Taken by The Hunger: A Blood Thirst Novel (Book 1) Paranormal Romance/ Erotica/ Urban Fantasy (6 page)

“Compel her then. Remind her.”

“If only it were that simple. I’ve tried compulsion, and it will not work on her. Don’t you think it was the first thing I tried?”

“My king you have brought her here too soon, no one knows exactly what she is. You may have endangered everything.”

“She was trying to mate with another, she has his scent all over her, and it’s causing me to go mad with rage. I will bring him here, drag him in front of her, and kill him right before her very eyes!”

“No, she will never forgive you for it, and you know this, or he would have been long dead. Look at her, she’s in pain because of the damage you have committed. This was not the way.”

“Then help me find the answers I need, or I will hurt her further for the pain she has caused me.” I felt his claw then, leaving a trail of blood down my neck and over my breast. “Maybe I want to use pain to break her, free her of him.” His arms wrapped around me, holding my back he lifted me. I felt his embrace when he whispered in my ear, “I wanted to kill you when I saw him over you... moments from taking what is mine, but this I promise you,” his breath fanned my neck, his tongue darting out- licking a path over the blood down my neck. My mind screamed
no, stop… don’t touch me.

His laugh was all sinister then, “You will want me, more than you ever dreamed possible. What you think you feel for him will seem so insignificant in comparison. I promise… you will beg me just as I heard you beg him.”

I refused to turn into another dominated sex starved minion because of his blood.

As his tongue cleaned the blood trail, he made so many promises forgetting the woman who stood watching only feet away. I could feel her sorrow, and wondered how, but most importantly why did I feel such a strong connection with her. It was very obvious she was concerned for me… she didn’t want him hurting me.

He kissed my cheek before whispering near my lips, “My beloved, I think the only way to fix us both now is through a little pain.”

“My king we made a solemn promise to one another, and pain was not part of it.”

“I know what I promised, and try not to forget your purpose. Leave us witch, and do not enter again unless you have found what we’re looking for,” he said as he tore open his shirt and held me to him. My cheek lay on his shoulder while I stared at the woman who dared make demands to this monster.

“What are you going to do to her?”

“I’m going to start by taking away all trace of him from her body, but you need to find a way to permanently remove him from her mind, or I will find my own.”

“I may be powerful, but none of the spells against your mate that benefit you will work for very long, and nothing is without consequence.”

“Make her forget him now. I want to feel, to see myself through her eyes for the first time without any knowledge of him in her mind.”

“My king, she has a strong mind. I must warn you this will only last a few hours if at all. All spells will work differently with her because of her lineage, and when it’s over she will despise you all the more.”

“Yes, she will despise me greatly at first, but then when she’s sick of all the pain she will remember her desire for me, and the great pleasure she felt after allowing herself to let go… to me and only me. She will prefer the pleasure. It’s what she feels towards me… deep inside herself, but is afraid of facing.”

Knotting her hands the woman said, “I will get what I need, My King.”

He waited for her to leave. Then, I felt him tearing my dress- undressing me, “You need my blood Emma… I would have waited for our union, but if I don’t feed it to you… well let me just say it will not be good for either one of us. I learned of this in your father’s dungeon while he tortured me and studied my blood.”

“Mhmm… I see I’ve caught your interest
Princess
. But first… I wish to bathe you. I can’t have you drinking from me and smelling of your slave.”

Chapter 7: Your Memories are Slaying Me

“Get
out of my thoughts! You should never have done that… some things are better left buried,” I said shaken to the core pushing off Darius, but he held on to me not allowing for any separation. “Let me go. It won’t work again, you’re not distracting me.”

“That wasn’t my intention,” he said letting me go. “Eva, tell me… you know what he did. I can’t find him, his weaknesses, if you don’t tell me what you suffered… how you escaped. Don’t you see? I need to find him and kill him a thousand times for your pain.”

“Tell me now who’s lying Darius. Stop making me relive another’s touch,” I said walking away from him.

I turned perceiving movement behind me, and a sick part of me wanted to see if my words had earned the desired result of him leaving, but instead he was up coming towards me- moving faster than any person ever could. I turned trying to get to the bathroom, but he had me so quickly, grabbing my waist, turning, and lifting me over his shoulder. Instantly he was at my bedroom door opening it and walking out into the hallway.

“What are you doing? Have you completely lost your mind? Put me down! Someone will see us, they’ll know.”

“Let them. Let them know you’re mine. I’ve been holding on, sitting on your bed, talking myself out of doing this, but no more. You need to get this through your pretty little head… I don’t care who touched you before. I just care about making him pay, and knowing it was me you wanted all along. I care that it will only be me touching you from now on.”

“But my father, he’ll fire you.”

“Your real father will try to kill me if he knows I’m anywhere near you.”

“Have you lied about everything?” I asked exasperated.

“Yes.”

I hit his lower back feeling like I hit a solid wall and not skin, “Why… where are you taking me?”

“Why… because you’re safer not knowing. I need to show you something, and stop squirming I’m not letting you go.”

“I don’t have proper clothes on… where’s everyone?” I asked looking around at the empty hallways we passed. “I’ve never seen this place so quiet.”

“I told Kamila to get rid of the guards on this floor at night.” He says reaching an elevator I have never seen before, and pressing the call button.

“Oh my god, have you made everyone believe we’re lovers? Because I’m sure that’s what they’re thinking when you told Kimmy no one was allowed here.”

“Kamila knows the truth. She knows I only trust myself to protect you, and I’m sure the others know this too. They know I haven’t had you yet… believe me Emma. They see what not having you does to me. And they know to stay the hell away.”

Shocked because I thought of Jeffery, and of everyone knowing our screwed up situation, I asked, “When did you implement the new rule?”

“The night we had our falling out.”

“Oh you mean the night you wanted to kill me?”

That would be the night you developed trust issues,
I think to myself.

His hand fell hard on my thigh spanking me, “Oww, why would you do that?” After hearing only silence and feeling the breeze of how fast he moved, I felt his hand fall on my thigh again. I felt the burn, so I yelled, “That’s it Darius put me down! I can walk just fine.”

“Not putting you down… and yes, that night. I wasn’t trying to kill you. I need you alive and killing you wouldn’t bring peace for either one of us.”

“Speaking of no peace, how long have you been spying on me while I sleep?”

“Enough, I feel generous and answer a few questions, and you think you can attack me with them, nice try.”

The doors open and he enters a stainless steel elevator. I feel claustrophobic as the doors join, and start panicking over his shoulder, “Please put me down. Where are you taking me?”

“I need answers… you know it wasn’t possible for him to drink from you, yet he found a way. I need to scan your memories to permanently finish him.”

“Finish him,” I laugh hysterically, “…you think you can erase the past if you get rid of him, but it doesn’t work that way.”

“Emma, I have to try. I don’t know how he did it. How he took you the way he did because a taste of your blood kills his whole race. Your blood is lethal to vampires. That is why your mother wasn’t afraid of him. She knew that if he so much as licked a drop from her blood… the immortal would fall dead. But when he drank from you with so much abandon… without a care in the world we knew he must have scented he was immune to you because no spell would have saved him. His heart started to pound once he drank from you. I heard it as loud as cannon fire.”

“Who knows about this?” I asked.

“No one, Eva. Up until this point not even you knew.”

“Make me forget. I remember how you made me forget before… when I found you.”

While we continued to descend, he caressed the thigh he had struck. The doors finally open, and he begins to walk out as I sigh with relief.

“I made you forget because you tried to kill me,” he responds walking into what looks to be an underground cave.

Striking his back again with my fists, unconcerned with where in the world we are, I shout, “I demand that you do it, or I’ll try to kill you again, and drained as you are I don’t think it will be very difficult.”

“It doesn’t work that way anymore besides I’m sick of living a lie,” he smoothly lets me slip down his body and holds me, “…of wanting you and depriving myself of you. I want to see all you are and what else I can tap into while you share your memories with me, see all that you’re hiding.”

“Screw you, and I demand you take me back.” I say pushing away from him, turning, and looking at the jagged rocks all around us. “None of this happened. Send Kimmy to my room, next time… I’m… I’m not myself when you come in. I’m acting out because of my dreams, and the drugs,” my voice is almost a whisper now. The cave’s beauty has captivated me.

“So you’re reverting back to that. Why… because you finally showed emotion…because you hold on to me and beg me not to let you go before you realize you’re awake, or was it what just happened now? Are you concerned- afraid of hurting me? I can take it Eva. I can take whatever truth you’re afraid of, whatever or how ever dark your need is. I can take you wherever and however you want.”

“We can deal with this Eva.”

“No… we can’t keep coming back to all this pain. You need to let me go,” I said injecting my voice with a strength I didn’t feel as I turned to bravely look at him.

Did he know how much I concentrated on tuning out the sound of his heart pumping his precious blood? How delicious that sound was to me, how starved I was to consume him? At the same time, did he know how I valued his life? No, I had to get out of here… wanted him to the extreme.

“Don’t call me by that name, it’s not even my name only a name you called me because you said everyone worshipped me. They saw me as a goddess or princess, but you… you said Eva fit me better because I would be your downfall… your forbidden. You were right don’t you see?” I laughed bitterly as I said, “We are forbidden to each other. After all these years of us being like this- it’s not getting better.”

I walk away from him and move towards the elevator, but stop because of a thought that keeps harassing my mind.

“And Darius, I don’t remember everything, but what I do remember… I rather not because whatever made me come after you to kill you can’t be good. The more I remember the more at risk we all are. I remember how I felt about you. How much I loved you, so forgive me if I’m not ecstatic wanting to dig up something that I’ve tried my hardest to forget.”

I look for him and see he is sitting in a wrought iron bed. There are some bare pieces of furniture here. It all looks out of place. This underground cave is truly beautiful. I was fascinated by it ever since laying eyes on it when he walked us in. “What are your plans, do you think to keep me in here Darius?” I ask silkily because I know he moves so quickly. I didn’t want to delude myself with hopes of reaching the elevator only to come face to face with a realization I wouldn’t forgive him for. He would not trap me here.

“If you mean to try and erase everything that happened between us, Eva… well then perhaps. You think I don’t know just how much you hunger for me, for my touch, yet you expect me to let you forget everything including the time we spent wanting, needing one another?”

I couldn’t answer him. I wanted him so bad it was killing me.

“I won’t let you run away because you still love me,” he says as he pierces me with his gaze.

“`Don’t you see that we are at risk of losing more than each other, if we keep digging up the past? We both almost died! I’m sorry but I’m not willing to see you die right before my eyes,” I pleaded.

“Eva, I don’t die so easily.”

I refused to listen, “My mother was right you know? About love… love has been romanticized, but in reality all it brings is pain and regret. To truly love another is to lose oneself. It’s wrong… it goes against who we are.”

“If you lose yourself to me and I to you, we are one in the same. There is no harm in love. Your mother is a cold, uncaring bitch who knows nothing of love, and she has done everything to shatter your confidence in it. I’m not who I used to be Eva, I’ve also changed. I can protect you from your fears, from him.”

I looked at his beautiful body and then up at his eyes. I remembered how it lay shattered with marble fragments digging into his beautiful skin, immobile with so much pain in his gaze while my blood was being drained from me. I’ve never seen such acute pain in anyone’s eyes.

I promised myself never to put that look in his eyes again, even if it meant giving him up. I knew he would hate me, but I could deal with his hatred if it meant he lived. I knew now I meant everything to him, and he was trying not to frighten me with the intensity of his feelings. He was practically begging me not to end us.

But I needed to end this disease that was our love because it was eating at us both. He had to see reason. He had to let me go.

So I said, “I don’t need your protection. Fear him… please there is nothing to fear. I don’t remember how, but I know I took care of him. He can only torment me in my dreams. A small price to pay for both our safety. Now I’ve come to realize, I don’t need you. I’ve learned how to survive. I’m not the fragile girl you fell in love with.”