I gulped and stared at him, paralyzed for a while. I realized that Sariel was sacrificing much more than a few drops of his blood. I was alive thanks to him, but he could lose his own life if anyone knew what he had done. I was certain that Will would tell no one about it. He had no reason to. The real problem was making sure no one else would ever find out about it.
"I… I won't tell anyone. I will keep this a secret no matter what," I swore nervously.
"Good," Will smirked and sat in a chair by my bed.
I glanced at him suspiciously. I guessed that he was the only person who could tell me the truth, and I was more than willing to use the opportunity.
"You know that I heard your conversation with Sariel when you told him to give me blood, right?" I started cautiously.
"Yes, I assumed that you might have heard it." A sour smile appeared on his face.
"When he asked if his blood would affect me, you told him that it hadn't affected me last
"W-what?" A single word left my mouth, even though I heard Will's words loud and clear. I could feel the blood running off my face, turning it pale while my furious heart kept pounding. Suddenly, I started to feel dizziness, nausea, and even my eyes hurt from the light, but I doubted that it was a vampire blood side-effect. "Certainly, it's not like Sariel would ever manipulate your feelings…" Will laughed awkwardly, ineptly trying to assure me that his friend wouldn't abuse the fact that his blood was in my system. Some part of me tried to find some form of explanation that would keep me from feeling deceived, but how could I not feel that way? "Will… How is it possible that the traces of Sariel's blood stayed in my body for four years? And now… Am I going to change somehow? I'm not turning into a vampire, am I?" I asked, hectically. Will sat closer to me and grabbed my hands. "Of course, you are not turning into a vampire," he assure
I was restless. I kept thinking that if I had to face Sariel now, I would become highly emotionally unstable. On the other hand, I wanted to ask him why he didn't tell me about the bond and played me instead. I had already known that he could act cruelly, but I had never imagined that he would be cruel to me. It was only my assumption, but I guess I had finally figured out why Sariel didn't want to mark anyone… A vampire giving blood created a bond, but what if it worked in both directions? Sariel mentioned that marking someone increases sexual desire, but what if it really was about losing control, and that was something that Sariel was really afraid of...? He deliberately used the fact that his blood bond was still working, enjoying the fact that I craved his bite-mark and the power he had over me. He wanted to be the only one in control, and he knew that leaving his mark would make him give up the total control he had. It was time to paint a true image of him, calculative
I thought that going back to work would help me cope with my situation. Of course, my main argument was to avoid places that reminded me of Sariel's existence. I even found myself excited at the mere thought that I would dive into numbers and paragraphs, burring my anxieties and longings somewhere deep in my heart and mind. I went against Martha's suggestion and went to the bank's headquarters right after eating breakfast. I thought that anything that would get me away from the castle was a good idea. That was until I walked past the entrance. I stopped in the hallway and felt that my head was spinning. My body started to shiver as the images of the recent attack flashed before my eyes. My breathing rate increased, almost matching my already racing heart. The high-frequency sound that filled my head made me cringe, covering my ears. "Are you ok?" A female voice overcame the high-pitch sound and immediately became my anchor. I raised my eyes while trying to sl
I leaned my back against the sofa, feeling weaker by the second. Until that moment, I thought that the only dangerous situation I could encounter was meeting those who got fired because of me. I had never thought that someone would target me just to mess up with Sariel. "I… I don't understand," I mumbled, "Why would someone attack me to get to the Duke?" "Isn't it obvious?" Gabriel chuckled, "Sariel used to be in love with a human. It's only natural for his enemies to think that you've become someone important in his life since you live in his castle and even helped him get revenge on the Adragnas." "I still don't get it. How is attacking me causing any harm to Sariel?!" I burst out in a panicked laugh. Gabriel looked at me with a slightly pitying expression, then sighed. "Do you think he would be running like a madman each time his employee was endangered? If you have any doubts about that question, then I will state it clearly to you: no, he
Patrick insisted on going with me even though I told him that I was meeting for a girl-talk. He said that he would sit someone at the back or outside and observe us in case of any danger. Somehow, I couldn't find any argument to restrain him from going. The truth was, I didn't feel safe even while walking around my own office, let alone outside the bank's headquarters. With the unknown enemy looking for a way to end my life, there was no room for rejecting anyone's protection. I came down with Patrick by my side. "Who is this, pretty boy?" Colleen chuckled, looking Patrick up and down. "This is my personal bodyguard. He has to come with us. Hope you don't mind…" I said hesitantly. "Are you kidding me? I wouldn't mind if he sat right next to me." Colleen bit her lower lip, locking her eyes on the flustered Patrick. I couldn't really blame her. Patrick was handsome, and while wearing his fitted black suit, white shirt, and black tie, he certainly was an
I could have sworn that the barista kept his eyes on me the entire time he was preparing our coffees. There was something in the way he acted. It was a predator-like behavior. He observed his prey - me. I decided to look the other way before that filled with panic spark, growing inside me, would take over my entire mind. As long as I could see Patrick standing right outside, my breathing rate slowly returned to normal. "Oh, here comes our coffee!" Colleen sang, seeing Jimmy carrying our two cups. He put them on the table, barely sparing a glance at Colleen. For some unknown reason, it seemed like I got most of his attention. There was something dangerous in the way Jimmy looked at me. His eyes were filled with a savage spark, just like the one, I saw in those golden pupils of the barista. I tried to avoid meeting Jimmy's devouring gaze, yet the sole awareness of his presence was enough to send chills down my spine. The thing I found even more uncomfortable was the in
Regaining consciousness hurt. The drilling headache felt like my brain was about to explode. I was blindfolded and gagged. The tight rope was binding my ankles and wrists together as if I was some kind of animal on its way to the slaughter house. I was cold. I could still feel my light dress on me, and my bare feet were freezing. From the shakes and bumps that tossed my body around, I guessed that I was inside some vehicle, going in an unknown direction. I knew I had to find out more about the situation I was in. I lied on one side and started rubbing my face against the floor, hoping to remove my blindfold. I removed it from one eye, then I rolled over to the other side, and finally, the blindfold came off. Unfortunately, it didn't help much. It was dark and the only light came from a half-inch-diameter control bulb. Nonetheless, it was enough for me to realize I was inside the trunk. I strengthened my focus to look for any sharp objects. Certainly, I was aware that those w
Sariel pulled me out of the trunk. I couldn't stand on my two feet. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I fell straight into his arms. "Be careful." He chuckled, helping me lean against the car he pulled me out of. "H-how?" I mumbled while shivering from the cold. He looked me up and down, then took off his coat and covered me with it. "We have to go now. We're in the pack's territory, and more wolves will be coming here in no time," he stated, grabbing my hand and leading me somewhere. I looked at the coat he gave me; there were stains of blood on it, but Sariel wasn't the one injured. He looked as perfect as ever, wearing his black suit and dark grey shirt. I cautiously looked around. Only then did I see we were on the road in the middle of the forest. The path that we were walking down was painted in blood, wolf blood. There were four cars that were crushed into each other, and there were dead bodies all around them. It looked like slaug