Stella woke up alone in the bedroom. Naked underneath the sheets. "What have I done?" she asked herself as she recalls everything that happened last night. The screams. The moans. They're still loud on her head and she couldn't believe she really have done it with a Highborn.
Turning, she blankly stares at the ceiling. For all she know, he probably have done it with other women way before her. Probably doing the same thing. Besides, she is definitely aware that vampires have irresistible charms. And she admits that she fell for it. She is not really special.
A knock on the door pulled her out of her deep thoughts. She quickly moves to sit in bed, dragging the sheets to cover herself up to her chest.
The door slowly opens as Nicholas enters with a tray of breakfast. "Good morning, Stella," he greeted as he lays the tray on the nightstand then takes a seat on the bedside. He then leans down to softly kiss her lips.
She wasn't able to move at all. The moment he speaks, she's already frozen. She reciprocates the kiss.
He then pushes back her blonde hair to check on the bite mark on her neck before kissing it.
Gripping the sheets, she softly means as his lips touch her skin.
"Does it hurt?" he whispers in her ear.
"Not anymore."
Moving back, he smiles at her. And just like that, it felt like the wild Nicholas last night disappeared. The gentle Nicholas is back.
He pours the orange juice from the pitcher, serving it cold as he drops a few ice cubes in the glass. He then hands it over to her. "This should refresh you."
"Thank you." Accepting the drink then takes a sip. "Fully refreshed now." She giggles.
"That's my girl." Gently touching her cheek.
She slightly tilts her head towards his palm, sweetly smiling back at him. It is like her playful side automatically turns on when he is around.
"You really have to stop doing that," he said under his breath as he immediately grabs the glass from her hands then places it on the tray. He pins her down on the bed, crawling on top of her followed by aggressive kisses.
She didn't protest. She never wanted to.
Pulling the sheets down, he exposes her naked body, letting herself wrap all over him.
They were distracted by the sudden knock on the door. "Master, your son is here for you," said the servant as she slightly opens the door but never dared to peek in.
Nicholas groans in frustration as he moves back yet remains on top of her. "Can it wait?" he asked.
"I'm afraid not, Master. He said it's urgent."
"I see. I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Very well, Master." She then closes the door.
He then turns his attention back to Stella. "I gotta go. Duties."
"Saved by the bell." She giggles. Already flushed as she catches her breath.
He leans forward to give her a kiss again, now soft and passionate. "Eat. You gotta regain your energy. I'll see you again later."
Nicholas went straight to the dinning room where Dan has been waiting. His son instantly stood up as soon as he saw him.
"I've been trying to reach you! Something has happened, Dad," Dan hastily said.
"Now, now. Calm down and take a seat," the Highborn said as he approaches the seat opposite his son, positioning himself as he waits for the conversation to start.
Dan went back to his seat. His hands jittery. "Something really bad happened."
"How bad?"
"Seriously bad." He looks down, pulling out a case file in his coat. "Eighty people were massacred in a train heading Venetian District. At least a hundred witnesses." He hands over the case file to him.
He flips it open, showing gruesome pictures of corpses piled up and windows bathed in blood. "That bad huh?"
The younger vampire was surprised by how calm his father is. He slams his fist on the table. "This is serious, Dad! This cult is getting bolder and they're starting to make a statement! We can't keep covering up especially with that number of witnesses!"
"Keep. Your voice. Down," Nicholas stressed.
Dan had no choice but to retreat, keeping his emotions to himself. He can't understand why his father is all too composed over this matter, as if it's nothing.
"It's our job to handle the cover ups. You know what you have to do. I've trained and groomed you for this role. Don't tell me you've gone soft now."
"I-I'm not--" He shakes his head. "I'll handle it," he firmly said despite doubting. They have been doing this job since he could remember. But this will be the first time he'll be handling a mass cover up. Something that he cannot really stomach.
"And the CCTV footage inside the train? Where is it?"
"Kameron took it before we could check it out. Since he is handling the investigation, we didn't ask for it any--".
"You fool!" The Highborn throws the case file on the table. "I told you before! Never let Kameron get ahead of you!"
"But he insisted on keeping it."
"Really?" Brushing his fingers through his hair, trying to calm his nerves. "Insisted you say?" He grabs a page then stares at it closely. "Do we still have some eyes in his team?"
"I think so."
"Good. Tell them to check on every listed passengers from that ride. And tell them to check on every finger print, every nail, every hair strand, every small detail they could find in that train." He grins. "It seems like something just caught Kameron's attention. Something that he wouldn't want us to see."
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After having some breakfast, Stella went to the pool to take a bath again. Leaning back, she smiles as she recalls the gentle Nicholas this morning. She is starting to like both sides of him. The gentle and the wild. His gentleness makes it seem like she is being loved.
"Am I?" she asked herself. Being loved. She haven't thought about that. A part of her wants to convince herself that it's all lust. That it is just sex. But the way he treated her this morning felt something more than just that. "Is it love? Why does it feel like I'm a teenager all over again, asking what's real and what's not?"
Being in this situation isn't new to Stella anymore. She has been through relationships before Nicholas. But none of them are vampires. And she doesn't know how a vampire actually feels. If she should at least trust every affection given.
She immediately finishes her bath, planning on going back straight to the bedroom. In case Nicholas checks on her again. As soon as she finishes changing clothes, a servant passed by the pool, staring oddly at her.
It immediately caught her attention as the servant kept her eyes on her.
"Uhm… Hey!" Stella calls her out.
The servant just continued walking towards the other end of the pool. For some reason it felt like she wants her to follow.
"Wait up!" She hastily follows the servant, leaving her soiled clothes and wet towel on the cubbyhole by the poolside.
She hasn't been in this part of the house before. There is no point of going into it, until now.
They passed through hallways leading to a part of the house that seemed older than the rest. The walls shifted to faded bricks, with walls mostly cracked. The sconce are dimmed to almost none.
"Where are we going?" Stella asked.
The servant just looked back at her then continues walking towards a door. It looks as if a door from the medieval times. The servant pulled out a very old rusted key then pushes it in the key hole. It made a clink sound as it unlocks.
She walks towards the servant. "What's in there?"
The servant pushes the door, letting it make an eerie creaking sound as the heavy wood moves from its hinges.
The room is pitch dark until the servant lights up the torch beside the door. As far as the light could touch is a tunnel heading to nowhere. She closes the door shut as Stella gets in. "Follow me," she said. Her voice soft and calm.
The tunnel seemed endless. And without the torch, it felt like the darkness with engulf them. Stella kept close to the servant as they walk further, unsure of what she is about to get herself into.
After walking through the endless darkness, they stumbled upon another door, almost the same fashion as the first one. The servant unlocks it. She then turns around, facing Stella. "I'm really sorry I didn't say it you earlier. I couldn't find the chance to be alone with you until now." Her voice almost tear-stained.
"What do you mean?" Creasing her brows. Confused as to what the servant is saying. She felt sorry for her. It felt like she's regretting something that she's never really aware of.
"What's behind this door is something that will break your heart."