“Answer me!”
“How come you never think of me?” Azurdee snapped, shouting the words at her mother. “You never think of me… you’re just using me as a pawn to advance your own power. But not once did you stop to ask whether I would be happy marrying some guy I don’t even know. What kind of mother does that?”
Azaria set down her daughter very slowly, her eyes narrowing at the words that were just spewed at her.
Suddenly, she lifted her hand, slapping Azurdee across the face, causing her to fall over, collapsing to the ground in a heap. “Never speak to me like that again.” Without another word, without so much as a glance at her daughter, Azaria disappeared into the depths of her estate.
Azurdee couldn’t believe what had just happened. Her mother had never raised a hand against her. Sure, she disciplined some of the servants, but she never used violence against her own daughter.
Numbly, she touched her burning cheek, tears spilling from her eyes. Getting up quickly, she rushed to her room, slamming the door behind her.
Her tears continued to flow as she leaned against the door, sliding to the ground, hugging her knees to her chest.
Why did her life have to be like this?
She sat there for a long time, letting the tears roll down her cheeks. She felt like she was choking like someone had their hand wrapped around her throat and kept squeezing, harder and harder.
Eventually, she got up and shoved off her stupid dress, ripping the fabric piece by piece with her long nails.
It wasn’t fair!
She screamed and banged against the wall, losing her temper, but it was all in vain. She was helpless. There was nothing she could do to fight her mother, to free herself from this situation.
Feeling helpless, she collapsed into her bed, naked. She curled into a little ball and shut her eyes tight.
For most of the day, she tossed and turned, struggling to fall asleep. Her mattress felt as hard as a rock. She kept hearing the servants walking around the estate, whispering among themselves. Surely, the news of her behavior was already spreading around like wildfire.
She pulled her pillow over her head, trying to drown out the whispers, but they seemed to flood her mind, giving her a horrendous headache. She stared at the ceiling, her hands folded over her chest, just listening to the ticking of the clock that hung on her wall.
In a rush of incredible speed, she tore it off the wall and smashed it. She stood in the middle of the room, breathing hard. Pent-up anger crawled inside her veins.
But what was she supposed to do?
Feeling helpless, she crawled back into bed, this time pulling the covers over her head. This seemed to help because soon enough, she found herself in a troubled slumber.
***
In her dreams, she was in the woods again. She had found the lake once more, only this time, she was at the top of the waterfall, looking down. She had the urge to jump, even though she didn’t know how to swim. Maybe that was the point. Maybe she wanted to jump down, sink to the bottom, and never come up again.
She edged closer, the powerful water rushing between her legs making it difficult to keep her balance. She took a deep breath to clear her lungs.
She could do this.
In a world where she had no control, this seemed to be the only thing she had power over.
She edged closer, tottering on the ledge. One more step and she would fall into sweet, painless bliss.
“What do you think you’re doing?” A deep, husky voice broke through her trance, causing her to whip around.
The sudden movement disoriented her and she lost her footing. With a scream, she found herself falling toward the water. At the last moment, she grabbed a tree branch, sticking out from the side of the cliff face. She held on as tight as she could, but she knew she wasn’t strong enough to hoist herself up.
A hand appeared above her head. “Grab on.”
“I can’t!”
“Yes, you can.” His voice was calm and soothing. “Just grab on and I’ll pull you up.”
Azurdee was terrified to let go of the branch. Her grip was quickly slipping. She knew she didn’t have much time. With no other choice, she reached for his hand, nearly missing before he grabbed her, lifting her back to safety as if she were as light as a feather.
Breathing hard, she clung to the mysterious man, her body shaking.
He ran his hands up and down her body, his fingers tracing the contour of her spine through her wet shirt. “Are you okay?” He asked, his voice gentle.
Azurdee finally looked up to see Kai staring back at her, his eyes just as black as she remembered them. Although impossible, it felt like her heart had just skipped a beat.
She could feel his warm breath on her hips and for a moment, she thought they were going to kiss. Her desire for him only heightened as his face moved closer and closer. She gazed into his eyes, getting lost in their depths. Her fingers tightened around the fabric of his shirt, pulling his body against her own. Their hips locked together almost as if they were meant to.
The outline of his member rubbed against her thigh, making her gasp. She looked down, but all of a sudden, he was gone.
The water from the lake surged upwards, like a monster taking shape. It turned toward her.
She tried to run, but there was nowhere to run to. Her movements brought her nowhere. She pumped her arms, forcing herself to go faster, but her body refused to obey her.
The water consumed her.
She was tossed around by the tidal wave, her body banging and colliding with everything in its path. Her lungs started to fill with water. She reached out, desperate for something to hold onto, for something that would end the pain, but there was nothing there to help her.
She lost consciousness.
“Azurdee.” She heard her name, but the darkness that wrapped around her was so thick, she couldn’t open her eyes. “Azurdee. Stop being a princess and wake up.” Someone tapped her cheek, trying to get her to respond.
She tried to say something, but her body wouldn’t cooperate. It was as if it had turned to stone as an aftereffect of being caught in the torrent.
“Azurdee, I mean it.” The man growled.
Suddenly, she heard her shirt being ripped in half. A pair of strong hands pressed against her chest, pumping up and down, trying to force the water out of her lungs.
With a retching motion, she started coughing but was otherwise unresponsive.
The man continued to give her compressions. “Azurdee.” His voice sounded almost desperate. “Wake up.” It was a demand she could not obey.
He let go of her chest, leaving it bare and exposed to the light wind that rolled through the valley. He pried open her lips before leaning down. Carefully, he pressed his lips to hers before breathing life into her.
Azurdee instantly felt a burning behind her lips at their contact. Butterflies fluttered inside her stomach, making her lightheaded.
The man continued to give her mouth to mouth, trying to resuscitate her.
Azurdee’s body squirmed before she coughed up the rest of the water, her eyes finally opening.
It took her a moment to adjust to the bright moonlight.
A hand pressed into her back, gently helping her into a sitting position so her lungs could function properly.
Blinking, her vision finally cleared. She stared into Noah’s handsome face, his dark eyes full of concern, even if he would never say as much.
He had saved her.
Chapter Six
Azurdee woke up with a start, her mind jumbled after the strange dream.
She ran her fingers through her long, blonde hair, getting it out of her face. “That was weird…” She whispered to herself. “Why would I dream about them?” She shook her head.
It wasn’t like she was ever going to see them again. They were lesser vampires while she was a member of the nobility. The only reason they met in the first place, was because she had ventured into the woods when she wasn’t supp
osed to.
Still, she couldn’t get them out of her head. Even now, their handsome faces seemed to haunt her, their seductive smiles making her body yearn for them. She pushed these thoughts away from her mind, knowing it was wrong for her to fantasize in such a way.
Groggily, she rolled out of bed, her body feeling like it was made of lead. Carefully, she pulled back the curtains to find the moon high in the sky. From its position, she could tell that she had slept quite late.
She let go of the curtain, allowing it to fall back into place before she walked up to her closet, picking out something to wear.
Her closet was filled to the brim with beautiful dresses, expensive accessories, and fabulous shoes. The only problem was that she refused to wear most of them. Her mother had picked out most of her wardrobe, forbidding her from wearing the casual clothing she preferred.
Azurdee was not one for elaborate embroidery or complex dresses that took hours to lace in the back. If it was up to her, she would wear V-neck T-shirts and skinny jeans every day of the week.
Rummaging through the back of her closet, she found her last pair of clean pants, only to find that they were ripped at the thigh. She groaned. Sometimes, it sucked being a bigger girl.
She toyed with the hole in her pants for a moment before she pulled out a skirt. It would have to do.
Once she got dressed, she stood in front of the mirror. Just like the vanity in the washroom, this mirror was purely cosmetic, but Azurdee still liked to stand in front of it and act like the humans she read about in her books. They were always standing in front of mirrors, fixing their hair, or checking their makeup.
Azurdee had no such luxury, but as she smoothed out some of the wrinkles in her blouse, she felt exceptionally confident.
She felt beautiful.
Grabbing her bag, she headed out of the room, determined to get out of the house. She tried to convince herself that she needed to grab some tights from the store, but it was obvious she was only going shopping to get away from her mother.
***
The shopping center was filled with young girls. Most of them held numerous bags on their arms, their eyes sparkling any time they saw a cute display in the shop windows.
Azurdee weaved through the crowd of vampires, hoping she wouldn’t bump into anyone she knew. She was certain that news of her outburst last night had already leaked out of the estate. In no time, she would be the laughing stock of the nobility, unless of course, her mother did something to prevent such a thing from happening.
Trying to stop such thoughts, she entered a high-end clothing store. It was rather busy, making it easy for her to blend into the crowd. Quietly, she looked through the racks, tempted to buy a pair of black skinny jeans that were currently on sale.
While pondering the idea, she noticed two men walking past the store window.
It was Kai and Noah.
Quickly, she placed the hanger back on the rack and got out of the store, following them. She didn’t even know why she was going after them. It would be best if she just left them alone. It would cause nothing but trouble if she was seen with them, but despite all that, she couldn’t stop herself.
The need to see them again was overwhelming.
The crowd made following them somewhat difficult. Her only saving grace was the fact that they were both quite tall, making them easy to pick out.
They walked into the central plaza where street performers, cart vendors, and beggars all made it even more difficult to navigate.
Azurdee did her best to keep up. She thought she saw them enter a store, so she followed them.
A door chime rang as she walked inside, but when she scanned the area, there was no one in there except for the jubilant store owner.
“Come in! Come in!” He chimed, rushing up and clasping Azurdee’s hands in his. “I have the best dresses in all the capital. I promise you! Come! Come!” He dragged her toward the back, where there was a tiny section of plus size clothing.
“Uh…” Azurdee didn’t know how to react to his enthusiasm.
“How about… this one! Ah yes! This would look fantastic with your figure!” He tossed a bright yellow dress in her direction.
It was the ugliest dress Azurdee had ever seen. It looked like a sack of potatoes had been dyed yellow.
“Uh… I don’t really think that’s my style.” She said, trying to be polite.
A deep frown painted the store owner’s face. He looked so distraught that Azurdee thought he would start crying.
“I… I don’t mean to offend you, sir.”
“No, no. It’s fine!” He said, suddenly chipper once more, grabbing yet another formless dress, this time in a lime green. It looked identical to the yellow one. “And this one?”
Azurdee just blinked, unsure of what to say. “Uh…”
“Come! Come! You must try it on. I will not take no for an answer!” Before she could protest, the man had dragged her into the dressing room, throwing countless ugly dresses in her direction until she thought she would drown in them.
Chapter Seven
Azurdee emerged from the store sometime later, dressed in a bright yellow dress and a matching boa hat that made her look like a giant beehive.
The second she was out of sight from the store, she dashed into a bathroom and changed into her regular clothes. She couldn’t believe she had been pressured into buying such ridiculous clothing and at such outrageous prices.
Flustered, she emerged from the bathroom and luckily, once again spotted Noah and Kai. They had satisfied looks on their faces as they walked along, wearing trench coats they didn’t have on before. Their pockets looked like they were bulging with items.
Azurdee cocked her head, watching as they followed a group of sharply dressed individuals into one of the side streets. Determined to catch up with them this time around, she hurried in their direction, but by the time she reached the side street, they were gone.
She stood there, wondering where they could have disappeared to, especially since the sharply-dressed vampires were still in sight.
“Mind telling us why you’re following us?” Azurdee jumped out of her skin when the two men suddenly materialized from the shadows, amused smirks on their faces at her startled reaction.
She dropped her bags, the horrid yellow dress spilling to the ground. Kai bent down to help her pick it up, while Noah leaned against the nearby brick wall, using a toothpick to clean out his fangs. “I don’t think yellow is your color.” He remarked. “Especially when it’s in the form of a sack.”
Embarrassed, Azurdee quickly snatched up her purchase and shoved it back in its bag.
“So, you going to tell us why you were following us, sweet cheeks.” Noah tossed his toothpick into the gutter before approaching her.
She took a step back, inadvertently pressing herself against the wall. “I… I wasn’t following you.” She lied, hoping it was convincing.
It wasn’t.
“You suck at lying, you know that?” Noah chuckled, stepping even closer until his body was nearly pressed up against hers.
Before he could make contact, however, Kai got between them, shoving Noah aside. “Leave her alone.”
Noah growled slightly at his brother, his eyes darkening, but he kept his distance.
“Thanks,” Azurdee mumbled under her breath, grateful that Kai had intervened. Yet, in the back of her mind, she couldn’t shake off the thought that she actually wanted to feel his body on hers.
“Noah is right.” Kai finally said. “We saw you following us.”
“Yeah, you’re not very good at it.” Noah snickered. “We spotted you from a mile away. Why were you so eager to catch up with us anyway?”
“I just wanted to thank you for what you did the other night. I… I don’t know how to swim. I could’ve been in real trouble if you two hadn’t come along.”
Kai nodded. “Is that all?” He asked as if knowing that she had another reason for following them.
“Yes�
��” She bit the inside of her lip, refusing to make eye contact.
“Like I said, you suck at lying.”
Azurdee finally managed to get her bearings and moved away from the wall. “What are you two doing here anyway? This is the Mercantile District, only nobles shop around here.”
“What, you think that just because we’re lesser vampires, we don’t have the right to be here?” Noah suddenly pounced, pushing Azurdee back against the wall. “You might just be the perfect match for Fredrick after all.” He hissed, his teeth barred.
“Noah.” Kai placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder, trying to calm him down, but violently Noah shrugged him off, throwing him into the nearby wall.
Azurdee’s eyes widened when the two brothers were suddenly at each other’s throats, their fangs ready to sink into the other. They grappled, tossing each other around. Noah snuck his long nails into Kai’s arms, ripping off the sleeve of his trench coat. In retaliation, Kai tackled his brother to the ground, throwing a punch in his face. A speckle of blood dribbled from Noah’s lips before he rammed his head into Kai’s.
Azurdee flinched, thinking Kai’s skull would crack from the impact. He stumbled back, giving Noah just enough time to wipe the blood from his mouth. His eyes darkened into two pieces of coal and he looked ready to kill.
Their fighting was starting to attract attention.
“Guys!” Azurdee rushed forward, throwing herself between the two men, hoping that was enough to prevent them from ripping out each other’s throats. “I’m sorry… what I said was incredibly rude. I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant… the prices are kind of high…” She stumbled over her words, trying to figure out what to say to remedy the situation.
Suddenly, the two brothers burst into laughter.
Azurdee furrowed her brow in confusion. Why were they laughing?
“You’re right.” Noah grinned his signature grin as he reached into his pocket, pulling out an expensive-looking pocket watch. “We don’t come here for the stores, we come here for the loot.”
“What do you mean?”
A Secret Baby for the Vampire Page 13
