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VAMPIRES ARE REAL
“We interrupt this program to bring you some breaking news. In what appears to be a coordinated, worldwide event, groups of what we can only describe as vampires have revealed themselves to world leaders in every state and national capitol across the globe. First thought to be a hoax, authorities attempted to subdue the creatures as if they were human trespassers. Please be advised, the following footage is shocking.”
“What the fuck?”
My eyes burn with the need to blink, but I force them to remain open as I watch the scene unfold on my television screen.
A group of normal-looking people approach the White House gates. As secret service agents attempt to block them, the visitors zip out of focus. Two heartbeats later, the people reappear in their previous positions, and the agents are handcuffed to each other, linked wrist-to-wrist around a large tree as if they’re playing some demented game of ring-around-the-rosy.
The scene flips back to the news studio where an anchor with a sweaty upper lip looks like he might puke.
“According to reports from the White House, the vampires met with the president. A few hours later, they reemerged, walking through the White House gates undeterred before blinking out of sight. The White House has issued a statement, imploring the citizens of the United States to remain calm. There is nothing to fear, and President Wickerman will be addressing the nation later this evening.”
The newscast goes on, but the words blur together in my mind as I watch video clips from several state capitol buildings, as well as footage from Mexico City, Paris, London, Tokyo, Madrid, and so many more. Some showcase the vampires’ super speed. Some show close-ups of the creatures’ fangs. One clip even has audio, revealing a large, hulking beast of a man simply telling the guards at Leinster House in Dublin to move aside. The uniformed men’s faces went slack just before they turned and walked away, leaving the front doors of the building open and unguarded.
My heart pounds against my ribs as I sit perfectly still, transfixed. The pale news anchor once again appears in the shot, and he clears his throat twice before croaking out an introduction for a piece of footage that had apparently just been forwarded to every major news outlet on the planet.
A man who looks to be in his late twenties appears on the screen. He’s wearing an expensive three-piece suit, his hair is stylishly gelled into place, and he’s sitting in an oversized wooden chair with what looks like antique tapestries hanging on the wall behind him.
“Is that a throne?” I whisper, studying the embellished details in the armrests and high back.
“Hello. My name is Franklin Belloy. I am speaking to you today to assure you there is no cause for panic. Though we vampires have publicly revealed ourselves today, nothing has changed. We’ve existed for thousands of years, hiding in the shadows and keeping to ourselves. Despite what your myths and cinematic representations would lead you to believe, we do not murder humans, nor do we savagely hunt and ravage hapless souls. We are a relatively peaceful race, and I hope you will keep an open mind as we exit the darkness and come into the light. Peace be with you.”
The news anchor reappears on the screen, speaking in conjecture and spouting theories as to what this revelation might mean to the human race and the world as a whole. I pick up the remote and click the television off, sitting in silence as my mind tries to wrap itself around this shocking turn of events.
Vampires are real.
How is that even possible? How had people, as a whole, written off supposed sightings and encounters, deciding those witnesses were lying or worse, demented? We’ve fooled ourselves into believing we’re the highest rung on the evolutionary chain, yet an apex predator has been walking among us for…centuries.
My head swivels toward the wooden bookcase in the corner. My gaze roves over the spines of book after book, a series of vampire romances that I’ve written and published over the last eight years. Fiction. Fantasy.
And yet, here we are, somehow living in a world where vampires aren’t works of fiction, but real, living creatures who’ve been walking among us without our knowledge.
Maybe not living. Are they truly undead? Do they really drink blood? Die by wooden stakes? The whole “incinerated by the sun” myth is obviously bullshit. The vampire revealed themselves during the day, and there wasn’t even a wisp of smoke among them.
Fuck. What is this going to do to my career? What if everything I’ve written is wrong, or readers stop buying my books because they’re looking for fantasies, not reality?
I shake my head and mumble, “Bigger fish to fry here, Eden.”
Like the fact that real-life vampires just appeared on every continent on Earth.
It’s surreal, and I almost feel ridiculous for even believing it. If I hadn’t seen the footage with my own eyes…
A loud thumping sound bangs through the wall behind me, and my whole body jerks in surprise. Oh. Someone must be moving into the apartment next door. It’s been empty for a couple of months, ever since the old lady who lived there before passed away.
Pushing the possible new neighbor out of my mind, I settle back against the sofa cushions and resume my worrying. People will still want to read about vampires, right? I mean, there are tons of readers who love contemporary romance, and obviously, humans are real. It’ll be the same for vampires.
Yeah.
Of course, it will.
Another loud bang startles me, and a quiet groan of impatience slips between my lips before I quietly mumble, “Jeez, asshole. Could you be any louder?”
I blow out a breath, then suck it back in as a knock sounds on my door. Some saliva tags along with the oxygen, and I end up nearly hacking up a lung as a coughing fit tries to clear my windpipe. Standing, I lift my hands over my head to help open the airway and walk to the door.
Pulling it open, I stop breathing completely. The most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen stands on the other side of the threshold. My lips part as my gaze roves over him. Dark, wavy hair, all shiny and soft-looking, gives way to matching thick brows. A strong jaw covered in scruff so dark, it’s almost black, surrounds a pair of full, smooth lips.
