by Anna Santos
My stomach started to feel as if it were clenching and unclenching. That was an intense and unexpected chemical reaction. I'm not usually touched by guys, but I had never felt anything like that before.
I tried to breathe and get a hold of my body. I looked at him, hoping that he wasn’t aware of my overwhelming attraction to him. Luckily, he seemed too distracted to notice; staring at my hand, massaging it, and feeling my pulse. I wondered if he was experiencing the same strange feelings I had in my stomach. Was he aware of the reaction that our touch created?
Things got stranger when he leaned forward and brought my hand to his mouth. He feathered my skin with a kiss. Not only that, I could feel the tip of his tongue licking me. Weird behavior aside, a gasp managed to somehow rise from my chest, go up my throat, and out of my mouth. My skin shivered, my eyes shut with pleasure, and I was incapable of controlling my body. I reached some sort of nirvana that made me tremble and sigh. I had to bite my lower lip and get a hold of my legs so I wouldn’t fall on the floor. But, I wouldn't mind falling into his arms. My mind was completely possessed by desire.
If I was in control of all my faculties, I would probably be feeling mortified. That type of behavior outran embarrassment by a long shot.
The next thing I remembered, he was whispering in my ear, breaking through my walls and asking me to go with him. Apparently, Gabby had sent him to get me. I doubted that. I was not that stupid. He had asked if I was there alone. None of the brief conversation we had made any sense. The type of reaction I was experiencing was totally unexpected. I didn’t love him. I barely knew the guy. Why was my body so aroused and willing to follow him anywhere? The attraction was not an excuse to act like a silly girl and follow a total stranger. My parents taught me better.
“I don’t want to go,” I said, trying to move away from him.
He took a step back and stared at me. For a moment there, I thought his eyes were black like the night sky and that his mouth had…fangs? But, I could be imagining things.
He smiled at me, showing his perfect white teeth, with no signs of weird canines. His eyes were brown again. I felt stupid. I should probably stop watching so many vampire movies. They were clouding my judgment. There was no such thing as vampires. I should know that. My dream was to become a respectable scientist, not a hunter of myths.
“Don’t be silly, Aria,” he whispered.
I swallowed hard. There was something about his cocky tone that scared me.
Leaning closer to my face, he stated, “I always get what I want.” He stared deeply into my eyes, and I lost all will to disobey. “Now, you will do whatever I want, silly girl. And you will start by following me wherever I want.”
He grabbed my wrist and walked away with me, pulling me in the process. I could only obey, feeling my feet walk of their own will. I tried to talk, but my voice didn’t come out, and I was incapable of asking for help.
CHAPTER FOUR
PHILIPPE
I tried to get myself distracted. I went to the deck, mingled with the guests, and flirted with the new girls. I didn’t like to use my vampire enthralling gift on them. I was rich and handsome. I had hundreds of women falling at my feet, dreaming of getting into my bed. I could have been a rock star. Hell, a famous actor! I had the charm and the looks. My only problem was immortality and my thirst for blood. I had to stay away from the cameras and the magazines. It was much easier to be a vampire when the media wasn’t always covering the events and looking for gossip. I had to redefine myself ten times in the last century. New names, new identities, new businesses. I even bought magazines and journals to control what the media wrote about when reporting the strange events that happened in Paris. Having missing girls and gruesome homicides in the news was not good for business.
But, let’s face it. What was the worst that could come from people knowing about our existence? There was already a cult around us. There were a lot of boys and girls who thought of us as gods and dreamed of being loved and fed on by our kind. We would most probably rule the world in fair and democratic elections if we came out of the shadows. After all, who doesn’t dream of being immortal?
I tried hard to keep that girl away from my thoughts. I tried to ignore her presence and pretend her scent wasn’t making me go insane. Everywhere I went, I could smell her and know perfectly well where she was standing. The wind seemed to be playing a twisted game with me. I flirted with gorgeous women, much prettier than her. I even took one to my private quarters, so I could drink from her. I thought that I was probably hungry and her smell was taunting me because of that. I had no such luck. Kissing the woman was all but satisfying. Drinking from her was tasteless and her moans of lust were disgusting to my ears. I had no idea what the hell was going on, but the arrival of that girl had just ruined my night!
I sent the woman away, compelling her so she would stop complaining and wouldn’t remember the feeding. Then, I called my maker. She was the only one I could trust. Josephine would know what to do.
I was right. Something was wrong with the way I was feeling. Apparently, my symptoms meant that I had found my soul-mate. Of course, I didn’t tell Jo that I was the one experiencing all those side effects. The last thing I needed was a weakness like that. My men and enemies couldn’t know anything about the girl. They could use her to undermine my power and have leverage against me.
After half an hour on the phone, I had the solution to my problem. It was quite simple, actually. Vampires had been doing it for ages. My maker had done it to her mate. All I had to do was take the girl to a private place and reject her. That would cut the bond and would set me free. It would also stop my fixation on her and solve my thirst. Everything would go back to normal. No more cravings for her or weird fascination. I just had to reject her and try not to taste a single drop of her blood. It seemed that a mate’s blood was the most amazing thing to a vampire. I would be permanently caught under her spell. Therefore, no drinking. After the rejection, I would have to get rid of the girl, send her far away, so I wouldn’t fall into temptation in the future.
I had a brilliant plan ahead of me. I had to charm the silly and gullible girl and take her somewhere private to rip my soul from hers. You can only imagine my surprise when she was reluctant to follow me, and I had to enthrall her to get what I wanted! I have gorgeous, important, and famous women at my disposal. Who the hell does that joke of a girl think she is to deny me anything?
CHAPTER FIVE
CEDRIC
The alarm sounded loud and clear, warning everybody in the palace. I hoped that this was the night. I had been visualizing it for a long time. Two years, to be more precise. It had been that long since it last rang.
For a moment, I thought that I was hearing things. Yet, the alarm kept ringing, warning about the existence of a rejected soul wandering the streets of Paris. My heart raced inside my chest as I balled my hands in expectation. Maybe today was my lucky day.
I jogged from my library to the nearest balcony where I had a better view of the other side of the veil. Our dimension had a magical portal over Paris. My gargoyle’s sharp senses enabled me to see further. Sometimes, it was challenging to distinguish anything as the city had too many lights.
Focusing my sight, I found it—the amazing and shining sparkle of a rejected soul. It gleamed intensely, and it was breathtaking. I couldn’t recall ever thinking that a soul looked that enchanting before. It had a mixture of bright and serene colors, and it was captivating. Whoever that soul belonged to, that person had to be pure and good at heart.
My warriors had already transformed into gargoyles and were flying around the palace’s towers. I heard pounding footsteps heading my way. They were waiting for me to give the order for them to go and get the soul. Still, I had no intention of letting them depart without me.
My breathing stopped, when the bright soul, which had been quiet and motionless in one place, suddenly began to move quickly as if something was dragging it away. I noticed as it began fading and flick
ering. Preoccupied, I jumped in the air, morphing into my gargoyle form in the process. I didn't wait for anyone else as I flew to the rescue.
I don't think I have ever flown that fast in my life. I sped up more when I understood what was going on—there was a girl fighting against the currents in the Seine. The bastard who had rejected her had probably tried to kill her or she had jumped. It wouldn't be a first. Rejected souls tend to be suicidal. Yet, she was fighting to survive. I could hear her voice, begging for help. I could see her arms struggling, trying to keep her head above the surface as her mouth sucked in the air. As I pushed my wings to go faster, I was completely spellbound by the celestial light that surrounded her.
Arriving at her location, I flew lower. Stretching my arms out, I grabbed her by her arms and made the effort to move up quickly, so I wouldn't drop her. Then I pulled her into my arms and secured her against my chest. She coughed against my shoulder. She had her eyes closed, unaware that she was safe because she kept praying and crying as she clutched my neck.
Thankfully, I had arrived before she drowned.
Moments later, I landed in a dim part of the city near a park. I needed her to calm down, so she could look into my eyes, but she didn’t want to be apart from my embrace. She was shivering and rambling on in her native tongue. She was not French. This wasn’t a problem as angels and gargoyles understood all languages across the world.
When her arms released my neck and her feet touched the ground, I was able to see her tangled dark hair in front of her face and the soaked clothes glued to her fragile body. I brushed the tousled hair away from her pretty face while noticing her silky white skin, her doll face, and her pale plump lips.
It had never occurred to me that I could crave so intensely to bond with a soul, even before looking into the girl’s eyes and knowing if we were a match or not. But everything about her made me desire her., especially the bright and amazing light surrounding her. She had the most beautiful soul I had ever seen. She would make a perfect queen. If only I could choose, I would choose her. But I couldn't.
“You are safe now,” I whispered with sweetness. My voice could sound guttural and scary in my gargoyle form, but I didn't want to frighten her even further. “Open your eyes. Everything will be okay. What happened? How did you fall into the river?”
“Vampires,” she whispered, hugging herself and falling onto the ground in a sitting position. “I'm so tired,” she whimpered. “You have to save them,” she said, staring up at me with big brown eyes that made my entire being tremble as my heart felt heavy in my chest.
My ability to breathe halted as I stared back at her, overwhelmed by the feeling and recognizing it, even if I had never felt it before. My skin tingled throughout my body as my heart pounded. I almost kneeled in front of her with the realization of it all.
“You have to save them. They are hurting them. They tried to hurt me. A crazy man, he said the weirdest things. And then he let the other men hurt me. They we-re say-ing that they were go-ing to drink my blood.” She paused to breath. “There were other girls on the boat, and others were drinking their blood, too. They will die if no one does anything. I know I sound crazy. I didn't believe in vampires before tonight. But they are real and they are evil. Please, call the police.”
The girl was extremely agitated. I wanted to hold her to calm her down, but my men landed next to me, finally arriving.
Yet, her words made me mad at the vampires. They were disobeying the rules. They were hurting girls and tried to hurt her. I wasn't going to let that slide.
“Take ten men to scout the river. There is a boat with vampires on it who are hurting people. Do whatever you need to do, but put a stop to that immediately,” I ordered with a rage in my voice that made my men tremble in surprise and fear. “Those leeches will pay for trying to trick us. If the King of the Vampires wants to ruin thirty years of peace, then he has achieved his goal. Bring me their heads if they are killing people,” I stated.
My men nodded and flew away to follow my orders.
“You aren't a vampire too, are you?” the girl asked when I gazed at her.
I crouched in front of her. “Can't you see what I am? Aren't you afraid?”
“I lost my glasses when I ended up in the river,” she explained, her body shivering with the cold. “I'm blind as a bat without them.”
I smiled, leaning closer to her face and noticing the reflection of my beast in her eyes. She had the most innocent stare. She was more than perfect to be my mate.
“I can fix that,” I whispered tenderly as I reached for her hands with my clumsy claws.
I did my best not to hurt her as I pulled her to her feet. With our touch, the spell was cast. As we grasped each other’s hands, the powers from above drew patterns on our left hands and around our arms, bounding our souls for what I hoped would be an eternity. Or condemning me to an existence as a stone statue, forever. Either way, I was ready to accept my fate and prepared to give her my heart. I would love her more than my own life.
The girl’s eyebrows knitted together as the static electricity that the spell produced made her hair float and whip around. I stood still, noticing the transformations that our bond brought to her. Her skin and eyes glowed several shades of red. The vital force of my angelic, once dormant, powers was transforming her being, curing her, and fixing her soul while sealing it with mine. Our new bond would make her stronger and enhance her senses. She was becoming a better version of herself. Her skin became flawless, her hair longer and shinier, red colored her lips, and her eyes were cured. She could see without glasses as she was now a supernatural, like me. Our love could break my curse and turn us permanently into angels.
I was so in awe of her transformation, and by finally finding my perfect mate, that when she screamed I was momentarily startled, unsure why she was frightened. Until I realized, she was screaming because she was able to see my true form.
Fine, gargoyles are not as good-looking or enticing as angels. I should have expected her reaction. She wasn’t the first one to scream when seeing one of us in their gargoyle form. Still, I was so caught up in my happiness that I had forgotten to morph back to my human form.
“What the hell are you?” she asked, pulling away from me, stumbling, and falling. She landed on her butt. “Damn, I can't even run away properly,” she whispered to herself, trying to get up, but only managing to fall back again. I tried not to laugh at her clumsiness.
“Get away from me,” she ordered when I offered my hand to help her up.
“I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” I said, scratching my bald head. “I just pulled you out of the river. If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have saved you.”
“What do I know? Until today I didn't believe in vampires. And suddenly they are real and then I find out that your species is also real!”
“Gargoyles,” I explained to her.
“I know what you are! I'm not stupid,” she declared, growling at me in the process. I couldn’t help but smirk at her. “I've seen plenty of you on the top of the buildings!”
“Well, we exist and I need to take you with me.” I offered my hand once again to help her get up. The wet fabric and the heaviness of her dress prevented her from succeeding on her own.
“I won't go anywhere. I need medical attention. I need to be examined. Do you have any idea of what kind of diseases I could’ve caught being in the river? I could die from it! And I drank that filthy water! Even though the fall didn't kill me, that doesn't mean the toxic waste won't.”
“Nothing will happen to you,” I assured her, finding her fear amusing. She was a rational girl, a clever girl. “The same way that you are seeing without glasses, I also cured you from catching any diseases.”
The girl put her hands to her eyes. Then she looked at her hands, analyzing the patterns that circled her left arm. She seemed troubled. I let her calm down before I explained anything else to her.
Looking up at me, she asked, “Are you magical and cure
d me?”
“Yes,” I confirmed.
“That’s why I don't need glasses to see.” She puckered her lips with narrowed eyes. “Thanks, I guess. You saved me a lot of money. The surgery is really expensive, and I had been planning to do it when I graduated.”
“You're welcome,” I replied, not sure what she was talking about but smiling anyway.
“How-how did you save me?”
“How do you think?”
“You flew?”
“Yes.”
She looked at my wings, and then her eyes traveled down my body. “You look like a giant bat,” she declared, making me laugh. “So those wings must be really strong for you to fly and to also be able to fly with me in your arms.”
“Yes.”
She frowned as if she wasn't buying what I was saying. Apparently, she was trying to find a logical explanation for my existence. Her narrowed eyes examined me again.
“I understand,” she blurted out. “I was drugged. They drugged me. Somehow. I didn't have anything to drink, but they must have drugged me. Didn't they? Is this why I'm having hallucinations with mythical beings? Is this a dream or just a really confusing nightmare? I really want my mom right now.” Tears rushed to her eyes and left a trail down her cheeks as she fisted her hands in the grass.
“I'm sorry, this is not a dream,” I whispered, kneeling next to her. “Please, come with me.” I offered my hand again and her eyes focused on my runes that were still glowing. Then, she looked at her own hand with the same patterns. I understood that she was finding the patterns curious. She seemed clever, but it was too much to cope with for a human to find the existence of a supernatural world, be rejected, and almost dying, all in the same night.
“So, they were really vampires and they were... They wanted to...”
