Chapter Thirty-Six: Stefanie Salvatore

Present day

Outskirts of Albemarle, NC

This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening.

Stef ran down the stairs, into the living area, taking cover behind the first person she saw, who happened to be Gabe. The chances of this were a billion to one, and even then she'd only heard of it happening to Siphons when they drew magic from those with a sire bond. But the ingredients were all there: it had to be between a vampire and a witch, at least one of them needed to have strong feelings towards the other, and the vampire had to be feeding on the witch while they siphoned magic from them. Had they been sharing magic during the feeding? She didn't know. It wasn't like she'd been focused on that at the time.

Everyone in the room was instantly alerted to Stef's nervous behaviour. Those sitting rose to their feet and those already standing moved closer to her.

"Feeding bond!" Stef yelped in explanation, still remaining behind Gabe.

"Stef, that's just a myth," Gabe said, turning his head over his shoulder to look at her.

"Yeah? Tell that to him." Peeking out from the side of Gabe's shoulder, she nodded in front of her, redirecting Gabe's attention.

Raid appeared from the stairs and stood facing Gabe, his dark eyes fixed on Stef behind him. His shoulders were taut, fists clenched at his side, not appreciating the obstacles she was putting between them. He was breathing heavily, filled with frustration, possessed by the feeding bond, making him a man on a mission with very little patience.

Phoenix eyed him warily, but still typically fixated on the wrong thing. "Why's he shirtless?"

"Not what we should be focusing on right now, Phoenix," Stef hissed, her eyes darting between Raid and other areas of the room, wondering when and where to make a break for it.

Gabe put a calming hand out towards Raid. "This is going to wear off," he told him. "Don't make a move or you're going to get hurt."

Raid's eyes remained on Stef, but he still smirked at Gabe's words. He slowly raised his arm towards Gabe, mirroring him. They stood like that for a moment, then Raid quickly lashed his hand sideways, his magic propelling Gabe to the other side of the room, crashing him into the wall so hard it knocked him to the ground.

Stef ran towards Gabe as Phoenix immediately launched onto Raid's back, trapping him in a headlock. Without any effort, Raid reached back, grabbed him by the collar, bent forward and swung Phoenix overhead, sending him plummeting to the ground in front of him. Phoenix spun out of the way as the heel of Raid's boot came down towards his head, slamming into the wood flooring below.

When Phoenix stood, his eyes widening at the extreme dent Raid's heel had cracked into the floor, he stepped back, looking towards Stef. "Tell me you didn't pass your vampire strength onto this possessed motherfucker?"

Pulling Gabe to his feet, Stef already noticed her lack of strength. "I didn't mean it – it's part of the bond!"

As Raid started stalking his way towards Stef, Zara jumped in front of him, blocking his path, but he didn't even flinch as his hand thrashed out, backhanding her so hard she was sent flying over the rear of the couch and onto the floor.

Adam immediately ran towards Zara, staying by her side protectively but trying not to look until she dealt with what she considered to be her first priority of fixing her hijab cap back into place. "I'm going to kill him for that," he seethed.

Her hijab adjusted, Zara allowed Adam to help her to her feet and check her face. Any bruising would heal but she let him inspect her regardless, knowing his tenderness was all he could offer right now. "He doesn't know what he's doing."

Raid was now a few paces away from Stef. She sped behind the dining table. "Don't get any closer!" she yelled at him.

Raid turned in her direction and waited, looking her over with a wicked smile like she was game and he was a man starved. The hunt was only heightening his craving.

Flick remained on the opposite side of the room, her hands on her hips, looking inconvenienced at having no background knowledge of the unfolding drama. "Can someone tell me what's going on, please?" she whined.

Gabe explained while monitoring both Stef and Raid's positions, neither of them yet moving. "The feeding bond is a temporary state which triggers a fierce and uncontrollable passionate desire in a witch towards the vampire that fed on them."

"Simply put: he wants to fuck her," Phoenix clarified.

Gabe narrowed his eyes at Phoenix's crude definition, while Flick suddenly became enthralled. "Oh, that is so hot," she sighed, flopping down on the couch, her elbow propped up on the armrest.

"It's not hot, Flick!" Stef snapped. Flick's delusions were handy for crisis recovery but downright annoying in the middle of the actual crisis. "It's blackmail! If he touches me, I'll feel the same way towards him, with a risk of it turning into a sire bond. But he's stolen from my vampire powers and it requires touch to get them back."

"Or avoiding him until it wears off," Winifred reminded her. "Which you're going to do. If he attacks, you still have your magic to use against him."

"And he still has his. I don't know if he's stolen my healing powers and I'm the only one of us with any restraint right now, so combat is out of the question." Stef studied the small twitches of Raid's movements from across the table. He was toying with her. Which way was he going to go? Although he wasn't demonstrating it, she didn't know if she had transferred any of her vampire speed to him. She didn't feel any slower but, without much room to run, she still wasn't going to risk it. "I just need to avoid him until he runs out of steam."

"Does he look like he's going to run out of steam anytime soon?" Phoenix protested.

Raid cast his eyes across Stef's body like he was deciding what part of her to devour first. He held his palm upwards, flexing his fingers repeatedly, beckoning her to him. Or daring her to use her magic against him. It looked like he would enjoy either.

But there was one way she could use her magic safely. She gave a nod. The nod was for Gabe but she didn't dare stop focusing on Raid for that to be made clear. But Gabe knew and, from her peripheral vision, she saw him nod back.

Gabe charged at Raid, tackling him to the ground as Stef ran towards the open door into the library. She didn't bother to close it. With Raid employing most of her strength, she wouldn't be able to keep it closed against him anyway. Instead she used the extra time Gabe provided her to cast a ward upon the doorway with her magic.

Being older, Gabe was stronger, but only kept Raid down for the seconds required for Stef to complete the spell. Grappling with him, he even allowed him to swing a punch at his face. Whatever – so long as he wasn't using his magic. Gabe would have been no match for that. As soon as the ward was up, so was Gabe, and Raid was immediately on his feet and standing beyond the invisible barrier.

He could sense the magic within the doorframe without even touching it. Raid tutted patronizingly, shaking his head at Stef, like he was dealing with a very naughty girl who didn't know what was best for her. Then he pressed his palms against the ward, causing it to hum with magic as he tried to undo it with his own.

Stef watched him nervously. It required the words to a spell he didn't know, so she sighed with relief when he removed his hands, unsuccessful at his attempt.

But he hadn't given up. He turned and walked towards the patio doors, opening them and stepping outside.

"Stef, he's a witch. Strengthen the ward to the house! Trap him out there!" Phoenix yelled.

"I can't," she panicked. The bar area was windowless. She'd lost sight of him. Where was he going? "I'd weakened it just enough for him to enter, but I'd need to remove the entire spell and perform it again. The house is too large, the spell is too long, I wouldn't have enough –"

Raid used his magic to burst through a long pane of glass in the bay window of the sunroom and Stef screamed in shock. He tried to step in sideways, but his build was too large. He kicked at the wooden mullion between it, making the adjacent glass panel fall and shatter. Stef had nowhere else to run. It was either attack Raid, or undo the spell on the door and get back to the other side. She put her hands on the invisible barrier. She didn't have enough time.

Gabe, Phoenix and Adam recognized this immediately and ran outside. Gabe and Phoenix were naturally faster, but as soon as they attempted to enter the window behind Raid, he sent them flying back outside with a forceful blast of magic. When Adam entered without any resistance, he knew he couldn't do anything but use his words to convince Raid to stop.

Except he never got the chance.

There was a reason Raid had let him enter, and it was nothing to do with his lack of powers.

It was to do with his vulnerability.

As Stef was about to say the final words to the spell, Raid caught her attention by whistling. A casual, almost cocky, high note followed by a low one. Before she even turned around, she saw Zara whimper from beyond the doorway, her hand going to her mouth. Stef stopped the spell and swallowed back her nerves, already knowing he had something to use against her.

That something was Adam.

She faced Adam, a dozen shards of sharp, broken glass surrounding his neck, suspended in mid-air. There was nowhere for him to move without slicing his neck. He was breathing hard, suddenly terrified at how much he had misjudged Raid. There was nothing left of the real him, not while he was under the control of the feeding bond. Gabe and Phoenix came to the window, feeling as helpless as Adam when they saw what was happening.

"You kill me, she loses her humanity," Adam reminded him, playing his only card, trying to appeal to Raid's feelings for Stef.

Raid blinked at Adam, wondering if that meant anything to him. He felt like it should, but he couldn't remember. No matter.

Stef stepped towards Raid, away from the door. "Let him go," she demanded.

Raid turned back to her, nodding his head downwards, indicating he wanted her closer.

Stef nodded back and started closing the distance between them. The closer she got, the more he lowered the broken glass from around Adam's neck. The moment she was arm's length away, the shards hit the floor, and Gabe reacted on Stef's last nod, using his vampire speed to grab Adam and pull him outside.

Stef spun around, making a run for it back towards the spelled door. But that's when she realized that her vampire speed was indeed slower. He had drawn it from her. Not much, but enough for him to catch up quickly as she reached the door. She had to say the final words. There were only a few left.

She slammed her palms onto the barrier.

He slammed up right behind her, caging her in with his arms.

Stef closed her eyes. "Not like this!" she screamed reactively. He hadn't touched her yet, but he was surrounding her from behind, his hands an inch above hers, spread across the barrier, his face tauntingly close to her hair, his breath on her cheek. If she said the final words to the spell now, the barrier would give way and he would collapse down on her. There was no escape. He hadn't touched her yet, but she waited for it. "Not like this, please, Raid. Not like this, not like this, not like this," she repeated under her breath.

Raid listened to her, softening at her words while catching the scent of jasmine and orange blossom on her hair. He knew that smell – he liked that smell – but he didn't like hearing her voice so sad, and he had no idea why. He thought he would enjoy hearing her beg. But not like this. Not. Like. This. The words echoed through him, reaching parts of him he thought were lost.

When a tear fell down her cheek, Raid cocked his head curiously, and he used the tip of his finger to slide back strands of her hair from her face to take a closer look. He was careful not to touch her skin. He wanted to touch her. She was his to take. Rightfully his. He could sire her to him, making her his for the rest of his life. But he didn't like this at all. He didn't like her crying. He didn't like what this was doing to her.

Raid suddenly gasped, taking a step back. There was a war waging within him. The thing that was driving him, he needed to fight it. What he wanted was right in front of him, but he was not going to take it. Not. Like. This. He gritted his teeth. "Go," he ordered her in a low tone.

Stef didn't even look back at him as she completed the spell and rushed through the door.

Raid stepped through behind her, watching as Zara moved protectively closer to her, placing her arms around her. A hint of brown was coming back into the irises of his eyes. His face was frustrated, tense and furious, but he kept his distance from Stef, instead walking tightly across the room towards the entrance hall. After gripping the door handle for a moment, something within him urging him to go back, he reluctantly opened the door to the gym and entered, slamming it closed behind him.

Gabe, Phoenix and Adam appeared at the open patio doors.

Zara turned her head towards them, confused. "Where's he going?" She then gripped Stef tighter hearing a thundering crash coming from the gym, followed by another one. The noises continued, and between each one came Raid's roaring growls of anger.

"At least your gym came in useful," Phoenix commented to Gabe.

Everyone left Raid alone for two hours. One hour of completely destroying the gym, then another hour of letting him remain alone in the gym to calm down. But now that time was up, nobody actually wanted to go and check on him to make sure he was over the feeding bond.

Nobody except Flick, that is.

She poked her head through the gym door. "You still got your top off?" she asked hopefully.

Raid was sitting on the weight bench, leaning over, rubbing his forehead like he had the world's worst hangover. It was the only thing that hadn't been destroyed and finding a shirt hadn't been his top priority over the past couple of hours. Everything was still a dreamlike blur. "Give it a year before you start lusting over me, Flick. You're still a kid."

Flick stepped into the room, crossing her arms. "Okay, grandpa, like I'm not only a few years younger than you. Besides, Phoenix doesn't think I'm a kid."

"Phoenix is the biggest kid," Raid clarified.

"Well, it seems Stef can come in now since you're out of your rapey mode."

Raid flinched at the words, turning his head and closing his eyes. How was he going to face her? Not that he had much choice as Flick called out to her and she entered the room immediately as Flick left.

Stef's eyes rounded the room in astonishment. She now had her vampire powers back from Raid but he'd certainly made the most of them while he had them. Barbells had been bent. Iron plates had been snapped in half. The cardio equipment was unrecognizable. But the most broken of all looked to be Raid. She walked up to him, sitting next to him on the bench. He didn't look comfortable being so close to her, so she took a leap of faith and put her hand in his. They both waited for a reaction, their hands loosely interlocked, but nothing came. Their hands tightened around the other. The feeding bond was definitely over.

"I've performed the spell," Stef told him. "The one to protect you and Adam." When he didn't respond, she continued trying to fill the silence. "I mean, I had to do it soon, otherwise the vampire strength was going to wear off and I might have found you trapped under a weight in here."

Raid found it difficult to look at her. It wasn't her who needed to be speaking – it was him. But he couldn't find the words, only the thoughts. He realized he completely understood. He understood everything she'd been doing to protect him. If he had any shred of the feeding bond still attached to him and he had the ability to compel her to never see him again, he would do it in a heartbeat. He'd been out of control, it was unforgiveable. He didn't even know why she was sitting here with him, offering him another chance. Even if she was forgiving him, should he even stay anymore? What if she fed on him again and it caused the same reaction? Suddenly it wasn't just Stef who was worried about risks.

His voice felt raw from all the screaming he'd done. He still felt like screaming, warning her away from him. Instead he spoke softly. "I'm sorry."

Stef sighed. She didn't want him beating himself up over it. "You couldn't help it."

"I put you in danger," he muttered solemnly. "You were right to keep me away from you."

Stef drew her eyebrows together. "What are you saying?"

He turned his head, finally looking at her. Her hand was still held tightly in his. Was he going to let her go? He couldn't even let go of her hand. There was worry on her face right now, just as there had been when he had pursued her because of the feeding bond. Was there some element of the bond that was stopping him from letting her go? Because he should have said he would be gone the moment the meeting was over. She already expected it, he could see it on her face. But instead all he said was, "I don't know."

Adam charged through the door. "I've waited long enough. Moment's over."

At first, Raid was grateful for the interruption. Then Adam stalked over to him, and backhanded him hard across the face. His hand fell from Stef's and he almost slipped from the bench from the force and surprise.

Adam pointed a finger at him aggressively. "Don't you ever lay a hand on Zara again." Then he turned and left before he was tempted to do more damage for also threatening his life.

Wincing, Stef sympathetically resumed her hand in his.

"I know I deserved that," Raid said, stretching his jaw. "You can have a go too if you like."

Stef laughed softly while shaking her head. "That can be from both of us."

"I've got a lot of apologies to make, haven't I?"

Stef shot her eyes skywards, considering this, then mused, "It... couldn't hurt."