A Night to Remember: The Vampyre’s Glorious Conquest

It was a dance of sorts. Nice to meet you. You look lovely. Two steps, one step, turn. Non-smoking. Please be seated. Wine list. Two steps forward, one step back, turn. Where are you from? What do you do?

Every question was perfectly posed and every action carefully rehearsed. They followed the formula that would be taught in Blind Dates 101 if there were such a class.

“Excuse my manners, but I forgot to ask your name,” she said, looking demurely down at her hands.

“Collin,” he answered, “Collin Burns.” He didn’t look into her eyes. He was far too interested in the small gold cross dangling from a too-long chain around her neck. “And your name is…”

She patted her necklace timidly. “Sandra McReynolds.”

“Sounds Irish,” Collin observed. He took a long sip of wine, wondering vaguely how many glasses it would take to make Sandra’s nose shrink two sizes and make her chest gain three.

“Sure is,” Sandra smiled brightly.

“Catholic?”

“Mm-hmm. I go to Saint Mary’s on Third Street. Are you religious?”

“Only if Halo counts as a religion nowadays,” Collin joked.

Sandra smiled an uncomfortable smile as her dream of a big church wedding was packed away in a dusty corner of her mind. Not that he was the one or anything –their first date had barely begun- but Sandra was the kind of woman who couldn’t help but wonder.

As a matter of fact, Sandra was the kind of girl who couldn’t help but wonder about anyone who looked twice at her. She couldn’t help but wonder about the valet, the host, the man at the next table, the waiter, or even the mysterious leather-clad man at the bar. And because of her curious nature, her heart broke out in an unexpected flutter when that mysterious leather-clad man left his seat and started walking towards her.

“Sandra? Sandra, hellooo,” Collin said, a faint trace of worry sitting awkwardly on his plain features.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Sandra replied quickly, nervously smoothing her hair. “What did you say?”

“I asked if you liked being a librarian.”

“Oh. Yes. Yes, I do, its very rewarding work,” she said, regaining her composure.

“That’s great,” Collin said, his eyes just a little bit weary, “wish I could say the same about business on Wall Street. Its quite dull and self-serving, I’m afraid.”

“Suits you well,” Sandra muttered. She couldn’t believe that Debbie would set her up with such a dud. Sandra prayed that somehow her evening could be salvaged.

“What was that?”

“Hello,” interrupted a cool voice. The leather-clad man had approached the table. Sandra slowly looked up, taking in every inch of him.

The stranger was tall, at least 6’5”. He had pale, smooth skin and shaggy golden hair. He wore a dark bandana tied around his forehead. He was gorgeous, and Sandra let out a brief sigh when she caught his eyes, which were, of course, a striking clear blue.

“Hello,” Sandra breathed, completely forgetting the man sitting across from her.

“Yeah, hi,” Collin said quickly, barely looking up from his menu, “do you need the salt or something?”

The newcomer ignored him completely and turned his attention to Sandra. He smiled wryly, holding her gaze.

“Is there a mirror in your pocket,” he started, speaking slowly, meaningfully, “because I can see myself in your pants?”

Sandra let out a huge breath. His eyes were hypnotizing.

“I’m Rex.”

“I’m Sandra.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Okay.”

He took her hand, and she began to rise up out of her seat, as if she was in some kind of trance.

Collin watched the scene play out, anger rising in him, making his hands shake.

“Hey, buddy, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Collin demanded. The vein on his forehead was beginning to throb, and his face turned a faint shade of pink. Who did this guy think he was?

“I’m taking this lovely woman back to my place,” Rex said casually, still staring intently into Sandra’s eyes.

Collin stood, throwing his napkin on the table with all the anger he could muster. It was almost the full moon, and he was itching for a fight. This stranger had picked the wrong guy to mess with.

“Hey,” he said, poking his much larger opponent in the chest, “I don’t think you want to mess with me.”

“Don’t I?” Rex challenged with a raised eyebrow.

That was all the provocation that Collin needed. He lunged at Rex, finally forcing him to break eye contact with Sandra, who stood silently in her stupor, not fully comprehending what was taking place.

Collin took Rex to the ground. People gasped when they began wrestling, turning over and over on the floor and bringing an innocent bystander down in the struggle.

After several confused moments of fighting for the upper hand, Collin realized he had made a calamitous mistake. Rex’s fangs nearly shone, sending flashed of light across the room when they caught the moonlight. Collin had two choices: he could either fight his best in human form –which was taking a risk to say the least- or shift, expose himself, and take the vampire down.

Of course, he could concede and retreat from the restaurant with his figurative tail between his legs, but that didn’t even register as a viable option. For one thing, the pack would never let him live it down. And for another, he had his mind set on going home with Sandra tonight. No, backing down was definitely not an option.

Empowered by a new rush of adrenaline, Collin threw the vampire off of him. He didn’t shift, but he did flash his own pointy canines.

Rex came back at him, crouched low and ready to strike. Collin knew that with the flick of his wrist, his opponent could break his neck, but the danger thrilled him.

They collided again, but this time, they stayed vertical. The other patrons and the restaurant staff stood helplessly by as they watched the men –creatures- fight, their jaws slackened.

Collin slammed his fist into Rex’s stomach. Rex doubled over for a mere second and came back with a square hit to Collin’s jaw. That would be a trip to the dentist. This was going on too long. Collin was determined to end it soon.


The crowd and the vampire watched in awe as Collin jumped up and made to plant a forceful roundhouse kick to the side of Rex's head.

But Rex was too fast for his werewolf opponent. Almost lazily, he took hold of Collin’s extended leg and held him upside down with one hand. With the other, he crushed Collin’s leg with an audible crunch.

Rex released Collin and the latter crumpled on the floor. Rex paid him no mind as he returned to Sandra. Sandra was still standing quietly; she seemed not to have taken in the occurrences around her.

“Are you ready to go, love?” Rex asked, smiling. She nodded enthusiastically. He took her hand and the couple made their way to the door, ignoring the destruction behind them. Sandra was thrilled with the unexpected turn her predictable night had taken, relieved to have been taken off the insufferable dance floor by such an enviable intruder.

“My compliments to the chef,” Rex called over his shoulder just before he passed through the door. “This is certainly a night to remember.”

He grinned almost menacingly, his fangs reflecting blinding rays of light onto the deserted street.