My Beloved

by T.M. Mendes

  “Hello, friends! How odd, I was going to send for a letter letting you all know I am back!” he lied easily. Vincent knew he could easily dispose of these three with his age and ability, but doing so would bring down the reign of the others… all one-hundred-ninety-seven of them. There were two-hundred on the board of commission in total. Not even he could withstand that kind of power.

  Tobias stepped forward with a slight smile on his aged and stoic face before clapping Vincent on the back. “It’s so good to see you again. How did you get out? It was rumored only your beloved could do it…” he trailed off with a quirked eyebrow.

  Vincent cleared his throat. “Yes, well, that was indeed true.” It was no sense to lie because any vampire could clearly hear her heartbeat. It wouldn’t look good on their part if he lied. If it came down to keeping Wendy safe from them, he would kill them regardless of the repercussions.

  Michael then stepped up and circled Darcy with a slight sneer. They never did get along. “Hello, Darcy,” he quipped with a dangerous glint.

  Vincent could see Darcy was trying not to growl. Stepping in, he tried to get the focus back on him so a fight didn’t break out. “How are things, friend?” he asked, looking at Michael, making him look away.

  “Very good, very good. Tell me, can we meet your beloved? She must be a lovely creature to be paired with an old one such as yourself?”

  Vincent want to tear off his head from suggesting it considering now, everyone was looking to him for the answer. Through gritted teeth, he nodded. “Of course. Just a moment, I must wake her.” Flitting into the room where she lay, he gazed at her. If his heart were to beat, it would be beating right out of his chest. Taking her out of this room would put her in danger and that made him scared for the first time.

  He bent over and gently kissed her lips. “Wake up, darling. I need to prepare you to meet some old friends,” he whispered against her.

  Her eyes fluttered open as the smallest smile graced her lips. “Hey. Who am I meeting?” she asked, pulling away to yawn delicately.

  He found her utterly adorable and tried to focus to what was on hand. “Wendy, I need you to listen carefully, alright? These men are part of what my kind calls a Commission. They’re very powerful and very ruthless if addressed the wrong way. Please only speak unless spoken to. I say this because I love and care for you and I don’t want to see you even in the same place where you might get hurt.”

  Her eyes were wide now with her heart pounding a mile a minute. “W-What? Are they going to hurt me? I-”

  He cut her off with a simple kiss. “Not while I’m here. You have nothing to fear here for I will lay them down if they dare try to harm one hair on your head. For now they simply want to meet you. That’s all.” He could tell she was confused but she otherwise stayed quiet. “Now c’mon, we need to get this over with,” he muttered but waited as she prepared herself. He had to look at her with soft eyes as she hastily patted down her bed hair and straightened out her glasses.

  “Are you ready? You look fine, no, you look beautiful,” he corrected himself as he took her hand to meet his lips. She blushed and looked away. Keeping her hand in his, they walked out silently. He felt her stiffen when she saw the men dressed in black. Indeed they all looked intimidating. His hand tightened in hers to reassure her. She smiled weakly in response.

  Fredrick smiled at her and stepped up. “Hello. It is so incredible to meet this old man’s Beloved. Might I say, you look ravishing.” He finished by grabbing her hand quickly and placing a kiss on the same hand Vincent did. Vincent held back the growl that threatened to spill from deep within him.

  “T-Thank you,” she stuttered and tried to calm her racing heart.

  Tobias then stepped up, followed by Michael who took his time kissing her hand. This time Vincent did let out a slight hiss in warning, making Michael give an up-to-no-good wink.

  “I see you’ve bitten her already. I would presume her time is coming within the next couple of months, by the looks of it?” Fredrick inquired with a passive face to everything.

  Vincent let his eyes leave Michael so he wouldn’t be considered as disrespectful. “No. Actually the bite seemed to have taken quicker than we’ve anticipated. She’ll be turned by the end of this week.”

  The usual emotionless face of Fredrick turned into a surprised one. “Really? How odd. Would you like us to look into it?” he offered the two.

  “That won’t be necessary, thank you. We’re looking into it,” Vincent respectfully declined. Wendy fidgeted next to him and he sensed her ever growing discomfort as it was quickly turning into pain. She would need the bite again and soon.

  Tobias inclined his head. “Ah, it seems we should come back again another time. The young maiden here needs Vincent as it seems. Let us go and we shall keep in touch.”

  They placed the helmets back on their heads to protect the skin that may be burned by the sun.

  “I don’t like them,” Wendy muttered once they were gone. She shivered next to Vincent with the creeps she felt from them, especially Michael.

  He turned to her and framed her face with his palms. “Neither do I, but we must play nice. Like I said, I will protect you whatever the cost. Now show me your neck, Firefly.”

  She tilted her head to the side with a slight sigh. “Sometimes I wish it would feel pleasurable again,” she said softly, stunning him just as he was about to bite into her.

  “What?” he asked and watched in fascination as she flushed from head to toe.

  “I-I didn’t say that out loud, did I?!” she asked, horrified.

  He chuckled darkly and backed her into a wall, making her gulp. “Yes, you did. I can make it more pleasurable if you’d like?” he said with a sultry voice and kissed her just under her jaw line. “Darcy, leave us,” he ordered.

  “Aw, fine, whatever. It’s not like this is my house anyway. Oh wait, it is!” he said sarcastically and flitted away.

  Vincent could tell she was going to protest but one nip to the soft spot by her ear had her melting into him with a soft moan. His fangs scraped against her skin in the most pleasurable of ways. “You are so delectable, my little Firefly. So soft…” he murmured into her neck as his tongue flicked out and lightly skimmed over the skin. Her small hands gripped the tops of his shoulders as her body nearly shook with desire. He finally took her lips with his own in a bruising force. Thankfully the wall was behind her or both of them would have fallen to the floor.

  She hopped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting to be closer to him. He felt the same way as his hands held her by her bottom. He couldn’t resist as he squeezed her to him, making her squeak with surprise but then moan in satisfaction. His tongue danced with hers but she cried out slightly when she accidentally cut her tongue on one of his fangs. He kissed her deeper though and Vincent could feel she was getting hotter with each passing moment. Breaking away, he kissed down her neck before biting into her without notice. She moaned so loud that he wouldn’t be surprised if Anya heard it on the other side of the house.

  Her blood filled his senses and made him impossibly more aroused. He sucked once more before feeling her tremble and then let out one more long groan as she went slack. Pulling back, he felt a proud smirk on his lips as her dazed gaze met his. “How was that for pleasurable?” he asked, only slightly being out of breath.

  “You made me have a-an… I’ve never had one before…” She trailed off with her face still flushed from what just happened.

  It made him that more proud to give her that satisfaction as he gently kissed her swollen lips. “I’m honored to take you to heaven and back. And I’ll be much obliged to make return trips if you so wish.” He finished with a wink.

  “T-Thank you, b-but I need to lie down. I’m feeling a bit woozy.”

  He leaned away from the wall with her legs still around his waist and carried her to the couch. She blushed and ducked her head into his neck, making him chuckle. He kissed the top of her head before he sat down
with her straddling him. She gasped when she felt how ‘happy’ he was. She looked so lost that he had to put her mind at ease. With a simple peck, he shook his head. “You owe me nothing, my sweet alluring Firefly. I loved watching you fly just then. I do need to discuss something with you however,” he said more seriously at the end.

  She waited for him with a worried look in her eyes. “What?” she asked.

  “I need to tell you how to become a vampire.”

  Chapter 20

  Wendy

  She tensed on his lap as her brain possessed what he just said. That one sentence brought her back from cloud nine and made her want to groan in frustration. She rested her forehead against his and nodded mutely while she closed her eyes. She felt his hands come up and rub her arms in comfort.

  “It’s not a pretty process, but it won’t take more than a couple of days,” he started before removing her from his lap, only to maneuver her so her head lay on his lap and she was looking up at him with imploring eyes. He stroked her hair which made her feel content.

  “Then what?” she asked hesitantly. She wouldn’t admit this but a small part of her was looking forward to spending the next eternity with Vincent. Although it was easier to admit it to herself since she spilled how she loves Vincent no matter how absurd that sounded.

  He sighed, making his cool breath fan her face gently. “I have to ready myself for giving you the changing bite. I haven’t told you that you are not the only one affected by all this. While you crave for me to bite you, I am addicted to your blood. It gets increasingly stronger with each passing moment. What that means is that the last couple of days, I can’t bite you.”

  Wendy gasped before she sat up.

  She already knows it’s going to hurt. Her body is going to be screaming for him to sink his fangs into her, but he won’t be able to. “Why?” she asked with a slight tremble to her voice. She was never a big fan of any kind of pain.

  He kissed her forehead and leaned back. “You have been getting small doses of this chemical, if you will, within my fangs. Letting it build up will give you just the amount you need to change. It’s different if a vampire isn’t bonded with the human as I am to you. Like Darcy, for example. For me to change him, I had to drain him of his own blood and replace it with a lot of my own.”

  She thought it over for a few moments. “Will it hurt? The change I mean,” she clarified as she already knew it would be excruciating just waiting for him to bite her.

  “No, you will be comatose, so to speak. From what I remember, it’s like you haven’t slept in days and all you want to do is sleep. It’s because your blood is slowing, much like how you feel from blood loss. I have to time it right though. I can’t bite you too late or too early. Either way will kill you. If I bite you too early, your body wouldn’t get what it needs or wants, I should say, and shut down. If I bite too late, I will give you too much.”

  Wendy felt anxiety grip her but Vincent soothed her by caressing her face. “I. Will. Not. Let. That. Happen. Alright?”

  Her heart told her to trust him, so she did and nodded to let him know she was okay, he sighed.

  “What’s it like? To be a vampire, I mean. I’ve read stories and they talk about how hard it is in the beginning…” She trailed off, half wanting to know, the other half cringing at the prospect. He let a fond smile slip onto his face. “It’s like you’re born again, for lack of better words. Everything is so much sharper than before. Almost as if you spent your human life with plugged ears and looking through glasses that were permanently fogged. Everything smells richer than before. The earth no longer smells like dirt but rich spices that are without descriptive words. Your touch…” He trails off and gently glides a finger down the side of Wendy’s arm, making her shiver. “…is also beyond thinking clearly. Of course, your emotions are heightened as well. That does take practice to rein in. For the first few months, it will be like you’re permanently on your monthly.”

  She blushed at that and tried to picture what it would be like. “W-What about bloodlust?” she asked hesitantly. A cold shiver ran its way down her spine at the thought of hurting anyone.

  “That is a myth. You’ll feel thirsty as if it were a hot day and nothing but blood will satisfy, but do not worry. It will be like you are a newborn in a sense. Yes, a new baby must eat quite a bit at first but they never eat a lot. You’ll only need small amounts of blood in the beginning, maybe a few ounces about six to ten times a day. And just like a growing baby, your appetite will grow but the need to feed as often will get smaller. In the beginning your body is getting used to everything.”

  It made sense to her now as she nodded to herself. “When are you going to stop this whole not biting thing?” she asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

  Vincent sighed apologetically and looked into her eyes. “Now. From now on, I cannot relieve you.”

  Just hearing him say those words had her body flare up with soreness. “Two days?” she squeaked out, trying to calm herself down. The thought of it escalating to the point to where she was in school, it terrified her. That pain had been so dominant over her that she shuddered just reliving the ghost of it within her memories. If she wanted to live, then she had to do it.

  Vincent kissed her forehead and stood up. “We should get to bed. The sun is up and I want to get you on a more appropriate sleeping schedule.”

  Wendy had to admit she was more than tired, even after sleeping a little bit. From Vincent taking blood to what has happened in the last couple of days, it really drained her. She took his hand as he led them back to the bedroom.

  “Hold on one moment,” he murmured in her ear, making her shiver. She turned and saw he was in the closet before coming out with a large t-shirt. “You can sleep in this. I promise to take you shopping once it’s safe to. In the meantime, you’ll have to borrow Anya’s things. She did go out and get you undergarments. However, She wouldn’t let me see them.” He muttered at the end, sending Wendy a cheeky grin with a wink. She blushed before grabbing the shirt and murmuring a small ‘thanks’ as she scurried to the bathroom.

  Once behind the shut door, she let out a shaky breath. When she looked into the mirror, she saw her eyes were alight with emotions that were swirling inside of her. It took her by surprise but she rather liked the glint showing off how she felt alive.

  Stepping out of her clothes, she quickly placed the large t-shirt over her head and untucked her hair that was spilling out. She happened to look down the counter and spotted contact lenses with a sticky note attached to them. It said: ‘Got these for you… used Darcy’s credit card. They’re the kind you can sleep in. -Anya’

  Wendy had to smile slightly. She’s always wanted contacts. Not because she doesn’t like the way she looked in glasses but because her glasses always slipped off her face. They were so expensive though and her parents could never afford them. Not caring how Anya knew her prescription for them, she slipped off her glasses and flipped open the carrying case. She was excited to try them!

  “Arg!” she grunted when once again she failed to put them in. The last five minutes have ticked by slowly and she has yet to place them in correctly. “C’mon! It’s not rocket science,” she muttered and tried once more. She finally did it to her left eye before struggling with her right. After another two minutes, she finally had them both in. Blinking fast, she saw herself clearly. And she thought her glasses could make her see! That was nothing! Not compared to how clear everything was now! Shaking her head, she jumped when a knock sounded at the door.

  “Are you alright in there?” Vincent asked, making her chuckle as she opened the door.

  “Anya gave me contacts. Do you like them?” Wendy asked while biting her lip. It felt funny not having to push up her glasses constantly. Her fingers itched to do it out of habit.

  Vincent gave her a curious look. “What are contacts?” he asked, looking her up and down trying to guess what she was asking about.

  Wendy had to laugh at that. She some
times forgot that Vincent was new to all this new stuff. “They help me see, instead of using glasses. They’re clear but if you look closely, you can see them,” she explained but her breathing sped up when he leaned forward and stared into her eyes.

  “That is so peculiar. How amazing!” His breath fanned over, making the bite on her neck sting with want. She pushed it down though. At least she was able to do that, for now. Vincent noticed her heart speeding up, making him smile down at her. “Come on, let’s get to bed.”

  She nodded and scurried around him as another flash of want rolled through her. She dizzily shook her head and focused on anything but his fangs.

  When they climbed into bed, Vincent grabbed her and held her to his side. She did feel more comfortable in his arms. She smiled slightly, snuggling her head into the crook of his arms as she was on her side facing him, while he lay on his back. Closing her eyes, she pressed a small kiss to his skin before falling asleep.

  “Hello?” Wendy’s voice echoed in the dark. She felt like she was being watched but she couldn’t see anything. She heard a small laugh before a blinding light shone on her, making her squint into the darkness. Trepidation and fear curled through her as she looked out into the unknown.

  “You? You’re his ‘Beloved’?” the voice spoke with amused disgust.

  The voice echoed so badly, Wendy couldn’t tell whether it was a man’s or woman’s. Her eyes scanned again and again, but she came up with nothing. “W-Who are you?!” Wendy asked with fear laced in her voice.

  The ground beneath her shook as the person laughed with a maniacal edge to it. “In due time you will know, but until that time, let’s have some fun.”

  Wendy’s heart began to sprint within her chest. The place she was in suddenly lit up, making her scream. Flames engulfed everything around her. She could feel the heat surrounding her and it was getting so hot that it began to hurt. “Help! Someone help!” she screamed and tried to run but everywhere around her was scorched with the red flames that licked at her skin. Tears tracked down her face but soon sizzled dry from the heat before it could make it past her cheeks. Feeling exhausted from lack of oxygen, she collapsed onto the only spot that wasn’t eaten up with the fire. “Please, Vincent,” she whimpered.