Chapter 18

Mihai carried me all the way back to the mansion through the woods, my torturous mind unable to stop picturing his tongue and fingers inside of me, and his mouth all over my naked skin. He touched me as though he was starved of flesh, and i allowed him to, because i was starved in ways i never end thought bothered me, until now.

I keep my eyes on the darkness, trying to remind myself that he is the enemy, i cannot allow anything like this to happen again. It's too dangerous.

My own family would strike me down if they knew what i had allowed him to do, relationships between vampires and hunters were forbidden, and it is punishable by death.

Although it wasn’t a relationship like any other I've known, he abuses me one minute, permanently branding my skin, and then the next he is worshiping my flesh as though i am a goddess sent from above.

Mihai's mood swings are enough to make my head spin.

I look up at him, my curiosity getting the better of me, “What happens now?” I ask softly, not wanting to fight again.

My body can’t handle it.

“We have to leave.” He says, his tone sharp and cold. “Because of what you did, we cannot stay here.”

“You mean because the hunters found you, we can’t stay.” I snap, my tone as cold as his, “It isn’t my fault they found you, maybe you weren’t careful enough.”

He stops walking and looks down at me, “You didn’t call the hunter council?”

“No, I didn’t.” I say, awkwardly crossing my arms, “I didn’t have a phone, not until i found the burner cell in the van.”

Mihai stares at me, his eyes flashing between black and crimson, “Then i have a traitor amongst my staff.” he says, beginning to walk again.

“You think that someone betrayed you?” i ask, unable to hide my shock.

Who was brave enough to betray a vampire lord? They must have had one heck of a deal with the hunter council, betrayal always comes at a cost.

“Who do you think it is?” i ask, wondering if he had any idea who may have given up his location.

If the council knew where he lived, then they also knew that i was here, why hadn’t they sent anyone to rescue me?

My father clearly didn’t know i had been taken, were the council trying to cover up what happened at the hospital?

“I have an idea who may have done it.” He says, his eyes on the trees as they begin to thin out, the mansion getting closer and closer. “Only a few of my staff knew about the meeting with the other lords, even less know about you.”

I frown, “you kept me a secret?”

Why am i upset that he kept me hidden from the people he trusted? It isn’t like i want the fact that he took me as common knowledge. It is like broadcasting the fact that i failed to protect myself, and for a hunter, that’s catastrophic.

I should be dead; vampires don’t take hunters for no reason.

I wonder why he chose me.

He watches me for several seconds when he exits the woods, my back starting to ache from the angle he had been holding me.

I haven’t been carried since i was a very small child, and i can’t say that i like it. It makes me feel weak. Vulnerable.

Though i suppose that i am.

“I kept you a secret to keep you safe.” He finally says, his tone softer now. “There are a lot of Nati in the mansion who have lost people because of hunters, even more that have lost family members because of your father.”

He did it to keep me safe?

Why do those words awaken an ache in my chest?

I need to be more careful; I'm letting my emotions guide me, and that’ll only lead to my demise. A vampire cannot mean more to me than vermin. He is my enemy, and i am his, that is how it should stay.

“I am not responsible for the things my father has done.” I say, slowly peeling myself away from Mihai’s chest and standing on my own two feet.

I'm only able to stand because he has let me, and i am very aware of that, and whilst i want to be as far away from him as possible, i feel oddly cold without his touch.

“No, you aren’t.” he agrees, watching me as though i may bolt again, “I’ve arranged for some clothes to be brought out for you, you can put them on whilst we wait for the helicopter.”

“Helicopter?” i repeat, my eyes wide.

I've never seen a helicopter up close, let alone ridden in one, just how rich is this guy?

“It is perfectly safe.” He chuckles, mistaking my shock for fear.

I look up at the dark sky, the stars brighter away from the city, i always loved the stars. Perhaps in another life i could have studied them.

I smile to myself, thinking of all the things i could have done if only i had suceeded in leaving as i had planned.

“You know, it’s funny, another week and i would have been gone.” I murmur, mainly to myself, “I’d been planning to leave for a long time, and my flight was a couple of days away from being booked.” i laugh to myself, because if i don’t laugh, I'd cry. “I had so much planned with my life, all of it away from the hunter council.”

Mihai frowns, his eyes softening, “Then why did you come after me? Why didn’t you leave me to your brothers?”

I sigh, once again looking up at the stars, “The council were tired of my excuses, they ordered me to make my first kill.”

“You have been spotted many times at the scene of dead Nati’s, it’s hard to believe you hadn’t even made your first kill.” He says, and for a moment, i know that he thinks i am lying.

“I tried to let your kind go when i could.” I reply, trying not to let my anger build. Anger won’t solve anything. “That is why i let you go. I'd rather face the penalty for failing than take a life.”

He turns away from me, his eyes on the mansion, “I was supposed to kill you the night i took you from the hospital, but i couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

“Why?” i ask, perhaps the Nati are exactly as i thought they were.

They are just trying to protect themselves, and yet, it doesn’t change the fact that we are enemies, and we always will be.

“you seemed so different from the others, and i wanted you, i didn’t know why, but after that night in the cemetery i couldn’t get you out of my head.” he turns to me, pulling me flush against his chest. “I knew right away that i wanted you to be mine, and I'd stop at nothing to get you.”

I'm not sure if that is the most romantic thing I've ever heard, or the most insane. He is making it sound like i had a choice, and i didn’t. He didn’t give me a choice.

I still don’t have a choice.

I look between his eyes and his lips, the sharp edge to his fangs visible as he smiles, he’s looking at me like he wants to devour me whole, and maybe he does.

I can’t help but want his lips on mine one last time. One more time and then I'll fight it, just one more kiss, one more caress. Just one more second of pretending that this could actually work between us.

The sound of a helicopter in the distance pulls my eyes away from his, my heart once again racing.

If it hadn’t have arrived, would we have kissed?

I didn’t want to admit that i wanted to, and i never would, not out loud.

“Let’s get you those clothes.” Mihai says, taking a step back and releasing me.

Why do i feel so cold without his touch?