Burned (Book1) The White Rose Vampire Series

Chapter Seven

We were alone when we arrived at the manor. Jonathon and Dimitri had gone out to search for me when they realized I was gone.  Bastian led me to the living room, his expression dark with worry as his eyes roamed over me, taking in each streak of dirt marring my clothes and skin before settling on my neck searching for bruises. Tears rested in my eyes as I brushed my tangled, ebony hair away from my pale face with shaking hands.

"Lanie, I have to change." His gentle voice caused me to raise my eyes to his as he gestured to the blood marring his shirt. "Stay here.  I'll be right back."

My eyes widened as panic slithered through me. He couldn't leave me here alone. What if someone like the sheriff came? I reached out and grabbed his wrist, my eyes searching his as my body trembled.

"Please don't leave me." My shaking voice sounding pathetic to my own ears betraying my weaknesses.

"I have to change and Dimitri will not be happy if I take you to my room," he explained as a tear fell from my eye.  He reached forward capturing it on his finger as his expression filled with indecision. "You're safe here.  No one will hurt you."

"I don't feel safe," I  swallowed as I shook my head. "Unless you're-"

"Unless I'm with you?" he asked, softly as any thoughts of leaving me cracked and fell away. Then, he nodded his head and took my hand in his, the comfort he offered sliding from his fingertips into me. "Dimitri will get over it.  Come with me.  I won't leave you."

He led me up the stairs and opened the door to his room. My eyes roamed over a bed with a blue comforter that sat in the middle of a hardwood floor. Shelves filled to the brim with movies, books, records, and C.D.s lined the walls. A guitar sat in the corner on a stand with music both handwritten and printed surrounding it.

Bastian led me to the bed, motioning for me to sit down.  I sank onto it.  His eyes raked over me as if afraid I would bolt before he turned to a door that led to a massive walk-in closet. He pulled his shirt over his head and grabbed a black t-shirt before walking shirtless to the bathroom. On some level, I knew I would have studied his body if I wasn't in shock but instead, my eyes remained fastened to his movements watching his muscles move afraid he would disappear and leave me alone if I turned for even a second.

The water from the sink in the bathroom ran as he brushed his teeth and washed up before shutting it off.   A few minutes later, he returned to me, all signs of blood gone before sitting on the bed beside me. He pulled out his phone texting Jonathon and Dimitri asking them to return and informing them there was a problem.  A few moments later, they texted they were on their way.   Bastian put the phone on the bedside table and turned to me, his eyes roaming over my face.

"Lanie, is there anything I can do to help you?" He asked, his voice a fraction above a whisper.

Everything that had happened played through my mind.   It was too much, slithering through every bit of restraint I had as I began to sob. He pulled me against him, my head laying on his chest, tugging me further onto the bed and laying down on the pillows.  I curled up against him as my body shuddered. My head rested against his chest, his breathing and heartbeat calming me until I fell into a dark, dreamless sleep where all the evil of the day faded away.