What she did do was follow him to that parking lot in her car and park in front of the entrance.
He emerged a few minutes later with a plastic bag. Looking through a pair of binoculars, she saw what was inside the fairly transparent bags—two prepaid smartphones.
"Off-brand Android, too," she hissed.
"Filthy human. Doesn't he know who his lover is? She deserves the iOS app ecosystem."
The sun was up now, which meant that Vladira would not be anytime soon.
With that thought in mind, and her knowledge of the curse that bound them together, Mary knew that Alric would have to eat eventually.
She glanced around for his options, trying to understand what was within range and where the monster slayer might choose to go to get his meal.
She didn't have to think for long. For breakfast, the options were limited to W-Mart's hot food section, which he didn't select, and the nearby gas station.
Setting her sights on the Pump N' Go, Mary started up her car and drove to it, settling her vehicle in the parking lot before Alaric could arrive.
Sure as shit, she saw him plodding his way toward her from the W-Mart parking lot, occasionally glancing excitedly into his plastic shopping bag.
Mary got out of her corvette and walked inside, thinking up her cover story. With a quick snap, she shifted her appearance to resemble a blonde twenty-something she'd eaten a few months back, bathing in the woman's blood before drinking it all up.
One of her gifts was the ability to take on
the appearance of those she'd recently slain.
She usually used it to tempt other victims while never revealing her own true appearance—she'd made that mistake in the past and it made her life on the run rather tedious and annoying.
This would be a rather novel use of her powers. She looked down at her chest, admiring the borrowed tits for a moment just as Alaric wandered inside.
He dodged a greeting from the clerks at the front counter—who seemed eerily anxious to see him, she noted, like they'd been warned about him or something.
Next thing she knew, He was heading in her
direction.
Mary straightened her posture and walked past him, pretending to squeeze by. She let her chest brush over his back, and with some unexpected amusement, he flinched at the contact.
Was he really that innocent? He didn't seem to be so virginal just before sunrise.
The way he voraciously made out with the nude Countess seemed anything but chaste.
"Pardon me," she breathed in his ear. "I didn't mean to bump into you."
"That's fine. Good day."
Wow, but that was a quick dismissal. She was going to have to work a bit harder.
Furrowing her brow, she glanced down at the bag of phones. "Oh Just picking up your first smartphones? Did you need help getting set up at all?"
He turned his head in her direction, arching a brow of inquiry. "That seems like a great inconvenience to you. Have you no work?"
"No job, I'm afraid," she sighed, but didn't elaborate. The less she said, the more intrigue she would lace in his mind, making him curious to know more.
"I don't mind taking a few minutes out of my day to help a handsome stranger."
Alaric's teeth clenched at the word 'handsome' as though its utterance physically hurt him.
"Woman, I beg you not to compliment me," he said."It's best if I let you go now. Thank you for your generous and friendly offer, but I must respectfully decline…for your own good."
"Nonsense," she cooed, placing a hand on his bicep. "I swear, my intentions are pure. All I ask is for the opportunity to help a stranger."
Alaric motioned to a disheveled homeless man stacking change on the counter as he tried to buy a protein bar. "That man seems in need of more attention than me."
Her composure wavered for a moment. She hadn't expected this level of resistance from the man.
If she showed her true form, seducing him would be a trivial thing, but this blonde's figure was comely enough, and she was certainly pretty and nubile.
Was Alaric's willpower really so strong?
She'd never had to spend more than a minute or two winking and flirting to draw
a man in before.
It was certain that Alaric was no normal man—that much could be gleaned from a single glance. But did his strength come with spiritual strength as well?
What could be fueling his resistance? Loyalty? To Vladira? She doubted it.
Very well, she thought. It looked as though she'd have to play the long game here, planting a seed, watering it, watching it grow.
It lacked the instant gratification this modern world had made her accustomed to, but
perhaps that was a good thing.
Destroying Vladira's heart would be so
much more fulfilling if she had to sweat a bit for it.
She imagined it—the broken look on the Countess's face when she walked in on Bloody Mary riding her man, making him moan her name.
She would get him to renounce her—then she'd kill them both and live forever with the memory of Vladira's utter defeat.
How does it feel to bescorned, Vladira? She mused. Not very good? Not to your liking, you blood-sucking whore of Hell?
"Are you alright?" ALARIC asked, apparently having noticed the pause that she fell into.
She nodded and smiled graciously. "I am. You're right about that man. I'm going to take care of him right now, perhaps buy him some clothes along with a proper breakfast, see what else I can do to get him back on his
feet."
Alaric nodded, looking more relieved to be rid of her than impressed.
"Thank you for your offer of help with the phones. I think I'll be able to figure it out myself. The store clerk walked me through it with one of them already."
"Oh? And who's the other one for?" she asked as she pretended to start walking away.