The Vampire Council

Secrets of the Past

NATALIE

As I sat on top of Aries, massaging his tense body, I waited for him to speak. I was hoping he would tell me silently that he wouldn't shut me out. Of course, he wasn't obligated to tell me, but I wanted to know him more. I needed to so that I could understand him. He was so confusing. One minute he was scary and intimidating; the next, he was sweet and kind.

Though my last vampire master, Henry, was nothing I would ever wish for again, not after spending time with Aries.

"My father was the second son in his family; my Uncle Gard was the first," he paused and took a huge breath.

"When they were growing up, my grandfather, Lord Martin, saw that my uncle, Lord Gard, was exhibiting rather unpleasant traits of brutality. So when the time came to crown the new Lord, my father was chosen over his brother as had been decreed by their father on his death bed."

I kept rubbing his taut back muscles to ease the tension and encourage him to continue talking; I just wanted to hear more.

"This did not sit well with my uncle, of course. He fought against the motion of crowning my father as the Lord. When he finally saw no chance, he moved out of the land and conquered weaker kingdoms to take them over."

He fell silent for a few brief minutes.

"He also became Lord of his own, but his grudge against my father still fuelled his life. Eventually, my father got married to my mom."

His jaw muscles tightened again when he mentioned his mother; something seemed wrong. I kept rubbing him to lessen his muscles, hoping to get him to relax.

"When my mother got pregnant with me, Lord Gard made an attempt on her life. The baby she carried was a threat to him; it distorted his plans of taking over if he eventually succeeded in killing my father. He threatened me so much that my mother was taken away, and she gave birth to me in a foreign land. After my birth, she didn't pay attention to me anymore, nor did she pay attention to my father. She changed because my father had allowed her away into a foreign land, Then she had Henry, but then she was attacked and killed just after giving birth to him. Her Maiden managed to get away with Henry, and Henry and I were brought back here. We were raised by my father's pet, Catherine," his voice came out in a strangled whisper as he said her name, it sounded so smooth, and I giggled.

"Did you love her?" I asked, cursing myself afterwards for allowing myself to interrupt him.

"She loved me like her own son. She took care of Henry and me. But she later got pregnant, and the daughter was LIly."

My heart was thudding in my chest. The realisation was slowly setting in. The way he loved Lily, the reason he cared about her.

Aries must have read my thoughts. He lifted his head up and looked at me with a frown.

"Nat, she's is not what you're thinking."

I moved from my position on top of him and sat in bed with him.

"Come here," he said.

I crawled to his now upright frame and settled my head on the headboard. We looked into the space before us, comforting each other with silence.

"I crave you so much. It torments me day and night," he whispered.

I blushed at his words but said nothing in return.

"Every time I see you, I feel like taking you up against the nearest surface.

"What stops you from doing that?" I ask in a hoarse voice.