Chapter 38We finished showering and got out to get ready. Damien was ready pretty quickly, but it took me a little longer with my hair and all. I had to blowdry it, I wasn’t going outside with it wet. I laughed as he shook his head at me and told me I looked fine about 30 times before I actually agreed, and followed him out of the house to his car. He chose the Buggati this time. Cortana already had it ready for us and she opened the doors as we walked up. I got inside, and Damien shut my door for me and then he got inside. “Cortana, take us to Edge Enterprises.” He commanded. “As you wish, sir.” Cortana replied, and we headed that way. I had never been to his office before but I had heard a lot about it. I took the time to check my phone and Jericho did indeed message me. 'Hey love, the guy's name is Bartholomew. Looks like he's been working for Damien for about 3 years now. From what I can see he started purely with the intention of giving proprietary information to The Academy. T
Chapter 39Once he got inside and we started driving to an unknown location he turned back to me. “Matt thinks he is getting proprietary information and giving it to The Academy. What he’s really getting is proprietary information riddled with bugs and code that will never work. It will never let them copy my designs.” He said with a laugh. “Also, his name is Bartholomew, not Matt. I keep him around because it keeps The Academy at bay. I have a feeling they are eventually going to try and take things a step further, but for now they are appeased by his reports back to them.” Damien said. I just kept my mouth shut, it was extremely smart and he definitely knew what he was doing. He, however, didn’t realize that The Academy had already taken that next step… Me. I still had to kill Bartholomew though. I still had to, because it would put a wrench in The Academy’s plan, and I didnt have any other tools in my belt at this moment. “Well I’m glad you know, because the second he touched my ha
Chapter 40I could tell that my words eased some of his mind by the look on his face. “So the next question I have then is, I live in Maine, and I know you live in Vegas normally or within The Academy. Would you be opposed to relocating? You know, maybe stay with me here in Maine?” He asked sheepishly. I knew this was a huge question for him to ask, and although it didn’t feel too soon at all for me, I had other things to worry about first. “I am not opposed to relocating. I just need a little time first, if that’s ok. I just need to get my affairs in order before we make that move.” I said. I hoped that my words would calm Damiens mind, but still give me the time to figure out how to stop The Academy. “I never want you to feel like I'm pushing too hard or moving too fast. So please, stop me if I am. I’m new at this too.” Damien replied with a smile. I smiled back just as our food came. We ate and chatted, mostly about things that I wondered about him. I found out that his favorite co
Chapter 41Damien didn’t laugh this time but he just smiled. “Yes his name is Xavier, I know you will not want to hear this, but we have been intimate… I’m sorry Damien, I didn’t know.” I said, as a stray tear fell from my cheek. Damien suddenly took me in his arms and held me. “Why did you take my memories?! Why?! I could have prevented this!” I said, pounding my fist against Damiens chest. “You asked me too, remember? Last year, you said you wanted me to take them so you could focus on Hunting. So I did as I was asked.” Damein said. I could hear the hurt in his voice, but his thoughts that flooded through my mind when he touched me, told me that he already knew about Xavier and this wasn’t a surprise to him, it just hurt still. Guilt flooded into my chest at the thought of Xavier. This whole thing was a fucking mess and I had no idea how to get out of it. I pulled away from Damien to look him in the eyes. “I’m so sorry, I just… I didn’t know.” I said. Damien put his hooked finger un
Chapter 42I didn't even have a chance to scowl at my phone before there was a knock on my door. I jumped in surprise and dropped my phone on my bed, scrambling to my feet and cautiously walking to the door. I opened it slowly, peeking out to see Damien standing there in all his glory. I immediately pulled my knife. “You’re a bloodsucker?!” I growled. He put his hands up in surrender. “Please let me in, I promise I will not hurt you.” He said. I watched as the wheels turned in my mind, before opening the door and letting him in. I peeked out the door to make sure no one else was out there before closing it behind me and turning towards Damien. “Why are there texts on my phone between us when I have no idea who you are?” I asked him, knife still in my hand. Damien sighed, “you are so fucking beautiful when you are upset.” He said. I just took a breath in and exhaled slowly. “You didn’t answer my question… Plus why would I be associating with my prey? What kind of spell have you put on
Chapter 43“Well it’s something that before I found you, I never thought could affect a Human. But it’s a mate the gods gift to a Vampire. Someone to spend the rest of your life with, someone who will love you and only you for eternity. But it’s more than just a partner, it’s literally your other half. Like two halves of a whole. It's extremely rare, only 12 Vampires in the world are known to have one. Excuse me, 13 Vampires.” He said. I remained silent while I processed what he was saying. “Is that why you took my memories?” I asked him. “Yes, I originally took them because I didn't accept the bond. It couldn’t be true, you were a Hunter, and I was your prey. There was no way I could accept you as my gifted mate. The gods must have played a cruel joke. But I found myself unable to stay away. I chose to visit you every year on your birthday but I couldn’t let you remember as you were too young. As the years went by you finally accepted me when you were 18… But I wasn’t ready... And I
Chapter 44“Thank you. This is actually fantastic, I just hadn’t gotten around to replacing it yet.” I said. He nodded. “I’m going to go now, and it’s up to you if you want me to take your memories or leave them. But the last time I left them you almost got yourself killed on a contract because you were distracted. It’s your choice, but if anything ever happened to you, I would never forgive myself.” Damien replied. ”Did you know I never wanted to be a Hunter?” I asked Damien. He nodded to me. “You have said that before.” He replied. “The hardest part of this entire situation is trying to trust that you wouldn’t leave me again. Trusting that you wouldn’t tamper with my memories and that you wouldn’t leave. The rest doesn’t even matter.” I said. “I know, Snow. I know more than I think you realize. But I will not stop, I will be back and we will try again. And someday, I hope you can forgive me. And when that day finally comes, I will never stop showing you how much I love and care abou
Chapter 45He hesitated for a moment and then reached for my hand. I let him take it so I could get a read on him. He reports to the council, what is the council? That is strange… I wasn’t aware The Academy had a council. “Look I'm not trying to be weird, I'm looking to move up, away from Hunting into something bigger. I just need to know who to talk to after I complete this checkmate. You know this will earn me any title I want basically.” I said. “Ok, ok, you’re right. I report to the Council. They are a group of 4 that run The Academy behind the scenes. My direct report, his name is Max. He’s one of the original guys to start The Academy. If you want to move up I suggest you get a hold of him. He can definitely be of help. And honestly, I’m sure you can get whatever you want from him. He’s easily swayed, if you know what I mean…” Bartholomew said, with a wink. I swallowed my disgust, he meant sex. Jesus. I couldn’t imagine Humans being like that, but I guess there were bad apples
Epilogue(Snow)Damien took my hand in his as we locked eyes. “Are you ready?” He asked. I nodded then looked back at my mother who smiled at me. Today was our funeral, and against my wishes Damien had sweet talked me into attending. Not that we could see the whole thing, but what kind of funeral would it be if we weren't there at least for a moment? That argument to me seemed silly, but Damien was gung ho about it. We tuned into the funeral proceedings. I was surprised to see Jericho leading them. It had only been a week since we had passed on and I knew he was still a new Vampire. The amount of control he was showing around a room full of potential food, was impressive. I wanted to hug my friend and tell him how proud of him I was for his progress. I turned my head to check out the room from Jericho’s view. That’s when my mother gasped out loud. I almost copied her when I saw the sheer amount of people who were in attendance. Every single seat in the entire place was filled. There
Chapter 79“Clark, It’s Damien. I’m going to need one last favor.” I said. “Of course, Damien, what is it?” He asked. I have 2 bodies I’m going to need you to pick up. Funeral arrangements have already been specified in the document I will leave for you. As always, money is no issue and I trust that you will charge me for all of it.” He said. “Of course, sir. I can have the coroner there in a half hour.” He replied. “Thank you, Clark. Truly, thank you, my friend.” I said, before hanging up the phone. I looked at Jericho and nodded. He nodded back to me. I walked over to Max’s body and pulled Snow’s knife from Max’s chest. I walked over to Jericho while Xavier grieved over my gifted mate. “Do not feed from him, he needs to stay alive. Snow would kill us both if she ever found out that something bad happened to him. You have my will, you have everything you need. Give this to Clark when he arrives. It has the instructions I have specified. Burn this fucking place to the ground once Clar
Chapter 78Xavier ignored us both and kept trying to find a way around the barrier. It was no use, I couldn’t even penetrate it. I could still feel Snow, but it was pointless trying to get inside. I sent Xavier home after a few hours and just kept coaching Jericho down, and helping him to understand his Vampire tendencies. He was going to struggle with this, just like I did. Which was normal. Snow, on the other hand, was a unicorn. She barely struggled and was able to keep her composure easily. It was her powers that she struggled with and I knew this. I wanted to know what the hell Max was doing to her to cause me to not be able to feel the gifted mate bond anymore. Jericho needed sleep and even though I didn't plan to sleep, I knew I needed to as well, otherwise tomorrow was going to be a lot harder. It was just too hard to sleep with my gifted mate in danger. And I knew she was in danger, I could feel it. I sent Jericho back to the house, but threatened him not to eat another perso
Chapter 77(Damien)I had a terrible feeling as I watched Snow leave my house to meet with Max. Something inside just nagged at me not to let her go. Had I known what the next 72 hours was going to bring, I would have never let her go. Rarely does my gut instinct send me astray. This was a fact. I started making preparations immediately after her departure. “Jericho, you still here?” I called out from the hallway. He poked his head out of his room a few doors down. “What’s up boss?” He said. “It’s time.” I replied, and I watched him stiffen and pull his head back into the doorway, coming out a second later without his equipment. He walked up to me and nodded. ‘I’m ready.” He said. I ushered him into my room and over to my desk while I rifled through papers until I found the will. My last will and testament.The second Snow became a Vampire I had a feeling that something terrible was going to happen to her. I took Jericho aside and made him promise me that he would be my sole beneficiar
Chapter 76I looked over at my mom with wide eyes. “See, I told you.” She said with a laugh. I smiled, this place was so strange. I looked out the window as we drove. Everything looked the same as before I died. The town was the same, I was still in Maine, still close to Damien. It baffled me that I hadn’t ended up somewhere else. “How does it decide where you end up? Like why am I here, in Maine still? And not home in Nevada?” I asked. My mother shrugged. “I guess it knows where your unfinished business is.” She said. My heart sank as we pulled into the resort that Max was staying at. I knew exactly where Damien was, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to walk up there and see him like this. I knew full well that he had found my body, and he would be absolutely distraught. My mother had always been a mind reader, I swear. “This is where you were killed?” She said, as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. I nodded. “I killed myself on accident, actually. Its stupid, but I had to in or
Chapter 75I found myself in the front foyer of The Academy, covered in someone else’s blood. I briefly recalled the events that I believe led me here, but they were a blur. My heart ached at the loss of my fake life. It was just a physical pain, I knew that what I had in the real world was better, much better than anything Max could have given me, but my mind was still jumbled from his hallucination. My thoughts then strayed to Damien. I was relieved that he would be safe in my real life. No matter what this place is, no matter what happened to me, he would be safe now with Max dead. That, I was sure of. My thoughts vanquished when I snapped back to reality, or whatever this was. I was in line behind a few others. These were Hunters I recognized, friends and foes. People I had grown up with, people I had spent my life working with. No one was talking, and everyone looked as beat up as I did. The line slowly moved but I couldn’t hear anything that was being said at the front desk. It
Chapter 74We got back to the suite and Max immediately turned his gaze to me. I knew exactly what he was thinking. I snickered to myself at the smile creeping on his lips. How did I get so fucking lucky? He was such a damn catch. Way out of my league. “I know what you’re thinking, doll. But… We need food.” He said, putting his finger to my lips. “I’ve got something you can eat.” I said, with a smirk. Within seconds he had me pinned up against the wall next to the closet and smashed his lips into mine. I knew that would get him. At this rate we would never eat, or leave this room. I decided to play hard to get, switch things up a little. I snaked out of his grasp and took off running across the room. I smirked when I heard Max’s growl at my escape and I could feel his feet padding on the floor behind me. I felt like he was letting me get a head start, I knew he was much faster than I was. I turned as I got close to the bathroom just in time for Max to tumble into me, tackling me causi
Chapter 73He pulled away first. “No more, I have already had a hard enough time keeping my dick in my pants, let’s not make it public, doll.” He purred. I just laughed. “Ok, ok.” I said, with my hands up in defeat. “Let’s just make it through the conference, and then you can have me the rest of the entire day if you choose.” Max said. “Deal.” I said. He grabbed my hand as we headed out of the suite and to the elevator. His thoughts were a mess of me naked, the conference, the merge. He was nervous but also more excited than he had ever been. The company was about to take off, and the shareholders would benefit from buying stocks right about now. I let my mates' thoughts calm my nerves as we headed past the front desk. “Oh dear, you look so much better this morning!” She said. I thanked her and waved, catching Max’s eye as we went outside. “What was that about?” He asked. “Oh I don’t know, something about looking like I was crying last night. I’m not sure.” I said. He chuckled. “If yo
Chapter 72The elevator opened and I headed towards the end of the hall. I pushed open the doors to Max’s suite and walked inside, taking my heels off and setting them by the door. Max walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and we locked eyes. “Ah, Snow. you’re back sooner than I expected.” Max purred. “And you’re a hell of a lot less clothed than I expected.” I said with a smirk, letting my eyes roam his nearly naked form. His rippling muscles cascaded down his chest and arms. His towel hung low, accentuating the deep V that was partially hidden by the towel. “I think you forget that I am the one who has won the grand prize here.” Max purred, as he sauntered towards me. I met him halfway as our lips collided, sending lightning and cool fire dancing between us. Max pulled away and leaned his forehead against mine. “I love you, Snow. I love you so fucking much.” He said. “I love you too, Max. You know I do.” I replied. He pulled away the rest of the way and looked at me. I could