Bite Me! Part Deux
Copyright© 2026 by Megumi Kashuahara
Chapter 2
Scene 1: Council Chambers - The Next Morning
Laurent hadn’t slept.
He’d spent the entire night reviewing footage from Selene’s tour, cataloging violations, building his case. Now, as dawn broke over Paris, he sat alone in the Council chamber surrounded by tablets and monitors, each showing a different angle of last night’s concert.
The piano scene. The cage. The feeding.
Over and over.
His phone buzzed. A text from his aide:
“Social media update: #SlayerTour trending in 94 countries. ‘Eternal Hunger’ is #1 on global music charts. Baby fang transformation videos have 2.3 billion views collectively. Selene’s beauty line saw a 400% sales spike overnight.”
Laurent threw the phone across the room.
It bounced off a fifteenth-century tapestry and clattered to the floor.
The door opened. Councillor Marie-Claire entered, looking far too fresh for someone who’d been at the emergency session until 3 AM.
“You look terrible,” she observed.
“I haven’t slept.”
“Clearly.” She settled into a chair across from him. “Laurent, we need to talk about your approach to this.”
“My approach is to restore order and dignity to vampire society.”
“Your approach is to pick a fight with the most popular vampire in the world.”
“She’s a CHILD! She was turned less than two years ago! She has no standing, no history, no—”
“She has seventy million fans who watched her perform last night. She has a billion-dollar beauty empire. She has the Marquis de Rochefort utterly devoted to her.” Marie-Claire leaned forward. “What do you have, Laurent?”
He bristled. “I have the authority of the Councils—”
“Which means nothing to mortals. And increasingly little to our own people.” She pulled out her phone. “My daughter sent me this.”
A TikTok video. Teenage girl, clearly vampire, showing off her baby fangs while dancing to “Eternal Hunger.”
Caption: “Mom says I can’t go to the Paris show. MOM IS A VAMPIRE BOOMER.”
“How many views?” Laurent asked quietly.
“Forty-seven million. And climbing.”
Laurent closed his eyes.
“We’re losing them,” Marie-Claire said softly. “The young ones. They don’t care about tradition or dignity or Council authority. They care about being seen. Being celebrated. Being modern.” She paused. “Selene gives them that. We give them ... rules.”
“Rules keep us safe. Keep us hidden. Keep us—”
“Irrelevant?”
Laurent’s eyes snapped open. “We are not irrelevant.”
“Then prove it.” Marie-Claire stood. “Because right now, you’re planning to haul in the most beloved vampire in the world and lecture her about behavior. Do you know what that makes us look like?”
“Authorities maintaining order.”
“Out-of-touch old people trying to control something we don’t understand.” She headed for the door. “The hearing is in three days. I suggest you think very carefully about what you want to accomplish. Because if this goes wrong, it won’t be Selene who loses authority.”
The door closed behind her.
Laurent sat in silence, surrounded by screens showing Selene’s defiant smile.
His phone buzzed again.
A text from Gregor: “They’ve agreed to attend. Arriving in two days.”
Laurent typed back: “Make sure they understand the seriousness of this hearing.”
Gregor’s response: “They understand. Whether they care is another matter.”
Laurent set down the phone and stared at the largest screen—frozen on Selene’s face as she bit into Min-ji’s throat.
She was smiling.
Enjoying it.
No shame. No hesitation. No respect for the weight of what she was doing.
And the world loved her for it.
Laurent had spent three centuries building his position through careful adherence to protocol and tradition. He’d studied vampire history, memorized precedents, positioned himself as the keeper of their ancient ways.
And now this ... this child ... was threatening to undo everything with nothing more than sex appeal and spectacle.
No.
He wouldn’t allow it.
The Councils had power. Real power. They just needed to remind everyone—including Selene—what happened when that power was challenged.
Laurent began drafting the formal charges.
This hearing would be different from the usual Council business. This would be a statement. A line in the sand.
Vampire society could evolve, yes.
But there had to be limits.
And he would be the one to draw them.
Scene 2: Bordeaux Château - Two Days Later
The château sat on a hillside overlooking vineyards that stretched to the horizon. Built in the 17th century, renovated tastefully over the years, it was the ancestral home of the de Rochefort family.
Lucian had inherited it along with his title when his maker—the previous Marquis—had walked into the sun in 1847.
Now, he shared it with Selene.
She stood on the balcony of their bedroom, watching the sun set over the vines, wearing nothing but one of Lucian’s shirts. Her damp hair—freshly washed with her Silk & Shadows shampoo—hung loose over her shoulders.
Behind her, through the open doors, Lucian was arranging things in their coffin. The custom-made double coffin dominated one wall of the bedroom, lined with black silk and fitted with modern amenities that would have horrified vampire purists.
Climate control. Built-in speakers. Charging ports for their phones.
Lucian had commissioned it as a bonding gift.
“You’re brooding,” he called.
“I’m not brooding. I’m thinking.”
“You’ve been staring at the sunset for twenty minutes. That’s brooding.”
Selene turned. “I’m trying to decide if we’re making a mistake.”
Lucian looked up from adjusting pillows. “About the hearing?”
“About playing their game at all.” She leaned against the doorframe. “We could just ... not go. Keep touring. Let them issue all the summons they want. What are they going to do, drag me off stage in front of millions of fans?”
“Gregor could.”
“Gregor could try.”
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