Damon sat calmly as Grant and Chase's argument continued. "If you hadn't killed the ghoul, I would have been on my thirty-thousandth kill," Chase grumbled, frustration evident in his eyes. "You can't just kill another man's prey."
"Shut up, Chase. That ghoul was too strong for you anyway. There's no way you could have done it. That's why I helped you."
I remained quiet, gazing at the stars that slowly appeared. Ever since my argument with Ava, I hadn't returned to her. Tomorrow was the duel, and Ava was still angry with me for trying to send her away. It felt like she didn't think before acting.
All I had done was question her insecurity. It wasn't as though I had any interest in any other woman. I could barely entertain the thought of someone else, let alone sleep with another. So why couldn't she trust me? I had done my best to make her love me, but it seemed my best wasn't good enough for her.
"Are you okay, Damon?" Chase asked, and I shook my head.
"No." I stood up, shooting them a glare. "Why do you two keep arguing over baseless topics? You know very well all that nonsense is stupid. Grant wouldn't have done that if he didn't care for you."
"Jesus Christ, Damon," Grant gasped. "Don't get me wrong, but I don't give a damn about Chase. He can go to hell for all I care."
Chase slapped the back of Grant's head. "Shut up."
"I'm mentally unstable right now," I mumbled as I sat back down and exhaled. "Lots of things are running through my head, and then Ava's arguments."
"What did you do to her, Damon?" Chase asked, folding his arms and looking at me. I frowned, and my anger resurfaced. "Why do you think I am the one at fault here? Can't she make me angry? Am I always the bad guy?"
"Yes," Grant nodded, "you're the bad guy. From what I remember, you killed her, and why? Because she forgot about you... isn't that childish?"
Just as he said those words to me, I was reminded of my terrible past.
**Flashback**
"Why do I have to be among all these? I don't even know you. I don't wish to be with you, so please just let me go!" Lara was dragged into the ritual ground, her long white dress slightly torn, tears in her blue eyes as she pleaded for them to let her go, but it all fell on deaf ears.
Being a nobody in the eyes of the council meant that anyone could pick you up in the village and ask for blood confinement. It meant you'd be stuck with that person for life. "You will get to know each other, and in your next life, when you are reborn..."
"He's not a vampire like me. We are not meant to be. Please let me go!" She was shouting and crying. "I am about to get married to the man I love, the man of my dreams, and he's waiting for me. Please tell them to let me go. Alex is waiting for me at the altar. I can't afford to miss that. He will be shattered. Please, I beg you to let me go, and I promise to go far away from here. I will never show my face here again, please." She begged with everything in her. I couldn't believe she left me for Alex, and here I was thinking she loved me.
"Is this a dream? Because I need to wake up. I can't just die like this without saying goodbye to Alex. We are supposed to be getting married today, and I'm sure he's waiting for my arrival, but I'm here about to die at the hands of these cruel people. I just wish someone could come to save me from them." She kept on lamenting.
"You will be reborn in the future, Lara, reborn and confined to me. That is the essence of this ritual." I said, smiling, as I moved closer to her. I touched her face and said, "You are the most beautiful girl I have ever set my eyes on. Only fools will let you marry someone else, which is why I'm keeping you."
"You're wrong. When you love someone, you..." I cut her off, laughing.
"Those silly proverbs... You're such a silly little girl." She just kept staring at me as I talked, and I knew she could see the fangs in my teeth. "You must be the abomination everyone talks about. Oh, what have I gotten myself into? How did I get entangled with him?" She said aloud. "Go to sleep now. You will feel great pain when burning to ashes, but remember, this is for us. When you grow up, you will feel this bond between you and me."
Tying her hands and legs, I left her on the colored floor, where lines had been drawn. "Master, your blood," one of the council members asked, with his head facing the floor.
"I know you're wondering why the council fears me so much, and what I am," I continued. "I may be a wizard, but there must be something more to that." I watched them inject my blood into a vial.
"Let me give it to her myself," I suggested. The council nodded, and I approached her. I touched her face and said, "You are the most beautiful girl I have ever set my eyes on. Only fools will let you marry someone else, which is why I'm keeping you."
"Now?" I asked. She nodded, and the ritual began. She looked shocked, and it seemed like she couldn't believe what was happening. "How is this right? Am I the only one who will be committed to him? He didn't take my blood the way I am doing. He isn't going to die, but I am. He isn't going to be reborn like I will be. This isn't how the ritual works. I can't die alone." She screamed.
"My whole life has been broken and scattered because of this man. I don't even know your name, you wicked and selfish man. I will never forgive you for this," she yelled.
Screaming in pain as her body burned to ashes, she said, "I make a promise to myself, not to fall in love with any man that possesses black eyes in my next life and not to be this weak for them to drag me around. If I am to meet my Alex again, I must love him again." Everything has to work out between us; it just needs to work and if she was to be reborn, I had to make sure she fell in love with me again.
*End of Flashback*
"Get lost, Grant."
"Grant is right, Damon," Chase interjected. "You're not the good guy here. You killed her and then took her from Alex. I think you took things too seriously."
"I never stole her. Alex stole her from me," I retorted, growing more irritated. "We were betrothed to each other, damn it. I almost had her, almost made her mine before Alex came into the picture."
"I still don't get why you killed her," Grant shrugged. "Killing for kills, you're the bad guy, and you'll always be one."
"Damon, you have a duel tomorrow," Chase reminded me. "Take your mind off women and focus. We came to this forest to train and for you to kill to strengthen yourself."
"Take Ava off your mind," Grant chimed in. "She is already yours, though I think you should apologize."
I didn't bother explaining that I hadn't done anything wrong. They wouldn't believe me anyway. Venturing deep into the forest, I unleashed my anger on any creature I encountered—fae, wolves, and ghouls. The smell of blood filled the air.
For Grant and Chase, this forest was a sanctuary. Killing seemed to bring them solace. It reminded me of the old days when all I could think of was food, sex, and killing. Back then, my life was relatively calm and less complicated.
I hadn't been trying to make anyone love me. Sometimes I wondered why I had fallen in love at all. How had a harsh man like me fallen for a fragile girl like Ava? Was she worried? Was she lying in bed, waiting for me to touch her in all the intimate places?
What was I even thinking? Was she waiting for me to return?
"Damon!" I heard her voice calling my name. I stopped in my tracks, glancing at Chase and Grant, who both shook their heads, indicating that it wasn't them.
"The voice sounds like a woman," I muttered. "Ava's voice. But in this forest, it's dangerous."
Without another word, I ran toward the direction of the voice. "Where are you, Damon?" I could hear Ava's voice, her dress short and suitable for running. She had tied her hair in a high ponytail.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, startling her as I approached from behind. She screamed and flinched, but when she turned around, I got a good look at her, wearing a yellow summer dress that clung to her. "You fell?" She nodded, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"I'm sorry, Damon," she sniffled. "I'm sorry for saying all those things to you. I didn't think, and you were right. I should have learned to think things through."
"Ava," I began.
"Let me finish," she said, wiping away her tears. "I've been stupid, foolish, insecure, and doubtful. I know you love me, and not saying those words back to you makes you think I don't feel anything. But I do. I care for you, too, Damon, and I don't want you to get hurt. Won't you forgive your silly girl?"
Looking down at her, a smile spread across my lips. I helped her up. "Don't kneel ever again, Ava. I'm not that angry with you."
"Which means you were angry?"
"Of course," I replied, furrowing my brows. "You told me you hate me." I took a piece of cloth from my pocket and wiped some mud from her face. "Aren't you scared that something might have eaten you here because of your loud voice?"
She looked up at me as I cleaned her face. "Thank you, Damon. I was waiting in bed for you, but you didn't return, so I came to find you."
"Waiting in bed for me?" I raised an eyebrow. "To do what?"
A blush colored her cheeks. "To touch me," she mumbled. She stepped closer to my body, her hands on my chest, then slowly moved to my neck. "You have a duel tomorrow, and I want to give you myself so you can have a good sleep and wake up in fighting spirit."
"I like that thought," I growled, kissing her lips. "I like that silly thought a lot."