Modern Day

As Belle Morte came into view for the first time, June Mayfield felt like she'd swallowed electricity.

Her blood was supercharged. Her bones felt full of light.

The Vampire House of her dreams was just minutes away, and it felt like she'd been working towards this for her entire life. Until now, she almost hadn't believed that it was real, that she had been accepted as a blood donor, but now Belle Morte was at the end of the road, more Gothic and beautiful than its photos.

Donors chattered around her, but June tuned them out.

The champagne glass in her hand shook slightly, and she took a hasty sip, hoping it would calm her nerves.

It didn't.

Finally, the limo reached the wrought-iron gates barring the way into the mansion's grounds, and a sea of bright flashes went off as the press surrounded the car, snapping photos and yelling questions.

June gripped her glass even tighter.

In many ways she'd left her old life behind the second she got into this limo, shedding it like a skin she no longer needed, but stepping out of this limo felt like crossing a final line.

Once she went into that house, she wouldn't just be June Mayfield anymore. She would be June Mayfield, blood donor.

She was already nearest to the door, but she edged closer anyway, in case another donor tried to take her place. She intended to be first out of this limo.

The door opened. Framed against a starry sky, was a tall man with broad shoulders and a shaved head who June instantly recognised as Dexter Flynn, head of security.

"Hi," June said breathlessly.

Dexter wasn't a vampire, but he'd been with Belle Morte almost since the beginning, which meant he was an important part of the world that she'd longed for.

"Hello," Dexter said, smiling, and extended his hand.

June took it, and he helped her out of the car.

The press swarmed around her, and for a moment it was so disorienting it was almost scary, and June fought the urge to take a step back. She swallowed hard, pushing that fear deep down, and shook her auburn hair off her face, smiling for the cameras.

"How do you feel about coming to Belle Morte?" a voice called, louder than the others, though June couldn't see who'd said it. She was surrounded by so many people.

"Amazing," she said, in the general direction of the voice.

"What do you hope to achieve?" said another voice.

June smiled – the smile that she'd practised in the bathroom mirror every day since receiving her acceptance letter.

"I'm just here to feed vampires and have a good time," she said.

It was true – the money that she'd be paid for her services would change her life, and even after she eventually left Belle Morte, nothing would ever be the same again. But all that paled in comparison to the fact that she'd be living with vampires.

From the second they'd stepped out of the shadows ten years ago, June had been obsessed with them. Everything about them fascinated her – their beauty, that fluid way they moved, more graceful than any human, the way their eyes could turn to that blazing red, the sharpness of their fangs, their inhuman strength, their immortality. She wanted it all, and she could never have it.

Being a donor was the next best thing.

Her hand crept up to touch her throat, and anticipation shivered through her. She wouldn't be fed from tonight, but tomorrow she'd finally know how it felt when those gleaming fangs slid into her skin.

Another donor had got out of the limo behind her, and as the attention shifted to whoever it was, June concentrated on walking forwards, through the gauntlet of press, her eyes fixed on Belle Morte.

Three vampires were striding towards her, and her heart felt like it had tripped over itself.

Oh, god, they were here.

They were here.

Her eyes found Ludovic de Vauban first. Like every photo she'd ever seen of him, his blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, worn at the nape of his neck, and his face was expressionless, a marble mask that she couldn't decipher. He really was gorgeous, even though blonds weren't normally June's type.

Next to Ludovic was Deepika Bhagat. Her mouth curved in a small smile – her red lipstick was a couple of shades darker than her bindi – and her black hair was woven into a thick braid that hung over one shoulder like a rope. The dress she wore was crushed green velvet – designer, no doubt – and June couldn't help another thrill of excitement. She didn't know what her wardrobe would look like, but it would be better than anything she or her younger sister, Renie, had ever worn. If only donors got to keep the clothes once they left the mansion.

"This way," said the third vampire, gesturing with his hand to the path that led through the gates to Belle Morte's front door.

June almost forgot how to breathe.

How many times had she sat in her little bedroom, staring at this man in the glossy pages of borrowed magazines, or pored over endless fanfics about him?

And now he was here in front of her, and he was so much more beautiful in the flesh.

Etienne Banville smiled down at her, and June's heart stuttered in her chest. Could he hear it?

She didn't know how to react. She didn't know what to say.

Etienne looked past her and the moment was broken, and June felt like an idiot. Why couldn't she have said something funny or clever, anything that would have made him look twice at her with those piercing blue eyes?

"Time to get everyone in, I think," he said, and June glanced back to see Dexter herding the donors into the grounds. Ludovic and Deepika strode forward to close the gates, blocking the press from coming any further.

As they clanged shut, June found suddenly it hard to breathe again.

This really was happening.

She was inside the grounds of Belle Morte, in front of the most handsome vampire she'd ever seen, and she was about to go into the house itself.

Unexpected tears stung her eyes.

This wasn't a dream.

She wasn't going to wake up.

Etienne glanced at her again, and June wanted to drown in the blue of his eyes.

"Welcome to Belle Morte," he said.

Dexter strode up the path, ahead of the donors, and pushed open the brass-studded front door.

A grin broke across June's face as sheer joy overtook her nerves.

She knew that all her Etienne fantasies could only remain fantasies. She knew that she wasn't the first Vladdict to come through these doors, and she wouldn't be the last. She knew that she could never become a vampire herself, and that this dream was only temporary.

But it was still a dream come true.

She glanced back once more at Etienne, and found him still watching her, and that was enough to jumpstart her confidence. She tossed her hair over one shoulder, gave Etienne a smile that was small and secret, and then she turned and walked through the door into Belle Morte.

One thing was for sure – life would never be the same. 

A/N: For now, my dear readers, this will be the last story in the Belle Morte Bites collection. There may well be more one day as there's still so much that I'd like to do with this world, but for now I have no more stories to tell. 

But it's not all bad news - as some of you saw in my announcements I've been working on a brand new story, and if all the editing goes according to plan, I'll be able to start posting it next Friday :D

Thank you again, Vladdicts, for all your incredible support. We've come a long way since I posted that first early version of Belle Morte, and I can't wait to go on another journey with you all very soon.

*blows kisses*

*disappears in a swirl of glitter*