The Georgian pines lined the estate, and scattered throughout, the annuals and wildflowers filled the rich grounds with a beautiful décor. The lush green lawn seemed to stretch for miles, perfectly manicured, even in this wintry season. In the distance, a carriage house was nestled within the deep woods. On further back, past the rolling hills, she spied the top of what was apparently a barn.
She glanced back towards the carriage house.
Suddenly, she caught a quick glance of a dark shadow.
Her hand fluttered to her chest nervously.
But, they were supposedly the only ones here, she mulled quietly, forcing her hysteria down. Then, she released her pent-up breath as the frightened fawn stepped into sight.
“As usual, I’m letting my over-active imagination get in the way,” she said, shaking her head as she turned away from the window. “Nothing can touch us and what we have. Not here.”
Her steps ended at the wet bar.
“Already drinking this early?” she smiled, lifting the near empty bottle. “Well, you won’t need it anymore to numb your loneliness and pain. I’m the perfect substitute for it. As a matter of fact, I am the answer.”
After setting the bottle down, she treaded towards the fireplace.
Her smile died.
Tiny pieces of broken glass sprinkled the marbled floor, and even now, the remnants of liquor had stained the perfectly, painted walls. “Baby, what’s happened?” she asked, concerned, kneeling down. “Why are you so worked up?”
A faint whisper sounded behind her.
Standing up fast, she whirled around. “Xander?”
Only the quietness answered back.
Again, fear surged through her.
Her eyes went to the window.
The sky, a light blue earlier, was now etched in blackness, and a lone raven soared within the vast space. An ominous feeling swept over her at once, and she knew that danger wasn’t far behind. Suddenly, the air whooshed behind her.
Startled, she faced the fire again.
At once, the flames heightened within the fireplace, reaching a towering height as it flared up the chimney. Then, as quickly as they ascended, the flames perished as a drenching coldness filled the room.
“Nicole.”
Her frightened gaze flew to the window.
The vampire stepped from the darkened shadows.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “No.”
“Yes,” Gates replied strangely, a cold smile snaking across his face. “And now, it’s just us.”
“What do you want?” she swallowed hard, backing towards the door slowly.
“You know what I want,” Gates stated deadpan as he advanced towards her. “These games that you’ve been playing, they’re over. Here and now.”
“What games?” she asked defiantly, relief filling her as she reached the door. Her hands closed around the knob. “My feelings and what I want, they’ve never been secret. Just because you refuse to accept the inevitable truth, it doesn’t mean that I have put up with your abuse.”
Quickly, she faced the door.
Hands shaking violently, she rattled the doorknob.
The door didn’t budge.
She pounded her fists against the door. “Xander!”
“It’s no use,” Gates laughed coldly, stopping beside the leatherback chair. “No one is here but us.”
“That’s not true,” she retorted sharply as she faced him again. “Xander’s here, and you’re not going to get away with this.”
A pungent odor pervaded the space.
Finally, she was seeing her tormentor face to face.
Her gaze slipped over him.
Like in her nightmares, his black hair was unkempt, and a crazed look filled his cold eyes. As in Hollywood’s depictions, the vampire’s features were still youthful, and he appeared around thirty-something. And while he was probably centuries old, he was still somewhat handsome, but the ugliness within him marred any decent quality he possessed.
“I hate that I had to represent myself to you like this,” Gates said, sweeping his hands along his crumpled clothing. Quickly, he adjusted the cuff links on the black dress shirt, and then tucked the shirt into the black trousers. “After what’s happened, it shouldn’t be surprising, however, that I’m in such a disheveled state.”
“How did you find us?” she asked tightly.
“I put a tracking device on his SUV, but still it wasn’t easy finding you. I must admit that this place is well-hidden. No wonder he was able to remain in obscurity for so long.”
She frowned.
What did he mean by that?
She shook her head.
Of course, nothing that he said made any sense.
“I don’t want you here,” she said quietly. “As a matter of fact, I wish you were dead.”
“When will you learn to listen to me?” Gates asked cagily, and then pure rage filled his voice. “At least give me a little credit. I’ve been more than patient with you, more than I would have for anyone else. But, no matter what I do, you keep turning away from me.”
“You can’t make people love or want you,” she offered quickly, still not moving away from the door. “All these months, you’ve been trying to force me into something that I don’t want.”
“It’s your fault,” he raged suddenly, wringing his hands together. “All those dead women, their blood…it’s on your hands. If you’d just come to me, I wouldn’t have had to kill them.”
“Don’t you dare blame me for their deaths,” she said, her voice trembling. “You murdered those women in cold blood. It had nothing to do with me. You’re a cruel, sadistic monster with little regard for anyone but yourself.”
“He’s turned you against me, hasn’t he?” he asked crazily, raking his hands through his hair. “Why didn’t I kill him when I had the opportunity? That first night, I should’ve ripped him apart. But, I was too caught up in the game. And now, I’m suffering with the consequences.”
“Do you ever listen to yourself?” she asked exasperatedly, her eyes straying to the candelabra, and then she quickly looked away. She edged towards the table cautiously before stopping beside it. “Do you really believe the things that you’re actually saying?”
“All of it!” he shouted angrily. “Nothing that I say is a lie.”
“But, you’re a complete stranger!” she yelled back. “I don’t know who you are or what you want from me.”
“There were a series of events that led me to you, and I will never forget the first time that I saw you,” Gates said eerily, a dazed look crossing his face. “My crimes were surmounting, and somehow, I managed to stay a step ahead of the law. So, I never stayed in one place quite too long. But, I was still practicing medicine, just under a different alias. That night, the attending physician became gravelly ill, and I had to assume his duties. Soon, they radioed in that there been a terrible accident. The emergency officials wheeled you into ER, but your sister, she was much worse. And don’t ask me why, but at that point, I recognized that she would become a stumbling block in my pursuit.”
“My sister?” she whispered, puzzled, her voice trembling again. “What does Kassie have to do with any of this?”
A crazed expression filled his face.
“Everything,” Gates added softly, walking towards her slowly. “It was the beginning of our journey together. From the moment I saw you, I was smitten. Even though you were in a coma, I sensed the beauty within your soul, and I thirsted for it. Do you know how many nights I stayed by your bedside?” An eerie quality exuded from him now. “But, it seemed that you were slipping away, little by little.” He snapped his lips shut. “I couldn’t allow it.”
“You never answered,” she said slowly, the second hand on the wall clock ticking louder as he drew closer. To her relief, he halted several inches away. She inched closer to the table. “What does Kassie have to do with any of this?”
“She was beautiful too, in a strange sense,” he frowned. “B
ut, she wasn’t like you. Behind a beautiful façade, you hid your true self, and I wanted to be the one to bring it to the forefront. She had to die. It couldn’t be avoided.”
“What do you mean, she had to die?” she whispered tearfully. “What did you do to Kassie?”
“She was an obstacle, don’t you understand that?” he raged, swinging in a full circle. “Both of you were hanging by a thin thread, and I feared that your parents would be faced with a daunting choice. I mean, what if the need had come for organs? One of you would’ve been sacrificed for the other. I couldn’t take that chance. She couldn’t survive, don’t you see? Then, I would’ve never had a chance with you.”
“What did you do to my sister?” she asked, her voice rising, and her anger blinded her. “What did you to her? Did you kill her? Did you feel on her?”
“Yes,” he admitted coldly. “I fed on her until I bled inside, and her blood, it reinvigorated me. Unlike most humans, she didn’t transform, but instead succumbed to an eternal death. Like that, she was gone,” he laughed, snapping his finger, and then the dead quiet killed the silence.
She started when he spoke again.
“Of course, that also meant that I had to kill the doctor, too. I couldn’t allow him to return and take over the case. So, I snuffed him out. With two murders on my hands, I had to act fast. So, I pulled some strings, falsified a few medical records, doctored up the autopsies. Foolproof plan, I must admit. It was too easy.” He laughed callously. “I can remember how stunned your parents were when she was declared brain-dead. For a brief moment, I pitied them, but I knew that I’d done the right thing.”
“No,” she cried softly, her tears falling freely. “You killed her. You killed Kassie.”
“I’m sorry that I’ve hurt you, but I have no regrets,” Gates said firmly, clenching his jaw tightly. “And like a miracle, you recovered, and that only proved to me that you were a fighter.”
“You’re a monster,” she screamed angrily, her hand closing around the candelabra. A deep fierceness gleamed in her eyes as her grip tightened. “You killed my sister, and for the longest time, I blamed myself, I blamed my parents. Do you know how hard it’s been to live with that guilt?” Her angry sobs escaped. “I loved her. I still do. Why did you do this to her? She was so young and vibrant. She had her entire life ahead of her. But, you stole it; you took it away from her!”
“Would you stop being so selfish!” Gates yelled, grabbing his head, and then took a deep breath. He paced across the floor cagily. “These last five years haven’t been easy for me, you know. Day in and day out, I’ve watched you suffer. But, I couldn’t do anything about it. And I never could’ve guessed that you would’ve closed yourself off to everyone. So, I kept a careful distance. But, I was always close by. I’ve never left your side. In the dark shadows, I watched you. I’ve hungered for you. My obsession knows no limits. And now, we finally have our chance.”
“There’s nothing between us! Get that through your sick, twisted head.”
“Do you know how captivating you are right now?” Gates said fascinated. “Your anger only intensifies your spirit and makes me hunger---”
“Shut up! Shut up!” she screamed defiantly, snatching the candelabra off the table, and pure anger edged her actions now. “I don’t care what you need. I don’t care what you want. I just want you out of my life. You’ve taken enough from me, and I won’t let you take anything else!”
“And what’s that, Nicole? That so-called hero of yours?” he demanded forcefully, advancing towards her slowly. “You think I’m a monster? He’s far worse, trust me.”
“Shut up! I’m not going to listen to anymore of your lies,” she snapped angrily, positioning the candelabra before her. “No more!”
“Has he touched you?” Gates asked angrily. “Has he put his filthy hands on you?”
“That and much more,” she said with satisfaction. “He touched me all over. He made love to me. I pleaded with him, I begged him. I didn’t want him to stop. I loved every aching, pleasurable moment of it!” A cold smile curved her lips. “And when I’m in his arms again, I’m going to beg him to drive harder and harder until I shatter.”
“No!” Gates raged violently, knocking the expensive vase from the nearby table. “He’ll never put his filthy hands on you again!”
At once, he charged at her with blinding quickness.
She screamed out as she swung the candelabra.
***
“What was that?” Xander quipped tightly, moving from the stall quickly, and Princeton followed behind him.
He glanced overhead.
Now, darkness filtered through the beams instead of sunlight.
“Were you followed?’ he asked quickly, breaking into a full run.
“I was more than careful,” Princeton said, running along with him. “I made sure that I wasn’t tailed.”
They escaped the huge structure and out into the darkened morning.
At once, he picked up on the vamp’s scent.
“Gates is here!” he raged angrily, and suddenly, he went aerial. The wind tore against him as he flew through the air, and he heard Princeton’s thundering footsteps below him.
Within seconds, they were upon the mansion.
“Cover the back!” he shouted loudly, barreling up the veranda’s stairs.
With little effort, he shoved the door open.
“Nicole!” he yelled, taking the stairs two at a time.
Quickly, he reached the bedroom.
He wrenched the door open.
His gaze fell on the empty bed.
Only her sweet scent lingered in the room.
“Nicole!”
He bolted down the stairs, and then hurried to the study.
He shoved the door open.
Immediately, he was assailed by the vamp’s scent.
His strides carried him to the window.
Against the dark backdrop, he saw nothing but darkness.
Finally, his eyes dropped to the note carefully pinned to the window sill.
His hands trembled as he lifted it.
He read the words slowly.
Come to the carriage house.
Watch me as I make her mine.
Die…
“No!” he yelled violently, breaking away from the window. The study door swung wildly as he kicked it opened, easily splintering the oak with his force.
“Where did he take her?” Princeton demanded, meeting him at the front door.
“They’re at the carriage house,” he quipped tightly, pushing past him. “But, you have to stay out of sight. He doesn’t know that you’re here.”
“I’ll keep a careful distance, then I’ll come in at the back,” Princeton insisted firmly. “As soon as you get Gates, I’ll get Nicole out of the way.”
“Take her far away from here. Take her far away from me,” he said painfully, turning away.
Princeton nodded quickly as he broke away.
Then, he was alone again.
The air tore against him as he raced for the carriage house.
Fear surged through him.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t be too late.
***
Groaning softly, she turned her head on the pillow.
Her eyes opened.
Everything in the quaint room was blurred.
“No,” she whispered fearfully, panic quickly setting in. Then, relief surged through her as her vision finally cleared, and the shadows took shape again.
She raised a shaky hand to her head.
Unsurprisingly, a lump grazed her left temple.
She’d been no match against the vampire, but still, she’d put up a struggle. He’d overpowered her easily, and she’d fallen against the sofa table, banging her head.
She squinted again past the pain.
Where was Gates?
Her gaze traveled across the room.
They were in the carriage house.
Only a glass curio stood in the corner, and
a tiny crystalline figurine filled each shelf. On further to its right, a porcelain vase occupied the oblong table lining the wall, and again it was complete as another costly oil painting hang over it. Already, the flames danced within the fireplace, and a few logs rested on the hearth, and an armchair faced the burning fire.
And of course, she now lay on the daybed.
“He’ll be here soon,” Gates said quietly, surprising her as he materialized from nowhere. His steps were slow as he stopped alongside the daybed. Then, he dropped down onto the floor alongside it. “And it will all be over.”
“What do you mean it will all be over?” she gulped slowly, inching away from him.
“He dies…today,” Gates said simply, shrugging his shoulders, and then smiled at her coldly. “Our confrontation will be epic, and I’m quite looking forward to it. You know, it’s like any classic romance, a woman torn between two lovers. And naturally, the men will do anything to win her heart, even if it’s a fight to their deaths.”
“You’re sick, deplorable, appalling,” she said slowly, feeling her hate rise within her.
“We’ve already established that I have less than a favorable nature,” the vampire retorted impatiently, slapping his hand against the daybed, and then came to his feet quickly. “And that’s where our adventure lies, me swaying your judgment to my more admirable qualities. I’m certainly up for the challenge.”
Her gaze followed him as he trailed to the window.
He pushed the curtain aside, and still, the day appeared as night.
Gates peeked out.
“Where is he?” he breathed angrily. “It’s so unlike him to not act rashly, especially when it comes to you. I was certain that he’d be here by now.”
“What are you going to do to him?” she asked quietly, sitting up higher on the bed, and then hugged the heart-shaped pillow close to her chest. “Please, don’t hurt him. He’s innocent in this. Tell me what you want me to do. Just don’t hurt---”
“Don’t you dare barter your life for the likes of him!” Gates raged fiercely, turning away from the window. “He doesn’t deserve it. He doesn’t deserve any part of you! He’s a liar, and he’s been deceiving you from the very beginning!”
Dragon Reign: A Paranormal Love Tale Page 43
