The Wicked Ones: Destiny of a Vampire

Risk

"What's going on in here?!" Cassius demanded as he approached us. "The entire hotel trembled like it was under attack by Inquisitors."

"No worries, it's just me." Keira laughed softly.

"Did you?" Cassius moved my arm from the wound and looked closer. "Did you do that?"

"Not on purpose," she responded awkwardly.

"Shit, you almost toasted his heart." Cas chuckled, rubbing his chin with his hand. "Impressive."

Cassius exchanged gazes with Keira and then tapped my shoulder, making me cough from the pain.

Asshole.

"By the way, a new shipment from Odessa will be delivered tonight." Cassius twisted his curls in his fingers. "I need to compel donors. Maybe Keira would like to join me?" He bowed near Keira and kissed her palm softly, making my blood boil.

"I think it is not a good idea." I respoded shortly.

Perhaps the idea wasn’t bad, but I still feared that Keira might lose control and act recklessly. She was still learning to harness her powers and manage her emotions. Compelling donors was no simple task, especially when they were starting to resist or doing everything they could to escape. Keira wasn’t prepared for such an emotional challenge at this moment, but it seemed Cassius was determined to push her forward.

Cassius had very good teaching skills, and that is why he longed to help Keira adjust here. Almost all residents in the hotel were taught by him. When Cassius is in the mood he even goes to the university to give history lectures.

Yes, Cassius loves to talk.

"No." Cassius snapped me off. " It's my turn."

Although Cassius was a trustworthy and good person, he was also too unpredictable and sometimes acted childishly. That is why I had my concerns about letting Keira go with him.

Ten years ago, Cassius and I were spending time in Nashville. The Oracle told us that the Inquisitors were already following Keira, so we moved closer to her. One evening, we met Keira and her friends at a local pub and spent the whole night together. 

That night was the first time I interacted with her directly.

Cassius was the one who told Keira that we are vampires, although I warned him not to. Of course, she didn't believe him until he bit her best friend while we were camping at the lake.

Keira fled and hid in the woods, and when I finally found her, she was so terrified that she couldn't even look at me. I should have erased her memories immediately, but instead, I chose to be honest with her.

That decision marked the beginning of our friendship while she was still human. Which, of course, did not end happily ever after.

"Fine." I rolled my eyes at him. "Pick her up when the shipment arrives."

"See you later, Keira." He winked at her and left us.

As we got back to my apartment, I felt so exhausted that I decided to go and feed on my new donor. My wound wasn't healing at all, so it meant that I needed more blood. It felt strange to feed from a human other than Ana, but I had to let her rest because she seemed exhausted and even cut her work off at the lab. Anastasia helped us at the lab from time to time since she had finished medical school. Yet now, Anastasia seemed to be more tired than usual, so I decided to find a new donor. But no one could compare to her.

I returned and headed straight to my bedroom. Keira was likely resting in her room, as I felt her presence nearby.

"How is your wound?" I heard her voice coming from the entrance.