We have been driving for over thirty minutes and by know I am certain we are way past my pack territory. The sorroundings are so different than what I am used to and I can only assume we are about two towns over from my pack's town.
Every street we pass feels different, here people are livelier than what I am used to, back home everyone is mostly reserved sticking to their own and it's a new experience even if I am just an observer looking in.
We are soon driving down a deserted road sorrounded by trees on both sides. The scenery pleases my wolf as she is drawn to nature as all wolves are and I hope I might get a chance to let her roam free and actually run through those woods without fear of being detected or accidentally killing a human.
The house that comes into view at the end of the road is massive. It resembles old gothic revival architecture. The brickwork is intricately blackened throwing the dirty cream window frames and the ornate doorway into dark contrast and it somehow works. In this day and age I can never imagine him living anywhere else but this dark castle fit for the demon king.
The grandeur of its design belongs to a large structure making the house look even more like a segment of something far greater that I can almost tell he modeled it after a time he was probably alive and enjoyed it. It holds little inspiration from the current era and some part of me is happy that it doesn't. Maybe this house will give me a reason to defend him in my father's eyes, afterall a house speaks volumes about a person and their character.
When the doors open, the inside is even grander than the outside. I would have spent a full half hour just admiring the intricate designs of his foyer but I am instantly distracted when I see the vampire. He is standing just beneath the last step of the stairwell. He is slim with dark hair and bloodshot blue eyes, the tell tale sign of a secondary vampire turned by one of the collective, a group of vampires turned by Darick himself, superior in every way except to him. I have only ever met one of the collective, and sadly I have the scars to prove it.
Darick turns to walk away with an unsaid command to follow him hardly acknowledging the vampire but the creepy vampire stops him with his words. His voice alone intensifies his creepiness and I just know that I already dislike him as a person.
'My king have you brought us a toy?'
I watch the vampire smile sinisterly and I know I will not like his next words. His walk towards me is slow and his eyes glint with dangerous intent. I cannot look away. When he touches my cheek I want to recoil and run to the vampire king but I stop myself. He is not my savior. He will not help me.
'The royal heir. What a treat. How should I play with you little wolf?'
I close my eyes as his hand starts to travel down my face. I know where they aim to touch but the touch never comes. Instead his scream feels the air then there is silence. When I open my eyes his head is in my mate's hand his body lying on the floor next to me, his blood slowly pooling at my feet wetting the soles of my boots. Darick makes eye contact with me as the head drops from his hands slowly rolling a couple of steps away. His eyes tell me no one is allowed to do as the disgusting vampire had, and I feel safe.
No matter how much I do not want to.
I try to open my mouth to speak but I have no words to describe what he has just done. Before I can form any coherent words, he turns away leaving a silent command to follow him and I do.
Darick walks too fast for me to even stop and appreciate the intricate designs I pass on each floor and when we are finally on the third floor which only has three doors he stops just outside a room I assume will be my new living quaters. My feet have long stopped leaving bloody prints on the hardwood floor and I am amazed that I am disappointed he killed him instead of me. Just one day in his presence I had been reduced to a wimp. Before Darick, no one would have touched me as the inferior vampire had and lived. I would never have allowed it but with him, I let it happen and now I am angry at myself for confirming one of my fathers perception of me. Weak.
The door he stops outside of has a single rose engraved into it and I want to ask if it has any significance but I just can't find the words to voice my curiosity. The whole floor just has something about it, strange as it might that makes me think he did not just recently purchase the house and in fact might have lived in it for a couple centuries before his slumber.
When his hand comes up to my cheek, all thoughts of the weird floor in his house flee my mind and as he leans his head so close to my face that his nose is almost tracing my other cheek I can't help but slightly lean into his touch.
'For over eight centuries I have waited for you. No one is allowed to touch you except me'
He whispers the words but they ignite something in me and all I want him to do is lean in even closer and kiss me till I forget my own name. Everything about him at this very moment excites me and I just hope it will always be like this.
'Do you want to kiss me'
He asks with a hint of a devilish grin in his eyes. The question startles me as I would have much preferred if he kissed me than asked. The way he does ask further makes me doubt if I do say yes it will only be confirming what little feelings he thinks I have for him.
'No'
I reply, stopping my real feelings from creeping up my throat and satisfying his cruel curiosity. From the smile he sport after my answer I know he knows I have lied to him. He let's go of me and turns to walk away but before he turns the corner, he uttures four words that even I can't deny because sooner or later they will turn into truth.
'You will soon enough.'
