I said, continuing to smile. He pulled back the hammer of the gun, cocking it.
"You ruined a perfectly good bitch, Motherfucker... Where is she, anyway?" he asked, looking around.
"Dead," I said, taking a step toward him.
"That cunt was my best hoe... Now, you're fucking with my money and I don't take very kindly to people fucking with my money." he said as he pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting me right between the eyes.
"Surely, you can do better than that!" I said, laughing at the almost animated way that all the color drained from his now-pallid face. I continued to walk toward him as he emptied a clip into my head, neck, and chest.
"What the fu-," he began before I released my fangs and pounced on him.
"You are gonna fucking suffer," I said, grabbing his hand and breaking his pinkie finger, "exactly the way you made that little girl suffer."
