Chapter 18: Chapter 18

“Kind of. The other clan members don’t really listen to orders,” he shrugged. His left hand drummed on the steering wheel. He often glanced at his wristwatch and didn’t take traffic rules all too seriously as he drove.

“How many are there?” she asked, unsure whether she wanted to hear it or not.

“We are currently ten people. The last one who moved in with us was my own soulmate,” Edgar explained, a hint of a smile blooming on his lips. “I met her two decades ago.”

“Is she a vampire too?”

“All of us are vampires.”

Except for Elena. She was the odd one out, and she wondered what the other clan members thought about her. Would they accept her?

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About twenty minutes later, they reached a large estate in an area that belonged to the wealthy part of town. Surrounded by tall stone walls and fences, the property appeared imposing. The car passed through the open gate and followed a street that was framed by trees and led up to a house and a garage next to it. The facades of both buildings were light grey and somewhat worn. Ivy covers certain parts of it.

Edgar parked the car near the stone steps that led up to the wooden doors of the mansion. She left the car and stood in front of the house, taking in its unusual design. It looked like someone had copied it from a historical western movie and placed it here. Elena liked its Victorian architectural style—but at the moment, she couldn’t focus on it since her thoughts were elsewhere.

“Follow me, I will show you where he is,” Edgar said. “He already knows you are here.”

Elena nodded and entered the house after him, finding herself in a large entrance hall with a mahogany staircase on each side. They connected the ground floor with the next story. Despite its old-fashioned façade, the inside of the building was furnished modernly. Paintings decorated the walls, all showcasing a very similar art style, so she guessed they had been made by the same person.

Edgar ascended the stairs, and he showed her to a long hallway with several doors lining up left and right.

“Ryder is in the room straight ahead,” Edgar said and pointed to a specific door.

“Okay,” she mumbled and gulped. This was it—now she had to face her fear. There was no going back.

Elena’s heartbeats were so loud and so frightful that every vampire residing in the building heard them. Her blood was singing, but they didn’t give in to its alluring call. Unaware of this, she walked down the hallway, and the closer she got to the door that loomed at its end, the more her fear grew. She touched the doorknob, put her fingers on its cool metal, and entered the room beyond the door.

The light was dim. At first, she didn’t see him since he was obscured by the shadows of the curtains, sitting on a black leather sofa. However, his gleaming red eyes were hard to miss when he gazed right at her. She flinched.

“Leave,” he growled warningly and dug his fingers in his thighs, fighting his instinct, his thirst for her blood. Her delightful scent filled the entire room. It was the sweetest temptation—and he was so close to his limit, her scent alone nearly made him give in to his vampiric nature. His fangs elongated as his body prepared to take what he needed most.

Elena trembled under the tension that hung in the air. The door fell shut behind her. She was rooted to the spot and did not move forward, but she didn’t back away either. Even though it was dark, she saw the state he was in—and it shocked her. His complexion was so pale it looked gray, and his eyes were scarlet with hunger. The black hair that framed his face hadn’t been combed in a while. It was messy and looked like he had run his hand through it many times. His silver lip ring shimmered in the dim light that fell through the curtains.

“I can’t hold back much longer,” he said, clenching his jaw. His body was incredibly tense. It looked like he was in pain, and the sight sent a pang through her heart.

“You don’t have to,” she whispered. The shakiness of her voice contrasted with the determination in her eyes. She had made up her mind. It was insane to put her fate in the hands of a starving vampire, but she couldn’t bear the sight of someone suffering. Even if that someone was an enemy of her kind.

His eyes widened when she bridged the distance between them and sat on the sofa next to him. He shifted, wanted to move away, but his body didn’t listen to his will.

“But you’re scared of me,” he forced out. His hungry gaze followed the line of her neck and focused on her jugular.

“I’m afraid of being bitten,” she corrected. “And that’s why I want to get it over with. Please hurry.” Her trembling fingers moved her hair away from her shoulder and exposed her neck to him.

He sucked in a breath and moved so fast his form blurred. She was pinned between the sofa and his body as he tilted her head back and supported it with his hand. She tensed when his breath fanned over her neck, and her fear became paralyzing.

The fast beats of her heart were a symphony—a beautifully melodious song only her soulmate could hear. Ryder was infatuated by it and no longer held himself back. He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck. His lips brushed over her skin softly like a feather. The gentle sensation was promptly followed by a sharp pain as his fangs breached her skin and dug into her. She gasped and suppressed the urge to fight him, tightly gripping the front of his black shirt. Her blood ran over her skin. He made sure to lap up every single drop with his tongue.

Elena was flooded with memories she had locked away, saw her attacker hovering over her and sucking the life out of her; however, other than last time, the initial pain soon eased and vanished. It was replaced by an unnatural numbness that made the situation bearable. She was bewildered by this, but her relief drowned out her confusion. Her grip on his shirt slackened.

His lips felt hot on her skin. The more blood he drank, the calmer he became. His possessive hold on her body became gentler. She grew tired, and somewhere in the exhaustion, she wondered why this was different from the last time someone had taken her blood. It was nothing like what she had expected. The pain had disappeared completely.

Black dots danced over her vision—she hoped that he knew what he was doing. If he continued to drink her blood, she would die. Panic set in once more, but it was smothered by her exhaustion. She had no other choice but to give in to it, falling unconscious.