Chapter 29

When I woke up, I found myself in the same place as before, lying on the floor of a room covered with carpet. However, the intense pain that had almost killed me was gone, as was the burning sensation I had felt before. I couldn't feel anything, but I also couldn't move my body. The only thing I could move was my eyelids as I blinked.

Another uncomfortable issue I faced was that my throat felt extremely dry. It was like I had just eaten a bowl of hot, coarse sand. I couldn't open my mouth to scream, even though I wasn't sure I had a voice to scream with anymore.

For almost three hours, I could only stare at the ceiling above me and blink. I didn't know if it was morning or night. My body was still in the exact same position as before I lost consciousness. I couldn't feel my breath or my heartbeat at all.

Was this what it felt like to die? No... I was still alive.

Various thoughts raced through my head. What was Lana doing right now? Did she realize I was missing? And Nick... had he received the video? I didn't want to imagine his expression as he watched it. Although Alastair only bit me, he opened our clothes, making it seem like he was touching me too. Why did he do that?

I wasn't sure how long I had been lying here, but the more I thought about it, the less I wanted Nick to come and save me. What if he hated me after this? The seconds turned into minutes, and the longer I lingered, the less I wanted Nick to come to my rescue. How would he feel if he did? The seconds turned into minutes, and the longer I lingered, the less I wanted Nick to come to my rescue.

I couldn't feel my breath or my heartbeat at all.

This was the third time, first Greg bit me, then Leech's attack that night, and finally Alastair. It seemed like Alastair wasn't Leech; he was different from Elizabeth. He was more like Nick and Greg, Volder too.

"Eleanor..." I recognized this voice, a voice with a slight foreign accent in it. Alice knelt beside me, checking my vital signs. I didn't hear her arrival at all.

Alice looked different, her golden hair was tied up carelessly, and she was wearing all black clothing down to her boots. A katana peeked from behind her shoulder. Her clear gray-blue eyes looked at me with a hint of worry, but I couldn't open my mouth to speak to her. "Nicholas!" she shouted without averting her gaze from me.

Five seconds later, Nick was standing behind Alice. I had never seen him like this before. His jaw was covered in a growing beard, and his blue eyes looked tired and reddened, matching the dark circles under his eyes. He looked very messy. It was a stark contrast to the Nick I knew, the Nick who was always neat and calm. I wanted to reach out to him and tell him that I was okay, even though I wasn't, I just wanted to erase the expression on his face right now. The expression of guilt and torment that haunted him.

Alice shifted her body as Nick knelt in front of me. His palm cupped my face carefully, and that's when the excruciating thirst in my throat turned painful. "I will remove the poison," Nick's voice sounded very hoarse as he spoke.

"Too late," Alice murmured from beside him very softly. "But my blood can expedite the process." She added, picking up a thick blanket from the bed and handing it to Nick.

What process? I wanted to open my mouth to ask but couldn't. Nick lifted my body and wrapped me in the blanket. He moved me onto the bed very carefully, as if my body were made of cracked porcelain. His eyes avoided my direct gaze; I didn't know what he was thinking right now, but seeing him avoid my eyes made me sad.

"Nicholas?" Alice called him, one of her hands holding a small dagger. "It's your call."

Nick grasped my hand, although I couldn't feel it, his head slightly bowed so I couldn't see his expression. "I can't, Alice." Nick's voice sounded almost shattered.

"You have to decide, for Eleanor's sake." Alice waited for Nick's response with a cold expression on her face. Her clear gray-blue eyes looked coldly at me and Nick alternately. "If you want to blame yourself, do it later. Right now, Eleanor needs you."

"Eleanor won't—" "My blood will accelerate the process," Alice interjected impatiently. "But it will turn into poison if it stays in her body for too long. That's why Nicholas hesitates; he knows you won't be willing to drink fresh blood. But this is better than letting you suffer longer." This is all I can do for you."

Leech? I am Leech?

I wanted to answer her, I wanted to shake my head as hard as I could. I would never drink blood, fresh or otherwise. I would never—

Alice nicked her wrist with the dagger, a drop of blood fell on my lips followed by another. The thick fluid entered through the gap in my lips, wetting my previously numb tongue. Now I almost began to feel again. But what I felt was not the disgusting taste of blood.

Alice opened my mouth with her right hand, while her left wrist remained on my mouth. The warm and fragrant liquid moistened my dry throat, feeling like a warm soup I had never tried before. I felt like I wanted to drink it forever. Slowly, my vision became clearer, brighter than before. My heart began to beat again, this time with a regular rhythm. The pleasant warmth coiled in my stomach spread to every corner of my body.

I didn't realize when, but both of my hands were now gripping Alice's wrist, trying to pull her closer to my lips. My tongue touched my elongated fangs. But Alice was faster and stronger than me. She pushed my collarbone with her right hand to hold me in place. "The more blood you drink from me, the harder it will be to expel it."

When Alice mentioned blood, my sanity returned instantly. I pushed my body away from her as quickly as possible. I looked at her wrist with a horrified and disgusted look, then wiped my wet mouth with the back of my hand, trying hard not to lick the remnants of blood on my hand. I opened my mouth to speak but couldn't. There was no sound coming out.

"Your body will function normally after 24 hours, Eleanor." She looked briefly at the floor before looking back at me. "Do you want me to help you get dressed before we leave?"

Leave. The word sounded absurd to me. There was no way back for me.

Alice picked up my dress from the carpet and helped me put it on. I couldn't move my entire body normally, everything still felt stiff. Nick returned a few moments later. He glanced at me briefly before leading me out of the room. It seemed he was still avoiding my gaze.

Nick rented a suite at the Ritz Carlton San Francisco, which was a few blocks from my apartment. Eric was the one who opened the door when we arrived, and he smiled at me, something he had never done before. And as before, he was wearing a black suit, neatly pressed.

"I've obtained the donor, Sir, AB+," Eric murmured to Nick quietly.

"Thank you, Eric," Nick replied, guiding me to another room. Much of my body still felt stiff, and I could hardly feel his touch. Alice and Eric did not follow us. We entered a spacious living room, and Nick helped me sit on a cream-colored sofa. He remained standing beside me as the door across from us opened, and a woman about my age entered. She was dressed casually, her black hair tied back neatly, but what struck me the most was the look of fear on her face. I was sure she was human, and she was the donor Eric had mentioned.

"Eleanor..."

Before Nick could continue his sentence, I stood up from my seat. The woman in front of me seemed to freeze as she looked at me, her large brown eyes widening in fear. Was Nick going to ask me to take the woman's blood directly? The nausea I had expected after imagining it didn't come; instead, I felt a thirst in my throat. I turned to Nick, then to the woman still standing in front of us. Nick took my hand, and I looked back at him, "I understand, Eleanor. No one will force you." Nick's words made me feel a little calmer.

"You may go back," he said to the woman in front of us, and she immediately opened the door behind her and disappeared behind it. "Forgive me," Nick muttered after the woman left, but he didn't let go of my hand. I bowed my head to look at him, the guilt on his face still the same as when he first saw me a few hours ago. I lifted one of my hands that was not in his grasp and drew his head to my chest, my fingers gently tracing his brown hair. I couldn't say anything right now, so this was all I could do for him. This isn't your fault, Nick.

He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer. I could feel his body trembling slightly. "That video... I swear I'll kill him, Eleanor. I'll kill Alastair."

For some reason, my desire for Alastair to die had disappeared. The smile on his face before he bit me still lingered in my mind, but his face couldn't evoke any emotion in me now.

"What are you doing, Nicholas?" Alice's voice made me draw away from Nick. I hadn't heard her come in. She stood at the door, her hands folded, her all-black attire still strange to me. "Eleanor needs to drink fresh blood within 24 hours; my blood will turn into poison for her if it stays in her body for too long," her tone was slightly angry at Nick. Her cold gray-blue eyes looked at me and Nick alternately. "She only has 15 hours left."

"I'll take care of it, Alice," Nick said without standing up, "Thank you for your help. Eric too."

Alice stared at Nick sharply. "Now you're kicking me out?"

"Yeah. I think Eleanor is tired, and you... you have an appointment with Lancaster this afternoon, right?

The drastic change in Alice's face made me slightly taken aback. Lancaster? Luke Lancaster? He's Lana's cousin. We dated 8 years ago when I was a freshman. Now he's in Manhattan as the CEO of a famous security system company, Crossfire Incorporation. What is Alice's relationship with Luke?

"So you already know," she muttered to Nick, pulling the corners of her mouth down before turning and disappearing behind the door. I turned to Nick again with a questioning look, but he thought I wanted to ask about Alice's blood becoming poison in my body.

"I won't force you to drink human blood directly from the source, Eleanor. Are you still thirsty?"

I hesitated before nodding slightly. My throat felt like it was burning; no matter how much I tried to swallow my saliva, the heat wouldn't go away. Nick just looked at me for a few moments; once again, his handsome face almost made me forget my thirst. Although his eyes looked tired, the blue of his eyes still looked clear. His slightly messier appearance than usual didn't diminish his handsomeness. My gaze briefly shifted to his slightly disheveled brown hair; I wanted to touch it again. How could someone like Eleanor attract the attention of a man like him? Then I realized I hadn't seen myself in the mirror since earlier; I didn't know how disheveled I looked right now. Even my white dress was very wrinkled. My hands moved to my tangled hair, which was almost coming loose from its tie. What about my face?

"Eleanor..."

My gaze returned to Nick's face. He had been looking at me all this time, but his expression changed slightly after I unraveled my hair. "Do you want to take a bath?" he asked. Was I that disheveled? I felt my face flush slightly. I nodded at him, and he stood up next to me, taking my right hand.

"I'll prepare the water. Do you mind wearing my clothes while waiting?" Nick glanced at me briefly as we walked towards another door leading to the bedroom. I nodded again. We entered the hotel room, which was as big as my room in Manhattan. Nick went into the bathroom, leaving me alone. I walked to the mirror attached to the large wardrobe on the side of the room. I looked as bad as Nick, but there was something different. My auburn wavy hair framed my slightly paler-than-usual face. But it wasn't just my face that looked pale; my whole body did. The amber color of my eyes, which used to lean more towards brown, now looked brighter. Almost like the color of fire. I stood frozen in front of the mirror for a few moments, unable to tear my gaze away from my reflection.

"Eleanor?"

I turned to Nick, who appeared from behind the door and walked towards him. He told me where the shampoo and towel were and then left me in the bathroom. I took off all my dirty clothes before getting into the bathtub; my whole body felt more relaxed after being in the warm water. I washed my hair after soaking and then dried it with a towel. As I brushed my teeth, I felt a pair of small fangs covered in the top row of my teeth. These fangs didn't feel as clear as when Alice gave me her blood; they were almost hidden. I took another towel to wrap around my body and then stood in front of the door. Nick didn't provide clothes for me, and I couldn't wear my dirty clothes again.

Was he still in the room? Did I have to get them myself? I turned the doorknob of the bathroom slowly and opened the door halfway. Nick was still in the room. He was standing with his back to the bathroom door, talking on his phone. Suddenly, he turned his body, and our eyes met, but Nick's gaze slowly went down to my bare feet and then back up to my blushing face.

"What? Hold on a moment," he murmured into his phone. He pointed to the suitcase on the sofa and then walked out of the room. After Nick closed the door, I walked out of the bathroom, took a white shirt, and one of his boxers from his suitcase. They were all too big for me, so I had to tie the end of the boxers to make them fit. Nick returned a few moments later, asking me to stay in the room while he took a shower.

Ten minutes later, he came out with slightly damp hair, wearing a maroon T-shirt and black pajama pants. The burning sensation in my throat worsened, and I still couldn't speak.

"Are you hungry?" he asked before sitting on the bed. I sat on the sofa across from the bed and shook my head. I didn't feel hungry at all. Just thirsty, very thirsty.

"Eleanor, I have one way for you not to have to drink human blood." He combed his dark brown hair with one hand and looked at me seriously. "However, we have to neutralize Alice's blood in your body because it will turn into poison if left too long." He added. Then he suddenly reached out his hand to me. "But you have to be close to me to do it."

Huh? I stood up from the sofa and walked until I was right in front of him, placing one of my hands in his outstretched hand.

"Even closer," Nick pulled me until I fell onto his lap. I looked at him slightly surprised, but he continued, "You have to wrap your hands around my neck." He took both of my hands and wrapped them around his neck, our faces now only a few inches apart. I could smell his distinct scent and soap, but there was another scent that I still couldn't understand. A scent that made my thirst worse.

"Then," he murmured, looking into my eyes, "I have to kiss you." His clear blue eyes looked at me seriously for a few seconds before turning into a small smile. "I'm just kidding."

For a moment, I could only concentrate on the scent, without realizing my gaze had shifted to his neck. No, to the pulse in his neck that was beating.

"Do it, Eleanor."

Nick's voice brought my gaze back to his face quickly. What did he say?

"You won't hurt me." His small smile still lingered on his face, but I responded with a horrified look. As I was about to release myself from him, Nick's hands on my waist stopped me.

He leaned towards my ear and whispered, "You know, for us, biting is foreplay."

This time, his words truly made me jump away from him. I stood a step away from him, looking at him with a flushed face. Nick's deep, hoarse laughter made my face even redder. "I'm just kidding, okay?" He tried to hold back his laughter and then extended his hand to me again. I didn't move from my spot.

"Eleanor... I'm just kidding." He repeated with a more serious face, "But you have to drink my blood." He saw my panicked face and then pulled the corners of his mouth down, "You won't hurt me." He still extended his hand to me.

I swallowed my saliva and then reached out for his extended hand.