CHAPTER 5: OLD MEMORIES

Alice could see desire in Elijah’s eyes, and she wanted to gouge his eyes out for that. He grinned innocently as the woman took her seat, wearing a straight face.

"Why are you doing this?" She didn’t beat around the bush, but the man ignored her and called for the waiter.

She looked at him dead in the eye when he asked what he wanted to eat, but Elijah simply shrugged and ordered himself.

"I also ordered for you. Don’t worry, I have an exquisite palette. " His eyes went straight to her neck. It glimmered crimson for a split second.

Alice glared at him after the waiter left. The restaurant is spacious, and every table has its own section, so the people could have the privacy that Alice used to interrogate him.

"Let’s cut this crap. Tell me, why are you doing this? Do you really have a death wish? " She was more than willing to kill the vampire if there was one.

The vampire shrugged, "You were the one trying to find me. Shouldn’t I be the one who’s asking you why? " He threw back the question without blinking.

"You’re misinterpreting the situation. You weren’t supposed to be in that place, at least according to our data. I was curious that another vampire showed up. Too bad, we were only prepared to kill one vampire that day." She smiled this time, trying to taunt the vampire while keeping her heartbeat stable. This is part of their training, to lie without being discovered. Vampires have heightened senses and can hear the slightest sound and sense if a human is lying through their heartbeat.

He grinned knowingly but didn’t react further. The food was served, and they ate in silence, or at least only Elijah seems to be enjoying the food while Alice is busy glaring at the man.

"You didn’t answer my question." Alice demanded this time. She came here either to get answers or to kill the vampire.

He smiled, "Why are you in a hurry? We still have a lot of time, besides-" Elijah couldn’t continue his words. He flinched, but that was it.

"Well, that was quite the temper." He looked at his hand with a fork deeply stabbed in it. He casually removed the fork, covered it with a napkin, and applied pressure to the wound. The white cloth is quickly soaked in blood.

Alice smiled sweetly and leaned toward him, "I’m not going to ask for the third time, not without a stake in your heart."

--

"That monster is hurting me, and you’re still siding with him?" Alice couldn’t believe that her mother was taking her new husband’s words over hers.

The woman took Alice’s hands and smiled, "You’re just not well, dear. Maybe you should rest. " Her tone was mellow, but it didn’t give any comfort to Alice. She pulled her hand away and looked at her own mother with disgust.

All these years, she never believed her when Alice told her that she remembered a lot of things; memories of other people that seemed to be hers too. She knew from the start that her mother thought that she wasn’t well. They made her drink several medications, but nothing worked until Alice realized what they were and stopped drinking them in secret.

But with this, she can’t accept that her mother chose to believe a stranger over her daughter.

She withdrew her hand forcefully. Her hands were shaking in anger and betrayal. "So these bruises were all just my imagination too? I’m not who you think I am, mom. I’m not crazy like all of you are thinking. "

Alice slightly shook her head and strayed her eyes away from the family leaving the restaurant. She shouldn’t be reminiscing about her old problems when her biggest one is standing in front of her, grinning like a demon he was.

"Oh my goodness, is that blood? Sir, are you alright?" The waitress who brought the vampire's additional orders was taken aback when she saw his bleeding hand.

The vampire’s smile didn’t waver. His eyes focused on catching her gaze. This is how vampires compel their victims to easily submit and do whatever they want to.

"Don’t worry, it wasn’t serious, just a paper cut-" he lifted his hand after wiping away the blood, "see? All good. " The woman nodded, completely caught in his trance.

She started serving the food with a small smile, "Enjoy your food. Also, I should add, you two looked good as a couple." Alice’s eyes widened in disgust, while Elijah simply chuckled.

"You’re disgusting." She spoke from her heart.

His expression quickly changed with her reaction, "If you’re thinking that I compelled her to say that, you’re wrong. Compulsion doesn’t work like that. In fact, humans who are compelled tend to be very honest. Except, of course, if they were compelled to lie or to say something specifically. Shouldn’t a top-notch hunter know all of this? You seem to know more about my race than I do. "

Alice was having the urge to stab him again, but she didn’t want another compelled human. Instead, she rolled her eyes and looked at the vampire’s hand, which was already healed.

It was like a wake up call. She shouldn’t be like this. The vampire in front of her was the person who ruined her life and her previous ones. She shouldn’t be sitting around and pretending to eat lunch with him.

She stood and took her purse. Elijah also stood and promptly stopped her. His hand held her wrist tightly, just enough for the woman to stay still.

"Wait, don’t leave. You wanted to know why I approached you, right?" His voice almost sounded like pleading, but she knew that it was all an act. The vampire is trying to mess with her mind for whatever reason.

Alice was having recollections of her past again, and she withdrew her hand just like in the past.

"I don’t care anymore. You better prepare yourself too, because I wouldn’t hesitate to kill you if I saw you again. " She walked out of the restaurant and drove her way straight to their base. They didn’t have any operations today, but she still needed to go to report, and she preferred to be in their training field instead of being alone in her house. She needed a distraction away from her messed up thoughts.

--

"Alice missed the target. That’s new. " She rolled her eyes and continued her training. This time, every bullet hit the target; every shot hit the critical areas.

She removed the headphones and turned to Karina, "Why are you even here at this hour?"

It was the woman’s turn to roll her eyes. She wasn’t exactly pleased to be at the base at this hour either.

"Thanks to one hard headed hunter, I was requested to babysit. Seriously, Alice, what is wrong with you? Why did you suddenly burst out to our intelligence team and insist on getting access? " Her eyes are full of more questions, questions that Alice wouldn’t answer. Especially knowing that Elijah easily got into her team for information.

Karina put on her headphones after figuring that Alice wouldn’t talk.

"This is for me, waking up so early for the person who doesn’t deserve it." She hit the head of the target board three times in a row. Alice was well aware that she was referring to her, but the she doesn't really mind. It’s much better for them to think that she was just a desolate and stubborn woman than to drag them into the mess she has been involved in for god knows how many years.

"Talk to Black Lotus because, I swear, you don’t want a sleep deprived me in your missions. "

Alice had no choice but to face their leader once again. She was quietly sitting at her desk when she entered. The woman was busy with all the paperwork she had to process. She looked stressed as well.

"The mighty Black Lotus is being beaten up by paper works. It’s fun to see. " She taunted the woman, just to get back at her for hiding the truth.

Clarisse lifted her head and glared at Alice, but the latter only chuckled.

"I guess you’re done with your loathing phase?" Alice’s smile grew wider, and somehow, it was scaring the older hunter.

"On the contrary, the loathing would continue if you kept sending baby sitters along the way. Did you know how easy it was for that vampire to mess around in their heads? " She sat as she revealed what happened.

"That vampire did what?"

Her expression suddenly changed. Alice has been in the organization for seven years and received personal training from Black Lotus herself. She knew how to push her buttons as much as the older woman knew hers.