Chapter 30: Meeting the Devil

§ Lucy §

"I'm going to die." I repeated the short sentence all over again as I tried to keep my eyes open. The wind whipped past me, howling in my ears. The breeze was playing softly with my hair, making my curls even more frizzy.

I gripped the steering of the car with both hands in a vice-like grip. Nick's metallic black MG might look like a small sports car, but it packed some serious power underneath the hood.

Power that I honestly wasn't able to control properly.

If the car didn't manage to kill me before I arrived at the destination in mind, I was sure that Nick would. Nick was and will always be a stick in the mud; the over-protective side of him becoming dominant when someone he cared about was in danger. To be honest, he was probably the most mature guy I've ever met. I've accepted this about him, and I loved it about him because it kept in check my reckless side. I was the action girl, the one that made things happen, the one who didn't think twice about the consequences.

Our characters were like fire and ice, both equally stubborn, but in the end we balanced each other perfectly.

But, despite all this, I knew a few methods to make him bend a little and overlook my audacity. However there was one thing that he was completely unreasonable about, and that was his car.

I don't know what had possessed me in the first place to take it. I could have taken Solange's Smart. But I took his goddamned sports car that not only scared me shitless but was also probably going to send me to an untimely death.I inhaled deeply and as the rich musky smell with that little hint of sweetness I couldn't recognise filled my lungs, I knew why.

Everything about the car reminded me of him, the smell of his cologne that smelled so fresh, of the woods during springtime and yet just enough heart-breaking sweetness to make my mouth water a little at just the thought. Plus, the body of the car itself was almost... sexy. It held that deep dark allure just like Nick.

This car also held so many precious memories of the two of us. In almost two weeks, Nick has become one of the most important people in my life.

But now that I was thinking about it, perhaps he was just as important even before the bond. Even when all we did was bicker, he was a reason for me to keep fighting. I would be lying to myself if I said that many times, the only reason why I just didn't end it all was because of an unfinished petty argument with him. Our silly, childish little arguments were one of the crucial things that made me keep going on.

But now, by getting in this car I'd done something that I'm afraid was unforgivable. I promised him I wouldn't do this, and yet I did anyways. I knew that this was one argument that could ruin everything we've built.

The roundabout came up, and I was faced with a life-changing decision.

I could have turned around and acted like I'd never even gone out, went back in bed and listened to the voice of reason and for once send my pride to hell.

But I kept going. There was no turning back now.

I felt my eyes turn uncomfortably moist, but before they could shed any betraying tears, I wiped them with the back of my sleeve.

I bit my lip as I tried to control my emotions. One too many strong emotion could warn Nick through the bond and I couldn't have that. Thankfully he was still sleeping peacefully. I could feel a small buzz at the back of my mind, and I could tell that it was the flow of his peaceful, perfectly happy emotions, which I suspected were brought forth by a dream. I smiled, knowing that he was content. After what we'd seen at my house and the nightmares that we'd both had for days, I was glad to know that he was finally getting over them.

I gripped the steering wheel tighter, trying to summon all my courage. Nick could get rid of his demons, because in truth they weren't his. Most of them were mine, and the only way for both of us to get rid of them completely was for me to face them.

And for the sake of our happiness, I'd do it, even if it almost kills me.

XXX

The cafeteria I had chosen was not that crowded, but there were enough people who guaranteed my safety as I knew that my followers would never do anything which could compromise the security of the biggest secret of their world , that vampires actually existed.

Plus, the worn out cafeteria, with it's wallpaper peeling off and matt wooden floors that used to be shiny back in it's glory days was the place where my father used to take us on our birthdays or special occasions to get a good English breakfast.

I knew for a fact that I had been followed all the way from about two miles away from the Drake's farmhouse. Though they were doing it very subtly, I had kept a very sharp eye on the road and was able to detect them almost instantly in an inconspicuous Mercedes that had tinted windows.

I sat down at one of the red cushioned boots, the red looking more than slightly fading. An old woman wearing a stained white apron walked towards me to get my order. I ordered a black coffee that I added two teaspoons of sugar to. The caffeine in my system did wondrous things for me. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to make myself ready for this but I knew that even if I had all eternity to prepare myself, I still wouldn't ever be ready.

I bit my lip and held the warm cup tighter in my hands. "I know that you've been following me." I said out loud. Whoever was tailing me was probably a vampire so the super hearing would allow them to pick up on my voice from the low voices of the other customers.

"I just want to talk, okay. I need to see you." I said, trying hard to keep my voice from breaking. For a full five minutes, nothing happened. I had almost run out of coffee as I gulped more of the scorching liquid with nervousness.

I was about to give up and go back to the Drakes when I heard a voice I hadn't heard in years come from behind me.

"Lulu," my heart stopped beating from one short moment. The one word caused a thousand different emotions to come crashing down on me. I had forgotten how to breathe regularly as at the sound of the old nickname I had inhaled a lungful of air and I was afraid to let it go, as I was afraid that if I did, I'd also let all my defences crumble.

Be strong. He's no longer your father.

I turned around, conscious of every single move I was making. I felt my eyes squeeze when my eyes fell on the handsome man in his late thirties whom I once called 'dad'. He hadn't aged a day since he left us. Of course, he wouldn't. He was a vampire. He'd traded the souls of his family for immortality.

"Dad," I acknowledged him. My voice wavered dangerously, but there was nothing I could do about it. The word I had just uttered burned at the back of my throat, almost like my mind couldn't accept that I'd just said it.

"You're so beautiful, my princess. I've been watching you since the day I left, but I've never seen you so closely. You're becoming as beautiful as your mother." he said, his voice soft, just a few octaves above a whisper.

For what seemed like an eternity, I tried to force a "thank you" out of my mouth. When I did, it came out in a raspy whisper. I indicated him to sit down at the seat in front of me, as I was at loss of words.

The diligent waitress, noticing that my mug was almost out of coffee and that my dad had joined me, strutted over towards our table.

"Anything I can get you?" she asked us, her pot of coffee in her hands. I pushed the mug towards her and muttered a quick, "Refill please." I needed all the caffeine I could get to make it through this little chat. It all felt so surreal. I hoped that the taste of coffee on my taste buds and the caffeine in my system would prove to me that this was in fact, real.

I dared to look at my father who was looking at my mug with disapproval, however the waitress had already filled my mug.

"Anything else?" she asked us, her voice sounding too damn chirpy. Who could be this peppy at such an early hour?

"Yes, one serving of English breakfast for my daughter, please. Look at her; she's as thin as a twig. Might as well get some meat on those bones." The waitress did a double take as she took in my father. Immortality took away every wrinkle that had marked his skin. His golden skin was now pale. He had this timeless look about him. He could have honestly passed for someone who'd just seen his late twenties. In a few words, it was unbelievable that I was his daughter. Only someone with a very keen eye could pick out the resemblance between us, which had been almost completely destroyed by his immortality.

However, the waitress nodded. "You're right. Kids these days, huh?" she said before leaving to get out order.

His gaze then turned on me. "I don't like seeing you drink that, Lucy. It's bad for you," he said. So was you abandoning us, I wanted to say, but I pursed my lips tightly.

I raised the cup to my lip and drank, looking him straight in the eyes. He smiled for a while, a chilling experience for me. "You were always defiant, weren't you? Even now after I had everything planned out to the last detail. Nothing that I couldn't easily arrange, of course. In fact, it might be quite beneficial for us." I looked quizzically at him, my expression demanding answers.

"I'm talking about your blood bond, of course. You and the youngest Drake male, if I was informed correctly." I nodded robotically.

"My daughter, the only living blood bonded we know of. Even nature itself wanted you to join our night world. We've got so much to learn from you," he said. "You know what this means, right? By being blood bonded to a Drake, you'll become a part of the royal family once Master claims the young Drake girl as his. We'll be one of the most influential families in the night world." he said, his voice filled with awe at the prospect of what he thought my blood bond implied.

"Aren't you excited?" he asked me.

I nodded, trying to make an effort to smile. So far, this meeting was not going well at all. My inability to speak in front of him would get me nothing, so I popped the first question that came to my mind.

"Where are Mum and Josh?" I asked, my voice sounding quite rough even to my own ears.

"Don't you worry, they're safe." he put a hand over mine. It took every ounce of self-control not to retract my hand. His skin felt cool, way too cool. It was almost physically painful for me to be in such proximity to him, let alone having him touch me.

I swallowed; trying to hide my blatant discomfort. I came here for a reason and I would be damned if I didn't carry it out.

"So, if I may ask, how does Montmarte exactly plan on taking the crown from Natasha? Solange has no need for such power and she would never do anything to take her place." I asked trying to keep my voice neutral.

"All in due time, my dear. Your friend is destined for marvellous things, and my master is a very remarkable man. The prophecy will run its course. We can't fight destiny. She will become queen, however it would be most useful to her if Master is by her side, and he is willing to take down Natasha and help her get the throne earlier. All she has to do is accept, which I why I want you to tell her so. She trusts you," he said to me. How close had he been all these years if he knew just how close Sol and I were?

"So you want her to join Montmarte. What happens if she doesn't accept?" I challenged. A dark look crossed his face. I had a feeling that he wasn't used to people questioning his farsighted plans.

"Unnecessary war and bloodshed will take place. Is that what she wants?" he asked me, his voice taking on a very dangerous note.

The waitress chose this precise moment to bring the food. Though I loved food, the monster in front of me completely drained me out of my appetite, and that was saying something. The waitress left so I picked up a fork and took a bit of the scrambled eggs. They were delicious but I swallowed them down with difficulty, as I was too aware of my father's scrutinizing gaze.

I looked up and found him staring at me intently, waiting for a reply. I nodded. "I'll tell her. I promise." I said, failing to hide the note of fear in my voice.

My father's gaze softened. "Don't be afraid, Lulu, I know this glorious form can be intimidating at first. But trust me, once you are turned you'll see the world with brand new eyes." he said.

"But you can't turn me." I said defensively. "Only Nick can; my blood is poison to other vampires." I said. My father's eyes filled with uncertainty for one moment. "That is not really a problem though, he will turn you eventually." he said.

"Why would he? He's fine with me being human, and so am I." I pointed out.

"Don't be blind, Lucy. You will never be his equal in that form," he said, making my humanity sound like some sort of vile disease. "You'll be weaker and you'll die eventually."

I felt humiliated that such a thing had to be delivered to me by my father. It felt as if someone had poured a bucket of ice all over me.

I would have to become a vampire eventually. Just like him. I couldn't help but compare this soulless man to the Drakes. While death radiated off him, the Drakes were full of life. Their skin didn't seem as cold, and it certainly didn't make mine crawl.

A mixture of emotions settled down deep in the pit of my stomach.

I looked down and continued stuffing forkfuls of food in my mouth, though it started tasting foul. My father was going on about how happy we'd be, how proud he was that I had bonded with a Drake and how much honour I would bring to my family. I felt drained as a whirlpool of feelings thundered within me.

But then it hit me at full blast.

Deep, white-hot anger. I'd never felt such a strong emotion before. I felt as if I was in the middle of an ocean during a storm and wave after wave of deep-set anger kept coming down on me at a tremendous force.

The low buzz that had represented Nick's emotions in my mind was gone. Then I'd realised that the anger I'd just felt wasn't mine. It was Nick's. How he could feel such strong emotions without his heart exploding was beyond me.

My father noticed the sudden change of demeanour as Nick's anger filled me.

"Is it the bond? Can the boy communicate with you telepathically?" he asked me, suddenly intrigued. I could barely answer, my brain felt like it was going to explode.

"I've got to go." I said as I got up swiftly and left some money on the table. My father followed me outside. His phone rung just in time and he announced to me that he had to go, but he made it clear that this was not going to be our last meeting. He embraced me in the end.

Now I knew completely how Draco felt when Voldemort hugged him.

He left, so fast that it almost seemed like he disappeared. I ran for the car. I inserted the key with shaky hands but Nick's anger intensified so much inside of me that my knees buckled and I dropped down. I knew that I was in no state to drive a car. My hands were shaking heavily as I reached for my phone.

Resenting this moment, I found Nick's number and called him.

He picked up on the first ring. "Nick," I said in a breathless voice.

"Lucy, where the fuck are you? I wake up, find that you're missing and then I found that my car was missing. I just know you had something to do with this. What the hell did you do?" he asked me, his voice sounding furious.

"I'll tell you later but you need to calm down. I can feel how angry you are and I can barely stand up because of it. I... I need you to come and get me." I said weakly.

"What? Did you crash the car? Are you injured? For fuck's sake, Lucy you're killing me here." his voice was loud and hopeless.

"No, just please stop being angry. It's literally causing me physical pain." I said, hating how my voice came out like I was begging.

"I'm in the park in the middle of town." I said. I knew how much he wanted to ask me more questions, but he hung up after telling me that he's be here in ten minutes.

True to his word, ten minutes later Logan's car pulled up next to the MG. I had been able to at least stand up and get inside the car.

Nick and Logan rushed over.

"Is she okay?" Logan asked as Nick grabbed me and held me tightly in a bone-crushing hug. I nodded. "Yeah, I was just overwhelmed by the bond. I'll survive." I said to him, feeling my strength slowly returning. The physical contact between me and Nick was doing wonders to my headache. I could feel Nick's anger and concern melt as he held me, however his worry wasn't gone completely.

"Lucy. What were you thinking? Why the hell did you come to the park, of all places? And why did you take my car?" he asked me.

I looked down, afraid of seeing his expression once I told him why. Feeling his emotions was already painful enough; I didn't need them displayed out to me like some cruel show.

"I did it. I met my father. I know what Montmarte's planning."

XXX

Hmm, not entirely satisfied with the outcome of this chapter. I finish this story soon so I have about ten chapters or so left and that makes me kinda sad, I'll really miss you guys.

Until the next time, my lovelies :D

(P.S for those of you who are curious, yes, I'm not a native English speaker and my native language is Maltese. It's a Semitic language only used in a small island called Malta in the Mediterranean. I live there. Apart from English and Maltese, I'm fluent in Italian and I've been studying French for 5 years and hopefully will improve : )