same way? I’ll feel like a total idiot if she shoots me down.”
“I hate to say it, but you’ll never know until you try.”
“You’re right.” She took a deep breath then sat up straight.
“You’re right. I’ll talk to her tonight.”
“Good.” I turned to the closet and started hanging up my new
shirts.“So what happened after you watched Danni and me getting it
on?” Damn it. Changing the subject hadn’t made her forget.
“We went back to her room and then we fucked like crazy until
I passed out. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Yes. Thank you.” I turned back to the closet to avoid the smug
look on Amy’s face.
❖
Power naps were in order before we got in the Saturday night
line for the shower. Amy listened when I told her it would be dumb
to assume Camila wanted to spend the night with me again. She
• 88 •
Better Off red
might not even be around for the mixer. We’d had a blast together
the night before, but it was a one-time thing. I told Amy I’d let some
other girl in the sorority be Camila’s bed buddy. Amy laughed and I
cringed a little inside, hoping foolishly that Camila would decide to
spend the night alone if she couldn’t spend it with me.
Amy called Danni who told us Anna-Jade, Mel, Laura, and
Benny were planning on spending the night at the ABO house, sex
free. Then I texted Cleo and she texted me right back, telling me her
bed was big enough to sleep her, Benny, and me. A genuine slumber
party sounded like the perfect thing to keep my mind off Camila.
Even if she would be sleeping or working a few floors below.
Our outfits for the party were at the house waiting for us. The
limo bus was waiting for us downstairs at seven. When we climbed
on, Kyle, Ruth, and Laura were already joking about what we would
be forced to wear in front of the brothers of OBA.
“Ten to one, it’s white,” Kyle said.
“Twenty to one, Cleo doesn’t let us wear underwear,” Laura
added.
Once we were off the bus, we raced up the enormous staircase
and found our way to our big sisters’ bedrooms. Cleo and Danni
were waiting for Amy, Benny, and me with our red chiffon dresses.
The fabric was gorgeous and ran no risk of showing off our nipples
and newly manicured crotches.
The dresses were strapless, and mine fell just above my knees.
I didn’t need a bra thanks to the tight bodice, but Cleo had been nice
enough to lay out a few options of boy shorts and thongs. I risked
the thong and was very happy with the way it felt along my bare slit.
I did my own makeup while the girls descended on Benny.
After her hair had been tamed, it was easy to see how beautiful
her face was. She didn’t need much makeup, if any, but she didn’t
argue when Danni and Amy wanted to put a few curls in her hair.
She looked fantastic in her dress, and it was even more obvious why
she’d wanted to handle the acne situation on her back and shoulders.
Now her creamy pale skin was even and smooth. I was tempted to
touch her just to see if it was as soft as it looked. I kept my hands to
myself as I passed by.
• 89 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
I stood in the bathroom putting the finishing touches on my
mascara, when Camila appeared in the mirror behind me. She
looked beautiful. Her strapless chiffon gown was black and went
all the way to the floor. An elaborate web of diamonds and rubies
hung around her neck. Her lips were bright red again, and her eyes
sparkled their heart-stopping shade. I whipped around to face her.
“What are you doing here?” I asked like a total idiot.
“Well, technically, this is my house. It’s nice to see you too.”
Her fangs gleamed in the vanity lights as she smiled at me. I felt my
face go hot and then blinked a couple times to clear my head of a
few fantasies that had just popped up.
“No. Sorry, I just—I wasn’t expecting to see you before the
party. I didn’t know if you were coming to the party at all.”
“I am. I brought a little something for my girls.” She held up a
small black box I hadn’t realized she was holding. She opened the
lid and showed me a pair of teardrop ruby earrings resting on the
black velvet.
“Oh, wow. Those are beautiful. You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to.” She glanced at the bottle of mascara dangling
from my fingers. “I’ll let you finish up.” She put the earrings on the
counter then paused by the door. Her gaze trailed over my body as
her fang caught her bottom lip. I’d seen that look in her eye the night
before. She wanted to bite me. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
“Okay,” I breathed. Camila slipped out of the bathroom. When
I stopped trembling, I finished putting on my makeup.
❖
In the place of nametags that read “Hi. I’m new,” my fellow
initiates and I were given white roses to wear in our hair. The seven
of us who fed Camila were the last to head down the grand staircase.
Cleo said to me, “Camila will introduce you three around, and
then you’re free to mingle.” I nodded, trying my best not to trip on
my stilettos as we followed our queen into the buzzing crowd.
The guys from Omega Beta Alpha wore black suits with black
shirts and ties. The newcomers were set apart by their red ties and
• 90 •
Better Off red
the same anxious look we new girls couldn’t seem to shake. Gelled
spikes were in perfect place. Trimmed heads had sharply traced
edges. Every bit of facial hair, where there was some, was perfectly
manicured. We’d spent the morning at the spa. The boys had all been
to see a very professional barber. Apparently, onyx-plated dog tags
hung below their shirts, markers of exactly whom they belonged to.
Benny’s claim that we’d been chosen for our diversity was
reflected in the brothers of OBA. I didn’t bother to remember all
their names on the first go-round, but almost every ethnicity was
represented. Where the sister-queens seemed to embrace a wider
range of body types, the boys were all tall and in excellent shape.
The six brother-kings were easy to spot. They carried them-
selves in the same smooth, graceful manner that was anything but
natural to a human. Camila led us toward a man who was nearly
seven feet tall. His eyes were eerily blue, and his spiked hair was
a bottomless shade of black. He introduced himself as Rodrick, a
thick Russian accent coating his words. He didn’t bother explaining
his significance, but I’d remembered what Benny had said about
him at breakfast. This was the king of Omega Beta Alpha. And
Natasha’s husband.
Camila introduced Benny, Amy, and me. I didn’t look away
from his intense blue eyes until he began introducing the two
boys by his side. A baby-faced blond with soft brown eyes stood
to Rodrick’s right. His name was Micah. If Amy hadn’t been so
wrapped up in Danni, I’d have thought Micah would
be right up her
alley. To Rodrick’s left was my lab partner, Greg. He cleaned up well.
I’d never noticed that his eyes were almost as green as mine. I had
never noticed him period. He was smart and hardworking, and we
both wanted to get an A in our lab. I knew better what the back of
his hand looked like holding a pen than what shade of pink his lips
were. He usually wore a ratty Cubs hat over his chin length curly
brown hair. He hadn’t cut the curls, but they’d been brushed behind
his ears. Greg was pretty hot. That wasn’t the reason I was staring at
him. He looked like he was about to throw up or cry.
• 91 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
“Ginger?” I glanced at Camila.
“Oh, sorry. I…ah…”
“I believe these two already know each other.” Rodrick smiled,
flashing an enormous set of fangs.
“Um, sorry. Yeah, Greg’s my chem lab partner,” I finally spit
out. “That’s wonderful,” Rodrick said. “Gregory’s very focused on
his studies. Maybe Ginger can convince him to get a little socializing
in.” “Good luck with that,” Amy muttered.
“Ginger takes her schoolwork seriously as well. Perhaps their
new brothers and sisters will be able to coax them both out,” Camila
said, slowly drawing her finger down my back. I held back a shiver
of pleasure and fought the urge to step closer to her.
We chatted with Rodrick and Micah for a few more minutes.
Greg stood by, only answering when asked a direct question. He was
always polite when he responded, but the whole time his body was
tense and he never smiled.
After an appropriate amount of small talk, Rodrick excused
himself to go find Natasha, and after a gracious “It was lovely to
meet you” to Micah and Greg, Camila let us off our leash. Benny
took off to find Cleo. Amy was eating her dust on a mission to find
Danni. I made a move to follow Greg to the bar, but Camila’s warm
fingers on my arm stopped me. I almost asked her what she needed,
what quick bit of advice she had for me before I ventured into the
crowd. Instead, I froze the moment I was locked in her trance.
Camila took a smooth step toward me, then she kissed me softly
on the lips. I knew instantly that she was labeling me as her property
in the midst of the crowded room. I should have stopped her from
marking me with her perfectly juicy lips. I should have been pissed.
I was already bound to her and the sisterhood. She had no right to
make a show of me being her pet. But the second I was surrounded
by her warm scent, I couldn’t find the will to fight her. My body
caught fire, starting at my mouth as she gently teased me with the tip
of her tongue. And then further down, my pussy throbbed, soaking
the thin strip of fabric between my legs.
• 92 •
Better Off red
When she pulled away, my eyes blinked open just in time to see
her nostrils flare as she raked the tips of her fangs and her tongue
across her bottom lip. Again, her lipstick didn’t smudge.
“Play nice with the other kids,” she said quietly. She looked
me over one more time before blending seamlessly into the crowd.
When I came back to myself, I’d lost track of Greg. I made my
way over to Anna-Jade who was standing by herself in the corner.
She’d set herself up in the perfect nook to people watch and gave me
a small wave as I walked over.
“You having a good time?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s just a lot of people to meet in two days.”
“Yeah, no shit.” I was surprised when Anna-Jade actually
laughed.
Just then Greg and Micah strode over to us.
“Hey, I was wondering where you went,” I told Greg. Micah
answered for him.
“We were scoping out the kitchen. Yours is nicer than the one
at the OBA house. I’m Micah, by the way.” He held out his had to
Anna-Jade.
“Oh, my bad.” I didn’t know when I’d forgotten my manners.
“Micah, Greg, this is Anna—”
“A.J. My friends call me A.J.,” she said.
“It’s nice to meet you, A.J.,” Micah replied. Micah seemed like
an outgoing kind of guy. I wasn’t shocked by his end of their back-
and-forth. My jaw was on the floor because I was almost positive
our sheepish little A.J. was flirting.
“A.J., I think my friend here was hoping to have a word with
your friend. Would you like to join me on my quest for chips and
dip?” Micah asked. Anna-Jade blushed then nodded and tucked her
hand into Micah’s elbow. I chuckled to myself as they walked off,
but my mood dropped the moment I turned back to Greg.
“Can we go outside for a minute?” he asked. If he was trying to
keep something from Rodrick, I had a feeling we’d have to go to the
next county to keep from being overheard. Still, I led him toward the
front door. It was the illusion of privacy he wanted.
• 93 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
Surrounded by the warm night air, I leaned against the porch
railing. Greg tilted his head back against the ornate brick and let out
a huge sigh.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“No. I’m not.” He took another deep breath and looked at me.
“How’d you get wrapped up in this shit? I didn’t peg you for the
sorority type.”
“My roommate tricked me. You could have said no, Greg.
given the same chances to back out. The mood in the house was
pleasant all around, if not sexually charged. None of the new guys
seemed upset about how their initiation had turned out. They all
seemed downright happy. All of them but Greg. And then it clicked.
“They fed from you guys last night, didn’t they?”
Greg looked at his shiny new shoes, shifting uncomfortably.
I’d had my own issues with how instantly sexual our relationship
with the sister-queens had become. I could only imagine how a guy
like Greg, who was very straight, had felt when he thought back to
the previous night. He must have freaked out when he realized he’d
let a male vampire sink his fangs into his neck. He must have been
disgusted when he thought about how hard the feeding had made
him come. And that’s assuming Greg didn’t participate in the orgy
that had probably gone down.
Ignoring the other complications of our nonexistent relationship,
I loved the feeling of Camila’s hands on my body. I craved the grip
of her fangs on my throat. That was only after a few hours with her.
I was pretty sure I was gay. Greg was not.
“Greg, just tell Rodrick you want out. Or…” I thought for a
moment. “I know. Ask him if you can switch with one of us. A few
of the girls don’t care who they feed. I’m sure one of them would
love to feed Rodrick. Then when we graduate you can serve a female
vampire.” At least I thought he could.
“It’s not that simple, Ginger. I’m legacy. My dad was in the
Beta chapter at Carolina.” He gritted his teeth b
efore looking back
up. He refused to make eye contact with me though. He looked over
my shoulder at the OBA house across the street.
• 94 •
Better Off red
“He just—he could have fucking told me. I mean, I get it. This
shit’s important. I’d rather help Rodrick out than have him offing
little kids every time he’s hungry. He’s a good dude. I just—”
“Wouldn’t have gone through with it if you knew?” His silence
gave me his answer. “I wouldn’t have either. Trust me.”
“So what the fuck do I do now? I mean Micah wasn’t into it.
Some of the guys were into it, but he didn’t fight it either. Fuck. I
don’t know if I can do this for four years.”
“Do you want me to talk to Camila? Maybe she can work
something out with Rodrick?”
“No. Ha!” Greg’s reaction was grim and a little crazed. “I don’t
want to be the one pussy who can’t hang.”
“Well, one of our girls refuses to participate in the sex part. I
know some things are unavoidable, but the sex isn’t a must.”
“Shit. I don’t know. I’ll think of something. Don’t say anything.
Rodrick’s probably using his X-ray vision to watch us through the
wall, but don’t go telling your friends or whatever.”
“I won’t. I promise.” I had my own secrets now, secrets my birth
mother could have shared with me before she died. I understood
why Greg was upset. “Listen, Cleo said we can still date and stuff.
Let’s go inside and find you a nice girl.”
“Yeah. Sounds great,” he muttered.
❖
For the most part, no one seemed to notice as we slipped back
into the house. Of course Camila locked eyes with me the moment
I closed the door. When she seemed satisfied I was where she could
see me, she focused back on her conversation with one of the other
brother-kings. He was tall, with a slighter build than Rodrick, with
long, light brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail. I think his name
was Pax.
Greg and I found Micah and Anna-Jade hanging out by the bar.
It was only serving soda, juice, and water. Samantha and Kyle had
their high beams focused on Greg. There was nothing I could do for
• 95 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
him right then and there, so when he was distracted enough with
their attention, I took off to find Amy.
As the party went on, I periodically scanned the room for Greg.