Dracian Legacy

by Kanaparti, Priya

  I waited until the door shut before getting out of bed. My head spun as soon as I stood up, so I sat right back down. Whoa. I felt a throbbing pain in my arm and neck. I tried once again to stand up and shuffled noisily to the mirror. I was bandaged. I slowly peeled the gauze to assess the damage to my neck first and then my arm. It wasn’t a dream after all.

  Shit!

  I ran my fingers gently over the swollen area and traced the thick red lines that formed around the bite mark. I remembered my friendly encounter with a blood-sucking, psychotic Proxy. But how did I get into my room? I stepped into the shower, trying to revive the lost memories.

  “Pernell, you in here?” Dean’s voice reached my ears.

  “Be out in a minute,” I called back, shutting off the water as the pipes groaned.

  I quickly dried off, then pulled on my undergarments, a white long-sleeve turtleneck, and skinny washout jeans. When I glanced in the mirror I gasped in horror. A hint of red swirled in my irises before quickly disappearing. Maybe I imagined it? Oh God, am I turning into a Goarder or something? That would really put a damper on my relationship with Axel.

  Hey, honey, I’m home. Guess what I did today? Drained another human.

  I face-palmed and racked my hand down my face. My hands shook as I proceeded to examine my teeth and tongue. Everything was… normal… human. I shook off the paranoia. I was just exhausted.

  When I walked out, both Tyler and Dean moved around the room, gathering the boxes Pey mentioned earlier.

  “Hey. Need any help?” I asked, shoving my feet into my boots.

  My blood boiled underneath my skin and gooseflesh raised at the same time. What was going on with me?

  Am I getting sick?

  When I looked up, Dean and Tyler observed me with concern.

  “What?” Did they see the red in my irises too? Oh no, I’m gonna get staked before Pey’s big day.

  They both glanced at one another.

  “How’re you feeling?” Tyler asked.

  “Better yet, what the hell were you thinking?” Dean asked, anger radiating from him. “Going out all by yourself at night… in a new city.”

  “Sorry, warden. I didn’t know I needed your permission to go out.” I said, forgetting about my earlier... concerns.

  “What Dean meant to say was something worse could’ve happened.” Tyler approached me, trying to communicate something through his eyes. “You know.”

  My hand automatically went to my neck, still feeling an itching burn prickling at the infected areas.

  “I can take care of myself.” I snarled.

  “You don’t look well.” Dean placed his hand over my shoulder gently. “Have a se—”

  Feeling the rage thrust through me in an instant, I shrugged him off. “Get your hands off me.”

  I left the room abruptly, slamming the door behind me. My body shook like I just made it out of a life-threatening situation. I took deep breaths, making my way downstairs.

  Pey immediately got me working with the models. She wasn’t joking when she said this was a big deal. People hustled, talking and stressing about little things. I smiled at them.

  Amateurs! I rolled my eyes, then caught myself. What the hell’s wrong with me? I’m turning into Queen Bitch.

  I worked vigorously throughout the day, with as much zeal as Pey, losing myself in the process.

  Axel texted a handful of times and I didn’t bother to respond. I didn’t understand why. It was like I was being suffocated from the inside out and everything was so damn bright, like the sun stared me straight in the face. Something was wrong.

  I was exhausted and annoyed. I felt I was fighting against myself. One moment I would smile and be polite; the next I heard myself snap at people for no reason. My head hurt and my body felt like it was being wrapped in a tight knot by barbwire or a boa constrictor, caging me in, forcing me to let go of my control.

  So, I did…

  Getting into the club was a piece of cake. A bit of flirting and a wink was all it took for the idiot bouncer to let us in without checking our IDs. We stepped into the club, swaying and dancing our way through the crowd to “Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO.

  Before I knew it, Pey was dancing with Landon, Ella was dancing with some random dude, and I was gyrating with a sexy Latino that matched every one of my moves. I wrapped myself around him, pulling myself against him, and let him move me in ways I never have. I felt different and so unlike myself, like I was in nirvana. I was losing myself to the music. With all the sweaty and gyrating bodies surrounding me, I could feel the lust teasing my insides… soaking in my surroundings.

  “You wanna get outta here?” the Latino shouted into my ear. “Somewhere more private?”

  A lascivious smile crossed my lips and his eyes widened at my silent promise.

  “The only one leaving this place is you,” Dean growled at the Latino.

  “Who the hell are you?” Latino asked and turned around, locking eyes with Dean.

  I pivoted around Latino, ignoring him, and placed one arm around Dean’s neck.

  “Jealously suits you well, Mr. Jensen.” I teased, drawing my finger down his chest.

  “What’re you…?” Dean’s eyes broadened with shock.

  “Dance with me…” I grabbed his collar and took him to the middle of the crowded floor.

  I grabbed his hands and placed them on my hips. I swayed against him, encouraging. I turned around, placing my back to his chest. My fingers teased my hair and then I held them above my head. I went down against him and snaked my body back up the length of his.

  “What are you doing?” Dean’s voice trembled.

  I smiled and pushed back against him, moving side to side. I heard him groan into my ear as he spun me to face him. His eyes were full of longing and desire. My lips curved up with satisfaction.

  This, I could feed on. Far more satisfying than lust.

  My fingers found their way to his jet-black hair and I pulled him down, his lips so close to mine.

  “You’re making it hard to be good, Nellie.” He groaned with need as I pressed myself against him.

  His grip tightened and he struggled to breathe. I felt his hunger slam into me. The way his hands tensed and fisted, fighting against everything he wanted. I could tell. After all, I was a powerful Telalian that fed on lust and fear.

  “I. Want. You. Now.” I brushed my lips against his. He stiffened, holding his breath. I nipped at his lower lip. “I’m sure you’re the release this body needs.”

  Dean pulled away and his hand loosened its grip. His eyes looked wild, like a starved man. He glanced behind me.

  I grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at me. I smirked. “I’ll make it worth your ride.”

  “You serious?”

  Yes! I hissed through my teeth with excitement.

  Instead of answering him, I left a trail of kisses where the curve of his ear and jawline met. Then I slowly pressed my lips to his, parting them in no time. I devoured him. Oh, he wanted this body, no doubt.

  This is too easy, I thought. Like taking candy from a baby.

  This one’s a keeper. Too bad after tonight… I chuckled.

  “Let’s get out of here.” Dean grabbed my hips, roughly dragging me out the back door.

  Once we rounded the corner to a dark alley, he stopped and shoved me against the brick wall, hard.

  “My, my, Mr. Jensen, what strength you have.” I teased him, running my finger down the middle of his torso to the band of his jeans.

  I looped my finger into his pants and pulled him against me with a quick tug. His eyes became wild, like a predator about to make a kill, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I smiled back. He grabbed both of my hands and pulled them above my head.

  “You’ve been a very bad girl.” He sounded angry. “You need to be put back in your place.” He grabbed something from behind him, which excited me thoroughly.

  I felt metal clamp around my wrist, burning my skin. I screamed in anger.
<
br />   “What the hell are you doing?” I wanted to rip off his head.

  I couldn’t stop growling at him. I wanted to shred him piece by piece. But I couldn’t move. I was trapped.

  “You can’t fool us, demon.” Tyler stepped out of the shadows along with two others. “Leave her body. Leave her now.”

  “Dean, it’s me, your Nellie.” I begged him innocently. “Why are you doing this?” His eyebrows creased. A flicker of confusion crossed his features. This was my chance. “I thought you wanted me? If this is some sick joke to humiliate me again…” Tears welled up in my eyes for added theatrics.

  “Don’t listen to her, Dean. You know Ren better than anyone else. She wouldn’t degrade herself like this.” Tyler gently placed his hand on Dean’s shoulder and I wanted to snap it off. Suddenly, Dean’s conflicted emotion cleared up. For the first time, I saw hate in his eyes, directed at me.

  “We need to bind her and take her back.” One of the voices remarked from behind as he started to read text from a language I was all too familiar with. It was an ancient binding spell.

  “Dean, please, don’t let them hurt me.” Fear struck deep in my core. I wanted to be free… needed to be free.

  I felt Dean’s cold hand on my cheek.

  “No one will hurt you, babe.” He promised in a soothing voice.

  That was when the pain started.

  “You imbecile! This body could’ve been yours!”

  The agony inside me spread throughout my body. Something tugged at my soul, wanting to rip it apart, separate itself from me. I felt a hand holding mine, never letting it go. Screams came out of my mouth, but I didn’t recognize them. Then everything went black.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  My eyes opened to a blurry image of a James Dean poster hung in the midst of bright glow-in-the-dark stars and a moon plastered to the ceiling.

  Am I in my room?

  My throat felt uncomfortable when I gulped, like tiny needles were jammed inside it. I rubbed my hand over my aching neck.

  “You’re awake.” Tyler’s voice startled me, and I shrieked like a little girl, jolting into a sitting position. “Sorry. It’s been almost two days and we didn’t know…”

  “What happened?” I scanned my surroundings. The wind chime Dean made almost four years ago twinkled blue and white light as the sunlight reflected against it.

  I’m in my room.

  Instead of responding, he pulled out his phone and tapped on the screen. I wiggled into a more comfortable position, tucking my legs under my butt. Despite a few aches and pains, I felt strangely rejuvenated, like I just came back from a day at the spa.

  Tyler sat at the edge of my bed, offering me a glass of water. “How you feeling?”

  “Surprisingly great. I should black out more often.”

  “Here.” He handed me a gummy bear. When I cocked my eyebrow, he shrugged.

  I let the essence of strawberry flow across my taste buds, savoring the overwhelming burst of flavor before swallowing it. Tyler left, mumbling something about informing the others of my change in my status.

  Feeling crusted in two days’ worth of grime and ick, I heard the shower calling to me. I grabbed some clothes and headed toward the bathroom as the events of my last waking moments began to prod through my consciousness. By the time I made it back to my room, I was mortified.

  Oh. My. Freaking. God.

  I cheated on Axel. I was a damn cheater. Shit!

  Cheater! Cheater!

  Two knocks sounded against my door, startling away my depressing revelation.

  “Come in.” My strained voice sounded strange to my own ears.

  Tyler walked in, followed by Axel and my legs gave out, dropping me to my bed limply. It appeared he hadn’t eaten or slept in days. The dark bags under his eyes and lack of color in his cheeks somehow aged him. His eyes expressed only pain and confusion.

  He knew I cheated. Embarrassment and guilt consumed my every thought.

  How could I do this to him? To us? What the hell was I thinking?

  I wasn’t thinking. That’s what.

  Axel approached me with caution, unsure of his presence here in my room.

  He hates me.

  And he has every right to. My conscience scolded.

  Axel kneeled before me so we were almost at eye level. His hand landed carefully on my knee.

  I’m a horrible person! I’m a monster worse than a Goarder.

  He reached up warily and cupped my cheek. I leaned into his touch, knowing without a doubt we were going to end… soon. I swallowed hard.

  Can you blame him? You cheated on him, for crying out loud.

  His brilliant blue eyes locked with mine. I froze, lost in their depths. An uneven breath escaped my lips as I turned and kissed the inside of his palm. His eyes closed in response. Hope slowly built in my chest.

  Tyler cleared his throat. “I think I hear someone downstairs.” Amusement colored his voice. I heard a click seconds later.

  “Hi,” I said and looked away, disgusted with myself.

  “Hi.” His hand still lingered on my face, gentle and evaluating.

  He was hesitant, as if asking me permission to be here. I reached out to him, squeezing his hand.

  “I’m sorry.” I blurted out. “No one in their right mind would do what I did. There’s no excuse. I’ll understand if you hate me and I disgust you and you don’t ever…” I couldn’t finish that thought because truthfully, I had fallen head over heels in love with Axel. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him, not even for this. Not even if I was the one that messed up. Big time.

  My throat constricted like something thick and heavy clogged my windpipe. I couldn’t look at him. There was no way to explain what I did. No excusable reason. Yet, I could no longer imagine my life separate from his. This was all wrong. Very wrong.

  He placed our interlaced fingers on my knees and rested his forehead atop them, exhaling deeply. Then he stood up, placing a finger under my chin, and tilted my head so our eyes could meet. But I refused. I couldn’t look at him. Not when…

  “Look at me, Amor,” he said. His voice was cautious and low. “Please.”

  I opened my eyes and tears coursed uncontrollably down my fiery cheeks. I expected to see hatred or judgment. But, all I saw was love. He ran his thumb across the salty river, wiping away my tears.

  My tears. I cheated on him and he comforted me.

  “It wasn’t you. It was the Proxy.” He held my gaze, his brows creased with worry. “She infected you, angel.”

  “But I knew what I was doing. I did all those—”

  “When she infected you, she left a little of herself inside you somehow. We still don’t understand it all, but it wasn’t you, angel.” He pulled me to him, his arms tightly wrapped around my body. His forehead leaned against mine. “Dean noticed it too. All that time with Dean, you spoke in third person, like you were two separate souls. And your eyes glowed red.” I opened my mouth to protest. “I know you think it’s your fault, but please don’t, okay?”

  I let my tears—of melancholy, of anger, of relief—flow easily this time. Soon we relaxed back on my bed. He pulled me onto his lap and I straddled him, wrapping myself in his embrace. He stroked my hair, softly kissing the top of my head.

  Axel pushed himself back toward my headboard, laying his head over my chest. I rested my cheek in his soft hair. His breath teased against my upper body. My soul responded by pulling itself toward him. He kissed the hollow at the base of my throat and an involuntary shiver passed through me.

  “I thought I lost you, that I wouldn’t get a chance to hold you or tell you what you mean to me… what you are to me.” He took a deep long breath and exhaled roughly. “Screw caution.”

  Oh my.

  I tilted my head down and watched his eyes swim with so much devotion and desire. My heart raced unsteadily, ready to combust into a million pieces.

  “I missed you, baby.” With his strained and husky admission, somethin
g spiked inside me. He never called me baby before. If that wasn’t sexy as hell, I didn’t know what was. “I’ll follow you even in death. I was ready to, when… I-I love you.”

  My lungs worked vigorously as my heart took flight in uncontrollable magical flutters. An unknown beast awakened inside me, sending tingles of excitement from my heart out to every extremity. I was sure he could feel my heart pounding against my chest.

  Axel loves me.

  I pressed my forehead against his, still not entirely believing what he just confessed. I don’t know why it surprised me, especially after Elijah and Joshua flat-out told me he did. But hearing it from his lips, in this moment, officially made my wildest dreams a reality. I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them, looking back into those brilliant blue irises that held me captive since the first moment I caught their gaze.

  “I’m lost in your touch, your magic. I think of you in every waking moment and dream of you when I’m asleep. I love you in so many ways it’s hard to breathe. I love you above everything—heaven, earth, body, and soul.”

  He absently started playing with my hair and continued to flood me with his affection.

  Having apparently lost my voice, I sat still and drank in every tiny detail.

  “If I could wish for one thing, I would wish to keep you in my arms and love you until my last breath. I love you with everything I have. I will love you until I no longer exist. I love you with every beat of my heart, with every breath I take, with every facet of my existence.”

  I felt dizzy as his words struck me straight in my heart. His incredible declarations made my body feel light, like I was floating amidst the star-filled sky.

  Nothing could stop the tears that fled down my cheeks. I was completely out of sorts.

  Axel looked at me full of love and concern. The twinkle in his eyes spoke volumes, even though his lips stopped moving. He wiped the tears with his thumb, his touch only intensifying my emotions and sending my heart into a faint spell.

  Concern clouded his usually bright eyes. I wanted to explain to him these were tears of joy, but I was still unable to speak.

  “Angel, you don’t have to say it back.”