"Addison." Zak opened his eyes a little, her outline blurry as he watched her fuss over him.
"I have to go, Zak." Addison lightly stroked his face, some warm tears falling on his skin. "I can’t stay with you anymore."
"Stay." Zak’s voice was weak and broken as he reached out a shaky hand, "I love you."
"No, don’t say that." Looking down, Addison sniffled as she held back her tears. Zak loved her, he believed in the goodness he thought was in her heart, the goodness she no longer possessed. "You can’t love me, I’m a vampire. We’re destined to be enemies."
She took off her charm bracelet and put it around his wrist, her voice soft like the kiss of feathers against his skin, "Take this and let it remind you of the people you’re fighting to save. You’re a good man, Zak. You need a good girl, not someone tainted with sin like me. I love Christian. Please understand the sins of a woman desperately in love. I’m so sorry—"
Her voice cracked with her last words, a flood of tears escaping her eyes, "Goodbye Zak." She gave him another kiss on the cheek before she pulled away. Zak tried to grab her, but he wasn’t strong enough to make her stay.
She grabbed her false teeth from the floor and slipped them back in. She stumbled to her feet and out of the bathroom, quickly putting on her clothes and grabbing all the money out of Zak’s wallet. She put her semi-wet hair up in a messy bun, some curls framing her face as her lips trembled furiously.
Everything was a blur, the world around her spinning as her body went into panic mode. She was terrified and had no idea where she was going to go, but she knew she had to run.
Addison told the hunters in the hallway that she was going to get a soda at the nearby machine. She managed to keep her voice steady, but as soon as she was out of their sight, she ran the rest of the way.
* * * *
Addison bought a cheap cell phone from the local drugstore and a train ticket to Terrance, which was an eight-hour ride. Sitting near the window, she frowned as she watched the city disappear from her view. She hoped everything would be all right, but she had no idea where she was going or what she’d do when she got there. She didn’t have a lot of money and knew if she didn’t find some of her family fast, she would be out on the streets and stranded.
Christian and Darien had changed their numbers because Zak now knew them, so she had no way of contacting them. She tried Kim, who lived in Terrance, but she didn’t answer either. After several attempts for the manor in Castile, Addison finally put the right sequence of numbers together to get through. Luckily, that number had never changed, and even though it was to the main house, it was the closest she could get.
"Vallore Manor, this is Janette speaking." Janette was one of the maids at the Castile manor, but she was new, and Addison didn’t recognize her voice or her name.
"Is the Master in?" Addison bit her lip nervously, one of her fingers poised at the corner.
"Yes." Janette’s voice was friendly and warm, "May I ask who’s calling?"
"Addison."
"I’ll see if he’ll take your call, Addiman—just one moment please."
"It’s—" Addison was going to correct Janette, but she heard the line click as she was put on hold. "Addison." Letting out an annoyed sigh, she stared out the window angrily as she waited for someone to pick up.
A woman’s voice came over the line, "Hello?" The woman giggled as she held the phone away from her a little.
"Can I speak to Master Vallore?" Addison narrowed her eyes on her fingernail as she picked at it, not able to sit still.
"He’s having…" The woman giggled even more, Addison recognizing the flirty tone and getting very jealous. "Dinner right now."
She could hear Christian faintly in the background, "Now for some desert. Come to me, my sweet." Addison’s jaw dropped at the sound of his words, a giant “O” forming with her lips as she heard his devilish chuckle, followed by a giggle from the woman holding the phone.
"Let me—" The girl hung up, the last thing Addison heard was her giggle. "Damn it." She glared at the phone in her hand before calling the manor again.
"Vallore Manor, this is Janette speaking."
"Hi." Addison tried to keep her voice calm as she gritted her teeth. She was very angry about catching Christian with another woman and hearing him flirt with her made her blood boil. "I just called, but my call didn’t go through, can you try for me again?"
"Really?" Janette seemed surprised. "Maybe the Master is resting and isn’t taking calls. He’s been doing that a lot lately."
"Doing who lately?" Addison snipped, her eyes opening wide.
"Excuse me?" Janette seemed very offended.
"Is Darien in? I’ll speak to him instead."
"Yes he is, but he’s with the Master."
"I want to talk to him damn it! Connect me to him!" Addison was speaking louder than she meant to, a few people on the train staring back at her.
"Maybe you should just leave a message, Miss Addiman," Janette was annoyed. "And I’ll see that he gets it."
"Fine." Addison glared out the window, her anger getting the best of her, "Tell Master Vallore to enjoy his desert and make sure she wipes her fucking chin!" Clicking “end,” Addison sat back in the seat, crossing her arms over her chest.
After fuming for about a half an hour, Addison realized she probably shouldn’t have overreacted like she did. Now, she was worse off than she had been because she had pissed off the servants at the manor.
A few hours later she was in Terrance, where she transferred trains and took one to a city about two hours from Castile. It was a three-day ride. Addison had enough money to rent a sleeping car and spent her time in there alone. She tried calling the manor again a few times, but Janette always answered, so Addison hung up.
Finally, after a long few days of traveling and some time to think, Addison reached Castile. She wanted to rent a car and drive to the manor, but she only had enough money to take a small tour bus to the historic city of Castile, which was close to the manor.
It was midafternoon when she arrived, and because the manor was about an hour away from town, Addison called again.
Sitting on a bench, she listened to the phone ring, the warm summer sun falling on her pale skin. The birds were singing and people were walking along the streets, talking happily to each other.
"Vallore Manor, Janette speaking."
Making a sour face, Addison tried not to let out the small grunt building in her throat. She put on a fake smile, trying to speak as if she had a small accent different from her noticeable Caron one, "Is the Master of the house in?"
"No." Janette was buying the accent.
Addison squirmed a little, not really knowing what to do if Christian wasn’t home. "Do you know if he’s in his office in town?"
"I’m not sure, my dear." Janette laughed, a happy tone to her voice, "Would you like to leave a message?"
Addison frowned, trying to think of a message to leave Christian, "I’ll just call back later."
"All right, dear." Janette hung up.
Addison sat for a few minutes and pouted, that is until she saw someone she recognized. It was Reggie, the gardener from the manor. Bolting from her seat, she ran up to his car as he stopped at a red light. She jumped in the passenger seat, scaring him.
"Hi." Addison smiled at him, a little out of breath from her short run.
"Mistress Vallore?" Reggie looked at her as if he’d seen a ghost, the cars behind him honking loudly because the light was now green. He quickly refocused on driving and moved forward, "I thought you were dead. Where were—"
"I’m alive." Addison beamed, an excited tone in her voice. "Can you take me to the manor?"
"Of course." Reggie smiled as he nodded. "I have to pick up a few things here though, if you don’t mind."
"It’s fine. Hey, can I borrow some money? I want to get some things from town, but I don’t have any cash."
"Sure." Reggie nodded, pulling out his wallet. "Here’s the credit
card the Master gave me for supplies. You can use that."
"Thanks." Addison smiled, looking at the credit card as she held it in her hands.
"I’ll drop you off on the strip and pick you up around seven, okay?"
* * * *
Addison bought a new dress and made a stop at the local salon to get her hair and nails done. She was finally feeling more like Addison. She was very excited for the first few minutes of the drive, but for the rest of the trip, sadness crept into Addison’s thoughts. Things ranging from Christian cheating on her while she was gone, to Christian rejecting her and not letting her back in the family.
She was also starting to get hungry and sometimes when she looked over at Reggie, he even looked tasty. Shuttering at the thought, Addison contained herself and decided to wait until she saw Christian to feed.
It was dark when they got to the manor, the lights illuminating the windows with an eerie glow. Even though Addison hated the manor in Castile, she was trying to think positively about the move. Her family was there, and right now, that’s all she wanted.
After walking inside, she gazed up the large staircase, the giant window at the bend looming over her menacingly. She went upstairs and decided to check Christian’s bedroom, but the room was dark, and there was no sign of him or anyone else.
She then decided to check the sitting room. When she reached the hallway, Addison could hear voices. She smiled at a few vampires sitting in the passage, but they didn’t recognize her and were all giving her angry looks. They looked like vicious dogs staring at a stranger menacingly from behind a fence, waiting for the moment you crossed their property line so they could tear you apart.
Addison ignored them and instead opened the door partially and looked inside. Her eyes scanned the room for familiar faces.
And there he was.
Christian was still as dashing as ever, dressed in a sharp black suit and tie that brought out the icy blue in his intense eyes. Women were sitting on either side of him, and the ones that didn’t fit on the couch were sitting on the floor at his feet. They were all dressed in very sexy attire, the two next to him both stroking the lapels of his suit jacket and trying to inch their way into his lap.
Christian wore an evil grin on his face and was ignoring the beautiful women hanging on him. Instead, his interested eyes were watching Darien forcefully hold a young girl to his chest and take pleasure out of scaring her. Darien bit her a few times playfully, the woman crying out in pain.
Addison’s lips trembled and she couldn’t move, tears welling up in her eyes. Her gaze wasn’t focused on Darien, it was aimed on Christian. She watched him whisper into the ear of the woman next to him, his closeness making the girl giddy and lick her lips in excitement.
Instead of igniting anger, Addison’s jealousy brought sadness. Her jaw was slightly agape, her bottom lip trembling furiously as her eyes opened wide, their surface wavering with forming tears.
Some vampires going into the room shoved her from behind, breaking Addison out of her temporary paralysis. Looking down, Addison wiped at a few tears that clung to her wet cheeks as she avoided their angry stares.
Christian began biting the women’s neck, his hand rubbing her bare knee and making her legs tremble under his fingers. The sexy scene was unbearable for Addison, a pain deeper than a cut from the sharpest knife going through her heart. She couldn’t breathe, the thickness forming in her throat choking her and cutting off her air. Putting a shaky hand to her chest, her eyes were distant.
Wispy strands of curly hair fell around Addison’s cheeks, her eyes still sparkling with tears that clung like small diamonds to her dark butterfly lashes. She wanted to turn around and run away, but she couldn’t move, the intense pain of her heart breaking gluing her in place. She felt numb. The world stopped and every sound around her muffled.
Darien’s eyes wandered over to the door as he turned around and laughed at a joke one of his friends had made. His laughter was quickly silenced, his jaw dropping when he caught the sight of a familiar face hidden partially behind the door.
When her eyes met his, Addison’s face scrunched up in a final attempt to damn the tears, which were building up so much pressure in her fuzzy head she thought it was going to explode. Darien had never seen Addison’s face look like that. She bolted before she became trapped in his gaze and quickly disappeared from view.
"Fuck!" Shoving the person near him, Darien ran after her.
"What happened?" Christian looked up, pushing away the girl he had been feeding from. Narrowing his eyes on the vampire that had been talking to Darien, Christian looked very annoyed. "Where is Darien?"
"I don’t know." The vampire shrugged his shoulders. "He saw something going on in the hallway and took off."
"Well go find out." He held his hand to his head, his wedding band sparkling under the light as he motioned for the vampire to leave. Glaring at the woman who tried to hang on him, the evil in Christian’s stare made the woman tremble and back off. "You taste disgusting. Get away from me."
Addison had run away as fast as her feet would carry her, taking off her heels so she could move faster. She shoved open the patio doors and took off, her haste catching the eyes of a few vampires sitting outside. They took off after her, thinking she was a meal trying to escape.
Addison continued to run blindly down the road, holding her heels in her hand as her breath rose and fell quickly. She had no idea where she was going, all she knew was that she had to escape, she had to run as far away as she could. Everything in her world had been shattered, every hope, every ounce of security she had held onto while she was a starving captive in Zak’s care.
She was tired and hungry. Falling to her knees, Addison laid down in the wet grass, the prickly blades stinging her warm cheeks. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt every beat as it pulsed through her body.
"Addison?" Darien bent down and pulled her to her feet, but before he could make another movement, she fell into his arms sobbing. "Shh." He scooped her trembling body up in his arms, carrying her back to the manor. "What’s got you all worked up? You don’t have to run from me. It’s me—Darien, remember?" He chuckled as he looked down at her, but he could barely see her face because of the darkness of the country night. "I’m not going to hurt you, princess."
"I can come back?" Addison’s voice was mousey and broken. "The Master doesn’t love me anymore, does he?"
Hearing her comment, Darien laughed, "What?"
"I know what he’s doing." Addison was speaking through her thick tears, her voice taking on a whiney tone because she was feeling more comfortable in Darien’s arms. "He’s sleeping with those girls. He doesn’t miss me at all."
"No, no—" Darien smiled at the sad girl in his arms. "Everything he’s been doing is innocent, I promise. He does miss you."
"He does?" She sniffled.
"Very much. And so have I."
"Darien?" Addison’s voice was low as she gazed up at him, her raccoon eyes now visible as he walked back into the house.
"What?"
"I’m tired." Addison closed her eyes a little, all the action making her lose what little energy she had left. "Can you take me upstairs?"
"You’re hungry, I bet." Darien chuckled, staring at the sleepy princess in his arms. "Come on, let’s take you to the Master, and he’ll fix you right up."
When they returned, Christian was slamming a man into the wall, apparently fighting with him about something. He had a hold of his throat, pinning him to the wall and letting his feet dangle in the air. The man was a hunter that had been captured and brought in while Darien had been chasing Addison.
Darien set Addison down on the couch and joined her. She tried to lay on him, but he wouldn’t let her, a very uneasy look in his eyes. Instead, she sat up lazily and watched Christian dealing with the hunter. She quickly closed her eyes when she heard a quiet squishing sound, followed by Christian’s devilish laugh and a blood-curdling scream.
A few seconds
later, a woman pulled on her arm and forced Addison to open her eyes. She was glaring at her to move so she and another woman could sit down. Darien was sitting in Christian’s spot on the couch, and the girls wanted to sit there so they could be near Christian when he came back.
"Move." Addison was not in the mood for any drama. Raising her leg and planting a swift kick in the woman’s stomach, she used more force than was necessary to make her move, the woman falling to the floor.
"You stupid bitch!" The woman went to grab her, but Addison quickly latched onto Darien.
"Leave her alone!" Darien started arguing with the woman, standing up and getting in her face.
Christian wiped at some blood dripping off his chin and chuckled as he turned to see what the commotion was. His eyes settled on Addison, who had her head covered, cowering on the couch as one of the women held her down and bit her. Darien had his back turned to her and wasn’t watching what was going on.
"Darien, what’s going on over there?" Christian was on the other side of the room, pointing to the couch where the woman was trying to bite Addison. He couldn’t see Addison’s face, but if he could, his reaction would have been much different.
Darien turned around when he heard Christian’s voice, seeing Addison struggle to push the woman away out of the corner of his eye. He quickly grabbed the woman by the arm and yanked her off the couch.
Addison was already very weak, the blood the woman had taken from her making her even more so. Her eyes quickly rolled back in her head, and she passed out, her head resting backward against the soft cushions of the high backed couch.
Christian walked toward Darien, licking his lips, which still had traces of blood on them from his fight with the hunter. "Where were you?"
"This little princess looks hungry, Master." Darien knelt down on the floor next to the couch, shaking Addison’s shoulders. Her eyes fluttered open and closed a few times, but they couldn’t focus on Darien’s face. "You better come and feed her."
"What?" Christian gaze settled on Addison, a flabbergasted expression on his handsome face.
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