Silly, human, Caleb thought, if he was going to accept that nasty blood then he would not need her.
He placed his right hand on Meryl’s shoulder, forcing her to lie down. Her expression was again shocked, nervous and blushing. Caleb could not help but enjoy it because it was what he wanted. He wanted to cause reactions in her until she realized what she felt inside. He raised his knee and stood over her, staring at her, so that Meryl was beginning to feel the powerful pounding of her heart.
“I was surprised when I saw you wearing the dress yesterday. It looked good on you,” Caleb admitted honestly, “Enjoy it because I had it made for you.”
“Th... thank you,” The lack of practice in casual conversation was evident, so she could not help but look away. “You didn’t have to bother.”
The conversation went no further, Caleb did not want to talk, and he was tired and hungry. He was trying to keep his mind cool and distant because the previous days he’d been weakened and self-control had not been possible. However, now he was fine and his body wanted to act out what was on his mind.
He put his hands gently on the top of her new light blue silk pajamas, touching the skin of her stomach that was soft and slightly rose with every breath. Meryl grabbed his wrists instinctively, but not with force. Her mind was still resisting with a fierceness that was beginning to surprise her.
Once again she was filled with all kinds of feelings. Her mind raced and went blank with every kiss she felt on her neck. She had volunteered knowing what would happen. Was it really what she wanted? Her body screamed yes, but her mind doubted, her greatest fear was ending up in love to the depths of her soul and not be reciprocated. That very thought made her crazy. Her in love with a vampire? Her sanity was telling her that this would only bring her problems, but if she were able to resist she wouldn’t be lying in his bed. Let alone letting him do all this without offering the slightest resistance.
Meryl wanted to believe that she was someone important to Caleb because only that dulled the pain of thinking she was only food, a diversion. Her head couldn’t imagine that she’d liked Caleb already for a long, long time.
While Caleb was gently licking Meryl’s neck under her right ear. Meryl realized how sensitive she was, closed her eyes tightly and sucked in air trying not to make a sound. He grabbed her right leg, lifting it slightly to get closer to her. While she continued breathing faster.
Caleb mentally reminded himself to retain control of his actions. It was difficult when he harbored feelings for the person near him and even harder knowing that she also wants you because her body betrays her. Her blush only increased with her desire and her bright eyes begged you to continue.
Unable to repress an urge Caleb raised his hands placing them firmly on Meryl’s chest and hating the uncomfortable bra. Meryl exhaled hard letting out a surprising moan. It was a new sensation for her that left her mind feeling completely blank. Everything was gone except the sensations that roamed as a powerful electric current ran through her body. She squirmed under Caleb when she felt pressure. Caleb created within her such ecstasy that she was about to go crazy.The powers a vampire used to hunt a human not only resided in their powerful sex appeal that no mortal could escape but went beyond what Meryl imagined.
She groaned again harder without realizing the movement of her own body. She grabbed Caleb back with both hands pulling him closer to her and felt for the first time his libido. Her surprise mixed with shame, but she hardly realized this as her head felt like it was spinning at breakneck speed. Meryl felt as he undid the top buttons of her shirt making his way to the vein that had fed him the last time. The bite was deeper, but Meryl felt no pain, she was too focused on the excitement that Caleb had caused in her body. He drank more blood than usual and was applying more pressure with his fangs because he was trying to restrain himself and ended up causing Meryl to almost faint from lack of blood, leaving her face a little pale.
Caleb looked at Meryl in surprise and pulled back resting his hands on the mattress on either side of her. He couldn’t help but smile as he observed her with frustration and care. “It’s the best blood I have ever tasted,” Caleb whispered in Meryl’s ear, while she slept, with blushing cheeks.
Caleb kissed her on the forehead and went into the bathroom ready to take a cold shower as soon as possible. At the end and for his personal misfortune, he always ended up the same way.
He should prepare everything to tattoo her with his seal. Meryl would end up exhausted but if he didn’t. Things would get so complicated that he wouldn’t be able to protect her. It also wasn’t certain that they would see the inspector, but since this time it was Epsilon’s duty. Caleb couldn’t trust him. That vampire was one of the worst on the face of the earth.
“Surely Edel will also come with the inspector,” Caleb sighed getting out of the shower.
He took another look at the bed before leaving the room. Meryl was still peacefully asleep. Her face looked angelic. So peaceful that he was envious.
While walking towards the basement Caleb couldn’t help but remember the first time he saw Epsilon. Epsilon looked young, a child in appearance, but he had no angelic look on his face. His eyes protruded full of hatred. His transformation hadn’t been good and even having become an authentic being of evil. His evil was the same as the oldest of vampires. It was rare for this to happen. Becoming a vampire had defeated and completely destroyed any humanity that Epsilon had, not that long ago. In fact, he was much younger than Caleb.
“You look thoughtful,” Alexander said suddenly while entering the basement. “Are you worried about something?”
“The same things, as usual. I suppose.”
“You should be more gentle with Meryl,” Alexander smiled. “You are very cruel feeding until she faints.”
Caleb turned his head slightly and smiled an evil grin. Alexander knew him better than anyone did, he was the one person Caleb trusted blindly.
“Still, you cannot help liking her,” Alexander continued as Caleb sighed and gave him a pat on the back, “but I’m happy.”
“You’re getting soft, Alexander.”
“You think so?” Alexander laughed. “Maybe, but I know she has brought so much joy to this lonely mansion.”
“True, but sometimes I think she’s too innocent for this world.”
“Sure, and a monster like you cannot help get close to her, right?” Alexander joked.
When Meryl opened her eyes it was past noon. She rubbed her eyes. She was confused and felt strange. Meryl realized where she was and remembered what had happened hours before. Shame invaded her again, but this time, she didn’t feel bad when she remembered Caleb and his eyes full of tenderness that made her smile and almost broke her heart. Her body dropped back bouncing lightly on the mattress. Everything around her had the sweet smell of Caleb. It was almost like being in a cloud. It was impossible not to smile as she savored the smell she loved.
“Are you awake?” Caleb asked opening the door. “Come downstairs and eat something. This afternoon we will tattoo the seal on your wrist.”
“Ah, okay.”
Meryl bit her lower lip wondering if she should say something. This action amused Caleb who was observing her from the doorway.
Meryl wanted to hug him. She felt like she badly needed a hug but didn’t know how to tell him. Although, she had slept deeply. Her dreams had been plagued by unwelcome visitors. Seeing her mother and brother in her dreams had caused her to feel empty inside. She wanted to cry, laugh, and throw a tantrum due to the mixed feelings inside.
“What’s wrong?” Caleb asked forcing her to look at him in the eyes. “Why do you have such a sad face?”
“It’s nothing. I dreamed of my mother and I feel a bit sad. I miss her,” Meryl explained.
“That’s normal,” Caleb said pulling Meryl up and off the bed. “You’re young and you feel like you still need her.”
“Caleb?”
“Yes?”
“Can I give you a hug?” Meryl spoke in a low whisper.
“Idiot,” Caleb said surprising her. “When you need something like that just do it.”
Meryl lowered her head to hide a smile as her arms reached outward. She didn’t know why or how but it made her feel peaceful. While held in his arms with her cheek on his chest she felt him embrace her and had to fight to lower her heartbeat.
“Do you think this is okay?” Pein asked.
“Pein, you know better than everyone that if she doesn’t wear a seal and is discovered we will have serious problems. Anyway, from what Caleb has told me, Meryl will only wear the seal of his clan,” Alexander explained.
“Okay.” Pein sighed. “Those who are in a good position have to take advantage. However, it’s still a rebellious act.”
“It’s not rebellious, idiot,” Alexander said, “Don’t you understand that by tattooing her with the seal of his own clan he is protecting Meryl? It tells everyone she is untouchable. That she belongs to Caleb.You should also tattoo yourself with Caleb’s seal.”
“Why should I tattoo myself? Do you want everyone to know that I belong to him?” Pein joked making his brother laugh.
“We’ll tattoo you later. Anyway, you still have the tattoo that you were given when we were children.”
“Don’t remind me. It was one of the worst things that ever happened to me.”
Pein left shuffling his feet. Alexander looked at his back with a certain melancholy, remembering both of their cruel childhoods on the streets of Omega Zone. The zone was governed by the evilest being on the whole planet. He had good memories as long as he could forget about being hungry and cold. He used to play in the streets with the other children and occasionally he would bump into some strange twins who were hiding in an old building with their mother. Those two children of just eight years old were not marked, and of course, they were eventually found. He never knew what happened to them.
Alexander had always tried to protect his brother, so weak and clumsy. The old Pein was nothing like the adult Pein. Back then the other children teased and fought with him, but his brother was always there, a faithful guardian and protector. Alexander recalled Pein’s sickly face, with cheeks sunken by hunger, always with tears in his eyes and dangerously sick. It seemed like yesterday when they had to go to work for Epsilon and Edel. Alexander had done everything possible so Pein wouldn’t attract the attention of anyone for they were barely teenagers. At that time, Alexander hid Pein’s awkwardness and when something broke Alexander got punished and was bled. Until one day Pein changed. One morning he rose with a steady gaze like a man at fifteen years of age and never again needed his brother. However, Alexander always watched him from afar waiting to act on his behalf. What the older brother did not know was that the decision to change was because of him. Knowing what he had suffered, Pein was forced to face life with courage, hoping not to create more problems for his beloved older brother.
“Alexander?”
“Meryl!” He panicked. “Sorry, I didn’t see you.”
“You look sad.”
“Maybe.” He sighed. “I guess I miss some things, nothing more. How are you? Have you been well.”
“Yes,” she replied uncomfortably.
“In a few hours, Caleb will tattoo you with his seal. You’d better eat well. You will surely get a fever.”
“Should I be scared?”
“Do not worry. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
The process itself was not complicated. The mark was made the same way as a conventional tattoo, but when the family wanted to keep the human forever. They added the shield of the family to which the human belonged to the tattoo, and at this point things changed. Since that entailed a blood pact which was always current.
At times, the process had a fatal outcome and the individual died after a high fever. When their body rejected the blood of their master. They remained sick until their body gave up, but if the fever did leave them in the days following the mark and the covenant. They lived and became eternal lackeys luckier than most of the population, adopting a higher position than that of a mere slave. While Meryl was not even a slave. It was necessary to place the seal on her.
Caleb would never let her receive the mark of a slave. She would receive a tattoo of his symbol.
Meryl was lying down looking at the dark ceiling. It was a little scary, but having the three of them there comforted her and made her feel safer.
Alexander grabbed her wrist and gently turned it over. He wiped it with something that looked like disinfectant. Caleb came near her with a strange little device in his hands and sat down beside her while Pein rested both hands on her shoulders.
“You’re going to hurt a little, but it will be quite superficial,” he explained as he pushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “If you relax you will barely feel it.”
Meryl recalled the day when her cousin Dalia came to visit. She was a somewhat rebellious girl, a lover of tattoos and piercings. Meryl had accompanied her full of curiosity to see how a tattoo was done and had been quite impressed. The needle only touched the surface, the first layers of the skin, and Dalia tried to encourage her to get a tattoo without much success. Dalia had explained that it was not painful, but a strange stinging sensation and a feeling of discomfort.
Meryl breathed deeply and smiled looking at Caleb and with her actions conveyed that she was ready.
When she first felt the prick she squeezed her eyes shut while Alexander and Pein held her more tightly. Causing increased pressure and preventing any sudden movement. As Dalia had told her the pain was different, strange and really uncomfortable, but she could stand it.
After about ten minutes, the shrill sound of the device stopped, Meryl looked up to see Caleb clean the little blood that had come out of the wound and let the black color of the ink permeate her skin. In a beautiful and strange brand that attracted attention because of its complexity and beauty.
“Well. The easy part is over.” Caleb got up and set the machine aside. “Now you have to drink some of my blood, Meryl.”
“What? Nobody told me anything about that.”
“It’s a pact, an agreement. When you do it you will feel strange, but nothing will happen, you have to be calm,” Caleb explained.
For a split second, she panicked thinking that she would also become a vampire because she still did not know how humans were transformed. However, seeing Caleb’s shining eyes relaxed her and she was reminded that she trusted him.
Meryl saw how he made a small cut on his finger. Barely enough blood flowed, but that was the end of talking about the subject. He held out his finger towards her and she shyly opened her mouth. It was weird. It didn’t taste like her own blood. Which she had tasted more than once after cutting herself while cooking. It was like an explosion of flavors, and almost immediately after swallowing the blood, Meryl felt strange. It was almost as if every cell in her body was moving inside her. After a few seconds, she couldn’t see or hear. It was as if the world had disappeared around her.
“Caleb!” shouted Alexander rising to hold her for better support. “What the hell?”
“I don’t know. These seizures are not normal. Pein, hold her tighter.”
“I’ll break her bones if I hold her tighter,” Pein explained.
Heat, she burned almost as if she had flames inside. Meryl was half-conscious. She felt everything that happened in her body, but the voices that she heard seemed to come from an extreme distance to her ears. Meryl felt her body tingling, her cells were completely vibrating, it was so strange to feel them that way for a moment and she wondered if all vampires always felt that way.
“Pein! What is this?”
“I don’t know, Alexander. I have never seen anything like this. This is very strange.”
Caleb dropped his weight on Meryl in a desperate attempt to stop the seizures. He was tired and worried, but that didn’t matter. Everything that Pein was screaming was true. It was too strange and unusual. The tattoo he had done on that fragile wrist was no longer black. It had turned dark red like blood. That was not normal at all, and neither did he have a response to the strange event. Caleb feared that Meryl’s life was slipping out of his hands, and for the first time in his life he felt despair at not knowing what to do. He had never felt so frustrated and scared.
Suddenly the seizures ended and the stiffness of the human body that was lying there relaxed completely, but her eyes widened with tears running out of them.
“Caleb,” Meryl’s dying voice whispered, “Caleb ...”
“I’m here, right beside you,” Caleb hastened to hold her hand. “Everything will be fine.”
The seizures had passed. Meryl didn’t feel pain, but she couldn’t move. It was as if her whole body weighed a ton. She was so sleepy that she felt like she had not slept in over a week but relaxed when she felt Caleb holding her hand. She fell asleep. Morpheus took her to the happy world of her dreams. To her old life. Meryl dreamt of her brother’s last birthday. With memories of a past that she would never go back to, or so it should have been.
Caleb picked her up to take her to her bed. He could hear how she called for her mother. At the end of the day, he thought, she was her mother’s child.
“Rest well.”
He kissed her on the forehead, which was burning with fever and pulled up a chair to sit beside her. Although it had seemed that everything had passed. That was not the case. The next few days were critical. Until her body accepted the blood and the power that it contained Meryl would not be safe. The fever continued to increase, and occasionally a bitter cold appeared to wrap her body.
For Meryl, time had completely stopped in the past. All the experiences of the recent weeks were gone because now her dreams took her back to the past. To relive it with an unwavering realism. This was the danger, not realizing it was just a dream and choosing to live in it so that the body plunged into an eternal sleep.
Melodies of Blood I Page 11