Apologies for no DiF this weekend. I'm trying to finish up Autonomy. I don't know how so many brilliant authors manage to write multiple fics at the same time, I must concede defeat and admit it is beyond me!

Thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter, should warn you this is dark and there is some swearing. Should only have two chapters left.

xo

Chapter 12

The regrets began almost as soon as Vlad pushed his body off hers and began to get dressed. His movements were abrupt and hurried; it was as if he couldn't wait to get away from her. When he turned to lift his shirt up from the floor, she noticed with a sudden start that his face was grim; the gorgeous mouth which had given her such pleasure was turned downwards as if he was annoyed or upset. But, of course, he would be, he had just bitten her in the heat of the moment, given her his First Bite without meaning to. The Dracula brat believed in playing by the rules, doing things properly and honourably, no doubt he would be seething at his lack of control.

What a pity. It was all she could do to keep a smug smile from spreading across her lips. She was the Chosen One's First Bite! Now, she had powers beyond her wildest dreams, she would be the second most powerful vampire to walk the earth, possibly the only if Vlad continued to act in such a sulky manner. She chose to ignore his childish fit of pique; it wasn't as if he was the only one who was going to have to unlive with the consequences. After all, she was the one who had been bitten. Hellfire, it hurt. Even now, the puncture wounds on her throat were stinging. No wonder breathers were so whiny about being bitten. As she pulled herself upright into a sitting position, she found herself feeling unsettled by the sensation of a cool liquid trickling over her skin. She raised a hand to the throbbing injury, wincing slightly as her hand encountered damaged flesh and a slippery, wet substance which could only be her blood. As her fingers explored the marks that the Chosen One had left on her throat, panic began to rise deep inside her. The bite was far too high up on her neck; there was no way that it could be hidden discreetly beneath a high collar. Far more importantly, the location signified dominance and possession rather than the pathetic, lovesick sentiments that Vlad had hinted so blatantly at just a few hours before.

He still hadn't spoken. Frowning, she watched as he began buttoning up his shirt, long, pale fingers moving deftly over plastic and cotton. She was tempted to approach him, wind her arms around his waist, press her lips to his neck, pull him back onto the floor but there was something about his stance, the rigid set of his shoulders, which put her off that idea. With growing unease, she leapt gracefully to her feet and began pulling on the gown that he had been so eager for her to discard. Something was telling her that it would be a good idea to get dressed, to face him on equal terms. For Lucifer's sake, how angry could he be? It wasn't as if she had pressurised him into it, he had wanted it just as much as her. More in fact. He was the one who turned up with a bottle of blood at her door.

"It was a perfectly adequate First Bite." Adze couldn't keep the barbed edge out of her voice as she zipped up her dress. When Vlad didn't answer, she continued speaking; it took considerable effort for her to keep her tone sweet and light. "You shouldn't feel bad about it. It was biting with consent, isn't that the new terminology? I wanted you, you wanted me, there's nothing wrong with that. Our fathers will be slightly annoyed but that's not what matters." She turned to face him; he was just standing there, his hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket, his face completely blank of any emotion. For some reason that frightened her more than if he had been scowling or frowning. "What matters is us." She did her best to keep calm and smile patiently at him but frankly his behaviour was really starting to creep her out.

She watched as Vlad ran his tongue over his fangs in an appraising manner. She decided to change tact. "Feels good, doesn't it?" She took a tentative step towards him, he didn't back away. "To have your fangs slice through skin and flesh?"

Vlad looked up at her from beneath his dark eyelashes. He nodded slowly, a pained look flitting across his features.

Adze once again found herself having to suppress a triumphant smirk. "It's meant to," her voice was huskier now, full of wicked promises and not all of them related to sex. "If biting me felt good then you can only imagine how much better it would be with a breather. Their fragile skin, oh so penetrable, the heat of their flesh against your fangs, oh the hot richness spurting into your mouth..." Adze let out an exaggerated sigh of pleasure, noting how Vlad was struggling to retract his fangs, "It tastes better than you could ever imagine."

Vlad deliberately looked away.

Adze sashayed towards him, confidence beginning to swell up inside her. She should have known that Vlad, with all his strange breather morals and principles, would react badly to his First Bite. The Dracula brat was so keen, so desperate to cling to a humanity he never had in the first place. Who better than her, a vampire princess with millennia of cruelty and malice bred into her bones, to guide him into the dark?

"There's still time to change your mind about the wedding peasant," she teased, "It's a fine Ramanga tradition." She reached out a hand to trail her fingers down his chest. She wasn't adverse to using her charm or her body to win around a sulky Grand High Vampire. She gasped in pain as Vlad's hand clenched around her wrist.

"There won't be a wedding," he replied coldly, his voice sounding thicker and grittier than usual.

Adze fought down the panic that was once again rising inside her. She was a Ramanga, a fierce and proud descendent of royalty and warriors, she would show no fear to any enemy. "Why not?" With her free hand, she gestured down at the cushions and blankets scattered on the floorboards. "I know you enjoyed that."

Vlad's gaze slid over to the place where they had been naked just a few minutes go. "Yes," he said softly, malice oozing from every syllable. "You're a good fuck, I'll give you that."

Adze made a sound of outrage and tried to pull away from the firmness of his grasp.

"Not as good as you are at lying though," Vlad continued calmly, as if they were discussing nothing more significant than the price of coffins. He let go of her suddenly, causing Adze to stumble back a few steps, and reached into the pocket of his leather jacket. He withdrew something and tossed it with violence onto the floor where it bounced a few times before landing on the edge of the blanket.

At the sight of the jewellery box, sheer terror froze Adze to the spot. Her mind went blank as she desperately scrabbled for explanations and denials. At the same time, questions were beginning to bubble up inside her head. How had he found it? Had her father betrayed her in an attempt to save his own neck? Did he know the truth behind their origin? Was this situation in any way salvageable?

Even as she opened her mouth, Vlad was holding up a hand in warning. "I know everything."

Amidst the panic and the fear, a more familiar, more useful emotion was beginning to emerge. Rage. He thought he could intimidate her, use her for his own means, well the Vladimir Dracula was an idiot. He had just forgotten the most important thing that had happened in his entire unlife, well maybe merging with his reflection had been notable but the act which had taken place in this room... he had given her his First Bite. Closing her eyes for a few seconds, she could feel the darkness and power that he had accidentally bestowed on her. It didn't matter if they no longer married, it didn't even matter if her father's plot to destroy the Chosen One failed, she still had this. She would show Vlad, her bullying father, she would show them all, she would not be dominated any longer. Triumph, glorious and heady, surged through her as she raised her hand and flung a mass of glittering flames at her ex-fiancé.