The pain was spreading throughout my body, but there was one thing I was more worried about. My eyes went from the bullet wound, to Eric, to the other vampires. They were still standing at a distance, and I wasn't sure if I just hadn't noticed it before, but they all had their fangs out.
Eric had seen it as well. He crouched down in front of me, spreading his arms to create a shield. I heard him growl, and for a moment I began to wonder if he was protecting me from them to keep me safe, or so he could have my blood all to himself. We had never been in a situation like this before, and while I trusted him in many other scenarios, there was a lot of blood coming from my leg.
"Eric?" I asked, my voice soft. "What is going on?"
He didn't respond to me. Instead, he addressed all the other vampires by name one by one, ending with Pam. They had all remained frozen, their eyes glued to me as my scent probably filled their nose like never before. Amidst the fear, it was easy to forget I was laying in a scrap yard full of bodies, and even though there was blood right for the taking, my own would trump everything.
"Return to Fangtasia. I will meet you there."
But the vampires didn't respond, not even Pam.
Eric's voice grew more darkly. "As your maker, I order you to return to Fangtasia."
While he could get Pam to do whatever he wished, the other vampires didn't necessarily have to listen to him if they didn't want to. And after Pam spun on her heel and disappeared out of sight, the vampire I recognized as the bartender took a few steps forward.
"She looks delicious," he spoke, licking his lips.
I held my breath, and kept my body as still as possible. My leg was still throbbing, and I could feel blood trickling down my calf, probably enticing the others with every drop that landed on the ground.
"She probably is," Eric agreed, continuing to speak before I could argue with his method of negotiation. "But she's mine."
As highly problematic the term sounded, it was the only option I had. I had heard of vampires claiming humans to be theirs, and it meant that they were off-limits for other vampires. This included the right to kill the other if they threatened what was theirs.
"We can share."
The vampire came even closer. Eric responded by standing up and moving right in front of him. He was much taller than the bartender, and I guessed much older. This would be an easy fight if it had to come to one.
"She's mine."
I had never heard him sound so threatening before. Eric no longer sounded remotely human. In the way he spoke, he was pure vampire. Anything forgiving about him had disappeared and an almost animal-like figure had returned.
"This is your last chance," he hissed. "Leave."
The vampire considered his words, his gaze shifting between me and Eric as if he was still contemplating trying to get a taste of my blood. My heart continued to pound uncontrollably as I could do nothing more but await my fate.
Finally, the vampire took a slow step back. And then another. And before I could blink, he was gone, followed by the others. Eric remained in position, his hands still curled into fists and his fangs were still out. He was waiting to see they were really gone and if they wouldn't come back as soon as he turned his back, and after a good minute he finally spun around and got down beside me again.
His eyes, so animalistic and full of hunger, changed in an instant. He looked at me with worry, and care and as he gently placed his hand on my shoulder he warned me he was going to pick me up.
"We have to get home," he continued. "A hospital will start to ask questions, but there are other ways."
I knew the other ways. Eric's blood would heal me in almost an instant. It was one of the perks of that came with drinking vampire blood. What was a more popular feature, and more well known, was an increased libido. Vampire blood had become the new drug of choice, and although I had never consumed it before, I was well aware of its effects.
The pain was excruciating. Eric slipped his arms under my knees and my waist. He tried to be as gentle as he could, but the pressure on the bullet wound hurt me nevertheless. I ground my teeth and closed my eyes, promising it would all be over soon. I couldn't even celebrate the fact that my stalkers were finally gone.
Eric didn't fly, but even running he was faster than we would have been by car. I closed my eyes the entire way, not daring to open them until we had returned to his apartment. He placed me on the bed, staining his silk white sheets. He then ripped off my shorts before his finger traced the edge of the hole where the bullet had gone through.
"I need to get it out first," Eric stated. I was surprised at how calm he was.
I couldn't get a word out so I just nodded and embraced for the pain that was about to come.
Within a second he had fetched what looked like a first aid kid. The sight of a vampire with pincers in his hand, ready to dig a bullet out of my leg was slightly daunting, but a hospital wasn't an option.
I cried out when he retrieved the bullet from my leg. Luckily, it hadn't gone too deep, and with the precision of a surgeon he was able to get it. Eric then sat next to me, placed my head on his lap while I was still panting from holding my breath, and let his fangs sink in his own wrist.
As he held his arm out in front of me, and I didn't hesitate for a second. The pain was too strong to think about any possible repercussions of drinking his blood. My lips curled around his wrists and I began to suck. The first couple of drops tasted disgusting, like rust on a piece of metal, but the more I drank, the better it began to taste and after a while I had almost forgotten I was drinking blood.
When Eric decided I had enough, he pulled away his arm. My eyes found my bullet wound and it was surreal to see it slowly disappear in front of my eyes. The pain left my leg, and within a couple of minutes there was no trace left of the wound except for a minor scar that could easily be covered up with a little make-up.
I let out a sigh of relief, allowing a smile in my lips as I lifted my head up to Eric. It wasn't until I was deprived of my own pain that all my senses returned to me. I felt a wet spot forming against my back, and as I pushed myself upwards to see what it was, I noticed Eric was bleeding as well.
"Eric," I breathed, moving on my knees as I pushed his black t-shirt up to reveal his stomach. He had been hit by one of the bullets as well, right where his liver was once supposed to be. If the bullet had hit his heart, he would have died right in front of me.
The roles were reversed, and calmly he ordered me to get the bullet out. A feeling of guilt washed over me as I couldn't imagine how he had done all of this while he was in pain, just like I was.
"Tell me what to do," I asked, adrenaline taking over my body.
Eric instructed me through the ordeal. My hand were shaken so badly I kept on apologizing for hurting him, regretting I couldn't work with the same accuracy as he had done. Finally, I managed to grab the wooden bullet between my pincers and I lifted it out of his flesh, holding it up in front of me. Such a strange thing that only a small piece like this could cause so much damage.
"Now get me blood from the fridge."
My body reacted before I could think. I sat down back besides Eric, his body healing as quickly as mine, but he was still weak and needed to drink.
"I had your blood, now you can have mine."
I could hardly believe I had spoken those words. Never would I ever have thought that I would voluntarily offer a vampire my blood, but here I was.
Eric's eyes grew wider. "Are you sure?"
I nodded. "Do it before I change my mind."
I repositioned myself on my knees and tiled my head to the side. With my hand I pulled all of my hair back over one shoulder, revealing my neck. He had kissed it before, but now he would bite it. I began to feel anxious, suddenly worrying about the fact that he might not be able to stop.
But I had to trust him. I had trusted Eric for a while now, and not once had he betrayed me. I had faith that he wouldn't do so now either.
His fangs brushed my skin, sending shivers down my spine. I grabbed the bedding with both hands, closing my eyes as he first kissed my neck. Then he did it. It was a sharp pain, but considering to what I just had been through it didn't hurt long. He then began to suck, and the pain was replaced by a tingling feeling running up and down my body. Every so often, his tongue darted out and licked the excess blood from my shoulder. I had to admit, this wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
We never had been more intimate than we were now, and against my expectations, I was enjoying it. We provided for each other, like real lovers. I had his blood in me, and he had mine, and in a weird fucked-up way, I felt that was romantic.
Eric stopped before I began to feel weakly. His mouth was stained red, like mine probably was as well. I could see the life returned in his eyes, and then he drew a little blood from his thumb and rubbed it over my bite marks. They healed and disappeared, no one would be any wiser that this had happened.
"Thank you," Eric said, placing a kiss on my shoulder. I had never heard him thank someone before, and I couldn't contain my smile.
"I should thank you," I replied. "You saved me. It's all over because of you."
"Always," he simply stated, and the hint of a smirk made me happier than anything cloud.
"So, how did I taste?" I couldn't help but be curious. Everyone always told me how mermaids tasted so spectacularly different to humans, but I never found out what it was like.
"Like home," he replied.
Eric had left me in the apartment to clean up the mess we had left behind. I offered to come along, but he had told me it would be quicker of he and Pam did it alone. He would stage it that all of the people died due to a tornado hopping through. I remembered the guns and the bullets, noting he should be careful to get everything out of there. There could be nothing left behind to tie us to the scene. While I was glad all of this was finally over, I didn't want anyone to go to prison for it.
I allowed my body to rest in a warm bubble bath. I didn't feel the need to transform, perhaps that was one of the side effects of Eric's blood I didn't know about. It was the first time that it really sunk in what had happened. I was kidnapped. Eric and the other vampires killed all of those people. And there was also that dog. Then I had his blood, and he had mine.
It was over. The stalking, the photos and the videos. Everything was finally done. I no longer had to live in fear. Everyone who knew I was a mermaid was either dead or not that stupid to tell anyone else. It was as if the weight of the world fell off my shoulders. I let out a chuckle, followed by a grin. I was free again.
A silhouette in the doorway made me jump, but then I realized it what Eric. He looked at me with kind eyes, and I wasn't sure if it was the blood, or the fact that I could finally breathe again, but my body was longing for him.
Eric took note and before I could blink he had taken his clothes off and came into the water. He pressed his body against mine, his hands on my hips to pull me as close as possible as our lips met.
He smelled like earth, with the usual hint of cologne. Was having sex after murdering an entire group of people and covering it up weird? Perhaps a little, but stranger things had happened lately and I couldn't stop myself anymore.
My hands cupped his butt as I moaned when he entered me. The water made us as light as a feather and within a few pumps I came loudly. Eric's blood heightened every sense, and my body shocked as I reached my peak.
Eric followed just short after. He let out a low sigh before turning positions and cradling me in his arms. I lifted my eyes to look at his face, studying his handsome features as he stared away in the distance.
When he finally looked down, he caught me smiling. To my surprise, his lips curled into light smile as well, and that was when I knew I was safe.
A/N: Thank you all for your comments, I'm glad to hear you are still enjoying this story. The chapter after this one will be the final one in this 'book' :D I can't believe we've come so far! Thanks for the massive support and hopefully I'll see you next time :)