"You think, but you don't know?” Matilda's face reddened. “You really don't know?” Her voice raised an octave. “You mean to tell me that you didn't know everything the elders and Nellie had in store for us when you brought me here?” Her mouth set firm with tight lips that seemed a perfect match for a determined jaw. “I guess I always thought you held all the answers but just didn't share them with me."
"Matilda, I never lied to you. I had only half-truths here when I was chosen to find a blending mate. The blending mates typically have a duty to fulfill and until they do, they can't live their lives independently as they would choose."
She carefully chose her words. “You know what they want from us now, don't you?"
"I believe we were chosen for two tasks."
"I thought it was so you could mess up my perfect figure with babies or little witchy vamps. Whatever you people call them.” Matilda moaned.
"That's true. I'm certain that's part of it but there's something else too."
"I'm beside myself with anticipation. Can't you tell?” She crossed her arms and waited.
Armand ignored her and continued to speak with thoughtfulness. “Matilda, they want us to go back in history to discover the truth about Erzsebet. I suspect it has something to do with rewriting it to an extent."
"What the hell are you talking about? History can't be changed. It can't be rewritten. Historical documents are never changed. Modified maybe, but not altered."
"That's where you're wrong.” Nellie spoke up from a corner and walked slowly toward them.
"Oh, well if it's not my dear mother.” Matilda stood up and walked closer to her. Anger proved to exist in her eyes and animosity cut through the air dividing it with nonexistent barriers, forcing the women to keep their distance.
Nellie pushed by her, ignoring her altogether, without so much as an acknowledgement or a nod hello. “Armand, you are on the right track, but you both need to know where it will lead. Otherwise, Matilda will repeat history and perhaps be unable to fulfill what the elders have in store for her."
Matilda reached out to turn her around, possibly hoping to face off with her, but Nellie resisted. The women never touched. “You won't look at me.” Matilda's voice was barely above a whisper. “Why?"
Nellie continued to ignore her. “You were on the right track, but somehow you made this more about Matilda and her association with you than with her ability to find out the hidden truths about Erzsebet.” She smiled at him and in an instant, disappeared. Just as he'd expected.
Matilda turned around and looked at every corner in the room. “Where'd she go?"
"That's Nellie for you.” Armand felt a twinge of pity for Matilda.
She screamed out to the air. “You bitch! I'm not good enough for you to speak with me?” She whirled around again and glared at Armand. “What's her problem? What kind of mother won't acknowledge her own daughter?"
"That, I can't answer, but I imagine you'll be able to find your answers once we begin this journey. After all, she can't wait for us to get started."
Matilda took a deep breath, but it hitched, caught in her chest. “Oh shit, Armand. I know what it is. I know what she wants us to do."
He nodded. “I'm sure you do."
"It's about Dracula and all the beliefs surrounding both Vlad and Erzsebet."
"You're on the right track.” He smiled and reached for her.
"That's it. I know it is. What else could it be?"
"There are many unanswered questions about the past and the witches and vampires that should've lived on forever but somehow didn't. That's what I believe our blending has been about. To find out more about the demise of those who were supposed to live on forever."
Matilda shook her head. “No. That's not it. It's not important enough, and somehow this is so important to Nellie that she doesn't want to connect with me until it is over. There's a very good reason why Nellie wants to keep me at a distance, and it has something to do with Bathory and Vlad. They had a past that included her somewhere in it."
"I'm not sure, Matilda.” Armand rubbed his chin and then chuckled. “You know, Nellie always had this suspicion that Dracula was a woman."
"What?” Matilda turned to look at him with questioning eyes.
"If Vlad wasn't Dracula, the real Dracula; then Erzsebet definitely earned the title and that's what we're going to find out. That's what is so important to your mother, but why, I don't know. Nellie never really explains things. She allows me to figure everything out for myself."
Matilda closed her eyes and then moved closer to him. “Darling. You're not here to think. You're here to please.” She dropped down on her knees in front of him. “I have a feeling that I'll enjoy you regardless.” Her fingers quickly found his zipper and pulled it down with a quick yank. His pants weren't far behind.
Before he could get too excited by all of it, Matilda pressed her mouth over his hipbone and drew blood, sucking as much as she could in an instant. “I believe Dracula was a woman. I'm just going to have to prove to you that a woman was the only one manipulative enough to savagely wear the wolfish title so misunderstood."
Armand's hand went to the top of her head and firmly left it there. His hips began to move into a warm mouth eagerly ready to take all of him. She wrapped her lips snugly in place and held on for dear life. He wasted no time in making sure he filled her with his manhood, pushing one stroke after the next into a hot, willing mouth. One that knew how to handle the kind of man who offered immortality with his cock as much as the blood she already craved.
"That's it, Matilda. That's it, baby.” He called out to her, watching her as the lust poured from him, seeping into the one woman who held the keys to a very torrid time in history. It was a past that would be better left abandoned, but at the moment, between the moans, groans and thrusts, he didn't care. Hell no—why should he? He had everything he wanted and what he didn't have, he was seconds away from achieving.
Armand knew when they revisited the past together, she would take him to a place like no other, and sweet mercy, he hoped he had the will to control her once they arrived back in time. But, there were no guarantees in life, not even for vampires and certainly not for witches—especially one who felt she deserved to not only wear the face of The Blood Countess but also the title of Dracula. The new revelation brought on a shattering climax. During it, he saw her greed but recognized a new-found trait he completely owned.
He was insatiable.
His life changed in an instant, and he couldn't wait to move forward. Maybe Matilda and Erzsebet weren't all that different. Perhaps he even held strong similarities to Vlad. As a smiled turned up the corners of his mouth, he felt the surge through his body and his strokes came quicker; easier even—just as much as the acceptance of the days unfolding before them.
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Note from the Author
This is a work of paranormal fiction. The author acknowledges that the stories and historical research of Erzsebet Bathory were used in the storyline. However, Bewitching Bite is a fictional work that is intended for reading enjoyment as a work with fictional characters only.
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Bewitching Purpose [Blending Bloodlines Series Book Two] Page 5