17

Nyx turned off the engine to her motorcycle and threw a look backwards. Angel would come this way in about five minutes, and she slowly thought up a plan to stop him.

Her body was tired and weary, even though she didn�t want to admit it. She had been on her bike for almost two days, waiting the right time to approach him. And when she had spotted a road that she knew would be a short cut for her she knew that was her sign.

Her heart pounded inside her chest like a hammer, and she knew that it all was folly, that she should turn back to her home. But even now she felt the bond that threatened to asphyxiate her if she did turn home.

Nothing could stop her now, not even death.

Far away in the horizon she saw a car, and immediately she knew it was he. She could feel it in the way his pulse beat in time with hers, and the sound of it only increased the closer he got, his aura that even though the distance radiated like a beacon in her eyes.

Taking off her helmet she took her motorcycle and placed it the middle of the narrow road, so that his path was blocked unless she decided to let him by. Standing in front of the bike with her legs wide spread and her arms crossed in a stubborn way, she awaited his arrival.

As the sun slowly rose above her head, it burned her skin, and she felt how sweat slowly ran down her face. Heat radiated from the ground as the car became visible far away on the road.

The sound of the car-engine filled the air, and Nyx's eyes widened as she heard the engine increase its speed.

�Oh my God, he wants to kill me!� A thought ran through her head, though she just nodded slowly and took a deep breath.

�Very well then, Angel. If this is what you want, come on, I�m ready.�

Then something happened that she couldn�t really explain at first.

Her hands forced themselves up in a stopping gesture, pressing forth with all her powers. She didn�t know if she could manage it, she just pressed, trying to force the car to stop.

No effect.

The car was now so close that she could see how Angel's hands grasped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles whitened. She had never believed in God, but now she prayed that what ever happened to her this wouldn�t harm Angel.

Then, just when the fence barley grazed her knees, the car stopped dead, not moving an inch forth.

It was just as if someone had placed a wall in front of it, because no matter how much Angel pressed down the gas-pedal it wouldn�t move a bit. She could hear him mutter something ugly and then shut the car engine off.

In that time she lowered her hands slightly, and then knew.

Her love for him had given her powers.

�I will not let you flee like a dog with its tail between the legs. You�re a member of the McCullough family, and we don�t run, no matter how much pain we�ve been through. Didn�t your mother ever teach you that?�

Nyx's voice was filled with anger and dammed up feelings, though she still kept her voice low, but she was well aware of that Angel had heard it through the glass.

�Let me go,� Angel said.

Nyx shook her head.

�No.�

�Why?�

A tear slid down her cheek, then to fall on the dry soil where it�d immediately would be sucked up. Water was a rare gift here, and the few times it came, it was never much.

�Because I can�t sleep, eat or drink, I�m just thinking about you � unable to get you out of my head. Every time I look into the mirror I see your face staring back at me, and it is haunting me. That night when we kissed has etched itself into my retina, refusing to fade away. And when we kissed I was bound to you, and no matter how hard I try, I will never be able to deny the fact of that I love you.�

Her voice couldn�t bear her anymore and she dried away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks in a weak attempt to try and reinstall balance inside of her.

It failed.

Angel got out of the car and walked so that he only stood a few inches away from her, studying her closely without showing any emotions at all.

He could read her like an open book; her vulnerability was all exposed to him, her feelings for him. If he wanted to, he could tear her apart with just one look.

He saw how her lower lip quivered as if she was trying to hold back a flood of tears, the dark lines under her eyes due to the lack of sleep, he even noticed that her hair was in a complete mess � as if the wind had tousled it during the last two days. He figured it probably also had, and the result only increased the look of being tired, but still drop dead gorgeous.

Resisting an impulse to let his tongue wander over his teeth to stop by one of the canines he thought over what she just had said to him.

Also he could feel the bond between them, the feelings that were wrenching him inside out. And the fact that she had declared him her love only increased it, and he was mentally breaking down for what he had in mind.

�Go home Nyx,� he said and turned around, thereby denying his feelings; they belonged to someone that had died the moment that Bonnie also had.

Nyx inhaled deeply as from a great shock, and he heard the mute sobs that she couldn�t hold back.

�I hope that you are aware that if you go away you also sentence me to death.�

That statement made him stop dead in his tracks and slowly turn his head towards her, his eyes cold as stone.

�If I cannot be with you I�ll die tonight, just lay down on the ground and die. You might be able to survive a parting between us, but I know I can�t. The emotions inside of you, oh yes, I can feel what�s going through you,� she said when she noticed his startled face, �as well as you can feel my inner.

If you walk away you do not only sentence your soul mate to death, you also will regret this day for the rest of eternity, wondering what�d happen if you hadn�t been so damned selfish.�

Before she had a chance to utter another word, he had with his super-natural powers walked so that he stood only a few inches away from her, holding her in her arms. This was a grip that was more intimate than anything she had ever been through; he even had a hold of one of her legs. Though the way he held her told her that this was not of good.

For he held her in his arms in a way that made that she couldn�t move away from him, lips only an inch away from hers, and he looked into her eyes with a frightening sharpness. She suddenly noticed things about him that she hadn�t seen before, such as that his eyes wasn�t really black, but shifted color in various dark colors so swiftly that they appeared to be black. She also saw that when his mouth was slightly opened � like now � you could see the edges of his fangs grazing his lower lip, and her eyes widened at this as she knew a vampire could turn them in whenever he or she felt like doing so. Having them out told her that he with 99 security wasn�t looking kindly at her words and that he would kill her.

Making up her mind, she looked him in the eyes for a moment and then turned her face to the side and viewed her neck, leaving it to him to decide what he wanted to do with her. She knew that if he chose to accept the bond he would rather famish of hunger than to drink of her blood, but if he denied it� she would die.

Placing all her hope in her love for him she awaited his decision, every moment passing without a movement from his side feeling like an eternity.

The feeling of his warm breath and then cool lips against her neck told her everything, and she swallowed inaudibly, awaiting the sting that would lead to that she died. The fangs grazed lightly against her skin, just enough to ensure her of that he hadn�t changed his mind, but not hard enough to draw blood. A second and third light kiss on her neck followed in the same way until he let his face rest by her ear.

�If someone is going to die because of me,� he begun, his whispering voice sounding a little whistling due to that his fangs were out, �I will be the one who hands out death. Nobody else,� he finished, then to lower his head quickly and bury it in her neck.

If she was shocked or frightened by his words and actions, nobody could tell, for she stood completely still with her mind on the night that had awoken her feelings for him, a mildly smiling face expression on her face as she knew that whatever he did, she would be there for him, watching over him and seeing that nothing bad ever happened to him.

And that there was no pain when his face was buried into her neck did not surprise her as she had her mind filled up with the good in her memories of him. How they had laughed, shared thoughts and kissed. Nothing could break through that, and when she felt how he raised his head from her neck, she slowly turned to look him in the eyes one final time.

It took her a few seconds for her to think out what was wrong with what she saw until she understood it.

No blood.

If he had been drinking of her blood, his lips and mouth would have been stained by it, but there was no such thing. All she could find on him was that his eyes were filled of a dark light and that his lips were drawn to something that might be a smile.

�I guess that somebody is going to find himself very lucky,� he murmured as he released her from his hold on her so that she if she wanted to could leave, and he backed a step to await her next movement.

For a few seconds they just stood and looked at one another and then she smiled sadly, understanding the true meaning by his actions.

�You have made your choice. You already know mine.�

With those words she turned around to her bike, got up on it and looked back on him, where he stood just as she had left him, looking back at her with a face-expression she could not understand. His body was all tensed and his hands clutched so hardly that it seemed like he was going to burst, yet his face was as cool as a summer day. Pulling the helmet over her head she gave him one final look before she turned on the engine� or so she thought it would.

Every time she turned the key to start the bike it just gave a low buzzing sound and then died. She sighed deeply, took of her helmet and turned to look at Angel, to ask if he could help her getting it started. Though he wasn�t there anymore.

�Angel?� She asked out in the air, her voice questioning where he was. �Where have you gone now then?�

She looked around herself several times, but couldn�t see him anywhere. The car was still there, but she knew he didn�t really need it. Getting off the bike she took a closer look on the surroundings, trying to find any tracks of where he could have gone. She then reminded herself of that he had turned away from that path, and focused on checking out what was wrong with her motorcycle. To her surprise, she found that nothing was to be found wrong; everything seemed to be just like normal.

Melancholy hit her in the middle of her already mentally wounded chest, and she just sighed deeply and grabbed her bag, shaking her head in a complaining way then to turn around to start walking towards the closest town.

A quick gasp escaped her lips as she stopped dead in her tracks, as she found that Angel stood so closely by her that she should with all means have felt his presence. A human would have made sounds as he or she approached her, but then again, Angel had never been a human. And with his supernatural speed he had done what was not able of her, to move faster than that the human eye could see. Another vampire would have seen it, though only if he or she looked carefully. For speed was often used as a weapon against their victims, and sometimes also against other vampires. But mostly against humans, and this became very obvious to her now.

The intensity in his eyes frightened her � not to mention his sudden appearance, and when she backed a step she tripped over the bike and lost all balance. Before she even had the chance to scream he had caught her and carefully lifted her up, placing his left hand on her back to support her. She found his hold on her very light, yet she knew that it could in the blink of an eye turn into a deadly grip that would kill her. But she didn�t care.

For several minutes they stood in this way, she with her hands clutching his shirt, leaning a little bit back, and he with his left arm around her back and the other around her waist in a protective gesture. They didn�t break eye contact except for blinking with their eyes, and doing this only when they found it extremely necessary.

Confusion overwhelmed her as she didn�t understand his intentions by this, he had already made it clear for her that her feelings wasn�t responded the way they should be. Unconscious of that she did so her lower lip trembled, as the confusion led to sadness and grief. Lowering her eyes she tried to hide it from him, but he perceived as if she had screamed out her pain.

�I never said that the �himself� I spoke about earlier wasn�t me,� he whispered, smiling fondly at her as her eyes turned to look at him. �For I was speaking about myself.�

Her startled face expression changed into one filled with amazement and love, and then she just smiled warmly and caressed his cheek, fearing that her actions would not be of good if she released them all at the same time.

That was all the response he needed to lower his head and meet her lips in a kiss that blew them both away from the surface of the earth, to other galaxies, out in the universe until they � a million years it seemed like � was drawn back to earth and reality.

Gasping for air they looked at one another for a long moment and then Nyx couldn�t stop the sly smile on her lips, which came from a thought that just grazed her mind.

Love had won.

THE END

AN: Well folks, that was it, feel free to read and reply, and if you want more of Angel, keep a goats eye open for my up-coming story �Assassinating family�, where the story about Angel will continue, and I can promise that Damon, Stefan and Elena will be in the story, that you�ll know what happened to them as I cut them out here, and also some Bonnie, though she will only be talked about as she�s dead. There�ll also be some of Nyx and a set of new characters, maybe even a new member of the Salvatore family� no further spoilers.

Luna de Angelo