Chapter 4
I was sitting in the spare bedroom in my dad's old apartment with my head in my hands when he found me the next evening.
I had dragged him to my car and locked him in the trunk when he had collapsed in the forest. I then took him back here and put him in the coffin we keep in the basement when we wanted to keep them for torture.
I had then gone upstairs and fallen to sleep as soon as my head had hit the pillow. When I woke up in the morning, I had drunk my first cup of coffee then came in here and hadn't left.
He paused in the doorway, looking exactly like every other guy who had just woken up in a stranger's house. His hair was tangled and he was rubbing his eyes as he yawned.
I felt a pang of longing as I watched him, and when I caught his eye I could see he felt the same.
He walked over slowly and sat down on the bed next to me, leaning over to brush the hair out of my eyes as he spoke.
"I don't know why, but I can't stay away from you. I dream about you and you are in my every waking thought. Without you I feel completely empty. I know this is wrong and it goes against everything we have ever been taught but I can't live without you anymore."
I looked into his eyes and I could see he meant every word, but I refused to let myself fall for him after what he had done to my family and friends. I pulled back and stood, working to keep my true feelings off my face as I spoke.
"You are an evil half breed and you were responsible for the deaths of my entire family and all of my friends. I watched you rip through that base like it was made out of paper, and then once you were gone and had left me all alone I had to walk down that road through the wreckage and I had to walk over my father who was lying in the road with his throat ripped out. How could I ever love someone as evil as you?"
Vlad looked at me and I could see the walls of hatred slam up to hide his pain. I felt terrible but I had no choice, this house was full of cameras which were monitored constantly while people were in the house by the slayers guild for their protection.
I turned and walked through to the kitchen to make myself a coffee. He followed me stiffly and watched me as I poured it into a mug and went to the fridge to get the milk.
As I went passed the sugar I dropped in the little note I had written earlier telling him about the cameras. I walked back to where I had left my coffee and asked him to pass me the sugar.
He stood up slowly and stalked over to the sugar, and I saw the brief flicker of confusion before he wiped his face clear of emotion. When he handed it to me, I saw he had very secretly removed the note and hidden it in his palm.
I mumbled a thank you and finished making my coffee before I wondered out onto the balcony. He followed me and gave me a hard look. I handed over his cape which I had picked us I had walked past, and walked back inside the house locking the door behind me.
I watched on the cameras as he fastened his cape and drop off the edge of the balcony and disappeared. I finished my coffee as I checked the security feeds for the past few days then grabbed my coat and left the house.
I hadn't walked far when I hand grabbed me and dragged me into and alleyway. Before I had a chance to scream I felt his lips on mine and I relaxed completely as his cape surrounded me. I leant back smiling as I stared into Vlad's perfect black-brown eyes, happy to see the joy there instead of the anger and pain.
"I didn't know if you would come back after what I said in the bedroom. I thought you hated me."
He smiled and pulled me into his arms so I could lay my head on his chest, and I felt his lips on my hair.
"Never, I love you."
Suddenly he was pulling me out of the alley to a dark limo that had been waiting on the street. As I climbed in after him I noticed the interior was decorated in soft blues and yellows, and it was filled with the type of lights that give out a lot of heat.
I turned to look at Vlad as I sat down and my heart stopped. He was leaning back with his eyes closed and a small smile on his face and it was obvious he was completely happy for once. There were a few pictures on the walls, and he smiled at them even as the tears filled his eyes.
"Vlad, what's wrong?"
He turned to me with a small smile and pulled me to him, pointing to the pictures as he spoke.
"This is my family, the painting over there is of my father and the woman I believed to be my mother for almost 18 years. That is a photo of me and my sisters, Ingrid and George. And there is a photo of me with George and my real mother, Sally. They were all killed by either your family or the high council."
I looked at the photo of him with his real mum. They looked happy and care free, but even then you could see the pain in his eyes.
I turned and pulled him to me, wrapping my arms round his neck and tangling one hand into his hair as I kissed him so he was unable to pull away. And for the way his body was responding to mine, I don't think he ever wanted to.
I could barely feel the car moving under us as we sped through the streets to his estate, and soon the faint hum of the engine started to send me to sleep as I curled up with my head on Vlad's chest, listening to his silent heart.
