Power Over Men – Jamie T

**Vlad's THIRD PERSON POV CHAPTER. You'll get these every 4-5 chaps ;)

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There were four things on this earth that Vlad Tepes couldn't stand:

Bad listeners, selfishness, dishonesty...

And garlic. Hell, did he despise garlic.

Which, in Vlad's eyes, brought around the rumour that all vampire's hated garlic. It'd happened so long ago, the legend of a vampires weaknesses within folklore included garlic, silver and holy symbols. He'd refused garlic on so many occasions that once some of his people figured out he wasn't human, they connected garlic to a weakness.

Vlad shook his head lightly at the memory and shifted on his seat. It was a way for humans to feel safe, and he let the rumour manifest.

He glared around the busying bar and pushed his empty beer to the edge of the table.

The other three attributes he hated came from experience. He'd lived so long, he saw evil in so many people, it was hard not to hate what they were and how easily someone could change.

Human's were fickle. Vampires were fickle. Witches were more than fickle. And yet, he thought to himself, two of my closest confidants are witches.

Vlad had sailed through life on his own up until three pivotal points: when he'd met one of his closest friends, Christian Beaumont. When he'd met the two women responsible for vampires, and then just over fifteen years ago when he'd met Christian's now life partner and wife, Chelsea.

All bizarre coincidence, all of them interlocked in some way or the other. He didn't believe in fate. Fate was another human invention to explain how the earth sometimes brought people together.

He found that with the family he'd been unknowingly adopted into, "fate" was apparently the norm.

Vlad's thoughts strayed a moment when someone knocked his bottle onto the floor. The man above turned to apologise but paused when he caught eyes with him. Vlad raised a brow when he swallowed, muttered a croaky sorry and scurried off to the other side of the bar.

Another man, one with the bar logo on his shirt, cleared it quickly with a stiff smile before wandering back behind the bar. Vlad, as usual, didn't even flinch at the looks he received or the smiles he seemed to never get.

Coincidences are spiritual puns. He'd read that somewhere after he'd met Chelsea and her friends and now family.

Everyone in that family were connected by one vampire. One woman. Vlad included. But he never liked to think about her, she was a lesson in itself for not just him but for each and every one of them. Not as much as one for him as the rest of them, but it was still a lesson.

Vlad's eyes roamed over the bar once more before taking his phone out to check the time. It was barely eight o'clock on a Friday night. The bar was packed with mostly students. There weren't any vampires, he wasn't here on business, it was more so a break. It was pleasure.

And whatever willing human he found to feed on, would be even more of a pleasure.

It'd been a bizarre few weeks. There were things happening around New Orleans that he didn't have an explanation for yet but soon enough he will. He always did.

And then there was Anna.

He stuck his phone back into his pocket with a clenched jaw. None of her family or Chelsea or even Christian knew Vlad was in New Orleans, only his friend Erinna did – the witch that originated vampires. She was the one that had sent him here in the first place, no context, just: "Get to New Orleans, there's something fishy going on and my sister and I are too busy to go. Keep a very low profile but don't forget to bring us back a few beads."

The last he'd heard, Anna and Mia were finishing their college degree in California. But, Anna did make a valid point, the last time anyone spoke about them to him was when they were at Stanford. Call that his fault for not keeping in regular contact with his "adopted" family, but he preferred being alone most of the time.

Anna being where he'd been twice now, he'd call those spiritual puns. The supernatural universe is a weird one and he saw it in no other way.

And, as if he'd conjured this silly supernatural creature into existence, a flurry of red hair followed by two other women and a man walked through the doors of the bar. Of course, every person with a libido watched them find a table, thankfully on the further side from him.

His eyes looked over Mia and Nina so very briefly before sticking to Anna. He still found it hard to believe this woman was the girl he once knew. No, he forced himself not to see the very fiery, sharp-tongued woman.

Vlad remembered when he saw her on their family vacation four years ago. Striking was one word he'd thought when he'd glanced at her at dinner those few years ago. And that was where he'd stopped when he noticed her father – a respectful and quite frankly frightening man – had caught his fleeting gaze.

Michael Reeves was a younger vampire but damn could he put fear into a man with just a look.

His stare toward Anna turned into a glare. He wasn't in New Orleans to babysit. She wasn't his responsibility. But with her being half and half, and being a rare breed at that, he knew her and Mia had a giant red light above their heads when it came to other supernaturals'.

They ordered their drinks in twos before sitting together with smiles. Although, one face didn't have a smile. Vlad's eyebrow's furrowed at the sulky frown to Anna's plump lips as she swallowed her white wine in two gulps.

Mia's face contorted into a suspicious grimace before grabbing her friend's glass and refilling it from the bottle. Vlad expanded his hearing when he saw her lips move.

"...has you turning to the vino, Anna Banana?"

"It's just been a long week." She grumbled spinning the spine of the glass between her forefinger and thumb.

So, Anna hadn't told them she'd seen him on Monday. He didn't know what Anna was like when it came to keeping something private but in this case, he had no reason not to trust her.

The gangly looking boy nudged her arm as he said, "I don't think she's enjoying pathology."

"I thought you were loving it?" Nina asked looking slightly disappointed.

"Yeah, it's great. Jack, that was just one off day, the rest of the week's been great too, I just haven't been sleeping well."

Vlad watched the lie roll off her tongue but her slight tell was the way she twisted her hands and bit the inside of her cheek. And it wasn't only him that noticed. The more Anna spoke, the more Mia looked suspicious.

He cracked the smallest of smiles at that. Those two have been inseparable since birth, he didn't know what he thought possessed Anna to think she could try to succeed at lying to her friend.

The conversation shifted as they broke off into separate conversations. Vlad's attention veered every so often to other patrons as he grabbed another beer. But every so often he'd hear her laugh or watch a smile light up her side of the room. Then those dimples would wink at him and he'd have to turn away all over again.

It wasn't until he was nursing his third beer that he realised he was outwardly watching them all interact. This Jack guy seemed innocent enough, and Nina and Amelia were in their own world.

And as he took the final gulp of his beer, he almost choked when he caught Anna's green eyes blazing right through him.

Her mouth lifted into the quickest smiles – or snarl, depends on how you look at it – but she shook her head and returned to her conversation. Well, shit. What did he do now? One look and he suddenly felt like he was flapping without feathers. If he left, she'd follow. If he stayed, of course, she'd assume he was spying on her, which he originally wasn't but for the past hour that's what he was doing.

Vlad's grip on his bottle tightened slightly as he recomposed himself. This one woman- girl, didn't have that much power over him, just with a goddamn look. He wasn't leaving. She could think all she wanted.

Twenty minutes later, Anna hadn't looked again, but Nina, Mia and Jack stood with their jackets. Again, he listened: "You sure, Anna? We can wait with you?" Nina insisted.

"Nah, Gretchen will be here in five. I'll be home soon."

He watched Anna walk them to the door and wave them off. And unfortunately for him, as soon as they left, her full attention thwarted to him.

She walked to the bar, the power she had over every man in here made his shoulders tense. Disconcerting was the word he used to describe her. He really meant to say fascinating.

He blinked quickly when she dropped into the seat opposite him with two beers. "You spying on me now?" She purred with a heavy sigh whilst she crossed one jean clad leg over the other.

This was the other thing about Anna Reeves. She really didn't know what she was doing to the people around her. It was one of the reasons why he leaned back against his chair and took very slow breaths.

Her scent. All vampires had one to lure their prey. But with hers, it was her dhampir blood as well as the sweet cherry and almond coming from her skin that made his head a little bit fuzzy.

"No." He answered looking at the brand of the beer and then to her challenging stare.

"Just here for a drink then? Well, good." She shrugged. "So am I. Let's have one together."

"I feel like I don't have a choice." He said, taking a small sip. "What about your friends?"

"They've gone home. It's been a long week, but you already know that." Anna took a small gulp of beer without breaking eye contact. And when she uncrossed her leg and leaned back on her chair, her body took on less of a challenging stance.

There was an agenda obviously. But what, he couldn't tell. So he stared and waited. Waited for whatever statement, question or declaration with a slightly impatient finger tap on the table.

Anna flipped her hair to the other side of her head as she glanced around the bar. And again, he had to lean away as her scent tickled his nostrils.

"I've decided," She spoke, returning her attention to him. "I want to know."

Did she now? He had to purse his lips to stop the smile. "And what's changed your mind?"

"Well, one, I can't have you wandering into the hospital looking for bodies and be seen affiliating with me. Compelling can only get me so far. Two," She held up the beer bottle and pointed the neck toward him. "I'm curious as to why Vlad Tepes would have to 'keep the peace' in New Orleans. I know this place can be a little over the top with supernatural occurrences but you being here doesn't bode well with me."

"Now imagine," Vlad started, reaching out and taking the neck of her bottle with his index finger, middle finger, and thumb. "Imagine how I felt when I caught sight of you dancing alone in the crowd a few weeks ago in the middle of one of the top cities on earth for supernatural activity."

Her eyes narrowed as she snatched the bottle back from his fingers. "How did that make you feel, Vlad?"

His eyes darted down to her lips as they curved upward. There, she was doing it again. Casting a spell. But by the looks of it, she knew it. And he'd be damned if he fell under it. "Surprised."

She hesitated a single second before lightly shrugging and placing the bottle beside his full one. "Surprised is one way to describe it from my side too."

"Either way Anna, there's no reason for you to know or worry about my being here."

"Explain how keeping your presence a secret from Nina and Mia is not something I should be worrying about?"

"It's..." He stumbled in his head to find the right word, but she beat him to it.

"....it's safer? Is that what you were going to say? Alright. Don't tell me but, if I recall correctly, you owe me a damn favour. And if it gets to that point, and you haven't told me squat and there are head's rolling around, you better give me what I ask for."

"That's not how favours work."

Her eyes burnt bright as she grinned. "That's how my favour's going to work, pal."

The more she challenged him, the more his resolve broke. So very few people butted heads with him, vampire or not. Take that guy earlier for example: knocked his bottle off the table and barely a sorry. Nurses at the hospital barely even asked him if he was visiting or there because his arm was going to fall off.

But Anna Reeves. She was a fighter. She'd always been a fighter but seeing it in the confident woman in front of him? The girl he used to see was beginning to disintegrate.

"Fine." He squared his shoulders and leaned forward. "I don't know."

Anna blinked.

And Vlad flashed a grin.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean, I don't know what's going on here in New Orleans." He sort of did, but he wasn't going to tell her everything he'd discovered. He didn't want her to worry and he didn't want her running off and telling her father either. One Reeves' was enough to handle. "Erinna sent me here with nothing more than the fact something suspicious was happening. I'm on the same road as you are, maybe just slightly ahead. So until I discover more, that's all you get. Or better yet, that's all you'll ever get."

Vlad watched her jaw clench ever so slightly before massaging the inside of her palm. "And what have you found out so far?"

"A woman was attacked and compelled."

"What else." She pushed.

"Until I find out more, that's it, Anna. You hesitated when I asked if you wanted to know and now you're pushing me for information I don't know all that much about. So let's leave it at that." Vlad finished with finality in his tone.

Anna sensed it and released a sigh. "Fine."

He crossed his arms over the other and nodded. "Fine."

He watched her compose herself a moment, adjusting her off the shoulder khaki top before grabbing her beer. And then she was watching him in almost the same way, regarding, almost scrutinising what his next move will be.

But instead, Anna finished her drink, smiled, and stood. Vlad remained unmoving and silent when she picked up her denim jacket to shrug it on.

"This has been fun," Her smile turned into a smirk. "But I actually did make plans to meet another friend."

"Where?" He spoke.

"Saint's and Sinner's. Heard of it?"

Of course she's going to Saint's and fucking Sinner's. Vampire's hung out there but by the look in her eyes, he didn't think she knew that. He stood and grabbed his own jacket. "Vampire's go there."

"Really? Well, that's news to me. Follow me if you want Vlad, but blend into the background..." Her eyes travelled up and down the length of his body before she flicked her eyebrow upward and shook her head. "As much as you can."

She started walking away and of course, as if he were on a lead, he followed. "I could say the same about you."

"Say the same then."

When they were outside, he clenched his hands to stop himself from grabbing her. "You're a flashing siren for trouble being a dhampir, don't get this twisted. Maybe you're the suspicious behaviour Erinna was talking about."

She let out a short laugh before shooting him a look and approaching him. "If I'm the problem, then Amelia's the problem and that means we have something bigger to worry about."

He exhaled. "Anna."

"This isn't my favour, but if anything comes to it, just look out for Mia and Nina first and foremost. They followed me here to New Orleans and if something happens to them, it'll be my fault."

And he watched her walk away. He was frustrated. Not only with her blatant disregard for the world around her, but because she clearly wasn't afraid of him.

Still, he found himself admiring her. Family first was such a strong ethic in her family, he realised that a long time ago.

He followed her to Saint's and Sinner's, but remained in the shadows. He watched her interact with who he could only assume was Gretchen, a short blonde with a loud cackle and a quick wit. Anna was smart to actually meet her friend, she made the lie real.

And Vlad knew he didn't need to watch out for her. She was clever. She knew what she was doing, and there weren't any straggling vampires in the bar. So with one more glance, he left her with her friend, the sound of Anna's laugh echoing in his ears as the doors slapped shut.

Whatever the hell was going on here, he didn't have a clue but he was going to find the problem, contain it and keep it as far away from Anna and her friends as much as he could.

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