Vampire & Witch; The Shadows

26

With only two rooms in the cabin, two had to sleep on the couch... Lucian and Jason.

Four AM.

My eyes couldn't stay shut for over five minutes, I turned over and over hoping to find a comfortable position to sleep. But the bed felt alien and the air strange.

Whenever my eyes closed, all I saw was Lucian standing in front of me at the attack. Why had he jumped to protect me?
That short-lived moment we had shared as we got lost in each other's eyes, would forever hunt my dreams.

      I started counting the seconds, my brain unable to be at peace, it was the only thing to keep me occupied. I counted, counted till I got lost in the numbers
And by then, day was breaking and the night being scared off.

The only spot in that tiny room that had made me feel a bit calm was by the window. I had been sitting on a wooden rocking chair when the first rays penetrated the clouds and colored them a bloody red. The tree tops were equally bleeding from the rising sun, but the birds seemed not disturbed as they sung gracefully.

    I listened with an open heart to their melodies. Soon, they would die and move on to the next life where there are no predators or preys. Habin, he always looked after his own. They said that he punished some people who violated animals in an unnatural circumstances.

A knock from outside the door beckoned me to come back to the land of reality.

        It was Apollo, I could sense his strong aura even if he would be miles away.

I unlocked the door and opened it, all while still seated by the window.

  "Princess!" He bowed after he had taken a few steps inside the room.

      "How bad is it?"

He lifted his head, wearing one sullen expression. "We hunted the threat for hours but whoever it was covered their tracks so carefully. I've never encountered such a being... You may punish me as you see fit for failing to-"

   "Come on now! I'm not my mother." I paused to breathe and think clearly. "Even Flo couldn't follow their scent?"

Apollo dropped his head, "No Princess!"

How could witch or Syran vanish without a trace? If the attacker had used a portal, Apollo would have been able to follow its energy. Also, if the threat had instead ran away, Flo would have been able to track them faster.

Lawd! Why were things getting complicated right when they should be going right so that I could find the grimoire and leave this side of the realm.

      I sighed shutting my eyes.
"You may leave!"

"Thank you Princess for your mercy."

"Oh Apollo?" I called forcing my eyes to open. "Find Lucian for me. I need to speak to him."

He gave me the 'this is wrong' look but bowed and left anyway. There was nothing he could do, I was the Princess and future Queen, it was time I started acting like one. I had been playing unbothered for too long, especially in the human's side.

As I waited for Lucian, I allowed my heavy globes to shut, just for a few minute, then I would ask the vampire nicely for the grimoire.

**********

Something crawled over my right cheek, tickling me. I quickly brushed it away with the back of my hand and continued floating in the perfect harmony coursing through my body. I felt warm, safe, cosy. Where was I?
    My mind was too fogged to comprehend a thing at the moment. But when I took a deep breath, a familiar cologne shot through to my lungs, sending signals to my brain and my eyes ripped open in a heartbeat.

A pair of blue eyes stared patiently at me.

       "You...I..." Why couldn't I remember the last thing I had done?

Why was I lying on the bed, with Lucian next to me?

I quickly checked under the covers, sighed in pure relief upon seeing my clothes were still in place.

  A mocking laugh came from the male whose arm was under my head. "Did you really think...if I was to do it, I would rather have you awake so you would scream and toss around like a-" he cupped my jaw "-little bunny."

The size of his hand was astounding as the rest of his body. I wondered if a certain part was as- Don't even think about it. A voice in my head gave a stern warning.

     "How long have I been asleep?"
There was no point in getting up, after all, I had been sleeping next to him and he hadn't down anything. Not even a bite.

"Three hours."

My body jerked to sit, the red hairs spilling all over my face. I quickly tucked them behind my ears as I came in terms with his answers. "You've been in here for...three hours?"

   Lucian sat up and swung his over the other side bed to touch the floor. With his broad back at me, my anxiety shot down a little. "I didn't have anything better to do!"

My jaw dropped.

"What about-what about Jason and-" Lucian's blurred frame shot from his position, around the bed till it pinned me down on the pillows.

    "I'm tired of this," he breathed to my face as I squirmed beneath his body. Gawd he's so strong! "I can't take it any longer...princess."

As usual, my dumb heart started speeding. Yes! I couldn't take it any more either. I wanted him to make me his, and only his.

    My eyes moisturized on their own as emotions flooded in me. Lucian gazed at my face, then at my neck, and it hit me real hard. He wasn't talking about any intimate...he wanted to feed, on me.

"Lucian n-" The bloody bastard dived for it.

A blinding pain filled my chest like a heavy anchor rooting deep within me. But it wasn't originating from my neck, it was coming from my left wrist where Lucian had bitten.
I raised my head to watch him suck so hungrily and desperate. This was the real him, the monster.

    The more he drunk my blood, the more lightheaded I felt. Something was happening to me, I was feeling things I shouldn't feel and hearing things that normally would be impossible. There was a heart pounding at an insane speed that a normal person would explode right from the chest. It wasn't mine... Lucian's.

There was anger and hunger seeping to me, all emotions not mine. Could it be?
    Was I feeling everything Lucian was?

My head fell back down as my eyes fluttered to shut. "Lucian, I...love, you."
It was obviously the venom affecting me.

    There wasn't a slight chance that I was in love with a blood race, especially one that acted the way he did.