by Eve Newton
“Then I shall,” I said.
He beamed down at me and leaned forward to kiss me. I held a finger up to his lips. “With regard to the other matter you raised,” I said, and he stopped, still.
“Will you say yes?” he whispered in hope.
“Yes, my love. I will be honored to be your wife,” I replied.
He swooped down to my mouth with a deep kiss, which left me breathless.
“There is a ceremony that can be performed to make the transition easier and to be blessed and bind our union together forever. Will you allow me to perform this ritual with you?” I asked.
His expression turned to one of pure happiness and he readily agreed.
“We need to complete the exchange of blood on Holy ground,” I said.
“Tomorrow night, then. I am ready, my love. Ready to be yours forever,” Devon said.
Devon’s parents weren’t thrilled to learn of our engagement the next day. I thought somehow, they sensed there was more to me than met the eye. But Devon didn’t care; he wasn’t close with his parents, finding nothing in common with them, and was quite prepared to forsake them for me and our eternal life together.
We had just made love in the barn and he asked, “Bite me, one last time as a human before tonight.”
I obliged, ready as ever to slake my never-ending thirst, and I stood at his back while he remained seated on the hay bale. Kneeling behind him, I tilted his head, letting my fangs descend and sank them into him. He groaned and then we heard a scream.
Scrambling apart, we saw it was his mother screaming about the devil’s whore and how she wouldn’t let me take her only son. She came at me with a pitchfork, which would have hurt like Hell, but not killed me. Almost in slow motion, Devon shouted, “No!” and stepped in front of me just as his mother lunged forward. The prongs of the fork sliced into his stomach to the hilt and he grunted in pain. I screamed his name and rushed forward, grabbing him before he fell to the ground. Laying him gently down as the blood spurted from his wounds, his eyes met mine and he mouthed, “Do it now,” before he passed out. I pulled the pitchfork out of him, tossing it to the side quickly while his mother continued to scream hysterically. Ignoring her, I bared my fangs and fed from him. He had already lost so much blood it took only seconds for his heart to slow. I ripped open my wrist and placed it to his lips for him to drink.
“A nd the rest, as they say, is history,” Devon finishes.
Cole looks gobsmacked. “Your own mother stabbed you with a pitchfork?” he asks in disbelief.
Devon shrugs and says, “Yep. We were quite the pair with our similar death scenes, weren’t we, Kitten?”
“Indeed,” I say wryly.
“Fuck, this is all so…surreal,” Cole says again.
I soften as he looks worn out. “Yes, it’s been a difficult day. I’ll get Grayson to drive you home,” I say softly.
Cole’s eyes snap to mine. “You want me to go home?” he asks.
I shake my head and say, “No. But if you need space to think, I understand.”
“I don’t want to go home,” he says.
“Then stay, but you need to get some sleep,” I say firmly.
“Yes, ma’am.” He chuckles at my tone and he looks more relaxed than he has since finding out our secret.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
We head, rather tentatively, upstairs after wishing Devon goodnight.
“Are you sure you want to stay?” I ask hesitantly, not one to talk him out of it or anything.
He looks at me seriously. “I do,” he says eventually.
I smile weakly, unsure what to say.
“So, what is your real name? Do you remember?” he asks earnestly as we enter the bedroom.
I look sharply at him and snap, “Of course I remember. I remember everything. Photographic memory.” I tap my head.
“Ah, one more talent to add to the many,” he smirks. “Is that a Vampire ‘superpower’?”
“No, a human one,” I say.
“So, your real name?” he prompts.
“Liv is my real name,” I state huffily. “If you are asking what my first name was, it was Aefre.”
“Ah-vuh,” he pronounces it slowly. “How do you spell it? It’s unusual.”
“A-E-F-R-E. It’s Saxon,” I point out.
“You were Saxon?” he asks incredulously.
I nod, rolling my eyes in exasperation at him.
“You’ll have to forgive my lack of British history dating back a thousand years,” he says sardonically. “Oh, the name of your company!” He lights up at the connection and reaches for my bracelet. “The ‘S’?”
“Right.”
“Aefre,” he says again. “What does it mean, in English?”
I cock my eyebrow at him, saying, “Ironically, it means ‘Forever’.”
He laughs a genuine laugh and it’s a beautiful sound after the stresses of the evening. “Well, my love, it seems your destiny was written, wasn’t it?” he says.
“Hm, seems so,” I say, a slight shiver going over me at his endearment.
“Something Devon said is puzzling me…he mentioned your blue eyes. Your eyes are the prettiest green I’ve ever seen and definitely not blue. What’s that about?” he asks.
Uh-oh, I had been hoping to keep the Shifting thing until another time, but oh well, in for a penny…
“I have a very rare Vampire gene, which allows me to ‘Shift,’ for lack of a better term, into someone else.” At his wide eyes, I clarify, “I’m still me, I can just make myself look different.”
“Oh, so…” he gestures up and down in my direction.
“Oh no, no. This is my natural form. What I really look like,” I say quickly. “Every couple of generations I adopt my natural look, it takes up less energy and it’s quite a good one, don’t you think?” I joke.
“Well, I can’t argue with that,” he says, slightly stunned. Heaving a big sigh, “It’s been a long night. We should get some sleep.”
I nod. “Sure.”
Knowing that sex is off the table for tonight, I grab a long, navy blue satin negligee from my drawers and I pull my dress over my head. I feel Cole standing behind me and cast a glance over my shoulder. He runs a hand down my back and turns me around. Casting his intent gaze over my face, my body, lingering in all the right places.
“A thousand years old,” he marvels. “You are exquisite. Flawless. It’s incredible, you are incredible,” he adds quietly. Taking the negligee from me, he, to my utter disappointment, pops it over my head and lets it fall. Grabbing the straps, he pulls them up my arms and over my shoulders.
Sighing softly at his touch, his eyes darken to a deep blue. He hesitates to speak so I do it for him. “It’s okay. You need time. I understand.” He lets out the breath he is holding. Turning from him, I crawl into bed and feign interest in my phone while he gets undressed, pulling out a t-shirt and a pair of boxers out of his overnight bag.
He climbs into bed and to my relief pulls me to him. I put my head on his chest and I can hear the too-fast thrum of his heartbeat.
He’s afraid. I sigh softly, but say nothing, as he doesn’t either.
We lie in silence for a while. Cole is awake but pretending to be asleep. I sigh inwardly and choosing to believe his pretense, I creep out of bed. I hear him stir but leave him be. I head downstairs, disappointed, frustrated and hungry.
Finding Devon still up, watching TV in the den, I grab a glass of wine and join him on the couch. We sit in silence for a few minutes, then he pulls me into his arms for a comforting cuddle. I relax in the familiar embrace of my darling boy.
“He’s taking it quite well, considering,” he says reassuringly.
“He’s afraid to go to sleep,” I blurt out a bit too loudly and wince at revealing that piece of information.
Devon chuckles. “He’s probably just trying to sort it all out in his head. Don’t worry so much. If he wasn’t willing to accept it, he wouldn’t have come home with you and he wouldn’t have sta
yed when you gave him an out,” he says.
My head hears his words, but my heart doesn’t believe him. “I’m hungry,” I say suddenly as the need for blood surges up in my frustration.
Without a word, he pulls me onto his lap. Snuggling into his chest, I raise my mouth to his neck and sink my fangs into him sucking hard. He groans in pleasure as he pulls me closer to him, wanting more, but I pull away from him and tenderly take his face in my hands. I kiss him gently and say, “Thank you.” Then I’ve gone in a flash of Vampire speed back to my bedroom.
I creep back into my bedroom and realize to my relief, but also my disappointment, that Cole has fallen asleep on his side.
I crawl into bed and carefully cuddle up to him, my chest to his back and drape my arm over him. He pulls my arm closer around him in his sleep. I settle down for a long wait, wanting Cole to wake up first, in my arms, to know that he slept, and I didn’t hurt him. A quick glance at the clock shows 3 AM. I’d be nodding off in an hour or so anyway, so I just try to relax and not think about anything other than my to-do list at work.
I must have slept eventually, as I come to when I feel a soft tickle down my cheek. I don’t open my eyes yet, enjoying his touch. I can tell it’s light out but have no idea what time it is.
“Oh, Liv,” I hear him whisper so quietly, “I do love you.”
My heart hammers as I hear the three words, he has wanted to tell me and that I thought he wouldn’t ever say after my revelation. I pretend to stir in my sleep and turn over with my back to him. I glance quickly at the clock, 5:45 AM. Well, I can pretend to sleep a bit longer and go back to my mental to-do list, while Cole sighs deeply. But then I feel him cuddle up behind me, draping his arm over me, as I did to him earlier, and he kisses my shoulder. My heart flutters and I risk snuggling my backside closer into him.
He inhales sharply and trails his hand down my stomach and across to my hip, where it comes to rest lightly. He drums his fingers as if deciding what to do. He must come to a decision as I feel him bunching the satin up in his fingers and sliding the soft material up my thigh. I wiggle a teeny bit to let him know I’m not completely dead to the world. Encouraged, he pulls the fabric up over my hips and softly moves his hand between my legs. I sigh in pleasure, relief, and joy as his fingers stroke my clit and he kisses my shoulder again. I open my legs wider for him, subtly, of course, and he plunges his finger inside me. I gasp as if in surprise, but not wanting him to stop I stay silent and looking away from him. He seems happy with that arrangement with my fangs out of reach, as he doesn’t speak either.
Continuing his slow, steady pulsing in and out, I can feel myself getting wetter and he moans softly in response. Abruptly, he withdraws his finger and I hold my breath. I feel him fumble behind me and the next minute he raises my leg and places it over his, giving him access to me. He thrusts quickly and I know this is going to be hard and fast.
Pulling on my hips, he thrusts deep and hard, making me cry out. I chance placing my hand over his on my hip and he laces our fingers together. That simple act sends me over the edge, and I come in a rush of pure relief. Expecting him to come as well, I’m surprised, pleasantly so, that he carries on moving inside me, pounding away his confusion and doubt and fear of the unknown. I come around him again and it seems more than he can bear as he comes quickly after me, my name on his lips. He rests his forehead on my shoulder while his breathing eases, his fingers still entwined with mine on my hip.
Leaving him to do this at his own pace, I wait.
After what seems like hours, he moves our joined hands up to my chest to roll me onto my back. His deep blue eyes stare into mine telling me everything he is feeling.
“I love you,” he says, and before I can respond to tell him the same, he dives down to my mouth, pushing his tongue between my lips. He runs his tongue along my top teeth and my breath hitches. He does it again and I know he is teasing me. I pull back a bit wary and he smirks. “I’m sorry I was a bit of a douche last night,” he says. “Please don’t think that it is because I’m afraid of you. It’s not that.”
“What is it then?” I speak for the first time in what feels like a month.
“I’m in awe of you,” he says softly. “I feel completely inadequate and unworthy of you.”
My mouth drops open in shock, but before I can say anything, he carries on. “Next to you, I feel inconsequential, unworldly, inexperienced and unsophisticated. You have no idea how difficult a feeling that is to process. I see how you are with Devon and I don’t know how I can possibly live up to that,” he finishes despondently.
“Oh, baby. You have nothing to worry about. And before you say anything else, I need to tell you something,” I say, sitting up and taking his face in my hands.
“What?” he asks with a gulp.
“I love you, too,” I say with a broad smile.
He grins at me and we kiss softly before I pull away with a serious face.
“I do know how it feels. I felt the exact same way around Constantine,” I try to reassure him.
“But you are a thousand and, technically, sixteen years old. That’s nine hundred and eighty-eight years older than me!” he exclaims.
I raise my eyebrow at him, my face still serious, wondering if another bombshell would shatter his hesitant acceptance.
He goes serious then too. “Seriously? He was a thousand when he turned you?” he asks incredulously.
Well, he’s going to find out sooner rather than later, so jumping in with both feet I say “No, older. When I met Constantine, he was one thousand, seven hundred and fifty-nine years old, technically as you put it, he was one thousand, seven hundred and seventy-nine.”
Cole sputters as it sinks in. “That makes him two thousand, seven hundred and fifty-nine years old now?”
I nod and he starts laughing nervously. “Holy shit! I do not want to meet this guy. Fuck! How old does that make his sire?” he asks then as the thought crosses his mind.
“He doesn’t have one. He’s one of the Initial Vampires. There are three of them now. They are called The Council and are based in Milan, Italy.”
“Initial Vampires? What like the first ones ever?” he asks, bewildered. “Why Italy?”
“Yes, the first, and Italy as it was the seat of the Holy Roman Empire. CK was from Ancient Rome,” I state.
His eyes bug out.
“My point was that I know how you feel, more so, perhaps as I was so innocent and naïve when we met. I know how overwhelmed you feel,” I say.
“Christ, Liv, you are one complicated woman. But I wouldn’t love you if you weren’t.” He smiles a shy smile. “So, if Constantine is called an Initial Vampire, what are the rest of you called? Is there some sort of hierarchy or something?”
“Yes, exactly,” I say and explain it to him. He nods in awe and I know that everything is going to be just fine.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I ’m happy. For the first time in years, I am truly happy. I can tell that Cole is too, and it thrills me that I can be the cause of his happiness. The gods only know I’ve caused enough pain and suffering in my time.
As I lay in bed, alone, one night, my thoughts wander back to the past when I was so awful, even Constantine turned his back on me.
Nagyvárad, Kingdom of Hungary, 1250 - Lucretia
A fter I fled from Constantine for the first time in 1112, exactly one hundred years after he turned me, I was devastated. He had hurt me more than I thought was possible. Even more than my husband had when I was still mortal. My husband’s pain had been inflicted physically, that I could bear, but this betrayal and heartbreak that my sire had caused was agonizing.
I had Shifted several times into several different guises, once I realized it was possible to do so, after I left the castle in Italy. As a result, Constantine had never been able to find me. I knew he was looking for me though. He would get close and word would spread that he was in the area. I would Shift and move on. I headed north to start with, as far as I could go
, but over the next century I headed southwest through the Kingdom of Hungary.
In 1250, I settled in Nagyvárad, near the Transylvanian border, in my natural form. I was over my heartbreak by this point, but I had found anger. I was good at anger. Really good. I lashed out at poor innocents who didn’t deserve it. I captured them and tortured them for days, even weeks, until I grew bored. One of my favorite methods of causing pain was taking my dagger to them, slashing at their skin until their blood flowed freely and I could drink deeply from their wounds before finishing them off with my fangs in their neck, the fear making their blood taste so sweet. The humans quickly feared me and even most of the Vampires stayed away from me, where possible. I soon gained a reputation in the Underworld as a brutal and savage killer, taking no mercy and killing anybody who looked at me wrong. I enjoyed this wicked side of myself and I indulged it completely. I never went out into the sunlight anymore, only lurked in the shadows of night, luring foolish humans into my castle with my beauty and guile. Sometimes, I played with them before I tortured and killed them.
Constantine had wanted me to take other lovers, well, I was happy to oblige now. I embraced my sexuality and used it to gain an advantage. I was vicious enough to break even the strongest men and when they begged me for mercy, I laughed at their weakness. I became known for taking my victims, tempting them into begging me to turn them with sex and promises. Then, when the time was right, I turned them and then staked them mercilessly through the heart, after their first human feed, drained to death as I watched. I was consuming so much human blood on a daily basis, it made me strong. Stronger than I should have been for my age and I reveled in it.
Word soon spread of the Devil with the face of an Angel, with the lightest blonde hair and the brightest green eyes, and I knew that he would come. I was counting on it now. I wanted him to see what he had done to me. No longer the sweet girl he knew and destroyed, but a powerful, evil woman with no regard for life and no room for pain. I was no longer able to love or show any human emotion. The more I caused pain, the more I killed, the more I watched my handiwork kill for me, the less I cared about anything except the blood.