Infernal

11.

"W-why?"

That one word was all I could muster to say.

Why had he marked me without asking? Why did he have to do it whilst I slept? We barely knew each other, we had barely even formed a connection.

"Valerie, look at me," I heard Alaric say.

Looking up I saw that his eyes were changing from red to black constantly. Blood was all around his mouth, dripping down his chin and his sharp canines were extended. He moved closer to me and I tried so hard not to flinch but I couldn't help it. The little hairs on my body stood up and I could feel my heart beating so fast.

The pain in my neck was still there and blood trailed down past my collarbone and onto my chest; staining and tainting my shirt. My breathing suddenly became irregular and without thinking I thrashed against Alaric's hold. His grip softened, giving me the chance to escape him and run into the bathroom. My legs were weak and wobbly and I soon fell to the floor of the bathroom, as I slammed the door shut and I locked it. Tears blurred my vision, my body started to shake, a restricted sob escaped me. The bathroom light had come on automatically, my eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden brightness.

I breathed in heavily, clutching at my bloody neck.

"Valerie!" I heard his voice shout through the door. "You know I can easily get in there, open the door now!"

"N-no!" I cried, pushing my back firmly against the door. The image of his dark eyes and bloody covered mouth was embedded in my head.

"Open the door!" he shouted again.

"You marked me without consent, Alaric!" I shouted through my tears. "How could you?"

"Just open the door, don't make me break it down!"

I swallowed hard, feeling hot tears continuing to fall down. My neck ached like crazy and I dreaded to think how it looked. I knew I needed to clean the blood and at least see if the wound was healing. Gathering all the strength I had, I stood up and walked shakily to the sink. As soon as I looked into the mirror a scream left my lips.

Blood covered my whole neck, masking the bruises that the vampire had left. The bite wound was slowly closing up, but it looked as if Alaric had bitten a chunk out of my neck. I grabbed the towel on the side of the sink, wetting it with warm water. Before I could put the towel to my neck the sound of a door coming off his hinges invaded my eardrums. From the corner of the mirror, I saw the Demon Alpha.

He calmly strolled into the bathroom, eying me cautiously as I stared at him as if he was a crazy person. How could he rip the door from its frame and then walk as if nothing had happened?

"Clean it," he said gesturing to my neck.

His canines had retracted but the blood... my blood was still all over his mouth. Alaric stood behind me, grabbing another towel and wetting it, before cleaning the blood from his face. He threw the towel aside and then stepped away from me. He was still much too close for my liking and all I could do was stare at him in the reflection of the mirror, tears continuing to fall.

"Why?" I whispered, gently wiping at my neck.

"I had to do it, sooner than later," he shrugged. My stomach tightened at his words and I couldn't help but feel disappointed. Did marking really mean that little to him, just a thing to do and then forget what it stood for? I couldn't help the fresh flood of tears that began to stream down my already hot face. I couldn't even bring myself to finish cleaning the blood. My legs gave in again, and I sank to the floor.

"Valerie?" I heard Alaric say my name in a worried tone.

"You shouldn't have marked me... its too soon," I said through my tears. "You don't even care for me, Alaric."