Chapter 35

England, 2 years later

"Kol!" I shouted when I ran across the courtyard towards the stables. My long red gown was slowing me down but I couldn't take it off here, even though I was wearing an under gown. I was supposed to act like a lady, not like some kind of savage. Stupid gown… I stopped in front of the stables. Unfortunately I was too late. Kol looked up and stepped over a young man's body.

"You didn't have to kill him…" I started angrily.

"Do you think that I am blind?" he interrupted me fierily. "I saw how he looked at you!"

I pressed my lips together.

"You can not simply kill everyone who looks at me…"

"I can and I will," he snapped stubbornly. "You are mine!"

"That doesn't mean that you can simply kill innocent people, Rowan never did anything to deserve this."

His eyes narrowed.

"Rowan? You call the stable boy Rowan?"

"That is…was his name," I said tensely.

He looked at me furiously.

"Did you feed on him?"

"No, you have told me that you don't want me to feed on men."

He moved in front of me and grabbed my shoulders.

"Have you obeyed me?"

I was starting to get annoyed but I nodded.

"Yes, I have not feed on men since we came to Europe. But as you know, there were no women on that ship."

"Do not remind me about that," he muttered gloomily. "All those filthy disgusting men staring at you… Every day I wanted to rip their eyes out."

"You did that," I reminded him.

The memory brought a satisfied smile on his face.

"Oh yes, what a great moment that was…"

I sighed and freed myself from his grip.

"Kol, why are you acting like this? You are the only man I have ever been with or want to be with, there is no reason for you to be so jealous."

"You are mine," he repeated like that would explain everything. "Say it."

I knew that he wouldn't give up so I said the words he wanted to hear.

"I am yours."

He smiled and took a step towards me but I backed away before he could touch me.

"Are you mine?" I asked.

He looked surprised.

"What?"

I felt more determined than ever before.

"You want me to be yours, but are you mine?"

He grinned.

"Come here and let me show you…"

"Say it," I demanded making sure that I stayed out of his reach.

He frowned.

"Yes, Sonja, I am yours. You should know that by now."

"So do you," I pointed out.

He bit his bottom lip.

"Forgive me. I am trying to control myself but even the thought of some other man touching you…"

"That will never happen," I assured and allowed him to reach me. He wrapped his arms around me and snuggled his face in my hair.

"My Sonja…"

I caressed his back hoping that he had calmed down; I didn't want him to kill any more of our servants. The thought of having servants was still difficult to understand, even though we had lived in a castle that had belonged to lord Tybalt for over a year now. This England seemed like an interesting place and I believed that I would like it here.

"Are you hungry, my sweet?" Kol asked.

I understood immediately the hidden meaning of his question. For some reason he loved to watch me feed, it turned him on, even though I never killed my prey. That wasn't something I wanted to do and he had always respected that. Although I couldn't quite understand his fascination, I always let him watch. What wouldn't a wife do for her husband? Besides, he always rewarded me generously, no matter how aroused he was.

"Yes, actually I am," I purred. "Perhaps you have someone on mind?"

"Well, I thought you might want to try that little blonde maid," he replied casually. "But of course it's your choice."

I nodded.

"Yes, she seems…delicious." I licked my lips before the last word. His expression told me that he was already turned on. The fact that I got him to react like that gave me more confidence. When we had first arrived here I had been a little worried. What if he would find someone more beautiful and forget all about me. Then I had finally gathered enough courage to ask him about it, did he want to be with someone else? His response had surprised me completely.

"I have a perfect woman, why would I settle for anything less? You are the only woman I want."

I had never been so happy; I only wanted to be with him. What else would I possible need?

The monster was finally satisfied. For now. Kol ran his fingers over Sonja's neck and caressed the sensitive spot behind her ear.

"Hmm…" she mumbled in her sleep.

"Mine," the monster growled inside his head. Or maybe that was all him, it was harder and harder to tell the difference. He kissed Sonja's neck before getting up as carefully as possible; he didn't want to wake her. He felt too restless to sleep so he got dressed and silently opened the door. Perhaps a nice little walk was just what he needed. Living in a big stone castle still felt foreign to him.

The memory of his home crossed his mind, but he got rid of it quickly. That life was gone; there was no point even to think about it. He had refused to think about his siblings or his parents. It had been almost three years since he had last seen any of them. Funny, it felt more like three weeks. Somehow the time didn't matter anymore. He was too lost in his thoughts to notice how quiet the castle was. Unnaturally quiet, there was no movement anywhere. He headed outside and was about to walk towards the stables when something hit his chest. It was an arrow. Kol looked at it disbelievingly.

"Kill the demons!" someone shouted.

The whole group of armed men ran across the courtyard. If Kol wasn't mistaken, they were from the village nearby. Perhaps he should have bothered to get rid of at least some of the bodies; he hadn't felt any need to clean up after himself. Oh well, should have, could have, would have. He grabbed the arrow and yanked it off his chest. That hurt. He snapped the neck of the first man who attacked him and ripped the next ones heart out. This was so boring, there was no challenge… His thoughts were cut off when he heard something from inside the castle. Sonja was screaming in pain. He had never moved so fast in his life. There were four men inside their bedchambers.

"Burn, you demon whore!" one of them shouted.

Sonja's whole body was on fire and her terrified screams were like a dagger in Kol's heart.

"Sonja!"

He acted immediately. The intruders were dead within a second, although he wouldn't have liked anything more than take his time with them, but there was no time. Sonja was rolling on the floor screaming so he grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her, putting the flames out. She was badly burned and her whole body was shaking violently.

"It's ok, my love, I'm here," he said and bit his wrist. She let out few hysterical sobs before he placed his wrist gently onto her mouth and helped her to drink. When her skin was slowly starting to heal, he cradled her across his lap and rocked her soothingly.

"It's ok…"

She buried her face in his chest and sobbed quietly.

"Kill them," the monster growled. "Kill them all."

Yes, that was exactly what he was going to do. He already heard more intruders coming. If they wanted a demon, they would have a demon.

"Sonja," he said gently. "Stay here, I will be right back."

She grabbed his shirt.

"No, no, please don't leave me," she pleaded looking at him with her tearful eyes.

"I will be right back, I promise."

He gave her a quick kiss before zooming towards the hallway. The monster was waiting anxiously. When the first intruder appeared, Kol smiled. All yours… He wasn't sure did he mean himself or the monster. Perhaps they were already one and the same. The massacre that followed was beautiful. There were no survivors. When he returned to the bedchamber, Sonja was sitting on the floor her legs curled up against her chest. He sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I think I am bored with England," he said when her head was leaning on his shoulder. "There are so many places to see…"

"Do I deserve to die?" her hollow voice interrupted him.

He pulled away and lifted her chin.

"What?"

She let out a sob.

"I…maybe those people was right…"

"Hey," he interrupted her firmly. "Listen to me; you certainly do not deserve to die. Tell me you believe that."

She looked completely lost. Seeing her pain was more than he could take, especially when he couldn't do anything except hold her. Every tear that she shred made him to loathe the whole humankind even more, but he had to admit that apparently they weren't as stupid as he had thought. Perhaps certain cautiousness was necessary, as annoying as that was. That was a lesson he would have to keep in mind.