Chapter Fifteen: Unexpected Developments…

Ana got out of the shower, dried off then slipped something sexy on. She waited in Michelle's room on the bed. After a while she grew impatient, she checked the time and saw that almost two hours had passed. Confused and worried, Ana dressed then went in search of Michelle. She checked the party; it was still going strong and would continue until dawn which was fast approaching. The vampire council were also neck deep in blood and sex.

"She wouldn't still be interviewing him, would she?" Ana asked then shook her head. She moved to head back to the bedrooms when she stopped, the nagging in the back of her head made her change directions. She went to the guarded guest wing where the "gift" had been put and found a guard standing outside the door. Ana lifted her finger over her lips signaling to the guard to keep silent. He nodded and kept his eyes forward. Ana walked up to the door and slowly pushed the door open a crack.

Inside the room Michelle sat close to the "gift" known as Adi, Ana frowned as she watched Michelle laugh and joke with this new vampire. Ana never realized how pretty this man was, delicate features with piercing eyes and thick floppy hair that made him beautiful. Then Ana remembered the portrait of Stephan, he was pretty too. While they talked, Michelle reached out placing a hand on Adi's arm and laughed smiling wide.

Ana's frown deepened. She did not like what she saw, not at all.

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"This is your fault," Diana Marcous said glaring at Helena. They had been placed in opposing cages. Helena shook her head rolling her eyes.

"If you had only been there to back me up, we wouldn't be here," Helena replied.

"You said she'd be easy, that she'd be a push over. You said, "Radu's lost his touch, he only makes weak vampires, it'll be so easy to take everything." Does this look like she's a push over we can take advantage of? She acted so fast Helena; it leaves me to wonder if maybe you're working with her against me."

"Diana, what the fuck? We've known each other for over eight centuries. I have only betrayed you twice and the last time was over four centuries ago. Why would I choose her over you? Over our friendship?" Helena asked.

"She has your face. She has Radu's favor. I know you," Diana Marcous said.

"It doesn't have anything to do with Radu," Helena insisted.

"Doesn't it Helena?" asked a familiar male voice that made Helena panic.

"What the fuck? Is someone there?" Helena asked. Her eyes searched the dark hall and the door leading out. There was nothing there. Across from her Diana Marcous looked at her with confusion.

"What are you doing?" Diana Marcous asked.

"Did you hear that?" Helena asked.

"Hear what? There's only the two of us here," Diana Marcous replied.

Helena stood then walked to the bars and peered through searching. Out of the darkness stepped Radu, looking better than she had ever seen him. She shook her head, refusing to believe what she was seeing. "How? You're supposed to be dead," she whispered.

Radu laughed grinning at her. "That's what they all say," he replied.

"Fuck, this was all a ruse to bring us here wasn't it. So, you could kill us. Lure us all in with word of your death so we would think it safe. Fucking diabolical Radu, you've gotten better at this," Helena said bitterly.

"Who are you talking to?" Diana Marcous asked.

"My fledgling is quite intelligent isn't she Helena. She's so much more giving and loyal than you ever were. She listens to me, trusts me and I've made her powerful beyond your imagination. You escaped my wrath three times now, you will not escape again," Radu sneered.

Helena glared at him. "Just because you're powerful Radu doesn't mean you'll always get your way. I won over you before, many times if I recall," she said.

"Who are you talking to Helena?" Diana Marcous asked again.

"Radu."

"Radu? Radu's here? I thought he was dead," Diana Marcous asked suddenly, very worried.

"I'll never die," he said looking at Helena. She pointed to him, and Diana Marcous shook her head and raised her hands up in question.

"He's right there. Don't you see him?"

"No. I don't see anyone or hear anyone. Helena are you okay?"

Helena turned back to Radu who smirked as he said, "I'll see you soon."

"He's right there!" Helena pointed to him, he waved then disappeared. Helena screamed in frustration.

"Is Radu really alive?" Diana Marcous asked as she grew pale.

"I may be going mad and seeing ghost of the past. However, if he's really alive we are fucked. I thought we could indulge Michelle for a bit then break out. I'm not going to let her win but if Radu's in the picture. Fuck. We don't stand a chance. I don't stand a chance. Of all the men I've twisted to my will over the centuries, Radu was the only one I wished I didn't get involved in."

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Unbeknownst to the vampire women in the cells, another vampire listened from the other side of the dungeon door through the small window. Disturbed by what he overheard, Curtis Shaw stood there silently listening as his soon to be ex-wife boasted that the only vampire, she feared was Radu. Helena boasted she could manipulate, bend and twist anyone else to her will.

Curtis Shaw was angry and completely heartbroken. He always thought Helena respected him on some level, he was a vampire king of a huge territory. Instead, he was overwhelmed with proof of how little she thought of him. He walked away from the dungeon going back upstairs. His mind lost, all he could think of was how he could get revenge.

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Michelle felt the sun coming, Adi was already struggling to keep his eyes open. She stood up ordering him, "Adi go to sleep. We will continue our conversation at another time."

"Thank you, Queen…Thank you, Michelle."

Michelle nodded to him then made her exit. Outside the room, she ordered the guard to lock the door then retire for the day. As she made her way to her bedroom, she realized she had forgotten about Ana. She stopped gasping, her hand over her mouth in pure shock. She whispered despite most in the castle being already asleep. "Fuck. She's going to be so mad."

The conversation with Adi was surprisingly pleasant and engaging. He was a bookworm, turned by bad luck and circumstance. He never liked being a vampire but had no wish for death. The longer Michelle talked to him, got to know him, the more he reminded her of Stephan. Their eyes lit up in the same way when talking about their passions. It was the similarities that attracted Michelle to the point she forgot what her reason for being there. She got sucked in, became lost in her own memories and momentarily reliving the past. Michelle didn't realize it then but now, alone walking back to her bedroom she had the quiet and time to reflect. She found Adi to be different from Stephan in a dozen different ways. Adi was delicate in more than his features, he had a really morbid sense of humor, could be dramatic and cowardly.

Now, Michelle had to ask herself if Adi would be a viable candidate to turn Ana. That was the real reason she accepted him as a gift in the first place. However, the gift coming from Helana and Diana Marcous made her second guess Adi's real intentions. Was he really that gentle and naive? Was he a plant to break up her household? Was he an assassin? There were so many questions and as the sun rose, Michelle lost the capability to think about it deeply. Without the serum, the sun's effects were immediate.

Michelle reached her bedroom but to her confusion she found it empty. Ana was nowhere to be found. Michelle walked in closing the door then noticed Ana's negligee on the floor by the foot of the bed. She walked over picking it up, she sniffed it, and Ana's scent filled her nostrils. Ana left a while ago. The heavy sense of "I fucked up" sunk into Michelle. She clutched the discarded clothing then went to her bed laying down. She was in her vampire death sleep in moments.

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Ana lay on her bed in her bedroom. She rarely used the room after Petru left the castle opting instead to stay with Michelle in her room. Despite being exhausted from the long evening, Ana could not rest, she could not even close her eyes. Thoughts of Michelle with Adi went round and round torturing Ana until she sat up growling in frustration. Dark voices in her mind whispered Michelle was still with Adi even though the sun was up. To quiet them, she got up and went to Michelle's room.

The door was closed. Ana used her own key to open it then walked in closing the door behind herself. The last thing she needed was anyone seeing this moment of weakness. Ana crossed the dark room to where the bed was hidden away behind a thick canopy curtain. Her heart thumped in her chest as nervousness took her over and bad thoughts tried to convince her of the worst. She took a short breath and held it as she reached up pulling aside the curtain.

Michelle was asleep alone in her bed clutching Ana's discarded negligee to her chest. Relief washed over Ana making her knees weak. Tears filled her eyes; ashamed Ana pulled the curtain back then snuck out of the room. Ana returned to her own room and laid down, she allowed herself to silently cry for a moment then dried her face falling asleep.