Queer Vampire Romance Series Book Three
First Karla Nikole Publishing Edition, October 2021
Copyright © 2021 by Karla Nikole Publishing
All rights reserved. This book, its characters or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or for personal, unpaid recreation (i.e., fan art and cosplay). For more information, address Karla Nikole Publishing, 11010 S. 51st St, P.O. Box 51392, Phoenix, AZ 85044.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-7355898-7-9 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-7355898-2-4 (ebook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021917001
Cover illustration by Thander Lin
Contact@LoreAndLust.com
Printed in the United States of America
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To Monica, for sharpening my skills, and to Christa, who is always there and never too busy.
Late September
One
Jae
Humans can’t be turned into vampires. People think it’s possible because of questionable romance novels and TV shows with oversexed teens. But it’s all rubbish.
“Can’t you get me anything higher than this? You don’t have any ranked vamps donating their blood? Third-gen, maybe?”
Wait, I’m sorry—am I some kind of back-alley drug dealer? This is a hospital. Smiling, I use polite Japanese. “Most of our donors are human or of lower-level blood. From a medical standpoint, either will provide the proper nourishment for your unique nature.”
My patient huffs dramatically as she sits back hard against the chair. Teenagers. I really don’t have time for this today. “Yukiko?”
She whips her head back toward me, her gaze serious. “I don’t want to be ‘low level,’ Doctor Davies. I want more. How can I raise my rank? How can I be one of them instead of being on the outside like this? Ugh. I hate it.”
Short answer? She can’t. There’s no shifting up ranks with vampire blood. You are what you are when you’re born. At least half of my job is explaining this. Part doctor, part counselor—stating the obvious one patient at a time.
In Japan, it’s been more the latter. Almost every day I’m dealing with some lower-level vampire with Little Mermaid Syndrome. Groupies, to varying degrees. They ask me, “How can I be part of their world?” or “How can I become a full-fledged vampire?”
You can’t. Get over it and carry on.
“Yukiko, you are a healthy young girl living in an age and culture where humans mixed with vampire blood can live comfortably. The stigma surrounding human-vampires has softened the past few decades. Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, maybe you should focus on what’s available to you? There’s a particularly large community of human-vampire individuals here in Japan. Have you tried connecting with some of them?”
She scoffs. “Are you talking about support groups for loser low-levelers?”
I shake my head. “No.” Although, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. I spin it in my politically correct, Oxford PhD way. “I’m talking about like-minded communities. Groups of individuals with shared interests and circumstances. Do you have friends who are similar to you in nature?”
“Not really.” She lowers her head, contemplating. Her long dark hair falls forward. “I still keep my nature a secret. Nobody at school knows. I’m only here because my parents caught me feeding from the dog. Again.”
“Neither of your parents feed?”
“No.” Yukiko sighs. She plays with the edge of her pleated skirt. It’s way too short and she probably has the waist rolled over multiple times. I always wonder what came first—anime caricatures of high school girls or actual high school girls. Art imitating life and all that.
“My mother is fully human,” she explains. “My father has the residual vampire genes, but he doesn’t feed. He resists the urge since he’s so far removed. I feel it, but I don’t want to ignore it! I want to embrace it. I want to be like Hisaki-chan and Haru-sama. Beautiful and unearthly. Mysterious.”
Thankfully, she’s not looking at me, because I roll my eyes. I’m only vaguely familiar with “Hisaki-chan” because I’ve heard his name so many times from my teenaged patients’ mouths. Apparently, he’s some underground grunge–glam rock star. He’s also a first-gen vampire, which automatically makes him posh and gorgeous. I haven’t seen him, but I don’t need to.
All ranked vampires are beautiful or rich. Usually both. They come in all shapes, colors and sizes, but those two factors remain consistent. It’s not very easy to cross paths with a high-ranked vampire. The second- and third-gens skirt the edges of human society a little more, but first-gens and purebreds primarily stick to their own. I don’t blame them, considering the fear, loathing and violence they faced when their existence was made known in the early 1800s.
Things are absolutely different now. But meeting a ranked vampire today is like crossing paths with a celebrity. People are giddy and re-tell the story to anyone who will listen: “You won’t believe it—I was standing in the queue at the supermarket and a second-gen was right behind me. Buying cabbage! Astonishing.” You have a better chance of meeting one if you frequent a vampire-owned business. Those places are pretty sharp on picking out the groupies though, so access would be quickly (and rightfully) revoked.
Some countries and cities are more populated with ranked vampires than others—depending on whether or not purebreds live there. The whole of Italy is a hot spot, along with Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, New York, Auckland and recently Western Japan.
My home, jolly old England, is a complete dead zone. It’s one of the few countries that have no purebreds at all, and nobody knows why. It’s an unsolved mystery in vampire culture. I studied vampire health and medicine in a place with hardly any vampires. My friend Cyrus said I was ridiculous—like a fireman living in a city of igloos.
Moving to Japan has been an entirely different story. Fucking brilliant. The only downside is the weird anxiety I’ve had since arriving. I don’t understand why, but it grips me sometimes, especially if I’m around a high-leveler. Mentally and emotionally, I felt well prepared for this incredible opportunity. I’ve been wanting something like this since I was a teenager. But physically, I don’t know. Seems like my body is still adjusting?
“I heard a rumor that Haru-sama and Nino-sama came to this hospital.” Yukiko blinks, her eyes wide. “Is it true? Did they sit in this chair? Oooh my God—”
“We never disclose information about who visits or doesn’t visit our hospital.” She’d have kittens if she knew that yes, Haruka has sat in that exact seat, and also that he and his mate will be here again tomorrow. Those two…
There’s a row of pamphlets for different resources on the windowsill behind my desk. I grab one, but before I hand it to her, I take a pen from my desk and mark a star. “Look up this website in particular. There are a lot of communities listed here so you can talk to more teens and young adults with your similar circumstance. When I see you next week for your scheduled feeding, I hope to hear that you’ve at least reached out to one?”
She takes the glossy pamphlet from my hand and stands, awkwardly tugging on her thick checked skirt. “Yeah… alright.”
“And maybe take a break from social media and vampire fan sites?”
Yukiko lifts her chin. “They’re not fan sites. Hisaki-chan and Harunino are my people.”
She’s looking at me, so I can’t roll my eyes. But they are not her people. I’ve never met Hisaki-chan, but Haruka and Nino are in an entirely different league—an entirely different plane of existence. All ranked vampires are. Like kings and queens living behind a thick glass wall, unfettered by things like poverty and disease, racism, homophobia and the general hideousness that the mixing of human genetics often produces. Meanwhile, all of us humans are just standing here with our ugly faces pressed against the glass, breath steaming up the surface as we stare, wishing we could cross to the other side.
