He grabbed another one that appeared behind Addison, thrusting the knife in his hand into the hunter’s chest and forcefully turning it around inside him. The hunter fell to the ground at Christian’s feet. Blood dripped from Christian’s fingers as he stretched his hand out and tried to make a grab for her. He wasn’t quick enough, though, and another hunter grabbed her from behind, dragging her away
From the arms of the hunter, Addison screamed out to Christian, but he couldn’t get to her. A few more hunters had shown up and blocked his way, leaving him no other choice but to fight them before he could go after her.
Addison was pulled into a back room and slammed against the wall as the hunter stared her down. "I’m going to kill you, you little bitch."
"Let me go!"
This angered him, and he quickly thrust forward the knife in his hand, stabbing her in the stomach. Shutting her eyes tightly, she screamed out in pain, her hands frantically trying to grab the handle.
"Don’t hurt her!" Swinging his axe around in a quick circle, Zak glared at his hunter, a look of intense anger on his face. "Let her go!"
"Sorry about that, Monroe." The hunter withdrew his knife, Addison falling to her knees as he stepped away from her. "I didn’t know this one was yours."
"It’s fine—I’ll just have to fix her up a little when I get home." Zak quickly placed his hands under her armpits and lifted her to her feet. "Come on." He dragged her toward the door that led outside to a courtyard. "You know, if you would’ve stayed with me, I wouldn’t have had to go hunt you down." He gave her a nasty glare as he pulled her along, Addison looking like she was going to pass out. "I said I was going to help you. Why didn’t you just listen to me?"
"You’re not going to kill me?" A large pout appeared on her lips, her eyes glistening with forming tears. She was ready to lay it on thick because she knew she was in big trouble with Zak, and she was afraid he would kill her if she didn’t try to remedy things. "I thought you would—"
"Of course, I’m fucking mad at you. You destroyed my medallion, and now Master Vallore’s killing my hunters." Zak stopped walking and shook her shoulders, his eyes falling on her as she shook under the weight of his hands. "You’re lucky you’re not a vampire anymore, and I have a soft spot for you, sweetheart."
"I—" Addison’s eyes rolled back in her head and her body slumped forward. Zak caught her as she fell, shaking his head as he let out an annoyed sigh. He quickly slung her over his shoulder and carried her away.
* * * *
Christian, who hadn’t seen them leave, ran into the room where he had seen the hunter take Addison. He stared down at the floor, a small pool of blood on the ground.
"Addison!" Christian scanned the room, "Addison!" He tried all the doors, but the only one that was unlocked was the one that led outside. "Addison!" He ran outside and searched there too but couldn’t find her anywhere. "Addison!"
There was a small puddle outside where her blood had dripped from the wound on her stomach. He feared that a hunter had carried her off because the blood trail had stopped there. "Damn it!" Christian’s hand tightened into a balled fist, cursing under his breath as he looked around him in a quick circle, "Addison! Where are you?"
Chapter Fifteen
Reformed?
Coming home from a long shift at the hospital, Zak tossed his duffle bag onto the couch. Addison had been staying with him for a few months and had been behaving very well. She was hiding the fact she was still a vampire artfully, living on blood from raw meat and whoever else she could get her hands on without getting caught.
Zak was keeping her hostage in his apartment, although she was more like a pampered guest. He thought she was a mere scavenger, so he and the others were trying to reform her. They thought they had been starving her of blood for the past six months, which was about how long it took for a scavenger to lose its fangs.
Christian and his vampires had returned to his manor in Castile after searching for Addison to no avail, all of them thinking she was dead. Zak had hid her well and like today, he had one of his hunters watching over her, making sure she was behaving while he was at work.
Addison’s loyalty still remained with Christian, despite all the kindness Zak had shown her. She desperately wanted to go home and was willing to do anything to get there. She knew the key to getting away was gaining Zak’s trust again, so she flirted with him constantly, pretending to be Zak’s perfect little girlfriend.
"How was work, honey?" Addison smiled at Zak as he walked past her, a cutesy teasing tone to her voice.
Zak rolled his eyes at her comment, sitting down on the couch next to his hunter. "I had three patients die. I feel like shit. How was your day?"
"Boring." Addison looked over at the hunter, who only seemed interested in checking her out. "We watched girly shows all day, didn’t we CJ?"
Whispering in Zak’s ear, CJ chuckled. "I’ll baby sit this little honey anytime for ya, boss." He punched Zak in the shoulder, still speaking low so she couldn’t hear, "And if you want me to take her for the night, I can do that too."
Putting a frustrated hand to his head, Zak’s annoyed motions emphasized his bad mood.
"Zak?" Addison got up from the couch and walked over to him, kneeling down on the floor next to him. "You want me to make you something to eat?"
"No." Zak looked down at her, "I just want to go to bed."
Addison sighed, standing up and holding her hands out to him, "I’ll take you."
"I can go by myself." Zak was trying not to let her seduce him again, the last ordeal constantly replaying over and over in his mind.
"You can put me to bed, honey." CJ winked at her.
"I didn’t ask you, I asked Zak." Addison rolled her eyes at CJ and sat back down on the sofa. She went back to watching the TV, an irritated look on her face.
"Hey." CJ leaned close to Zak, whispering in his ear, "What’s wrong with ya, man? God." CJ motioned toward Addison with his hand, "You live with a super-hot chick that wants your dick. Damn it boss, take a piece of that shit. It’s disgustin’ watchin’ ya deny that shit every goddamned day. Pounce on that already, or I’m gonna."
Zak laughed, shaking his head as he peeled off his socks.
Addison was annoyed by the whispers and pushed to her feet. "I’m going to bed." She stuck her nose up slightly at the men, a snippy tone to her cutesy voice. "Good night, Zak."
Both men’s eyes followed her as she exited the room.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" CJ punched Zak hard in the shoulder, glaring at him. "Get your ass in there and bang that chick. She’s not a vampire anymore, so what’s stoppin’ ya?"
"Good night, CJ." Zak exhaled as he stood up, "Lock the door on your way out."
CJ laughed, punching Zak again in the arm, "You goin’ huntin’ later?"
"Yeah." Zak nodded, checking the time on the large clock on the fireplace, seeing it was about seven. "I’m going to take and nap and then go." He watched CJ leave, then walked down the hallway that led to the bedrooms.
Addison had her door open, springing from the bed and chasing after him as she carried her sketchpad. "Hey."
"What?" He looked at her questionably, a slightly annoyed look in his eyes.
"Since you’re not going to bed before you go hunting, how about being a model for me?" Addison had a wicked gleam in her eyes, a not-so-modest giggle escaping her lips. "It’ll be relaxing."
"Model?" Zak walked ahead of her, opening the door to his bedroom. "Didn’t I do that for you the other day?"
"Yeah," Addison followed him into his room, shutting the door behind her. "But I want to draw you again." She held up her book, showing him the drawing she had done of him a few days before. Seeing he was unamused by her request, she frowned. "Fine—you don’t have to."
Addison watched Zak take off his shirt as she leaned against the door, holding her sketchbook to her chest. He tossed it into the basket. Zak was a very neat person, never leaving dirty clothes on the floor. Sta
ring at his toned torso, Addison thought about Christian and how much she would love to watch him getting undressed. She missed everything about him—his touch, his voice, and the taste of his blood.
Addison licked her lips at the thought.
Nice. Warm. Blood.
Addison craved it, her breath deepening as a yearning for it filled her senses. She was so hungry she could attack Zak just for a taste but held it back.
Closing her eyes, Addison turned from him, a weak feeling coming over her. "Good night, Zak." She opened the door and quickly retreated to her own room.
She tossed her sketchbook to the floor and jumped on her bed. Curling up in a ball, her thoughts turned to memories of Christian and giant tears fell from her eyes. She loved Christian and missed him tremendously. Every day without him seemed to get harder, and she was willing to do anything to get back to him.
"Addison?" Zak walked into her room, running his fingers through his hair sheepishly. He could see that she had been crying, and he assumed it was because he had shot down her advances. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah." Addison nodded, sitting up in bed and wiping her tears.
"I was thinking…" Zak sat down on the bed next to her. Addison stayed where she was, watching him closely. "Now that Master Vallore has returned to Castile, I thought maybe it’d be safe for you to go outside. Of course, you still can’t be left alone, but you can leave the apartment. Would you like that?"
Speaking in a hushed voice, Addison’s face wore her surprise, "Really? You trust me now?"
"Yes." Zak looked back at her, Addison jumping into his arms and hugging him tightly. "Are you going to be good and stay away from the vampires?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Pulling away from him a little, Addison wrapped her arms around his neck. "I promise. I’ll be good."
Her closeness made Zak’s smile grow, his hand reaching for the side of her face and bringing her in for a kiss. Addison reciprocated, even though she didn’t want to. The guilty taste of Zak’s kisses stung her lips, sending a deep pain pulsing throughout her body. Zak wasn’t Christian, his kisses didn’t make her giddy or so love drunk that she couldn’t stand on her own. He wasn’t Christian….
* * * *
A few more months went by, Addison finding it harder and harder to keep up her minimal eating routine. She was always starving, holding back the intense urge to attack any human that came close to her. She needed blood, the craving driving her mad at times. Nevertheless, she knew it was imperative that she keep her vampirism secret and would only drink blood when she knew she wouldn’t get caught.
Zak had a hold on her now, and she was so far away from her family that there was no way she could survive on her own if she was ever found out. Zak kept a close eye on his love interest, and even though he still believed she was human, he always had the thought in the back of his head that she could still be loyal to Christian.
Zak took Addison to a city a few hours from Jenson because they were tracking a rouge vampire, a member of Christian’s family that had strayed from the tight circle and formed their own family. Addison had heard terrible stories about them from Christian and Darien, so she never wanted to meet any of them.
Even though Addison found a good friend in Zak, she would always love Christian. She thought about Christian all the time. Dreamt about him. Missed him tremendously. The only thing keeping her grounded with Zak was the fact she was his prisoner and that he would kill her if she made a wrong move. But she wanted Christian. She wanted a taste of his godly blood, warm and tingling on her tongue.
She was now staying in a hotel room with Zak, both of them relaxing before the night came and Zak went hunting with his men. Addison was sitting in the bathtub, staring at the razor she was using to shave her legs. She held it in front of her face, her eyes going cross-eyed. Terrible thoughts had been going through her mind since she had arrived in this town. There weren’t any opportunities for her to feed because she wasn’t allowed to go out on her own, and she was hungry. Insanely hungry.
Licking her lips, Addison put the razor to her leg, letting it hover over her skin as she closed her eyes, trying to shake the thoughts. In a quick action, she dug the blade into her skin, her mouth opening wide as she let out a silent scream from the pain.
Addison’s breath rose and fell quickly as she watched a thick trail of blood falling down her wet skin and dripping into the water. Putting a finger to the wound, she picked up a drop of blood on her fingertip and held it in front of her face. Looking at it longingly, Addison debated whether or not to take a taste.
Her face wrinkled in sadness, her nose scrunching up and making her eyes squish together tightly. Giant tears fell from her eyes as she plunged her finger into her mouth, tasting her own blood. It was delicious, and Addison took a few more swipes at the wound, tasting more. Realizing the hunger was getting too intense for her to push back any longer, she reclined in the tub, letting her leg fall into the warm water and disappear within the bubbles.
Running her tongue over her upper teeth, she felt the false ones that concealed her fangs. She closed her eyes and began to sob. She couldn’t control herself. She could feel that sickening sensation in her stomach, the hunger driving her mad. It wouldn’t be long before she lost her sanity to the hunger and blew her cover by jumping the first living thing that entered the room.
"Hey, sexy girl." Zak came into the bathroom, concern on his face when he saw her red eyes. "What’s wrong?"
"I cut myself doctor." Addison pouted as she lifted her bare leg, showing him her wound.
"Let me see." Zak bent down next to the tub, a small chuckle escaping his lips.
Addison watched him with great interest as he inspected the wound, "Am I going to die?" Licking her lips, she was imagining how good he would taste, just a drop of his blood on her tongue. But he was her friend, and even though he was a vampire hunter, she didn’t want to kill him.
"No." Zak laughed, dropping her leg and letting it fall back into the water. "It’s just a nick. We’ll put a Band-Aid on it, and it’ll be just fine."
Addison sat up in the tub, her hungry eyes focused on Zak. Her hands gripped the sides tightly, her body raising out of the water and revealing her bare breasts. Zak chuckled, taking her actions as a way of saying she wanted him, when in reality she was desperately trying not to bite him.
Zak leaned close to Addison and kissed her. This pushed Addison’s hunger to the point of no return, and she couldn’t hold back. She wanted blood, and her instincts were taking over her common sense.
Grabbing his face, Addison kissed him passionately, all her muscles tense as she stepped out of the bathtub and into Zak’s arms. Her wet body soaked his clothes and dripped water onto the floor. With her heightened senses, she could hear every drop fall, the world slowing down as her heart raced with great thirst and determination. She was going to take him, take a drink of his sweet blood.
Zak liked this new aggressiveness he hadn’t seen from her before, Addison thrusting him onto the bathroom floor. Her intense eyes burnt into his as she paused and rubbed her nose against his cheek, trying desperately to stop herself from ripping him apart.
Zak grabbed her hips and pushed them closer to his, Addison’s breath rising and falling as her whole body trembled. Her nose paused on his and trapped him in the deadly stare of the vampire. She was the only vampire ever able to get this close to him, the only one to work her magic on the Master hunter. Sticking her hand in her mouth, she quickly took out her false teeth and tossed them away.
She held tightly to his hands, pushing them onto the floor as she quickly went for his neck. Zak’s mouth opened wide, a few gasps coming from his lips, but he couldn’t move. Addison had used her magnetic eyes and paralyzed him as Christian had done for her donors so many times before. Drinking his blood was wonderful, Addison losing herself in the moment as she fulfilled the thirst that drove her mad.
When her hunger had been satisfied and she gained her sanity back, she realized what she
had done. She began to cry, pulling at Zak’s shirt and trying to wake him up. "Zak! Zak! Wake up!" She sobbed loudly, resting her head on his chest, her wet hair soaking his clothes.
Her hands grabbed the fabric, and she twisted it in her tightly clenched fists. "Please, please wake up." She could feel his heart still beating against her cheek, her whole body trembling as she clung to him. "I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m so sorry."
Speaking in a faint, choked voice, Zak’s eyes fluttered open and closed slowly, "Ad-da-son."
"I’m so sorry, Zak." Still clinging to his shirt, Addison got close to his face, stroking his cheek, "Please forgive me." She grabbed a nearby towel and held it to his neck, trying to stop the bleeding. "Please."
"It’s…" Zak touched her hand on his face, his grip loose and weak, "…okay."
"I’m so sorry, Zak." Addison clutched his hand, holding it in hers as she cried, her legs straddling his hips. "I didn’t mean it. I couldn’t control it. It just took over me all of sudden, and I couldn’t stop. Let me get some bandages from your bag." She threw on a robe and ran into the other room, grabbing some first aid supplies from Zak’s bag. "Here." She quickly dressed the wound, her fingers shaking wildly, "I think the bleeding is—"
"Add…" Zak was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling quickly as he reached up and touched the hand she had placed on his chest. Their eyes met, Zak watching a few tears fall down her cheeks. "You’re a…good girl." He let out a weak laugh before he closed his eyes, his sudden action startling her.
Addison could feel his body go limp as he passed out. She began to hyperventilate, the seriousness of the situation overwhelming her senses. She knew when the other hunters found Zak like this, they’d kill her.
Her fingers shook uncontrollably as she finished his bandages. Even though she knew that she had to get out of there as soon as she could, she didn’t want to leave him like this. Zak was her friend. She wanted him to survive.
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