Voices called to me in an old dark mansion. Its walls were dirty and the paint on them had started peeling. With every step I took a light came on to light the path in front of me. But it was abandoned. Empty.
Taking the stairs up to the master bedroom, I froze when my eyes fell upon a man who stood staring out the window with his back to me. I couldn’t see his face, but even if I could I wouldn’t know who he was. Yet something inside me told me that it was Darius.
I started to back out of the room in an effort not to disturb him, when I accidentally knocked over a vase. I tried to catch it and failed. Panicked, I looked back over at the window but the man was gone.
Where did he go? Afraid, I ran from the room, down the stairs and out the front door. It started storming. I looked back at the house as I ran, then I collided into something hard and fell backwards onto the ground. I looked up and the man was standing over me. It was then that I noticed the rain wasn’t rain at all…it was blood.
Gasping for air, I shot up in my bed. It seemed so real. But I was now back to reality and in reality, I’m blind as a bat. I heard giggling coming from my room and whipped my head in the direction of the laughter.
“Bad dream?” Cara asked, “You were tossing and turning and talking in466Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxxo2mphza
your sleep.”
“Yes,” I sighed. I’m glad it’s her and not Darius. Darius. Thinking his name I remembered the last time we saw each other. The last time he…
I felt my neck for puncture wounds, but there were none. No wounds.
“How did I get here?”
“Lord Darius tucked you in. According to him you had a rough first time.”
“I shouldn’t even be here,” I sulked, “The things he did to me…he fed on me.”
“Consider it an honor he didn’t slaughter for the way you spoke to him.”
“Wait…you were there?”
“Of course. As your attending, I have to be.”
“Then why did you leave me? Why didn’t you help me?”
“Because I can’t. He forbade me to. And unlike you, I enjoy having a life, even if it’s meant to be spent as his offering. It could be worse. You could’ve been offered to his brother. His brother isn’t as gentle with his belongings.”
I swallowed hard at the thought. Belongings.
“Your dream. It was about Lord Darius, wasn’t it?”
“How did you know?”
“You said his name,” she told me, “You know…unlike you, most girls fantasize about someone like him.”
“Why is that?”
“Well…aside from the fact that he and his brother’s are incredibly good-looking, they’re powerful, and they’re rich.”
“They’re night-dwellers. That’s disgusting,” I grimaced.
“If you could see them, you would think differently.”
Cara’s footsteps left my room and I was soon alone with my thoughts. I couldn’t see the face of the man in my dream, only a blurred silhouette. And from all accounts he appeared to be handsome. Maybe she was right.
“Am I interrupting?” Darius startled me.
I quickly shot back, scooting backwards on my bed until the back of my head hit the headboard. Pain shot through my skull, but I was more concerned with Darius being present. Is he here to hurt me again?
Silence. God I hate the ungodly silence with which these creatures moved. The bed to my right sank in a few inches and I stopped breathing. Close…he was so close to me and I knew the only reason he let his whereabouts be known was to taunt me. He wanted me to know he could get this close to me.
Gently using his index finger, he turned my chin in either direction. “I see your wounds have healed.”
“They have,” I nodded once, “How?”
“My blood. Our blood does wonders for your kind.”
“And without our blood, none of your kind would be alive.”
His quiet laughter filled the spaces around me. “You’re a fighter, I like that. And I heard you’ve been dreaming about me.”
“One of your parlor tricks I’m sure. My brother used to tell me horror stories about night-dwellers and how they like to toy with a person’s mind while they sleep.”
More quiet laughter, and then he said, “Pavor Nocturnus.”
Pursing my brows together in confusion, I tried to understand what he was saying to me, “What does that mean?” I asked.
“Pavor Nocturnus…it means night terrors. It usually happens after night-dweller blood is ingested or injected into the human bloodstream. It’s acts as a tether between us,” he explained.
“Can I?” I asked, reaching up to touch his face, “I’d like to take my time this time.”
Darius firmly grabbed hold of my wrists and I gasped. God he’s quick. Strong. I thought maybe he was angry but then he placed my hands gently on his face. It was ice cold, just like his fingers, but his skin felt smooth.
I traced his eyes, his nose, and his lips with my fingertips. He resembled exactly what he looked like in my dream. He had almond-shaped eyes and a full bottom lip. It comforted me to sort of know what he looked like and a smile escaped my lips, “Now I can put a face to the name.”
“Are you less afraid now?”
“I will always be afraid of you. But that’s what you want, isn’t it?” I asked, “I bet you get off on it too.”
Darius roared with laughter, “I don’t get off on frightening little girls Giselle. But if you get down on your hands and knees, I’ll show you exactly what I get off on.”
A knot formed in my throat. I tried to swallow, but my throat was dry. My face heated up with what I’m pretty sure is a very telling shade of red. I’m speechless. Rendering me speechless isn’t an easy thing to do, but he’s managed just that.
“Chicken,” he leaned into me and whispered into my ear.
I couldn’t see his face, but if I could I’m pretty sure there would be a smirk there. A smug smirk, from a rich, powerful night-dweller with the world at his feet to do with as he wished.
“Join me out in the garden. I’ve taken the liberty of hiring you a teacher. Her name is Grace. She will teach you how to plant and grow your own food.”
“What am I to you?” I asked, “Why teach me if all I am to you can be summed up between the blood coursing through my veins and what’s between my legs?”
“You’re whatever I demand you to be. It may be a cook,” he grazed my lips with his thumb, “a gardener…or a lover. Come. No more questions.”
Darius placed his hand in mine and walked me out into the hall where he handed me off to Cara. I missed Eliza, Lucas, and my father terribly. They hadn’t come to visit me since I was brought here, and my father...
In the garden I learned a lot about soil by touch and the different types of plants. Some grew in sunlight and others grew in the shade. Trying to keep track of which was which was the hard part.
My first assignment was to grow my own tomatoes. I loved tomatoes. I was given a large planting pot, some soil, some seeds and instructions on how to grow them. My assignment was to care for the tomatoes during my stay here while I learned other things. Like how to crochet and knit. I also learned how to quilt a blanket. The only part I couldn’t do on my own was choosing the color. I got Cara’s opinion on that.
Almost a month passed without word from my family. It was disheartening. I couldn’t believe they would let so much time pass without coming to see me. I couldn’t believe Lucas would allow Elizabeth to offer me to night-dwellers.
“Is something troubling you?” Cara asked. I was so caught up in my grief that I didn’t hear her come in.
“I miss my family,” I told her, “Being surrounded by darkness like I am on a consistent basis, you grow to depend on certain people. I have none of them here.”
“I see.”
“I’m surprised your parents haven’t looked into getting your eyesight repaired,” Darius chimed in, startling us both. His voice came from the doorway. I knew where it was now.
“They have. I’ve had seven surgeries to repair my sight and if you ask me they’ve seemed to make my sight worse,” I told him, “Besides, being blind is all I’ve ever known. I’ve made my peace with it.”
“I wasn’t referring to your human surgeries. I was referring to Venom injections,” he explained, “You would regain your sight and then some.”
“Night-dweller venom?”
“Yes. It would repair your sight and all you would have to do is take the recommended amount of injections. I believe your father’s medical coverage would cover it.”
“Perhaps, but I make it a point to stay away from night-dweller venom. Being who I am, I have to set an example for others. That includes abstaining from anything night-dweller.”
“But it’s perfectly alright for you to live with one and allow one to teach you how to live a normal life with your impairments?” Another male voice replied sarcastically.
“Would you mind introducing yourself so I might know who I am talking to?” I asked.
“Jackson…Jackson Draven.”
“He’s my younger brother,” Darius offered up the information.
“Need we remind you that it is your human family who abandoned you here in this place. And who you are is of no significance to us. The moment your family offered you to us, you became nobody. No more than a meal and something to keep my brothers bed warm if you were to be so lucky.”
Nobody. That word echoed in my mind shattering the last ounce of dignity I was holding on to. I’m no one. My relevance in life to those who meant the world to me is a sore subject to say the least. He was pressing the perfect button. I didn’t want him to know he’d gotten to me but tears formed in my eyes.
“If you had any decency in you, which I highly doubt, you would find a better and more constructive way to get your point across.”
I quickly wiped my tears away and walked past him, purposely colliding my shoulder into his. It amused him. He laughed as I walked away.
“Wait,” Darius stopped me, “Forgive my brother, he doesn’t know how to interact with others very well.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” I replied sarcastically, “What can I do for you Lord Draven? Or would you prefer it if I called you master now that I’m your pet?”
“Darius will do just fine,” he laughed, “While you’re here, you must continue your education. Are there any professions that appeal to you?”
“Psychology.”
“Psychology?” He sounded surprised.
“Yes, psychology. And once I’ve obtained my degree maybe your brother can be my first patient. He seems to have a lot of issues he needs worked out.”
Again he roared with laughter, “I’ll let him know you’re offering your services.”
There was an awkward moment of silence. I wondered if he was looking at me. He always seemed to pause whenever he took a moment to admire my features.
“Take a picture. It lasts longer,” I quipped.
“Indeed they do. Did you enjoy yourself the other day?”
“You mean the day you helped yourself to me without my permission?” I narrowed my eyes, “No.”
“Is that what I did?”
“You know it is.”
“What I know is that while your skin trembled with fright, your heart rate increased, you blushed like a schoolgirl and you let off enough pheromones for a blood hound two states over to pick up the fact that you were in heat.”
Before I could stop myself I lunged at him hoping to claw his eyes out. He caught both my hands at the wrist and gently pinned them behind my back.
“I hate you! I hate everything you stand for and everything you are!” I shouted at him.
“And yet, had I have wanted to, you would’ve let me violate you in the worst way.”
“Go to hell!” I snapped at him with my teeth.
Darius just laughed, “Cara please be a darling and take her to the pool to work off her…pinned up frustrations,” he instructed.
Cara took me to the poolroom, which I could smell from the hall. The chlorine was strong. She helped me change into a bathing suit and then I followed the sound of the water lapping up against the side of the pool.
Whether he realized it or not, my time in the water gave me a sense of freedom. It was first time since being tricked into coming here that I actually felt free.
Grabbing a towel from Cara, I walked over to the pool. I stuck my toe in the water to check the temperature and it was warm, so I climbed in. After swimming to the other side I stopped to tread water, held my breath and allowed myself to descend beneath the water to the bottom of the pool. As I descended I heard what sounded like a splash and quickly swam back to the surface.
“Cara is that you?” There was no answer, “Is someone there?”
“What do you think?” Jackson startled me. His voice was close, too close.
“Where’s Cara? Is she here? Is someone else is with you?”
“Just my brother Darius and my brother William,” he answered.
In other words, I was alone with three night-dwellers. This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I decided to take a dip in the pool. Night-dwellers frightened me.
“I didn’t hear anyone come in.”
“We were here when you walked in.”
“We apologize if we frightened you,” an unfamiliar voice apologized. William. It must be William. He has the same heir of confidence, same arrogance, and same drawl both Darius and Jackson have.
“Don’t apologize to her,” Jackson snarled, “She’s here as an offering, she’s not our guest and she’s in our pool.”
“Regardless of what she is, you will remember your manners in her presence,” Darius warned.
“Humans are weak, disgusting creatures. Why are we catering to the crud of their society anyway? Look at her. I could snap her neck in a matter of seconds and she’d be powerless to stop me.”
“Yeah. I think I’m going to go now,” I swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out.
Jackson said enough to scare me to death and after what Darius did to me…I believed he would do exactly what he said, if given the chance.
I quickly felt my way around trying to find my towel. Jackson and his brothers were arguing about what he said to me and in my rush to get out of there I couldn’t find my towel.
“It’s over here,” Darius called out to me. I gasped and hesitated before reaching out for the towel. Instead of handing it to me, he wrapped it around my shoulders. “I’m sorry about my brother,” he apologized.
Jackson and William left the poolroom, and I sighed with relief. “I know our kind doesn’t exactly get along and that I’m your property now, but I am still a person. I still have feelings,” I told him.
“Don’t worry about Jackson. Someone pissed in his cup of blood this morning.”
“Well if you find out who it is, give them a raise.”
Darius laughed. His laugh was inviting…charming even. But I’m no fool. Being what he is only makes the allure of him that much more dangerous. And Jackson reminded me of a boy I grew up with named Fredrick. Fredrick loved to torment me by hitting me and shoving me down in the dirt. One day he pushed me down so hard that he made me skin my knee. Jackson behaves in a much similar fashion only he actually scares me.
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