Part III - Home Alone

Well, dinner was quite bland and uneventful.

Luna had to force herself to stay awake as Justin and her father couldn't help but discuss everything they could think of that was related to law.

It wasn't that she didn't like hearing about how much they loved their jobs, it was just that after her awkward encounter with Justin, he practically turned out to be almost a normal guy.

Almost.

She couldn't get past the fact that he was still undoubtedly weird and she couldn't help the cold chills that kept running through her body every time their eyes met.

This wasn't like her. She never got crushes. She wasn't really looking at Justin as a crush but she was certainly getting more and more curious about him as time passed.

He was just so mysterious and unreadable.

His eyes and smile gave nothing away. He was completely blank to her.

Luna wasn't sure if it was because she had a thing for the dark, mysterious unknown, but Justin was slowly infiltrating her thoughts against her will.

She found herself zoning out through dinner countless times wondering about his background, where he was from and why he chose law.

She wondered about his childhood and family to how many relationships he had in comparison to the number of women he slept with.

The craziest thing was the moment he glanced in her direction when that thought passed through her mind.

It was like he was reading her and he clearly wasn't pleased with her trend of thought because there was a deep scowl on his face before her father reclaimed his attention.

All in all, dinner was still boring for Luna.

In fact, she was glad it was over because her father was so engrossed in conversation and topic change, she never did quite get the chance to quiz Justin or even really talk to him for that matter.

"Do you always wash the dishes so vigorously while you stare off into space?"

Jumping slightly at the deep voice, Luna scoffed, not turning around to see who joined her in the kitchen.

It was Justin. The chills running through her spine confirmed it. He was standing really close to her and she would easily say that she could feel his body heat with how close he was standing, but she couldn't.

"You could hurt yourself like that you know." He whispered again in a lower voice and the moment he said that, Luna jumped in shock, letting out a soft hiss when she felt a sting on her finger.

"Shit!" She snapped, dropping the soapy sponge and cutlery in her hands.

After washing her hands off underneath the warm water, she raised her hand to her line of sight to study the small cut on her index finger from the knife and other cutlery she was scrubbing.

"Wow, I guess you were right." She voiced, her eyes meeting Justin who was focused on her cut and the tiny bit of blood trickling out of the fresh wound.

"Do you need help with that?" Justin asked in a strained voice, finally locking eyes with her, his blues a darker shade than she remembered.

His body was suddenly visibly tense and when Luna dipped her head, she noticed that one of his hands had a tight grip on the edge of the counter to the point where his knuckles were turning palely white.

"Uh, no I'm fine. Nothing the first aid kit and a band-aid can't solve." Luna eyed Justin strangely wondering what was up with his sudden switch in demeanor as she slowly moved away from him and grabbed the first aid kit from one of the shelves.

As she grabbed the few items she needed out of the kit, a soft gasp escaped her when she felt a firm grip on her wrist, stopping her movements.

"Let me." Justin voiced softly, lifting her hand up to his lips.

"Uh what are you doing?" Luna asked stunned, trying to pull her hand away but to no avail.

Justin was unnaturally strong and cold to the touch. Her hand felt like it was shoved into a refrigerator from where he gripped her.

"Hold still. Relax." Justin muttered, putting his attention on her cut that was still bleeding.

He slowly licked his lips and without a second thought, he lowered his lips to Luna's index finger, sucking it into his mouth.

A loud gasp escaped her and she froze solid from shock.

Was he...was he...

Her eyes quickly flitted around the room for any sign of her father before they were back on Justin, taking in the almost pleasurable look on his face as he created a small suction on her cut.

Staring at him in awe, Luna waited on bated breath, too flabbergasted to say anything at the moment. This guy was getting stranger and stranger to her.

But, the feel of his cool lips against her skin was creating a stir of feelings in her that she didn't like or want to welcome. She didn't even know this kid.

And just like that, in the blink of an eye, they were separated with Justin standing a good ten feet away from her.

Justin breathed deeply, no air filling his lungs, but Luna didn't know that and he wasn't ready just yet for her to know the truth about their origin.

In time...soon...by the end of the night, she'd know.

But he had to stop. He was on the verge of swallowing her whole. Her blood was like a sweet addiction to him and the predator in him was almost unleashed before time.

Luna blinked slowly, paying close attention to the cut she had on her finger. It had stopped bleeding. The cut was completely dry. How odd.

She glanced at Justin stupefied. He was weirder than she thought. He just...he just tasted her blood willingly with no gagging reaction. What kind of person did things like that?

She wondered about him, if he liked those weird, dark, mysterious creepy things like she did.

Before she could ask him, he easily spoke up, his voice deep and even.

"Saliva helps stop the bleeding." He explained and Luna frowned.

"I've never heard that before." She countered and Justin smiled deviously.

"Let me rephrase then. My saliva helped stop the bleeding." He vocalized surely.

He was right. The light venom in his saliva helped dry up her cut but she also did not know that.

"Your saliva? So, you have a special kind huh?" Luna joked in disbelief before rolling her eyes and grabbing a small band-aid out of the first aid kit to place on her cut.

"Actually I do." Justin affirmed, not seeing the humor.

Luna gave him a firm glare, realizing that he indeed believed what he told her. Well, he was now officially borderline psychotic to her.

"O...k...right well, thanks I think. I'm going to go find my dad now." She voiced, suddenly nervous with Justin's presence and unwavering gaze.

"He's not here." Justin simply stated and her eyes widened.

"What do you mean he's not here?" Luna gasped in shock, slight panic taking over her.

"He went back to the office. Said he forgot some important documents. He'll be back soon." Justin nodded, trying to calm her down.

The rampant beating of her heart was as loud as a siren to his sensitive eardrums. He could sense her blood heating up as adrenaline pumped through her veins. She was scared...of him. Shit.

"Listen uh, you were in here cleaning up and he was in a hurry but he said he'd be back soon. I told him I'd let you know." Justin further explained but that did nothing to sooth Luna.

It was true what Justin said about her father. The fact that he planted the thought in her father's mind to leave wasn't relevant. Her father was gone and they were alone, just like Justin wanted.

Luna was glaring at him, seemingly calm, but Justin could hear her heartbeat, and he knew she was anything but calm. Plus, the endless thoughts running through her mind were hard to decipher since she was thinking so many things at once.

"Could you...stop thinking so quickly?" Justin blurted out, immediately regretting his statement.

It wasn't his fault. She was giving him a headache.

"Excuse me?" Luna huffed, folding her arms across her chest while glaring at him. "Look you're too weird even for me Justin. What's your deal?" She demanded.

"No deal." He shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"No seriously. I'm starting to think this little dinner wasn't just my dad's idea. So what are you? Some stalker? Have you been stalking me or something? I don't get it. I don't get you. You're confusing."

Oh if she only knew how right she was.

"Listen Luna. There are some things in this world that mere humans weren't meant to understand." Justin hissed. "But that fact doesn't apply to you. What my deal is, isn't important right this second. But, I will admit, I do want to have a word with you." He admitted and Luna shook her head, not believing a word that came out of his mouth.

"Well that's too bad because I'd like you to leave." She snapped at him, her vision darting to one of the kitchen knives.

Justin easily followed her line of sight, a soft eerie laugh escaping him.

"Trust me, using a knife to defend yourself is the least of your worries. I'm not the enemy here Luna." Justin voiced honestly, his stare softening a bit.

"Ok, then what the fuck are you? Because I know this is going to sound weird, but, I'm finding myself moving further away from the whole you being human scenario." She breathed deeply, holding Justin's gaze.

"Fine." Justin sighed, not knowing any other way to prolong the inevitable. "If I show you and tell you...you have to promise not to freak out. It'll make perfect sense once you give me a chance to explain." He voiced.

"I'm sure whatever it is, I can deal with it. This night has been strange enough already."

Luna waited patiently for Justin to get on with whatever he was going to show her. He was a complete stranger to her and they were alone in her house together.

The safe ship had sailed and she knew that just being around this young man was dangerous but for some reason she didn't care. For some reason she felt drawn to him and even though she was resisting him, she wasn't sure how long her resistance was going to last.

She wasn't oblivious to the massive amount of energy he carried with him. He was like a magnet and after only knowing him for a few hours, he was pulling her in hook, line and sinker.

"Ok." Justin muttered, not convinced that she wouldn't freak out but he decided to show her anyway.

He slowly shut his eyes and bit his lip as he straightened his posture.

Luna stood silently and anxiously as she awaited Justin's next move.

With a deep breath, Justin's eyes slowly fluttered open. Only, when he looked at Luna, his beautiful blues were gone and replaced with two orbs as black and as dark as the night.

He took a good look at her, noting the horror that flashed in her eyes and over her face before his lips parted and two very long, sharp fangs descended from his upper jaw.

No words were spoken between the pair because before Justin could get anything out, Luna went crashing to the floor in a heap, knocked out unconscious.

He quickly rushed to her aid, kneeling down to look at her as he tilted his head to the side.

Shaking his head in displeasure, Justin engulfed her in his arms and stood easily with her, her frame practically weightless to him.

This was just what he needed.

He finally revealed himself to Luna, his Luna, and he couldn't have even received a scream or even a gasp.

No, instead he got an unconscious girl lying in his arms because she had fainted from pure and utter shock.