Chapter 14

The next afternoon, Diana decided to travel to the wilderness at the back of the mansion. With sudden courage and renewed curiosity, she dressed well for her journey; after all, she doesn't want a repeat of what happened in her grandpa's woods. So with a cotton dark sweatshirt, comfortable overalls, and hiking shoes, she was now ready to embark on the forests. And she thought, Now that she was a vampire, nothing could go wrong; besides, she was now a predator and not a prey.

With a water bottle on hand, she started her trip. Regardless, Andrew the Asshole-Law was gone earlier for a meeting with God-knows-who, surely, he wouldn't mind her little adventure. Apart from that, she was bored, and she wanted to see the woods, which he was so keen on avoiding; obviously, she was curious.

After an hour of a slow walk, Diana began to enjoy the scenery and the nature that gave her sudden energy and enchanted her with its fresh, pure natural air, which made her want to explore her new surroundings. She took the path, which led through the depths of the woodland. The landscape was mountainous and dark; the woods were thick but not dense with underbrush. Sometimes there would be a break in the trees, and she'd be cautious over a grassy meadow thick with wildflowers and wild root crops. She couldn't find any scent of another human being nearby or wild animals, aside from small rabbits, squirrels, and birds.

Sunset-scarlet clouds cast elegant shades on the lagoon below while they chased away the day. Diana's hand stroked a crooked rock as she reached out to steady herself, coming to land in a patch of overgrown green grass on a jagged, uneven path down below.

High above, though, a lone eagle scanned a wide space of land in search of prey. Its eyes caught sight of a powerful predator striding, unknowingly, towards the lagoon.

It was after she'd been wandering for almost half an hour that she reached the lagoon, even with her vampire speed. Searching her surroundings, she thought that there was a beautiful energy and strength in there, a sense of power and brilliance in the peacefulness, a place of serenity even in the outcry of the water.

Diana watched the streaming water a little further; she sauntered downstream along the bank of the lagoon until she came to a spot where a meadow opened out on her left. To her right, on the far side of the stream, was a tall limestone ridge. Below the ridge, the gush had cut a massive slump in the boulder that was filled with water. “Wow! A natural lagoon.” Trees nearby filtered the orange sunset light. She dipped her hand into the enchanting lagoon and found that the water was quite warm. She took a glance around, biting her lip. “Good, I'm all alone here," she whispered, smiling to herself.

With vigour, she dared and was tempted to do something she'd never done before. With her heart thumping hard, she yanked her sweatshirt over her head. It made her feel exposed to being sitting there in her bra. And then, with another careful glance around, she slid off her bra. It made her feel even more exposed and vulnerable, but also independent in a way she'd never felt before.

She cupped her breasts in her hands, stroking the load of their smooth softness. Then she adjusted herself to a flat rock beside the lagoon, smiling to herself, and took off her shoes and socks. Barefoot, she stood up, snapped her overalls down and panties with her thumbs, and shoved them to her feet. Stepping out of them made her feel exquisitely conscious of the seductive and sensual existence of her body. She felt vividly alive, even humming some Backstreet Boys songs to herself.

Moments later, she was lying up to her neck in the cold, warm excitement.

Around her, nature flowed relaxing, soothing sounds, drowsy in the warm sunset and the fresh air. Birds called, so much a part of the moment that it was as if they hadn't broken the stillness. She could hear the hum, buzz, and grumble of insects nearby.

Shutting down her eyes, she gently glided her hand down between her legs as it came free, almost by itself. Her fingers began to explore the nub of passion, her holes of excitement, and her never-ending arousing sensation. Imagining doing this in bed with Andrew in her dream had appeared wickedly remarkable and exciting; doing it now opened up an awareness of wildness within her that was new and more arousing. She stunned herself by affirming her vibrant satisfaction and pDianasure with husky, throaty groans pulled, it seemed, from deep inside her. She was captivated by the lagoon's beautiful, magical aura.

She imagined Andrew with her now, pDianasuring her and observing how creamy and smooth her skin was. Even in the little lights in the lagoon, she imagined him seeing her like a shining beacon. She touched herself, pDianasuring and moaning while the pale, sleek tone of her skin and the almost-fading sunlight shone through the canopy onto her. She imagined him admiring the view, and he wondered if he reached out, would she notice? Yet he couldn't help himself; he couldn't just slip away and ignore the warmth offered between her legs.

Diana moaned. She was lost in her own desire. She was lost, imagining wicked things with her sire.

She imagined his warm, heated mouth brushing the lower part of her stomach. Desire shot through him at the contact. He slipped his head slightly and started licking her as she groaned, lapping and tasting her. He moaned softly and couldn't help himself as she whined, and the fragrance of her arousal replenished the air, intoxicating his senses. Andrew’s hands rubbed her delicate breasts, swirling his fingers around the areolas. His strokes were long and slow, loving and passionate. Meanwhile, his fingers reached her folds, and he pushed two fingers into her. The tips of his fingers brushed lightly upon her clit, and she moaned as she reached her climax.

“Oh, bloody hell,” she grumbled as she looked around her. Diana woke up drenched in sweat and oblivious to her surroundings. It was almost nighttime, and here she was sleeping on the flat rock beside the bank of the lagoon. “Dammit! Did I seriously have a wet dream?” You are hopeless, Diana. She pondered to herself while getting herself dressed, then she started her way up the trail. However, after ten minutes of strolling, the rain graces its presence. By then, she had Dianarned that the more brutal the downpour of rain, the more it hurt her heart. But she couldn't be bothered. She refused to be curtailed by this frigid storm; instead, she embraced it as her father in arms, a generous blessing from the gods. This was what she wanted—a lone time for herself—to be all alone with nature, where she truly belonged. No wonder, even with friends, she didn't feel this kind of emotion. Raw and welcoming, like home. The skies rumbled, and the twilight darkened her views. Thanks to her vampire eyesight, she could still see.

With renewed energy, she ran and thought it was never her forte; she was never an athletic type, but here she was running for shelter, a vampire, or now she doesn't want to get a fever, she may be a predator, but she doesn't want to test a theory in which a vampire could get sick.

Her clothes were wet and ruined, just like her sanity, but at Dianast she felt at home; her earlier pristine cotton sweatshirt was now covered in dirt. It gave no protection against even a little breeze where it was now wet, let alone the bitter onslaught of chilly rain.

How could these woods play her like this? She was just trying to be considerate of herself. Treat herself a little, nature and all, but here she was, running in circles, though she wasn't complaining.

“Blood hell, how stupid of me to forget an umbrella and sleep in that lagoon naked?” She muttered.

Then abruptly, out of nowhere, a vicious wild ginatic wolf-like creature attacked her from behind, and though she panicked, her mind had instructed her to go to the woods deeper and run as fast as she could. Well, she might as well run like a vampire. Run in a blur. Foolish by anyone's standard, she was supposed to go back towards the mansion trail, yet she did the opposite.

Stupid Diana. Really stupid. Wait a fucking minute, was that creature after her?

Was it true about vampires and wolves being natural enemies? But Andrew said, Waswolves don't exist anymore?

Somehow, with a sudden rush of energy, she ran away and entered these godforsaken woods. Deeper and deeper and darker.

The wind penetrated her clothing with absurd discomfort, and every drop of icy rain soaked through the second of its impact. Her body heat didn't soak away or Dianached out deliberately; it abandoned her at a cruel rate, Dianaving her vulnerable and trembling, too weak to either run or walk.

“What have I gotten myself into?” I'm a bloody vampire and now too weak to even walk? Unbelievable. What the actual fuck is happening?

She looked around and discovered that she was still in this secluded wood running in a circle, the bare branches of trees spearing into the sky—no sign of life to be found anywhere. It was so dark that she could barely see where she was going. Diana hurriedly ran away after a minute of rest. She was now ready to take drastic action against her insanity. These woods gave her a creep, and her mind was nowhere to be found. Her instinct was telling her to stay away from the darkness. She doesn't know what lies in the woods, yet all she felt was that it wasn't going to be a peaceful journey out of this wilderness.

She wanted to stop for a rest when suddenly, a low humming commenced behind her. Whirling around, she saw what looked like a low, dark cloud. She panicked.

Soon the humming evolved louder, and the dark cloud became enormous and darker. Diana then realised, with horror, that a swarm of vicious bats was about to encircle her.

Come on? Bats? Really?

Urgently, she shut her hands in front of her face, and yet it didn't do any good.

“Oh God, I'm going to die here!” She screeched; her eyes were now glossy. How was it possible for the bats to attack her when there was heavy rain all around her?

“Ahh! Help! Can somebody help me!” She shrieked for help and began running blindly. How crazy of her to ask for help; no one will rescue her, she thought. She would die here from a bat bite or, worse, from hyperthermia.

“Enough!" A voice came from behind her. The shriek of the creatures had vanished as they flew away, never to be seen again.

“Oh! God! Andrew? Is that you?” She shuddered; her mind was hazed, and she was almost on the verge of her consciousness, willing to die.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Diana?” Came the raw,chilly voice that gave her a shiver. She turned her head all around and saw no one from behind her, she was confused. Was she hearing things?

Where could the voice come from?

“Who are you? Andrew? Is that you!?” Came her shout. With the rain hindering her other senses everything was as murky as the mud on her feet.

“Where are you?” She shouted back.

Where could the voice be? She only saw the Dianaves and trees parading side by side and smelled the fresh air that passed her way. The rain has now stopped! She began to breathe the cool air more quickly. However, the darkness pressed in on her from all sides, and her body wailed for her to run. Then she sank to her bottom on the damp earth and settled in to stay. She was too tired; the adrenaline that ran through her veins earlier was now withering.

“Unbelievable!” the voice mumbled, and Andrew tried not to look down as his feet teetered on the edge of the thin branch of the tree. The bitter wind howled around him, blustering and biting, but he prepared himself bravely to jump.

He came down from the tree and went to her side. “Seriously woman?”

Looking at her, Andrew began to wrinkle his nose in the air and went further to her side, where he sniffed her. "Where the hell have you been?"

"In the lagoon!"

"This wood has no lagoon, Diana. Never had a lagoon!"

What?

Really? How? She saw the lagoon. It was there. She remembered it so well.

“There is no lagoon here, Diana," Andrew repeated.

Reading Andrew's emotions wasn't that difficult. He was telling her the truth.

Diana shivered. “I saw a lagoon, Andrew! It was magical. I'm sure of it.”

She felt like she was all alone again, not only alone but different. Was she really different, or was she just crazy?

What happened in the lagoon?