Claude woke with a start, every nerve in his body electrified as he rushed out of bed with a gasp. His body was coated in sweat, his shirt sticking to his skin. He was panting, clutching his head as a pulsing migraine pounced on him.
He had that dream again. He swore out loud, banging his fist against his pillow. This woman…this thing had once again invaded his dreams. Why was she tormenting him so much? What had he ever done to anyone to deserve such treatment?
" Master Breakfast is served"
The butler's voice came from behind the door.
Claude took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his wet face, his hand roaming his neck in tiredness. He flinched as his finger scraped something painful on his neck just above the jugular vein. He frowned, pulling his hand back to see a small spot of blood on his fingertips.
"She did it again…"
he muttered, staring at the blood on his fingers.
Every time he had that horrible dream, she marked him. Somewhere she would bite him and leave bloody marks. If it weren't for these marks, he would simply reject her existence like a repetitive nightmare. But every morning after the dream, he would find those bites and he would know… she was real.
" Master, I'm going to run you a bath then I come in.
The butler's voice rang out again
"Yes, come in"
He responded, wiping his neck once more, the butler came in and went straight to the bathroom to prepare his master's bath... like every morning for a few weeks, he had this awful face when he woke up. The doctor said it was just labor but he couldn't believe it.
But he was only a servant so he would stay in his place. He went running the bath and sometime later Claude went to take it.
He took off his sweaty night clothes and stepped into the tub, letting the hot water wash over his naked body. He thought about the dream, thought about the devil that haunted him, and knew he would see her again tonight.
It had started as a midnight nightmare. He had entered this strange black world with total confusion. He had known it was a dream. What else could it be? But it felt so real to him. He had wandered in the mist for what seemed like hours before She appeared. For the first few times the dream happened, she was nothing more than a disembodied voice, creeping around him, whispering sinful words in his ear to make him blush.
That first night, he woke up more panicked than he had ever been. That night was five weeks ago. One shouldn't wait another week before he had the dream again, and then another week and a half before the next one. It started to become rare between the two when he wouldn't have had the nightmare. And before long, it would be a strange occurrence not to have the dream.
He got out of the tub, a puff of steam following him as he did. He stood in front of the mirror, wiping away the condensation to look at his face. His dark hair was wet. His dark eyes were cloudy with fatigue, dark bags under his eyes. He stared at the newly obtained mark on his neck, the same as the one on his right shoulder, his left wrist, his pectoral muscle, and his left shoulder blade. She likes to bite, either because she liked seeing him squirm under her, or because she liked the taste, he didn't know.
He decided he would wear his jacket today over a shirt and roll up the collar.
Once the thought crossed his mind, there was an audible hiss behind him and the feeling of fingers trailing down his back, making him flinch and shiver.
" Leave me alone…"
Claude whispered wearily, not even glancing behind him because he knew she was there. She followed him, looked at him, and teased him with her touches, her breaths, and her sensual whistles. She played with him during his waking hours and tormented him during his sleeping hours.
There was another caress against his shoulder and a small laugh as he knew she was admiring his naked body in the mirror. He quickly grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his waist, and went into his room to get dressed.
He knew she was following him because he could feel her breath on the back of his neck. She was still following him, always keeping an eye on him. How long had she been there? Since the first dream? Or longer? He didn't realize she was there until she finally revealed herself to him. Ever since she was there, right behind him, caressing him and making him shiver. Even when he wasn't dreaming of her, she was there to make his day hell.
He quickly put on his black pants, doing his best to hide his pride while doing so. He pulled on his shirt and grabbed his jacket to hide his new mark, but the second he touched it, he felt claws dig into his hand painfully. He flinched and backed away, four small marks appearing on the back of his hand where he felt the claws.
Claude frowned. She wanted everyone to see it, to see that she had marked him. She was possessive, constantly telling him that he belonged to her. And concealing the mark would only increase his torment.
Once fully dressed and dried off, he walked downstairs to the dining room finding his family seated around the table and waiting to have their breakfast. The butler turned to him as he entered, and frowned gently at his lackluster appearance.
" Master"
The man said, pointing to the seat of the head of the house.
" No, it's fine. I'm just going to go to my office earlier. I have a lot of work to do."
the butler frowned, about to say something when Karl, his eldest son, three years old, jumped up from his seat and pointed accusingly at Claude.
" Father, why don't you come and have breakfast with us? You don't like us?"
" I have a lot of things to do."
Rolling his eyes, Claude walked away towards the door.
All the while, his wife had remained calm staring down at her meal while Edward, unaware of everything going on around him, continued to bang his spoon on the table.
" See you"
Claude said before leaving the dining room.
The butler sighed sadly as the door closed and he turned to the hostess.
" Madame... I'm worried about the master."
she nodded solemnly
" He has been quite gloomy in recent weeks"
she agreed.
Claude arrived at his office and spent his time checking a few documents he hadn't been able to finish the night before. He looked out the window of his office at the servants of his house, talking among themselves. Since his nights were spoiled by the appearance of this demon, he didn't dare to think of her name, he felt so alienated from the rest of the world.
As if standing outside the stream, watching it pass as it stood still.
" My dear…"
Claude turned his dark gaze to the person who had shyly called him. Next to his desk stood his wife who had probably entered without him noticing. He frowned upon seeing her, startled by her sudden existence next to his desk.
It was his wife, with long blond hair and big, innocent blue eyes. She was very pretty, everyone was captivated by her at first sight.
She wiggled her fingers, her eyes glancing around her husband's face as she stood near his desk. He was about to open his mouth to return the salute, but the second he did, there was a sharp claw in his back, a territorial hiss ringing in his ear. He bit his tongue to keep from moaning in pain.
" My dear ??"
His wife blinked.
" Hello, my dear…"
Her eyes finally settled on his face, and she leaned her head in confusion at his lack of response.
" Yes hello, Eleo..."
Another possessive hiss gripped his back.
" Madam"
" I…"
Eleanor started fidgeting again once his attention fell on her.
"I...it was just...I wanted to…"
" What's wrong?"
asked Claude, raising an eyebrow.
" Are you OK?"
Eleanor's face flushed.
"I...I...I...what happened to your neck?"
She said suddenly, her eyes fixing on the anomaly of his neck.
Claude spent a good second wondering what she meant when he remembered the bite mark he had received last night. He quickly covered it with his hand, flinching as pain shot through his body as he touched the new wound. He felt a hand caress his own over the wound, a sound of pleasure resounding inches from his ear.
" It's nothing"
He said quickly, causing another hiss from the demon. She didn't like that he dismissed the mark as "nothing". That was Her mark, claiming him. He ignored her displeasure and stared at Eleanor as she continued to squirm.
" GOOD"
she whispered, her eyes wandering the room.
" I… was just wondering if you saw the butler."
She lowered her head slightly.
What was she planning ?