Strigoi Redemption

by Hall, K R

  The ice-cream freezer was stacked high with all of Alana’s favorites: chocolate fudge, butter pecan, and tin roof sundae... but there were more, so many more! As her breath fogged up the glass, another shopper cut in front of her, reaching in decisively. She took a step back and waited until they were gone, this wasn’t something she liked to rush. With hands in the pockets of her sweater, she walked up and down the aisle, looking at the prices and flavors. Finally, she decided that nothing beats butter pecan.

  With the store music playing softly behind the noise of the shoppers and tills, Alana was lost in her thoughts and did not hear Chloe approach from behind. Chloe rammed her shopping cart into the back of Alana’s legs. This time, when Alana turned around, Chloe was still standing there.

  “Let me alone!” Alana shouted, hoping to attract someone’s attention. Her eyes were filled with worry.

  “You made a mistake. Victor is mine. Always has been and always will be,” Chloe said. “You are just in the way. Victor will return to me once you are gone.”

  “Keep away!” Alana hissed.

  “Or what, Alana?” Chloe taunted. “I am a powerful keshalyi. You’re nothing but a mere human.”

  “Hey, what’s going on here?” asked Nicolae.

  “Going on? Nothing. Just saying a little hello to Alana,” Chloe said innocently and turned to leave.

  “Better not let Victor know that you are threatening his mate, Chloe,” Nicolae warned. He could smell Alana’s fear rolling off her in waves.

  Chloe continued out of the supermarket without looking back.

  “Are you done shopping, Alana?” Nicolae asked.

  “Yes, yes I am, Nicolae,” Alana whispered, “I just need to pay for these.”

  Nicolae escorted Alana to the cash register. He felt guilty for what happened. He knew he shouldn’t have let her go by herself. He would talk with Victor later. Chloe was up to something. Nicolae could feel it deep in his bones.

  ~ ~ ~

  Victor sat next to her. “If it’s not too painful for you, please tell me about the incident at the store concerning Chloe.”

  “Why do you want to know?” Alana asked worriedly.

  “I would like to understand it better,” Victor said smiling. “If Chloe is threatening you, it needs to be stopped.”

  Alana gazed at him for a while, weighing his words. He could find out from anyone about what the confrontation had been like. She figured it might help him stop her.

  “Chloe just caught me off guard, that’s all. I overreacted because I have been suffering panic attacks,” Alana confessed. She had thought about seeing a therapist to help her get the attacks under control. She felt another attack coming on. Running her hand across her forehead, she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “If this is too much for you right now, forget I asked,” Victor murmured.

  “I’m all right. Really, I am. I haven’t had the chance to deal with all of this yet,” Alana said.

  “If you’re sure, go ahead,” Victor’s face remained alert. He waited patiently while Alana gathered her thoughts.

  “Chloe snuck up behind me and rammed her cart into my legs. She said that you are hers. That’s when Nicolae arrived. End of story,” Alana said. She hoped Victor would let it drop, but one look in his eyes told her that wasn’t the end of anything.

  “What else happened today?” Victor asked. He had already been told, but he wanted Alana to trust in him to make things all right.

  “I returned to my suite after my morning workout and began to undress for a shower. Someone came at me from behind. I fought back as best as I could, but whoever it was, was stronger than I am,” Alana said. “One of the housekeeping staff must have heard the fighting and called the police. The alarm went off. I think my attacker heard the sirens and left in a hurry. Nicolae was suddenly right there.”

  “Were you able to tell who attacked you? Man or woman?” Victor asked gently.

  “The attacker came at me from behind. Everything happened so fast that I couldn’t tell if it was male or female,” Alana explained.

  “Thank you, Alana. I understand how difficult this has been for you,” Victor said. “Why don’t you rest for a bit. I am going to call detective Schmitz and bring him up to speed. After that, I will call Ladinas and work on beefing up our security. You should be safe here at home. The dinner party will begin at seven o’clock this evening.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Victor was sitting at his desk. He had just finished talking to detective Schmitz, explaining to him about the attacks on Alana. Victor was distressed that someone had been able to get through his security system. It had to be an inside job. Someone that knew the security code and where the cameras were because they had avoided being captured on camera. The only reason the alarm had gone off at all was because Alana had managed to push them into the sensor. He picked up the phone to call Ladinas.

  Looking directly at Victor, Chloe stormed into his office and yelled, “So, I see you found someone willing to give you pleasure. Was she good?”

  “That is no concern of yours. What I do with my personal life is personal. I will be your friend, but you can’t make demands on how I choose to live or who I chose to love,” Victor replied. “You need to stop terrorizing Alana.”

  “That was downright mean,” Chloe said softly.

  “I will not tolerate your maintaining an attitude whenever you address me. I have done nothing to you, ever,” Victor scolded.

  “Maybe that’s the problem, Victor,” Chloe sneered. “I have been with you for two hundred years. I have been loyal and devoted to you. You never accepted what I have to offer.”

  “Chloe, you have known from the beginning that you were not my mate and that I only wish to be with my mate,” Victor said. “I will remind you yet again, Alana is my mate. There will never be anything between you and me.”

  Victor saw Alana standing in the doorway. From the wide-eyed look of shock on her face, she had seen and heard everything. He walked over to her and, putting his arm around her, gave her a small kiss to her forehead.

  “Now, I must go attend to my guests,” Victor said, holding the door open and waiting for Chloe to leave.

  ~ ~ ~

  Alana spotted Victor standing by the fire pit chatting with another man. The flames cast a warm glow on Victor’s face, accentuating his eyes. Her nervousness came back. She waited along the edge of the gathered crowd looking at him.

  The expression on Victor’s face changed. He raised his nose, smelling the air and a small grin began to play on his lips. His eyes roamed the crowd, searching for something. He stopped as he found Alana. His gaze bore into her eyes and his smile grew broader. Alana smiled shyly in response, her heart hammering in her chest as she watched him draw near.

  As he got nearer, Chloe intercepted Victor. She grabbed his hand possessively. He frowned down at her and began to speak. She pulled on his hand, trying to lead him away from Alana. Annoyance passed over Victor’s face and he pointed to Alana as he spoke to Chloe. Alana was unable to hear what was said.

  Chloe’s glare was full of hate. Her mouth was pursed in petty disgust as she ran her eyes up and down Alana’s body. She made Alana feel self-conscious. Chloe turned away from Alana with a flick of her long, blonde hair. She said something to Victor before she turned and stormed off.

  Alana stared in confusion. Victor looked at her with a small smile. He opened his arms. Her discomfort melted away and she walked into Victor’s warm and welcoming embrace. His thick arms enveloped her, making her feel small and safe. She melted as they fit together. Victor stepped back and took her small hand in his. A flash of hunger appeared on his face and in his eyes. It was so fast that Alana wasn’t sure if it was truly there or a trick of the firelight.

  They walked hand in hand, mingling through the crowd. The guests were mainly supernatural, although Alana’s family was also in attendance. Alana excused herself from Victor’s side when her family arrived. Her smile grew wider as sh
e neared them and they spotted her.

  Sharp, sudden pain in Alana’s ribs brought her back to reality. She turned to see who elbowed her. Chloe had sidled up beside Alana in the crowd and was glaring into her face. Alana looked at Chloe, confused.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Chloe hissed.

  “What are you talking about?” Alana asked, bewildered.

  “Victor,” she said. “I’ve seen the way you look at him. He’s mine.”

  “You are not his girlfriend,” Alana said.

  “Victor is going to choose me to be his mate. That’s what everyone is saying. I just thought I’d let you know, so you don’t end up disappointed,” Chloe said.

  Alana doubted Chloe was in her right mind.

  “Not that he would go after you, anyway,” Chloe said. “He’s way out of your league.”

  Alana gave a steely smile and nodded. “Thanks for the message, Chloe,” Alana said. “Now run along.”

  A veil of hatred descended over Chloe’s face, twisting her features to something ugly trying to formulate a comeback.

  “I am not perfect,” Alana said. “But nothing is quite as ugly as jealousy.”

  Alana walked off to join her family, leaving Chloe standing there seething.

  Victor heard the exchange due to his powerful hearing. He never let on that his hearing was extraordinary. It often came in handy in discovering someone’s true intentions. This confirmed to him that Chloe was the one behind the attacks. His strigoi wanted to tear Chloe apart. It took every ounce of his power to keep the beast under control. He would officially declare Alana as his mate right now. That should stop Chloe in her tracks.

  “Alana,” Victor said softly as he walked toward her. As he reached her, Victor was under control again. He went to the bandstand and asked for one of the mics.

  “Before our gathered friends, I declare you as my one true mate,” Victor said into the mic. He wanted to ensure that everyone heard his declaration.

  The crowd cheered. The sound uplifting. Alana felt the heat of her blush warm her cheeks. She was thrilled to have Victor declare his love for her in front of everyone.

  “For everyone’s peace of mind, Chloe was never to have been my mate. I would never be with anyone other than my true mate. She knew that, but she thought I would fall for her charms,” Victor said to the crowd.

  To Alana, he said, “It was always you.” Victor drew her close and kissed her softly, pressing his warm body against hers.

  ~ ~ ~

  When the guards reached Chloe’s car, they watched her until she drove out of sight. She fumed all the way home. By the time she reached her apartment, she was so mad that slamming her front door didn’t have the satisfaction that it normally gave her. She leaned on the door and looked around her apartment.

  There he is. Mine.

  Chloe had thousands of photos posted on her wall and shelves as well as along the hearth of her fireplace of her and Victor through the years. She liked the ones of them during World War II, but her favorites were from the ’50s. Poodle skirts were such fun to wear, it was a shame they went out of style. Victor looked sexy in his leather jacket. He was so perfect. She traced her finger across his paper cheek and kissed his lips, as she did every night. She loved him. One day, she would be the one to mate and marry him.

  Chloe kicked off her shoes and headed to her bedroom to change. No need to be dressy when it was just her. As she opened the door to her walk-in closet, she spied the secret door. She pressed the lever to open it and gazed at her shrine to Victor. He was immune to the spells she had tried to cast over him through the years. Each love spell was guaranteed to work, but each had failed.

  This preoccupation with him was an obsession that was beginning to affect her ability to take care of herself. She loved Victor. She knew it was a different way of showing it than others, but she loved him.

  “Love makes you do crazy things… insane things… things in a million years you never thought you’d see yourself do. There you are doing it... can’t help it,” Chloe said to the pictures of Victor. “God, I love you.” She closed the secret door and returned to the living room.

  She stopped her trek to the kitchen when she spotted a paper that looked as if someone had slid it under her door. She hadn’t noticed it when she came in, but the shoe print proved that it had been there. Bending to pick it up, she noticed it was a newspaper article showing Victor beaming at Alana. That was it. The last straw. She didn’t need to read the article.

  She let all her keshalyi powers loose. Her hair stood on end as she trashed her apartment. The photos were knocked down, shattering the glass in the frames. Furniture flipped and slid across the room, the table blocking a window. The gifts that he had given her over the years were ripped to shreds. Debris flew all over, whipped into a frenzy. The only items safe were the ones in the secret room.

  “I will teach that bitch that she interfered one time too many. Victor is mine! Once Alana is out of the picture, Victor will realize his mistake and come back to me,” Chloe said to herself.

  Chapter 11

  Over the last few weeks, Alana had a feeling that something was wrong, that someone was watching her. Every time she turned around, there would be no one there.

  Last week, when she was driving home from the bank, her car started to accelerate when her foot was not pressing on the gas pedal as the road dipped a little before going into a curve. At first, she thought nothing of it and just applied gentle pressure to the brake pedal. When it didn’t slow the car, she began to press harder until she was pressed as far as she could go, but still, the car wouldn’t slow down. Alana steered the car into a small ditch. The car kept going until she hit a tree. Thank the gods that the car wasn’t going fast.

  On another day, as she headed into the library to read for the children’s story hour, Alana had the feeling of being watched. She stopped and looked around but saw nobody. Shrugging her shoulders, she walked into the library. It was almost time for her to read to the children that gathered for the weekly reading program. First, though, Alana pulled out her cell phone and called Victor to let him know where she was. Her initial reaction was to tell him about her feelings, but she felt foolish. At least by letting him know where she was, if something were to happen, he would know where she had last been. She made her way into the reading corner.

  The reading corner was in the children’s section of the library and had bean bags and large pillows strewn around for the children to sit on as they listened to her read. She sat in the comfortable recliner and began reading one of her favorite books from her childhood, Rumpelstiltskin. She made her voice higher pitched as she read the parts of the miller’s daughter and a gruffer deeper voice when she read the parts for Rumpelstiltskin. The children sat wide-eyed and glued to her every word. Reading to the children was one of her favorite things.

  She didn’t think about any of her problems until she was leaving the library. She stopped at the top of the stairs and looked around. There was no feeling of being watched this time. Her car was still being repaired, so she was using one of Victor’s many cars. She was relieved when she arrived home without issue.

  Today, as Alana headed to Victor’s office, she had the feeling again. She assumed that after Victor declared her to be his true mate in front of everyone, the feeling of being watched and the attacks would go away. It wasn’t so, but Alana refused to hide away.

  ~ ~ ~

  Across the street from Victor’s office, a pair of eyes glowed in the shadows. Chloe couldn’t stand Alana and everything about her turned her stomach. This woman wasn’t worthy of Victor’s affection. It didn’t matter what Victor said at the party a few weeks ago. Something had to be done before it was too late. No mere human was going to jeopardize what she had worked on for so long. Victor was hers.

  Chloe read up on how to build a car bomb with common household items on the internet. Today’s technology made everything available at her fingertips. She had put a tracking spell on Alana,
so when she arrived at Victor’s office for lunch, she quickly planted the bomb after placing a quick cloaking spell on herself.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Alana, dragă, I would like to introduce you to Christian West. He has transferred in from our California offices to join our accounting team,” Victor said as he introduced them.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Christian,” Alana replied, reaching out to shake hands with Christian.

  “The pleasure is all mine,” Christian said.

  He was pleased that Victor had believed his fake identity. He had agreed with keeping his first name as to not trip himself up. He was glad to see that Alana had no look of recognition in her eyes from when he had attacked her.

  “Would you care to join us for lunch?” Victor asked Christian.

  “No, but thank you. I still have some office supplies I need to unpack,” Christian replied. “It was nice to have met you, Alana.”

  “It was nice to have met you as well, Christian. I’m sure we will see more of each other around,” Alana replied.

  As Christian headed back to his office, Victor and Alana headed toward the employee cafeteria.

  ~ ~ ~

  The cafeteria was a cacophony of loud chatter; each small, antique table— topped with small vases of yellow daffodils and white carnations— hosted a huddle of people raising their voices to be heard above the din. The floor was tiled in terracotta, while large windows let in the sunshine, and framed Monet prints graced the walls.

  There was a vast selection of food and every dish arrived piping hot on the dot of noon. Alana’s salad was fresh with the perfect amount of crunch, tossed in a rich, creamy dressing and served with fresh bread. Victor had chosen a teriyaki chicken dish with eggrolls.

  The pair ate with glee, enjoying each other’s company and basking in the normalcy. Conversation waxed and waned, sharing funny stories of their childhoods. In no time at all, their lunch had been eaten and they were indulging in a peach cobbler à la mode for dessert, giggling over a story Victor told of the first time he and Grigore had ever tried ice cream.