My Midnight Moonlight Valentine

by J. J. McAvoy

  “Kiss me,” I demanded.

  “I may not be able to stop, Druella,” he whispered back.

  “Kiss…”

  He didn’t wait. His lips were like a wave as they overtook me, and I knew then as my mouth opened for him, and my eyes closed, that heaven was on the tip of his tongue this whole time. My body trembled with pleasure. My hands ached to feel his skin on mine. I was warm all over like I was basking in the sun, but I could see stars, and then, it was gone.

  “Theseus?” I opened my eyes confused, and he wasn’t there. “Theseus, where are you?”

  “I’m right here.”

  Spinning around, sure enough, he was there, but…but he stood, not on the patio, but in front of a large wall of books, wearing dark jeans, a button-down shirt, and a grey sweater on top of it. Putting down the book in his hand, he started to walk to me. “What is wrong, my love?”

  Before I could speak to him, he walked right through me, turning back around in the entryway of some townhouse…stood me…mortal me. I was dressed in my favorite ripped, dark blue jeans with a white shirt and a large cardigan, holding my old laptop bag, the imagine of Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss, which I had thrown out months ago after spilling ink on it. But it didn’t have ink on it.

  “Druella, tell me what it is?” he pressed, holding my cheeks as I bit back tears.

  “I need you to trust me, Theseus, and get out of here. I will follow, but I need you to go first.”

  “If you think I am just going to accept that, you do not know me well enough.” He frowned. “Tell me what is happening. I will help, and then we can leave together.”

  “You can’t help me, Theseus. This between the coven and me. I have to do it alone.”

  He shook his head. “You are my mate. There is no such thing as alone. You may be a powerful witch, Druella, but you cannot take on your whole coven by yourself.”

  I watched as I stepped back, pulling my hands from his face. “Watch me.”

  “Druella? Druella?”

  Opening my eyes, I looked up. The moon was still there, and Theseus was still in its light. His grey eyes stared down in shock and confusion. It took a second, wondering what the hell was scratching my back when I realized I was laying down.

  “What happened?” he questioned, helping me sit up. “One moment you were kissing me, and the next you collapsed almost as if you had fainted?”

  I just sat there, unable to answer on fake grass, confused. What I had seen wasn’t a dream; it felt…it felt like a memory. But how could I have a memory of him when I’d just met him? I didn’t know him before. I didn’t know witches or a coven.

  “Druella—”

  “Theseus, drink from me, see for yourself because…because I need to know that I’m not crazy.”

  He didn’t say anything. Brushing my hair to the side, he pulled down the sleeve of my dress before biting my neck. A wave of pain as his teeth broke into my skin was released, and then pleasure ran through me. But I didn’t act on it, instead focusing on what I saw. The hundreds of questions still in my mind. When he released his bite on me, licking my neck, he held me close to him, kissing the top of my head.

  “You know more than me. Can you explain?” I whispered in his arms, and he opened his mouth to speak when I heard another voice break through loudly.

  “Lucy!”

  Chapter 17

  “Lucy, stop. Lucy, you need to stop,” Taelon said gently, kneeling next to his love, as she kept sucking and clawing at the throat of a human man who I was sure would not live due to the amount of damage she had done to his face, neck, and chest.

  Her nails were long, fangs exposed, and her pure-black eyes had taken over the whites, as she gave into the beast inside her. Lucy snarled and hissed at anything that came close to her meal. Her dress and face were soaked in blood, and the rest of the humans who had bite marks but were still alive were being sent out of the room.

  “Lucy—”

  “Will someone get this beast?” President Swan hollered, and at his voice, Lucy’s head snapped up, and a deep growl came from inside her.

  Her body was hunched over as she got on all fours.

  “Lucy, no—”

  It was too late. She pounced. However, before she got far, Theseus was there, grabbing her neck and lifting her from the ground. Her feet dangled, and she began to snarl, trying to claw herself free, which only made Theseus squeeze harder.

  “Theseus—”

  He shot me a warning glance before lifting her. “You. Will. Cease. Or. Die.” The command in his voice was unwavering and harsh. He threw her like a rag doll into one of the walls so hard that it cracked, and she fell with a thud. Walking over to her, he picked her up again and slammed her into the wall repeatedly. Eyes wide, I looked at Taelon as he stood frozen with his eyes forward, his head up. And though masked it, with every thud of her body hitting the wall, he fought with himself. It was only when Lucy cried out that he moved.

  “Help…”

  He flinched. He looked over at her as Theseus let her go, allowing her to fall to the ground at his feet. Seeing her tremble, he made a move to go to her.

  “You will not move!” President Swan all but roared. “Stand in your disgrace, Taelon, as she is brought to heel!”

  “Ta…” Lucy looked up, her black hair all over her face.

  Again, he tried to move.

  “Disobey me, and you shall have her torn to shreds,” President Swan said but stopped when Theseus stomped on Lucy’s face with such force I thought I heard something crack.

  “Theseus!” My voice broke as I called out to him.

  He ignored me, but thankfully, he did not stomp on her again. Lucy seemed just to lay there, frozen. Slowly her nails shrank back, her fangs, too, and when the whites of her eyes returned, her lids drifted shut. Theseus turned to President Swan.

  Now everyone was watching, but not watching like Taelon and I were watching. Even Daiyu had pity in her eyes. I preferred that to the nonchalant or even entertained looks on everyone else’s face.

  “President Swan, First Lady Mimiteh Swan, Mikhail Swan.” Theseus bowed his head much lower than he had ever done before as he spoke to each one. “My guest has ruined your celebrations, taken the life of one that belonged to you, and was woefully unmannered and uncivilized. I do not know how to express my regret, however as the one who invited her, I take responsibility, and whatever punishment for this is deemed, I demand it be placed on me in her stead.”

  “How the hell are we supposed to punish a Thorbørn?” Mikhail huffed, turning to his father. “He knows we can’t and is doing this to protect this thing.”

  “Always stating the obvious brother,” Daiyu muttered, her eyes glancing towards me. “However, father, the Lessor blood is not his guest; she is hers.”

  “Druella is my—”

  “Your intended is not a mate,” President Swan interrupted and looked at me. “The apology should come from her; am I not correct, my swan?”

  The mute woman beside him nodded.

  “President Swan, First Lady Mimiteh Swan, Mikhail Swan,” I said, moving to stand beside Theseus, bowing my head to each of them and repeating the same words Theseus had said but adding, “I will accept my punishment after I take her away.”

  “Since when does the one to be punished decide when to be punished?” President Swan asked, annoyed. “If your intended seeks knowledge, the first thing you should have taught her was the difference between her and those she associates with. Foolish love has blinded my son, Taelon, but she has no excuse. She was asked politely by my daughter to detach herself from this beast, yet she refused. We invited you into our home, and you bring chaos.”

  Rewind power, this would be a good time to kick in. I thought, trying to figure out how to get it to work, but nothing happened.

  “A life for a life. You brought her he
re, Ms. Monroe. She killed someone, and now, you will kill her.”

  “Father!” Taelon hollered. “It was a human life; it is not equal.”

  “Humans serve a purpose. What do Lesser bloods serve, expect for provoking the humans and witches against us? I miss the days when we hunted their kind.” Mikhail snickered and nodded to his father. “Your justice is as always perfect, Father.”

  I bit my lip hard. Come on, rewind! Damnit.

  My fists clenched in anger.

  “It seems she does not agree.” President Swan had his eyes on me and his chin up.

  “At the very least,” Theseus’s voice was controlled. “She deserves a trial, does she not, Mr. President? I thought this was a republic.”

  “All in favor of the execution of Lucy Ming?” President Swan lifted his thumb, and one by one, everyone raised their thumbs as if this were Rome. Hypocritical bastards. Why wouldn’t this work? Why couldn’t this power work?

  “A life for a life, Druella.” A silvery voice of a woman—it sounded so clear, light, and pleasant—came to mind. I turned to Lucy as she laid there.

  “Theseus, you swore to me she would have your protection—”

  “Silence! Hold him!” President Swan demanded, and a group of guards came over to hold Taelon back. “Lucy Ming has been found guilty, carry out your punishment and hers.”

  “A life for a life, Druella.”

  “Father!”

  “A life for a life, Druella.”

  On the third time I heard those words, I saw him, the dead human, except he wasn’t laying on the ground with his neck gouged out. He stood like a ghost; I could see right through him, and he was staring at me.

  “Please heal me. It’s not too late,” he begged, looking down at himself. “I only agreed to this because of my sister. She’s sick, and money’s tight. It is only us. I can’t leave her. Please let me go back.”

  “How?” I asked him, confused.

  “Druella?” Theseus put his hand my shoulder.

  “She doesn’t even know how to kill?” Mikhail grumbled. “Father, I will—”

  “It is her punishment. She must do it. Rip her apart. That is how.” President Swan’s voice boomed.

  All of them distracted me from the human.

  “You’re magic,” the human said, lifting his hand. “Heal me. Save me. Please.”

  I glanced down at my hands, and they twitched with something—I didn’t know, a fire, and I remembered. Simone’s hands had glowed when she was about to heal Theseus. Mine didn’t, but for some reason, I was sure I could do it. I just needed to touch him.

  I nodded, turning to President Swan. “Very well.”

  “Druella!” Taelon yelled.

  “It’s okay, Taelon.” I smiled at him. “Lucy’s going to be okay. I’m not going to hurt my friend.”

  “Huh?” Mikhail questioned. “What is she saying, Prince?”

  “A life for a life,” I answered for myself, moving from Theseus and walking to the human, I then kneeled beside his head, placing my hand over his neck. “I need you to live, sir, for the sake of my friend and your sister.”

  “She does know he’s dead, right. He can’t become a vampire—”

  “Shut up,” Daiyu said to her brother slowly.

  The broken body under me began to heal. His skin stitched back together, and the cuts all over his skin began to mend. When every wound had closed, the ghost knelt across from me.

  “Thank you,” he said before laying into his body, and it jerked in response.

  I smiled when I heard his heart beat once, then twice, before it remained steady. He began to wake, but because of the blindfold, he panicked.

  “Relax.” I put my hand on his head.

  “What happened?” he asked, moving his head right to left.

  “Work hazard,” I said to him. “If your sister needs you, then you should find a safer job. Come on.”

  Getting up, I helped him to his feet, too. He held my hands tightly, as he too was confused. I looked back at President Swan.

  “Can someone take him, please? The poor human has had a very rough night.” I smiled at him.

  Everyone just stared at me. The only person who seemed able to get over the shock was Theseus who waved over the guard.

  “Nothing better happen to him, or I will find you.” I pointed to the guard who shook in fear at my voice, taking the man away.

  “Thank you,” the human said again, but I just waved, though he couldn’t see it.

  When he was gone, I ignored every last person and walked to Lucy, helping her off the ground and allowing her to rest on me. Her lids fluttered open a bit as she looked up. Her eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t let them fall. Vampires only cried when they were in extreme pain. She had told me it was rare and a disgrace. So, to see her like this in front of so many people—even though she was injured, embarrassed, and ashamed—I knew she wouldn’t allow herself to start crying now.

  “Do you think you’ll be able to help me get blood out of this silk?” I asked, walking us both over to stairs. “I really like this dress and just got it. I don’t want to get rid of it.”

  The only sound was my voice as everyone watched. Lucy glanced down at the stain on the silk.

  “I think I can figure out something, but it will be an extra $12.99,” she whispered back.

  “$12.99 extra?” I gasped in horror as we made it up the stairs. “That’s a little steep!”

  “It’s Mussel Silk. Do you know how much effort it’s going to take?” she said as we reached the top and moved to Taelon’s elevator. “In fact, I’m giving you a very good discount.”

  I scoffed, pushing the button. “Sure, you are.”

  I stepped into it with her, glad I couldn’t see their faces as we got inside and that neither Theseus nor Taelon followed us. I looked at the screen, realizing that I didn’t know how to work it. However, Lucy just tapped on the glass twice, and a keypad came up. She pressed the button for the guest floor. Briefly, I wondered how that could be secure, but who was going to break in? When the elevator began to move, she fell to her knees, her body shaking, but she still didn’t let out her sob. She bit her lip as hard as she could and kept her eyes shut as tears slid down her snow-white face. I was grateful that even Lesser bloods didn’t cry blood tears. There had been enough blood for the night. It was only when we got to mine and Theseus’s room that she fully broke down, sobbing. And though I knew she’d complain about it later, I hugged her.

  “I tried so hard,” she gasped.

  “I know.”

  “I wanted them to see I could be with him.”

  “You can.”

  “I can’t.” She hung her head. “I disgraced—”

  “You lost control, drinking from a human! I bet all of them have. They are only picking on you because of their prejudice.”

  “Still, I ruined my chance.” She hung her head and lifted her bloody robes. “What am I saying? I never really had a chance. I knew they would hate me, but I thought…I thought they would allow me just to be next to him and hate quietly. His father is going to forbid me from even being next to him.”

  “And Taelon will ignore him.”

  She looked up at me even more sorrowful. “I know. That’s what I am afraid of. If he does, he will be abandoned. You should know how deeply it hurts to be abandoned by your maker. And his father is President Swan, the rest of vampire society will reject him, not just here but everywhere because they don’t want to cause chaos and bad relations with America. I will be the reason why he is an outcast, why he suffers, and I don’t want that. He loves his family.”

  “He loves you more,” I reminded her. “And Ankeiros won’t abandon him.”

  She wiped her face. “You can’t speak for Ankeiros. Theseus isn’t King. Just because he is with you does not mean his fa
ther will agree. It is a lot of trouble for a Lesser blood.”

  “But—”

  “Don’t piss off your new family just for me, Dru,” she said, petting my shoulder. “I have to deal with the consequences of my actions. You’ve already done too much for me.”

  I wanted to tell her to take a second and relax, but I heard the elevator moving. She did her best to clean her face, sniffling a little bit more before rising from the floor, adjusting her clothes, and standing with her head held high.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to my father’s to stay with him for a while…alone.” She glanced over her shoulder as I got up. “Don’t worry, Taelon, is my mate; I’m not leaving him. We just need space. His family needs space. A few years will make his father calm down.”

  “Years?” I spoke as the door opened.

  Taelon was the first one inside, immediately looking for Lucy. She walked up to him, and he pulled her into her arms, hugging her tightly, not saying a word.

  “Come on. We should say thank you and go,” she whispered, tugging on his clothes.

  He kissed the side of her head before his eyes found me.

  “I make this blood oath to you, Druella.” Taelon got on his knees and bit his wrist. “If you ever need anything in this world, I will give it to you, without question.”

  I smiled. “Even Lucy?”

  He smiled back, nodding; “Yes because I know you’d return her to me.”

  He was right.

  “Thank you, both of you.” Lucy got on her knees as well when Theseus stood beside me. “If not for you, Lord Thorbørn, I may have gotten more out of control. Usually, Taelon can talk me out of it but…thank you.”

  “You were told to call me Theseus, were you not?” He questioned. “Now get up and go. We all need to clean up.”

  They nodded, rising. Taelon held onto her though. I was sure she was healing now. They walked back to the elevator. He glanced over his shoulder to Theseus as if we wanted to say more, but Theseus waved him on, clearly not wanting to hear it.