Crimson {COMPLETED}

CHAPTER II

JACKSON'S POV

OCTOBER 8
1:52 a.m

ON A hill in a more rural part of this town, is an abandoned house. There are dozens like this all over the place. Over the whole globe.

But this one I feel particularly close to, as its in the heart of Emily's hometown.

It makes her seem less far away.

Many have labeled it as a haunted house. That it's scary. The only thing that's really scary about the situation is that mortals make a challenge, almost a game, of coming here. Spending nights here or at the very least an hour. I've seen some. They've been lucky it was just me and not a more bloodthirsty vampire or they'd have a real reason to scream.

I walk upstairs on the old wooden steps and stop at the mirror. It has no reflection. Even if I had a reflection, there wouldn't be one. Mortals joke about this too. They say that there's no reflection because it's some kind of weird funhouse mirror.

It's cute honestly, their little theories.

I press my back to the mirror and fall back. I stumble backwards into a wall. They put this mirror across from a close wall to keep people from falling and cracking their skulls on the wood floor.

Not that cracking their skulls would kill them, the employees would just find cleaning that kinda thing up an inconvenience.

Home sweet home.

I step out into the tavern part of this building, waving to the bartender who is selling mostly alcohol at this time of night. A few people are passed out in booths. A drunk woman waves at me, her speech too slurred to understand.

"Mr. Reed," the bartender calls to me, "can I get you anything?"

"I'll pass tonight Reynold." I wave away the suggestion. Last thing I need is to get drunk.

I make my way to the castle despite it being this late. Christos said that him and the rest of the royal family would be having a meeting tonight and that he has a good feeling about it.

That can only mean chaos is about to ensue between the royal family.

I'm greeted by several servants, one of which scurries up to me.

"Mr. Reed, would you like me to inform Master Christos of your arrival?" She squeaks.

"Yes, please." I fold my hands in front of me. "He's in his room, right?"

She nods and hurries to get the front door for me. Once we step inside, she speeds ahead to tell Christos I'm here.

The palace has a lot of staff and I know in a way, they like it when I'm around. Mostly because I treat them with more respect than the royal family does because I understand.

Despite me coming from a high class family, my parents refused to let me be spoiled and told me I had to work for everything I wanted instead of living off of my lineage. They said I had to make my own connections and income.

I cheated on this rule a bit. My family has had ties with the royal family and I used it to my advantage. I worked as a personal secretary to Christos for a while and we quickly became good friends.

I know what it's like serving this family and it's not exactly ideal.

Especially since his older sister Adalia is the devil incarnate.

I make my way up the large staircase and turn down the corridor. I knock on the door which is slightly ajar.

"Come in Jackson."

I walk in and see him fiddling with things on his messy desk. It's the only messy part of his room. He doesn't want any staff cleaning it and he claims he's much too busy to do it himself.

In reality it's because he's never had to work a day in his life. And he wants to be king for Christ's sake.

"How'd the meeting go?" I stuff my hands into my pockets.

A large smile spreads across his face. "They're cracking down on Adalia. They said they're refusing to let her rule the realm unwed so she has to prove to them she can get engaged before the end of the year."

Damn, the year will be over in just a few months.

"That isn't too hard for a girl like her right? She can terrorize any poor soul in this realm into marrying her." I stifle a laugh.

He chuckles, shaking his head. "She's looking for her mate."

Ah yes. Every vampire is drawn to a mate. It's said that fate brings a vampire to their mate and that they'll have such a unique and powerful bond that will assure they'll be together for all eternity.

Whether or not your mate is a vampire or mortal is easy to know. It alternates generations. Our parents had vampire mates, each other. Meanwhile our mates will be mortal.

"If she's that strung out on it she better start looking harder." I laugh. "So what happens if she doesn't get engaged in time?"

"Since I'm engaged to Emily, they'll bring it to the courts attention that she's unfit to rule and the hierarchy will pass down to me. Unless Adalia were to marry some man who would make a better king than me. Unlikely." His smile widens.

"Are you sure you want to settle with Emily?" I ask. "She doesn't seem to care for you. Yeah it will get you want you want but what comes after that? You just have a wife that doesn't love you?"

He waves the thought away. "After I've fed off her at least once I'll be able to just hypnotize her as I please. Besides, she'll have all of eternity to warm up to me. Or that is until I find my mate I suppose."

The idea of Emily walking around here as some hypnotized trophy wife makes my stomach churn. The thought of him discarding her like a used tissue after finding his mate pains me even more.

I've tried to convince Christos to cut this deal with Emily for a while and he might just have caved if it wasn't for the circumstances now. Having a fiancé brings him a step closer to his goal. Being king.

I've always had a soft spot for Emily. She's so selfless and brave. She isn't afraid to tell it how it is and it's amazing. I've grown up around cunning, sly people my whole life. Practical cons. But Emily is blatantly honest with everything. An open book with nothing to hide.

I fall asleep tonight after a while of tossing and turning.

I have a dream that I'm visiting the castle. Christos is king and Emily is queen. I walk up to Emily and she smiles lightly.

But her eyes seem so empty. They're amber, like all vampires eyes but they're slightly lighter. The eyes of a vampire in a trance.

She tells me she has good news. She tells me she's pregnant. That she couldn't be more excited.

I know it isn't real. Emily told me she's not ready for kids. I assured her that Christos would wait to have kids with his mate, but honestly, I'm not sure if he plans on having kids with Emily or not.

I tell her that it's great news. That I'm happy for her. I ask if she wants to go see a movie. She's too busy.

I wake up feeling dreadful. The part of it that's so scary is that it's dancing so close to reality.

Especially the part where I lie and pretend to be a good friend when in actuality, it's killing me inside.