A Vampire's Charm

The Guilt

Merlin's POV
(hey give the guy some slack, he was busy imprisoning his soulmate.)

I pace the living room, chewing on my bright neon blue nails. Yes I paint them, yes I don't care what people think. All I can think of is the way I'm going to approach my death when Atticus finds out that his soulmate is gone. His other half. Well, me and him are on the same boat. Cause that lunatic in the dungeon is definitely not the man I met in the elf realm. Okay, focus Merlin. Enough sappy shit!

               How are you going to explain this to King Atticus?! He leaves for two hours to deal a war raid, and comes back to his mate missing and his best friend evil! I'm so six feet under. Wait- what the fuck Merlin? Remember who the fuck you are. Yes she's gone, yes it's your fault, and fuck yes you can get her back. If only she was responding to her damn mind messages.

                  Either she's blocking me, which I doubt because it takes years to efficiently learn how to block us annoying wizards; or she's unconscious. That actually made it even worse, I prefer the first option.

               I suddenly hear something in the distance and pale as I realize that Atticus is home.

              I stop pacing and face the door way, waiting for him to walk through the door and kill me. Remember who you are Merlin. Thanks lion king, thanks.

                 I hear footsteps approaching and I tense up. As the door opens, because yes- the door is always unlocked, I suck in a breath. King Atticus walks in, running his hands through his black hair in frustration. He stops as he sees me and nods in greeting. I nod back, confused. Can't he sense that his mate is unconscious? He takes off his shoes and looks up at me.

                      "Where's Claire?" He rumbles out looking around. He pauses and sniffs the air. I bet he can tell that she's not here. Her scent is faint, any creature in Holdrex is smart enough to know that. He pauses and looks at me, slowly straightening out.

                  I fidget with my fingers awkwardly and can't look him in the eyes.

                   "Merlin. Where is Claire?" He asks again, and I can already tell that he doesn't like repeating himself. Of course he doesn't, he's a king you fucking idiot! I swallow and answer him quietly.

                    "I lost her." I whisper and look up at him. The powerful old man known as Merlin is no more in the presence of an angry Atticus. He blinks.

                   "Come again?" He says tensely. I remain quiet as my eyes start to dart to the walls. I notice that these walls don't need a paint job- and it's probably been there for years. He takes a step forward, automatically intimidating me. I try not to let it show.

                      "You lost my mate?" He asks. I want to answer him, but the guilt sinks in. I'm the reason she isn't here right now, and god knows where. But another thing sinks in.
                   Atticus didn't sense her unconsciousness, which means- she's blocking me out.

                "You lost my mate." He says even slower, obviously trying to chew my words but isn't able to swallow them. I look up and automatically regret it. The fury in his eyes is evident. He wants to kill me. He opens his mouth and I wince as I see his fangs.

                   But the bite never comes. I'm still alive. Instead, I hear him roar a name that instantly makes me wish I weren't the one to explain the situation to him.

              "Valdus!" He thunders, the veins in his biceps showing. If Claire were here, she'd be ogling at him. But she isn't here, and that's another hit to my heart. I stop all of my movements and look at him in the eye.

                     "He's evil." I say, not blinking once. Remember who the fuck you are. Yeah yeah, I'm remembering.

                 Atticus closes his eyes and breathes through his nostrils. He stays like that for a little bit, then he opens his eyes and let's out a sarcastic laugh.

                  "What else is new?" He throws his hands up in the air, expressing his frustration. He starts to pace. Finding it within him not to kill me. My voice is back now as I stare at him having a meltdown.

                    "Christmas is most likely dead." I say strongly as he pauses. A look of horror flashes on his features as he looks at me. He stops pacing.

                 "You're shitting me." He says, and I shake my head and point in the direction of his office.

                  He starts stalking towards it while mumbling about how Claire is gonna kill him if her puppy is dead. I almost find it within me to smile, but the situation at hand is too serious. She could be in so much danger- and it would all be my fucking fault. That little girl could be getting dragged into death, and it would all be my fault.

                   My face is still pale as I follow Atticus through the hallways. He almost walks past his office, but he immediately stops after he inhales. He slowly turns towards the doorway.

His intense expression drops as one of despair replaces it. He walks towards the dog's body and feels how cold she is.

"Shit." He mutters softly as he looks down at Christmas.

"I'll need to take her back to Cerberus to get her flame back." He says. He doesn't bother to look around the room, knowing that he won't like what he sees. He closed his eyes and suddenly looks younger, like a child who lost his way. Not at all like the famous powerful, deadly, vampire King. He scoops the dog in his arms, and I can tell that he's worried about Claire.

Never looking up from Christmas, he asks me a question.

"Who is responsible for this?" He asks, a calm tone that has venom hidden in it. I immediately know that he's talking about Claire, and not the dog.

I answer, not missing a beat. "Valdus." But my heart sinks as I realize that I gave him the wrong answer.

I'm the one at fault for this, I should've came when she called. I'm responsible for this. I clench my fists as he stands slowly, dog in his arms, and a rogue kind of anger in his hellish eyes.

"Where is he?"

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HELLOOOOOOOO MY LOVELY UNICORNS. An update on time yay!!! For the first time in foreverrrrrrr. I usually either update super early, or like a month late. Which sucks, so I prefer early.

How did you guys like this chapter?? TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF ATTICUS AND MERLIN!!

•Claire's POV in the next chapter.

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