Aster:
Aster sat between Elizabeth and Ann, Samuel’s two wives. The two chubby women looked so similar with their strawberry blonde hair, grey eyes and relatively plain features, that Aster thought they were related – they quickly informed her that there was a hundred years age difference between them, and until he took Ann, they had never met. “Samuel definitely has a type,” Aster said, and smiled.
With nothing else to do, she looked around the room, comparing the vampires’ appearance with each other. It was a shallow way to pass the time, but at least it was entertaining. Across the room, she caught Samuel’s eye – he smiled and raised a glass filled with amber liquid in the air. Like all the other vampires she had met, he was handsome; dusty hair, full lips, straight nose, but unlike Declan and Rowan, he was tall and wiry, rather than muscular. In contrast, Joel with his blue eyes and blonde hair was short and brawny, and had almost babyish feature
Declan: Declan was vaguely aware of Samuel’s presence. “What happened?” his brother asked Rowan. Declan listened, detached, as his father told Samuel what had transpired the last two hours. He didn’t want to move; he wanted to lie on this floor, staring at the ceiling until the end of time came. Samuel knelt next to him, and held the tube of the blood bag to his lips. He kept his mouth closed, and turned his head, staring into Mary’s empty eyes again. His breath hitched, and he turned his head away. “Come on, mate, you have to…do it for Aster.” From behind, Rowan lifted him into a sitting position, letting Declan rest the back of his head against his shoulder. If he wasn’t so far down the pit of despair, he’d have found his father's warmth and kindness surprising, but for now he just let Rowan take care of him like an infant. “Come on, son, please.” He took the blood bag from Samuel and coaxed the tube into his mouth, and as Declan di
Aster: Even though she didn’t have to, Lydia stayed with Aster…even after she stopped feeling Declan, and started to regain her equilibrium a little. “Thank you,” she said after a while. “For your kindness.” “You are family, dear, your blood is my blood.” “Everyone keeps saying that. What does it mean?” “It means we are sisters – there’s no human family that can match the love and loyalty of a vampire family. No bond is stronger.” “I thought I only shared a bond with Declan.” “His would be the strongest, yes, but ours come in at a close second--” Lydia cupped her face “—you are so young and new. I forget what it’s like…and with Declan constantly occupied…you must be so confused.” “A little,” Aster said. Rowan came into the room before Lydia could say anything else. “Good evening my love,” he said. Lydia beamed and got up to accept Rowan’s embrace, then she stepped back and whacked him hard acros
Declan: The brothers touched down in a dark, quiet alley, looking around for any human witnesses before they stepped into the bustling street. It looked like all the villagers were out tonight, trying to enjoy as much of the summer before the winter cold chased them back into their homes. People stopped and looked at them as they passed. Declan was used to it. Humans were naturally attracted to vampires. When he was newly born, he took full advantage of this attraction, but now that he was older, he found it easier to resist the gaggle of humans that always threw themselves at him. “Over there,” Matthew said, pointing to a dingy pub, “a proper hole in the wall.” “Ah yes,” Joel said, “just the place to catch a good dose of hepatitis.” Samuel laughed. “I’m sure you’ll survive it.” The brothers crossed a busy street, all of them seemingly oblivious to the human stares that followed them. They were, in fact, very aware of
Aster: “Give me your hands,” Rowan said. “Why?” Aster asked suspiciously. “Don’t fret. I’m going to use my gift – it’s faster that way.” Aster didn’t move, she still didn’t trust Rowan. “What gift?” “I can show you the past. Come on, I won’t hurt you,” he said and held his hands out towards her. Still hesitant, Aster placed her hands in Rowan’s. She gasped and her back arched so violently her feet lifted into the air. It felt like she was being pulled through a very narrow, dark tube, and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. Just when she thought she’d pass out, the tube released her and she landed next to Rowan in a different world. She looked up at the most breath-taking heavenly display she had ever seen. The milky way on show in all its glory. “Wow,” she said, “I’ve never seen so many stars.” Rowan looked up. “Yes. I forgot how beautiful it was before we had so much artificial light. Look,” he said,
Declan:Samuel and Declan sat back, watching Matthew cavort on the dance floor. A number of women and men surrounded him, trying to get his attention, and he was revelling in it. “He is gonna start a riot,” Declan said.Samuel grinned and sipped on his brandy. They were on their third bottle, and Declan was pleasantly buzzed. Joel abandoned the cause half an hour ago in favour of a young man that caught his eye.Out of nowhere, Declan jerked so hard that the brandy slopped out of the glass over his hand and jacket sleeve. “Fuck,” he swore, and put the glass down.“What?”Declan shook his hand, trying to get as much alcohol off it as he could. “Aster.”“You can feel her again?”“Yes. Came out of nowhere too.”“I can see that. Is it bad?”He frowned, honing in on her as much as he could, then shook his head. “No. She&
Aster:“It wasn’t a curse,” Aster said softly, amazed.“No. It was a gift.”“I was right; there is more than one original vampire.”Rowan smiled and nodded. “Matthew told me you figured it out immediately.”“Can…are the bloodlines connected? Does a vampire’s entire bloodline die when he dies?”“No. Over the years the true history was lost, and the first vampires preferred it that way.”“Why?”Rowan shrugged, “I don’t know. Eros never told me. Maybe they think other vampires would start killing the first if they knew the truth.”“But…they’re the first. The strongest. No one can kill them.”“You’re wrong. They can be killed.”“How?”“I’m getting to that, and the reason I ordered Declan to transform yo
Declan: Declan jerked awake. His head pounded, and his throat burned with thirst. Worse was the fact that he had a piss like an ox, and his bladder throbbed painfully. Groaning, he got up and went to the bathroom. He had forgotten how good it felt to pee – vampires only had normal bodily functions when they ingested human food and drink, and last night he ingested a lot of it.He washed his hands and stared at his reflection in the mirror … even though it was night time, he was pale and had deep, dark circles under his eyes. "Ugh--" he belched, tasting nothing but cheap brandy,"--never again."He shuffled back to his bed where Aster still slept. Just like the night before she probably wouldn’t wake for another hour. He leaned over her, inspecting her closely. He waited to feel something, anything, but there was nothing. He was completely numb. Where his heart should have been was nothing but a big, empty void.Frowning
Aster: The nights blended together in a daze of boredom and depression. Declan was there every evening when she woke, throwing a blood bag at her, then disappearing until she fell asleep. On the third night, she asked him to show her where to find the blood herself, and then he just stopped showing up at all. She didn’t see him for days on end. The brothers and their various brides, even Rowan, tried their best to cheer her up, but with Declan deliberately withholding himself from her, it was a futile attempt. If she were a human girl, her friends would have told her to get over it and move on – but as Lydia explained to her, it wasn’t because she was weak and in need of a man, but rather because of the bond they shared. They were now two halves of the same coin, and one half was missing. She was incomplete. She had little appetite, only drinking enough blood each night to soothe the worst of the thirst, but other than that, she couldn’t brin
Dear readers, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read Declan and Aster's story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thank you for your support and love. It means the world to me, and I hope to see you all soon with the next one. Please feel free to leave a comment if you liked this story. I always love hearing from my readers. Remember: All writers love their readers, we would be nothing without you -- you are the engine that makes a writer's world go 'round. Much love, Celice
The old man sat on his balcony, looking at the beach bathed in the soft blue moonlight. It was a beautiful night, but a full moon, which meant all manner of creatures were about. Ever since that blasted vampire war fifty years ago, all sorts had been crawling out of the darkness, wouldn’t you know? It didn’t matter how many times that vampire, Rowan Watchamacallit, went on the news and every talk show known to man, just to keep telling the humans that they had nothing to fear, he knew better. He was old enough to remember that war, remembered the roving vampires that came through his town and tore his wife’s throat out. He didn’t forget and forgive that easily. The humans hadn’t been idle. They had been developing weapons that were strong enough to kill vampires. He had one. A gun that could take a vampire’s head off with one shot. It wasn’t technically speaking legal to kill vampires, but their bodies evaporated fairly quickly once the sun hit it, and no body, no ev
Declan:He kissed her until the tension left her body, and the doubts she felt earlier released her. It was like that first time, when the world outside faded to dull insignificance, and all that mattered were the two of them, wrapped in each other’s arms, safe in their bubble.Declan didn’t understand what it was he felt the first time they had sex, but he understood it now. It was the completion of the bond. He could feel it as he pushed inside her. The way the bond united them, how it knitted them together, tying her soul to his and his to hers. The two halves becoming one. And it was stronger now than before. Much stronger.As she opened up under him, giving herself to him so completely that he didn’t even know where she began and he ended, he knew that this was forever. He would never, could never, break their bond. When her eyes filled with tears, and he felt the burden she had been carrying around lift from her shoulders
Aster:Aster sat up, her head pounding and bladder throbbing. The last thing she remembered was sitting on the floor in the lobby with Declan, trying not to scream as her injuries healed. After that, nothing.Declan sat on the armchair, naked from the waist up, watching her with an amused smirk. It had been days since he was there when she woke. “Don’t you need to work?”“Don’t you need to pee?” he retorted.Shooting nasty glances his way, she went to the bathroom, taking a quick shower while she was there, and hoping that he would be gone by the time she was done. She was embarrassed by her actions the previous night, and she didn’t know how to look him in the eye.Wrapping a towel around herself, she went back to the bedroom, just to find that she wasn’t that lucky. Declan still sat where she had left him. “Blood’s on the bed,” he said a mischievous glint in
Declan: Declan gasped, and dropped his pen. Aster very quickly cycled from jealous to angry to a soul-crushing sadness that threatened to eat her alive. Their connection was growing stronger – it would probably have been completely restored by now if they could spend some time together, but the logistics of Maximillian’s estate and the vampire council occupied him non-stop. She wasn’t in any danger, and she didn’t call out to him. Sighing, he blocked her out and pulled more paperwork towards him. There were hundreds of requests from sheriffs and smaller families in need of help, and Lucas wanted to help all of them. Saw it as his sacred duty as the new head of the most powerful family in the region. Declan had to keep reminding his cousin that the only reason they became the most powerful family, was because Maximillian knew when to say yes and when to say no. Lucas needed a lot of mentoring, and with no elders around to guide him, Declan did
Aster:Aster strolled through the hotel, greeting the other vampires that not three weeks ago were so scared of her that they could barely look at her, but now finally treated her like family. Most of their allies had left, leaving the hotel mostly open, but the place was destroyed, because there had been simply too many people living in it.When they arrived in Slovakia, Declan asked her to take care of the humans, help as many of them get back home as she could, but a lot of them didn’t want to leave. Their homes weren’t destroyed; it wasn’t a war that was fought with bombs and guns, but many lost their families in vampire attacks. Others came to love their vampires masters, and simply refused to leave, even after their familiar oaths were broken.She walked from room to room, looking at the progress of the renovations and clean-up process. With a lot of the vampires gone, and because most of the humans were injured and traum
Declan: Declan stood in the dark, overgrown garden, leaning against a tree, watching Aster where she lay flat on her back next to the stream, her hand dangling in the water. It had been two nights since the witch helped them reform their bond, but their connection wasn’t very strong yet. It was like a weak battery, waiting to be recharged, and he had no idea how long that would take. Still, all he could think about was her, which he took as a good sign. After a few minutes, he stepped out of the darkness and walked up to her, squatting by her side. “Hello, beautiful.” Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and she gave him a dazzling smile. That smile soothed his aching heart more than she’d ever know. He leaned over and kissed her, feeling the spark trying to ignite the fire in his heart, but not quite getting there. “You still hate it inside the castle, huh?” “Yes,” she answered. “Too many ghosts.” “Don’t they just follow you?”
Aster: Aster only had one thought running through her mind as she drifted off to sleep. I want him back. Even in her sleep, it was all she could think about, and as she slipped deeper into the darkness, she dreamed about Declan calling to her, telling her to come back to him. ** She hears him calling out to her. He’s somewhere out there in the darkness. “Come to me,” he pleads, “find me.” “Where are you?” she calls back. “I can’t see.” The place is too dark. The kind of darkness that grabs you and won’t let go. The kind of darkness she only experienced once before: in the in-between. “Aster!” Declan screams. “Find me. Come to me.” “I can’t see anything,” she sobs into the darkness. “Why can’t you come to me?” “I’m stuck. Please. Find me.” He sounds so desperately afraid. So lonely. In turn, Aster’s heart cries out to him. She wants to feel his strong, comforting arms around her.
Declan: This wasn’t Declan’s first war, and it wouldn’t be his last. Every once in a while vampires would get in a strop and start killing each other. Maybe it was nature’s way of keeping their numbers down. This was the first war that easily killed half his family though, and he wasn’t quite sure how to deal with it. He lay on his side, staring at Aster, tracing the outline of her face with his fingers. Neither of them spoke, there was nothing to say. Words of comfort rang hollow, discussing the war so soon after it ended was too raw and excruciating, and he didn’t want to talk about his feelings. “I wish I could feel you,” he whispered. “Me too.” He gave her a tight smile and sighed. He didn’t know what hurt worse – the death of his family members, his mother and brother, or the broken bond. It all just blended together into one, big, brutal, open wound. For no reason, and without any conscious thought that he was about to d