2022-10-18 13:05:12Julian shrugged. "When it comes to Reuben, we never quite know. He's always so busy—especially with the work being done to locate the Maslen and Novak covens, but since it involves you…who knows? His response may come quicker than normal."
I winced at the implication behind what he said. Even he was convinced that I was being given some sort of special treatment. I stood still, fists clenched, as I watched Julian walk away.
Zinnia rubbed a hand over my elbow. "Hey. Don't mind him. I'm sure you'll be able to prove that any favors Reuben's giving you are deserved."
"So you think that Reuben's really giving me favors?" I asked.
"Come on, Ben…you're the only recruit staying in a guest suite. You flew right through training—and yeah… even I have to admit that you're better than all the people you passed by—but still, your time here as a hawk-in-training is, let's say, out of the ordinary."
I looked at the tattoo of
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A Darkness Of Vampire Chapter 82
Julian shrugged. "When it comes to Reuben, we never quite know. He's always so busy—especially with the work being done to locate the Maslen and Novak covens, but since it involves you…who knows? His response may come quicker than normal."I winced at the implication behind what he said. Even he was convinced that I was being given some sort of special treatment. I stood still, fists clenched, as I watched Julian walk away.Zinnia rubbed a hand over my elbow. "Hey. Don't mind him. I'm sure you'll be able to prove that any favors Reuben's giving you are deserved.""So you think that Reuben's really giving me favors?" I asked."Come on, Ben…you're the only recruit staying in a guest suite. You flew right through training—and yeah… even I have to admit that you're better than all the people you passed by—but still, your time here as a hawk-in-training is, let's say, out of the ordinary."I looked at the tattoo of
A Darkness Of Vampire Chapter 83
My eyes narrowed at her. "You're a hunter," I reminded her, the memory of the hawk tattoo on her lower back coming to mind. "Why on earth would you want to turn into one of us, the very thing you wanted to completely eradicate?""You used to be a hunter too, right? I saw the tattoo on your back. Yet here you are…""That's different. I wasn't given a choice when I was turned. You're choosing to be one of us. Why?"She was silent but a moment as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Because I don't ever want to feel powerless again… I don't want to feel like I don't have a choice." She paused, her gaze distant. "More than that, I envy what you and Sofia have. I want to have that too…with Sam."I almost choked at her statement. "Sam?" She looked at me with panic-stricken eyes. "You're not going to tell anyone, are you? Only Kyle and Eli know how I feel for Sam…not even the girls know&hell
A Darkness Of Vampire Chapter 84
I didn't know what to expect after the Maslens—our clan's archenemy—offered me sanctuary. It felt like such a gamble, but having been informed that my father would rather send me back to The Shade and face death at Derek's hands instead of taking me under his wing, I really had no other choice. The Oasis, home of the Maslen clan, became my sanctuary.Thus, I travelled to Cairo where Borys Maslen—lord of the Maslen clan—sent an escort to take me to The Oasis. In a couple of days' time, traveling by night and seeking shade by day, I arrived. At first, I thought that it was some sort of joke. It was exactly as it name implied—a small oasis hidden within the Egyptian boundaries of the Sahara Desert.A slew of curses escaped my lips as I approached the small lake surrounded by three palm trees that appeared to form a triangle around the lake."What is this?" I hissed at my escort."Wait and see," he responded smugly.I'd al
A Darkness Of Vampire Chapter 85
The look in Sofia's eyes the last time we spoke haunted me. I told her that I would pursue her, that I would find a way for what we had to last forever, but I hadn't the slightest clue how to do that. She was an ache in my heart that I knew would never go away until I was certain that she would be mine to keep for eternity.When her birthday came, it felt like losing a precious year. The night before it, I was moping around like a dismal sap over the feeling of her slipping away from my grasp. I was being pathetic and I knew it, but I couldn't help myself.Still, the day came and I was determined to set myself aside in order to make her happy. That was her day. I wasn't going to ruin it with my selfishness.I sneaked into her room in the wee hours of what could be considered as morning at The Shade. I was disturbed to see that her beautiful face was marred with agitation as she whispered in her sleep. She was clutching her blanket so tightly, her knuckles had be
A Darkness Of Vampire Chapter 86
He took hold of my hand, his every motion gentle and much like a sweet caress. He then led me to the middle of the room and gently placed his hands on my waist. He began leading me to a slow dance. He told me once that music was always playing in his head. This wasn't the first time he made me dance to music that only he could hear. I smiled, enjoying the feel of his hands on me. It was a balm to the yearning ache I'd been feeling for him over the past few days. Being in his arms was bliss in and of itself, so it was even more of a treat when he began humming a tune, allowing me to hear the music playing in his mind. Just like every moment I spent with him, I wanted it to last for an eternity, but the song came to a close. He then uttered words that sent my brain into a tailspin. "Marry me, Sofia." I froze. I guess I should've seen it coming. He was pursuing me. He wanted me. Why is this request taking me by surprise? Every fiber of my being was begging me to nod my head and say y
A Darkness Of Vampire Chapter 87
Everything started out as planned. We flew by helicopter to New York. Since I'd been paired with Zinnia, I was supposed to stick with her at all times. After landing on the rooftop of a building right across the street from our mark, the rest of the team quickly ran toward their assigned positions. I was about to do the same thing, but Zinnia quickly grabbed a hold of my arm. "Wait…" she whispered. "What?" I asked impatiently. "We're supposed to get into position, Zinnia…" Cat-like, her eyes darted from one side of the roof to the other. Her gaze stopped on a specific spot on the rooftop. "Zinnia! Ben!" our squad leader, Quinn, spat out in a muffled hiss. "What are you two doing?" My eyes widened when I saw a red dot on Zinnia's forehead. I was about to push her to the ground, but she had already done so, screaming, "Duck!" before tackling me to the ground. Gunshots were fired and from my peripheral vision, I could see one of the hunters fall to the ground. I was looking for a t
A Darkness Of Vampire Chapter 88
I recalled the first time I had spent time with Gavin. It was right after Claudia took him from the farm and I helped stopped her from making a slave out of him. Claudia attacked him and left some pretty nasty gashes on his upper torso with her claws. I pleaded for Derek to give me a vial of his blood, so we could use it to heal Gavin's wounds. "You want me to drink his blood?" Gavin spat out, staring at the vial in disdain. "Are you insane?" "It will help you heal…" I said meekly, unsettled by the anger blazing in his eyes. I wondered to myself why I was feeling guilty. It wasn't my fault Claudia caught him and clawed her nails through him. Heck…he should be thankful that I intervened. "Yeah? Well, duh…of course it will help me heal. Doesn't mean I want vampire blood running through my veins…" He stared at me disgustedly. "Have you been drinking his blood?"I shuffled my feet uncomfortably. "Several times…" "Migrates…" He rolled his eyes. "No wonder the vampires treat you as pets
A Darkness Of Vampire Chapter 89
I watched Kyle carefully. I knew for sure that he'd never turned a human before. I wondered what was going through his mind. At that point, however, there was no time to ask. I'd been spending all my free time preparing Sofia's quarters at The Catacombs, I barely gave Ashley's turning much thought. Corrine nodded for us to follow her and we made our way to the chambers where I'd been kept asleep for four hundred years. The giant round pillars, the stone slab in the middle of the room—each feature triggered unwanted memories from the past. "Are you sure this is what you want?" Cora's big brown eyes were moist. It was clear that she'd just hurriedly wiped tears away before I came in. I couldn't look into her eyes. I knew that she loved me. She'd told me many times before. More than that, she'd shown me in more ways than one that I meant more to her than she did to me. I could still remember how she broke into tears when I told her that I wanted to end it all. I wanted to escape The S
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Chapter 124
I nodded. He stepped in and I closed the door behind him. He spun around to face me. "Every single human in this building—me included—perhaps my daughter being the only exception—wants you dead." At that, I couldn't help but chuckle wryly. "So I've gathered." "The great Derek Novak. One of the best hunters the order has ever known…now prince of the vampires." King actually…I looked up at him…but then you don't really need to know that. "This thing you have with my daughter stops now. You can't keep using her for whatever reason you have for wanting her." "I'm in love with her," I said through gritted teeth. "I fully intend to marry her." "Marry her? She's mortal! If you loved her, you wouldn't deprive her of the future she deserves. You wouldn't deprive her of an education, a family, children of her own…" At that, I couldn't find a proper response. I'd been plagued by that thought ever since Sofia returned to The Shade. I knew I was being selfish with her. "Be straight with me
Chapter 123
I knew then that should Derek ever ask, I would willingly let him have my blood. The thought scared me, because it was a stunning realization of how much I was willing to give up for him. I drifted off to sleep for the rest of the flight, leaning my head on Derek's shoulder, hoping to escape everything through peaceful slumber. It was the sudden jolt caused by the wheels of the plane hitting the tarmac that woke me. My immediate instinct was to check out the window for the sun and I was relieved to find that it was dark. I knew we were in the US—that much I'd gathered from overhearing several conversations between the hunters, but where exactly in the States we were, I had no clue. I checked on Derek and found him unbuckling his seatbelt. "Hey, beautiful," he said before quickly looking away.Something about him felt distant and cold. I looked toward my father and wondered what he would have to say if I went to him to ask for blood to feed Derek. The prospect seemed insane. I grabb
Chapter 122
It felt like I was riding to my death. I was surrounded by hunters and I was willingly heading toward the last place any vampire should be. The hunters' headquarters.I could feel Aiden's glare burning through me. I knew that in his eyes, I was the enemy. In his eyes, I had brainwashed Sofia into loving me. I knew that he would do everything to take Sofia away from me. It's the way I would've thought had I still been a hunter. I clung to Sofia, driven mad by how much I was craving her blood. I swallowed hard as I pressed my lips against her cheek. I couldn't remember ever wanting anyone as much as I wanted her. The fact that I was in love with her only added to the heavy ache that seemed to permanently settle on my chest. No wonder Lucas couldn't keep himself away from her… Lucas. My jaw tightened at the recollection of seeing my brother burst into flames. I'd never liked him, but he was still my brother. Seeing him meet his end brought no satisfaction whatsoever. I found myself w
Chapter 121
Amidst all the bedlam surrounding me, I was certain of one thing and one thing alone. Claudia had reverted to her old mad and twisted self. I knew it the moment she attacked Sofia and sank her fangs into her neck. "What is wrong with you?!" I hissed at her after seeing her claws come out, ready to put me through another painful ordeal. "She's safer as a vampire than she is as the pathetic little twig that she is," she told me. "I was doing her a favor." She wasn't feeding on Sofia. She was turning her. I couldn't even begin to imagine what was going through her mind. "This place is filled with hunters. Nobody is safe, you crazy bitch." Her claws retracted and she pressed her palm over my chest to keep me down. "You were going to shoot me," she accused. "You were sinking your bloody teeth into Sofia's neck. Of course I was going to shoot you." I pushed her away from me and was slightly surprised when she actually backed off. I searched for Sofia in time to see her pinned to a wall
Chapter 120
The moment the circular glass elevator stopped at level four, I saw my father rising up to his feet as he pulled a wooden stake from a vampire's chest. At the sight of me, his eyes widened. More questions than I could make sense of flashed through my mind at the sight of him. My mother was a vampire and my father was a hunter. It felt like my entire life had been a lie. However, I knew that I wasn't about to get any answers, because this was no time for teary-eyed reunions. War was breaking out all around us. As I stepped out of the elevator, I realized that my father had just begun to take note of the dress I was wearing and the blood on my wrists. He then saw Derek stepping out of the elevator right behind me. My heart stopped when I realized what it looked like. "Dad, no!" I screamed, but he was already pulling out a gun and aiming it at Derek. I immediately acted out of instinct and used myself to cover Derek. I was about to tell Aiden—who was running toward me—that if he ever
Chapter 119
I stepped away when Borys began to run his hand down my shoulder. Borys responded by using one strong arm to grab my waist and pull my back against him, holding me in position so that he could touch me any way he pleased right in front of Derek. I kept my eyes on Derek's, wondering if things would really end this way. I was grasping for any thread of hope. I wanted to be strong for Derek, but I had no idea how to do it. We were both too weak, too broken. When a soft knock interrupted Borys' shameless display, I could hear Derek sigh with relief. "What?!" Borys screamed. A guard entered. He looked terrified. "Your highness…" His voice trembled. "The boy…Ben…he escaped with the blonde vampire. They both left The Oasis…they haven't yet returned." I could feel Borys' breathing suddenly get heavy. His arms clamped around me so tightly, I thought he wanted to snap me in two. Instead, he pushed me to the ground and marched toward the guard. He grabbed the guard's neck. "How long have th
Chapter 118
Despite my tears, I laughed wryly. "It's you who's been brainwashed, Ingrid…or maybe I ought to call you Camilla…is there still any part of her left in you? Dad was right about you. You are insane. You left your own family to blindly serve this villain of a king." "You have no idea what you're talking about. You don't know what my life was like. I loved Aiden. He was everything to me, and then you came along. I never wanted you, but I gave in to his requests for a child, because I loved him. You stole him from me." She was saying the words calmly, her eyes set on the bite marks on my neck as she proceeded to tend to the wound. The spite every word contained mixed with the calmness and affection by which she expressed them made her one of the scariest people I'd ever met. I couldn't begin to fathom how broken a creature my own mother was. I was certain, however, that even though I had been born of her womb, she was now a complete stranger. No more words were exchanged until she was
Chapter 117
Borys let go of her and the moment he did, she ran into my arms, tears streaming down her face. I held her tight, unwilling to let go, sickened by the thought of what she'd been through since she arrived at The Oasis. I didn't need to ask if she was alright or if they hurt her. It was clear to see that she wasn't. It was obvious that they had. "Get me out of here, Derek," she sobbed against my chest. "He's going to destroy me. Everyone here is insane. Especially my mother…" She knows. I shut my eyes, trying to find words to soothe her, wondering how on earth I was going to get her out of there. I could smell the blood on her neck. My mouth watered at the scent, but I was too mortified by the idea that Borys had already tasted her blood to even start craving her. "Sofia, I'm so sorry," was all I could think of to say. She shook her head. "You didn't do this." "I've failed to protect you so many times…" "Don't do this, Derek. Just don't. We have to get out of here—you, me and Ben
Chapter 116
I sat up on the bed and backed away from her. She reached out for me and I flinched when her fingers brushed over my shoulder. I glared at her, expecting to see the same glint of manic glee in her eyes—the same look she always gave me when she held me captive at The Shade. Instead, the look on her eyes was soft and pensive—practically moist with tears. "Do you love her, Ben?" "Love who?" I practically spat the words out. I was sickened by the way she was acting. I felt as if someone like her had no business talking about love. "Sofia…" I stared at her incredulously. She didn't have the right to talk about Sofia and I had every right not to give her a response. "And if I do?" I managed to say. She shrugged one shoulder. Her head bowed slightly, a mass of curls falling over her shoulders. "I love someone too. I didn't realize how much until I got here. I never should've left The Shade. I need him." I practically gawked at her. I had no idea who I was facing at that moment. Gone wa
