Limerence II (16 page)

“She was our queen.”

We stare at one another for several moments before she continues.

“Our queen wasn’t always as she is. She was once human, a young and beautiful girl.”

“How do you know any of this?” I ask.

“Mr Breckt told Ava and Ava told me.” She shrugs.

“And now you’re telling me.”

She nods.

“Why?” I ask. I don’t trust her, though the emotions I feel coming from her feel truthful enough.

“Because you’re right: Mia and I were close—friends, almost—and I let her down. I knew taking her to the Commons would send her over the edge.”

“So why would you do it?” I snap.

“Because Ava asked me to, and…”

I shake my head at her and she scowls at me.

“Again with the self-righteousness, Evan.” Lora rolls her eyes at me and I relent, because well, she is right: I am just as bad as her. Worse, because I actually love the woman.

“So what happened next?” I huff out and grab the bottle of wine that Amora left. I take a long swig of it straight from the bottle and then hand it to Lora.

She drinks and then continues. “Our queen is called Rosalyn. She grew up with a boy called Sanuel. One day, vampires came to her village and killed everyone—everyone except Rosalyn and Sanuel. They hid, and when they thought the vampires had left, they tried to escape. But the vampires had not left. They caught the young boy and girl and took them.

“They were kept as prisoners in the vampire coven until they were full grown. By this time one of the male vampires had fallen in love with Rosalyn. He turned her on her twenty-first birthday so that they could be together. She was made, and with her new life she was a Bastion, stronger than most and with extraordinary powers to absorb the skills of other vampires. But her heart still belonged to Sanuel, and together after many years, Sanuel and Rosalyn escaped.” Lora takes another swig of the wine and hands it back to me, her eyes darting to the door before continuing. “Rosalyn turned Sanuel into a vampire so they could be together. He was a Pawn, but he was strong and fierce and loved her more than anything, and for many years they hid from the clan that hunted them. The vampire that had turned Rosalyn became crazy and obsessed with finding her, their blood bond unbroken and slowly driving him insane as he felt everything that Rosalyn felt: the love, the sex, the blood.

“One day the clan caught up with them. They destroyed the village that Rosalyn and Sanuel were hiding in, killing everyone. The bloodlust took over Rosalyn and she lost control, somehow managing to kill the vampire that had turned her.

“They ran again, and without the blood bond from Rosalyn’s maker to show them where she went, the vampires lost track of them. But Rosalyn’s moods began to grow darker and more evil, her bloodlust continually growing, until she completely lost it. Sanuel wouldn’t stand by her side any longer and he eventually abandoned her…” Lora’s words trail off, leaving an empty space in their wake.

I stare at her in shock.
How could I not know any of this?
I can’t help but wonder.
Have I so blindly followed queen for so long and never bothered to question or think past what she told me?
Not that any of this really matters, but it does explain some things.

“Mr San is…”

“Sanuel,” Lora finishes for me sadly.

“And she hates him because he left her?” All these vampire deaths, human deaths, all because of a broken heart.

I shake my head sadly.

The things we do for love can never be forgiven.

“So what do
we do now?” Lora asks.

“We?” I grunt.

“Yes, I want to help.” She nods enthusiastically.

“I do not need your help.” I grab a bag and begin to pack some of my things. “That was a great story, but it does not change anything, it does not help us—me, or Mia—in any way.”

“I haven’t told you the best part yet.”

I stop what I’m doing and turn to her. “There’s more?” I reply gruffly.

Lora nods her head. “The Queen is no longer in control. She hasn’t been in control for many years. She let her inner vampire take over—by choice—to make her stronger. She hated Sanuel for abandoning her. Her obsession with finding him grew and grew until she couldn’t think of anything else but finding him and killing him. Her love died and her hate for him turned to obsession. He was her husband, and he left her. This is the reason she hates him, and the reason she has been hunting for him ever since.”

I believe what she says—I have no reason not to. Also, for a vampire all feelings are electrified and they can spiral out of control very quickly. But I don’t see how any of this helps us.

“The reason I’m telling you all of this is to warn you—well, to warn you to warn Mia, I guess.”

“Warn me?” I almost laugh.

“Our queen is turning white, Evan. Have you never wondered why?” Lora speaks to me like I am a child, and she sees how much it annoys me and quickly continues before I yell at her again. “Her inner vampire is destroying her, from the inside out. It’s too late to stop it now, though. She’ll die a true death because of it. Your inner vampire—our inner vampire—is a parasite living inside of us all. They take control of their hosts, filling them with power, and then they slowly poison them until extinction.”

“Do not be ridiculous. We would have been told this,” I snap.

“Would we? Are we not always told, trained, and taught to never let our inner vampire take over?” She arches an eyebrow at me.

“So, you’re saying that Mia—” I start, but Lora cuts me off and I curl my lip at her.

“I’m saying that we need to get Mia to take back control before it’s too late.” Lora stands and comes towards me. “I want to help. We both caused this mess, Evan. Not just me, not just you. We were both played, but we can help her. We can stop her.”

“Why should I believe any of this? You could be lying.”

“Why would I lie? What would I have to gain?” It’s her turn to get annoyed now, her blond curls bobbing angrily around her head.

“You had nothing to gain by helping Ava and Mr Breckt, yet you did.” I turn away from her and continue packing my things. I take only what is necessary, though I’m almost certain that I will not be able to return here ever again—not without losing my head, anyway. And Mia, what do I do with her once I find her, once I free her? The Queen will kill her, has always intended to kill her. I knew this, yet I let it happen. But now? Now I know that I can’t let harm come to Mia, my allegiance—my black heart—going to Mia and not my queen. Not the woman that saved me, that allowed me to extract glorious vengeance upon the men who destroyed my family.

Do I not still owe her everything? How can I let her down after everything she has done for me? My body sags in defeat, my shoulders slumping, and I take a deep breath. Lora’s hand touches my shoulder and I pull away from her as if she has burnt me. I do not want her pity; I don’t deserve it.

“Together we can help her, Evan.” Her voice is soft, and the emotions coming from her speak truth, guilt, and sadness. But still my own stubbornness stands in the way.

I turn to her. “Again, I ask you why—why you want to help, why you helped Ava, and how you know all this.” My jaw ticks, my fangs itching to release, but I keep my calm, at least for what she can see, I do. Inside I want to break things, destroy everything and everyone, because Mia will never know peace. Everyone she has trusted has hurt her and used her. But mainly I still want to know why our queen is intent on killing Mia. Why Mr San wants her so badly. There is more to this tale than what Lora and I know, and to save Mia, I feel we must unlock those secrets. But time is running out on us.

“Because I owe my loyalty to my sister, as you do to our queen, but there comes a time when we have to ignore our loyalty, ignore our cravings, and do what is right.” She looks away, a red blush creeping up her cheeks. “And in all my years I have never felt guilt like I do for helping to harm Mia.”

“And yet you are lying to me,” I say coldly. Her lies taste bitter on my tongue.

She looks back to me, her pupils dilating. “Ava told me something else,” she says quietly.

I arch an eyebrow at her and she continues.

“She told me that a new queen is coming, that our queen’s death is imminent, and that her reign is nearly over…” She clears her throat, her words drifting off as the final pieces click together finally. Lora looks up at me sadly.

“And our queen believes that Mia is this chosen one?” I ask quietly and Lora nods, her eyes casting downwards to the floor. “And you want to be on the right team when it all unfolds,” I state darkly. I laugh a cold, bitter laugh, and pick up my bag.

Lora looks up at me and attempts to follow me out of the room, but I turn on her, my fangs finally releasing.

“You are a leech, a poisonous leech, and I do not want your help, Lora. In fact, if I find you anywhere near either Mia or me, I will personally rip your head off. You are selfish and cruel. At least I am trying to make amends for my actions. You are still solely thinking of yourself.” I storm out of the room and slam the door behind me.

Our queen is dying.

Mia is set to be queen.

But the question that troubles me more than anything, the most worrying thing of all this is: will it be Maya or Mia that will rule? Because if it is to be Maya, then I have lost Mia once and for all.

The music caresses
me, the sound waves visible only to my vampiric eyes. Tendrils of sound spin in kaleidoscopes of colours from the giant speakers dotted around the nightclub. It’s dark to the humans, blackness enveloping their writhing bodies, but to me, with this colour, with these eyes, I see everything. The sly touches, the tongues lapping at one another, filthy hands groping at breasts. I see it all without any conviction.

I sway my body to the music, my arms above my head reaching for the music that plays around my fingertips. My hips move from side to side, stretching the taught fabric of my black dress in a gentle embrace of my curves. The taste of alcohol on my tongue is foreign and bitter, and yet oh so good. Evan never said that other tastes would be so exquisite; he’s a sly one, keeping this to himself, and I can’t help but wonder what other delights he’s kept from me. I smile to myself.

I reach over to the person next to me and gently pry the bottle of beer from their fingers. They let go with a laid-back smile and continue dancing, turning from me and getting lost in the crowd. I hold the bottle of beer to my full lips and tip it back, letting the cold liquid slide down my throat, my body cooling upon its contact. I sigh at the taste again. It’s not just a taste but a feeling, as if lighting my nerve ends, prickling each one with feather-light touches. With the drink empty, I pass it to a waiting vampire. He takes it with a slight nod of his head, a slight bow to his stance as he exits the dance floor to get rid of my bottle.

I continue my swaying, my arms reaching upwards to the heavens once more, as if seeking the man that I will never meet. I blink, lazy thoughts drifting across my consciousness, the alcohol making me reckless. Large hands wrap around my waist, digging into the soft fabric of my dress. I look over my shoulder with curiosity. A man stands behind me, handsome in his own cocky, obnoxious way. Short hair and ice-cool eyes lined with thick dark lashes. He smiles at me, revealing perfect white teeth, and his tongue darts out and runs across his full lower lip. He presses himself against my backside, and I smile and raise an eyebrow at him, allowing his arrogance, the beer making us both irresponsible—the beer and the copious amounts of blood flowing through me.

“I’ve been watching you all night,” he shouts against my neck, his lips pressing against it and dotting it with wet drunken kisses. “I love the way you dance.” His voice is deep and rich, his words vibrating against my earlobe as he sucks it into his mouth.

I keep moving, keep grinding myself against him, making his hands dig harder into my soft flesh. I can feel his heart thudding in his chest, hear his blood pumping around his body and making me thirsty. His kisses become more urgent as I move with the beat and grind against him, and I can feel his chest vibrate against my back as he releases a deep rumbling sound of approval. My chest fills with heat, with wanting of his hard body against mine, to feel him pounding into me. I sway against the sensations, both loving and hating the loss of control. For too long I haven’t been in control, I won’t lose it now. I search out Mia, but she is nowhere to be found. She is gone.

This body is mine.

I take a heady breath to calm myself, letting the sensual colours float around me, but it only increases my lust for him, for what he’s offering. I can feel his hard length pressing against me more urgently, and I purr out my consent. He looks surprised when I pull away with a smile and take his hand, leading him off the dance floor. He follows after me like a puppy following its master, his sweaty hand still clutched in mine, neither of us speaking as I lead him to the exit, forgoing my belongings to the sensations that are coursing through me. The desire, the want, and the lust for more of him.

The fresh air hits me hard, making my skin tingle with excitement. The bouncers barely acknowledge us as we push past them. We walk some ways down the road, still not talking, the cool air washing over us, clearing my head for what is to come. I turn every now and then and smile. For such a large man, he seems so unsure of a woman taking charge of the situation—nervous, almost, that he’s losing control for once. I see a small alleyway to the left and we head down it. It’s dark and dirty, litter lining the gutters, but I couldn’t care less about that. What I do care about is this man’s body in mine, now.

Halfway down the alleyway I stop and turn to him, and he realises that this is the moment he has wanted all night. This is the moment that he has been thinking about, lusting after since watching me dance alone. Because of course I felt him staring at me, saw the tendrils of his desire reaching forwards and wanting to wrap around my throat. I wasn’t surprised he came to me; I wanted him to, silently willed him to.

Lust is a hard thing to ignore, no matter what your species.

He looks back nervously the way we came, and once satisfied that no one has followed us or can see us, he steps closer to me, places his hands against my bare shoulders and pushes me hard against the wall. I laugh as those rugged hands rove across my body, feeling out my curves, a slight tremble to his hands as they pass over my breasts with rough squeezes like a teenage boy.

He leans forward, his mouth moving to mine, his tongue invading me, and then we are kissing, hot angry kisses filled with lust and uncontrollable desire. His breath is hot and tastes of the alcohol he has drunk tonight, but mostly I can taste his heady desire for me. Our teeth clack together and he fists my hair and tips my throat up to meet his mouth. He licks down my neck, moving hungrily until his face is buried between my breasts, kissing across the tops while still holding me firmly in place, and he groans, the sound low in his throat and chest. His fingers pluck one of the thin straps of my dress and tug it down to free one of my breasts, and then he is biting my nipple through the thin lace material of my black bra. I gasp as the sensations course through me and my vision blurs. I struggle to control myself, both wanting to bite into him and drink his intoxicating desire down, and not. He’s not being gentle and romantic, but forceful and violent in some ways, and I love it. It thrills me that he wants me so much, it pleases me that he has no idea who I am, or what he has gotten himself into, and I love that he wants this body so much. This body that I’ve made mine.

I can almost hear Mia crying inside of me. If I listen hard enough, I can hear her pleas to stop this.

His hand fumbles beneath my skirt, fingers intruding on secret parts not meant for such rough touches, and I cry out as his thick fingers encroach on soft places with speed and accuracy and leave me gasping for more. His fingers retreat, leaving me hungry and panting, even as he lifts the thin material of my dress with one hand whilst clutching the side of my panties and dragging them down my bare legs with the other.

He looks into my face with a crude snarl, and I can see the colourful auras of aggression bouncing around him. His desire and anger at my confidence are spurring him on, and yet from his hungry expression, they also turn him on more. My own steady hands work at his belt, unclasping it and allowing his pants to drop around his ankles. Big hands grip my face, squeezing too tightly before pressing his lips forcefully to mine, pushing his tongue between my lips and leaving sloppy kisses on my mouth.

He stares into my eyes, his soul black and ripe for the taking, and I smile.

He pulls out of the kiss and turns me around forcefully, and my hands splay against the cool wall as he throws my skirt up over my arse, baring it to the cold night, and in one quick movement he pushes himself inside me violently.

I cry out, gasping at the sudden intrusion of him, his length filling me from entrance to what feels like all the way to my stomach and making me shiver with pleasure. I try to grip the filthy wall in front of me, trying to find purchase on something to keep my body steady as he pounds into me without restraint, grunting noisily with each thrust.

He’s uncaring if he’s hurting me or if I’m enjoying it, eager to have his own way, his own fill of me. This is his way of showing me that he is in control, that he chose this, not I, that he is master and commander of his body and mine. I love his supposed strength, the way he feels he has dominated the situation, as if he is fully capable of controlling me in any way. That’s how all these human men are. Aggressive and possessive, believing that they can take what they want, when they want it, when the true power always lies within the woman.

Vampire or not, we are the key-holders to their pleasure.

His hand palms my arse cheek as he grunts and slams into me, pressing my face against the cool brickwork. He pants and groans and I gasp as he pulls out and pushes back in, his movements becoming jerky as he closes in on his supposed big finale. His hand slaps my arse cheek hard, and I yell out with a cry of pleasure and shock. His thrusts become more frantic as he grunts out his satisfaction, the alcohol in his system making him lazy as his hips grind against me and he holds me still against him while he sighs against my neck.

He is finished, whereas I am only just starting my pleasure.

My body hums for more.

Begs and pleads for this to be a starter, a prelude to the main course.

His large, meaty hand slaps my arse cheek again as he chokes on a laugh. “Damn, girl,” he pants, pulling out of me slowly with a hiss as I tighten around him, not ready to let him go just yet.

I stare at the wall in front of me, listening to the sound of him pulling his pants back up. Listening to the distant wail of police sirens. To cats mewling. To dogs barking. To horns honking. To the world alive around us. So many sounds to hear, but right now, the one that I hear the loudest is him: His heart pounding furiously in his chest. His blood pumping through his veins.

Bending down to retrieve my underwear, I slide them back up my silken thighs and turn to him with a smile. “Did you enjoy that?” I ask, my body trembling with want. Needing more. Barely controlling the heat that is pouring from every nerve in my body and making me tremble.

He smiles cockily, fastening his belt buckle. “I did.” He looks up through those dark lashes of his and winks. “And there I was thinking that you were one of those stuck up girls that only puts out after dinner and a show.” He licks his lips. “I guess looks can be deceiving, because you’re all the same when it comes down to it.” He snickers, thinking himself amusing as his eyes wash up and down my body.

I smile as my fangs release and his eyes go wide with confusion. “Do you think so?” I say before throwing myself at him.

He falls backwards and lands on his back, his head colliding with the ground so hard I feel it rock through his body as he grunts out in pain. His hands grip the tops of my arms as he weakly pushes me away, and he cries out as my face buries into the side of his neck. My fangs dig into the soft flesh, piercing the thin skin around his throat and feeling muscles strain against me before he hushes, his fighting stopping as I release my venom into him.

And then I take my time, slowly piercing him several times to find the comfiest place for my full mouth to be, my lips parting and creating a suction against him, not wanting to waste a single drop of him.

His blood rushes into me and it is my turn to groan from pleasure. Heat burns from tongue to toes as his blood fills me, igniting every cell in me until I worry I may go up in flames at any moment, but I don’t stop. I can’t stop. I want all of him. I moan against his neck, my body rocking softly as I grip his shirt and pull him closer, greedily sucking and urging his blood into me faster.

His pulse weakens and still I drink, swallowing down every last drop of this handsome man and making him a part of me forever.

The world comes even more alive around me, sounds exploding in my ears, smells stronger than before. I open my eyes and pull away from his neck as I swallow down the last that he has to offer.

His pupils are dilated but unmoving, his mouth open in a silent scream. I lean over and kiss his mouth, licking his lips and leaving a trace amount of his own blood on them. I run a hand through his hair, feeling each delicate strand beneath my fingertips, so soft and fragile. I grip it, fishing it in my palm and pulling on it gently. It comes away in clumps and I hold it up, staring mesmerised as it blows away in the breeze. So fragile, these humans.

“Mia.”

I look up sharply, my head snapping in the direction of the entrance to the alleyway. My gaze narrows in on Evan. He stands tall, his broad shoulders seeming to fill the void of the alleyway entrance, his shadow casting a dark path towards me.

“Evan.” I smile and stand, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “Always a pleasure to see you.” I lick my lips. And it is a pleasure to see him. Mia’s feelings for him have become my own. Perhaps it is his hatred for me that makes me desire him so. “It’s been too long.”

He tsks, and before I can blink he’s in front of me. I’m unsurprised, my eyes being able to trace the path he made to get to me by following the trail of colours towards me. Yet still I find it mesmerizing. Find him mesmerising. His hard, strong body, the dips and curves of his stomach muscles, make me think of the man I just drank from and killed and how pathetic the human race truly is.

Vampires are the future, and surely looking at Evan right now, Mia can see that to be true, for he is a warrior—a higher grade of both human and vampire alike. This should be enough to convince anyone that humans have no place in this world now.