After a day of thought and soft sex, I made up my mind to put the exploration on hold for a week. Not only was I overstressing myself, which was no doubt impacting the mission, but Nicholas was incredibly suspicious of me. I could ease the tension and de-stress by relaxing for a week, then returning to it later. The next morning, I got my fancy clothes on and decided to take a walk around the mansion. I really wanted to go outside, but that was strictly forbidden without being accompanied by a vampire. Therefore, the courtyard was off-limits during the day. I peered through some window curtains, examining the yard and smiling to myself. Lucy would have loved it here for sure, prior to her vanishing, anyway. There was a menagerie of all different kinds of birds, hopping around and playing in the birdbaths set up by the vampires.Statues of various animals, like lions, wolves, and bears were set up for the atmosphere. The area was surrounded by a pine forest, which I watched sway
I was right. No one bothered me as I went through the mansion at night. There was moaning from several rooms, reminding me of the orgy and causing me to blush, but it didn't distract me from my mission.I licked my lips, shoving the thought of wanting more of what I experienced to the back of my mind. While the sheer, raw lust that'd been involved in that entire activity felt like nothing I'd ever been through before, it was a means to an end. Memories like that would be lovely but fade.My sister still had her entire life to live… if she was still alive. She had to be, right?I made my way down the halls even further, at this point knowing the route by heart. I passed by the room I'd already explored, dismissing it as unimportant. I doubted they'd add much of anything that would be of interest to me following my sleuthing there.The scent of a mixture of cologne and perfume hit my nose as I passed by a few rooms, but soon enough that faded. I was entering territory most
"Given you are still here and up to no good, it appears I've caught you instead of Remus or Misty this time. How many times have you snuck out since we last spoke, hm?" Alexander growled.I shrugged my shoulder away from him, that fear rushing through me again. The smell of his cologne washed over me, causing me to want to melt right here and let him do whatever he wanted. Not the most productive of thoughts at all, which caused me to let out a low groan. I said, "You're going to preach to me again how unsafe it is walking around at night, is it? If you're so angry, then why don't you do what you claim the cultists would?"I was growing bold at this point, tired of being sniveling and scared on the ground. Learning about The Vicious and what the cult wanted to do with them was frightening. Something he knew about, as a matter of fact. A little voice in the back of my mind reminded me of what he was and what he could do. I needed to keep this burst of bravery in check. Alexand
I willed myself to remain calm as I regarded Alexander with a frightened stare. It wasn't some sort of ploy, either; I was legitimately afraid of him right now.That hungry stare was fixed upon me as if he was a wolf looking at a lamb lost in the woods. I took several breaths, my chest heaving a bit before I refocused. As much as I wanted this chair to completely suck me in, I didn't know any such magic yet. Bummer. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I finally asked, then gently reached up to trace the bite on my neck.Hopefully, that would deter him, but the 'please don't bite me' card could only work for so long. He never seemed interested in biting me before, anyway, but that probably didn't matter here. He broke his stare briefly, his eyes flickering down to stare at the mark. Then, I saw him roll his eyes and heard him give a low growl. "If you think I'm wanting to bite you, you're sorely mistaken," he said. "I'm looking at you like this because you're something else
"No," I said defensively, at this point, the only thing I could say. "I really am afraid. Especially now because of what you're doing."This didn't stop him from leaning away from my ear only to keep his face in mine, our noses nearly touching. I backed away from him, but he followed until I was up against the wall. He stayed just as close, though this time, our lips were so close to touching that I had to swallow hard and dismiss those intense feelings of wanting.Scolding myself inwardly, I let out a soft sigh and winced. "You're part of the reason she vanished. Aren't you?" she whispered, causing him to give a low growl and narrow his eyes.He finally leaned away, giving me space, which allowed me to breathe a little. Thank goodness, because it was starting to really get hot in here. I knew I was exhibiting signs of attraction, which really wasn't helping my case right now, and just serving, as usual, to distract me.Alexander eyed me up and down, then pinched the bridge
"Can I come in? I just wanted to check on Lorelei, cause I was concerned," Nicholas muttered, his stare shifting from me to the other vampire.I couldn't tell from his tone if he was being genuine, though I could feel my heart going a mile a minute at this point.Alexander looked over his shoulder toward me, then back to Nicholas, letting out a sigh. His body language was tense as if he was taken by surprise as well. "Fine. She's overwhelmed with stuff lately so be delicate," Alexander replied, much to my dismay.Now there were two vampires here when I was not in the best of mindsets. Alexander didn't know my connection to Lucy, and I wanted to keep that guarded. Nicholas no doubt found out about my sleuthing, otherwise, why would he be here?I gulped and hugged my legs again, not really wanting to have this conversation now after finally finding out something about Lucy.But wait… Alexander had said he thinks she was still alive prior to him being interrupted. I bit my li
"So you think Lucy is alive? How? Where is she?" I asked, completely distracted from his comment before on me being 'intriguing'. That wasn't important, not when Lucy was involved and I could finally find something out.I began to pace, exhausted but tired of hanging out in a bed or chair during these conversations. Or, in Alexander's case, up against the wall and nearly having my legs crumble in fear. My shoulders slumped as exhaustion consumed me. All of this hadn't been in vain, at least. "I do not know," Alexander muttered. "Or, rather, I don't know all of the details."There was a long, awkward silence that passed between us. Alexander was studying me carefully, no doubt trying to figure out if I was alright or not. Perhaps he considered asking, but thankfully he kept his distance as stress and anxiety took their toll on me. Things were only made worse as I realized that yes, while my sister was alive, she was now a mindless monster. "Has Nicholas been held accountable?
The next night, it was all about operation: Find Lucy. Though Alexander had distracted my thoughts all day, my mission was turning extremely serious.I stared at myself in the mirror, tracing the circles under my eyes and giving a smile. From my search in the library, I knew what to expect from The Vicious. I just wanted to find out where she was, then I'd begin working on crossing the 'what can I do' bridge later.The book said nothing about a cure, so perhaps there was some other piece of knowledge I'd need to search for.Either way, I grabbed my salve, realizing it was one of the last doses. I only had two more following this, so hopefully, I could take care of multiple things in this trip. Searching the library for another book on these things may be helpful.I thought that over while splashing water on my face, exhaling slowly. This was it. I hadn't gotten much sleep, as usual, given the circumstances. The little sleep I did get treated me to nightmares. I couldn't stop se