Chapter 41Damien didn’t laugh this time but he just smiled. “Yes his name is Xavier, I know you will not want to hear this, but we have been intimate… I’m sorry Damien, I didn’t know.” I said, as a stray tear fell from my cheek. Damien suddenly took me in his arms and held me. “Why did you take my memories?! Why?! I could have prevented this!” I said, pounding my fist against Damiens chest. “You asked me too, remember? Last year, you said you wanted me to take them so you could focus on Hunting. So I did as I was asked.” Damein said. I could hear the hurt in his voice, but his thoughts that flooded through my mind when he touched me, told me that he already knew about Xavier and this wasn’t a surprise to him, it just hurt still. Guilt flooded into my chest at the thought of Xavier. This whole thing was a fucking mess and I had no idea how to get out of it. I pulled away from Damien to look him in the eyes. “I’m so sorry, I just… I didn’t know.” I said. Damien put his hooked finger un

Chapter 43“Well it’s something that before I found you, I never thought could affect a Human. But it’s a mate the gods gift to a Vampire. Someone to spend the rest of your life with, someone who will love you and only you for eternity. But it’s more than just a partner, it’s literally your other half. Like two halves of a whole. It's extremely rare, only 12 Vampires in the world are known to have one. Excuse me, 13 Vampires.” He said. I remained silent while I processed what he was saying. “Is that why you took my memories?” I asked him. “Yes, I originally took them because I didn't accept the bond. It couldn’t be true, you were a Hunter, and I was your prey. There was no way I could accept you as my gifted mate. The gods must have played a cruel joke. But I found myself unable to stay away. I chose to visit you every year on your birthday but I couldn’t let you remember as you were too young. As the years went by you finally accepted me when you were 18… But I wasn’t ready... And I

Chapter 45He hesitated for a moment and then reached for my hand. I let him take it so I could get a read on him. He reports to the council, what is the council? That is strange… I wasn’t aware The Academy had a council. “Look I'm not trying to be weird, I'm looking to move up, away from Hunting into something bigger. I just need to know who to talk to after I complete this checkmate. You know this will earn me any title I want basically.” I said. “Ok, ok, you’re right. I report to the Council. They are a group of 4 that run The Academy behind the scenes. My direct report, his name is Max. He’s one of the original guys to start The Academy. If you want to move up I suggest you get a hold of him. He can definitely be of help. And honestly, I’m sure you can get whatever you want from him. He’s easily swayed, if you know what I mean…” Bartholomew said, with a wink. I swallowed my disgust, he meant sex. Jesus. I couldn’t imagine Humans being like that, but I guess there were bad apples

Chapter 47This had me thinking for a moment. Sure I wanted him to mark me, in fact the urge was stronger than ever now that we were talking about it. But was I truly ready? If he marked me on my neck/shoulder where I wanted him to mark me, in the spot that was visible to others, that could be a dead giveaway while I'm still Hunting. I couldn’t risk that, not yet. But if I had him mark me somewhere where it wasn't visible, then I could still be marked and still Hunt. But then later, when I want it to show, I don’t think it could be moved. This was difficult. “Look, I still have some business to figure out with work, and having a mark on my shoulder/neck would be a dead giveaway that something wasn’t right. There isn’t a way you could move the mark to a different place once it's on there, could you?” I asked him. He chuckled. “No, I can’t move it. Once it's on you, it stays there forever. So we have to make sure that you're ready when we do it.” He replied. “Ok, then I would like to wa

Chapter 49He smiled at me, and something about the smile hit me right in the gut. I had a strange feeling that if I met with him in person I may never come out alive. There was something else in his eyes too that bothered me, and it wasn't the typical lust I always see. This was something more. I just looked deep into his eyes for a moment while he processed my reply. “I will text you with an address and time. See you tonight.” He said. And with that he ended the call. I felt like I had fallen into an endless abyss, like I was drowning and he was going to save me. I didn’t know what kind of fuckery that is, but I didn’t like it at all. We arrived at The Primrose and I couldn't shake the feeling that Max was still somehow watching me. That had to be crazy though. Right? I pushed the thoughts away as I went to open my car door but it was already opening. Jericho stood on the other side with his hand held out to me. I put my hand in his and his thoughts wafted through my mind like a ge