Pomegranate Seeds ➸ Alistair

i

Even after spending over three hundred years of his existence as a vampire, Alistair was afraid that this was all a dream. That he would open his eyes and be alone again, that the girl sound asleep in his arms was only the product of madness from centuries of solitude.

But no: she whispered something unintelligible and sighed softly, nuzzling into his chest, and even in his wildest dreams Alistair knew his mind could not produce anything like this.

He had never imagined he would be here, Eloise wrapped in his arms; truly, he had no romantic feelings for the girl until he had met her again in the field beside her house and she had captured his heart. It was almost disturbing that he had known her since her infancy, but his hand had been so largely removed from her childhood that he wasn't certain it mattered at all.

Eloise sighed again and murmured something that could have been his name, her fingers curling around his shirt (for she was wearing his coat) and Alistair was thankful his immortal memory would allow him to keep this memory forever.

Soon he would change her, and though he had never been known for his self-control, he knew he would not kill her. His instincts forbid anything of the sort.

With Demetri beginning to draw near, Alistair knew that this would likely be the only night spent like this. So he committed it to memory and pressed his lips to her hair, drinking in her scent as the first rays of sunlight reached over the horizon.

When she stirred and blinked up at him, he smiled softly at her. "Good morning, my love."

"Alistair," she murmured, his name sweet on her tongue. No one had ever spoken his name like it was something precious before her. "You are still here. It wasn't a dream."

"No," he agreed. "Even though I do not sleep, I still found myself fearing the same."

She smiled then, the smile that lit up his world, and rested her head on his shoulder. "What are we going to do now?"

"We have the entire world in front of us. Wherever you go, I go. But there is something that must be done first," he said. He hated that he had to subject her to the turn, to the very life that he had loathed for so long. But she was here willingly, and he could not live without her.

"I must become like you," she said, and Alistair was once again startled by her strange perceptiveness, how she so easily read his expression and tone.

"Yes. Today, though first I must hunt. There is an order to this existence, Eloise, and if I do not turn you we will both be killed," he said. Her heartbeat remained steady, so whether these words scared her, he did not know. They did not seem to.

"It's okay," she said, her fingers cupping his cheek. Her eyes met his. "I trust you. If I wasn't willing, I wouldn't have come with you."

He kissed her palm, inhaling her sweet scent. "I love you."

It occurred to him too late that he had not told her this before. And that, perhaps, she did not feel the same. His fears were soothed when her lips brushed against his, a whispered "I love you," reaching his ears before she kissed him properly, soft and gentle and loving.

Alistair could not get over how warm she was in comparison to him: like a crackling fire, his own personal sun. They would be the same temperature before long.

"I must hunt before the sun rises too much," he said, placing one last kiss on her forehead. "Stay here."

He hated leaving her where she would be vulnerable, but he had no choice. It would be more dangerous to turn her when his eyes were so close to black.

"Be careful," she said, wrapping his coat tighter around her to ward off the morning's chill.

"I am hardly in any danger. If you need anything, scream. I will not be far." There was a village close by. It was risky to hunt this time of day, but he didn't want to wait until nightfall. Demetri was close enough already.

When he returned to her, his eyes were red. She had dozed off again, her face covered with his coat to block out the sun that was now fully above the horizon. A light touch woke her. "We will do it now. The sooner it begins, the sooner it is over."

"It's painful?" Eloise asked him. He nodded and looked away, unable to meet her eyes. "I can get through it. You'll be with me."

"I will not leave your side," Alistair promised. Still, he hated that he must do this. That, in order to keep her by his side, he must turn her into the same monster as him. But Alistair had always been selfish. Once they are a suitable distance away from every living person, he knows it is time.

"I chose this," Eloise said to him firmly. "I chose you."

Her heartbeat his steady and Alistair finds himself, once again, in awe of her. He captures her lips in a last, warm kiss, her heartbeat forever sealed into his mind. He drifted towards her neck, not swallowing back the venom as it pooled in his mouth and coated his teeth. His lips ghosted against the pulse point as he pressed the gentlest of kisses there, a last silent apology for what he was about to do.

He sank his fangs into her neck.

~~❀~~

One more chapter left to this story. I truly loved writing it; it's so unlike what I normally like but I had a blast. I hope you all have enjoyed it as much as I have! Please let me know what you think!