Chapter 33: Chapter thirty three

I spent two days in the room. Marianne deemed me a flight risk and that's why I couldn't leave the room assigned to me. I was at least untied.

They cleaned the mess Marianne made with the man. I was still scared, but not of her or vampires. I was scared of my own husband.

I still couldn't picture Drew killing me or hurting me in some way. I don't want to sound repetitive or so sure of myself, but Drew loves me. I've never doubted his love before. Except when I was throwing a fit because he stood up for his family when they bullied me. I liked to throw the word around that he should have married his family instead of me. I liked to yell that he was not ready to be married.

Marianne had a maid bring me food and water. The room had a small bathroom that I didn't see the first time around because I was made to watch Marianne prove she was a vampire.

When she came to see me, she had a photo album she claimed was at least a hundred years old. She flipped through to the Harimot family. They were still the same as they were now.

Isabella's eyes were red in the photo; smile with fangs. The rest were normal.

"Wait. Didn't you say your sister was Isabel?" I asked, feeling sick to my stomach at the realization.

She smiled sadly, nodding. "They gave their daughter my sister's name. It was not to remember her. I think they were making a mockery of her memory."

They were downright cruel. Is that what Drew will do to me? Give someone else my name in remembrance?

"It was not remembrance, Leon. Probably to gloat they can do anything."

"Are your parents still alive?"

"Yes. We have a feud with the Harimot family. We always feuded because of their ways. They are the most powerful family in the world. Well, in our world. All because of sacrifices they keep making. One of these days, they will sacrifice their children, I'm telling you."

I nodded in acknowledgement. "And how do they make children? I thought vampires were dead."

She smiled, back to her happy self. "Well, they don't really die. When someone is made a vampire, they are almost dead, then quickly fed their maker's blood. So we can give birth because we are still alive. Our heart is barely there, but we are still alive," she explained.

I nodded, thinking of another question to ask her. "Are more vampires born or made?"

"They are born. Less and less are being made. Usually it's human Beloveds who are being turned. There's no reason to make a vampire unless you want to make your own Coven," she explained.

I nodded, understanding. "You mentioned that you can hear my thoughts. Can every vampire hear thoughts?"

That got her really excited as she clapped her hands, bouncing a bit on my bed. "Yes, we can. We can feel emotions too. And alter people's memories, and change their thoughts too. It's called compelling. I can make you do whatever I want."

"So you're the one who wanted the Greek salad and steak?"

She laughed, slapping my leg. "I thought if you ate it, then I could taste it. I always do this with people I target. I make them eat what I think I would like, then I feel or taste what they are eating."

I inched away from her. For a moment, I forgot she was a vampire and could probably kill me for blood.

She glared at me, reminding me she could hear my thoughts. "Since you mentioned Drew changed my memories and erased some, do you think he also fed on me?" I shivered when I asked that.

She laughed once again. "Of course he did. Once a month, anyway. On the night of the full moon. Vampires who have Beloveds need to drink each other's blood to keep the connection strong. There's nothing wrong with not feeding on each other, but it's just a preference to feel closer to each other. Your bond won't weaken if you don't feed on each other or anything. Like I said, just a preference."

I tried to look for any marks on my neck to see if Drew's been feeding on me.

"Your Beloved's saliva heals the wound and doesn't leave any marks. He definitely fed on you, that I can assure you."

Like I needed to be assured. It was creepy and downright disgusting.

Marianne slapped my leg when I thought that. She shook her head.

"We don't say that about food, Leon."

"So humans are food to you?"

"Sometimes. We don't always feed on humans, you know. We have laws that protect you and keeps us in check."

I was intrigued. "What laws are those?"

"You're a curious one, you know that? A vampire is limited to only three humans a year. If you break that rule, you'll be killed by the Council. We mostly get our blood from the blood banks. We team up with major corporations to supply the blood. Hell, you know that Leamington Enterprise gives donations to blood banks? That's how most get the blood. We also drink animal blood, but there are laws around that too. Most vampires farm animals so that they can harvest the blood. You know, same ways humans farm cows for milk, we do it for blood."

I was still a bit creeped out, but I was glad we were a bit protected. "When it's time to feed on humans, how do you choose? You take innocent people off the streets?"

She shook her head. "We always take bad people. We also work with prisons and we feed on those who have done very bad things. Since there is no death penalty, we are given people who deserve the penalty."

Was it bad that I kind of commended vampires?

"It's not bad, Leon. We are doing the world some good. You have to know that there are some vampires who don't agree with these laws. Who see humans as useless blood supply. It's still best to be wary of vampires. Not all are good."

I nodded. I still had many questions to ask her, but I was stuck here anyway. I still had days to ask her whatever I wanted. "You also mentioned that Drew had a strong hold of my mind. Doesn't he know I'm with you now?"

"Don't worry about that. The green powder you took blocked him for a while. I'm sure by now he's noticed too and he's looking for you. The powder was to also sever the bond for a while so that I can have full control of you for a while too."

I was not happy about her having control over me.