The trio made their way to the blood lounge. When they entered, the remaining young adult vampires were lounging about and chatting.
"Saffron, Senna," Esper announced. "It's time for Code Rose."
Saffron immediately jumped up and squealed, her curly chocolate locks bouncing with excitement. It filled her with joy that Esper was following through with the recommendation. The ecstatic female immediately took command.
"Esper, you are in charge of setting up the theater. Senna, you are in charge of getting the tissues, blankets, and pillows. I am going to go get the snacks." Saffron started running towards the door but then stopped and turned around.
"Y'all might want to get into some comfortable clothes and maybe something for notes. You are all in for a long night." With that, Saffron ran out. The rest of the group followed suit and started their designated tasks.
After returning
Esper tried to toss and turn as her body began to overheat, but something was holding her down. She struggled again and started opening her eyes. Her sleep fogged mind started clearing, and she realized that it wasn't the blanket holding her down. It was 2 heavy masses. Blinking the fog away, Esper looked down at an arm lying across her chest. Her eyes followed the arm up and saw it belonged to Maxim. He shifted around and pulled her closer into his chest. His movements caused a chain reaction of someone tightening around her waist. Esper raised her head as high as she could, and her eyes widened when she saw Seraph resting his head on her stomach and his arms wrapped around her waist and hips. The vampire plopped her head back onto the bean bag lounger and chewed her lip. How did this happen?! When did I fall asleep, and why didn't anyone wake me up!
The glow of sunset leaked through the blackout curtains into Esper's room. The female stretched as she awoke, slowly untangling herself from her bedding. Last night she remembered to make it to her own room before falling asleep. Esper did not want to make a habit of falling asleep with her suitors before she made her final decision. The first item on her agenda was a bath. Esper stood up from her bed and sleepily walked into her bathroom, turning on her large three-person tub. She rummaged through her drawers, pulling out a box of various soaps. The vampiress set it on the ledge of the bath and picked out a citrus-scented bath bomb. She gently placed it in the water, mesmerized by the multi-colored suds. While the tub continued to fill, the young vampire returned to her room. She wanted to read while indulging in a long bath. A large book was resting on her nightstand from the previous
The two traveled down to the kitchen, hands still clasped. Once inside, the vampires both let out a breath they did not know they were holding, relieved they had not run into one of the others. Seraph picked Esper up and sat her onto the counter of the center island. "Sit right there, and I will whip something up for you," Seraph said cheerily while giving her a wink. Esper couldn't help but blush from the simple action. Seraph was a sweetheart when it was just the two of them. It filled her with warmth. She watched Seraph get to work, gliding across the kitchen and grabbing ingredients. He looked right at home as he laid everything out. Satisfied with his station, Seraph began cooking. He placed two pans and a pot on the stove, tossing rainbow carrots in one of the pans as he turned on the heat. Next, he poured a bottle of blood and several other ingr
For the first time in a while, Esper felt refreshed. She was shocked to see that it was already dark out. Frantic, Esper looked over at her clock and felt relieved when she saw it was only 4:00 pm. Throwing off the blankets, Esper walked into her closet to decide on a swimsuit to wear. She picked out a black fishnet swimsuit with solid material covering the chest and panty area and a bat and moon sheer black swimsuit shawl. She took a quick shower and dressed in the swimsuit. Wanting to enjoy a little time to herself, Esper plopped onto her bed. She pulled out her history tome from her side table and nuzzled into her pillows, continuing The Story of Origin. On the soul's twenty-fifth year, Lailah had noticed a change. He had become tainted with humanity's greed for power. During his most recent five-year absence, the soul began spreading h
"I'm going to put on some dry clothes. I'll be just a minute." Esper leaned up and kissed Maxim on the cheek once they were inside the house. Esper swiftly made her way to the closet, stripping off the wet articles of clothing and pulled on a navy-blue chiffon midi dress. She straightened out the collar and sleeves then tugged on a pair of simple black flats before heading back out. Esper smiled when she saw Maxim a couple of feet away from her door. He looked dashing in his black trousers and red sweater with his hair messily pushed to the side. "Where to next, Lovely?" Maxim outstretched his hand towards Esper, linking fingers once she was within his grasp. "Right over here." Esper pulled Maxim a few feet down the hall to her library. Once inside, Esper released Maxim's hand and trotted over to her booksh
As Esper began to stir awake, she tried to open her eyes, but only darkness remained. Next, she tried to move around and felt that her hands were tied above her head. Low voices murmured around her, and she felt hands touching all over her. Panic began to overtake her, and Esper started struggling against the restraints. Light flooded her vision when the blindfold was removed and tossed aside. As her eyesight began to clear, Esper looked around. She was in her own room, which gave her a little bit of relief. Feeling the bed move, she looked at her immediate vicinity. Maxim was sitting at the head of her bed, and Seraph was at the bottom, slowly crawling between her legs. The male vampires started kissing along her arms and thighs, each one slow and sensual. Esper struggled, but she was held tight against her captors. She began whimpering and hyperventilating as they continued th
Esper woke up feeling well-rested and all warm inside. Her night with Seraph had been a dream come true. She was quickly noticing the differences between the two suitors. Seraph aimed to win her heart, whereas Maxim tried to win her body. With a yawn and a stretch, Esper began her daily routine, starting off with a shower. Once all squeaky clean, she pulled out a black sweater dress with a keyhole cut out, emerald fleece leggings, knee-high black boots, and a long emerald cardigan. The young vampire elected to sit out on her balcony and read Fahrenheit 451 for a couple hours. She sat in a round wicker chair while sipping on some blood wine from her private stash. Once she finished the book, Esper made her way downstairs to the foyer. Maxim stood in the foyer wearing navy blue trousers and a white dress shirt. His eyes lit up as he saw Esper
The sounds of soft cries stirred Esper from her sleep. She groggily opened her eyes and saw little Max standing at the side of the bed, rubbing at his eyes. “Oh, Max.” As Esper sat up, she wrapped the sheet around her torso like a makeshift dress then pulled the boy onto her lap. “How about you tell Mama what’s wrong?” “I had a bad dream.” Maxim hugged onto his mother tight as his small body shook. “I dreamt I was big and hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you, Mama.” “Oh, Sweetie.” Esper caressed Maxim’s raven locks and kissed the top of his head. “I’m sorry you had a bad dream.” Seeing the small boy distressed broke Esper’s heart. She knew the cause of his nightmare. Maxim was suffering from memory echoes, a common a
"You want to what?" Wesley was fuming. He couldn't wrap his head around what could possibly drive his daughter to take care of a person who had caused her so much pain, regardless of if they were a child now or not. "That is not a child. That is a monster who did unspeakable things to you." "Max is not a monster. He needs someone to teach him what real love is." Esper was not backing down. "Yggdrasil was able to see a spark of good in Max and gave him a second chance. Why can't you?" Seraph stood and stifled his laughter as he watched the father and daughter go back and forth. Even Esper wasn't actually his daughter; she still wanted his blessing and approval. Not understanding the heated argument, Maxim ran over to Esper and hugged her leg. He looked up at Wesley and stuck out his lip, making as stern a face as he could. "Don't yell at Mama!" Wesley paused from the toddler's words and looked down at him, then back up at Esper. He could already see the bond between mother and s
A warm breeze stirred up the grass around Seraph and Esper as they sat in the garden of ruins, enjoying the sun. They were propped up against one of the stone columns with Esper between Seraph's legs and her head resting on his chest. "So, you remember everything now?" Seraph laced his fingers with Esper's and brought them up to his mouth to kiss them. "Kind of." Esper shifted a bit to look up at her mate. "The memories are extremely vibrant and can be a little overwhelming when I try to recall too much, but I think it's all there." "Well, don't try too hard." Seraph tilted his head down and kissed the top of Esper's head. "You've been through a lot." "So, have you." Esper reached up with her free hand and ran her fingers through Seraph's black hair. "I can't arg
Lucien’s maniacal laughter echoed throughout the grand chamber of the World Tree cloister. He was standing atop a pile of spriggan corpses, yanking on their limbs and breaking them as if they were twigs. “Are you having fun yet, Yggdrasil?” Lucien hopped off of the pile and walked over to the World Tree. He bent over and knocked on the trunk. “If you don’t send out another one of your little tree witches to entertain my new powers, I’m going to start burning your real body here. I wonder how long it will take the flames to reach your heart?” “Is that how you treat your creator?” The female’s voice set Lucien off. He turned around to see Esper pushing herself up off the ground. How was she still alive and moving? Even with a vampire’s healing abilities, the woman’s broken back would
"SERAPH!" Esper let out a blood-curdling scream as she watched her mate crumple to the ground. Becoming overwhelmed with a blinding rage, Esper pushed herself off the ground. Her breathing was erratic, and her body shook with uncontrollable anger. Lucien had just killed her mate, and she was going to make him pay. In a mad flurry, she charged at Lucien. The white-haired male smirked and back-handed her as if Esper was nothing but a fly, sending her tumbling across the ground. She stood up on shaky legs and let out a frustrated roar before rushing him again. Much to Lucien's amusement, Esper came at him head-on. He was almost within her grasp when Lucien kicked her in the ribs. His leg collided into her side with a tremendous force and sent her flying through the air. Her body crashed into one of the murals, the painted stone crumbling around her. &nbs
"Seraph?" Esper looked at the weeping wound with horror. Without so much as a wince, Seraph reached back and ripped the sword out of his back. A menacing look formed on his face as he turned around slowly and tucked Esper behind him. Standing before Seraph was Maxim's pack of mutant werewolves. "If you are going to stab me, then do yourself a favor and try to kill me." Seraph rolled his healing shoulder and took a few practice swings with the sword before chopping off the assailant's head. He then sneered at the rest of the pack. "Didn't your master teach you that wounded animals are far more dangerous than the hunter?" The remaining beasts snarled furiously at the man and came charging towards him. Taking a protective stance, Seraph guarded Esper against the werewolves. He wasn't going to let anyone take her away ever again—espec
Esper's breath was heavy and panicked as she ran through the dark woods. She paused momentarily to gain her bearings but started running once more when she heard Maxim's laughter echo throughout the forest. Esper needed to get as far away as possible. She would not be caught by him again. The vine-covered hideaway was within her eyesight when Esper felt someone tackle her to the ground. The attacker flipped her around, and she was forced to face Maxim. "I finally found you, Kitten." The crazed glow ran rampant in Maxim's eyes as his gaze bored into Esper. "And now I'm coming for you." Maxim bared his fangs and bit down on to Esper's shoulder. Esper awoke with a scream. She ripped away the bedding and frantically ran down the breezeway towards Seraph's bed chambers. Her cries echoed througho
"Are you sure you are going to be okay while I'm gone?" Ronnie walked out of her closet with an armful of clothes and tossed them on the bed. "Ronnie, for the thousandth time, yes." Esper was sitting on the bed, folding her cousin's clothes and placing them in suitcases. "I don't want you worrying about me while you are on this trip. Just focus on having fun. I am going to be just fine." "I don't like the idea of leaving you here with him alone." Ronnie sat on the bed across from Esper and took up some of the clothes to help fold. "It won't be just Seraph and I. Dad will still be here," Esper offered. "Well, I still don't like it." Ronnie crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her lower lip out as she pouted. Esper couldn't help but laugh at her cousin's display. Ronnie had spen
Esper felt something nudging at her shoulder. Not quite ready to wake, she slapped at the annoyance. Her hand was met by a solid thud and thick fur. She opened her eyes and was met by the crystal blue stare of the stag. The animal was clearly not amused with Esper and huffed in her face. “I’m so sorry, boy. I forgot that I fell asleep out here.” Esper pet the stag’s forehead. She looked up at the sky and saw the moon was still out. Even if it had only been for an hour or two, Esper felt well rested after the nap. “Think you can help me find my way back?” The stag nodded in response to Esper’s request. Pushing herself up from the ground, Esper stood and let out a stretch. She was about to walk out the door, but something tugged at her sleeve. The young woman turned around and saw the stag kneeling before her