The Hunt Pt. 02

First message: Kaelin, where are you? I'm sorry, please let me explain.

Second: I know, I suck. I care about you too.

I didn't believe her.

Third: Kaelin, please talk to me, I'm scared. Where were you last night? I'm worried about you.

I scoffed at that message. Worried about me? I wasn't the dangerous one by a long shot between the two of us, the only thing I had to worry about was her games. My chest ached, I wanted to rip it out.

Fourth: Baby, please, I miss you.

I never wanted to hear or see the word 'baby' again.

Fifth: It's been three days... talk to me, let me know you're alive.

Me: Yup.

Sixth: Kaelin? Oh my god, please come home. Please. I know you see my messages, please respond to me. Just talk to me. I promise, I'll clear out if you just talk to me. I can't leave things like this.

I didn't want her to leave. The only way for me to not feel how I was feeling was for her to have never existed in the first place, I couldn't make that happen, so I just needed time.

Seventh: Alright, well. Look, I'm going to use your credit card to book myself a flight and a hotel for a couple of weeks since the semester is over. I'm also going to take all the cash out of your sock drawer! If you come home... you can stop me, ya know?

I finally connected how she'd gotten that nice outfit for the club, that bitch! I pondered for a second how much she'd been using my card, I decided to check my statements, she'd spent more than eight thousand dollars over the course of these four months. How did James ever afford her?

Eighth: Just landed. Thanks for the vacation baby. See you in a couple of weeks!

There was a kissy face at the end of her message. I clenched my fist so hard my hand bled where my nails had been.

Despite how angry I was, I couldn't continue to ignore the fact that Jemma was exhibiting signs of denial, maybe that meant she cared about me? Still, after my experiences with her manipulation, there was no way for me trust her words or behaviors.

I owned a dance studio, though, I didn't use it for self-promotion. I simply bought out the real estate and rented it to choreographers and teachers alike. That's how I'd acquired my small fortune. I'd started as a real estate agent, then, as I saved money and had enough to start investing, I began flipping houses, and to ensure regular relatively passive income, I became a landlord. I'd owned at least one property in most major cities in the US.

This particular place held significance to me, second only to my home in Brooklyn. Dance was something I'd been passionate about as a young woman, but after a terrible ACL/MCL injury, I'd found myself unable to perform at the level I had previously. It was too bad, I'd even managed to get admitted to a prestigious dance school in California, on a full scholarship. Becoming a vampire graced me with a restored performance level- my injuries presumably healed all the way through. While I still enjoyed my passion privately, and even in dance clubs, I no longer had the desire to be on stage.

It was above this dance studio, that my spare one-bedroom apartment was located, and it allowed me the time I needed to decompress, away from Jemma. I spent a week away in my one bedroom. For no reason other than it helped ensure I wouldn't think about Jemma the entirety of the time I spent alone inside, I always made sure to pick up a lover before going home. That seventh night, it was a woman. Her name was Elizabeth, and she probably didn't deserve what happened to her, but I honestly did not care.

Elizabeth was very unfortunate that night- because she wasn't Jemma.

She wasn't Jemma, so I didn't want her to touch me, but I did enjoy her. Elizabeth was slender, she'd easily fit in with models if she was around my height, but alas, Elizabeth was a short woman. Still, it was clear to me that she was thin by nature, not by nurture, as she was still a healthy young woman. Her tanned skin made a nice contrast to her platinum blonde pixie cut, and her pale blue eyes looked at me wildly as I pleasured her, she had a face so adorable, I thought she'd make a great Fairy in a movie. The sounds she made provided encouragement for me to continue my ministrations. I pumped my fingers into her rhythmically, but my mind was in and out of the act. Good thing my autopilot knew what to do. The feel was right, but it simply wasn't as much of a joy as I'd so recently experienced. I wondered what Jemma would think of me, if she'd even think of me, and then I shooed the thought out of my mind. Being with Elizabeth was better than being alone, and she looked like artwork beneath me. After she'd had an orgasm, I put my fingers in her mouth, and she gleefully tasted herself. Really, I just wanted to observe her and see if she was ready for more. By her enthusiasm, it seemed that she was, so I kissed a trail downward, right as I reached her mons pubis when she tangled a hand in my hair.

"I want to do you," she murmured.

I was caught off guard. So far, the people I'd brought home were happy with the pleasure I'd given them, and on their way out the next morning, albeit disappointed when I informed them it wouldn't happen again.

"I don't want that," I responded simply.

She sat up, effectively moving her body away from mine, and I frowned. I'd intended to feed from her inner thigh, and she was taking that away from me.

"You're so sexy, I can't help wanting to touch you. Don't tell me you're a touch-me-not sort of girl, baby?"

I scowled, "Get out." I didn't want to be called baby. In fact, most of my victims over the past week were of the 'hey baby,' variety.

"What? Why? I was enjoying myself... I don't have to touch you."

I grabbed her by her hair and dragged her to my door. She protested the painful act, but I did not care. I told her to leave, and she wasn't listening. I opened the door and flung her out. But as soon as I heard the sound of her crashing against the wall in my hall. I groaned. I had certainly tossed her too hard.

My biggest trouble with getting rid of bodies was always the head and the genitals. Everything else, I'd throw into the trash. But first, I'd go through the process of chopping them up finely and cooking them into meals that I'm sure were not edible- my culinary skills were not pleasing. No one thought twice about food in the garbage. Now for the parts I had difficulty with, I'd usually lock them in a chest, and when the chest was filled, I'd swim it out into the Ocean, till I felt comfortable it would not be recovered, and dropped it. The effort was worth covering my tracks. The last thing I wanted to be was a science experiment.

After I cleaned up in my studio, and made Elizabeth disappear, I returned to my home... after being away long enough, coming in smelled just like Jemma. I sighed as both great relief and great remorse hit me at once. My remorse was being an idiot and not killing Jemma when I could've done so without a care. My relief was that despite her not being there, I could still feel her presence, that beautiful energy of hers bouncing around me home. I surveyed my home and found a lot of interesting things. All of my plants were still in good health, Jemma had taken care of them. The fridge was meal prepped out for a what seemed like a week. Jemma left a note on the kitchen table for me as well. It simply had recipes. 'In case you wanted to cook while I'm gone,' there was a heart in the corner of her paper, and I hated how that arbitrary symbol of love made my chest feel tight.

I visited the basement, realizing I'd forgotten about James and nearly laughed at the note on the door: 'I didn't feed him.'

I got rid of him too.

When I went upstairs and opened the door to my bedroom, her scent was much more potent than the rest of the house. As I smelled my bed, it became clear that she must have sprayed her perfume all over my bed, and my suspicion was confirmed as I looked at the nightstand and saw the purple bottle with a note next to it. 'I know how much you like the way I smell, so this is a gift while I'm gone, because even if you don't want to admit it still, I know you miss me. Otherwise, let's be honest, would you even be reading this right now?' I crumpled the note and tossed it into my waste basket, then I downloaded and opened a 'dating' app. Really, the app was well known for hook ups. It was three in the morning, anyone that was perusing through such an app at this time probably wasn't looking for the love of their life.

I got a few matches, my profile clearly stated, 'One night only,' and the response of a woman made me chuckle. Her username was DabsforLabs, and her profile featured... a lot of pictures of her dabbing- in lab coats, and sometimes with a Labrador retriever. I tilted my head at my phone, and almost gave up on looking through her photos when the seventh one caught my attention. It was a full nude picture of a woman on her knees, although she covered her breasts and right between her thighs in an artful manner that left the most desired parts to imagination. The next photo was undoubtedly the same woman, stunning, and holding a sign. 'If you got past the dabs, you deserve to see the rest of what was covered.'

DabsforLabs: It's five in the morning and you just made your profile... do you consider it night still, because I haven't slept yet either."

I hearted her message.

SexyVampy26: I want to see the rest of what was covered, ASAP, I only have two rules.

DabsforLabs: Oh... rules? Yes ma'am. ;P

SexyVampy26: 1) Don't call me baby. 2) I'm giving, not receiving.

I gave her my alternate number, we had a short video chat to ensure what we saw was what we would get, and then she was at my house.

She arrived just before 7am. Her name was Weslin Wesley, and when she told me it, I knew her parents must be bigger dorks than she apparently was. But regardless of being a dork, the woman was gorgeous enough that I only thought of Jemma a few times during my time with her. It was a messy wild beauty. Her black hair was mostly straight and well kept falling around her face and shoulders in layers. Her eyes were two large brown orbs on her face in a way that easily captured attention but didn't go into being odd. Her skin was chocolate in both scent and color, and her lips were plump, much sexier than I think she knew. Her smile was perfect enough that it was clear she must've suffered the grueling years of braces, but it was all worth it.

"You smell delicious," I told her as we embraced at my door.

"Don't bite me, miss Vampy, I'm not fond of pain... but you can eat me in every other way,"

I accepted her rule, and she accepted mine, and we had a beautiful morning.

"So..." she murmured after we had finished our third encore.

"Hm...?" She'd broken me out of thoughts on Jemma, how I missed her, how I could still smell and crave the coconuts and lavender despite the intoxicating chocolate right next to me.

"Want to talk about Jemma?"

"What!?" I shouted, my chest tightened, and shock surged through my system.

"You said her name right before you broke my one rule, K."

I cringed. I didn't taste any blood in my mouth, but the last thing I did was go down on her... so maybe I did--

"Don't worry, it didn't hurt too much."

I looked her in the eyes, and deduced that I had not fed from her, a simple bite was all it was. A bite with Jemma in my mind, what was happening to me?

"I'm sorry."

"Is baby Jemma's pet name for you?"

I rolled my eyes at the naked beauty beside me. "Has anyone ever told you you're too nosy?" I sighed, if I hadn't been in a delightful post coital mood, she would be dead for asking.

"Yes," she grinned. "That's why I stick with one-night stands, you can only get but so annoyed with me, and then you never have to deal with me again."

I raised a brow at her, wishing then that I had Jemma's ability to read minds.

"Well, yes, I guess you could say that. It's more like, she called me baby at times where she made me feel more vulnerable than I've ever felt." I was surprised as the words left my mouth, that I was actually spilling to this stranger.

"So, what happened?"

I laughed. "I left her," as soon as the words left my mouth, I realized I was truly the source of my own sorrow. Jemma might have been an asshole, but she never denied herself what she wanted, she never said she didn't want to be around me. I did all of those things, but pride was the deadliest of sins, and I was and always would be a sinner.

"You feel stupid now, huh? Gorgeous woman in your bed, and you're moaning your ex-girlfriend's name into her neck. You've ruined your chances that we'll ever have a one-night stand," Weslin masked herself of any expression, her voice deadpan.

"Weslin, we've already fucked..."

"Okay K, but get this, I got here at like 7, right? And it's probably still before noon... yeah?"

I frowned, knowing this was leading to a bad joke.

"So then, it's not been a one-night stand, but a morning glory- which you have a distinct lack of in your home. You should tell Jemma to get you some."

She actually caught me off guard. Her joke still wasn't funny to me, but she caught my interest by mentioning a flower, and she annoyed me by suggesting Jemma should get me some. Weslin had a good way of riling me up without making me want to kill her.

"Jemma and I aren't together," I sighed.

"Okay, but you want to be, so I assume you will be soon enough. Unless one of you cheated on the other—then you should remember I'm single, unless you were the one that cheated, then you should lose my number," she giggled.

"You're awkward," I responded.

"I know." She said.

We had a morning glory, and a one-night stand.

**

Despite my profile, I did sleep with Weslin again, and again, and again—basically, each day until Jemma came back. Boy, did that blow up in my face.

Jemma was back a few days earlier than I'd expected her. She said she was going on a two-week vacation, not a ten-day vacation. Furthermore, I did not sense Jemma's energy until she was at my doorway, that was very unusual, and something felt different. The problem with that was while Jemma was on the outside of the door... Weslin and I were on the inside as I was about to walk her to her car. Jemma opened the door first. There was an awkward silence as she stared intently at Weslin. Jemma's furrowed brows... the quivering of her upper lip, the way her fists clenched—she was reading Weslin's mind, and she didn't enjoy the information she was getting. More than that, I realized Jemma was different.

"If I see you here again, I'll kill you," she glared at Weslin. Yes, Jemma was different, she was no longer human.