The Blood Whore

Commands

Chapter Sixteen;;

Commands;;

In the meeting room, away from the other vampires, Louis’s calm expression dissolved instantly. All the lights were out and the shadows surrounding Louis’s dark face made him look absolutely ferocious. Moving so quickly even Aiden didn’t see it, Louis grabbed Aiden by the throat and lifted him. He spun him and slammed him into the wall, Aiden’s flailing limbs knocking over some of the chairs.

Aiden gasped as the wall crashed against his back with a resounding thud and all the air was forced out of his lungs. Louis tightened his grip on Aiden’s neck so he couldn’t breathe or speak. Aiden was not fool enough to try to talk to Louis when he was in a mood like this.

“You imbecile,” hissed Louis. Aiden could tell he was remaining as quiet as possible to keep their conversation private.

Slamming Aiden into the wall again he growled, “The primary rule of feeding, Aiden. You know the primary,” slam, “rule,” slam, “of feeding.” Louis tightened his grip even tighter. Aiden stared at him wide eyed afraid he would decapitate him with one hand. “Take no one who will be missed.”

Louis tossed Aiden onto the floor, and while he was still face down pinned his shoulders to the floor with the heel of his boot. “It looks like someone missed her.”

Aiden was breathing hard. He wanted to say that she shouldn’t be missed. She was an orphan, she had no family. How was he supposed to know that her family were vampires when she didn’t know herself? He didn’t dare say these things though; this would just fuel Louis’s anger more. He’d learned much about abusive natures before his turning. He didn’t think that Louis was much different.

“Not only that,” Louis growled, bending down and grabbing a fistful of Aiden’s dark hair and pulling his head up. “You showed weakness in front of strangers,” he smashed Aiden’s face into the floor before jerking it up again. “Enemies.”

Releasing Aiden’s hair, Louis kicked him in the side and sent him rolling into the fallen chairs. “You are softening, you piece of shit.” Aiden withheld a groan as he received another kick in the side; if Louis was degrading himself to the modern insults then he was beyond angry. “There is nothing special, about that girl. I don’t see why all of these vampires are fussing over her, why you’re fussing over her!”

He yanked Aiden up by his hair so he was standing, only to punch him in the gut and knock him on his back as he landed on the table. He was surprised by the fact it didn’t fracture with the force. “I am tempted to just kill the bitch.” Louis growled, and something inside Aiden stirred. He pushed himself up from the table, opposing Louis, if only in a small manner, for the first time.  

“Oh, a sensitive spot.” Louis smirked and deflected Aiden’s defiance with a slap across the face, that sent the immortal reeling. Being centuries old, Louis had more force to him than any newbie could ever hope to attain. He pushed Aiden to the ground, and crouched to dig his knee into his back. “Maybe we will use this to our advantage.”

With a self-satisfied smirk, Louis rose and brushed his hands off. Aiden rolled, and pulled himself into a sitting position as he rubbed his aching jaw. He could feel the bruises beginning to heal, but he would rather Louis continue to hit him than say what he did. “Aiden,” Louis said, suddenly composed. “You are going to use that weakness for Cooper to our advantage. You are going to make her love you, and make her want to stay. She and her family are not to leave until our American allies arrive.” Louis stopped there. Of course he wouldn’t let Aiden know what was going on; of course he was just going to tell Aiden what he had to do.

“What’re you waiting for?” Louis growled taking a step forward to loom over Aiden once more. “Go to her right now.”

Aiden nodded, and restarted the process of breathing as he rose. He brushed past Louis and his foot caught on the leg of a chair and he stumbled. Stupid. Aiden thought at angrily at himself, furious for being afraid of him. You can’t possibly listen to what he has to say.

He continued to berate himself for his weakness, the weakness he’d rejected when he accepted Wesley’s offer almost seventy years ago. He continued his period of self-loathing all the way up the blood covered stairs and to Cooper’s room. Aiden was fairly certain he had never taken so long to climb a flight of stairs, dead or alive.

He rested his arm against the door and leaned his head against it. He didn’t want to do this. He closed his eyes tightly and was overwhelmed with the feeling he’d been consumed with earlier. He remembered his panic when Cooper had been impaled and how he’d been filled with the desire to cure her sadness, to make her laugh with sincerity. He didn’t want to use her like this, he didn’t think she was truly safe here. For the first time he had something he wanted to protect, and with it came the first sense of distrust since his death.

I will make her love me. Aiden decided as he pushed through the door with a sigh. Nadeline was in front of him in less than a second. “I heard everything,” she said, biting at her lip. “How bad was it?” She asked with concern.

“I’ve survived worse.” He said stoically. Neither moved for a moment, and he thought for a moment that Nadeline wasn’t going to leave and then she bowed her head and excused herself by saying she had to go talk to Dalia about something.

Aiden accepted her lie with a nod and went to Cooper’s side. He sat on the bed and smirked when he looked down at her. Just like a human, the moment things got relatively exciting she falls asleep. He smiled down at her, deciding to wait until she woke. In that moment he knew he would make her love him, but it wouldn’t be because Louis had told him to, it was because for the first time in a long time he felt something other than anger and numbness and he didn’t want to lose that… he didn’t want to lose her.