The Bride and Her Bloodlust

I woke with a start and shrunk away, hissing instinctively when someone grasped my shoulder. But my hostility instantly broke when I saw Lucius looking down at me with gentle worried eyes. I was pleased it was dark still, I had forgotten how long I had been out here, but I didn’t recall it snowing. A frigid chill had taken to the air and tiny flakes danced about in the darkness.

I let my lips cover my bared fangs and my bright alert eyes dull as he sat next to me, pulling me close to his side to shield me from the snow.

“You fell asleep.”

I shrugged. “The cold won’t kill me.”

Lucius frowned with disapproval, unhappy that I wasn’t taking care of myself, and turned to face the long concrete path that stood before us. Surrounded by wrought iron fence and sleepy rose bushes, numerous crypts sat perfectly together, lining the perfectly placed path. Each one held the corpse of an important member of our Clan, Lucius’ brother and Morrigan being among them. But the most recent placings had been Ella and her son.

James passed away two nights ago. He never woke up when he went to sleep with Alphonse’ holding his hand as always and Pyotr speaking to him within dreams. It had been nearly dawn when Pyotr stirred and just stared blankly at his friend’s sleeping face. No breath came from James. The Matter had finally killed him.

It was the next evening that we gathered up Ella and James and buried them among their own. Alphonse hadn’t said a word. He just placed his mate and son down together to rest and then left when Lucius sealed the tomb. He hadn’t said much since, only roamed about the woods alone.

“Has there been any news?” I asked as I watched the snow grimly.

“No.” Lucius replied as he buried his face in my hair and inhaled my scent lovingly. “The Family has fled and no one can find any sign of them.”

That irritated me mostly but I had heard it so often I was numb to it. Lucius, Vincent, Augusta and the Pack had been checking that old Witch house over and over again. Nothing could be found. The Allaways had simply vanished once again. It came as no surprise though. Whenever those Witches felt anyone sniffing too close to them, they would up and leave without a trace. But they were too good at it. No one was finding anything helpful or any clue as to where they had gone. No one would admit it but we were at a loss. We didn’t know where to go from here.

I shuffled closer to Lucius, enjoying the warmth his embrace gave me. While it was true the cold couldn’t kill me, I did like the warmth Lucius gave me immensely. It pressed home that he was truly back with no mad episodes. He had slept with me every day, kissed me every dawn when I woke, nuzzled me, held me, spoke to me in his usual gentle manner, made love to me whenever he got the chance. Lucius was truly back with me.

But, while we had gained Lucius and his lost niece, we had lost much too. With Ella and James gone, we could also lose Alphonse. The Core could die out. I was unable to bare children and Augusta’s mate was a werewolf, ensuring they couldn’t have any either. Alphonse was the last. He needed to survive or this Clan would lose its strength.

Augusta did appear to give him solace. She kept close to him, worrying quietly about his mental state. She often promised to never leave him, that she would always be around. He would only continue to look sad and lost. It worried me deeply, Lucius more so.

I remained staring down the path of graves while Lucius looked up at the sound of light footsteps.

“Well at least you found her.” Mo said as she came up to us in a flurry of skirts, holding a small clay vase filled with pale lilies. “Is she dead?”

“No.” I growled back.

“Good.” Mo replied calmly and turned to Lucius. “We have a couple of visitors. One being a relation of Blackburn.”

I glanced up with intrigue. “What do they want?”

Mo shrugged. “I don’t know. She wants to talk to you, Master, and the Lady. She’s very adamant about it.”

“The Lady could’ve called us, Mo. You didn’t need to come out into the cold.” Lucius said gently to her.

“I have lilies to place for Ella and James and respects to give.” Mo replied, her voice become quite tight and forcing her to cough. “I was coming out this way anyway.”

“Then I’ll leave you in peace.” Lucius stood, unwrapping his arm from me, which grudgingly made me upset.

I didn’t like it when he wasn’t touching me in some manner. It made me worry with a strong sense of bereft. I needed him touching me, to make sure he wasn’t going to get hurt again. So I scowled with annoyance at him as he wondered up the path slowly, giving Mo space and myself comfort that he was within my sights.

I stood before Mo, eyeing my elderly friend. She seemed to have aged recently with her hair greying ever more and her wrinkles growing deeper.

“Mo, you must rest.” I said firmly.

“There are things I must do, to keep the house ticking over and the servants calm. They fear for themselves. With the highest and most powerful members being taken down, captured or their defences destroyed, they are worried when the time comes when the house falls and they die.”

“The house won’t fall.” I hissed. “The Family has moved on, left us.”

“But for how long.” Mo stared at me calmly, her eyes dull with old fear. “The Master nearly turned mad. Ella is dead. The Young Master is on the brink of destruction. James was slain. You were caught and tortured. This house is weak right now. I doubt the Family will leave us be while they can strike us hard.”

I pressed my lips in a thin line and my eyes darkened. “I won’t let this house fall.”

Mo smiled weakly. “I know. You will die with it if it does.” She paused. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“It won’t.” I stated. “Lucius is with us again, the Pack it standing with us and we understand more about what is happening. We just need to know where they have gone.”

“Then maybe the Blackburn woman will be able to help. She brought someone with her, human I think. And she seemed quite excited.” Mo smiled and patted my arm. “Go to them. I’ll say my piece to Ella and James then come inside.”

I briefly grasped her hand as she continued to smile then let go to hurry to Lucius who waited further down the path. He didn’t say a word, just entwined my hand with his and guided me towards the house’s bright lights. I looked back at the line of crypts once, gazing at the shape of Mo as she placed the lilies down sadly, before I was forced to focus on the long wide sweeping steps before me.

Snow and ice littered the ground everywhere. Winter had taken a sudden sharp turn into the cold, not that I minded. The cold was good to me, it kept my mind sharp and my reactions swift, not like the heat which made me sluggish. But Lucius still didn’t like me spending so much time outside and even falling asleep during snow falls. He still hadn’t got his mind to shift me into the immortal category with some things. He was often scared I would get sick or become weak. It was silly but it made me feel cared for.

“I wonder who Mo spoke of.” Lucius pondered, breaking our silence, as we made our way across the raised courtyard and towards the large double doors.

“I’m not sure. I wasn’t aware Vincent had siblings or family.”

“The Clan is small, once believed died out. There are no branches, no main house were youngsters seek solace. Just one family. But I thought Vincent was the last of his.”

I hummed in curiosity and frowned when the heat swamped me, warming my chilled skin with tingling sensation. Lucius guided me through the lobby, aiming straight for his study. It was the place we seemed to congregate, as usual. Just before he reached the door, I tugged my hand out of his with some force. He turned back at me, smiling with amusement at my scowl and obvious attempts at avoiding his gaze. He knew I hated showing affection in front of people and, as usual, it was something he laughed about. I hated it.

I did find myself blushing a little at the frustration I felt lingering in his mind and the sudden lusting turn of his gaze as he gazed down at me. Images popped up in my mind, images of me naked, of my face radiating pleasure and moans escaping my mouth. Lucius was thinking of this, showing me what he thought, what he hungered for. He was eager again, keen to find a quiet place to tease me, strip me and have me all to himself. He was often like that at the moment. His hunger for me had grown since his poisoning. But he couldn’t slink off with me this time and it annoyed him, not that you could tell. I only knew because of connection and felt the lust clawing at him and saw the images he conjured in his mind. Lucius was very capable at hiding his high levels of lust from anyone. Just not from me. And knowing only fed my own desires and yearning. Embarrassment blossomed when I felt the frustration he felt rise within me and bit my lip hard to keep myself under control. It was hard.

Lucius entered the room with me scowling, red-faced, behind him. Inside, Eva sat perched on the sofa, holding the weird toy Pyotr had made, but no one else was with her. Alphonse was out in the woodland again, roaming aimlessly with Augusta following him to watch his back, and Vincent had returned to the house with Elgar and Dana. But there were two new comers here.

One was a timid looking man with thick glasses and scraggly hair. He sat in the chair beside the fair, sunk in as deep as possible and looking as if it wasn’t deep enough. He stank of fear.

But the little girl that stood beside him oozed strength and age. With mad black hair and olive skin, I instantly knew this was the Blackburn Mo had spoken of. I hadn’t expected her to look so young, especially as Mo had described her as a woman.

Eva smiled at me and indicated for me to sit. I did so, on my usual place on Lucius’ desk, keeping myself close to him as possible.

“Lucius and Susan, I introduce a sister of mine. This is Elizabeth, Vince’s sister and only Clan member.”

Elizabeth looked at me suspiciously as she shoved some of her hair from her face, making me scowl back.

“What brings you here?” Lucius asked kindly.

Elizabeth shot a stern glare at the man beside her, making him cringe and somehow sink further into the chair. “He does.” She said in a young but strong voice.

Lucius raised his eyebrow as I shared a curious glance with him. “And who is he?”

Silence fell as Elizabeth waited impatiently for the man to speak. “Come on, Daniel! They aren’t here to kill you. These people are good, unlike your own.” She snapped.

Daniel looked up, staring at Lucius and I with wide worried eyes. But he cleared his throat all the same. “I’m Daniel.”

Elizabeth sighed sharply with despair. “He’s Daniel Harker, a relation to that blasted hunter family Augusta was keeping an eye on before they fled.” Her scowl turned into a menacing grin. “Daniel has been helping me for a while now. And he and I have a bit of information you might be interested in.”

Lucius waited before he probed gently. “Such as?”

Elizabeth poked Daniel, encouraging him to speak rather sharply.

Stammering and readjusting his glasses fervently, Daniel spoke up. “I can say where the Allaway Family is. Where they hide when they go to ground. I can lead you straight to them.”

I raised my brow before a savage joy took me and my desire for vengeance boiled. The hunt just might be back on.