She thought that seeing him die before her very eyes would be painful, but something about this moment was poetic for her and she wished that this other vampire would be the one to kill him. Yet, she knew Thane would never die. She could see the anger in his eyes, the vengeance building; Thane waiting to find the right moment to strike back.
It was only a split second, but it felt like an eternity that she watched the scene unfold before her. Thane was at first the prey and within a few precious seconds he had been able to pry himself from his captor’s embrace and turn upon him. Thane grabbed the vampire’s head in his hand and, with one fluid movement, snapped his neck. The man holding Jazmine, gave out a feral scream at the sight of the other vampire dying at Thane’s hands.
The vampire holding Jazmine barely had time to react before Thane had his hands upon his neck, leaving him to fall upon the same fate. Jazmine cringed when she heard the sound of bone cracking behind her. The man’s arms went limp, releasing his hold on Jazmine.
The man’s scream had echoed throughout the house, sending a battle cry out to all his clan. Masses of vampires began to descend upon them to avenge the death of the two that had perished. Jazmine knew they could not ward them all off. Thane was strong, but there were too many of them. She had no choice. She needed to either fight or die; and she was not ready to die today.
Thane and she fought side by side as the swarm of vampires descended upon them. They were able to hold many of them off, the bodies piling up around them. As the minutes wore on, Jazmine could sense the battle turning. Someone had come up behind her and pinned her arms back. She pulled and thrashed but could not release herself from their grip.
She bent forward, trying to flip the vampire over her back. But two more vampires descended upon her on either side keeping her from being able to move her body in any direction. A fourth vampire materialized in front of her, an evil, sadistic grin on his face. Jazmine could feel the blood drain from her face. This is it. This is how I die.
Teeth sunk into the soft, pale flesh of her neck. She could feel her body draining, the strength leaving her limbs. Her vision went black, succumbing to the darkness. The feeling of emptiness was a welcomed emotion she never thought she would want. The pain and sadness she had held inside, left her. In this moment, she welcomed death, eternal rest from pain.
She was so close to the end, the lines between reality and illusion blurred. Just then, she felt a loving presence enfold her. Had she slipped back into her dreams? Was this her mom taking her home? She no longer felt the teeth in her flesh, the vice-like grip on her arms had turned to a gentle touch. A soft caress along her skin, a feeling of being cherished and loved overcame her senses. Was this the person from her dreams? The one that had been searching for her, praying she may remember their name? She struggled to break through her clouded memories, the barrier of fog in her brain that hid from her the truth. The name was within the reach of her inner consciousness, almost forming on her lips, when the darkness engulfed her and took her down. Thoughts and consciousness no more, only blackness and silence.
Chapter Eight
Jazmine ran as fast as her legs would carry her, running into the darkness, away from the light. Something, or someone, was after her. She could not escape the feeling that she would never outrun this being. As the darkness enveloped her into its cold embrace, she felt the presence getting closer. She just wanted to stop, to let the darkness take her, her body ached, and her legs began to wobble. She felt herself falling, falling down to the ground, arms reaching out and holding her body weightlessly in the air.
She wondered if this was death. Then, she felt something else, something she never expected to feel. A warm, almost loving encircled her. For a brief moment, she no longer feared this being. Instead she felt comforted, protected. Jazmine turned her face upwards to try and see who or what held her, that was when everything went black and she remembered nothing.
********
When Jazmine awoke, her eyes fluttered open slowly adjusting to the soft glow of light from the fireplace in the room. She had no idea where she was or how she came to be in this place. Her head pounded and she placed her fingers on her neck. The flesh was bruised and sore, but the wound had healed. She wondered how long she had been unconscious.
She gingerly sat up, her body was stiff from lying awkwardly on the couch. Looking around the room, she assumed that one of the warring clans must have brought her here as a prisoner. Panic began to set in, not knowing if she was safe. She just knew she needed to get out of here immediately. She located the door in the far right corner and quickly ran to it, trying to flee.
She tried to turn the knob, but it was locked. She pulled and tugged frantically, hoping she could pry the door open with her strength. The door didn’t budge as she struggled to get out, and she could feel what little strength she had left draining from her body as she exerted her energy. She collapsed against the door. It was useless. Whoever brought her here had no intention of letting her go.
Jazmine walked back to the couch, trying to figure out her next move, if she had one. In that moment, she remembered she had put her mother’s diary in the waistline of her pants. She reached around, already knowing it was gone as she could no longer feel the soft leather of the binding.
Her heart sank. Someone else had the last thing she had of her mother’s, and the only thing that might have given her a glimpse into who she really had been. Jazmine sat staring at the fire as it roared brightly in the fireplace. She knew her captor would be coming back and the only thing she could do was sit and wait.
As the hours ticked by, she found herself getting sleepy. There was nothing of interest in her prison cell. Besides the couch, all other furnishings had been removed. She figured whomever kept her here had done that on purpose. As time passed, Jazmine found herself growing more tired. She tried to keep sleep from coming, but eventually it was no use. She gave into the urge to close her eyes, promising herself she would only sleep for a few minutes.
The room was shrouded in blackness, the fire having extinguished. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, alert to the feeling of being watched. She could not see anyone physically, but she sensed that someone was there.
“Who’s there?” she called out into the blackness. No one answered. She tried again. “What do you want? Why are you keeping me here?” her voice cracked this time. She sensed whoever was there getting closer to her, but still she could see no one.
Jazmine’s mind race. In that moment she wished she was more powerful, like Thane. She tried to use her only ability to get a sense of who this person was, but she could not get into their head. It was like a brick wall had been put up, shutting her out. The fact that this person knew her enough to know she could read their thoughts scared her even more.
Jazmine shivered, the presence fully surrounding her. “Please…” she begged. “Let me go.”
Finally, a voice responded. Though not out loud, but somewhere in the back of her mind she got her response. “I can’t,” it was barely a whisper. “I promise, you’re safe here. I just need you to remember.”
Jazmine tried to push the intruder out of her head. She had never met anyone, beside Thane, strong enough to penetrate her own thoughts. She screamed at them to get out of her mind. Clawing at her scalp, she tried to rid them of her head. It only lasted a few seconds and then they were gone. Jazmine felt an emptiness in her mind, like someone had walked out and closed the door behind them.
She feared they would be back, trying to get her to remember something. Trying to get her to remember her past, something she had forgotten, or something someone had made her forget. She wondered, was this person trying to help her? Trying to help her lift the fog that she knew existed in her mind, hiding the truth from her? Could she trust this person? Could they be the key?
Jazmine woke up, staring into the firelight, wondering if maybe she would finally have the answers she had been looking for. All she had to do was let this person in and trus
t them. She feared the last part the most. She had trusted Thane once, and that had been a mistake.
Her instincts told her that this was different, this man was different. She was not sure how she knew, but even though she feared him, her body felt altogether something else. It was like it ached for him, sexually, which confused her even more. Her body seemed to recognize this being, knowing them intimately. And when he was in her head, even though she screamed for him to get out, her body cried for him to touch her again.
She wondered what would happen if she let her mind go, let it call for him. Would he come? Was she ready to hear the truth? Would she believe what he told her? She knew she needed to make a decision and she only hoped it was the right one.
Jazmine laid back down on the couch, closing her eyes, she let go of her thoughts and body. Feeling herself floating outside of her own being, she called out to this mystery person. She had a strong feeling he was waiting for her to summon him.
It did not take long for her to get the response she was searching for. She called out. “I’m ready to remember.”
“Are you sure?” The voice was gentle, hopeful.
“Yes,” she mentally replied.
“I’ve been looking for you for a long time. Thane kept you well-hidden from me. But I promised, I would come for you and now you are here with me again.” The man’s voice was sensual, endearing.
Jazmine felt each word wash over her body, like the caress of a lover. She wondered, by the way he talked, if they had been lovers once. Her body stirred, a resounding “YES” in response to her own question.
“I promise, you will remember everything,” he commanded. Jazmine felt him wrap his form around hers. Her eyes still closed, in a sleep like trance, her body arching upwards to welcome his embrace. Her mind did not remember him, but her body did. She could feel the desire and longing flow through her soul.
She licked her lips, enticing him to kiss her mouth. Jazmine reached her hand up and under her shirt, her body burning with an insatiable hunger. Her skin was on fire as she touched her hard, swollen nipples, rubbing her fingers over them. She felt like she no longer had control over her own limbs as her other hand reached down sliding between the fabric of her pants and her bare skin. She slid her hand further down until she could feel her smoothly shaven mound. It was like she was the puppet, and he was the puppet master.
Jazmine moaned out loud as her index finger curled upwards seeking her wet entrance. Her finger slipped in, and her thumb rested on the swollen nub. She worked her finger in and out, while her thumb masterfully played with the sensitive area. Jazmine’s head lolled back as she pleasured herself, slipping a second finger in to assist.
“I want to see your face,” she cried out in her thoughts. “I need to see you.” She was so close to coming. Her hand sped up, pumping her as her thumb continued to massage herself, bringing her near her release. The orgasm built, but she was left feeling unsatisfied. “I need to feel you,” she begged. “Inside me.”
Jazmine’s eyes fluttered open, she saw a set of dark chocolate brown eyes staring back at her. She could feel his body physically on top of her now. Her fingers no longer inside her, instead she felt a large cock placed at her pulsing entrance. Just as she felt him slide his long rod deep inside, his mouth came crashing down on hers. She moaned into his mouth as he rocked back and forth.
Jazmine bit down on his lip as her body quivered, the waves of euphoria building. Jazmine had never felt anything like this before. A trickle of blood dripped down her chin, she sunk her teeth into the soft flesh of his lower lip. A feral cry escaped from him as he rammed into her over and over.
Jazmine could feel her walls gripping him. With one final thrust, they both cried out, Jazmine screaming out his name, “Christian!” The orgasm washed over them as they both found their release with each other again. All of Jazmine’s memories came flooding back.
Christian lay on top of her, his body limp and sated. Jazmine lay beneath him, not moving, her mind reeling with the knowledge that she was back in Christian’s arms again. Yet, instinct told her something was different about him. He was not the same man she had been taken away from so many months ago. The last thing she remembered was seeing him lying on the ground dying, his blood draining from him as Thane stole her away. Now she wondered how he had managed to live.
Jazmine looked up into Christian’s eyes and so many questions played over and over in her head. Christian slowly smiled at her. “All in good time, I promise will tell you everything. But right now, all I want to do is hold you. I was so afraid I would never get to feel you in my arms again,” he mused.
Jazmine only nodded her head in acknowledgement. She knew that in this moment no one could find her and they had time again to rediscover each other and find the answers she needed Jazmine let her body relax and found herself drifting off into a peaceful slumber, snuggled safely in Christian’s arms.
The next day when she woke, she stretched, noticing she was no longer on the couch in that sparse room anymore. She could feel the soft downy comforter on top of her, the firm mattress underneath her body. She turned onto her side, reaching over to feel for Christian, but he was not there. Her hand only met a cold, barren space. A feeling of sadness washed over her at the realization that she was all alone in this bed.
Jazmine looked around the room, trying to determine where he had placed her. Seeing the bare dresser tops and lack of wall furnishings, she speculated that this might be Christian’s own bedroom. The colors were dark and masculine throughout the space. The room was small and cold. She figured Christian had not lived there long and most likely had no plans to remain for a long period of time. Not sure where to go or what to do, she laid back down in the bed and waited for Christian to return.
Christian was not gone long. When he came back into the room, he saw Jazmine sitting up in the bed waiting patiently for him. The moment he laid eyes on her naked body and tousled hair he had the urge to ravage her all over again. He could feel himself growing hard as his eyes feasted on her scrumptious, delicious body.
He refrained from his desires, for now at least. He knew that they were not safe in this place for long and would need to find somewhere else to hide out, until they could figure out their next steps. Christian sauntered over to the bed, “How are you feeling today?”
Jazmine smiled warmly back at him, “Good, I think. A little confused by everything still. It’s like my mind and body are separate. Though my mind now remembers you, my body feels like it has known you forever. I have all the pieces, but my memories are still jumbled.”
“Well, let’s make sure we remedy that. What questions do you have for me?”
“I think I just need you to start from the beginning,” she answered.
Christian spent the better part of an hour telling her everything. From how they met to the passionate nights they spent together to how Thane found her and he almost died. He told her how she sacrificed herself to let him live. And that even though she thought she had done the right thing; Thane still had left him for dead. If Shane had not been there and changed him, he would have died that night. The only thing he left out was the prophecy of their union. He still wanted her to find out who she truly was and where she descended from on her own.
Jazmine listened intently, her memories aligning as he spoke no longer hidden by a thin veil. When he was done, she sat quietly digesting every word. It was a few moments later that she broke the silence between them.
“I found something of my mother’s at Thane’s home. I haven’t told anyone about the diary, but for some reason I feel like I should tell you,” she stated, knowing she could trust him with this information.
Christian did not want to spook her, but he was glad that his instincts had been right and that she had found the diary he had planted. He knew that she just needed to read it to discover her true self and who she was meant to become. Christian only nodded at her confession, he reached out and enfolded her into his strong arms. “I b
elieve that this diary will hold all the answers you seek. I put it on the nightstand next to the bed.”
Chapter Nine
Christian left Jazmine alone to her own thoughts. Letting her know he would be close by, should she need him. Jazmine glanced over in the direction of the diary. She wanted to devour the contents, but fear held her back. Not sure she was truly ready to find out where her mother came from and who she really was. Yet, she yearned to know the truth about her mother and Thane. She speculated that there was so little she really knew about the man she lived with for nearly a century.
Jazmine summoned all of her courage and leaned over plucking the diary off the nightstand. She took a deep breath and opened the book. She sat on the plush bed, reading passage after passage of her mother’s words. Jazmine picked up where she had left off.
December 1790
I sit here alone, not sure where to begin. I had believed him, that he truly loved me. I sacrificed everything for him, and it was not enough. I need to remember, I need to record everything that happened, so one day someone will know that I was a woman driven by sheer madness, or love. I’m not sure which one is worse right now. I know that one day, one of my blood will read this and they need to know the truth. Everything I have learned. I can feel my memory slipping, every day I forget more.
So I need to put my thoughts on paper, no matter how scattered they may be...I need to be remembered for who I truly am...or was.
After that night, the night I was to take my reign, it all fell apart. I knew the others would never accept Thane as my lover. I knew they would not see him as one of us or live under his rule, but I was naïve. I wanted to believe I was so powerful no one could deny my anything.
I was not prepared for everything that would happen. I walked into my ceremony ready to be crowned and then I would release my true power. I would command that they obey me. Yet, I had no idea what would unfold. What Thane had planned to do to us all. I was...we were...not ready.
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