Chapter One
Another successful morning, thought Valery, as she sat in the corner of a dark alley. Her morning pickpocketing had earned her a total of fifty dollars in cash, a pocket watch and a stick of gum. Feeling excited about her haul and the fact that she hadn’t been caught, Valery stood, slipped her stolen goods into her pocket and walked out of the alley.
The twenty-three-year-old voluptuous, curvy young woman had been on the streets of New York City for as long as she could remember, minus one or two foster homes, a series of arrests for theft and sleeping on a couple of park benches. Maybe one day she would have enough money saved up to go out West, buy a small house and get a respectable job. For now, her life consisted of being a street rat. She picked pockets, stole from unlocked cars and genuinely had a lack of respect for the law. What had it ever done for her?
As her stomach gave a loud rumble, Valery decided some of those fifty dollars she had just stolen would have to go towards food. Pulling her hood up, she tucked her head and ran through the rain.
***
Beau pondered over his family’s insistence that he take a human mate. The traditional Choosing Ceremony was approaching and he was scheduled to pick a female to breed with. Unfortunately for his family, Beau had never been interested in the Choosing Ceremony. In fact, he thought it was completely sexist and he had no desire to follow through with it.
He sat in the back seat of his uncle Xavier’s SUV, waiting for his uncle to return from the tuxedo shop. Beau watched out the window as the busy New York streets and sidewalks bustled. All these humans moving through their day to day lives, and here he was, about to pick one as his mate.
Finally getting annoyed with how long the trip into the city was taking, Beau decided to take a walk. His uncle would call his cell phone when it was time to go. He quickly stepped out of the vehicle, shut the door behind him and began walking down the crowded sidewalk.
The rain poured down on him, but he didn’t care. The smell of the rain wasn’t enough to erase the smell of blood that pulsed through all of these beings. The scent of human flesh was almost overpowering. He needed to get away from this crowded place. It wasn’t that he thought the luscious scent of so much blood would make him lose control, it was simply the fact that he had never cared for highly-populated areas. New York City was nothing but populated. He hated the city, but his uncle had desired the company.
Beau continued to walk until he finally came across the edge of the Central Park. He turned from the sidewalk, jumped the little barrier and started to walk into the park.
***
Having downed her burger, Valery decided it was time to get back to work. Central Park wasn’t overly crowded at the moment. It would be perfect for pickpocketing. There wouldn’t be as big of a risk of getting caught.
She jumped off the bench she’d been sitting on, tossed her garbage into the trash nearby and began walking. Valery gazed at the people as she walked. She generally chose to target the rich because they always had to flaunt their wealth.
The women always had giant rings, fancy coats, and immaculate hairdos. They carried large handbags, which were always the easiest to reach into and snatch a wallet or other valuables from. The snide bitches probably never even noticed they had lost anything, thought Valery, as she scanned the area.
Rich men were also generally easy to spot. Most of the time, they also had fancy jackets and large Rolex watches. They also tended to keep their wallets in their coat pockets which tended to be oversized and slippery, thanks to the silk linings. Valery had never found a wealthy man whose jacket pocket she couldn’t quickly slip her small, chubby hand into, producing a fat wallet full of cash.
As she wandered around, she couldn’t help but notice a young man, about her age, walking just ahead of her. He looked like he fit her type. His brown hair was trimmed short and he had it spiked in the front. He seemed to have a well-built frame, from what she could tell. Valery also noticed that he had shiny diamond studs in his ears and was sporting a bright gold watch around his wrist. The man’s coat was a little bit longer and from where she was walking, Valery could see the end of the man’s wallet peeking out at her. She decided he would be the perfect target.
Valery continued to follow the young man. She made sure to keep a slight distance from him so he wouldn’t catch on. Eventually, he turned into a section of the park that was almost completely empty. This would be a little challenging. If she didn’t grab it at just the right second, he would surely catch her. Not wanting to waste any time, she walked a little faster, yet made sure to walk on the thick grass to help silence her footsteps.
She rounded the corner, but he wasn’t there. What the-?, Valery thought to herself. Then suddenly, she was grabbed from behind.
***
Beau held the curvaceous young woman tightly by the elbows. He didn’t know why she had been following him, but he couldn’t believe it was for no reason at all. He could only assume that she had been attempting to pick his pockets.
“Let go of me!” the pretty, voluptuous, large-breasted woman shouted, as she struggled to get away from him.
“Oh no, I won’t!” Beau replied, holding on even tighter, “What do you think you’re doing, following me?”
“I wasn’t following you. I was just taking a walk through the park,” answered the woman, “Is that a crime?”
“It is when you’re only doing it so you can take things that don’t belong to you.” She stopped fighting him and he loosened his grip, slightly.
“I wasn’t planning to rob you,” lied the curvy woman, who suddenly stomped as hard as she could on Beau’s foot. He released her, out of surprise more so than out of being hurt. That was all it took. The young woman jerked away from him and took off running.
Beau ran after her. Her human pace was no match for his vampire speed and he caught her within seconds. Not wanting to risk losing her again, Beau tackled the woman to the ground. He flipped her onto her back and sat directly on top of her stomach, pinning her to the grass.
“Get off me!” she shouted, angrily.
“NO!” answered Beau, loudly, “Not until you tell me what you were doing.”
“I told you, I was taking a walk in the park! Now, damn it, let me up!” She continued to struggle against him.
“What’s your name?” he asked, gazing down at her. He couldn’t help but feel a sudden connection to her. Something about her scent radiated through Beau’s body and he felt a sudden urge to take her right there and then. He couldn’t do that, he told himself, trying to maintain control over his sudden burst of sexual desire.
“Miranda,” responded the woman. But Beau could tell instantly that this was a lie. He glowered at her, his brilliant ice-blue eyes connecting directly with her exquisite green ones.
“Tell me the truth. What is your real name?” he asked again.
“All right! It’s Valery. Now will you get off me?” she asked again, putting up yet another fight.
“Well, Valery… it just so happens you picked the wrong guy to fuck with! You’re coming with me,” announced Beau as he jumped off of her. He grabbed her up and without any struggle, he hoisted her up, curves and all, and threw her over his shoulder.
***
Valery screamed, beating her fists on his back and kicking her legs as hard as she could. It didn’t even seem to bother him. He continued to carry her through the park.
She didn’t give in, but it didn’t seem like anything she did bothered him. Nobody around even seemed to notice, either. Surely, her screams would alert somebody, but as Valery looked around, even upside down, she could tell there weren’t any people in the area.
I’m so screwed, she thought to herself, as the young brute carried her vast, voluptuous figure as if she were lighter than a sack of potatoes.
Just then a phone started ringing. The man, still holding her with one arm, answered the phone with his other hand. He didn’t carry on a conversation, he simply said, “Meet me at the edge of the park,” and hung up.
Before she knew it, Valery was being shoved unceremoniously into the back of a black SUV. The man climbed in next to her, shut the door and the vehicle roared off.
Yep, she was definitely screwed. She thought as she looked at the man again and then to the front. There was another man in the front seat. He was also large and strongly built. She reached for the door, but it was locked. She was trapped.
FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!!! Valery’s mind screamed. She was going to die.