Born Of Sin

by Deanna Richmond

  “Razvan has yet to return home.” Victor stated, not to be disrespectful, but because it was the truth. He said it so brazenly, but lately, all of his actions had been nothing but.

  Stannis stopped walking towards the window which looked out over the peaceful grounds, and slowly turned toward Victor. “Something is different about you.” His words were soaked in a Romanian accent as he stared at Victor with a deadpan expression. Stannis observed Victor’s erect posture, which was not the one of fear or inferiority that he had once held towards the elder, the posture younger vampires reserved for him. Stannis was, after all, the third oldest of their kind. “Don’t be so bold, Nikolai,” he warned calmly, but his face toughened to a grotesque mask. His true form was that of a most hideous monster. The older the vampire, the less attractive their true selves. After centuries of blood intake, wars, and famine, the body can only endure so much.

  “I was only stating the obvious…”

  “But stating the blatantly obvious can be a sign of superiority. Don’t speak to me as if I’m a child,” Stannis snarled at the man. “The fact that I am here, that I came to you, is enough for you to get on your knees and bow to me, lad.” Victor could see the man’s body tremble with growing vehemence. Victor’s defiance was testing his nurtured composure.

  “Bowing, I cannot give you. Respect, I can,” Victor said, further challenging the man, his superior. “How about giving me the truth?”

  Stannis stood next to him within a flash. “I can snap your body in half and feed you to the dogs. I will give you nothing.” His tone was that of detestation. “I came here to talk sense into you, but I see that you are far from your senses. This is not the Victor we adore dearly. Whom we hold close to our hearts.”

  “Then snap my body.” Victor had not a clue why he was even pushing his elder. Maybe to see how far he could go or to see what they truly wanted. Why hadn’t they killed Octavia already? She’s a problem, so why not fix it? “What is it that you want from me?”

  “Firstly, your obedience; secondly, to end this travesty between you and this girl, a mortal.” The word “mortal” slid off his tongue in abhorrence, his body almost losing its tempered control. He stared at Victor a minute before walking away and speaking calmly again. “What is it that you find so appealing about it?”

  Victor thought that was an odd question. Since when do the Cabalistis care about anyone’s feelings? They give orders and we follow them. “I don’t know, everything.” And that was the best and only answer he could give. In all honesty, it was elusive. How do you explain something to others that they’ll never understand? Victor had no clue why he was obsessed with her, but he would never let her go. Revolting Stannis gave Victor a minuscule amount of pleasure, but pleasure nonetheless.

  Stannis shuddered, cracking his fingers one by one. It sounded similar to the snap a body makes upon breakage. After a heavy long breathe, he spoke again, “End it. You have plans. We’ve made arrangements for you. You will be one of the wealthiest next to us, the Cabalistis, when you marry into the Kazakhstan family. If you don’t, then we will end you both.” Stannis’ orders were final. Then, he walked off.

  “Why haven’t you made an attempt on her life?” Victor asked the man who stopped short of exiting when something in the foyer caught his attention. Stannis only glanced back at the man with a weary sneer, then left without another word. They answered to no one. Victor watched him walk out, now grateful that he’d placed a guard on Octavia.

  Then he smelled her, the entrancing scent that swayed his rational actions. He rushed to open the door, only to find Stannis heading straight towards Octavia. The man glanced back at Victor, sending a warning for him to not interfere.

  Chapter 13: Octavia

  A week had passed since she and Victor had been in the hotel room, and she had awakened in his château. At first, she was fine with just seeing him in the lobby of the hospital whenever she came into work. It was a little secret that belonged to just the two of them. She felt fortunate in further knowing that no one else had the slightest clue. Being a part of this secret game gave Octavia butterflies. She felt liberated never knowing when to expect their next encounter, rebellious even. Jared didn't even know. She wanted to tell him everything, but like her ring, she wanted to keep Victor to herself. Telling Jared would make it real and she liked this fantasy game.

  God, how could a man she hardly knew drive her mad with need for his unending embrace? Her jealousy paralleled nothing else she could imagine in the entire universe. She ached for his touch, though he was not around, her insides pulsating with a fierce desire. From their initial sexual encounter, she had come to crave him more and more. Her feelings for this man went way beyond normalcy. This was something she had never encountered or even heard of. It was twisted, but she could not back away. Something inside would not let her. She was unable to put a finger on why she felt this way

  For the past week, she’d had an ominous sense that their game was going to end soon. Too soon. Her trepidation was caused by more than some vicious rumor that seemed to have not spread. Her bigger concern was that she had not seen Paul at all. Hopefully, he was just avoiding her, ashamed by his behavior. No, the feeling that swept across her was so strong, it was if their worlds were about to change dramatically.

  Octavia arrived at the hospital for her nightly reading to the children on the sick ward. She would sometimes attend to help tuck them in at night. She loved sharing in their nightly rituals, especially since she would never have children of her own, due to her anemia. The oddest thing was that she hadn’t needed a transfusion in quite some time. She had been due a month ago, but according to her physician, her levels were higher than ever. Not being anemic was one thing she was grateful for.

  As soon as she opened the door to the lobby, her insides flipped in the wrong direction. She didn’t expect to see Victor this late in the day, but it was clear tonight would be one she would never forget. Her instincts had never failed her before. Despite the goose bumps prickling her skin, she needed to know what was going on.

  Octavia took a chance and headed in the direction of Victor’s office instead of toward the pediatric ward. She hurried through the double doors to the business center, trying to remain calm as she passed late workers. Her palms were clammy. Her mind struggled to think of anything other than worst-case scenarios.

  As she turned the corner of the long hallway, she saw Victor standing by his office doorway. Relief washed over her. She’d truly thought there was trouble. She’d never been wrong before.

  Too focused on getting to Victor, she didn’t notice a pale man coming her way. He walked straight to her. “How are you, Octavia?” the stranger asked.

  “Fine, thank you, and you?” she respectfully responded, passing him with barely a glance. She halted as if an invisible barrier blocked her path. That feeling of impending doom was back, but this time, it was ten times more potent. Slowly, she spun around to face the man who had not moved since calling to her. “How do you know my name?” Octavia asked.

  “How could I not know you? You’re remarkable….quite special.” He moved close, studying her from head to toe. He reached out to take her hand. Reluctantly, she gave it to him. Onlookers glanced their way and she felt she had no other choice.

  He kissed her hand, but she could not help the tremors. “Who are you?” What a choice word — “remarkable.” How unusual. His conduct seemed to indicate he meant more than simply viewing her as the “Connecticut Highway Baby”. There was so much more he seemed to imply, as if he knew something about her that she, herself, did not. An icy dread travelled inward from every nerve ending, and the longer he held her hand, the more her body reacted. She quivered in response to his stony behavior, coupled by his dead stare that lingered too long, as if he intended to spell her.

  He stepped in even closer, as if to brush up against her, but before she could shift away, he’d placed his nose against her hair to capture a whiff. Octavia attempted to step back, but
he held onto the nape of her neck, preventing her from doing so. “You will soon find out how I know you,” he whispered with a forced grin for pleasantries sake, then strolled off.

  Confused as to what had just occurred, Octavia watched the stranger stroll off like he lived in slow motion. Before he’d rounded the corner, the man glanced back at her with a detached expression; he sucked the very breath from her lungs.

  Finally, when he looked away, it was as if he’d released a hold on her and she took a deep breath. She gathered herself and headed towards Victor’s office when, abruptly, a vaguely familiar woman blocked her path. “We need to talk. Do you mind?” she asked, pointing to her office.

  “Excuse me.” Octavia became annoyed once again for the night. “I need to see…”

  “Victor. Yes, I know, but it wasn’t a question.” Stacey refused to move.

  Exasperated, Octavia gestured for her to proceed, then followed the woman, even though she would've rather gone to Victor. She had a peculiar feeling that she really didn’t have a choice. When they reached her office, Octavia spoke. “I don’t know what you want from me…”

  “To talk about the tall suit in the corner office. The one who took you to his private chamber, and the CEO of the hospital. Yes, that’s the Victor Marchette, or did you not know who you spread your legs for?” she questioned snidely. “I’m Stacey, the woman you look through every time you salivate over Victor in the foyer.” She slammed the door behind them.

  Realization struck Octavia so hard that she only saw white. How could this be? How could she know? I thought we were discreet. Maybe glances, but… Paul!

  “Oh, did I just ruin your little game and how Victor is turning you into the village slut? Good. I’m so sick and tired of it and I’m putting an end to it now. Your kind sickens me.” She entered Octavia’s personal space. After the initial shock, Octavia’s guard rose immediately. “I’ve worked for that man for too many years to count and he’s never once, not once, looked at me the way he looks you. I have slaved, bled, even given away a pristine job opportunity overseas, changed my looks numerous times, just for him to notice me, but never.” Her eyes bulged, becoming red as she reminisced over her life. “But you come along, and I don’t even know him anymore.”

  Fighting through the sting of humiliation that more people knew than she had suspected, she became more furious. “This is my problem how? I really don’t care that he doesn’t want you.” Octavia was in her face, spitting blades, testing a woman who could kill her in a second, though she didn’t know the game of fire she played. “Maybe if you weren’t his walking mat, then he would’ve noticed you… respected you. And as far as what I choose to do with him, it does not make me a slut, nor does it concern you, or anybody else here. Get over it and move on.” Octavia refused to back down to the woman who was trying to intimidate her. She’d had her own share of tyrants back home and had discovered that adults were no better. She was angrier than she would have expected. The threat of losing Victor made her livid. She would never let him go.

  Stacey stepped back and stared at Octavia cautiously. “Ah, I see why he’s into you. I most definitely see it. You are different.” Her eyes closed to almost slits. “Quid autem tu es?”

  “What am I? What kind of question is that? I’m Octavia.” Her head jerked backward ever so slightly and she watched the woman warily. “You’re the one who called me in here, remember?”

  “You know Latin? How?” Stacey was caught off guard, but even more fascinated.

  Octavia twirled around to leave. “I don’t have to answer your questions. I came in here to be polite. Now I need to see Victor...”

  “Well, when you see him, make sure you ask him if he will be keeping you around when his fiancé arrives.”

  The floor became unsteady beneath Octavia’s feet. Her body struggled to take in oxygen. The mere act of replenishing her lungs, something she did unconsciously every second of every day, became difficult. Octavia slowly turned back to face Stacey, who stood smugly, her arms folded in front of her. Her grin was spitefully sinful. She obviously enjoyed unsettling Octavia’s mind. Octavia backed up into the door. She felt as if her world had just collapsed. She fought back tears as the earth spun out of control.

  “Yeah,” Stacey said, leaning over the desk with a grin so broad all of her perfectly white teeth showed. “Let it all sink in. It hurts, doesn’t it?” She held no pity for the human.

  Fighting the burn, Octavia did not hold her tongue. “Well, at least I didn’t pine away for years over a man who never wanted me. He’ll never want you,” she scoffed.

  Stacey’s smugness quickly faded to fury. “Get out!” she yelled at the girl, trying her best not to kill Octavia. Instead, she threw a chair at her, but Octavia had already left, thankfully prior to witnessing the unnatural strength of the woman. Stacey’s body shook with rage while she tried her best not to chase after Octavia and murder her.

  Octavia made it to the parking lot before a drop fell from her eyes. She called Jared and asked him to meet at her house. As soon as she’d hung up, a number she didn’t recognize popped up on her screen. She didn’t answer it, being too upset to talk to anyone. It was hard enough holding back the waterfall as she drove away.

  Fiancé?

  ***

  When Jared arrived, he found Octavia in the bathroom, curled up in a ball, uncontrollably crying. Jared patiently held Octavia, allowing her to release the pain, the hurt, and the humiliation. He just rocked her back and forth, telling her to let it out and promising her everything would be all right. He’d never seen her like this before, but he knew the situation well without even asking. Hers had been the shoulder to cry on through his many failed relationships. Now it was her turn. He sat with her until she’d stopped convulsing and was able to breathe again.

  “Can you make it to the couch?” he asked when she’d finally stopped.

  She nodded her head, and after they’d made it to her living room, she finally explained her secret and who it involved. “At first, it was just a game, but somehow or at some point, it became real.” Tears streamed down her cheeks onto her bent knees.

  “Are you saying that you’re in love with him?”

  “I don’t know what it is, or was.” She dabbed her face with the soaked tissue. Jared handed her another few in exchange. “My chest hurts so much.” She looked over at her best friend “Make the pain stop,” she begged, then once again returned to the bathroom, leaning over to submit to the nausea that multiplied her misery. When her stomach had settled, she leaned against the wall. Jared took a wet towel and wiped her mouth and neck. “I was such a fool. I made it so easy for him.”

  “You’re no fool,” Jared consoled.

  “He’s engaged, Jared. I am a fool.” She no longer wiped her face, so Jared used the cool towel to soothe her.

  “Are you cold? You’re shaking.”

  Octavia looked at her arms while she scratched them. “No. I feel like I’m going through withdrawal. I need to see him, to ask questions.” She struggled to stand.

  “Hell, no! And say what? First off, you look like hell, and you’re too damned emotional. You need time.”

  “I can’t think straight.” Jared helped her walk back to the couch. “Is this normal?” Octavia had no idea she cared about him this much. She’d figured if she thought of it as a game, then it would not affect her, but she’d been wrong. She felt used, and yet could not be angry with anyone but herself. “I don’t understand. It seemed so real. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Now I’m confused. What seemed real if these were chance encounters? You never actually defined your relationship, only promised not to see anyone one else. To be honest, Octavia you two were a secret. There’s usually a reason for that.” Jared explained while rubbing her back as she hugged her knees.

  Octavia stood up and peered through the sliding glass door out into the beach. “I can’t explain it. It doesn’t even make sense to me, but there was something between us, a conne
ction. A true one. I’m not crazy. I don’t know, maybe, I’m jumbled.” Octavia rubbed her temples. Jared got up and placed a hand on her face to pull back her hair. Octavia hadn’t realized how happy she’d become since their romantic affair had begun. She’d felt complete, as if she no longer had any missing pieces. It was something she’d never felt before, and until now, had never known how good it could feel.

  “But there is a reason why he didn’t commit to you, and his upcoming marriage is it. Besides, even if this deep connection is true, it doesn’t mean he felt it as deeply as you…”

  “No, he did. I’m sure of it. It wasn’t just the sex or the words. It’s when we didn’t even speak. We just knew, I knew…”

  “Listen, so many people have great chemistry but follow their commitments. They follow their minds and not their hearts. He’s an important guy with a reputation to uphold and I’m so sorry you have to pay the price. I’m so sorry that I pushed you into exploring new territory outside your comfort zone.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Octavia said. She grabbed a nearby blanket from off of the chair and wrapped it around her shoulders, her body quivering uncontrollably.

  “Damn, Octavia. You really don’t look well. You look like you’re, for real, going through withdrawal, and I know those symptoms. You’re hot, cold, sweaty and shivering. Was this guy drugging you?” Jared examined her.