376- Electricity
POV Viktor Averwyn:
“No.”
“But you’ve had some.”
“A few.”
“Have you ever fallen in love?” She shook her head. “Were you waiting to fall in love to give away your virginity?”
Seraphine placed her hands over mine, running her fingers along my veins. They were much smaller and delicate, her warmth sending electricity through me, up my arms.
“I was waiting to feel something different. Something I only experienced in dreams. I dreamed about you before I met you.”
I watched her, seeing the emotions on her face, trying to understand.
She licked her lips and explained:
“Since I was little, I’ve dreamed of a man without a face, in the shadows. The only thing I could see were golden eyes. It became more frequent. I never knew what he wanted from me—whether to hurt me or love me. A few days ago, it happened again. But I saw his face. It was yours.”
I didn’t move, her words hitting me hard.
“It was too intense, what it awakened in me. And no man I ever met made me feel that. Only you.”
There was too much unexplainable between us. As if we had always felt each other.
I remembered what the gypsy had told me the day they came to try to rescue Seraphine. About the night I ran transformed to the village and faced her father through the window. He saw me as a threat to his daughter still in her mother’s womb. When I heard him, I wondered if it was all connected. Now it felt even more certain.
I hadn’t gone there to threaten him. But that moment had been crucial for Seraphine to be raised outside the village. Perhaps only to return at the right time.
“It’s not a lie, Viktor.”
“I know it’s not. But it’s strange. You were sent away because of me, and you dreamed about me. Why?”
“There’s no explanation,” she said softly.
We held each other’s gaze, as if that alone could give us all the answers. Volatile energies flowing, sensations and senses blending together.
Guilt joined everything else, because in a way she had been kept away from her family and her clan, had been in danger, because of me. I didn’t understand why they wanted her dead, but it had something to do with me, since Konrad was of my kind, my world. Interconnected. Like a long spider web.
“You’re very young. The differences between us are glaring.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“I should never have touched you, Seraphine. Because of your age, your health. And still, all I think about is touching you again.” Irritated, I shook my head. “You should hate me.”
“I did at first, when I thought you really were the cursed one. Not anymore. You saved me, fought for my life.”
“I didn’t even let you grieve your father.”
That made her lower her eyes, sadness filling them. My chest tightened when she murmured:
“I miss him. And my aunt, who raised me in Germany. She must think I’m dead.”
“Call her.” She looked at me immediately, surprised. “Do you know her number?”
“I do.”
I set her on the bed and went to get my phone, unlocking it. I handed it to her and sat beside her. Her green eyes filled with tears.
She dialed and took a deep breath while waiting, glancing at me.
“Aunt?” She started crying, a shrill voice echoing from the other side. My wolf hearing picked up the woman’s scream. “It’s me, Aunt.”
“Teo? Seraphine? Oh my God! My Holy Sara Kali!” she said in German, in desperation and relief. “I thought you were dead! The gypsies said you disappeared…”
“I’m okay, Aunt.”
“Where are you? I’ll come get you! Tell me, I… oh, Teo! I prayed so much!” Both of them cried together.
She assured her she was fine, dodging further answers. She couldn’t come back now. It was far away, a lot had happened, she was protected. The woman insisted, and Seraphine deflected.
My guilt deepened, and I realized that her aunt’s desperation matched what I had felt when I learned Adelina was with Lucian. I hated him for being with my daughter while I was with his niece. Maybe I wasn’t much better than him.
The woman begged her to say more and come back. Seraphine promised she would call more often and calmed her as much as she could. When she hung up, she let the phone fall onto the bed and buried her face in her hands, sobbing.
I pulled her into my arms, holding her tightly, kissing her hair.
I stroked her back, hating myself for making her suffer. With no way to stop it other than to hold and comfort her.
She clung to me and returned to my lap, pressed close, until her crying softened.
We slid down, wrapped together. My body hot and hard, my emotions completely tangled with hers.
When she rubbed her face against mine and kissed me, I comforted her in another way. I made her forget the pain and be happy with me. At least there.
Where I never wanted her to leave.