Chapter 49

Lucian

It took everything in me not to sink my fangs into her neck. The way she clung to me and pleaded was still fresh in my mind as I left the house. I couldn’t have her the way she was asking me to for a bunch of reasons. She was falling under my control quickly. The bond we had was still as strong as it had been and it was making it so easy to make her fall in love with me. It was making it easier to make sure that when she remembered, if she remembered, she wouldn’t care. I could still feel the blood pact thrumming in my chest. She was nervous and sad. I felt her worry and anxiety, and almost smiled. She was always so worried about things.

My wife, Trinitia, had been that way too. I pressed a little, searching through the bond. I could tell she was questioning our relationship.

How were we going to stay together?

I frowned at the question. What was she thinking about? I pressed a little harder. It was hard to get complete thoughts at the distance and while still suppressing the rest of her memories.

…watch me grow old and eventually die?

…only going to ever be temporary?

I pulled back and turned the words over in my mind as I sent an urge for her to contact me. I couldn’t be sure that it made as my mouth felt dry and it was harder and harder to concentrate. I stood in the cool night breeze as the moonlight fell over me and tried to breathe through the need for blood that was taking over my senses. How long had it been since I had drank directly from someone?

The thought made my mouth water and the desire to go back and take everything she was offering was overwhelming, yet I stood in place. It had been far too long. Before finding Trinity, I had gorged myself on blood whenever I wanted, not out of hunger but out of spite and anger. The madness had made it so easy to lose myself in the desire to hunt and kill. The truth was that while it had been fun, it had been unnecessary. Vampires could drink stored blood for sustenance for centuries. It was how most of the servants in my castle survived until I started stealing humans to fill the dungeons. Then, we had fresh blood by the barrel, but it wasn’t enough to sate the need to hunt and kill.

I smirked remembering how occasionally, I’d let a few of the human go, to try and escape across the red desert just to allow some of my servants to hunt them down and find a bit of relief from their blood lust. I had a feeling that a bit of distance wasn’t going to be enough. I needed to hunt and kill. I didn’t call for the car. Instead, I took to the shadows searching for an appropriate target. Whoever it would be, I’d drain dry. Hopefully, it would keep my bloodlust in check for a little while longer.

Hopefully, I found them soon before I grabbed just anyone off the street. If they weren’t to taste, I’d likely just have to keep hunting and that would waste more time. I had to get back to Trinity. I might not be able to have her blood, but I could have her body as much as I wanted.

A scent caught my nose, and I went after it. It smelled good, delicious. Not the same as Trinity, but good enough that I knew I wouldn’t have to hunt again. I was surprised to find it was a man, but it had never mattered if it was a man or a woman so long as they tasted good.

He jogged past me through the darkness, panting and sweaty. His ears were plugged with earphones. He didn’t seem to notice me at all. I smirked. Human men were almost always like this. They made the easiest pray because of how arrogant they were. I followed him down the street. Enjoying the way he seemed to be completely unaware. I sniffed, searching for the scent of silver, but there was nothing but sweat, the metal of his music device, and blood in the air. He turned the corner heading away from the main street, and I grabbed him, pulling him into the alley.

He flailed and tried to fight, but I covered his mouth and pushed him up against the wall. I sank my teeth into his neck, ignoring the bit of resistance he offered before he went slack. His heart started to fade and the rush of the kill took over me. I drank until there wasn’t a drop left and his heart stopped. I felt his life fade to nothing before I dropped his body to the ground and took a deep breath. I licked my lips, savoring the taste of his blood, before lifting him up. I searched his pockets for a wallet, but found nothing but his ID and a bit of cash. I flew him through the air with me, unseen over the city, to the edge of a steep, deep gorge several miles away and dropped him.

I listened for the crunch of his body hitting the rock below before returning to the condo I was living in. I poured myself a bit of blood out of a bottle, mixed with wine and went to stand on my balcony. This tower of steel and glass had none of the charm and familiarity of my castle, but it wasn’t bad. The view was certainly more interesting than the vast red-lit desert and the darkness of the forest near my castle. The scents were mostly terrible, but I blocked them out as I focused.

I would have to return home to check on things soon. The more I thought about Stella’s presence in the human world, the more irritated I grew. The royals wouldn’t be put off for much longer. I would have to deal with them. I sipped quietly until my phone chimed.

I’m so sorry, Trinity wrote. I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to make things difficult for you.

I shook my head and drew my finger over my signet ring where I could still feel the soft warmth that meant she was still alive and awake. I replied.

It’s not your fault. There is nothing to apologize for.

I wanted to leave it at that. To be honest, I had wanted to bit her. I had wanted to drink from her, but I hadn’t been sure that I could stop. Even if I had managed to stop before I killed her and ended up turning her instead, I didn’t want that. Not every human took to the change well. Would she have turned into a bloodthirsty maniac after becoming a vampire? I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to find out. I held back because I loved how innocent and naïve she was. I loved how she melted into my arms, how she let me have her as much as I wanted, any way I wanted. I didn’t want to turn her into a demon.

However, I had never thought that she would be so bold to offer herself to me. She hadn’t known what could have happened. She had just been enthralled and trying to thank me for everything I have given her. She was tempting. I needed to protect her even from herself.

Most importantly, I needed to make sure that she understood that I wasn’t so bloodthirsty that I would lose control, or that I blamed her. A text message wouldn’t be enough. I sent another.

I am fine. I will be back soon. Wait for me.

I finished my drink and slipped through shadows back across the city. I stopped off to buy a few snacks that she liked. As I walked down the street towards that man’s house, I considered what it would take to convince her to leave the house. I was sure it wouldn’t take much. Then, the scent of blood hit my nose.

I stopped at the end of the street. It was coming from further down the street. I checked my phone and realized that she hadn’t replied yet. I walked further down the street and the scent of blood grew stronger, but it wasn’t human blood.

It was vampire blood. A lot of vampire blood. There was no reason for there to be that many vampires in this area. They would have felt my presence and stayed away. More than that, there were only a few reasons why there would be so many dead vampires in the area. I hurried down the street, until I could see all the bodies strewn across the front line of the house. I recognized none of the bodies, but I recognized the work of a hunter. The car was gone, and I didn’t hear her heartbeat inside.

She was gone.