#collaborative story

For a moment, Amy got lost in this feeling. The rhythm of Kamilah's heartbeat was echoing in her mind. Since she was turned, every sound seemed heightened for her.

Every sense was more perceptive.

The smell of lavender, coming from the woman's direction, making Amy inhale deeply.

The warmness of Kamilah's body that she was able to feel even from such distance.

Her... Wait... why am I even having those thoughts about her, Amy scolded herself in her head.

This woman hated her. It was clear enough, so there was no reason for the girl to think about her.

Amy shook her head and finally made her way inside the flat, looking around, taking in the surroundings.

There wasn't a lot to take in after all. The place was small, cozy, and extremely messy. There were clothes and plates everywhere, some of them clean, other ones not so much.

While looking around, Amy's eyes moved on the woman's body uncontrollably. Before she was able to do anything, she met with the icy stare of Kamilah's chestnut eyes. The blonde looked away hurriedly and approached the window, hopeful that the cold surface of the glass will cool her down.

Everything that happened during the past few days was just a lot for her to process. Adding to it, the constant feeling of guilt, which wasn't helping at all.

Amy was looking at her own faded direction in the smooth surface of the window as the memories hit her.

She was in a botanic garden, attending a party to which she was sent by her boss. She remembered talking about some business with one of the men when everything around changed drastically. This characteristic hissing that grew around them, annoying her ears. The view that she saw next, making her body paralyzed from fear.

She heard the screams of people. Saw the pure red color of blood spreading on the walls around her. Still able to feel her muscles tensing up, denying make a move, escape, fight, defend.

She should have died back then.

It should have been her.

"Did you lose the ability to talk?" harsh tone got Amy out of her mind.

She turned around hurriedly, seeing Kamilah pouring herself a glass of water. The woman's stare was cold. It could easily cut like a knife right now.

Kamilah was feeling a lot of emotions at once. Anger, sadness, grief... but mostly, rage and disgust while looking at this newly turned vampire, which merely a few days ago was no more than a weak mortal. Another human being she didn't care about.

And of course, Elizabeth had to.

Kamilah's gaze made Amy look down, not wanting to provoke the Vampire Queen.

"I apologize, did you want anything from me?" Amy's voice was shaky.

She was shocked by her own reaction. The tone that left her mouth wasn't hers. Amy had never been some stressed, scared little girl. She never felt so intimidated by anyone until she met this woman.

"Nevermind," Kamilah sighed with annoyance. "You'll live here for the next few weeks with one of my clan members. During this time, she'll make you go through the training on how to stop being a mess. Hopefully, she'll agree on keeping you here," she eyed the girl up and down brazenly. "Don't even think of embarrassing me in front of her."

Words made Amy gulp nervously, ashamed. Again, it was not how she would react under different circumstances. She would have defended herself, not letting anyone speak to her like that. So what changed? What power had this woman that made her act so obedient around her?

"I'll try my best," she said, still, not looking into the vampire's eyes.

What Amy wasn't able to notice at that moment was Kamilah's expression changing slightly for a second. Softening her facial features, showing a sign of surprise by the girl's attitude.

That's when a loud sound of unlocking the doors came to their ears. Just after that, someone stepped inside, making a lot of noise during that.

"Speak of the devil," Kamilah rolled her eyes, putting the glass aside.

Amy's nose hit a strong smell of alcohol mixed with perfumes.

A lot of perfumes to be precise. With her heightened sense, she was able to easily separate one scent from another. And even if the aromas belonged to different people, she knew that only one person walked inside.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" at first, the voice was coming from the corridor. But in an instant, the girl showed herself next to Amy by using her incredible speed.

The vampire, how shocking, Amy thought.

"Woah, who are you, girl?" the young woman asked, laughing, eyeing the blonde without shame.

A strange girl was just a little drunk after the great fun she had last night. Or the whole week, assuming by her scent, which was difficult to stand for both women.

Amy looked at her closely, taking in her new flatmate's appearance. The girl was of average height, darker skin shade, and... that was absolutely the end of ordinary things that anyone could tell about her.

Everything beyond that in her look was yelling to be seen. An unusual hairstyle, not talking about the purple shade of her hair. Leather clothes, a black collar around her neck. Arms covered with tattoos.

Amy was just purely astonished by how her appearance was different from her own. She was standing there in her plain shirt and basic jeans. With no jewelry, no makeup on. With her hair loosen up, falling on her back.

"Lily, would you be so kind as to take care of...A..." Kamilah looked in her direction, confused like she was trying to remind herself of the girl's name, but after a moment, she just gave up. "Anyway, she is a new clan member and needs a place to stay. I couldn't think of anyone better to ask for this job."

There was something different about Kamilah right then, her voice wasn't sharp anymore. She wasn't commanding as usual but just asking for a favor.

"Sure thing," Lily smiled and took a sip from the glass that Kamilah previously drank from. "You probably want me to prepare her for the branding too?"

"If you don't mind," the corner of Kamilah's mouth curled up in a weak smile.

"Branding?" Amy remembered someone mentioning this during the Council meeting, but no one told her the specifics.

And it was sure that Kamilah won't do her this favor. She was already on her way out, after saying her goodbye to Lily. She didn't even bother to look into the blonde's direction.

A loud sound of doors closing behind her, made Amy finally let out a breath she was holding for so long.

"I can't believe it's happening... I finally have a flatmate!" Lily took her hand and shook it enthusiastically.

Amy couldn't hold back a smile. There was something cheerful about this girl. It was a nice change for once, especially after those times of darkness in her life.

"My name is Amy," she returned the gesture, shaking her hand. "It's all still new for me."

"Oh, yeah, I can tell," Lily looked at the girl's clothes immediately.

"Is there something wrong with it?" Amy's attitude came back, making her voice sound a little too harsh.

Lily looked into her green eyes and smiled mischievously, not paying attention to the tone of her voice.

"If you're one of Clan Sayeed members, then yes," the older vampire laughed. "Did you even pay attention to the Gorgeous Queen?" Lily recognized the unspoken question in Amy's eyes, so she corrected herself with a laugh. "I mean... Kamilah Sayeed."

How could I not pay attention to her? Even Amy's thoughts about the woman made her skin blush a little. Kamilah was like a goddess by herself. Beyond her stunning look and how perfect her features were, it was her personality, which made Amy intrigued.

"I suppose, you did after all," Lily chuckled, making fun of the new girl's reaction. "So if you want to make an impression, look like a person, that she should be impressed with." Lily's eyes shined as the sly plan was slowly creating in her head.

"I'm not following," Amy wondered.

"I'll show you, girl," sweet laughter filled the room.

***

"Please come in."

"Ms. Sayeed," the assistant walked inside the office, greeted with a smile on the face of her CEO. "It's Ms. Clark, she said that she was meant to..." Kamilah's appearance changed in an instant.

"Let her in," her tone harsh.

A moment later, the girl appeared in the doors, slowly walking inside. She looked unsurely into Kamilah's direction, but the woman was focused on her work. She was typing something quickly on her laptop, not bothering to lift her eyes from it.

So Amy waited, till finally, the Vampire Queen spoke out aloud.

"Take off your shirt."

"What?" Amy was caught off guard. She didn't expect to hear such an order.

"Do what you're told to do, I don't have time for this," voice quiet, cold.

The girl swallowed nervously and looked around the office. Nothing about this place was giving the impression that the CEO of the company was an old vampire. Everything was decorated in a modern style, typical for the industry like this.

What caught Amy's eyes mostly, was the large window on one of the walls. She wondered what made the glass special if the sun coming through it didn't hurt both vampires so far.

"Are you afraid someone would see you naked in my office?" Kamilah's voice took Amy out of her thoughts once again.

Now the CEO was looking directly at her, brazenly taking in the girl's whole appearance. Her chestnut eyes traveled slowly from Amy's feet, moving up her black leather, impossibly tight trousers. Next, her gaze went straight to the equally dark jacket. Under it, the blonde had a grey tank top with a deep neckline, which was showing most of her breasts, making her bra stick out from it.

Kamilah's gaze stopped for a moment at Amy's chest, then slowly went up to her throat, jaw, lips, finally resting at her eyes.

"I see you let Lily dress you up like a slut," the woman's voice cut through Amy's chest like a blade.

"What?" the girl couldn't handle the tension, she didn't know how to react at first until she realized the challenge hidden in Kamilah's words. She was testing her.

So Amy accepted that challenge.

She took off her jacket without dropping the vampire's gaze. The next thing she took off was her tank top. In this way, she was left there standing in her black, lacy bra.

"Excellent," Kamilah stood up, making her steps to the shelf by the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Amy watched her taking out a medium-sized wooden box. The woman turned the key inside of it and took out things that seemed similar to the girl.

"Is this what people use to make tattoos?" even if Amy didn't want to show fear, she couldn't stop the unsureness in her voice.

"Show a little courage..." Kamilah's voice didn't hide her hatred, making the girl shut up with embarrassment.

Amy watched the vampire putting the whole equipment aside on the desk. Right after that, she reached for a knife from the drawer, and before the girl could even think of reacting, Kamilah cut her own skin with it. The blood slowly flew into the container in which was supposed to be ink.

Kamilah did something with the container, and after a moment, she put it together with a tattoo needle. The suspicion spread over Amy's chest when she saw a welcoming gesture from the woman. But she had no other choice than cooperate, so she made her way toward the CEO, stopping next to her.

"Have you ever gotten a tattoo?" Kamilah asked, emotionless.

"No, I don't have one," Amy looked at the needle with unsureness.

"Of course, not," again, this tone, full of annoyance and disappointment. "It's going to hurt."

Without much more warning, Kamilah grabbed Amy's arm with her free hand, making it impossible for the girl to escape. She didn't even try to be gentle.

Amy's natural reaction was to step back, but as soon as she wanted to make a move, Kamilah pushed her on the table. The Vampire Queen stood close to the girl, keeping her thighs between her own legs, with Amy's hips propped up against the desk.

"Don't move, it'll be easier for you and me," an unusual, calming tone of Kamilah's whisper echoed in the girl's head, distracting her for a moment.

At first, Amy felt pure pain when the needle touched her smooth skin. Her neurons felt everything much more, giving impulses to the brain that was about to explode from ache.

Kamilah's blood was slowly forcing itself into her skin, leaving a mark on Amy's right arm. A circle pierced with arrows, with an x in the center of it.

The blonde tried to relax as much as it was possible when she realized that the tension in her body was only making things worse. That's when she felt Kamilah's free hand holding her by the waist, steading her body as the vampire by herself was focused on the task.

The warmness of Kamilah's hand on her skin sent shivers through Amy's body, making her forget about the pain. All she was able to focus on was the woman's closeness. And she hated herself for such a reaction.

She wasn't allowed to even think that way.

Her heart had no right to beat faster.

Her breath shouldn't get any heavier.

Amy closed her eyes to compose herself. To lose those thoughts. To focus her mind on the pain, which she deserved to feel.

She deserved so much more pain than that.

"It's finished," Kamilah told her, stepping back.

This deep, feminine voice made the girl open her eyes. Even if Amy was expecting to see something different, there was an only coldness in Kamilah's appearance.

The girl slowly reached for her tank top as the question popped into her head.

"Why did you tell me to take off my shirt?" Amy wondered because the brand Kamilah gave her was on her upper arm. And since she was wearing a tank top, there would be no problem with reaching this place on her skin.

Kamilah gathered the equipment together, cleaning the container of her blood.

"You did it by yourself," the woman said, focused on her work. "Apparently, you wanted so badly for me to see you in your underwear."

Amy looked at her in disbelieve as the words hit her.

All this time, she was feeling guilty and wanted to apologize. She even did it, maybe more than once, she couldn't recall it now.

And all this woman gave her, were words of hatred, cold looks,

and now.

She made fun of her. Of the way how she made the girl's body react under her touch.

It was too much. Amy's head was burning with anger. She took her jacket and put it on quickly, causing the woman's attention.

"You should learn some manners, girl," Kamilah scolded her, but before she could say anything more, she was interrupted.

"Amy."

The woman's eyes sparkled with surprise, she didn't know what the newly turned vampire was referring to.

The girl sent her one last look, which perfectly matched the tone of her own voice. This time, it was she who sounded harsh.

"My name is Amy, And you better remember that."

To be continued ya’ll !! I hope to continue this eith some lovely people!!