[Sybil]It had been almost three weeks since Master Dennis deemed me capable of controlling myself around humans. I was getting used to Tyler being around all the time. He was Master Dennis’ human servant, but he did things for both of us. Every morning, I went to bed in my room and every evening I woke up in Master Dennis’ room. It took me longer than I’d like to admit to realize he was picking me up and carrying me to his room before he went to bed in the morning. He was never there when I woke up. It was a little shocking the first time. Bits of memory had been filtering into my mind ever since I woke up. At first, it was simple facts about who I was before I died. Then it was actual memories that came while I slept. Not ones from very long ago, but memories from the month before I died. I even remembered my death. Master Dennis was resistant to what I was telling him. He wanted to believe me but he also knew how unlikely it was that I was remembering rather than having overheard something. I didn’t know how to get him to understand, but I was hopeful that Master Nightshade would help me once he was back from his honeymoon with Echo. Meeting Echo had been awkward. Both my Master and Master Nightshade had been there. They were ready to pounce on me if I tried anything. She smelled really good. A lot better than Tyler did when I met him. I was in control, though. Master Nightshade’s commands went through my head. Never feed without permission. I was learning the scents of a few different emotions and I didn’t like the scent of fear she had when she met me. Part of me remembered her smiling and talking to me as if I were a friend. I wanted her to treat me like that again. It was important she was the wife of the Master of the territory and claimed my Master as her uncle. By the end of the meeting, she was a lot more relaxed around me and I could see pride in Master Dennis’ eyes. Though I gave up on telling him what I remembered once full memories started, instead of bits and pieces, I kept track of what I remembered. It would be important when Master Nightshade returned. Sometimes I would look at Master Dennis and want to hug him or kiss him. He was my boyfriend before I died. I knew there were rules, he told me about them. Sires cannot have romantic relationships with a childe they created until their memories came back. I learned that this rule was created because some vampires changed people in order to get them out of the relationships they were in when they were alive. Not because those people wanted to change, but because the vampire wanted them and they refused. It was super gross and I would never have been with a man who did that to me. My Dennis would never do that. He saved me from death. He already had me and could have come to my bed any time he wanted when I was alive. My Dennis wanted me to be comfortable with him as a vampire before he did that. Even when I was alive, he doubted the things I knew I could handle. It made me smile to think of how he loved me and cared for me before. Sometimes, he would hold me and it almost felt like the memories I had of him holding me. Almost. There was a sorrow in it that I hated. “Sybil, are you almost ready to go?” Master Dennis asked. “Yes, Dennis. I just need to put on my shoes,” I replied. Tonight, he was taking me to work with him. I was tired of being left in the house with Franny while he took Tyler to work. Not that the dog wasn’t sweet and adorable, but it made me feel like I was a pet, too. Tyler would be staying with Franny tonight, because he had errands to do in the morning and wanted to sleep. Part of me thought Master Dennis didn’t want to leave me with a helpless human nearby. It was understandable. Other young vampires were less likely to control themselves against the temptation. I met up with Master Dennis in the entryway and he smiled tightly at me. Sometimes, I got to see his real smile. This was a courtesy smile. I hated it. “We’ll go to the office for a while and you can study some of the books Master Nightshade lent me while I work. Then I have to go check in at a couple of clubs. After that, we can come home and we’ll work on your fighting,” Master Dennis told me. He was insistent on teaching me how to fight. Master Dennis said all vampires needed to know how to protect themselves. I remembered never being motivated to learn fighting when I was alive, but I wasn’t alive anymore and I needed to be able to defend myself if someone tried to attack me. A vampire who couldn’t fight was a hindrance to other vampires. It was too dangerous in the world to be untrained. I understood that more after my death than I did back when I was alive. We went out to the garage and got into the car. I was excited for some time away from the house, even though I was going to be studying instead of having fun. Watching the darkened world go past, I felt like I was flying. -The night at the office ended up being very interesting. I was learning more about our allies. There was a big book of fae and I was reading all about the different species. The vampire who wrote the book rated the flavor of their blood and ease of feeding. There were some who didn’t seem to be worth the effort and others that were a rare treat. I would never feed on a fae without their permission, but I was beginning to learn just how new that rule was. Whoever wrote the fae book had simply taken what they wanted from the fae they wrote about. It was disgusting. Master Nightshade was making a more civilized world for vampires and all living things. “Sybil, I’m finished with my work here tonight. Are you ready to see one of my clubs?” “More than ready!” I replied, closing the book and setting it on the coffee table. He smiled at me and held out his hand. I found out that if I acted the way I remembered acting before I died, he would forget I was a vampire sometimes. He would give me genuine smiles and be more affectionate. It was enough for me to work on being that person again. I loved him before I died and that love didn’t die with me. I was certain other vampires didn’t feel the same about their masters as I did about mine. It was more than a physical attraction. I loved talking to him and listening to him talk. It felt like my life was better now than it had been before. We drove to one of his clubs and he helped me from the car. I was glad I’d picked something more club friendly. I wore a dress that went to my knees. It was shiny and tight at the top, but looser under my bust. It made me look amazing. It wasn’t that I didn’t know I was bigger than people like Echo and all the little things in the club, but I also knew Dennis… Master Dennis… liked that about me. I remembered how he loved my body in the dreams he gave me.He didn’t want one of those wispy, waifish girls. He wanted a woman who looked and felt like a woman. That was me. Master Dennis took me into the club from the front. He stopped for a moment to check in with the bouncer before the man let us through. I heard people in the line getting upset that we got in but they still hadn’t. This was a popular club. The club was crowded and the smell of sweat and bodies was punctuated by other scents. Sometimes more wild and pungent and sometimes more delicate and delicious. There were more than just humans here and I craned my neck to see if I could recognize them. He led me around the club to find the manager, who was at the bar. I leaned against the metal and glass bar while Master Dennis talked to the man who was in charge of his club. My body swayed with the music as I looked around. A man smiled at me and his eyes slid slowly down my body as I danced and waited for Master Dennis to be finished with his business. The man said something to his friends that I couldn’t hear over the noise of the music and people talking, then he came over to where I was standing. I raised an eyebrow at him.“Looks like you need a dance and a drink. I’d be more than happy to give you both,” the man said to me. I smiled at him. “I’m sorry, I’m here with someone.” “The guy next to you, I know. But he’s busy and you look bored. Come on, sweetheart, let me take you out for a dance while he’s busy.” Master Dennis turned to the man and glared at him. I’ll give the guy this, he didn’t shy away from the glare of a vampire. He must have been something else, but all the scents were so heavy that I couldn’t make out what he was. I knew I would get better as time went on.“No werewolf will dance with my Sybil,” Master Dennis growled. “Get away from her.” Looking at the floor, I was grateful I couldn’t blush anymore. I knew, intellectually, that I had been attacked by a werewolf when I was alive and that it was a werewolf who shot me. They didn’t scare me anymore, though. Master Dennis was being protective of me. To him, werewolves were always hurting me. “She’s not marked. I don’t see your claim on her. It’s just a dance, man. Chill the fuсk out.” “No werewolf will touch my Sybil. Mark or no, she is mine and you will leave.” The man scoffed. “And if I don’t?” “I will have you ejected from my club and you will be banned from every establishment I own. Do you understand? If you ever want to take a lady out to a nice dinner, you’ll have to take her out of town. If you ever want to go dancing, it will have to be in the lesser known bars around here. I own every place you want to be. Now, go back to your friends and stop harassing my Sybil,” Master Dennis hissed at the other man. The man raised his hands in surrender and apologized before going back to his friends. I kept my eyes on the floor. Master Dennis moved in front of me and used his index finger to lift my chin. My eyes met his and I saw a fire in them. “Go out to the car, Sybil. I’ll be out shortly. I don’t want another one of these men to think he can approach you.” “But, Master–,” I started. “NO, Sybil. I’ve given you an order. You must do as I say. Out to the car, now.” He put the keys into my hand and pointed to the door. I worked not to frown at him. It wasn’t my fault that the werewolf wanted to dance with me. I shouldn’t be punished for this.With a brief scowl at the werewolf, I headed for the front door. This wasn’t fair and I was an adult, I shouldn’t be treated like a naughty child, especially when I didn’t do anything wrong. I did everything exactly how I was supposed to and I was going to turn the werewolf down. I went to the car and stood outside it, leaning against the hood and grumbling about how unfair my master was. I knew it was because he was feeling overprotective. It didn’t mean I didn’t wish he had just held my hand and kept me in there. Banishing me from the club was a little harsh. “We meet again….” Turning to the voice, I saw the man from the club. Had he seen me leave and followed? I didn’t like this. “Please leave me alone. I don’t want to get in more trouble,” I told him. “You don’t look happy. I see that you’re not wearing a vampire mark. Tell me, what hold does he have over you? I know he’s not the Master of the territory.” “He’s my sire. Please go away,” I insisted. The man snorted. “He acts more like a possessive boyfriend than a sire. You shouldn’t have to deal with that. Come with me. I’ll make sure he doesn’t find you and you can be free. We have donors who are willing to feed you and everything.” I shook my head. “No. I’m not leaving my sire. He loves me and only sent me out here to get me away from you. You need to leave me alone.”“A beautiful, sweet little vampire like you shouldn’t be sent away just because another man appreciates the beauty of you. Your sire is overstepping,” the man said. He moved closer to me and I started moving away from him. I didn’t like the look in his eyes. Something about him set off alarm bells in my head. “I have a community where you will be cared for. We have a safe place for you to sleep and all the blood you could need. I’ll be with you every step of the way. I really like you, Sybil. My name is Scott, by the way. You know me now, don’t you? You can smell if I’m lying.” That was true. I learned what a lie smelled like and the difference in the blood pressure and heartbeat of a person when they lied. He didn’t smell as if he was lying. It was tempting, all the blood I could drink and I wouldn’t be a burden to Master Dennis. I hated that he had to take all this time off of work for me. Without me, he wouldn’t be sad anymore. He would have the time and space to forgive himself. “I… can’t. Please leave me alone.” “If you change your mind, I usually hang around the bars and clubs at night. We’re always looking for more people to join us and no one will shun you for being a vampire. You’re a very important person to us. We need more vampires in our group.” He smiled at me. “Thank you for the offer. Goodbye.” With that, I got into the car and locked the door. He just smiled and nodded, then walked away. That reminded me of something… a word from when I was alive…. I couldn’t grasp what the word was, but I knew it wasn’t the first time I had gotten that feeling from a man who approached me. I didn’t tell Master Dennis about the man approaching me again when he returned to the car. He didn’t need to get upset. I made the right choice and stayed with him. It was enough for me, for now. My remaining with him would depend on what Master Nightshade had to say when I told him about my memory.