The Devil's Pet

"Are you deaf? I said who are you?"

Keisha internally cursed as the person rose their voice, and gathering courage, she turned around to face her discoverer. Holding the pizza boxes to her chest awkwardly, Keisha almost heaved a sigh of relief when her eyes fell on the person who'd caught her – it wasn't Luka.

Instead, standing before her was an extremely beautiful girl with bright hazel eyes that shone with suspicion, jet black hair that ran down her slim, tall figure, stopping at her waist and skin as fair as a pale moon.

Awed by the stranger's beauty, Keisha's mouth hung agape as she took in the girl's near-perfect features. Realizing she was staring like a fool, she immediately comported herself.

"Sorry. I'm Keisha."

The girl rose a quizzical brow, her untrusting eyes slowly raking Keisha's body. "And just what are you doing here? Are you some kind of maid?"

"Maid? No," Keisha chuckled nervously, not comfortable with the critical look the girl was giving her. "I actually live here, which is why I should be the one asking you what you're doing. Are you a friend of Luka's?"

The girl scoffed at Keisha's words, crossing her arms as she shot her a condescending glare. "Do you think I'm a fool? Luka would never let anyone live in his house, much less a human."

Keisha realized the girl was a vampire at her last words, and immediately put her guard up as she took a step back. Luka had said that not all vampires were good, there was no telling if this girl was one of the types he was talking about.

Noticing her change in demeanor, the vampire snarled, taking a menacing step forward. Her fangs peeked out of her lips predatorily as she slowly pried toward a retreating Keisha. "Let's try this again, human. Before I rip you to shreds, limb from limb, who the fuck are you?"

Keisha's back came in contact with the hard wood of the door, and the human realized to her utter horror she had nowhere to run to. Save for the boxes of pizza she was holding, there was nothing between the monster and herself.

Reaching up to touch her Klypeus, Keisha tried her best to calm her nerves. "Like I said before, I live here. If you don't believe me then suit yourself. I don't owe you an explanation."

Grinning wickedly, the vampire let out a dark chuckle. "Wrong answer, human. Have it your way."

The snarling vampire instantly pounced on Keisha, pinning her to the door as the human shrieked in fright, dropping the pizzas to the ground. Baring her fangs, the vampire lowered her head to Keisha's neck, ready to strike a fatal blow.

Keisha let out a blood curdling scream, closing her eyes as she awaited the painful sting of her razor-sharp fangs piercing into her neck.

However, as she was about to sink her teeth into the human's flesh, a powerful whirl of magic emanated from the Klypeus around Keisha's neck, blasting the vampire off Keisha and throwing her across the room.

Her body slammed into a shelf, breaking the furniture instantly and covering the vampire in a pile of expensive ornaments and books. Fearing that the girl was dead, Keisha let out a horrified gasp as she struggled to make sense of what just happened.

Did her Klypeus just do that?

A section of the wall that had a creepy painting of a man suddenly swung open, and out came Luka with another boy in tow.

"Lydia, where's the fucking pizza- "

Luka's words trailed off as he took in the scene before him, glancing between a petrified Keisha who had pizza scattered at her feet, the vampire girl sprawled out in the midst of broken furniture and then back at Keisha.

"What the fuck? Lydia!"

The other boy spoke up, confusion evident on his features as he surveyed the scene before him, rushing to assist the vampire lady who thankfully, was still alive. Keisha didn't acknowledge this however, her mind too busy processing the fact that there was a secret door in the living room and more importantly, that she was about to be maimed by Luka.

The pureblood in question glowered at her, rage simmering in his dark eyes. "What the fuck are you doing down here?"

The anger in his thunderous voice made Keisha flinch, and she swallowed hard as he stomped toward her. Grabbing her wrist, he yanked her forward so that she was standing right in front of him.

"Didn't I tell you to stay in your room?"

Alarmed, Keisha tried to defend herself. "I was just trying to get my pizza!"

By now, more people had emerged from the secret door, and judging by how they all rushed to assist the disoriented Lydia who was struggling to get up, they were all vampires too. This was not helping to calm the already anxious Keisha, who was dreading the thought of being in a room with about a dozen blood-thirsty creatures.

"You disobeyed me! I gave you one simple instruction yet you disobeyed me!" Luka raised his voice, attracting the attention of the several vampires present, who simply watched on in confusion.

"I'm sorry," Keisha whimpered, trying not to further aggravate him. "I didn't mean to. I was just hungry."

The pureblood moved his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the boy he came in with earlier. "Luka, what's going on? Who is this girl?"

"She's a bounty hunter."

Lydia's is the one who spoke up, clutching her head as she nursed it, sending a glare toward Keisha. "And she claims that she lives with you, Luka."

A chorus of shocked gasps filled the room, a testament to the building tension. All eyes were now on Luka, waiting for the pureblood to either confirm or deny the allegation.

"Luka, is this true?" asked one of the vampires, casting a wary glance at the human the pureblood was currently holding. "Are you harboring a hunter?"

Cursing under his breath, Luka slowly turned to face his expectant audience. This was exactly what he'd been trying to avoid, and the only reason he'd asked Keisha to stay in her room for the night. Long before he had to house the girl, he'd invited his fellow vampires over for a party. It was too late to cancel on them, so he'd planned to keep the human away in her room to prevent anyone finding out about her.

But as usual, the little human chose to defy him, landing herself in a deadly situation as a consequence.

Typical.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Lydia," Luka spoke calmly, casting Lydia a cursory glance. "She lives with me, but she's not a bounty hunter. That's absurd."

Lydia narrowed her eyes at him, glancing between him and the human. "Why are you defending the enemy, Luka? She literally just used her Klypeus on me."

At the mention of her enchanted necklace, Keisha's hand instinctively reached up to touch it, and Luka caught sight of the action. Choosing to ignore it, he returned back to the questioning stares of the vampires in the room.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Lydia scoffed indignantly. "Don't play coy, Luka. Do you think a normal human girl would be able to cause this much damage? If you don't believe me, then what is she hiding underneath her shirt?"

"That's none of your business, Lydia," Luka stated matter-of-factly. "I won't have you bothering my guest."

"Guest?" the other boy who followed Luka in questioned, his voice betraying his doubt. "Since when do we harbor humans?"

Seeing that he was raising more suspicion about his involvement with Keisha, Luka struggled to come up with an excuse. Just how was he going to justify a human living in his house without outing himself for committing treason?

Noticing his silence, Lydia pressed on. "Answer us Luka. Why are you keeping a hunter in your house?"

When he didn't respond, the boy further pushed. "Who is she, Luka? Why is she here? Do you realize this is a treasonable offense? Why are you keeping a hunter – "

"She's my pet!"

The room fell silent at that, Luka's words shocking everyone including himself. Seeing no other option, the pureblood built on his lie, the falsehood rolling naturally off his tongue.

"The girl belongs to me. I've acquired her as my new pet."

"Pet?" Lydia eyed suspiciously. "Since when did you support keeping humans as pets?"

"Like I said earlier, that's none of your business, Lydia," Luka spat venomously. A look of hurt flashed on her face, but she masked it immediately with an eye roll.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to return my pet back to her room."

Luka turned to take Keisha by the hand, wanting nothing more than to take her away from the predatory eyes of the vampires who watched her. Leading her out of the room, the pair paused at Lydia's skeptical voice.

"If she's your pet, why haven't you marked her yet?"

Turning around to look at her, Luka frowned. "What's it to you?"

"Oh nothing," she sneered. "I'd expected you would mark what's yours. Unless she isn't actually your pet and you're covering for her."

Luka knew she was trying to incite the others into thinking he was a traitor, and judging by how they all nodded in agreement, it was working. Not wanting to play into her hands, the pureblood scoffed with disinterest.

"I'll mark my pet when I see fit."

"Why don't you do it right now? I almost attacked her thinking she was an intruder. If she had your mark, I would never have touched your little toy. Mark her in front of us all, so that we'll know she's yours."

The group chorused in agreement, affirming Lydia's suggestion and Luka knew he was cornered. If he didn't mark Keisha right now, they'd all know that he was lying. Not only would that mean that they'd kill the human, but they'd also have him sent before the Supreme Assembly for treason.

He couldn't let either one of those things happen.

Casting a glance at the girl who cowered behind him, using his body as a shield from their threatening stares, Luka made a decision. Pulling the human so that she was now in front of him, her face toward him as he made eye contact with her.

"This is going to hurt. A lot."

Then he lowered his head to the crook of her neck, sinking his teeth in. The last thing Keisha remembered was a piercing scream escaping her lips before she blacked out.