Vampire Biology: Vampire Biology Series, #1

By Mary Elizabeth

After failing to solve the dreaded sunlight issue again, going to college may be just what I needed to find the cure. Even though I'm an elder vampire, it seemed I still had a lot to learn. In college, I found a copper skinned girl that captured my attention. She reminded me of the humanity that I had long forgotten.

 

 Feeding on men who preyed on women was how I would spend my nights. That's how I found a powerful group of mobsters working on a secret project called Vampire Biology. I would have to take on the mafia to get the cure, and soften my cold heart, or every vampire would fall to the prey of the mafia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jade Diamond Publishing
• Release date: Jun 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215670293

Book preview

Chapter One

The fucking sun was hotter than helheim. Thank goddess for my amulet or I would be burnt to a crisp. The sun faintly stung my pasty skin, I felt the heat from the sidewalk through my thin strappy sandals. I walked through the crowd of hormones known as freshman college students. It made my mouth water with desire.

As I looked around for the information booth, I noticed some boys had been checking out my ass. I grinned. These shorts did a good job of showing off my assets, after all. That was something I loved about these modern times.

I saw large tables with the registration sign above them. It was hard to make my way through but I gently cut my way through the lines. There was no way I was waiting in this stupid queue. I weaved my way through some little old ladies and then some upperclassmen.

Hi, I’m Camy. Welcome to Columbia. What is your name? 

I turned around to see a brunette with a preppy smile on her face. I nodded in response. 

Crya Dodsonberg.

She looked down through her list. Then she found my name and took a blue highlighter over it. Here is your class list, and student ID. You’ll need that for your meals and access to different places on campus. Here is a list of all the events going on. The ones with the stars beside them are the ones that are mandatory. Don’t forget the rest of your welcome packet! It includes just about everything you need for this week. She reached out her freshly manicured hand with a large envelope of stuff.

Thank You. I nodded my head and continued to walk down the path towards the Main Hall. The campus was beautiful, the school old, and the architecture exquisite. The main hall came into view, a brick building at the end of a white walkway. Walking down through the white walkway. I went to rummage through my envelope, watching in surprise as the contents scattered before me across the floor in slow motion. Before I could focus, I was on my ass, head throbbing. What was that?!

I looked up through my blonde hair and noticed a beautiful set of green eyes, outlined in black with golden shadow. Her tan features made her look like an Egyptian goddess, her hair thick with brown undertones. She also had a stunned look on her face.

I am so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going at all. I’m such a klutz sometimes. You must be new too. I just got the same packet. I’m Nina, by the way. She reached her hand out to mine and I shook it.

I’m Crya; you're fine, I wasn’t watching either. Then we gathered up our stuff. We stood up off the hard ground, dusting ourselves off I asked. Nina is an interesting name. Is it a family name? I was curious about her.

Yeah, actually, it’s from my Mother’s people. I’m Cherokee. Your pendant is just...wow! Like, I’ve seen nothing like it. The way the jade diamond in the center catches the light. You can almost see right through it.sunlight. Nina looked at my amulet, eyes wide. I smiled, my hand reaching up to it. It was more than beautiful, though I wouldn’t tell her that. It was the only thing that kept me from burning in the sunlight.

Thanks, it’s passed on from mother to daughter in my family. My mother gave it to me right before she died.

Nina touched the side of my arm, I’m so sorry, that’s awful.

Thank you, do you want to walk to the Main Hall together?

Yeah, sure.

As we walked along, Nina spoke about her parents and how much they all adored their traditions. Native Americans have always been very close to their ancestors and tried to keep their culture alive. I’ve collided with plenty of them over the years. I was there when the Vikings or Norseman came over in their ships and had a conflict with them. Many people still assume that Columbus discovered America, but that’s not the actual tale. He only discovered South America, but five-hundred years before my people made their way to North America. That’s when they had their own encounters with the natives here. Those natives differed totally from Nina’s. 

We reached the Main Hall which looks more like a museum than a hall. It had huge white columns that lined the front of the building. I thought of the older buildings from Greece. It was beautiful and palatial. We walked up the steep stone steps along with tons of other students. I noticed that Nina had to catch her breath from the large stairs. We took a slight pause and then kept going up until we reached the top.

Nina looked at me in amazement, "This is the most stunning place I’ve ever seen. The

glassy marble floors...the high golden ceilings. It’s like being transported to a different land." Her face was glowing.

This isn’t my first time being in a big place like this, though the view is breathtaking, I said, smiling at her. I wasn’t talking about the building. I’d been with many people throughout my life, both male and female, but had never been in love. There was something about Nina though, that drew me in.

The architecture looks like the ancient Greek’s. I studied ancient civilizations while in high school. I found the Greeks to be the most interesting with their technical advances. I’m actually going to study ancient history while I’m here. I’m hoping to get my Ph.D. What are you going to study? Nina looked over at me.

Biology, but I want to go into biochemistry. The architecture reminds me of my homeland. It would snow, and it would almost look like marble. The sun would hit it and shine. The lakes would freeze over, and we would have to take pick axes to break through the ice and get water or fish.

"That totally sounds like something from Frozen. I know that sounds cheesy, but I watch Disney movies. She looked a round at the luminous floor. I can see how the white marble reminds you of the ice and snow."

As we chatted in the center of the Main Hall, my mind went back to the days when people would go ice skating. Only the bravest would go out where the ice was the thinnest. It was mostly foolish boys trying to prove their worth, despite failing at beating their fathers at the sword. I couldn’t exactly tell Nina that. She wouldn’t understand.

There were so many different voices within the large room, our own just blending in with the rest. They echoed off the walls and high ceilings. With so many heartbeats, it was hard to tell which matched with which person. Nina’s heartbeat was a little on the fast side, which was understandable given it was her first day here.

Nina and I walked towards the main lobby and noticed that everyone was going into a large set of double doors in the back of the building. Nina looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. I nodded and we went to get ourselves in line.

As we waited, Nina’s heart seemed to run fast. Where are you from? She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, not making direct eye contact.

I’m from a small place outside of Luvos, Sweden. It’s mainly snow and ice. Being here in warmer weather is a nice break. What about you?

I’m from Qualla Boundary in North Carolina. Nothing special. I got here on scholarship. I’m the first one in my family to get out of there. I hope you don’t mind me saying this but your accent doesn’t sound very strong. Have you been over here in the U.S. for a long time?

Yeah, I’ve been here in the city now for a few years. My accent used to be worse but from being over here I’ve gotten more accommodated. I felt a little uneasy. When my accent faded years ago it was like I had lost a small part of who I was. It was something that I’ve missed.

During our conversation, we had made it through the long-ass line. The inside of the main auditorium was decorated in Columbia colors; navy, sky blue and white. A large golden lion statue sat in every corner, including the two on either side of the stage itself. Students lined up within the dark blue seats on either side. People with black polos and dark pants stood at every entrance and exit, helping to organize the large body of students.

Nina and I finally squeezed into some seats, the room reminding me of a large, overstuffed sardine can. The body heat was suffocating, despite the AC being turned on. Once everyone was seated, a man with blond hair who looked to be in his sixties walked up to the podium. His suit was dark gray and I squirmed, thinking of how warm he must be.

Hello and welcome to our new students! We are proud to have you all here at Columbia University, the proud home of the Lions! So many bright young faces, it couldn’t make my heart happier. Now I’m sure some of you are thinking of how many parties can I get into this year? But that’s not all college is about. It’s about making those lifelong connections, getting that diploma and figuring out exactly what you want out of life. Some of you may think you already have all that stuff figured out. I can assure you that once you make it past your first semester, that your mind will change...

As he kept talking about our futures and how bright we all were, I zoned out. I could only sit there for so long and listen to some paid man to spit lines at me.

After listening to all the speakers they dismissed us for the evening. Nina decided that she wanted to get settled in her room, then we might meet up later. That was fine by me. It made me glad that I didn’t live in a dorm. I didn’t feel like explaining to some random roommate where I was going all the time, plus I didn’t want the temptation to snack on them.

I had actually started getting a little hungry. Even though it wouldn’t be dark for another couple of hours, I could at least get back to my place. I walked off campus and went down into the subway system. Despite the fact that it smelled of dead animals, it made it easy to blend in. I could take someone as a meal in a dark corner and nobody would blink an eye. It went everywhere you needed, plus it was easier to hide when you needed to.

I got off the station and into my part of town the meatpacking district which smelled of rotten fruit that was thrown out of the day. It was close enough to everything that I needed. Plus, it had good alleyways to hunt if I had to. It reeked of fear where a lot of muggings used to happen. Those muggers tasted pretty good. I had the key to a side door that opened the hallway to the third floor of my apartment building, hidden up a series of small metal stairs.

Inside it looked like a crappy hotel and the doors all looked the same. Not many people of importance ever came inside this building. It didn’t have that many tenants and I basically had the third floor to myself. It was like a penthouse but crappier. When I first found the place I might have persuaded the landlord to make sure there wasn’t anyone on the floor.

I unlocked my door and went inside to my lofty apartment. I tossed my keys on the little nightstand that I kept by the door and hung my bag up before going straight to my fridge in my open kitchen. The bloody contents of the freezer compartment stared back at me, and I leaned back on the long bar that separated the kitchen from the living room. I kept extra baggies of blood that I bought from a guy who worked for local blood banks. They came in handy when I needed something to get me through to my next meal.

I grabbed one at random, poured the red liquid into a large mug, and microwaved it a little so that the blood wasn’t too cold. Usually, I ate at my laptop in my bedroom, and today would be no exception. With my steaming mug of blood before me, I clicked the screen to find out if I had gotten an email from my troll yet.  My troll was basically my inside guy. In return for his life, he gave me information. The minute he became no longer useful, his life ended. Sure enough, an email popped up from him. I grinned. He informed me that one of the mobsters I had been tracking was going out tonight. This was going to prove to be an interesting first day of college after all.

LATER THAT NIGHT, AS I dressed in my closet, my phone began to buzz. I walked over to my nightstand to see what was going on. It was Nina, she had texted me after all. What are you doing tonight?

I couldn’t just lie to her but I couldn’t exactly tell her I was going after some mob boss in the city. I just gave her a simple line, I’m just taking it easy tonight. I have a lot of unpacking to do before classes start.

Before I could even step away she texted back and I exhaled. I looked at my phone, Oh, I’m going to hang out with my new roommate. She wants to check out some of the clubs downtown. Just thought I would see if you wanted to go along with us?

Crap. There wasn’t any way that they could end up in that part of town. At least I hoped not. I couldn’t afford to get caught this early in the game. Plus, I was way too good for that. That sounds fun but I can’t go tonight. Have a great time for me.

I set my phone on vibrate, not wanting to be disturbed. The smell of cigarette smoke filled the air as I walked the streets of the city of New York. My heels clicked against the pavement as I neared to the nightclub. The bouncer was this big muscular dark-skinned guy who didn’t have much of a neck. The line was long, but I confidently ignored it and walked up to him. His face was still, like a statue. He looked down at me and pointed to the back of the queue, silently. As I looked deep into his chocolate eyes, I started to hum a sweet melody. His eyes widened and he took down the velvet rope, never breaking eye contact. A bunch of people groaned in annoyance. They were unable to hear my hums.

Bright strobe lights danced before me, the large room pumping with sticky bodies and

energy. People were everywhere but despite their closeness my skin remained cool to the touch. Several men in black suits were in the balcony above. Women dressed in skimpy sequin dresses all flaunted themselves below, as though for entertainment.

As I moved through the crowd, I went to the back wall that was directly underneath the balcony. The bar was full, but I squeezed through and ordered a drink of Jack with Coke. It was my favorite drink, other than what I would drain out of the rich man above. Slowly as I sipped on my drink, I listened to the conversations around me. They were mostly talking about business.

A hoarse voice spoke, Boss, the shipment of oysters will come in tomorrow night.

Good, have the boys ready by nightfall. Make sure you double up on security. I don’t need anyone in my way. An older man said.

I followed some girls upstairs with my drink as though I was a part of the group. There were private booths that lined the walls, all of them were a scarlet velvet material. I smiled. This would make it easier to hide any mess. Cigars and old blood filled the air. The men greeted us happily. A big bald guy tried to place his arm around my waist. I gave a slight tug and moved on, passing him. He wasn’t my target tonight.

The man with the hoarse voice wasn’t on my list tonight either. I came up behind him and placed my hand on the back of his right shoulder. It was large and looked more like a boulder. His rich tan skin reminded me of Aztec warriors. Now those were men who knew how to have some fun. My presence didn’t phase the exotic man.

I looked at the older man closely and noticed that he didn’t have a ring on any of his fingers, though he had several gold necklaces around his neck. One, in particular, had a dragon that lined the outside of a pendant. In the middle of the pendant lay a jaded eye. I smiled, exactly what I was looking for. He must have been the mob boss I was here to see. He didn’t seem to mind the women standing by his side.

One of the women reached toward him as though to take his drink and accidentally spilled a drop on his cuff. Without hesitation his hand went across her face, and the smack echoed. Exasperated. I swallowed back my growl. Secretly I wanted to jump over his body and rip his head off, but that was not the type of attention I wanted to draw to myself. The woman picked herself back up and apologized to the pig.

I danced around toward the older man as he got out his cell. I could see the words on the screen, and while I moved I watched him text someone by the name of Mark. He sent Shipment is a go, then looked at the women beside him, glancing briefly at me. I want to see you ladies dance. Actually all the ladies, I want to see you all dance. Let’s go into the other room.

Together we walked to the back room as though on command. Within, black lights lined the walls, their brightness bouncing from the white couches that flanked two stripper poles. It looked like a giant orgy. Several of the girls went straight to the stripper poles and started to grind against them. I walked up behind an Asian chick and began to dance behind her. Her skin smelled of jasmine and coconut.

She turned to face me and we another and began to move together, our bodies as one. This seemed to please the men very well. I felt the sexual energy rise within the air and it was intoxicating. The girl’s lips touched mine, and soon, our tongues melted together. Several of the men hollered and got loud. Her heart raced with anticipation. I heard her thoughts in my mind that she wanted to undress me in front of all these men. She aimed to please them like a robot. Foolish girl.

Before allowing things to escalate, I moved from her and noticed the big boss man’s lap was empty. My eyes locked with his for just a moment. It allowed me access to his lap. I gave him a dance that focused all the sexual energy in the room. It didn’t take long as his attention was all mine. I bent down and whispered in his ear.

Let’s go to a private room, and we can have a great time. The words escaped like snakes.

I got off his lap, and he signaled to his men to stay put. He led me to the back of the large room past all the glitz. The door was black, and there was a silver finger scan pad. He placed his thumb on the pad, then the lock clicked. 

The inside had a couple of red couches with non-fluorescent black lights. Smart, they didn’t want the lights to show any sign of blood. It wouldn’t surprise me if they tortured people with in this room. That wasn’t usually the case when I got finished. We went over to a large couch decorated with pillows. I had to admit that it was a delicate touch.

He pulled me onto his lap and then took off his suit jacket. The smell of his aftershave had become more potent. I wished he’d put the jacket back on; the scent was distracting. He pulled me closer, and my lips met his cigar breath. I wanted to kill him now, but I needed to know about the damn shipment. I reciprocated. My lips moved down his neck and moaning left his throat. I slowly sunk my fangs into his neck and allowed the sweet nectar to flow.

I stopped myself before he even noticed what had been going on. I whispered into his ear, what’s the shipment? You can tell me...I won’t tell anyone. My lips are yours.

You’re beautiful dear, but, I can’t tell you. Despite how amazing your lips are. That thing you did on my neck felt...wow." He would be a little harder to crack than I thought.

I needed to turn him on just enough but not to the point where I would have to kill him. My hips started to grind against his lap. I slipped my hands down the back of his shirt and started to scratch up his back. A surge of sexual energy came out of his body. My eyes glowed as I felt it, and I took his face and locked eyes. 

Now let’s try this again...what’s the shipment?

His eyes were crimson glazed. It’s a bunch of drugs and chemicals. The drugs to make the money to fund the Vampire Biology project. That’s where the real money is to be made... Loud banging came from outside the door. I knew that was my signal to get out of there.

I looked around and saw that  there was a vent at the top of the ceiling. I climbed off the

boss man’s lap, leaving him dazed, and quickly moved a small table under the vent. Within seconds I was in it. The vent was sharp and cold, but I felt thankful for my tough vampire skin, it meant I didn’t get cut. I crawled up through and made my way out of there.

Chapter Two

The sun had risen and pink shadows danced across my darkened bedroom walls. My eyes felt sharp and alert despite only getting a few hours of sleep. Then again I’ve never required much sleep. If I even sleep at all. Last night kept running through my mind. What did that arrogant boss mean by Vampire Biology? Why the hell were they meddling in vampire affairs in the first place? There was something out of place. Fuck...if the council found out there was a problem the last thing anyone would want is a war between vampires and humans. I didn’t have time for that right now anyway, I had class.

I slowly got out of bed, I didn’t feel like using any type of speed at the moment. Automatically I went and got some blood out of the fridge. Just one bag though, I didn’t want to overdo it. Since it was going to be smothering again, I dressed in a crop top and shorts. I also made sure I didn’t forget my pendantoff my night stand. I didn’t feel like becoming a crispy pile of dust. I locked up the place and went out to the streets.

Damn, the brightness made me squint through my sunglasses. At one point I did wish I could tan, but it was impossible – although I wouldn’t mind a little bit of color. I wondered if I would see Nina today. She stuck out in my mind despite the fact that I had blown her off last night. A slight knot floated its way up in my chest, but I swallowed it back down. Not that it mattered, but she could still prove useful. Human relationships never lasted long since their lives were always so short.

A rush of relief flowed through me once I reached campus. Luckily, the subway had a stop right outside of the steel gates. The white walkways sparkled in the sunlight. I enjoyed how the specks caught the rays of the light. Not many mortals took the time to enjoy the beauty of the little things. It made me almost empathetic toward them.

A large, beautiful two-layer fountain caught my eye as the water glistened in the sun. It reminded me of why I was here. I grasped my amulet, thankful for its magical stone, protecting

me from the harsh sunlight. I needed to figure out a way to live without it, to be safe from the glares of daylight. If I ever forgot it or lost it, I would become fire and ash in the sun.

As I moved forward, the buildings stretched out in front of me, their tan-colored large bricks, stretching up to the air as though they could touch the sky. They blended in with the other pale buildings around them, except for the dark brown edges that made up their outline. The columns seemed to make the architecture appear skinnier. I felt like an ant against them. By the time I reached the one that held my class, I only had a few minutes to find the right room. There were at least three floors, if not more.

I walked up the stairs to the main round double doors. The floors almost looked like sand but shiny. There was a large main desk, at which several people sat with earpieces and computers. I stared at them for a moment, assuming that they were department secretaries. There were two enormous staircases that led up to the second floor.

I dragged my feet over to the desk to ask for directions to my classroom. The lady I walked up to had brown hair in a tight bun on her head with glasses. It made me think of those porn videos where the teacher fucks the student. Excuse me ma’am, do you know where the classic history of renaissance is located?

The woman looked up through her glasses, Second floor in room 218. Once you go up the stairs you go to the right.

Thank you

She looked back down at her desk and pretended that I didn’t even exist. I guess it would be annoying having newbies ask where their classes were.

I followed her instructions and found the classroom without