The Vampires #1: Alaric and Faina

Chapter 1 (Faina): Four Times

Copyright © 2024 by GroveltoHEA

He was late. Alaric was late and he hadn't texted or called. That was so unlike him, and even though I knew he was pretty much indestructible, I still worried.

So I paced.

And paced some more.

I tried calling.

I tried texting.

Nothing.

Finally, two hours after he told me to expect him, his car pulled into the driveway.

When he walked in, I rushed to the door...and stopped.

Because he'd stopped.

For a moment, we just stared at each other, and there was something off in his eyes.

So I said the most wifely thing that could have come out of my mouth at that moment. "Are you hungry?"

His eyes remained steady on me. "I already fed."

What? That wasn't possible. I was his blood bride.

Ironically my blood froze in my veins at his statement. I swallowed, trying to remain outwardly composed. I refused to lose my dignity by making a scene that was so abhorrent in our world.

"Who?" My voice was so faint that I could barely hear myself.

"Daylin." How could his voice be so firm, so strong when telling me he'd used another?

And not just some unknown. She was his CFO. One I knew had been after him. One I hadn't been concerned about since I was his bride. Since the moment we met, he'd fed from no one but me. No one. But what worried me even more was what happened after he fed from her.

The dizziness took me by surprise, and I breathed through that odd feeling. Alaric loved me, and yet --

"And after you fed?"

"Don't make me say it, Faina. It meant nothing."

The only thing holding me upright at the moment was my pride. He'd cheated on me, in every possible way a vampire could cheat. The man I loved more than my own life just walked in here and casually admitted he'd turned to another woman in all ways. Ways that had been just mine. Only mine since we'd married, and even before. From the moment he met me.

I must have swayed because Alaric was suddenly in front of me, holding me by my arms.

"Faina," he said sharply, but his tone was filled with concern. "Don't make more of this than it is."

That was a sentence that could take a while to unpack.

"You're going to want to take your hands off of me," I said calmly, but there was pain in every word.

Since Alaric had never heard that tone in my voice before, he didn't know he shouldn't ignore it. So he didn't release me, and I wasn't strong enough to shake him off, nor would I try. 

That infuriated me, and I repeated that he needed to let go of me in a tone of pure ice that he'd never heard from me before and became colder with each word. If I sounded emotionless, I was and it only reflected my frozen insides. 

Alaric listened to me that time.

"You dare -- dare -- to touch me with hands that you just had on her?" I asked him coldly. "With her blood coursing through your veins? I want you out of this house."

That got to him.

"Faina, you will hear me out and understand. Your blood has been sour in my mouth for the last few weeks."

Of all the things he could have said, I wasn't expecting that life-altering news. "And that's a reason to cheat on me?"

"It was nothing more than a feed and release."

"And how many times have you turned to her?"

His face was calm as he took a deep breath. "This was the fourth time."

Four times.

Four times.

I could be just as calm. "Tomorrow, I'll be petitioning to have our union dissolved and then you can make Daylin your new bride."

"No, you won't. I won't give you up, Faina. It's not her that I love."

"Well, I'm sure you'll learn to," I said coolly. "And I'd guess you're well on your way after being with her four times."

Copyright © 2024 by GroveltoHEA