A Shade Of Vampire (The Mate)

by Bella Forrest

  It was a deliberate affront to me and a blatant threat toward Sofia. The guard, who was right behind me, audibly gasped at the sight.

  “You were supposed to be keeping watch of the girls. How did this happen?” I asked, desperately reeling in my temper.

  “Sir, I… I don’t know… I…”

  I moved fast and had him pinned to the wall, angered by his failure of responsibility. I looked into his eyes and saw an air of dignity there. Unlike the guard, Husky, I’d killed not long ago, this one wasn’t about to beg for his life. He knew he was innocent and I knew it too.

  I backed down and loosened my grip on him.

  “Whoever did this, dies. Get all the resources necessary to find out who could’ve insulted me this way.”

  I walked toward Sofia and, ignoring her struggles to push me away, I picked her up in my arms and carried her out of the room. I didn’t know where to take her but I was damned certain that I couldn’t just leave her there. Once she realized that I wasn’t about to let her go, she eased into my arms and buried her face against my chest before letting go of the emotions she had pent up inside. Tears began to mar her lovely face and I wanted nothing more than to kill the person that put her through this.

  However, there was a truth I kept on denying to myself: there was only one person in the Blood Shade who would dare to stand up to me by pulling a stunt like this. Lucas.

  CHAPTER 17: SOFIA

  Everything happened in a blur. I was aware of it all, and yet, I wasn’t. It was almost like everything was happening to another person, and yet it was me. I felt Derek’s strong arms beneath me, carrying me. I heard his conversation with Vivienne before they both decided to take me to see Corrine the witch at the Sanctuary. I saw the agitation on Derek’s face, the intoxicating scent of his natural musk filling my nostrils as I snuggled against him. I was conscious of it all, and yet at the same time, I was stuck in a memory, still reliving every sickening sensation it induced.

  I was lured to sleep by an enchanting melody and awakened from it by a horrific nightmare.

  His hand was clamped over my mouth and his full weight was rested on top of me, constricting my breathing. I felt his free hand hike up my thigh and when I flinched, he chuckled vehemently, amused by my weakness.

  “I will have you someday, Sofia,” he whispered against my ear. “You will bring me so much pleasure and once I’m done with you, I will have a taste of your sweet, sweet blood.”

  His hand hiked up my waist and slipped beneath my back. Blinding pain unlike anything I’d ever experienced before assaulted me when his claws came out, digging against the skin on my back. My screams were muffled by his palm over my mouth when he scratched through my flesh with his nails. My back was on fire with searing agony as tears began to stream down my face.

  His lips pressed against my neck, my jaw, my cheek, each blood-curdling word coming out of his lips dripping with spite and the intent to make me feel that he had power over me.

  “But don’t worry, my fragile little twig. I’ve had my fill for the night. I just wanted to warn you about what’s ahead of you, remind you who found you…and who really owns you.”

  Still keeping his hand over my mouth, Lucas lifted himself up on the bed, so that he was kneeling over me, straddling my hips as he looked down at me, a manic smile on his face.

  “Don’t get too comfortable with my brother, Sofia, because no matter what he may think, you’re mine. And should you get any bright ideas about telling Derek about this little rendezvous of ours, consider this a stern warning.”

  He used his free hand to retrieve something from his jacket’s pocket. It was a lock of brown hair. My eyes grew wide with horror imagining what the object implied. He began tracing the ends of the strands of hair over my jaw line.

  “I have a gift waiting for you at the bathroom. Before you scream for help, I suggest you check it out… unless of course you want more of my gifts waiting for you.”

  With that, he left, leaving the lock of hair behind. Trembling, I grabbed the item and got off the bed. I slowly walked toward the bathroom, dreading to find out what gift he could possibly think of giving me. There were no words to describe what I felt when I opened the bathroom door and found Gwen’s lifeless body there. The sensations and emotions that rushed through me at that moment were more than I could handle. My throat felt so dry, I couldn’t even scream. I just retreated to a corner, terrified, realizing that no matter how beautiful the Blood Shade was on the outside, it was only a mask to hide its darkness. I’d fooled myself into believing that I was safe, but that was the biggest lie I’d told myself in years.

  CHAPTER 18: DEREK

  “She’s wounded,” was the first thing Corrine said when I barged inside the doors of the Sanctuary, Sofia still in my arms.

  I wondered what she was talking about as I followed Corrine to one of the Sanctuary’s chambers. I walked toward the bed in the middle of the room and laid Sofia there. My stomach turned when I saw how bloody one of my hands were. Her blood. My craving for her should’ve consumed me – it was in my nature to want to taste her – but my desire to make things right with her overpowered every other lustful craving.

  “What happened to her?” Corrine asked.

  I ignored the witch and flipped Sofia’s motionless body over so that she was lying face down on the bed. She made no attempts to stop me when I began ripping the back of her dress open. The sight of her back was revolting to look at. Vampire claws ran the length of her back with deep cuts. I wondered to myself how someone as fragile as her could sustain such a wound without complaining about the pain.

  “Who did this to you, Sofia? Who killed Gwen?!”

  She didn’t respond. She just buried her face in the pillow, sobbing frantically. I drew the dagger out of my sleeve and without a moment’s hesitation made a deep, long cut over my palm. I grabbed Sofia’s arm and with my agitation and the sense of urgency I felt, I yanked her to an upright, sitting position. She gasped in pain at the sudden motion.

  “Derek…” Vivienne spoke from behind me. “She’s already in enough pain.”

  I wasn’t even aware that my sister had followed us all the way there.

  “There’s no time. She needs to heal fast. We don’t know how much blood she’s already lost.”

  I was inwardly chastising myself for not having noticed while still back in her bedroom that she was hurt. I pressed my palm over Sofia’s mouth, my other hand positioned at the back of her neck.

  “Drink,” I ordered.

  I was relieved that she didn’t put up a fight and simply relented. Perhaps she just wanted the pain to stop and knew well enough that my blood in her system would exceedingly speed up the healing process. I didn’t care. As long as I felt her sucking on the blood from my palm, I was satisfied. It did little to ease the fury I felt inside, but it did wonders for the worry I felt over her predicament.

  Relief washed over me when the cuts on her back began to heal. She must’ve felt it, because she stopped drinking from my palm. I was so distraught over what happened to her under my watch that I wanted her to keep drinking as if my blood could fix everything for her. The gash on my palm closed however, and I watched her wipe the blood from her face with her arm. I wanted to see the light in her eyes flicker back on, any indication that the fire within her hadn’t died out, but the blank stare of her green eyes told me otherwise as she listlessly laid her head back on the pillow.

  “What’s going on? What did you do to her?” Corrine eyed me suspiciously, making it rather clear that she didn’t trust me the way her ancestor, Cora, did.

  “I didn’t do anything to her,” I replied indignantly, saying the words through gritted teeth. “I found her this way when I checked on her this morning.”

  “One of the other girls in his harem was found murdered – bled dry – inside her bathroom,” Vivienne added.

  Corrine kept up her suspicious perusal of me. “And you didn’t do this?”

  I glared at her, t
rying to maintain my patience. “Did you not hear me the first time, witch?”

  “Can you blame me for thinking that you had something to do with this? You took one look at her when you woke up and threw her up a pillar, more than ready to devour her. Who knows what sick things you have in mind to do to her?”

  “Corrine, he didn’t do this,” Vivienne spoke up knowing that if she didn’t, I might not be able to keep myself from maiming the witch for her insolence.

  “Well then, who did?” Corrine raised a brow. “You creatures sicken me.”

  She wrinkled her nose and looked at Vivienne and me as if we were the most despicable things she’d ever laid eyes on.

  I wasn’t so sure she was wrong. That morning wasn’t exactly our kind’s most shining moment, but the witch’s hypocrisy was getting to my nerves.

  “If you hate us so much, why do you serve us? Why help protect us?”

  “Your kind took me captive much like you did this girl. I had no choice in the matter.”

  My brow rose at this news. “Is this true, Vivienne?”

  “We needed a witch to keep the spell going…” my sister tried to explain.

  I was perhaps losing half my mind because I looked at Corrine and without a hint of a joke on my face, I said, “You’re free to go anytime you please, witch. No one will stop you. You have my word.”

  “Derek…” Vivienne gasped. “We can’t…”

  “Be quiet, Vivienne.” I lifted a hand to silence my sister. I stared at the shocked expression on Corrine’s face. “You’re no longer a prisoner of the Blood Shade, Corrine. You may leave today if you wish. I’ll even see you to the port myself.” I was calling her bluff. She was Cora’s descendant and if she was anything like her ancestor, no one would have been able to keep her in one place against her will. She was here for a reason and it certainly wasn’t because we kept her locked up.

  Corrine eyed me for a couple of seconds, her lips sealed tight. Afterwards, a small sideward smile formed on her face.

  “I see now what Cora saw in you.”

  Vivienne stepped forward, looking absolutely confused. “Corrine… you mean you’re not leaving? You’ve been harping about being held against your will since you got here.”

  “You really are quite a lovely thing, aren’t you, Vivienne? I’ve inherited hundreds of years’ worth of power and knowledge from Cora down to every descendant she’d had. Do you really think that you can hold me captive with four walls or a cage?” Corrine then gave Sofia a glance. She heaved a sigh. “Now let’s get back to the matter at hand. If I’m to find out what really happened, I can’t have either of you lurking around, threatening her.”

  “I would never threaten her,” I spat out.

  “Don’t kid yourself, Derek,” Corrine smirked. “Your presence alone is a threat to her. Now, go on… leave.”

  I cast a lingering gaze at Sofia, feeling like I was being ripped apart on the inside. My fists clenched as I gave the arrogant young witch a heartfelt plea. “Do everything you can to make things right for her…just…fix her.”

  There was a spark of confusion in Corrine’s large brown eyes. Perhaps she was wondering why I cared so much, but she didn’t address the matter and instead, simply herded Vivienne and me out of the room. “You can see yourselves out. I will have a guard alert you once she is ready to return to the Pavilion.”

  I stood outside as Corrine slammed the door on our faces. I didn’t budge from my spot, determined to stay there and wait until Sofia was okay.

  Vivienne grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Sofia’s going to be fine. Corrine was in her senior year of psychology when we dragged her down here. She’ll know how to help Sofia.”

  “I’m not leaving here until I know Sofia is okay.” I announced.

  My sister knew me well enough to know that once I put my mind to something, I could be as stubborn as a mule about it. She nodded, knowing that nothing she could say would convince me to leave that place.

  “If you need me, I’ll be at the Pavilion seeing to the investigations. We’ll find out who did this, Derek.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. I felt the guilt and shame come over me as Vivienne left me there to brood alone. I couldn’t think of anyone who could be capable of doing this to Sofia other than Lucas. But I had no proof and even if I did, I wasn’t sure that I could do anything about it. Lucas was my brother and no matter how important Sofia had become to me, blood runs thicker than water.

  CHAPTER 19: SOFIA

  Corrine took her time with me. She tried to make me comfortable, giving me a drink of water, which I truly appreciated, considering how the taste of Derek’s blood was still fresh on my mouth. She took great care in making sure that I wanted to do what she was asking me to do – never pushing or ordering or commanding, which I was certain was exactly what Derek would’ve done had I been left under his care.

  She gave me a fresh set of clothes to wear. I was so relieved to see that she handed me skinny jeans and an adorable-looking white baby doll blouse. It was nice to see something I would wear in normal life, instead of the dresses and skirts afforded to me at the Pavilion. Oh, they were pretty and feminine, but it felt like the sole reason I had to wear them was so that the vampires could have easy access to my body – that’s certainly what Lucas got. I put on the jeans knowing how irrational my line of thinking was. It’s not like I would’ve worn jeans to sleep in the first place. Still, the snug fit of the denim on my legs provided me a thread of comfort. At least I won’t have to feel Lucas’ hand over my legs. I shuddered, recalling the way he touched me. I knew that it wasn’t going to be the last time he would do it. What terrified me most was how helpless I felt at that time. I never wanted to feel that way again.

  “Would you like to talk about what happened?” Corrine asked.

  I sat over the edge of her bed as she pulled an ottoman in front of me so she could sit right across me. From her bedside table, she pointed to a bowl of fruits.

  “If you’re hungry…” she offered.

  I shook my head. “No, thank you.” I truly appreciated the way she was treating me. It was like she was the caring older sister I never had.

  “What happened, Sofia? I promise that whatever you say, it won’t go out of this room unless you want it to.”

  “I don’t remember,” I lied. I remembered every last bit of it. “I woke up and I had the cuts on my back and the lock of Gwen’s hair on my hands. I walked to the bathroom and…” I choked, recalling Gwen’s fate. “She didn’t deserve to die.”

  I knew I had to protect the other remaining girls from what happened to Gwen. Lucas’ threat was still ringing in my ear. I had no doubt in my mind that he wouldn’t hesitate to destroy me and the girls the first chance he got.

  “You’re right. She didn’t.” Corrine nodded. Her brown eyes then bore into mine. “Sofia, I can’t help you unless you’re honest with me. Was it Derek who did this to you?”

  “He already told you earlier that he didn’t.”

  “Yes, but I want to hear it from you.”

  I was surprised by the protectiveness I felt toward Derek. I almost felt insulted that anyone would imply that he could do something like this.

  “If Derek did this, then there wouldn’t be any fuss, would there? We’re his slaves after all. Is he not allowed to do as he pleases with us? The only reason that this is such a big deal is because someone else most likely did it and it’s a huge insult to Derek.”

  Corrine smiled a self-satisfied smile, almost as if she were proud that I came up with that answer myself. It felt as if she were playing mind games with me.

  “The prince seems to care a lot about you. He seemed pretty distraught to see you at the state you’re in.”

  I remained silent. I felt so hurt and abused. I was scared of what was to come. I wanted to believe so badly that Derek cared enough about me to choose me over his brother, but if he had endured being a creature that he hated for hundreds of years just to save his family, what
would make me think that he would choose me over Lucas?

  Corrine most likely saw that she wasn’t going to get anywhere with her line of questioning, so she tried a different approach. “Is it alright if you tell me what your time at the Blood Shade has been like for you? I’m rather curious to know.”

  That I saw no harm in doing and I found myself opening up to her in a way I never did to another. I spilled out every sensation still fresh in my memory, every fear, every apprehension, and even stolen moments of delight and wonder. I told her how much I missed my best friend and how worried I was about him. I didn’t know why I did it. Perhaps it was just the need for a friend, an ally, so even if I wasn’t sure I could trust Corrine, I just gave in to the need to talk to someone who could possibly understand. The only thing I kept from her about everything that happened at the Blood Shade was what Lucas did to me and the threat he gave me should I tell a soul about it.

  I did make myself a promise as I was having that conversation with Corrine. I promised myself that Lucas wasn’t going to get away with what he did. He will pay for what he did to Gwen and me.

  CHAPTER 20: DEREK

  I rose to my feet the moment the door swung open. I breathed out a sigh of relief when Sofia’s lovely form stepped out of the room, a tentative smile forming on her face at the sight of me. If only out of sheer relief, I wanted to pull her into my arms and kiss her right then and there, but I fought the urge to do it in fear of scaring her. So I held back and allowed her to set the pace. I doubt she was aware of the effect she had on me when she walked toward me, grabbed my hand, her thin, dainty fingers intertwining with mine before she lifted my hand and placed a soft kiss over the back of it.

  I didn’t fully understand why she did it, but I took it as assurance that she still felt safe around me, that she was choosing to trust me. I was both humbled and pressured by the gesture. I stared at her for a moment, taking in the sight of the splash of freckles on her cheeks and the natural red blush on her cheekbones. I let my eyes feast on the delicateness of her facial features, adoring every bit of her as I squeezed her hands, treasuring the warmth she exuded.