Aster:
Aster yawned loudly, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said and gave Declan a half-hearted smile. “Go on.”
“That’s enough for one night. Time to sleep. Come on.”
“No,” she protested. “I want to hear the rest of your story.”
“I’ll tell you the rest tomorrow--” Declan crawled towards her on his hands and knees – “I’m tired too. It’s been an…eventful night.”
He grabbed her ankles and pulled her down. Laughing, she fell flat on her back and snuggled into the soft bed. “Hm,” she sighed, and stretched.
Declan lay next to her, pulled the covers over them then drew her into his arms, nuzzling her neck with his nose, trailing butterfly kisses over her shoulders. She shifted into him, feeling safe and warm in his arms, moulding her body to fit his perfectly. “I’m not scared,” she said – more to herself than him. She should have been, all logic told her that she had to be terrified, but she w
Aster – Part 2:She knew what to expect, so when Rowan took her hands and the tube sucked her in, she didn’t have such a strong reaction as the first time. They landed in her garden. It was morning, and the sun was just peeking its head out over the horizon. “We may have to pin this down a bit more,” Rowan said next to her. “But you can’t give me a month or time or anything like that, can you?”“No,” she said, and was struck by how much she hated being here. “I guess we need to go up to the house, and see what we can see. Maybe I can narrow it down.”They walked up the path to the mansion. Aster kept looking around her – trying to remember something, anything, from her childhood that was nightmarish. Apart from Brody’s death, an event she could barely remember, there was nothing. She was four when he died, and he was just a few months shy of his second birthday. Maybe
Declan: He was annoyed the minute they stepped over the study’s threshold. Edward paced around the room, ranting and raving like a lunatic. Rowan and Lydia stood in the corner, looking amused as they followed the human around with their eyes. Declan supposed he couldn’t blame the man, given that he was brought here against his will, but something about Montgomery just rubbed him the wrong way. “Shut up!” he roared. “Christ Almighty, do you think your hollering is gonna change a damn thing? You’re just making life a misery for yourself.” Aster looked at him, her eyes wide, but not because he admonished her father – she was afraid of what was to come. “Sit down,” he ordered. “Listen, boy--” There was no reason under the sun why he had to take this human’s crap anymore. Declan grabbed Montgomery by the front of his shirt lifted him clear in the air, swinging him over to the desk and roughly shoving him into the chair. “I am not your boy. I’m six
Declan – Part 2: “Charlotte just went crazy one day,” Edward said softly, “Brody was just a baby, but she didn’t want anything to do with him. The doctors tried one medication after the other, but nothing worked.” Declan closed his eyes and rubbed his hands over his face. “Oh man…of course it didn’t work, she wasn’t sick.” “She was. She tried to smother him twice before he was six months old. She kept saying Brody was born wrong.” “What did she mean by that?” “I don’t know! She wasn’t well.” “Go on.” “Then he came. He said he could fix her…I was so desperate. If I knew what he was...” Declan’s heart dropped in his stomach. “What was his name?” “Cyrus.” He closed his eyes. That was the last name he wanted to hear. “Oh, Edward, you poor clueless bastard. What did he do?” “I don’t know. He just talked to her every night. Some kind of hypnosis maybe.” “No, not hypnosis. Cyrus
Aster: Aster stood in front of the mirror, all her clothes lying on a pile next to her. Turning this way and that way, she stared at herself, a little frown between her eyes. She didn’t like what she saw. She looked like a person she didn’t recognise and didn’t want to be. “What are you doing?” Declan asked from the door. She looked up, then back at her image, running her hands over her stomach and waist. “I don’t like my clothes.” “You realise some poor familiar will have to clean up this mess you made, right?” Irritated, she gave him a death glare. “I’ll do it, don’t worry.” “No, you don’t have to…I’m just saying….Why don’t you like your clothes?” He sat on the corner of the bed, looking at her with his head tilted to the side. “I think you look very nice.” “I look like an heiress. I don’t like it. I need to find a job. What jobs do vampires do, anyway?” “Anything they want to do. Come here.” He patt
Declan: Aster’s reaction really surprised Declan. He had expected some outpouring of grief, but there was nothing by apathy. When he told her it was because she had no connection to her past, he was really just guessing. There was another explanation – one he didn’t want to consider, but he had to: it could just be the vampire. Many lost touch with their gentler emotions – their humanity…it usually took decades, but because she was an elemental, no one could really predict how she’d turn out.The information he could dig up in the texts were sparse, and even when he found something the writers didn’t go into much detail. Except for the part where they mentioned that healers were the only vampires that could ever successfully transform elementals, there wasn’t anything helpful on how to deal with elemental vampires. He had to assume that Rowan came across this little titbit of information at some point, and convinced Cyrus to let Declan take Aster.
Aster: She was just putting away the last of her dresses, when she felt it. Like the last time she felt such intense grief from Declan, she wasn’t prepared, but this time she knew they weren’t her feelings and she handled it better. Breathing deeply, she sat on the bed and waited for him to put up his defences like he did the last time, but it didn’t happen, and as time wore on, it became worse. Aster couldn’t just sit there. Not again. What if he came back, and decided to shut her out like last time? She couldn’t go through that again. She decided to give it another five minutes, watching the old clock on the mantelpiece. It was the longest five minutes of her life. At exactly five minutes past twelve, she got up. She didn’t notice the vampire sitting outside the bedroom, nor did she hear him when he cleared his throat and called after her. She was one hundred percent focused on Declan. His grief like a honing beacon, all she had to do was f
Aster Part 2: She waited quietly while Declan lit the torch. He took her by the elbow and steered her through the maze. Aster had no idea how he found his way around so quickly, she’d get lost in five minutes flat. “We have to hurry.” “Okay,” she said, trying her best to keep up with Declan. He was going just a little too fast for her, and she was already growing tired. “What’s the rush?” “Cyrus would have felt Justice die. He has hundreds of sons, so chances are he won’t care – especially about one as young as the kid, but just in case…we need to get Eros and Rowan and get the fuck out of here.” A little bit of curiosity plucked through the fear. “So fathers and sons share a bond like you do with me?” He looked over his shoulder at her, a little exasperated that she dared ask questions now. “I only ask, because you never have time to tell me anything. I know nothing about this life.” He softened a little. “Yes, we share a bon
Declan:Declan was bone tired. The thought of facing this night filled him with dread. He didn’t want to get up and spend another night in the sky, flying to the next safe house – which was in Scotland. From there he planned on doubling back to England, Germany and Norway. While they were in the air, they were untouchable, but once they were on land they became vulnerableAster lay on her side, as always with her fist tucked in under her chin, but this morning when she went to sleep, she was on her back, which meant she woke up again during the day. Sighing, he flung his arm over his face and swallowed against the nagging thirst. He could handle it for a few days, even a few weeks, but Aster couldn’t, and he knew that he’d have to get up soon to go hunting.He was still trying to motivate himself to get out of bed, when Eros banged the door open. Declan made a mental note to educate the ancient on twenty-first century eti
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