I sat on the windowsill, smoking the third cigar of the day. Occasionally, I would turn to watch Sully sleep peacefully on the bed. At first, she was pretending to be asleep, probably to see what I would do. But then, she fell asleep after a while.That woman amused me. I had not been so amused in a long while.I was thirsty. My thirst was never this much before. After all, I was not a full-vampire. The original Silverclaws were vampires. Then the Silverclaws married a human and created half-vampires. To protect the bloodline, sometimes there was incest in the family. My father was an original vampire. But he never married his sister. In fact, he was disgusted at the prospect. That was why there were no more original vampire other than Father. I and all my siblings were half-vampires. We did not need blood on a regular basis. Once in seven days was fine.But something about Sully’s blood made me crave more. Or perhaps it was because I was attracted to her. It was not my fault. She was
I would not feel safe no matter what, unless Demian was with me. I must admit that he made me feel at least a little safer than alone. He liked playing with me. He might even want me for my body. But that was fine. It would help me survive this hell house.I threw up once right after waking up. What happened the previous day kept on playing in my mind. I felt sick every time I remembered the separated head. I could feel the maid staring at me with her big brown eyes.At breakfast, everyone had their particular place at the table. My place was beside Demian as his wife. On my other side was a crippled boy around sixteen. He did not look at anyone. He kept his head down and ate.“I heard you were sick yesterday,” Alexander, the Head said. “You couldn’t join us for dinner.”“My apologies,” I murmured. I kept my head down as I apologized. “I felt under the weather.”“It shouldn’t happen again. After all, we cannot let you go hungry the whole night, can we?” He said it with a threatening t
My plan for today was simple. I was to check the surrounding by joining Dela for a tour around the estate. No matter how afraid I was, I had to do it. I needed to know where what was.I sent a letter to Dela by a maid. I got a reply soon enough. Dela said we would meet in the afternoon and she would show me everything.At lunch, once again, I sat beside Theodore. On my left, there was an empty chair between me and Rosalia since Demian was not here. I felt awfully alone without him.I was not asked as many questions as before which was a relief. After lunch, I went back to our bed chamber and lay down on the bed. I was used to being alone. Back at home, I spent most of my time holed up in my chamber with books. However, everything was so foreign that I craved company who was familiar with the rules, regulations and every nook and corner here. I wanted someone to tell me what to do, how to be safe. Demian did that. He might not want to kill me so soon, so I wanted to believe him for t
It had been a long time since we started the tour. I was tired, but also rather thrilled. The estate was beautiful. There were no extra pieces of furniture, only what was necessary.The last place to visit was the library. The library was huge. All the covers of the books were black. They were gorgeous. My hands itched to trace the title of the books.“Do you love books?” Dela asked.I nodded. “Back at home…”Dela held up her hand. “This is your home now. There is no other place in the world that is your home but House Silverclaw.”I gulped and nodded. “My apologies, Your Gra… Mother. It was a slip of tongue. What I meant was back at House Star, I used to spend my time reading in my room. I read at least 120 books a year.”“That is rather impressive. I do not understand what you find so interesting in books though,” Dela said, shrugging. “Come now. You have another very important place to see. It is my most favorite place in the whole estate.”I did not remember having left a place be
I winced as the whip came down on the man’s back. It felt like Dela was hitting me, not him. I closed my eyes and gulped down the choking sound that almost left my throat.The man groaned and kicked, but nothing stopped Dela. She was insane. She was hitting him like a crazy woman, not caring where the whip hit. The sound was agonizing to hear. The man did not scream. It was like he was used to the pain.I could not imagine being hit like this. But this almost became my fate too. If only Demian did not want to marry me, I would have been the slave of Kiara and would have been treated like this if not worse.I had no idea how long we spent there. The smell of grime, sweat and blood became almost familiar to me. However, I could not get used to the smell of decaying flesh. That was too strong and disgusting.I swallowed the bile that filled my mouth.When we left the dungeon, my hands were trembling. It was worse than anything I had imagined. I had guessed there must be a place for tortu
It was not like anyone other than the owner of the brothel knew about my identity. I wore a veil all the time. That made the men even more excited. When you could not see something even though it was right in front of you, you were automatically intrigued. That was the case with the men.And I adored the attention. I craved it.When Demian touched me, I could finally the feel the real excitement. It was even better than dancing.After spending some time with Theodore, I took my leave. He walked me to his door. I could perfectly see his limp. It was bad.“We can do it sometimes,” he said. “If you want to, of course. I enjoyed our talk. Whenever you feel lonely, you can come here and we can talk again.”I nodded. “I will do that. Thanks for the tea, Theodore.”“You are welcome. I should be the one thanking you. I rarely have company here. You are more than welcome to come here.”If my judgment was not wrong, Theodore was a good man. He had a good heart. Or perhaps, it was just an act. Y
I felt someone touching my cheek. I opened my eyes and sat up so quickly that I got a headache.“Demian!”“Shit! You screamed like I was another man, not your own husband,” he said and smirked. “Did I scare you?”“Don’t do that,” I said.“I’m thirsty, Sully darling,” he said. He had splatters of blood on his face. I used the sleeve of my nightgown to wipe the blood off his face.“You can drink my blood,” I whispered.“Are you seducing me?” he groaned and took hold of me by the waist. He pulled me towards him and pressed his lips on mine.Was I trying to seduce him? Probably. I wanted him to hold me. I wanted his fangs to pierce my flesh. The feeling was addictive. And I got addicted pretty quickly.He moved his lips against mine slowly, yet with an urgency that he was trying to suppress.“Tell me truthfully, darling,” he said in a rough voice as his lips left mine. “Have you truly never done this with someone before?”I shook my head. “Why would I lie?”“Why? Because you hate me and m
Sully did not seem like a bold one to me. Not at first, at least. But then, I saw the way she talked, the way she sometimes stared at everything and everyone- when she dropped the act, she was a different woman. A woman who was brave. A woman who could make a hard choice in the blink of an eye. A woman who pretended to be weak.Even Sully most probably did not know she was putting up an act. It must come naturally to her. Because when she looked meek and innocent, I was tempted to believe her.When Sully walked, I noticed she walked with a certain sway. Noble women did not walk like that. But Sully walked like she owned the place, like she knew she had the power to make men go crazy for her.It was a small suspicion. However, I still looked into the matter.I was shocked when I found out what my wife used to do. She never lay with any of those men, but she danced for them. She was a feast for their lustful eyes.I was amused. Honestly, for such a noble woman of House Star, Sully was s
I threw up as soon as I came back to our chamber. I emptied my stomach in the toilet.I could still see those deep dark eyes of the deer. They felt so alive. The head was staring at me the whole time. I had eaten in disgust and fear.Demian stood at the bathroom doorway with his arms crossed.“Did you hate it that much?” he asked.“Hate what?” I barked. “The fact that your father probably killed one of my brothers and wants me to see a dead body, or the fact that I had to eat a deer with a much alive-looking face?!”“That wasn’t alive,” he stated calmly. “Is it because you had a deer as a child?”I widened my eyes. I had no idea why it still surprised me when I found out he knew more about me than I could imagine.I did have a deer when I was seven. Father went hunting once and brought back five deer. I begged to have one of them. The tiniest one. Father agreed.Selina and I cared for the deer together. The deer grew up with us. We called her Ladybug. Three years later, Father found o
House Silverclaw did not discriminate between men and women unlike House Star and House Thorn. In House Silverclaw, the first-born was the heir, while in House Star and House Thorn, it was the first-born son who was the heir.If House Star was like House Silverclaw, Sierra would be the heir. She would have rejected the position because she was never fond of such things, then I would be the heir. But it never happened.Kyle was the heir because he was a male. And I hated him for it. I resented him. I did not tell Rose the whole truth. I would have gotten the chance to get close to Kyle if I wanted to, but I never did. I secretly resented him. He was not cut out to be a Head.I could not say I was the best person for the position of the Head, but at least, I was better than him. I was not a drunk. I was not a perverted sick bastard.Today was the seventh day I was here. Demian had not been home since the night we talked about his brother. He came back just a while ago.He waited for me
“I heard you had a brother. A twin brother,” Sully said, sitting on the windowsill where I usually sat to smoke. Her long dark hair was spread free on her back.I did not have to ask her who told her this. It was obviously Rose.“Do you want to know what happened to him, Sully?” I asked.She nodded. “Rose said he lost. She said you two were give some tasks and one of you survived.”“Tasks? We were told to go against each other and fight till one of us is standing,” I said. Sully’s eyes widened. “It’s obvious now, isn’t it, Sully darling? I killed him. That’s how I survived. That’s how I won and got this name.”Sully clapped a hand over her mouth. “I didn’t think…”“That I killed him? Well, that’s the truth.”I had not thought of my brother in a long while. Actually, it had been years since he came to my mind.We were not allowed to call each other by anything. We did not have names. But we secretly had names for each other. He was Sun and I was Shine. Together, we were ‘sunshine’. It
Rose wore a white dress with a pearl necklace. Her hair was combed smoothly. They were long and straight, unlike my curly hair. When I was a child, I wanted straight hair like my father’s and Selina’s, my younger sister. Sierra and I looked like our mother. Curly hair and brown skin. Selina was more like our father. Kyle and Jace were a mixture of Mother and Father.Rose sipped her tea and looked at me. She had a cold aura about herself like all her family members, except for Rosalia and Theodore.“I do like your name. Sully. What does it mean?” Rose asked. It was not something I expected her to start the conversation with.“It means making something dirty,” I said, blushing. “When I was very little, I used to throw my small toys or whatever I could get my hands on. That’s why my father named me Sully.”In House Star, children were named after six months of being born. It was because to see their personality and then name them. I found it rather silly. I got a stupid name because of t
Sully did not seem like a bold one to me. Not at first, at least. But then, I saw the way she talked, the way she sometimes stared at everything and everyone- when she dropped the act, she was a different woman. A woman who was brave. A woman who could make a hard choice in the blink of an eye. A woman who pretended to be weak.Even Sully most probably did not know she was putting up an act. It must come naturally to her. Because when she looked meek and innocent, I was tempted to believe her.When Sully walked, I noticed she walked with a certain sway. Noble women did not walk like that. But Sully walked like she owned the place, like she knew she had the power to make men go crazy for her.It was a small suspicion. However, I still looked into the matter.I was shocked when I found out what my wife used to do. She never lay with any of those men, but she danced for them. She was a feast for their lustful eyes.I was amused. Honestly, for such a noble woman of House Star, Sully was s
I felt someone touching my cheek. I opened my eyes and sat up so quickly that I got a headache.“Demian!”“Shit! You screamed like I was another man, not your own husband,” he said and smirked. “Did I scare you?”“Don’t do that,” I said.“I’m thirsty, Sully darling,” he said. He had splatters of blood on his face. I used the sleeve of my nightgown to wipe the blood off his face.“You can drink my blood,” I whispered.“Are you seducing me?” he groaned and took hold of me by the waist. He pulled me towards him and pressed his lips on mine.Was I trying to seduce him? Probably. I wanted him to hold me. I wanted his fangs to pierce my flesh. The feeling was addictive. And I got addicted pretty quickly.He moved his lips against mine slowly, yet with an urgency that he was trying to suppress.“Tell me truthfully, darling,” he said in a rough voice as his lips left mine. “Have you truly never done this with someone before?”I shook my head. “Why would I lie?”“Why? Because you hate me and m
It was not like anyone other than the owner of the brothel knew about my identity. I wore a veil all the time. That made the men even more excited. When you could not see something even though it was right in front of you, you were automatically intrigued. That was the case with the men.And I adored the attention. I craved it.When Demian touched me, I could finally the feel the real excitement. It was even better than dancing.After spending some time with Theodore, I took my leave. He walked me to his door. I could perfectly see his limp. It was bad.“We can do it sometimes,” he said. “If you want to, of course. I enjoyed our talk. Whenever you feel lonely, you can come here and we can talk again.”I nodded. “I will do that. Thanks for the tea, Theodore.”“You are welcome. I should be the one thanking you. I rarely have company here. You are more than welcome to come here.”If my judgment was not wrong, Theodore was a good man. He had a good heart. Or perhaps, it was just an act. Y
I winced as the whip came down on the man’s back. It felt like Dela was hitting me, not him. I closed my eyes and gulped down the choking sound that almost left my throat.The man groaned and kicked, but nothing stopped Dela. She was insane. She was hitting him like a crazy woman, not caring where the whip hit. The sound was agonizing to hear. The man did not scream. It was like he was used to the pain.I could not imagine being hit like this. But this almost became my fate too. If only Demian did not want to marry me, I would have been the slave of Kiara and would have been treated like this if not worse.I had no idea how long we spent there. The smell of grime, sweat and blood became almost familiar to me. However, I could not get used to the smell of decaying flesh. That was too strong and disgusting.I swallowed the bile that filled my mouth.When we left the dungeon, my hands were trembling. It was worse than anything I had imagined. I had guessed there must be a place for tortu
It had been a long time since we started the tour. I was tired, but also rather thrilled. The estate was beautiful. There were no extra pieces of furniture, only what was necessary.The last place to visit was the library. The library was huge. All the covers of the books were black. They were gorgeous. My hands itched to trace the title of the books.“Do you love books?” Dela asked.I nodded. “Back at home…”Dela held up her hand. “This is your home now. There is no other place in the world that is your home but House Silverclaw.”I gulped and nodded. “My apologies, Your Gra… Mother. It was a slip of tongue. What I meant was back at House Star, I used to spend my time reading in my room. I read at least 120 books a year.”“That is rather impressive. I do not understand what you find so interesting in books though,” Dela said, shrugging. “Come now. You have another very important place to see. It is my most favorite place in the whole estate.”I did not remember having left a place be