My head was aching badly when I opened my eyes. I knew at once that I was in a grand unfamiliar room I've never visited before. A golden chandelier was hanging above and the intricate details of the furniture and every corner reminded me of the Victorian style. But even though it looked classic, it also has a bit of modern touches.
Sure, it was a good place to sleep in, but where was this place exactly?
As I rose slowly in a sitting position, the double doors of the room opened. A man in an all black attire went in. He was wearing a black turtleneck, black slacks and black overcoat. One look and I knew he was close to my age. A few years older than me at least. He was tall, lean and his chest was broad. He looked strong. My gaze then climbed to his face and found a pair of raven brooding eyes. His features were marked with hardness, especially his angular jaw that brought enough manliness that his face needed. His nose was high-bridged, lips thin and pale red, and skin was pale but seemed to be glowing. He was… dazzling. Too perfect for a human that I doubt if he was.
"Who are you?" I asked, but then I turned still, surprised that my voice sounded a little strange. It came naturally cold and smooth, I doubted for a moment if the voice really came from me.
"Aren't I supposed to ask that?" he said, drawing near. His voice was velvety in a pleasant way, and his tone was calm, soothing.
My forehead creased and I tried to remember everything that happened.
When I finally did, I froze. Then I panicked.
"Oh God! Where is Jaxon? Why am I…"
"You are in my residence, lady," the man said. He went closer and stopped a foot beside the bed where I was. "If I am not mistaken, the man you are talking about is the werewolf, right?"
He knew about werewolves. Who was this man exactly? If he was there, and if he was the one who helped me, then it could be that he was no human.
"How did I get here? The last thing I remembered, I was dying. Did you save me?"
The corners of his lips rose a little, but his eyes were cold and empty as though he had never seen colors his whole life.
"You are right. I saved you from Vienna's coven. I only meant to travel and it happened that I was near the vicinity. I was curious so I went to see. To my surprise, I caught them trying to murder a helpless mortal."
He knew Vienna. And the way he talked, he seemed to know about vampires for a very long time that their presence didn't surprise him anymore. More importantly, if he came and fought with those powerful vampires all by himself, does it mean he also was a vampire?
"You are one of them," I concluded aloud.
"I am," he admitted without any hesitation.
"Where is Jaxon? Did you also help him?"
"He must be dead by now."
My eyes widened in horror.
"What are you saying? You said you were there. You managed to save me–"
"Vienna has the ability to poison one's mind and make him suffer for a few hours before he dies. It is an irrevocable poison that once it enters someone's mind, he will have no chance of surviving. So why would I save a dying man? It would only be a waste of time."
My hands trembled. I felt so bad inside but I could not cry. I wanted to shout but the only thing I was able to do was clenched my trembling hands into fists.
"What if you were wrong? What if he has a chance?"
"I am a vampire myself. I've been around for a while in the world and have encountered most of the covens across different places, and one of the skilled vampires I've met was Vienna. She is a fighter, a leader of a huge coven of matured vampires. You know what brought her that position? It was her ability. One of the rarest, I must say. She can poison one's mind with only her crimson eyes. Once the poison has completely entered the mind, the person will feel so much pain. And like I said, it is irrevocable. I had never heard someone had survived from her ability before, so no doubt that the werewolf is dead by now."
I couldn't move. Anger rushed through my veins and I felt like I was about to burst.
Images flashed in my mind. Jaxon dead. Everyone in his pack dead.
I heard a harsh ripping sound. I turned to see the man, thinking it was from him, but I grew confused when I saw him standing upright in the same position, very calm.
I was about to ask him where the ripping sound came from, when I realized I felt strange.
I could see everything clearly, even the tiniest bit of the dust. I could hear every little sound around the place. I felt a little lighter and good in some way. The headache earlier had already vanished and all I could feel was that despite what I've gone through, I felt whole, I felt new.
But there was one thing that really caught me off guard. Why couldn't I feel my own heartbeat?
"How do you feel?" the man asked.
"What have you done to me?"
He snapped and the huge mirror from the far corner flew towards me. Thinking that he was going to hit me with the mirror, I backed away by instinct. But then later on, I realized it wasn't his intent.
I was about to ask what it was for when I had a good look of my reflection. My mouth fell open, my eyes wide.
How on the earth did this happen?
My eyes…
They are bloody red.
"Isn't this what you want? To be a vampire because you want to be with your vampire boyfriend forever?"
Vampire's eyes. It couldn't be.
I looked at the man. "What do you mean? How did you know about me and Carter? And are you saying I had turned into a vampire?"
No… this is ridiculous. The last thing I remembered, I was at the brink of death. I had accepted that I would die right there and I really thought I had no chance. Yet I woke up in a luxurious bedchamber with an unfamiliar vampire saying that Jaxon is dead, and then showing me my own reflection with my red eyes. How am I supposed to deal with these all at once?
My eyes drifted back to the mirror to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. The color of my eyes were still the same, blood red. Back then, I dreamed of being a vampire because I wanted to be with Carter as long as he lives, but what is the point of being a vampire now that he's gone?
"You are still confused, I see. To cut the story short, Vienna's subordinate, the one with her when she attacked you and your werewolf friend, bit you. He wasn't actually thinking of sparing you, but then I came and disturbed his supposed to be peaceful meal. I got you afterwards and the vampire's venom was incredibly spreading so fast in your body. Knowing that you will turn to a newborn soon, I couldn't just leave you around Lynnwood. Newborn vampires who just went through transition can't control themselves and would likely end up hurting anyone. That's why I brought you here to my residence instead."
I turned into a vampire.
I loved the idea back then, but now, why does it terrify me?
I still couldn't bring myself to believe everything I've heard, but when I realized how my throat felt like all this time, I came to understand that this wasn't just some sort of a prank. It was real. I really turned into the creature I dreamed to be before. My red eyes and my burning throat are the proof. But it didn't feel right. Everything didn't feel right.
"Henry," the man called.
The door opened and another man went in. He was wearing a black suit and a tie. He was tall, but not as tall as the first man, lean and had black mustache. In human age, I could say he is around early thirties. He was carrying a round stainless tray with a cover. He stopped a foot before the younger man, his head slightly bowed as if he was paying respect.
"Here, My Lord," the man named Henry said as he took the cover, revealing a wine glass filled with thick, red liquid.
How Henry addressed him made it obvious that he was working under his wing. Then does it mean that this man who saved me is not just powerful but also influential?
"Drink this," the man demanded as he gave me the glass with red liquid, which I'm sure is blood.
I thought like before, I wouldn't like the smell of the blood, but I was surprised when the glass was brought closer to me, a very luscious smell took over my senses and everything I could think of was the burning sensation in my throat. I felt incredibly thirsty. I was sure it wasn't thirst for water, though. It was the kind of thirst that was too potent for me to suppress.
"Drink," the man said again.
I didn't know what I was doing anymore. The next thing I knew, I was already holding the wine glass with both my hands, and I was drinking what was inside. The fact that it was blood didn't bother me at all. All I had in my mind was that it felt good. The satisfaction I felt was mind-blowing that I forgot everything else for a moment.
The glass fell on the comforter when I was done. My eyes shut and the burning sensation in my throat wasn't there anymore. Most importantly, I felt a lot better, better than I've been my whole life, actually.
When I opened my eyes, Henry was picking up the glass on the comforter. He put it back on the tray and left the bedroom without a word.
Meanwhile, the other man remained. His look was stern and serious. He got something in his pocket and I figured it was a white handkerchief. He then handed it to me in a cold and unaffectionate way.
"Wipe your lips," he said.
That was when I realized I messed myself up when I drank the blood. I wiped the thick liquid at the corner of my lips and in my jaw.
I looked at the handkerchief and saw that it was stained with red. I gripped on to it so tight that I could feel it tearing into pieces in my hand. There is no doubt blood can give satisfaction, but now that I'm back to being sane after that satisfying moment, I realized that being a vampire is no use to me now. Carter had met his true mate and left me, so the reason behind my desire to be a vampire had turned to ashes.
"I don't want this," I muttered, my eyes were on the pieces of handkerchief on my hand. "I don't want to be a vampire."
"It is who you are now. The transition is irrevocable. You don't have a choice but to accept that fact."
I looked up to meet his gaze. "You should just kill me, then."
"Kill you?" His brow shot up. "After I had made an effort to save you, you would just ask me to end your life?"
"I didn't ask for your help, anyway. And what's the point of becoming a vampire? The reason why I wanted to be was gone, but my family is still there. I can't be around them if I'm… dangerous!"
"Have you thought about that when you loved that man in my kind, though?"
"How did you know about that?" Did he know Carter?
"Vienna and I talked for a bit before I got her scared enough to escape. She told me a little background about the root of her anger. She had mentioned Carter Rellis and your relationship with him. That was how I knew it."
The root of Vienna's anger was my relationship with Carter? Is she related to him in any way? But if that is the case, she should have known that Carter already ended everything between us.
"How is Vienna related to Carter?"
"Maybe she loves him? I didn't ask about it anymore since it's none of my business. I just wanted to check if her anger was valid."
"No matter how mad she was, was it right to kill someone out of the picture?" My jaw was tight and I could feel the anger rushing through my veins. Thinking of Jaxon and his pack and that woman made me feel the urge to kill for the very first time.
The man only smirked.
"How about the pack? She said she brought a battalion of vampires with her."
"I have no idea. I was just a mere traveler that day and I happened to save you. I was also out of the picture, wasn't I?"
Right. It was not his business anymore. It wasn't his fault that he didn't know or that he didn't do something. I was the one who brought chaos. Jaxon died because he wanted to protect me.
"I can see it in your eyes that you are blaming yourself, but should you do that? You indeed have a fair share of fault for loving someone not meant for you, but you were not the one who killed your friend, Vienna did. You should loathe her instead of yourself."
"I want to kill her," the words came out in my mouth without thinking. I guess it was anger that pushed me to think that.
"You have every right to," the man said. His long, straight lashes flicked down when he lowered his gaze. "And I think you really need to do that. I've done an investigation right after I brought you here, and I found out that your parents died on the same day Vienna almost killed you."