by Jenna Payne
“No. It shouldn’t take that long. She is already injured. Her body will need to heal. It shouldn’t take more than forty-eight hours. Alistair you oversee everything back in town and make sure our plan is carried out in eradicating the hunters.” He nodded his head slowly as if he still wasn’t sure about my decision.
“Afterwards, you can kill her if you want,” I said, and Alistair lost the unsure expression in his eyes.
“Fine, I’ll handle things in Rochester for the time being,” he said. I glanced at Jonathan, who inclined his head in acknowledgement of who I left in charge. Alistair and Jonathan left shortly after and I went back inside to find Alina shivering on the ground. I walked over to her and crouched. She cringed from me. I picked her up and gently placed her on the couch. I found some matches to start a fire in the fireplace. I returned to her on the couch and leaned down to inspect her face and her side.
“I suspect you have some internal bleeding,” I said. Alina simply stared at me with pain-filled eyes. “I can heal you,” I said, and she looked at me dubiously. I walked over to the small kitchen and found some water. I swiftly scored my wrist and mixed the water with some of my blood before I lapped up my wound to close it.
I walked over to her with the blush-colored liquid and she looked at it skeptically. “It will heal all of your injuries Alina. If you don’t drink this, you will die. Do not worry, it won’t turn you, only my venom can do that,” I said, and held the cup to her lips. She accepted it reluctantly and drank it slowly. I set the empty cup down on the coffee table and watched as Alina tipped to the side and fell into a deep sleep. When she woke, she would be just as new.
I tried to probe her mind, but she was completely unconscious. I couldn’t get anything from her mind while she was so deeply asleep. I watched her rest for a long time. I only realized how long it had been when the sun started to rise from the dark sky. A few hours after sunrise Alina began to stir, and I stood up from sitting on the floor. She opened her green eyes and looked right up at me.
“How do you feel?” I asked, and her eyebrows furrowed together.
“Fine. Surprisingly.” she murmured. I unshackled her hands and feet. “Why are you treating me so… well? Aren’t you afraid that I might knock you out and run away from the cabin?” she asked, and I laughed.
“No. I am not Alina. Go ahead and refresh yourself. The bathroom is just there.” I pointed to a door next to the kitchen table. Alina stood up slowly, still unsure if her body was healed and walked into the bathroom. I kept a tab on the sound of her heartbeat. There was a window in the bathroom, and she could easily slip out of it and escape. She turned on the shower and shortly after, I heard the toilet flush, then the faucet of the sink was turned on while the shower was still running. I heard the beat of her heart steadily for just over ten minutes until I heard it getting farther and farther away. She had gone through the window. I would expect no less from her. I smiled and left the cabin.
I hurried after her and caught her arm just before she reached the surrounding trees. “I told you that I wasn’t worried about you getting away, because you can’t. I suggest you not take my kindness for granted Alina,” I told her as I walked her back to the cabin. She dragged her feet only a little as we neared the small structure.
“I’ll go insane being cooped up in that small cabin with you,” she complained, as we stepped inside the warm cabin. Alina’s hair was wet from her shower and she smelled fresh, like soap.
“You have no other choice Alina. Now sit.”
**
Alina
I plopped down on the couch while Jeremih walked into the kitchen. “What would you like to eat? There is plenty of canned goods here. Cereal? Powdered milk? Beans? Corn?” Jeremih prattled off a list of preservative packed foods and I shook my head.
“Water is fine thanks,” I said, and Jeremih poured me a glass of water and walked to me and handed me the glass. His fingers grazed my hand. My heart stilled. I tried to reign in my reaction to him. He would sense it.
He sat down on the coffee table in front me and looked me straight in the eyes. “Alina, will you answer my questions now?” he asked. I stared at him as if he was a rare species of alien. Why was he being so nice to me?
“No. You can be as nice as you want Jeremih, I’m not giving away anything,” I said, and he simply stared at me while I drank the water. I could tell the next couple of days would be pretty much him staring at me while I refused to tell him anything.
* * *
The last day and a half was indeed spent with little gain for Jeremih. I could tell he was growing more and more anxious as time passed, not to mention frustrated. It was nearly dusk and Jeremih was pacing the bedroom of the cabin. He had chained me to the bed because I had tried to run away twice more after the first time.
“I can’t spend anymore time here with you Alina. My men will soon grow suspicious as to what is happening here. They will want to know if I found out any information from you.” Jeremih sounded less controlled than he normally did and I wondered if he was changing his mind about killing me.
“Are you going to kill me then?” I asked. Jeremih glared at me. His eyes were glowing bright and I gasped. I had never seen him look so feral before. He registered my expression and checked himself. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.
“No… I need to feed,” he said in annoyance, and I glanced around the room.
“Is it making you… weak?” I asked. Jeremih looked over at me as if the answer was obvious.
“You should know the answer to your own question. I bet you are happy to know this as you are probably already trying to form a plan that will get you out of this somehow.” Jeremih sighed. I shook my head. I didn’t know if it was because I had been out in the woods with him for so long and the kindness he was showing me was getting to me. Or because I had been suppressing my attraction to him for a while, but I wanted to help him.
I took a deep breath and look Jeremih straight into his golden eyes. “I’m not. You can feed from me, if you want,” I said. Jeremih’s eyes widened n shock and he looked at me incredulously as he slowly walked over to the bed.
“Why would you offer me your blood?” he asked, and I shrugged.
“Because you need it and you’ve given me everything I need so that I didn’t die out here,” I said simply. He continued slowly stalking toward me.
“Just… don’t… kill me, please?” I asked as Jeremih finally reached the bed to sit at the edge of it, right next to me. I heard his sharp intake of breath. His pupils seemed to expand, and his eyes appeared darker. My heart was beating a lot faster now.
“We never kill humans when we feed, we simply take what we need and then erase their memories of us so they are not affected by the event,” Jeremih said, as his eyes locked onto my neck. My skin grew oddly sensitive and goosebumps raced across my entire body. The sensation wasn’t out of revulsion or fear. I was… aroused and curious. Jeremih groaned while he watched the pulse at my neck.
Jeremih slid his hands over my hands and up my arms to wrap his long fingers around my biceps, and squeezed my arms. My breath caught in my throat as his mouth neared my neck. “I won’t hurt you Alina,” he said against my neck.
“I uh… I didn’t know that,” I said. Jeremih exhaled, and his breath tickled against my skin. I felt his lips on my jugular. My breathing started to come fast as I felt the sharp tips of his teeth. He sank them into my skin and I barely felt the pain of his teeth. Jeremih started to pull the blood from me and I felt the odd sensation as if he were drinking from a straw.
At the same time of the sensation of Jeremih pulling my blood from my body came a cascade of pleasure. I gasped and moaned breathlessly. Jeremih slid his hands to my waist and he slowly, without breaking the connection at my neck, lay his body out against mine. I felt every inch of him as he drank from me and I couldn’t help but press my hips against him. I found that he was hard and just as aroused as I was.
Soon Je
remih withdrew his teeth and I felt his tongue lick along the wound on my neck. My back arched off the bed at the sensation of his hot, wet tongue swirling over my skin. “Ah, Jeremih,” I moaned. Afterwards he kissed my sensitive skin. I heard the pull and felt snap of the cuff as they fell from my wrists. Jeremih slid over me and pressed his body on top of mine and captured my lips with his.
**
Jeremih
Alina moved restlessly underneath me as her body hummed with the pleasure of my having drank from her. I have never felt what I just did when drinking from a human before. Usually it is as platonic as drinking from a juice pouch. But with Alina, it felt hot and electric, even as her blood ran through my veins I was brought alive like I never had been before.
As I slid my hands underneath her shirt to slide it off, Alina moaned again and my body felt as if it were on fire. I needed to mate with her. The drive to be inside her was fiercer than anything I have ever needed before. Once her chest was bared to me I lowered my mouth to one full globe and sucked on the soft skin until I made my way to her nipple. She cried out when I grazed my teeth against it and her hands pushed into my hair.
Alina’s hips rose and pressed against mine, she rubbed herself against the hardness of my erection and the pressure felt amazing. I measured my grip on her hips as I ground into her and captured her other nipple with my mouth. I was so hungry for her. I could feel her pulse thrumming through her body and it spurned me on. I tried not to rip her pants as I pulled them off. She was bare underneath them and her scent hit me hard. She smelled like cinnamon and I couldn’t remember the last time I had tasted cinnamon. I slid down her body and spread her legs open wide so I could settle between them.
My mouth pressed against her lips and I slid my tongue in between her folds and licked up her wet arousal. She tasted so sweet and warm. I spread her lips with my fingers and flicked my tongue against her clit. Alina cried out my name and the sound of it on her sultry voice, laced with arousal and need, made me nearly mindless with the drive to bury myself inside her.
She was so slick and wet. I loved her taste. I couldn’t wait to be buried inside her any longer. I all but ripped off my clothes and Alina gasped as she stared at me. Her palm was pressed against my chest and she slide her hand down my chest and caressed my stomach before reaching for my straining cock. Her hand closed around it and gripped it firmly. She stroked my shaft and I thrust into her hand. Her hand was scorching against my skin. I groaned as she slid me up and down against her swollen core. I looked into her eyes before letting my eyes drop down between our bodies. “Put me inside you Alina. Before I lose my mind. Let me feel you. Now.” She pushed the head of my cock just inside her and I thrust through her hand into her tight heat. She pulled her hand away and I hissed with the intense pleasure I felt. She was so tight and snug as she clenched around me impatiently. I had to force myself not to just rut against her like some beast. Alina’s hands were restless as she caressed my shoulders, back, and waist.
“Please Jeremih.” she said breathlessly. I moved my hips against hers faster and thrust into her body deeper. Alina moaned and whispered soft encouragements for me not to stop as I thrust into her over and over. The pleasure I felt was all consuming. I gripped the headboard over her and plunged into her harder and faster. Alina slid her hand between our bodies and rubbed her skin where we were joined. She cried out as I felt her sex tighten and quiver around me.
I heard the headboard cracking as I gripped it too tightly, but then I didn’t care as I was lost in Alina.. She felt incredible wrapped so tightly around me, and told her as much. My body tightened. My balls drew up to my body. My spine tingled. “Alina, I’m going to cum my sweet. Cum with me.” I moaned and kissed her hard as I pumped my hips furiously into her tight body.
My orgasm rocked up my spine and rippled through my every nerve ending as my release shot up my shaft and into her. I felt Alina clench and spasm around me as she tightened her legs around my body and cried out my name. I felt every ripple of her orgasm around my cock as I spasmed into her body. It was heaven. She held onto my shoulders tightly.
It took a few minutes for us both to come down from such highs and when I finally came back to my right mind, I saw Alina’s dark green gaze locked onto mine. She was looking at me with wonder and a bit of disbelief and I was sure I looked at her with the same expression.
“What was that?” I asked, and Alina smiled shyly.
“I don’t know…” she said, and then slowly lifted her head to kiss me and I kissed her back deeply. I felt as if our souls were connected and I wondered if I had found my soul mate in a hunter. Someone who was supposed to be my sworn enemy.
“You aren’t… you aren’t what I thought you’d be,” Alina said, after we broke the kiss. “I was always taught that vampires are evil, soulless beings who kill people just to drink their blood,” Alina said. She seemed genuinely lost as she confessed her feelings to me and I listened.
“But you don’t kill people. They don’t even know you exist… you aren’t dead. You have a heart beat and… I just didn’t expect this,” Alina said. I bent my head to kiss her again.
“It is all right to question what you’ve been taught. You have hardly seen any other side to what we are. Vampires don’t kill humans. But, if we do, it is for an extraordinarily good reason.” I assured her and she bit her lip, still unsure.
When was the last time you heard of a vampire slaughtering a human?” I asked, and Alina had to think about it.
“I’ve only ever heard about the massacres in the eighteen hundreds by that coven in Russia,” she admitted, and I gave her an obvious look. “We have all been lied to… brainwashed and led to believe that you all kill people,” she said softly, and I nodded.
“That coven was dealt with by our own and there’s never been an event like that since.” I told her and her eyes filled with tears.
“We didn’t have to fight you. We don’t have to fight your kind! It’s all just needless waste of life,” she whispered and I let her bury her face in my chest as I held her close.
**
Alina
I woke abruptly to the sound of shouting outside the cabin. Jeremih’s body tensed underneath mine and we both sprung into action, dressing quickly and rushing out of the bedroom.
“Stay here.” He ordered me to stay in the living room as he peeked out of the window next to the front door. “It’s your men. They found this place somehow, and mine have showed up too.” Jeremih cursed and I could already hear the sounds of shooting outside the cabin. There was no need for silence and stealth where we were and it sounded like a war zone outside the door. Jeremih glanced back at me and opened the cabin door and quickly slid outside. He didn’t have any weapons or protective gear as far as I could tell. He was going out there virtually naked.
I heard Jeremih’s voice yelling over the sound of bullets. Bullets sprayed the through the window and I ducked and took cover behind the couch as someone shot up the cabin. No doubt hoping to get me with at least one bullet.
I heard a very distinctive crack and then the bullets stopped. Jeremih yelled again and the sound of rapid gunfire gradually slowed and petered out until it was completely silent. Jeremih came storming into the cabin and his eyes scanned the space until they met mine. He was somehow unscathed and he exhaled deeply in relief as he walked over to me and made sure I wasn’t hurt.
“We haven’t killed any of your men. We simply subdued them and captured them.” Jeremih informed me. I still had a hard time believing how kind he was.
“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.
