Free Vampiric by J A Fielding

was my fault, and I need to be stronger.”
    “ Ya think?”
    Both Hathen and Clotilde turned, as a loud, rather sarcastic voice emerged from the back of the crowd.
    Both snarled in synch as they turned to face Karl, Clotilde’s brother. A man who now stepped forth from the crowd with fists balled and nostrils flared.
    “ Oh brother.” Hathen rolled his eyes.
    “ Most literally,” Clotilde grumbled, jumping in a smooth motion from the edge of the fountain to stand before her brother. “OK spill it, Bro. What’s your problem now?”
    “ I guess I could ask you the same question, Sis,” Karl snarled. “Look, I have no idea who this Scarlet woman is, but how can she be any worse than the rest of you?” He gestured toward Clotilde and her brethren with a impatient sniff. “Does she revel in sin and public sex like you, I don’t even know what to call you, people?!”
    “ Well she did at one time,” Hathen said in a jokey way, “or so I’ve heard.”
    Karl was unamused.
    “Don’t try to joke your way out of this, you sex demon.” He thrust an accusing finger in Hathen’s direction. “You’ve turned my sister into a monster. Do you have any idea how you’ve devastated her family?”
    “ Karl, no!” Clotilde charged forward, throwing her arms around Karl’s shoulders. “You’re the only blood family I have left, and you’re the only one who can’t accept my new life... Which just happens to be wonderful.”
    Karl broke away from her, making fast tracks to the edge of the park.
    “I can no longer stand to witness the degradation and humiliation of my only sister.” He peered over his shoulder, fixing Clotilde with a long last look as he escaped into the dark of night. “Goodbye Clotilde.”
    “ Don’t worry about it, little one.” Hathen jumped from the edge of the fountain, once again grasping Clotilde’s slender shoulders in a warm, tender hold.
    She momentarily stayed in his grasp, before pulling away.
    “I love my kin of the incubi,” Clotilde spoke more to herself than to Hathen, “but Karl is my blood.”
    Ignoring the heated cries of protest that arose from those around her, Clotilde raced after her brother on fast and frantic feet.
    “Clotilde, it’s not safe out there right now,” Hathen called after her. “Please come back!”
    She slowed down briefly, before disappearing into the same thick gang of trees that had consumed her brother seconds before.
    Jacob, Clotilde’s lover, stepped forth from the group and placed a comforting hand on Hathen’s shoulder. “Let her go. When Clotilde falls in to one of her moods, you just can’t stop her.”
    Hathen was unconvinced.
    “She could be in danger,” he insisted, sitting down hard on the edge of the fountain.
    Jacob shook his head.
    “She’s with her brother.” He turned away, joining the retreating crowd as the vamps dispersed to various parts of the park. “She’ll be fine.”
    Minutes later, Hathen sat alone on the edge on the fountain, his mind wracked with worry.
    His concern for Clotilde ran almost as deep as the intense anxiety he now felt on behalf of his entire den.
    We just never know when the boogey man will pop out of the woods to get us. He stroked his chin in thought. And it will be my fault for dancing with the devil.
    His troubled meditation was disrupted by the opening notes of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Immediately recognizing his cell phone tones, he clicked the talk button on this device. “It’s Hathen.”
    “It’s Jess.” His anxiety melted in the warm tones of his lover, which sounded both sweet and oh so sexy as they filled his phone line.
    “ Hi baby.” He smiled. “Tell me something good.”
    “ Okey dokey.” His smile broadened at her humorous tones. “I’m headed into the station right now, after spending all day checking with some of my contacts in the vampire community. Scarlet, it seems, is just some rogue looney tunes who has been kicked out of every den she's occupied. I now