“You need to talk to them. Convince them we don’t need this war,” he said.
Will you allowed yourself to be turned into a vampire? So that I can bring you back to my coven and take you as my mate?” Jeremih asked me. I stared at him in shock.
“You want to make me your mate?” I asked and Jeremih nodded earnestly.
“I’ve never felt this way for anyone before and when I’m with you it’s… indescribable. I know you are meant to be my mate. I feel it inside me,” he said, and I stared into his fervent golden eyes.
“Okay…” I said, and Jeremih’s smile nearly blinded me it was so beautiful. “I want to be your mate. So I will allow you turn me,” I said, and Jeremih picked me up in a fierce hug.
“It only takes a few minutes for the process to take place. I’ll need to bite you and then you have to feed from me,” he said and I nodded. “First, let’s go and convince your hunters to stop this war,” Jeremih said, and I chewed on my bottom lip. Hopefully, I could convince them.
“She’s alive!” I looked around as each of my remaining eight men bristled with relief. They were all on their knees as vampires stood behind them.
“We knew you were still alive, Alina,” Brody said, and I smiled at him. I actually missed the big narcissistic brute.
“Guys…I know this isn’t the first thing you want to hear out of me, but we’ve been lied to,” I told them all, and they fell silent as they looked to me to explain. Jackson was among the guys still alive and he looked at me skeptically.
“When was the last time you heard of a vampire killing a human?” I asked. The hunters’ faces registered their surprise and confusion.
“That’s a ridiculous question. Vampires used to slaughter humans all the time until hunters were created to keep them in check,” Jackson said, and I shook my head.
“No. One coven of vampires killed some humans long ago in Russia. The vampires weren’t even killed by hunters. They were put down by their own kind,” I told them all calmly, and Jackson fell silent as he struggled with what I just said.
“The vampires don’t need to kill humans when they feed and they don’t want to. What we are doing is a waste of resources. All our lives, everything we’ve known was built on lies guys. I’m done with it. I won’t hunt vampires anymore,” I said, and then glanced behind me at Jeremih, who nodded to me in encouragement.
“This is Jeremih and… I’ve agreed to become a vampire so that I can be his mate. It’s inexplicable, but I know he’s it. A vampire, go figure,” I said, and a few of the guys reluctantly cracked smiles. “Jeremih offered to let you guys live as long as you don’t try to kill any of them.” I informed them.
“Fuck it. Turn me too. I’ll get to do all the shit I’ve wanted to do with my life.” Jackson was the first to speak up surprisingly and one by one all my guys agreed to be turned. Each vampire standing directly behind them swiftly bit them on the necks. I watched as the guys dropped to the ground, one by one.
I stared in horror until Jeremih came up behind me and rubbed my arms soothingly. “Don’t worry, they will wake shortly,” he whispered, and sure enough my guys soon woke up and were allowed to stand so they could drink from their maker’s wrist It was weird, but after all the guys were turned a sense of comradery rose with all of the vampires. Jeremih slid his hand into mine and pulled me into the cabin, where he sat me on the couch. He looked into my eyes to make sure I was okay with everything and I nodded. He tilted my head back and then bit my neck without healing the wound. Unconsciousness came for me swiftly and my head fell back against the couch cushions.
When I came to, Jeremih was there and my throat felt like sandpaper. Everything was a bit blurry and out of focus until he offered me his wrist. I bit into it and moaned as I tasted his warm blood on my tongue for the first time. It tasted sweet. I drank until the uncomfortable thirst left my throat, then I licked Jeremih’s wound closed.
“So that’s it?” I asked Jeremih nodded with the biggest grin on his face.
**
Jeremih
After Alina turned, we took all the young vampires back to my father’s estate where he was waiting in the great room with the delegates from the nearby covens.
“My son!” My father stood up from his throne and walked across the floor towards me with a wide grin and open arms. “You have eradicated the hunter problem in Rochester. I am proud of you Jeremih,” he said, and kissed me on both cheeks, an official show of his approval.
“That is not all father. I have also added to our coven. Replacing some of whom we lost in the skirmishes,” I said, and presented the eight new additions, though I kept Alina close to my side. My father took in the faces of the eight new hunters, before his eyes rested on Alina.
“You turned the hunters into vampires?” my father asked me incredulously. I nodded and smiled.
“Yes I did. Father, this is Alina. She was the team’s leader,” I said, and his eyes registered nothing but pleasant surprise and happiness.
“And you’ve found a mate! I’d say you are plenty ready to be leader of our coven my son. I am truly happy for our future, and of course, I will welcome the young Alina and her men into our family,” my father said, clapping his hands. Alina and I smiled at each other, with all of the hope and happiness we had for the future. ”
THE END
Bonus Story 24 of 40
Outlaws of Love
It’s ridiculous how so many women can still be in love with their exes, no matter how bad or good they treated you in the past. I had a boyfriend of three years before he proposed to me. We never got married though, because he suddenly called everything off and moved away to New York. Without an explanation, without a goodbye. I was left there, hurting for five long months. The crying wouldn’t stop, no matter how hard I tried to restrain my tears. I thought that I could never bring myself to forgive him. Until he interfered with my life again.
“Nathan...” I gasped. I’d opened the door to reveal the green-eyed beauty I was once in love with. Possibly still in love with. “What the hell are you doing here in California?”
“I missed you, Melissa,” he immediately responded, sincerity reflected in his eyes. I shut my closed tightly, wanting to believe him, but I knew that he was just saying that. How could he come back five months later for a person he had dumped as easily as throwing out the trash at night? Before he knew it, my hand flew roughly across his face. Shock crossed his face, his hand now rubbing the cheek I have just slapped.
“Go to hell!” I screamed angrily, balling my hands into fists beside me. He looked taken aback, astonishment flashing on his face. “I won’t let you hurt me again, you asshole!”
He let out a sigh before throwing his hand up. “I’m not trying to hurt you. What I did was messed up, I’m aware of that.”
“It’s way more than messed up, you son of a bitch,” I growled, glaring at him from under my eyelashes. He was holding up his hands in defense, unsure how to deal with my aggressive manner.
“You think I don’t regret it? That’s why I’m back now! Come on, we can fix things. We can pick up where we left off.” He reached out his hand to stroke my cheek but I slapped his hand away.
“Pick up things where we left off? You can’t just come back to someone you abandoned and expect everything to be okay the moment you reunite with them!” I yelled, waving my hands around frantically.
”Can I please come inside?” he questioned.
Without giving him an answer, I slammed the door with tears welled up in my eyes. My heart was clenching with pain as I leaned against the wall, stunned. He opened the door, peeking his head inside at me with a worried expression before slowly letting himself in.
“Please,” he pleaded, studying me cautiously to see if I would explode again. I didn’t say anything in return but just stared at him in betrayal and anger.
He looked around my small, cozy apartment, while letting out a somewhat relieved breath. He took a seat on my nude couch. That’s when I
noticed the outstanding Dior suit he was wearing, which made me stop myself from rolling my eyes. He was always one to show off.
“Nothing has changed since I left, this place is exactly the same,” he said. He smiled slightly, his green eyes hopeful.
I crossed my arms on my chest as I stood across the room from him, keeping my distance. I wiped away the tears that were lingering in the corner of my eyes. “What do you think was going to change, the shape of the walls or something?” I sarcastically remarked.
This time, he let out an irritated breath, crossing his left leg over his right. He rubbed his temples. “Melissa, listen. I’m just trying to make amends here and you’re not making it any easier.”
Amends? Did he really think it would be that easy? But unfortunately, I couldn’t ignore the feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to take him in, to sit down and listen to the Nathan that was once going to be my husband. Giving in, I slowly found myself taking a seat next to him. Half of me wanted to jump on him and kiss him but the other half of me wanted him to leave and not come back.
“This whole summer, while I was away from you, I could not stop thinking about our relationship,” he said. He paused, dryly laughing as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I missed you so much to the point I had to move back. I just couldn’t stay away. I was stupid for leaving you. I should never have left you.”
I nodded my head in agreement, shooting him an indifferent look. “It still doesn’t explain why you broke off our marriage,” I spat, holding back the tears I can feel threatening to well up in my eyes. I couldn’t cry in front of him, I refused to.
He opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again, as if he changed his mind about saying anything. A regretful look appeared on his face as well as sympathy, and that’s when I kind of got a clue on what it was about. “I cheated on you with someone else and I ended up falling in love with that person.”
I gawked at him for a long ten seconds before a hurt, cold laugh escaped my throat. Tears welled up in my eyes as he studied me closely and I quickly wiped them away before they could fall. All over again, my heart felt like it was getting ripped out of my chest and stomped on. I stood up from the couch, walking over to the kitchen to be away from him, so I could recollect himself. The sound of his Steve Madden dress shoes clacked against the ground as he followed me shortly after. I leaned my arm against the wall, looking down at my feet in defeat. In the wall, I could see the outline of his shadow as he stood behind me.
“I was extremely dumb and I was going through a crisis at the time,” Nathan said, moving my black hair around my other shoulder so he could reassuringly rub my shoulder. “It…it’s just hard to explain. I promise I’ll tell you at another time.”
I inhaled sharply before letting out a heavy, deep breath. It surely helped me calm down and restrain myself from bursting out in tears in front of his face.
“There’s no explanation needed when it comes to cheating,” I whispered, balling my hands into fists.
“I’m not saying that it was okay but—” He stopped, letting out a stressful breath and I can imagine him grabbing a handful of his hair. “Listen, I would tell you if I knew how to put it in words. Eventually, I’ll be able to know how to tell you properly.”
What can possibly be so hard about admitting to the fact that he cheated? There shouldn’t be an explanation or a story. I shook my head, keeping quiet.
He squeezed my shoulder gently, sending electric waves in every part of my body. He stroked my exposed shoulder blade agonizingly slowly, my heartbeat accelerating.
He turned my body around so I could look at him, looking down at me with sincerity shown in his eyes. He was so good at lying that I didn’t know if he was telling the truth or not. But I didn’t feel like debating with him any longer because he always won, no matter what. He made sure of it too, I don’t know how he did it.
“Okay, fine,” I said. I sniffed my nose, crossing my arms on my chest. “But I want the whole truth. I want to know everything.”
He smiled in relief, glad that I basically agreed to hear him out. It didn’t mean that he was forgiven though. I will never forget what he had done. But since love was such a powerful emotion, it was so easy for him to brainwash me and make me fall into his arms again.
He pulled me into a warming tight hug, rubbing his hands around the small of my back. I instantly relaxed against his chest, closing my eyes as I inhaled the scent of his expensive cologne. I didn’t hug him back though, I just stood there frozen. He kissed the top of my forehead before releasing me, looking down at me since he was a few inches taller than me.
“I’ll come by either tonight or tomorrow so we can go out to eat at this amazing restaurant I know. I have to get to a business meeting now,” he said, taking out his phone.
Oh yeah, did I mention that he was a big time billionaire? After his father passed away a couple of years ago, the company was signed over to Nathan and he became in control of the whole corporation. Ever since then, he became such a busy man but that never interfered with our relationship. Actually, I had originally thought that his work was the reason he had abandoned me, but I guess I’d been wrong about that.
“Tomorrow is fine, we can go out for lunch,” I agreed, walking with him so I could lead him out of the apartment. I didn’t want him to leave. I somewhat was fond of his company but there’s no way I was going to tell him that. At least not yet.
He tidied up his blazer, brushing off invisible dust from it, and popped his collars. His rose gold Rolex watch shimmered with his movement that he made, making him even more attractive than ever. “That sounds great, Melissa,” he said. He smiled, opening the front door and turned to me again. “It was nice seeing you again.”
“Yeah,” I replied as our eyes bored into each other. Something flashed in his eyes that I couldn’t quite comprehend but it was like I was looking at the Nathan from the past. Just as I realized this, he turned and walked down the corridor to leave.
Later on at night, I couldn’t stop replaying Nathan’s shock visit in my head. The glint in Nathan’s emerald green eyes, the way his lips moved so perfectly, his soft, luscious dark brown hair pushed back. I felt pretty ridiculous thinking so hard about a guy that broke my heart as I laid in a bath full of bubbles with candles and a glass of champagne. I thought I was over him but I guessed incorrectly when I saw his face again. Something about him seemed different but I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
My phone rang from the surface next to me, breaking me out of my thoughts. I grabbed it and pressed it against my ear. “Hello?”
A deep voice chuckled into the phone, making my eyes bulge out. It was Nathan’s brother, Jason. “I see my brother came back to California,” he said.
“What do you want, Jason?” I asked him, alertly sitting up on the tub. This wasn’t a good thing that Jason was calling me after Nathan’s return, because that only could mean one thing...he told him.
“I can’t call to check up on you?” he said, and laughed lightly. I rolled my eyes, taking a sip of my champagne. “Don’t worry kitten, I won’t tell him.”
“Good because that’s supposed to stay only between us. We made a deal,” I growled through clenched teeth. Out of all the regrets I had, this was probably my top regret in the list.
“I didn’t make a deal, you did,” he said. “I never said you had to. You decided on sleeping with me to keep your good spot in the corporation so, whose fault is that?”
I cringed at myself when I had a flashback of us having sex on his office desk. But it hadn’t been my idea, he’d blackmailed me! I shook my head, holding onto my glass tighter.
“You son of a bitch! My job was on the line, and I was so close to losing it because of the bullshit your wonderful brother put me through by taking off. That’s when you came to me with that proposal.”
He laughed bitterly. “Okay, Melissa. Anyways, why are you worried about me telling him? It’s not like he’s in love with you anymor
e. You’re nothing but an ex-fiancée to him now.”
I wanted to scream, I wanted to shout. I wanted to yell out everything I hated about Jason and how he was the only vile one in the corporation that I knew of. I should have known to not work in Nathan’s company but, I didn’t have a choice at the time. I was unemployed and in desperate need of a job and being the secretary saved me.
“You know what, Jason? Screw you!” I exclaimed.
“You already did. And enjoyed every second of it,” he whispered in a mocking tone, making my anger grow even more. That’s when I hung up the phone and slammed it back onto the surface. My heart was rushing from my rollercoaster of emotions and I just laid back into the bubbles to ease my mind. I couldn’t ignore the concern about Nathan finding out but would he really believe me or his brother? That was one question that I was scared to find the answer for. Anxious, I chugged the rest of the gold bubbly and relaxed my hair into the water as the tipsy was affecting me. I couldn’t let someone repulsive like Jason get to me.
*****
It was the day of my lunch date with Nathan. I dressed my best to set a good impression on him. I didn’t want him to think that I didn’t care about how I looked anymore. One of the main ways to get back at a man is to look good; everyone gets captivated by a pretty woman in a dress. His favorite color on a woman was blue so I wore a tight, navy blue dress that reached just above my knees with my shoulder-length black hair curled. I applied a thick coat of pink lipstick with light makeup and put on his favorite Chanel perfume that he’d bought for me a few months back. I looked great and hopefully, he would think so too.
The car ride in his Range Rover to the restaurant was dead silent. We only made casual small talk like, ‘how was your morning?’ and so on. But other than that, I spent majority of the time looking out the window as I listened to my heart pound tremendously against my chest from his presence. This felt like the very first date all over again. I would have to impress him if I wanted to win him back.
Endless Abduction Page 80
