Chapter 27 - Unlike the Master's Hand

Chapter 27 - Unlike the Master's Hand
“This must stop! It has been almost twenty-four hours! We are not guinea pigs here!” a man whose hands were curled tightly and face flushed in anger, yelled right in front of Calvin.

He was a tall man, as tall as the one getting the complaints but his bearing and the way he dressed in regal, fluffy clothes showed he was behind his years. He was a well-respected vampire and a gentleman during his time; a politician when still human and a close friend of the Vitalis Family, so he was the one who stepped up to what he thought was an unfair treatment.

Calvin, despite his noisiness, just leaned against the throne hall double door with his eyes closed, arms crossed and head cast down.

“I am done with waiting for his order! Master Vitalis owes us a carefree life! Locking us up in the mansion and making us starve is the opposite of it!” the man continued. He stepped forward and began to shove Calvin out of his way, but before his hand even contacted his shoulder, Calvin stepped to the side and gestured for the door.

“Well, how about you complain that in front of him huh?” he said, lifting an impatient brow.

The old vampire hissed. “Oh I will!”

“Then be my guest. Enter, Sir Alfort.” Calvin twisted the brass knob, but before he could fully push the door open, his eyes turned grave.

“I want to warn you though. The Master isn’t in his sane mind right now. He might not listen to your wails.”

Sir Alfort snorted. “Might not listen?! He owes us. We wouldn’t be suffering like this if it wasn’t for his family’s curse!”

“Right, yet I doubt he cares about that now.” Calvin just shrugged his shoulder. “Just be prepared. The pain his shadows inflict aren’t the usual. Take that from Trace’s experience.”

And by the mention of Trace, Calvin’s eyes landed on the one who stood just a few distance away from where they stood, together with the other irate vampires Sir Alfort called as his worthless back-up.

“Tsk! Cocky bastard,” the old man muttered, gnashed his teeth and looked at Calvin with disdain. “I’m done here.”

He then walked out of the hallway with heavy footsteps.

Calvin, seeing this, slipped a confident grin. “Coward bastard,” he spoke, voice low enough for only him to hear.

Trace and the others followed suit, but not before giving the double doors and in effect, the ‘guardian’ a glare.

“Cord, I found no clue from all the vampires I touched,” Pamela informed as she reached the base of the dais. One ungloved hand gripped the head of the sofa - her subtle way of assisting herself from losing her balance. She was after all working nonstop, using her ability to read the many vampire thoughts under the Vitalis roof through touch.

Calvin opposed it, asking her to rest, but judging from how their Master looked murderous and all when she left him that night in Amanda’s room, she didn’t spare a single minute of rest.

“Then they are a useless bunch of fuckers,” Cord grounded, saying it through his knuckles that covered his mouth. His arctic eyes never left the floor even though his cousin was just in front of him. A muscle in his jaw twitched, along with a nerve in his temple. Anger was the most prominent emotion surrounding him and it showed clearly by the way his shadows moved about in death-like stillness.

“Maybe Matteo is using his powers to hide himself and Amanda,” she deduced.

Cord shifted a little in his seat and finally dragged his eyes towards her way. “And Garett? What can you say about him?”

“They are working together,” she confidently replied and then hauled a deep breath. “When I shook Matteo’s hand last night, I saw a vision. I saw a glimpse of a man hiding behind a wall. But they were talking, planning on something that I unfortunately wasn’t able to capture. My guess is, that was Garett with him. I believe he is being protected by the same barrier that made Amanda invisible.”

A shadow coming from behind a column emerged and it showed Heather, who looked repentant and distressed. “If only I knew about my brother’s motives, I would have told you, Cord,” she stated.

Cord remained silent so it was Pamela who answered for him. “He has been in and out of the castle this past few years and he doesn’t seem to have a motive as to why he did this. So, no one could really guess him as the traitor.”

“Or maybe I’m just too lax on all of you,” Cord butted in. The two women turned their attention on him with confusion on their faces.

“Maybe I’ve been too detached with the north wing residents that’s why I didn’t have a clue. Maybe I should have been fucking strict.”

“Well, you were already strict,” Pamela retorted.

He scoffed. “Hmf, I highly doubt it.” Straightening in his seat, he placed both hands in the armrests and lifted his chin. “Leave you two. Get out of my sight.”

Heather swiftly nodded and stalked out of the throne hall, eager to dodge the Master’s ire. Pamela however didn’t. She studied her cousin who looked like a normal man without his blindfold on and asked, “You’ll scour the land with your shadows again for her?”

The latter inhaled long and hard, and then answered with his fangs aching, “I’ll find her soon. I know I will.”

That night, Amanda dined alone. Food was already prepared but she had no one to share it with much to her confusion. Matteo was nowhere in sight. She tried calling for him in every corner of the house and even scanned the shoreline and the surrounding garden, but he was nowhere to be found.

Whatever the reason was, it must have been that important for him to leave her alone in the house.

It was a welcomed change though. She could at least now use the time to ponder on the passing days which somehow seemed blurry to her. Bits and shards of memories where there, of her time with Noman and her responsibility in the Circuit, not to mention the kiss she and Matteo shared in the mountain summit and his growing attention on her, but there was this empty gap that managed to disconnect all of them.

She couldn’t pinpoint what it was but it held a strong section in her brain. And most of all in her heart. In the end, she didn’t ate that much. Overthinking seemed to do that to her.

When she left the kitchen after washing the dishes, all her time was spent pacing the balcony of her room - or correction - Matteo’s room. Why was she placed in here instead of being provided a private room for her?

Her cheeks reddened at the question.

Maybe she could request a room for herself when he arrives. Maybe he’d be a gentleman and give her privacy. But they were engaged. And getting engaged meant getting intimate, which somehow was what he was trying to do since this morning, kissing and touching her freely.

“Come on, Dom, answer the damn phone,” Amanda complained under her breath. Her cellphone was pressed up against her right ear, her face showing the beginnings of anxiety and impatience. She would love to have some advice with her current situation - her disconnectedness on reality and her speeding relationship with Matteo - and Noman would have been the right person for it - if he picked up his phone - but he didn’t so that led Amanda into feeling a little bit left out.

“Where the hell are you? Why are you not answering me?” she muttered to herself before cutting the call. With a heavy sigh, she crossed the space and sank into the master bed with her arms stretched out and eyes direct into the ceiling.

“Alright, I guess I’ll just have to drop you a visit tomorrow. What have you been up to now?”

It was at ten in the evening when Amanda groggily felt a hand graze her chest, fingers making little circles from her neck down to her cleavage. She wore one of Matteo’s V-necked t-shirt having been the only suitable garment for her to wear while sleeping. It wasn’t a clothing that screamed sexy and sex though, but it seemed it was enough for the man’s hand continued its way down to her sheet-covered belly.

Amanda shifted in her sleep, one leg parting from the safety of the covers giving an instant view for the visitor to take advantage with his desire-filled eyes.

Matteo cracked a grin. One that was very promising knowing he’d about to score.

“Amanda...” He continued his attempt, starting from leaning forward depressing the side of the bed even more, whispering into her ear and letting his right hand roam along her waist. “Open up for me.”

“Hmmm,” Amanda mumbled. Some of her consciousness returned, but it wasn’t enough to open her eyes.

Matteo continued, aiming to lock lips with her.

He darted a wet tongue at the seam of her lips and murmured a command again, “Wake up. I want to make love to you.”

Amanda let out a small gasp when Matteo’s hand felt for her underwear under the sheet. She didn’t have her belongings in the beach house, so she thought of using her own jeans to sleep but after an hour of lying in it, she realized it was too constricting. Without a second thought, she pulled them out of her legs giving no care at all, but at this very moment, with Matteo’s hand cupping her sex, she realized she should have cared about it earlier. She just didn’t expect him to be this bold.

Subtly, she shifted her legs to avoid his fingers. It was successful.

“Matt, you’re here,” she expressed in soft tones, poking one eye at him, seeing his handsome visage under the dim lampshade.

Matteo seized this moment to join her in bed, hover on top her with both knees spread apart.

“I’m sorry for keeping myself away from you earlier. I didn’t want you to see me pathetic-looking, still nursing on my petrified arm.”

Amanda’s attention was now fully on him. Her heartbeat sped, her lips trembled upon the thought of them naked and joined - which would happen any minute. “See, I told you so. You shouldn’t have volunteered to be my test subject,” she managed to answer without stuttering.

Despite trying not to, her cheeks turned warm, reddening, with how intimately close they were.

Matteo drew out a soft chuckle. “Well, I had recovered now. I think it’s time I give you my full attention.”

Amanda swallowed. A tingle in between her legs presented itself, but weird, it wasn’t that much arousing.

“Matt,” she started, probably to encourage him to reconsider, but she was cut off when Matteo placed a finger on her mouth.

“Shhh, let’s stop talking and start feeling. I’ve been craving to do this with you Caitlyn.”

Amanda’s mouth parted and her head buried against the pillow when Matteo lapped on her neck. His tongue skated along the skin, leaving a hot wetness in it’s wake. She felt his hands snake into every part of her body - her legs, buttocks, arms, face, belly and settled finally on her chest. One hand pulled the t-shirt up while the other seized her bra, pulling it away without even unhooking it.

Yeah, the advantages of being a mage, she thought out loud.

“Your nipples are asking for me,” Matteo bluntly declared as he eyed the said sensitive part with hunger.

Amanda only moaned, closed her eyes and did nothing more.

When his mouth claimed one breast, she felt a sudden urge to shout.

And she did, arching her back to put up more pressure with his swirling tongue.

“Matteo, ahh!”

It was a sweet sound the latter had always longed to hear.

“Go on, my bride, go on. Shout my name,” Matteo urged, his breath fanning her skin.

He continued on and on, working diligently with Amanda’s stimulated nipples, making her feel good. Her hands somehow found their way into his bare back, but Matteo quickly grabbed it and tossed them over her head.

“Stay still and let me show you how much I am better.”

Better? Amanda wasn’t even comparing her with another man yet he somehow said that. Why?

With the pleasurable sensations bombarding her, she continued to close her eyes and moaned again and again.

When Matteo’s free hand shoved the sheet aside, parted her underwear and inched down to feel her slit, she honestly expected she’d moan louder, but another sound broke out from her mouth.

A cry.

A cry of desperation.

“Ah...no!”

Shooting a surprised glare into the ceiling, the only thing that played on Amanda’s consciousness was of a man. A man with fangs. And this man had touched her there, better...better than Matteo planned to do.

Amanda recoiled, but that didn’t stop Matteo. He continue with plundering on her sex, dipping two fingers to rub on her clit all the while he pressed his lips on her groaning mouth.

“Mhhnnhh!”

Amanda couldn’t really distinguish if the sound was of pleasure or the opposite.

However, as Matteo continued to finger her, the only thing that her brain could digest was the flashing memories of this man on top her, doing the same but far skilled and far to her liking. This man with a blurry face seemed to treat her special - the tenderness he had bestowed and the way he venerated her body was enough evidence.

Yet who was this man?

Who...

“Mhhnnnhh!!” This time, Amanda cried out when she felt a finger pass her entrance. She could tell she had been violated there in the past but it was a welcomed one with a shot of pleasure all throughout her body.

This time, however, didn’t and as a result, she tore her mouth away from his.

“Matteo, no!”

She pulled a few inches away, up to the headboard whilst righting her t-shirt into position. It wasn’t her intention really, but for the first time ever, she gave him a disgusted look.

Matteo stiffened seeing this, but after a second past, a frown appeared on his forehead. He straightened and sat at the edge of the bed, his body turned to her.

“What happened?” he asked straight to the point, but he knew what Amanda was undergoing as of the moment. She was remembering that fucking man.

“I’m sorry... I don’t know what came over me.”