Sweet delicious air. David felt Claire take a deep breath as she was pulled out of the water. The men laughed at her. She looked down into the water and he saw her reflection. It was difficult to discern from the ripples in the water, but he could feel it in her. She had lost all hope.
"She's heavier than she looks," one of the men grunted. He was the only one holding her now as his companion made his way back to shore.
Claire was complete dead weight. She breathed shallowly and David wished he could will her to move. To fight back. But this was the past.
The man dragged her back to shore and dumped her onto the sand. They laughed and David could clearly hear them making plans on what they were going to do to her. He didn't want to see more. Especially if they hurt her.
She didn't care. She lay sprawled out and her fingers slowly dug into the sand. After all she had done, all she had gone through… She was being punished by God. There was no doubt in her mind about that. Her sins of disobeying her father, running away, and eloping.
She gripped the sand tightly and then she heard it. The ground rumbled, but the men couldn't hear it. They weren't close enough. Horses!
"Help!" Claire screamed with all her might, surprising herself and the men. She quickly got to her feet and opened her mouth to scream again, but then gasped.
A boy, no older than nine, stood in front of her, looking at her in horror. She looked down at his hands and realized that he had stabbed her. She wasn't sure why that stunned her. Did he kill her?
A man yelled as he jumped out from behind a bush. One of Claire's captures threw a knife, hitting her would-be-rescuer in the chest. She screamed, recognizing the man as her brother. That was the last straw. Her mind broke from everything that had just happened to her. She crumbled to the ground and stared up into the starry sky.
The sound of men screaming, fighting, and dying were in the distance as she slowly sang a lullaby. What did it matter? She had now lost two important people.
"No!" a familiar voice shouted, bringing her back. "I'm here."
Her vision blurred as someone stood over her. He gently leaned down and picked up her.
"You're safe now," he whispered. "I got you." Her brother's strong arms curled around her and she lost consciousness.
David's vision slowly cleared and he stared at the plain ceiling above him. The memory had come out of nowhere. Turning to his left, he stared at Claire. Her eyes were closed and she lay on her stomach. He leaned over and ran his fingers along her bare back, stopping for a brief second on the star shaped scar. The little boy must have been the cause of it. The scar from her chest to her back was probably caused by the small sword, as his height and the height of her scar were identical.
David gulped. Her husband, her brother, Alexander Corvinus, Sam. Claire was right. So many people had died around her. No wonder she was uncomfortable being close to anyone. But she wasn't the only one to have lost people. He had lost many during the Purge and after. His mother being one of the many who were killed.
She moved and opened her eyes. "Don't," she whispered as she turned to face him.
"What?" he asked, taking his hand away from her body.
"I don't like when people stare at me," she said. "I don't mind you touching me. Just don't stare at me."
He chuckled. "You don't want me to look at you while I touch you?" he teased. Then he closed his eyes and wandered his hand further.
She let out a yelp as he tickled her side and moved away. "I meant, don't stare at me while I'm sleeping. I find it creepy and it always wakes me up."
He smiled and nodded his head. She let out a loud sigh as she turned onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. He watched as her breasts rose up and down with each breath she took. He was slightly surprised to see that she hadn't been bruised, despite their rather desperate time together.
He had done his best to be gentle with her, but he had never been with a human before. She hadn't complained, nor given any indication that he had hurt her. But he couldn't help but wonder would she have if he did? He had a feeling that she wasn't one to complain about much, especially out loud. Still, he was a little relieved that he didn't see any bruises.
She cocked her head then leaned in and kissed him. "You're bad for me," she said, but smiled despite her statement. The blankets lay around her waist leaving her torso completely naked.
"Oh?" he asked as he rubbed her thigh.
She giggled. "Already?" she teased.
He grabbed her arms and pulled her on top of him. "You said to enjoy you while you last," he said, kissing her mouth. She eagerly returned his kisses.
"David?" she asked, finally breaking free.
"Yes?" he said as he kissed her again, and ran his hands up her legs. She sat on his chest and smiled as she looked down at him. Her naked body distracted him.
"I… Will you look at my face?" she huffed.
He chuckled. "Kind of hard to at the moment," he teased.
She grumbled as she lay down on top of him so that she was face to face with him. "Better?" she asked.
His hands ran over her body. "Almost," he whispered back.
She put a hand on his face and smiled. "I…"
"David!" Patrick shouted, throwing the door to his room open. Claire threw herself off of David and rolled the blankets around her. She was quick, but probably not quick enough.
"Patrick!" David snapped as he quickly sat up.
Patrick blushed a deep red and quickly turned around, scratching his head. "Sorry," he mumbled. "But Selene's asked me to get you. They found the lycan's hideout."
David quickly jumped out of bed and put on his pants. Behind him, he could hear Claire putting on her clothes. He wasn't going to tell her, at least not yet, but she wasn't going to join him in this mission. This was something that the hybrids were going to do. Still, he let her get dress and follow him.
Selene, Michael, Thomas, and other vampires hovered over a table. A laptop and map lay before them. On the screen was the image of one of their scouts. "Maybe five or six patrolling the outside," he said, sounding out of breath.
Selene gave a brief glance to David and Claire, before returning her attention to the map. David cocked his head and frowned. It was a picture of the old coven.
"They're there?" he asked in surprise.
The scout nodded. "Didn't stay long. Saw about five or six walking around the place. They had restored quite a bit of it. I wouldn't have gone there if I wasn't in a hurry to hide before daylight. We probably would have never found them. Didn't even think of going back to the old coven to search for them."
"Are you sure none of them followed you?" Selene asked. It sounded as if she had asked that question before.
The scout nodded his head vigorously. "The few outside didn't appear to be in their right minds. Wandered around almost aimlessly. And I doubled back a couple of times, just to make sure that no one was following me."
Selene looked at David. "Are you ready to come with me?" she asked him.
David nodded.
"Alright," she said. "David and I will go and see what else we can find."
"I'm going too," Michael chimed. Selene looked at him and opened her mouth to argue, but he shook his head. "Eve will be safe here, and we don't know how many hybrids they may have with them. I'm going." The determination in his face made her nod. He was stubborn like she was, and he did what he wanted.
David tensed, and waited for Claire to say the same words. Without looking at him, she reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it, before letting him go. "You might want to bring extra blood. Just in case any of you get bit," she said.
Selene nodded. "Let's go before it gets dark."
Thomas sighed but didn't protest. He walked over to his son and clasped his shoulder, giving him a small smile, before walking back to the table.
Claire touched David's face and kissed his cheek. "Come back, okay?" she asked.
He looked at her in surprise. He was prepared to fight her on going with him. And now that she hadn't even said anything he wasn't sure what to think.
"You don't…" he started to ask, but she interrupted him.
"Oh! I want to go. But I know you'll worry. As long as nothing drastic happens, I'll be waiting right here for you," she said with a smile.
"Planning for the worst?" he asked.
She stretched and let out a yawn. "For the best. I'm thinking I should get some rest. I have a feeling I won't be sleeping much the next few days." Her eyes danced with mischief. "And I have learned that making promises just don't work with me. I tend to break them. Not on purpose, but it happens."
He kissed her, making her smile. "I will return, I promise," he said.
It took them less than an hour to gather their weapons and get in the car. Selene drove and Michael sat beside her in the front seat. It took all of David's willpower not to look back as they drove away from the coven. He frowned as his heart started to race. Suddenly, he wanted Claire by his side like Michael was beside Selene. It seemed only right. He sighed. There was no going back now.
Claire lay in her empty bed and waited. There was no telling when the three would return. Although, it was well past midnight and a little over eight hours since they had left. She had a feeling that they would be returning shortly. After all, it was clear that Selene only wanted to go there to spy. She wasn't entirely prepared to take on a hybrid force, even one as unstable as the lycans seemed to be. Still.
Claire let out a loud sigh and got out of bed. It had been a long time since she had slept with anyone, and the thought of sharing a bed with David again excited her. She was ready to start another relationship. But that also scared her. She knew what she had to do. Secrets were never a good thing to keep, especially big ones. And now, if she did intend on staying with David for a while, she would have to come clean. It was only fair. And it would make decisions much easier to make. It wasn't like she wasn't going to tell him. If Selene hadn't interrupted their conversation she would have told him then and there. Selene and everyone would know, eventually. But she wanted David to know first.
She rubbed the bridge of her nose. It wasn't that she had lost her courage. It just seemed counterproductive, especially since they were in a hurry. Digging her hands into her pockets she headed toward Patrick's room. She hadn't checked her email in a while, and he was the only vampire she knew who had a computer.
"A word," Thomas asked, bringing Claire out of her thoughts.
"Yes, sir," she said with a nod.
For a moment, he was surprised by her politeness. He placed himself next to her and followed her stroll. "David is quite taken with you," he said.
She nodded.
"Do you love him?"
She stopped and blinked in surprise at his bluntness. "I…" she said then paused.
"It's a simple question, Miss Claire," he said, almost angrily.
She shook her head. "No, it's not," she said. "Love means."
He waved his hand in the air, interrupting her. "David is very fond of you," he said. "And in keeping with your silly idea of being human you are going to break his heart. But, it'll be harder if you were to become a vampire. Immortal like him, both of you will be able to live a long and full life together. If you stay human then you are making his life that much harder."
"Where is his mother?" she asked, crossing her arms.
Thomas took a step back in surprise then snarled as he revealed his fangs. "How dare you," he snapped.
"She was a vampire, wasn't she?" Claire continued, ignoring his anger. "And she's dead. Just because I'm immortal, doesn't mean I can't die. Yes, I can live for a long time, but something can still kill me. Just think of it this way. If I were immortal, you would have to see me for a very very long time. And hear my opinions, and my voice."
He raised his hands in the air. She had proven her point. Turning to leave he stopped and looked at her. "My son cares deeply for you," he said, almost too soft. "I don't want to see him get hurt at such a young age."
Claire breathed deeply and nodded her head. "Thomas," she said as he started to walk away. "I do care about him. And I don't want to hurt him. But I'm not going to change the way I live just for him. Don't worry about me. I've lived this long. I don't plan on dying anytime soon."
He snorted, shaking his head, before he stalked off. She watched him for a moment before she finished her walk.
She only had to turn the corner before she reached Patrick's room. She gave his door a quick knock before she walked in.
The young vampire jumped up and looked almost guiltily at her.
"I hope I didn't intrude," she teased. "I need to check my e-mail, if that's alright."
He nodded as he quickly clicked the mouse.
"Bye bye, baby," the computer said, before he took a step back.
She smiled as she sat down and opened up the internet, quickly logging into her email account. She frowned. "Do you have a pen and paper?"
"Umm," he said as he quickly pulled out a crumbled up piece of paper and handed it to her.
She quickly scribbled on the paper as she read the email. He looked over her shoulder and scanned what she was reading. It was a general email from an old friend of hers, telling her about their day. But there were over one hundred unread emails. He couldn't tell if they were spam or from people she knew. Probably spam.
"Do you have a phone?" Claire urgently asked.
He grabbed his cellphone and handed it to her. "You'll have to go up top to call," he muttered.
"Thanks," she said as she logged out of her email. Grabbing the paper and phone she rushed out of the room. It didn't take her long to get outside. She opened the paper and dialed the numbers that were on it. The phone didn't even ring before it was answered.
"Claire?" the desperate female voice cried on the other side.
"Andrea, what's wrong?" Claire asked, trying to keep the panic at bay.
"He's gone," Andrea cried.
"What? What do you mean, he's gone?" Claire demanded.
"He just left," Andrea sobbed. "And now he can be anywhere. What if they found him? Oh, my poor baby. Why would he leave?"
"Andrea," Claire said forcefully. "Calm down and tell me what happened."
The woman on the other side took in a deep breath. "We started to settle into the new home, and he found an old photo of you holding him with Brady next to you. He asked about you and Brady. I told him everything. And I… next morning I woke up and he was gone. Where have you been? I wrote you a bunch of emails. I didn't know how to get a hold of you. Where have you been?!"
Claire rubbed her face as she thought. "Did he go back to his friend's house?"
"I don't think so. I called his friend's mom, but she hasn't seen him. And neither has her son."
Claire's mind raced with possible places he could have gone. Then it hit her. "Shit," she whispered. "He might have come here. Dammit!" She felt like throwing the phone, but she couldn't. "Andrea, I'm going to find him. Don't worry. He'll be safe. I promise you. I won't let any harm come to him. Understand?"
The woman on the other end sobbed in response. "What if they have him, Claire? What if they're using him in one of their terrible experiments?"
Claire shook in anger. "Then I will rip their skulls from their spines," she said in the coldest voice possible. "I'll call you when I have him." She didn't wait for a good-bye as she hit the end button. She breathed deeply as she clenched her hand that didn't hold the phone. The little brat. How dare he? She had risked so much and for him to risk his life.
She didn't waste another second thinking as she rushed into the coven. She grabbed a spare set of keys and went to one of the cars.
"Where are you going?" Eve demanded.
Claire quickly scribbled into the paper and ripped out what she had written, handing it to Eve. "I have to go. When your mom gets back give her this. Your 'cousin' ran off. I have to get him."
"You mean give David this?" Eve said, almost teasingly. But Claire was not in the mood. "I'll go with you," she said, suddenly realizing how serious Claire was.
"No!" Claire said, shaking her head. "Look. Your mother will kill me if I bring you with me. And I don't anticipate trouble. If there is, I can handle myself." She opened the driver's door then stopped and looked at Eve.
"If…" she started then paused. "If anything happens to me, Eve. And he comes back alone, please protect him. He's the last 'normal' person of the Corvinus line."
Eve nodded her head in acknowledgement. Claire didn't wait to say anymore as she jumped into the car and drove away. Once again her knuckles were white as she clenched her fists. Her emotions went from anger to fear. What if the lycans had him already? What if they were draining him this very second? What if?
She shook her head and concentrated on driving. He was fine. She was going to get to him before they did. And once they were safe, she was going to give him a spanking he would never forget.