The dance floor of Club Eclipse was a living organism.
Sweaty bodies moved in unison beneath the pulse of strobe lights, forming a mass of heat and desire. The air was thick, saturated with expensive perfume, alcohol, and that metallic scent Natalie had learned to recognize as the true currency of this place.
Rose didn't dance like everyone else.
She moved with liquid grace, guiding Natalie with subtle touches at her waist and shoulders, keeping her locked within her gravitational pull. Natalie felt awkward at first, stiff with fear, but the closeness of Rose's cold body seemed to numb her panic, replacing it with a feverish rush of adrenaline.
"You're tense," Rose whispered, her lips brushing Natalie's ear. "Relax. No one's going to hurt you here. You're with me."
Natalie lifted her face, meeting the vampire's blue eyes. The thunder of music created a private bubble around them.
"It's hard to relax," Natalie said, "when the last time we were this close… you tried to kill me in the snow."
Rose didn't look away. There was no remorse in her expression, but something shifted. The mask of the sadistic predator softened into something more complex. Almost… protective.
"I was angry, Natalie," Rose said quietly. "Blinded by my hatred for my sister. You were just a pawn on her board."
"And now?" Natalie challenged, surprising herself. "What am I now? Another toy?"
Rose stopped dancing for a moment and cupped Natalie's face with one hand. The touch was icy, yet it burned.
"Now," Rose said slowly, "you're someone who walked into the lion's den by choice. That takes courage. Most people run. You stayed."
"Maybe I'm just stupid."
"Or maybe…" Rose stepped closer, their bodies pressed together, "…you've realized that sunlight is boring compared to what the night offers."
Natalie swallowed hard. Logic screamed at her to pull away, but Rose's magnetism was overwhelming. There was a promise in those eyes, a promise that she could be more than the sad, orphaned friend.
Without warning, Rose's hand slid from Natalie's cheek to the back of her neck, gently drawing her in.
Natalie didn't resist. She closed her eyes and leaned forward.
The kiss was a collision of worlds.
Rose's lips were cold and soft, tasting faintly of red wine. It wasn't violent, as Natalie had feared. It was slow. Exploratory. Loaded with a sensuality that made her knees weaken.
Natalie kissed back, her hands gripping Rose's arms for balance as the world spun around them.
When they parted, both were breathing hard. Rose's gaze lingered on Natalie's mouth, her pupils dilating as hunger swallowed the blue.
Rose lowered her face, tracing a wet line with her tongue from Natalie's chin to her neck, stopping directly over her jugular, where blood pulsed fast and wild.
"May I?" Rose asked against her skin.
It was a question.
A choice.
Natalie shuddered. Fear surged back, sharp and cold — but tangled with it was a reckless curiosity. She wanted to know what the others in the club felt. She wanted to understand the ecstasy she'd seen etched onto their faces.
"Will it hurt?" Natalie whispered.
"Only for a second," Rose promised. "After that… it'll be the best feeling of your life."
Natalie hesitated for one final heartbeat.
Then she tilted her head to the side, exposing her throat.
"You can."
Rose didn't hesitate.
Her fangs descended, piercing soft skin.
Natalie gasped, her body going rigid with the initial flash of pain — but before she could scream, Rose released a toxin into the bite, a supernatural enzyme that flooded Natalie's nervous system.
The pain vanished instantly.
In its place came a wave of golden heat and euphoria. It felt like floating. Like champagne on an empty stomach. Like the climax of a fever dream.
Rose drank in controlled pulls, one hand gripping Natalie's waist, the other stroking her hair.
Natalie moaned, her legs buckling, supported only by the vampire's strength.
When Rose finally pulled back, licking a drop of blood from her lip, she cupped Natalie's face again. Natalie's eyes were glassy, lost in pleasure.
Rose locked eyes with her.
The vampire hypnosis took hold — but not to erase.
"You're not going to forget this, Natalie," Rose commanded, her voice echoing inside Natalie's mind. "You'll remember every second. The heat. The pleasure. The way I made you feel alive. And when you wake up tomorrow… nothing else will taste right. Nothing but this."
Natalie blinked, the command etching itself into her subconscious like a brand.
"Yes…" she murmured, drugged and spellbound.
The next morning was gray and hollow.
Natalie walked across the university campus feeling detached, as if watching her life through dirty glass. A silk scarf hid the two faint pink marks on her neck.
She ran into Kara near the library. Kara looked worried, holding two cups of coffee.
"Hey, stranger!" Kara called, handing one to her. "You didn't answer my messages last night. Alice was worried."
Natalie took the coffee. The smell — once comforting — now felt flat and unpleasant.
"Sorry," she said. "I fell asleep early. I was exhausted."
Kara frowned, studying her. Natalie looked pale, but there was a feverish energy beneath her skin, a tremor in her hands that wasn't from the cold.
"Early?" Kara said. "Nat, you've got dark circles under your eyes. And… are you wearing a scarf? It's seventy degrees."
Natalie adjusted the fabric instinctively.
"I think I'm coming down with something. My throat's sore."
"You sure you're okay?" Kara pressed, touching her arm. "You seem… different. Distant."
"I'm fine, Kara. Really." Natalie forced a smile that never reached her eyes. "I just need more rest."
"Okay… call me if you need anything. Alice can drive you to the doctor if—"
At the mention of Alice, irritation flared inside Natalie.
Alice was the good one. The protector.
But Alice had never made her feel what Rose had the night before.
Alice offered safety.
Rose offered transcendence.
"I'll be fine," Natalie said. "Bye, Kara."
She walked away and dumped the untouched coffee into a trash can as soon as she turned the corner.
The day dragged on endlessly. Classes blurred into white noise. Food tasted like cardboard. The only thing Natalie could feel was the phantom throb at her neck and Rose's voice in her head:
Nothing else will taste right.
When night finally fell, Natalie didn't fight it.
She didn't study.
She didn't call Kara.
She put on her leather armor, reapplied her blood-red lipstick, and stepped into the night.
The path to the club felt automatic, as if invisible strings were tied to her wrists, pulling her back into the web.
When she entered the Vampire Club, the scent of blood wrapped around her like a welcome.
She walked straight to the VIP section, her heart pounding with anticipation.
And there she was.
Rose sat in the same place, a queen on her velvet throne. When she saw Natalie approach, she didn't look surprised.
Rose smiled — slow, satisfied — the smile of someone who knew exactly the power she held.
"I knew you'd come back," Rose said, extending her hand. "The first bite is always the one that damns you."
Natalie stared at the pale hand.
She knew she should be afraid. She knew she was surrendering to a monster who had almost killed her a year ago.
But when she took Rose's hand, all she felt was relief.
"I want it again," Natalie whispered.
And the cage door closed behind her.