12. A Strange Wet Dream

Nevea took Raven to Vlassta’s infirmary. He had lost consciousness a while ago, so she dragged him with her with a lot of effort.

Soon they arrived at the room with a metal wall and several small beds positioned in line with a bone-white curtain separating each bed. In the center of the room was a man with blonde hair wearing a white coat with a stethoscope circling his neck. He was facing the window, seeming engrossed in watching the giant tree outside the building.

Nevea knocked on the door softly, making the man look at him. “I am sorry to bother you, Dr. Dixon, but Raven needs help.” Nevea pointed at Raven with her head.

Dr. Robert Dixon was a doctor in Vlassta for as long as she could remember. He was a vampire with the appearance of a forty-year-old man. The vampire walked closer and observed Raven closely.

“What happened to him?” Robert asked while helping Nevea to take Raven into the nearest bed.

“Mission fails, and we meet a strong unregistered vampire,” Nevea replied shortly. She raised Raven’s foot on the bed.

“Are you okay?” Robert scrutinizing gaze washed over her from head to toe, and he saw a mark on Nevea’s neck. “You should apply some cream to your neck to help it heal faster.” Robert pointed at the small cupboard around the corner, then added, “The cream is there. Apply it to your before you go.” 

Nevea only nodded as she already knew what cream he was talking about. It was like a magic cream because all their scars could disappear with only one-time use. She wondered what was stopping Robert from selling his magical cream to the outside world. It surely would make him rich overnight.

After telling Nevea, Robert checked on Raven. First, he listened to Raven’s heartbeat and then touched several parts of his body. 

“There is nothing to worry about. He only has a fracture on his hand.” Robert explained. 

“Fracture?” She asked for confirmation. It was weird since she only saw Zach attack Raven on his neck.

“Why? Is something wrong?” 

Nevea remained silent as she pondered whether to talk about her suspicions. “Nothing, Dr. Dixon.” She lied in the end. Nevea was unsure about her vision; maybe while she was not focused, Zach did attack Raven.

Robert crossed his arms in front of his chest. He knew Nevea was lying, but he could not do anything to force the truth out of her mouth. It was against the rule to perform an interrogation of fellow workers in Vlassta without concrete proof. 

“Okay then, I will leave Raven with you.” Nevea bid her farewell hastily.

“The cream, Nevea,” Robert told her when she was about to step out of the door. 

“Right,” she said awkwardly, then went to the cupboard. 

Nevea took a tiny glass jar with a straight line crafted on the top of the lid. She felt the texture of the lid and thought about where this could possibly come from. 

“Nevea?” 

Robert’s voice immediately made Nevea open the jar and apply the cream to her skin. The cold sensation started to take over her body, and within a few seconds, the scar left her completely. Her neck became as smooth as a baby’s.

Afterward, she put the jar back and proceeded to leave the room. “Thank you, Dr. Dixon. Good night.” 

It only took three minutes to arrive at the dormitory building. Nevea entered her room. She switched on the light and instantly went into the clothes hanger at the front of her bed to get her towel. She smelt like a lump of rotten meat. 

Ring Ring~

Before she went into the bathroom, her phone rang violently. Without checking the caller’s name, she picked up the call.

“Hello?”

“We found no one in the location you give.”

Nevea held her phone away from her ear as Logan’s angry voice roared like a lion. 

“Are you sure? I left him with a lot of wounds on his body. He should not be able to move around.”

“But he wasn’t here, Nevea. Are you playing with us right now? Or are you trying to protect someone like you did when you were a kid?” 

Nevea pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to calm herself. “Allen is dead because we met another unregistered vampire, and he was the one who saved me back then.” There she said it. She had already told Zach that she would not protect him again. 

“And you let him go like that? Did he ask you to do that, Nevea?” 

“I shoot him multiple times using sacaflorous, Logan.” 

“You did?”

“You don’t believe me, do you?” Nevea could taste the bitterness in her words.

“No, it’s just….”

“It’s okay,” Nevea said quickly. “I’m telling the truth; you can confirm it with Raven when he awakens. Good night, Logan.” Nevea ended the call. It was rude for a hunter like her to hang up first on the head of Vlassta. But she did not care at all.

After that, Nevea went to take a shower. She turned the shower, and the water poured over her head, washing away all the blood from Allen. She felt weird thinking that she and Zach kissed while her body was covered in someone’s blood. 

Several minutes passed, and she was done. Nevea changed into an oversized t-shirt with short pants. Before resting her body, she remained silent for five minutes without thinking about anything. It helped her to sleep without the disturbance of nightmares. 

Nevea then raised her blanket and went under it. She counted from one to a hundred and fell asleep at number eighty. 

For the past hours, she slept soundly, but then she started moving around in her bed. Her face contorted in confusion as though she was thinking deeply in her sleep.

Nevea looked at her surroundings, changed from pith black into a vast, beautiful scenery filled with greens. Numerous gigantic trees grew taller, almost reaching the height of a skyscraper. It was clear she was somehow trapped in a forest.

The smell of the forest somehow gave her a peaceful feeling. It was like being enveloped in a big hug. Nevea took a long breath, inhaling the fresh and clean air. 

‘If my dream is like this instead of the face of people I killed, I would be happy for the rest of my life.’ Nevea muttered as she strolled into the forest with a big grin on her face.

As she walked, Nevea realized something. She looked down at her feet and noticed that she was barefoot, but a blue rope rounded the center of her toe. The blue rope trailed until it reached her ankle. Not only that, but several flowers also seemed to bloom on top of it. 

“What the fuck?”

With her character, Nevea would not wear something like that. It was too pretty and bright for someone pretty and dark like her. 

After noticing the absence of shoes, she realized she was wearing a long dress with an uneven hem. She lifted her dress and cursed under her breath. 

“This is crazy. I must be crazy for wearing something like this.” Nevea muttered and felt the dress on her body. Her shoulders were open, showing her collarbone. “It’s official. I’ve gone mad.” She spoke. Although she wore a dress occasionally, this princess dress was not for her. 

 As if her distress was not enough, suddenly, she caught sight of a man she did not want to see. 

“Nevea.”

The way Zach said her name was so intimate that it made her quiver.

“Zach,” She called with the same intensity as he did.

‘The fuck? Why did I sound like that?’

Amid bewilderment, Nevea did not know why she ran toward Zach with a broad and warm smile on her lips. Her silver hair swayed left and right, moving according to the wind. 

“You came,” Zach said as he caressed her cheeks tenderly. He tucked her hair behind her ears, and his hand lingered there, brushing her ear in a feathery touch. 

Nevea was beyond confused in her mind, but her body always responded to him first before she could register everything. It was as if her body had its own mind, and her consciousness was just a spectator in this situation.

“I promised you, didn’t I?” Nevea answered softly. She hugged him tightly to share the longing that had been piled up in her heart. 

Zach smiled contently as his hand moved to her waist, and he embraced her petite body. His head dipped at the side of her neck, inhaling her, trying to ensure that his woman was real. “I miss you,” he whispered, letting his lips brush her neck. 

“I miss you too,” Nevea replied. She snuggled into his neck just like him and planted several kisses there as she pleased. “I miss you so much that I feel like dying.”

Zach chuckled in response and broke the hug. He took her small face between his palm and lowered his head so they could lock each other’s eyes. “How did you learn to talk sweetly like that?” He asked as he flicked her forehead.

“From a book in the library,” Nevea answered shyly 

“Besides that, what else did you learn?” He played with her hair while staring at her intensely.

Nevea sealed her mouth. Her cheeks turned pink, and then she averted his gaze. “Nothing.”

“So, you have seen what couples do when they are madly in love.” Zach teased.

“OF COURSE, NO!” 

Zach grinned viciously. “Follow me,” he took her hand and started moving into the deepest part of the forest.

“Where are we going?” 

“You will see.”

They ran for five minutes before reaching their destination. In front of Nevea was a small cottage surrounded by different kinds of flowers. 

“Our home,” Zach told her.

Nevea almost wanted to cry. They met in the forest and talked under the bright sky without anything covering their heads, so having a place to call home made her heart melt.

“No one will find us here, and no one will hear us,” Zach added. 

“Zach,” she called, and she asked him to lower his head with her hands. 

Zach complied, then Nevea kissed him all over his face. From his temple, his eyes, cheeks, then his lips. It was only a chaste kiss as Nevea pulled away from him.

“Thank you,” she whispered against his lips.

Zach’s golden eyes shone so bright as he felt the burn in his heart. The need to consume Nevea had grown incredibly fast with each passing day. They exchanged several kisses but never went beyond that.

“Nevea,” he said, her name breathlessly. He noticed innocent blue eyes looking at her curiously, waiting for him to continue. “All of you, please give it to me.”