Deadly Beasts (The Curse of the Rose Book 1)

by T. M. Watkins

  He lifted himself from the door and began to herd me to the wall behind, his dark blue eyes never leaving me. “Tell me Mary, are you one of those women?”

  I shook my head frantically, my heart had started beating faster as I backed away. There was only so far I could go before he would have me trapped.

  “But what were you doing out at that hour if you aren't? You were working, right? I wasn't lied to, was I?”

  “I work at the grocery store.” I stuttered as I finally hit the wall. “Filling the shelves. I was on my way home to sleep, alone. That's all I do, sleep and work.”

  He took a deep breath in with the smug smile still in place, his eyes momentarily closed as he enjoyed the fear that was drenched in the air. “But there is no air of innocence with you, you can not fool a vampire Mary. I can tell you have lain with a man and that is why I have issues with the thought of keeping you here. I understand that you are not aware of the rules of my kind but we believe in strict morals and to have you here would be... detrimental.”

  Tears snaked down my cheeks as he finally stepped away from my body. “You know nothing about me.” I hissed. “Fine, you are right, I have been with a man but did your stupid vampire skills tell you that I didn't do it willingly?”

  Lancaster turned back to look at me but said nothing. His cold and domineering gaze did nothing to subdue the anger that I felt toward him.

  “Where's your high and mighty morals for the fourteen year old girl being raped by someone that was supposed to be her carer? Porter said that I wasn't supposed to bring up your past, that I had to be well behaved and polite but what about you? Where is your civility? You called me a slut with no evidence just your hokey vampire senses that can detect I'm not a virgin. It's fine, you know what, I'll tell you. It's not as if I haven't already told the cops or the case worker, dozens of people streaming in and out of my life taking a good look at the freak show that is me. He took four years of my life until I became legal age and then he was no longer interested. I was booted out of the orphanage with nowhere to go, no one to turn to. He made me get a job when I was sixteen and he took all of the money. If it wasn't for the case worker finding me the crap hole of an apartment, I'd be living under a bridge. I have never willingly entertained a man, I don't have the time for it. I work to pay the bills and buy food, I go home to sleep and nothing more because I can not afford it. I work two jobs just to pay for my boring and mundane life. So mister high and mighty vampire, what do you say about my morals now?”

  Silence filled the void, not even Porter was thumping on the door any more. William took a step closer, tracing his fingers over the tears that streamed down my cheeks. With a soft smile he turned his fingers over, a little tear shaped drop of ice sat on the fingertip.

  “Forgive my terrible behaviour. I live in a world of high morals, the likes of which this world hasn't seen in several hundred years. My kind are yet to awaken to the new world as it is but that does not excuse my bad manners. You are a guest in my home and I have treated you badly.” He looked at the little ice drop on his finger, then to me again. “Porter said you have wounds.” He said low.

  I nodded as I lifted the shirt to show the marks.

  “A tear of innocence with a drop of vampire blood and you could be scar free.”

  “I won't turn into a vampire, will I?”

  He chuckled as he shook his head, opening the door behind me. I followed him into the room, it was as cold as the entry. A large wood desk sat in front of the back wall that was books from one end to the other, reaching as high as the ceiling. To the side of the room, in front of the window was two single seat chairs and a lantern on the table in between them. It did little to light the room. I couldn't help but wonder why he wouldn't turn on the light if he couldn't let the sun in.

  “Rest upon the chair while I fetch the blade.”

  “Blade?” I gasped.

  “Well I can't exactly bleed without one, unless you know of a way to remove blood without cutting myself?”

  I rolled my eyes and said nothing, slumping onto the chair. William knelt before me, dropping the icy droplet of my tear onto the largest gash. It was cold for about a second and then melted onto my skin. He held the blade to his finger tip and pricked the skin, dropping a drip of blood onto the same spot where the tear had melted. He grinned at me as he sucked on the wound on his finger and then stood to his feet.

  “It will take time for the wound to be completely gone and it will only do the wound that it is applied to, the next time I manage to upset you we can do the next one.”

  I looked down at the skin, the blood had soaked in but nothing had changed. When I looked up, William had settled into the other seat. He was quiet on his feet which was worrying, he could sneak up on me and I would never hear it until it was too late.

  “This would be a good time to set some ground rules.”

  “I'm staying now?”

  “Would you prefer to stay elsewhere? I was under the impression that I was the only level one available.”

  “No.” I huffed. “You just said that I couldn't stay because... oh never mind. You are infuriating.”

  “And you are hot headed but you have managed to earn your way back by being truthful. I was... dwelling on the past and had forgotten my manners. So this is where we discuss your stay and what will happen.”

  William shifted in his seat, it seemed like he was uncomfortable and he was pretending to be at ease with having a woman living in the house. He wasn't, it was becoming increasingly obvious. His fingers tapped on the arm rest, he would frown and then relax.

  “Okay so we will start with places around the house. If the door is locked then I think it's pretty obvious, wouldn't you agree?”

  I nodded quietly.

  “I will have to leave at the fall of the sun in order to feed, whilst it isn't ideal to leave you alone, I have no choice. If I do not feed then I become hungry. I can control my hunger provided I feed regularly. When I am gone you will remain within the walls of the house, in fact I would suggest that you not venture out into the yard until the lycan is caught.”

  “What if something happens to you when you're out?”

  He chuckled, rather amused at the question. “Nothing will happen to me and provided you stay inside, nothing will happen to you either. Now as for your own food, I believe that you have been provided for by Porter as I do not have human food here. There is a kitchen but it is old and likely to be nothing like what you are used to. I have lived here for fifty years and never used it, so don't look to me for help.” He shrugged. “I warned Porter accordingly, I hope for your sake he has purchased appropriate items. Moving onto your attire, this is unacceptable.” William gestured to the man combo disguise that I was wearing.

  “This was to get me out of the hospital, usually I'm in a uniform.”

  “Well this is not work, it is a house where the women wear dresses. I suspect that bag you were carrying doesn't have many dresses.”

  “I wouldn't have a clue, that's all Porter's doing.”

  He pursed his lips into a long thin line and nodded. “Dressed appropriately at all times when you are not in your bedroom. I will try my best not to have guests but sometimes it is unavoidable. If that is the case I will endeavour to warn you prior to their arrival and it would be wise to remain in your room.”

  William stood to his feet and held out his hand, warily I took it looking up into softened gaze. “You will find life here easy provided you follow the rules. Behave like a woman should remembering that I am from an era where women were chaste and quiet, wore dresses and not pants, didn't parade around in clothes that showed more skin than cloth and were a desirable creature created by a flutter of the eyes not by the amount of skin they showed.”

  His cold hand gripped mine firmly, slowly pulling me closer. One icy thumb pressed over my knuckles as he drew it to his lips. I could feel the ice pushing through my hand as he pressed his lips to the knuckles, his eyes never leaving mine. The h
eat rose into my cheeks, I could feel the tell tale burn of it, wishing that it would flow to my hand. But the desire was there, burning it's way through me. I could understand what he meant by desire being created by nothing more than a gesture, not by showing my bits off to the world. A grin curled into the corner of his mouth as he slowly drew away from me, still watching me. The sound of Porter resuming his thumping on the door broke the heat filled moment, Lancaster released me from his icy grip.

  “William will be fine.”

  “Okay.” I croaked as my eyelashes fluttered.

  He turned on his heels and walked to the door. I could hear the door open and the sound of two men fumbling into the entry. “Gentlemen, we have agreed that the arrangement will continue. We will discuss compensation at the end of the stay.”

  Porter looked at me, his gaze burning through me as if I'd done something wrong. I didn't care about anyone’s morals, if they insulted me then I was going to stand up for myself. If my life in the orphanage and years of abuse has taught me anything, it's that I am a fighter. I took the abuse because I didn't think there was any other option, I was under age. Every time I ran away, I was picked up by the police and taken back to the orphanage. My complaints about the man in charge was ignored as an excuse to explain my running away. I had managed to find one police officer that believed me, she was a victim of abuse herself. But my problem was that the other children in the orphanage were so scared of him, they backed him instead of me. From then on the cops had me pinned as a troublemaker and a liar. So there was no point in telling anyone until I was free from him, then I found the cop that believed me. She opened the file again and re-interviewed the children and some of them had become adults. Adults that were no longer under the influence of an evil man and were able to tell the truth.

  “Now, what have you packed? It doesn't seem nearly sufficient.”

  James dumped the box to the ground and opened it, I wanted to groan loudly. It was tinned food, tinned meat was a pet hate of mine. I understood that William didn't have food here so understandably he wouldn't have a fridge either but this was ridiculous.

  “Could you not have hired a refrigerator for a couple of weeks?”

  “And where would they plug it into?” William grinned at me.

  “Oh are you kidding me?” My hands flew up into the air in disgust. “No electricity, seriously?”

  “What do I require electricity for? I do not need to heat my meals, they are already warmed sufficiently.”

  “Gross.” I sneered at him.

  “I do not judge you for what you eat, why do you judge me for what I eat?”

  “Fine, what about heating the water to bathe, washing your clothes?”

  “I have gas connected and a laundry service, anything else?”

  James stood to his feet, hesitantly looking at me and then to William. “There's more in the car.” He was out the door before any of us could say anything which seemed rather odd.

  “What's his deal?”

  “Had a run in with a particularly nasty vampire a few months back.” Porter mumbled as he picked up the box.

  “Didn't you know, we are all the same.” William said sarcastically. “We are all nasty and threaten the lives of every single human we come across. We all want to devour every single human on this earth, not realising that it would end in our own demise.”

  “He's just scared, don't be nasty.” I snipped. “There's nothing wrong with being scared.”

  “Oh you are right about that, there is nothing wrong with it at all. But not all of us are the same. Not all vampires are monsters just like not all humans are honest.” William roughly took the box from Porter's grip. “Not all humans are trustworthy.” He looked at me “Remember that one in particular, just because they seem to care for you doesn't mean they can be trusted. You may take a room upstairs to the left of the stairs, do not venture to the right. Always to the left.” He stalked to the door beyond the stairs, slamming the door shut behind him.

  “Care to explain that?”

  “The past that I told you not to ask about.”

  The door swung open, James brought in more boxes and dumped them by the door.

  “You can wait in the car when you've brought the last of them in.” Wordlessly James nodded and continued back to the car. Porter collected the boxes after checking the contents. “Come on.” He sighed. “Let's get you settled.”

  Chapter Four

  Porter had tried every single door to the left of the stairs, none of them would open. Angrily he stalked back to the balustrade and looked for William, huffing as he thumped his way down the stairs.

  “Something wrong?”

  I gasped as I turned, William was leaning on the wall beside one of the doors. “All of the doors are locked, Tim has gone to find you.”

  He nodded and turned the door handle as he lifted his body from the wall, grinning smugly at me. “This room will be better suited to you, it has clothes that you can wear while you are staying here. Likely to be better than anything Porter can provide. Shall we?”

  The door creaked open revealing a poorly lit room. It was torture, he was being painful and enjoying the fear that would creep into my mind. He gestured to the open door, waiting with an inane grin on his face. Carefully I stepped into the room, my eyes straining to see through it. The crack in the curtain revealed little. William's presence was always engulfing, I could feel the cold surround me like a frozen jacket. The door clicked shut, I turned to look at him but he was gone. Now he was playing tricks again, ensuring I understood he was the superior race in the room. Or maybe he liked to frighten already scared women. The coldness started to push on me, a wall of ice pressed against me though I couldn't see anything. Stepping back I hit the door, feeling the wall of ice breathe a cold soft wind over me.

  “Do you not think I am scared enough already?” I whispered. “Do you really need to add to my fear? How can I sleep of a night when I fear those that rest under the same roof as me?”

  “Well for starters...” He whispered against my neck. “I do not rest of a night time, you have invaded my house during the most important time of my day and I am tired from a lack of sleep. As for being scared and not wanting any further fear, well I think you do not hold enough fear. I have seen the creature that attacked you, I have gone against their kind. You and I, we are not so different. We might have had our battles end differently but we have both lived to see another day.”

  Tears pressed out of my eyes as I closed them, wishing the lycan had killed me. James was right, I was jumping from the fry pan and into the fire. I could feel the cold moving higher, closer to my neck.

  “Word has gotten out of the human that has withstood a lycan attack, many have asked for a moment to bask in your glow.”

  “I only survived because of luck, it was interrupted otherwise I would be dead.”

  Opening my eyes I realised how close he was, one wrong move and I'd have a set of fangs in my neck within a few seconds. William moved higher, his eyes meeting with mine as his fingers trailed over my cheek and jaw.

  “Do you believe in fate?” He whispered against my skin.

  “I uh... I don't know.”

  “Mary?” Porter sounded panicked.

  William smiled and stepped back, allowing me to open the door. Porter took a sweeping glance over me, quickly assessing that whilst I might be upset, I was still alive. Which was basically his requirement, I knew he didn't care for the weeping woman. The room started to light up, I turned to see William lighting the fire and then turning to us.

  “I ask that when I am in the room the curtains are drawn. I do not wish to suffer the burns from the sunlight. However when I am not here, you are free to do as you please.”

  I surveyed the room, it was lined with cream wall panels, a large love seat sat in front of the fire place and by the window. The bed was immense and covered in an exquisite linen that was a cream and gold brocade, pillows consumed the first third of it.

  �
��If you will.” William gestured to the door beside the fire place. He opened the door that led to a walk in robe and bathroom that was larger than my apartment, it was spacious and just as opulent as the bedroom. The wood floor continued through the robe, stopping short of the tiles for the bathroom. “The dresses that we discussed.”

  “Sure.” I gulped hard.

  They were full on, when he said dresses I assumed normal every day dresses, not something that looked like it was from two hundred years ago. I didn't even know how to deal with these things, remembering that there were corsets and ribbon lacing at the back. How was I supposed to dress if it had lacing at the back? Did he have a maid here or something? Maybe I could hide in this room for the next few weeks, then I wouldn't have to dress in clothes that looked like it had been in an attic for a century.

  “Alright.” Porter dumped the box onto the floor. “Looks like you're all set, there's some toiletries and uh other stuff in there.”

  His cheeks flushed as he gestured to the box, looking anywhere except at me. I stooped to the box and opened it, understanding his embarrassment. This was something I hadn't thought of but thankfully someone else had. Though being around a vampire it made me wonder about it. Maybe I might pre plan a little, get some of those cans and lock myself in here for a couple of days. Surely he would be understanding if not grateful?

  “Gee thanks Porter.” I scoffed, pretending I wasn't just a little worried.

  Worried? No, slightly panicking. Yes, that's the one. Completely freaked out.

  “Okay so I'd say call me if you need anything but there isn't any phones here, so I'll see you when your stint in Lancaster jail is done.”

  “At least in jail they have electricity and can use the phone if they are allowed.” I muttered.