He sat beneath a tree, keeping Becca’s head on his lap. Caressing her hair, he asked her even though he knew she wasn’t listening, “Are you okay, Becca?” He continued, “I know you are strong and all, but you are the human in the end. I understand that you fainting after seeing my real nature is totally acceptable.”
He continued, rubbing her soft hands with his calloused ones, “I am afraid of how you will react once you get up. What if you start getting scared of me? Will I be able to tolerate that? I don’t know.”
Alexander Insworthe, where the fuck are you? he heard in his mind all of a sudden and knew it was Vanessa. Respond to me, you dimwit.
Ness, I was drinking from Julia and Becca saw me, he responded to her.
The hell? Where is Julia, and is Becca okay? she questioned him.
Julia is in the north section of the forest, and I have altered her memory, he answered continuing, Becca fainted after seeing me, and I am with her right now.
Okay, Alex, look. Explain everything to her and hope that she is calm about being confronted with the truth, Vanessa told him.
The Insworthe twins severed their telepathic bond and Alexander’s mind diverted to Becca again. Her entire body was turning cold. He rubbed her hands with his cold ones with the hope that it would warm her up a little. He started to get worried when the coldness in Becca’s body didn’t stop.
He took off his coat and placed it on her, over her hoodie. “She was already feeling cold, that's why she wore this hoodie. And now, she is freezing because of me, because of the shock she received. How will I explain everything to her?” he mumbled. He guessed that she would run away from him as soon as she regained consciousness. However, he didn’t like the situation she was in. So, he tried to make her feel warm by pulling her to his chest and rubbed her arms. “Wake up, Becca.”
He tried it for some time until Alexander noticed Becca’s eyelashes fluttering slowly. She was finally waking up.
“Becca,” he uttered. “Can you hear me?”
She opened her eyes, only to meet with the familiar green ones. “Alexander…” she breathed out.
“Yes, that’s me,” Alexander responded and helped her to sit up.
Once she was sitting up next to him, she glanced at the small stars in the sky, staying quiet.
Noticing her silence, Alexander cleared his throat and started, “I know you might have a lot going on in your mind. I—” he was interrupted by Becca.
“I didn’t guess you to be the vampire, which I should’ve guessed.” When Alexander furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, Becca looked at him and said with a smile, “I was aware that there was a vampire in our college. I saw the bite marks on the other two students and even saw someone on the boys’ dorm jumping from the highest floor in a haste. It was you, wasn’t it?”
He nodded his head. “So, you did your research on the vampires even after I hid all the books related to the existence of the species from the library,” he stated, being amused that Becca was calm about it even after knowing his true identity.
Becca grinned. “Of course. Nothing scares Becca Hertford.”
“Oh, really?” he asked, arching an eyebrow. “Then why did you faint after seeing me sucking blood from Julia?”
“Is she alive?” she questioned, and when he hummed in response, she answered him, “I didn’t faint after seeing you as your real self, Alex. I fainted because I ate warm food.”
“Warm food?” He was confused at her reply. “What’s wrong with eating warm food? You humans, love fresh and warm food.”
Becca shook her head. “That is the problem, Alex. I love warm food but I cannot eat it. I have to wait till the food is cold. Ask why.”
“Why?” he inquired with curiosity.
“Because every time I eat something warm, I feel cold, and later, I faint,” she explained to Alexander. “I don’t know why this keeps happening to me, but it started when I was five years old.”
“So, you fainted because you ate the grilled sandwiches at first and then, roasted marshmallows?” he asked to be sure that he had connected the dots correctly.
“Yes,” she replied curtly.
Alexander was confused as to why that would happen to Becca. Was it because she had the vampire potion? If that was the case, he knew that he had to take the potion away from her soon because it was hurting her. He didn’t want to see her in pain.
He continued his line of questioning, “Did you see a doctor for this?”
“I did, but none of the doctors could identify the reason. They just told me to avoid eating warm food.”
“Oh…” he mumbled, not knowing what else to say, and lightly caressed her arm to make sure she was still feeling warm.
“Anyways, enough about me.” Becca turned to Alexander with curiosity. “You tell me about yourself. Why didn’t you want me to find out about you despite knowing my opinion about other mythological creatures?”
He responded with a sigh, “I didn’t want to take any risk.”
“How does it feel to be a vampire since you are surrounded by humans? How can you stay fine in the sunlight? Why are you her—” she stopped midway when Alexander placed his cold index finger against her lips.
“Shush. You ask so many questions,” he said to her and removed his finger. “I can stay in sunlight because I wear a special ring which protects me from sunlight like an invisible shield. It is known as the Emerald.” He showed his index finger which had a ring on it. “This is the ring.”
Even in the darkness, Becca could see the shiny stone on his finger. “Wow,” she let out, her eyes glowing in amusement. “This is so beautiful.”
“Also, I am here because I want to experience what it feels like to live with human beings,” he lied to her bluntly. Just because she knew about his identity, he wasn’t sure whether he could trust her with the secret of the vampire potion. He needed proof that she wouldn’t expose him.
“Oh, so how does it feel to be surrounded by humans now?”
Alexander closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. He answered, “It doesn’t feel good.”
“Why not?”
“Because I am addicted to human blood, Becca. It sucks to see and smell food everywhere but not being able to eat. Sometimes, I lose control and end up hunting people from the college.”
“So, you killed Alisha after drinking her blood, but Reena and Julia are alive. Why didn’t you kill them and if you didn’t want to, then why kill Alisha?” Becca questioned, waiting for his response.
“Becca, I never kill humans when I drink their blood. I just drink some, and then alter the memory of the event in their minds.” He started to explain, “When I drank Alisha’s blood, she was fine too after I drank part of it. Then I made sure she reached her dorm on time. Later she had an argument with her boyfriend and killed herself. I had nothing to do with her death.”
It cleared Becca’s confusion, which didn’t last long since another question appeared in her mind. She asked him, “Why didn't you try to suck my blood then?”
Alexander twitched his lips and responded, “Maybe your blood doesn't taste all that good.” He didn’t want Becca to know how inviting her blood was. He was hunting other people just to make sure he didn’t end up drinking Becca’s blood. He had to keep his hunger satiated when he was around her.
The next question Becca asked made Alexander speechless.
“Does that mean you are not attracted to me?”
Chapter 22: Keeping Secret
Alexander looked at the time on his phone. It was about to be dawn soon, so he said to Becca, “We should head back to the camp. Ness must be worried.” He got up and extended a hand for her to take it and get up as well.
Becca took it and stood up. “You didn’t answer my question, Alex. Are you not attracted to me?” She had a frown on her face at the thought of him not finding her attractive. She didn’t know why she wanted him to like her.
“My hunting doesn’t depend on appearance,” he replie
d politely. “I prefer to drink the blood of females with O positive blood.”
She pouted and started walking with him towards the camp, intertwining her hand with his. “What did you mean by altering the reality? What kind of powers do you have?”
Alexander chuckled at her curiosity. “You will use it for your new novel, won’t you?”
“Of course,” Becca said with full confidence. “It’s better to ask a vampire about himself directly than researching.”
“Well, for starters, I can run faster, and I am stronger than human beings. Also, I can travel in a haze. These are the common powers of a vampire.” He added, “Since I am a two-hundred-year-old vampire, I have more powers like hypnotization, invisibility, then erasing memories.”
“Wait.” Becca asked in disbelief, “You’re two hundred years old?”
“Yes,” he said. “Only the vampires who hit two-hundred in age can possess those powers I mentioned. Others below that age have common vampire powers.”
“If you are that old, then why do you look so young?”
“Because,” he stopped in his tracks along with Becca and pinched the tip of her nose, saying, “We get ten years of human years while being a hundred in vampire years.”
Becca rubbed her nose and continued walking, calculating something with her fingers. As if something struck her, with her eyes widening, she gasped and said, “That means you are one hundred and eighty-two years older than me, Alexander.”
Alexander scrunched his nose in disgust with the way Becca portrayed it. It clicked in his mind that a child who was so younger than him was his soulmate. “I… wouldn’t actually portray it that way. It creeped me out as a vampire,” Alexander mumbled.
Becca looked at him, her face still filled with horror. “I know, right? I don’t want to think of your age, Alex.” She asked further, “How did vampires get created by the way?”
“Just like you humans are created, it’s the same for the vampires,” he responded.
“So vampires were born at first genetically and then they started turning people to vampires?” she inquired.
“Something like that,” he attempted to clear up her confusion. “By the way, every vampire is born with a special power,” Alexander informed her and changed the topic. “My special power is altering reality. I can change it in my favor.”
“Is that what you tried on me that day when I accused you of sexual assault?” she questioned him. “If it is, then why didn’t it work on me?”
“Because I didn’t focus properly as I did with the girls I drank the blood from,” he replied bluntly, putting his hands in his pockets. When Becca was about to ask why, he left their entwining hands and said, “We are at the camp.”
Becca looked ahead, only to find that they had already reached the place.
Everyone was surrounding Julia, who was trying to narrate what exactly happened.
“I was looking for a data connection, and I uploaded the picture. Then I was on my way back to camp, but I tripped on something and now my neck hurts,” Julia explained the scenario.
“Something doesn’t fit,” Antonio said in between. “How did you get injured on your neck if you tripped over something?”
When an all-encompassing silence filled the clearing, Becca glanced at Alexander and immediately covered up saying, “Maybe Julia tripped over a stone, and injured her forehead, and she didn’t lose consciousness yet. She turned to get up with her weak body and hurt her neck, which resulted in her fainting.”
Alexander’s head snapped in Becca’s direction when she covered for him.
To prove her point more, Becca walked to Julia and pushed her hair back. She showed the vampire mark to everyone and said, “This seems like the mark of a big stone hitting her. This is what is hurting her neck. Look at the mark properly.”
“It seems like a monster’s mark though,” Antonio commented.
Lucas understood the mark and glared at Alexander before slapping the back of Antonio’s neck. “Why would monsters bite on her neck? This looks like the stone’s mark over which she was lying unconscious. I found her and brought her here so I know what happened, okay?”
“Exactly,” Becca agreed with Lucas.
The other students seem to agree with Becca and Lucas.
Meanwhile, Vanessa stood next to Alexander.
She cleared her throat. “This is the best part of humans,” Vanessa said to her brother. “Becca pulled a nice card to save your ass. People believe something when a person says it with confidence. Antonio is right, but the students didn’t believe him because Becca said it with confidence which made others sure that she was correct. Also, Lucas proved that Becca is right.”
“What’s the point of telling me all this, Ness?” Alexander retorted.
“Becca knows your truth, Alex. She could easily expose you but she didn’t.” Vanessa looked at Alexander. “Why don’t you tell her about the potion and take her help?”
Vanessa didn’t want Phil to take the potion, but she didn’t also want other vampires to be the king. The only perfect king for the vampire world would be Alexander, and if Becca learned about the potion, she would give it to Alexander only, come what may. Vanessa had already calculated the probability in her mind and she knew Becca’s personality. If Becca was Alexander’s soulmate, it only meant that Alexander would be the king since Becca had the potion. Besides, while finding the potion, Alexander and Becca would even end up being closer than before.
Alexander looked at Becca, who was talking with the other students and laughing about something. When Becca’s eyes fell on Alexander, she winked at him.
He knew that his secret was safe with Becca. A smile formed on his lips as Becca gained his truth. Alexander was ready to share everything from the beginning with Becca and take her help. He had faith that she would help him with the mystery surrounding the vampire potion.
Chapter 23: Day 3, Trip
It was the third day of the trip. The next day, everyone would return to the college and go back to their regular classes.
It was a tiring day since the students explored almost every inch of the jungle until the sun began to sink beyond the horizon. Then after dinner, they all decided to call it an early night and went to sleep.
Despite walking so much during the day, Becca wasn’t tired at all. She felt energetic and when she tried to sleep, her eyes kept opening after a few seconds. Sighing, she got up and looked at Vanessa, who was checking something on her phone.
“Ness, I am not sleepy,” Becca complained.
“As much as I want to chat with you, I have to complete writing an entire report about the trip and submit it to the dean tomorrow,” Vanessa informed Becca, who sulked at her response.
An idea popped into Becca’s mind. She knew that the vampires couldn’t sleep, which meant that Alexander was awake as well. She took out her phone and texted Alexander.
Becca: You there?
Her phone buzzed instantly with a response.
Alexander: Yeah.
Becca: Can’t sleep :(
Alexander: Am I supposed to sing you a lullaby?
Becca: XD. No. Let’s meet at the place where we collected wood before.
Alexander: You do have enough courage, lady.
With a grin on her face, Becca got out of the tent.
Vanessa didn’t ask Becca anything because she could sense that she was texting Alexander. So she decided to stay quiet and let her brother’s romance bloom.
Meanwhile, Becca quietly went to the place from where she collected wood. She was confused about whether to take a right or a left turn but she followed her heart and reached the correct location.
She moved the beam of the flashlight nearby to find Alexander. A frown took over her lips when there was no sight of Alexander. No wonder why he didn’t say okay when I told him to meet me here, Becca thought. She was about to head back to the camp when a hand covered her mouth and wrapped an arm around her delicate waist. Then the person jumped high
er with her in tow.
Becca closed her eyes in fear and found herself sitting on a branch of a big tree. She could see other small trees and was awed at the beautiful natural scenery. The hand was still over her mouth.
“This is the biggest tree in this jungle,” a familiar voice mumbled.
When Becca looked at the person sitting next to her, a rush of relief flooded over her seeing the familiar green eyes. She slapped his hand away and said, “Alexander, you could’ve asked for my permission before grabbing me and pulling me up on a branch of a big tree with you.”
Alexander chuckled and looked at the bright moon. “What’s the fun in that?”
“So it’s fun to scare me like that?” she deadpanned.
“I thought nothing scares Becca Hertford,” he mimicked her.
She rolled her eyes. “Nothing scares me, even I wouldn’t be scared but you flew me here.”
“Not exactly flew because I just jumped from the ground to this tree with you,” he corrected her.
“Still, a warning would have been nice,” she retorted.
“Okay, fine, The next time before I plan to scare you, I will warn you in advance that I plan on scaring you.” He grinned at her. “Better?”
She chortled and looked at the stars closely. “I couldn’t sleep. I know it was a tiring day, yet I couldn’t sleep.”
“So you know that vampires cannot get tired and barely sleep anywhere but their coffin, you decided to text me. It really shows that you remember me only when you need me,” Alexander teased her. He was enjoying her company so far and when she texted him, he was already sitting on that tree. So he just waited for her to arrive at the spot she told him to appear.
“Well, a friend in need is a friend indeed,” Becca quoted, making him smile. “Anyway, I forget to ask. Tell me about your kind. Like, where do y’all live? Also, tell me about your childhood now that I know that you are a vampire. You can count on me to keep your secret, Alex.”
“I know,” he muttered. Then he started speaking, “We have a separate world, called the vampire world.”
The Vampire Potion (Vampire World Book 1) Page 11