Another night, another event and another dress. I stared at my simply but elegant red dress that reached up to my mid-thighs and sighed, finally getting tired of all these annual events. To me, it felt like all of this were staged, and it probably was. Humans would act nice and poised around the vampires, while the vampires would return the “kind” gesture. It was so immature but I guess it’s just their way of keeping “peace” and I've learned to accept it.
“Are you ready?” Vincent called out from behind closed doors and I muttered something to myself before sighing. “I heard that.” He opened the door and I slipped on my black heels before plopping down back on the bed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I answered almost instantly, eyeing his black suit that went really well with his loosened hair.
“Are you sure? Because I’m here to warn you about Dexter, you need to be careful because-”
“Because there is a chance that he’ll attend the event too, I know.” I finished, standing up straight and rolling my eyes. “You guys could just let me stay here and rot instead, but no, you just have to force me to be there now, don’t you?” I muttered, sarcasm dripping in my words and I heard Vincent let out a chuckle before walking up to me.
“You’re only going to be there until you finish the speech, love. It won’t even take long.”
“But I hate that dumb speech. Welcome, pleased to have all you here. Please take a seat and hear my fucked up lies about vampires and-”
“Adriana, relax,” He cooed, holding in a chuckle and I flinched when he brushed a few strands of my hair away from my face and tugging it behind my ears. “You’ll be fine. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He mumbled and my heart slightly skipped a beat at his words.
“Y-yeah.” I was about to take a step back, when a hand tangled around my waist, pulling me closer. I pressed my hands firmly on Vincent’s chest and looked up at him in confusion as he simply stared at me, his eyes boring into mine, then at my hair and occasionally flickering onto my lips.
“What?” I let out a nervous laugh, trying my best to ignore all the details he keeps taking in about my features. I mean, that’s probably not even the case and-
“You are just perfect in so many ways.” He cut off my thoughts and my jaws slightly dropped at his sudden words, my heart racing faster than ever as I tried to shake those feelings away. His blue eyes were now fixated into my chocolate ones and I couldn’t help but draw myself inside them, trying to find even a hint of lie hidden inside them but there was none. His eyes didn’t waver for even a second and I inhaled deeply before finally turning away and mumbling a quick “thank you”. I got out of his grip and was about to say something when he pinched my cheeks and turned around to leave, leaving the door open. That was just weird.
x-x
My eyes wandered at the unfamiliar men and females and I tried my best to keep myself together but it was hard to when all the guys kept glancing at me every five seconds. And by guys, I mean the Ardelean brothers, who is supposed to “protect” me tonight and make sure nothing happens to me until my speech is over, which by the way is in an hour or so. How charming to have to spend another hour with these sorry-excuse-of-a-human beings.
“Adriana?” a familiar voice called and I turned around to face Emily, a very old friend of mine, who was one of the closest friends I had in middle school. Before I could even say anything, she threw herself at me and I hugged her back tightly as she squealed my name only a million times.
“Oh my god, I missed you so much!” her green eyes gleamed and I nodded with a smile. “You have to tell me everything, start from the beginning and don’t even stop! I couldn’t even believe that you were chosen, you are so lucky! I haven’t heard from you in forever though, what happened?” she started rambling and I couldn’t help but chuckle a little as she shook her head, her golden wavy hair dancing around her face as she asked me another question.
“Emily, relax, it’s no big deal.” I mumbled, glancing at Raymond, Alaric, Finn and Kevin, who were now staring at me and Emily, their eyes not ripping away from us for even a second but I decided to ignore them.
“No big deal? No big deal? Okay, you need to take a step back and take all this in for a minute, darling. You were chosen by Draven Cruz, alright? Not just any vampire, Draven Cruz-”
“Yes, but-”
“So get a grip and look around you already. This is all yours and you are going to have so much more than this! Now come on, don’t tell me that it isn’t a big deal.” She waved her hands around the room like a maniac and I blushed slightly at her optimism before biting my lip.
“Yes, I know. But Emily, you of all people know that I’ve never been a fan of vampires.” I whispered and I watched her open her mouth to say something but shut it back almost instantly, her eyes now focusing on something right past me.
“Now, that’s quiet rude, kitten.” Raymond whispered into my ears and I gasped before spinning around to face Raymond, Finn, Kevin and Alaric.
“We’re not that bad.” Alaric said in a sarcastic tone and I mentally rolled my eyes before looking at Emily, who was now beaming in delight, her eyes not leaving the boys for even a second. Yes, in a way, I understand how she feels, I guess. I mean, if a bunch of Greek goddesses stood in front of you, wouldn’t you freak out too?
“Of course not, she was just joking,” she reached out her hand towards Raymond, who simply held them and kissed the back of her palms and I know for a fact that it took everything in Emily to not freak out right about now. “My name’s Emily.” She almost jumped up and I couldn’t help but laugh a little.
“Raymond, and this is Alaric, Finn and Kevin.” Raymond introduced the boys as they all pasted on a small smile for her and I raised a brow at their odd behavior.
“Oh, pleased to meet you all, I-”
“We’re leaving right now, got a lot to catch up on so.” I grabbed Emily’s hand, cutting her off and she sent me a confused look but I knew better than to tell her that we needed to talk privately. The last thing she knew was to talk in private.
“Catch up on what?” Emily and I both turned to face Vincent, who was now staring at Emily in suspicion and I let out a huff before tightening the grip around her wrist.
“Oh my god, you guys, I’m fine. Just let us have a private conversation without you guy’s eavesdropping every two seconds. She’s a friend of mine so just stop.”
“Why can’t you let us join the conversation then?”
“Yeah, we’re tons of fun.”
“We can even talk about boys if you want.”
With another huff, I started dragging Emily away, pushing Edward who had suddenly appeared in front of us in the process and made my way to the appetizer table.
“That did not just happen.” Emily barely choked out, her breathings only getting heavier as she tried to dramatically calm herself down.
“Oh my god, Emily, please-”
“They just talked to me, they just literally talked to me and-”
“Emily!” I cut her off with a whine and she stopped freaking out before sending me a grin and inhaling deeply. “Anyways, how are you? How’s things with your parents?” I questioned and she simply shrugged before going silent.
“Same old, same old. Dad’s refusing to give child support and mom’s freaking out about it and throwing random tantrums every now and then. It’s not getting any better.” She mumbled out, the spark in her eyes fading away and I gave her an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry, I thought it would get better for you after high school.” I squeezed her shoulders and she sent me a weak smile.
“It only got worse to be honest, but hey, it’ll turn out fine eventually. Can’t keep mourning about it forever now, can I?” she stated confidently and I simply gave her a reassuring smile with a nod, not really wanting to talk about it anymore, just in case it ruined her mood for the night. Emily and I talked for a while longer before she had to go and I waved at her as she left, the smile on my face not fading away until she disappeared into the crowd.
“Emily, huh?” Draven’s voice made me jump and I turned to my right to notice him leaning against the table. “She’s a friend?”
“Yeah.” I mumbled shortly, not really wanting to talk to him after he kept the secret about Dexter and at the same time, forcing me to attend this dumb event.
“Are you still upset?”
“What do you think?” I pressed my back against the table and cringed a little when he inched closer.
“How long are you planning to stay mad?” he stated softly, an arm making its way from behind me and placing itself on the table as he leaned closer. “Hmm?” he leaned his face closer and I didn’t even flinch this time. Stand your ground, Adriana.
“Oh come on, doll face, don’t be upset now. I said I was sorry.” His hot minty breath was hitting against my cheeks now and I didn’t even budge, no matter how tempted I was to push him away.
“Why do I have to be here anyways? I hate it.” I grumbled finally and shivered when he wrapped an around my waist, pulling me closer.
“Because I asked you to…nicely. And plus, I wouldn’t want you to lock yourself in your room and sulk the whole day now, would I?” his words sent anger boiling inside of me and with a soft growl, I brushed myself away from him and started to leave when two large hands wrapped around my body, pulling me into a tight hug from behind.
“Doll face, I was just kidding.” He chuckled, his chest vibrating against my back and I couldn’t tell what was worse, the fact that he had the audacity to joke about something like that right now or the fact that he had the guts to actually hug me in front of so many people.
“Let go, you’re embarrassing me!” I squeaked, darting my eyes at the bunch of girls and guys, who were now whispering and pointing at us, most of them glaring in hatred while the rest of them giggled softly.
“You look so hot when you’re embarrassed, you know that?” he suddenly whispered into my ears and I blushed slightly, trying to calm down my nerves. “I bet you’re blushing even right now, biting your lip nervously-” I immediately stopped nibbling on my lip and blushed harder, taking in all his words as his lips brushing against my earlobes, making me stiffen in my position. “It’s such a fucking turn-on.” His voice was barely audible now and I jerked myself away, my whole face flushing furiously but I couldn’t let that get to me.
“You-you’re so-”
“Hot? Irresistible?” he took a step forward with each word and I rolled my eyes.
“Annoying.” I corrected through gritted teeth and was about to say something when he closed his face to mine, the tip of his tongue brushing against my cheek as I backed away in surprise.
“Now cheer up.” He grinned, standing up straight and I groaned in disgust before wiping my cheeks roughly.
“Stop that.” I didn’t mean to sound so whiny and he simply chuckled again before disappearing out of my sight, making me huff in annoyance.
“Ladies and gentleman, welcome.” Draven started, stepping right in front of the crowd and everyone immediately stopped talking before all the attention were drawn towards him. I watched him roll up his sleeves, revealing his tattoos and sending me a glance as I stood next to the Ardelean brothers. They were all huddling around me and I didn’t bother to tell them to back away anymore. In a way, this made me feel safe and secure.
After a few minutes of talking about nonsense and whatnots, Draven called out my name and clapping’s erupted the room as I nervously made my way to the very front of the crowd. He gave me a reassuring smile before walking away and standing in front of the crowd, only a few distances away from where I was standing and I couldn’t help but mumble to myself anxiously, my body stiffening as the people started whispering and pointing fingers at me.
“Welcome, and pleased to have all of you here. I want to thank you all for attending this event and for taking the time to create and maintain this bond between the vampires and humans. For centuries, our kind has lived in fear and poverty. We were powerless and weak, until the Ardelean brothers came into our town and-” I glanced at the boys and for once, I didn’t feel sick staring at them. “Changed that for us.” I started to forget my lines and nervously glanced at Draven, who was now giving me a blank look, as if he knew this would happen all along. “An-anyways-”
“What a charming speech,” A familiar voice cut me off and without warning, a hand grabbed my neck from behind as I gasped for air, the sudden impact almost making me choke on my own breath. “You’re no good at lying, sweetheart.” My heart dropped at Dexter’s voice but my attention immediately drew towards the sharp knife he was now holding against my neck, the tip of it grazing against my skin as I leaned away, a whimper escaping my throat as he tightened the grip around my shoulders with his other hand. Screams and gasps filled the room and I watched everyone freeze, including Draven, who was now glaring at Dexter, his hands already balled into a fist of anger, as if he was ready to go all out.
“Let her go!” he yelled, taking a step forward but stiffened immediately when Dexter inched the knife even closer and at this point, I just stood stiff in my position, trying to take in what was happening but it all happened too fast and I was too late to even defend myself.
“Now, I suggest you take a step back, Draven. It’s time for my speech.” Dexter raised his voice, pointing the knife at Draven and then at me. I watched the color on Draven’s face drain away completely as he clenched his jawline, a void of emotions filling his eyes as he knew exactly what position he was in.
“The hell are you doing?!”
“What’s going on?”
“I suggest you all shut the fuck up before my brothers and I rip out each and every one of your pathetic hearts out.” Dexter suddenly growled at the people, squeezing my shoulders so hard, I cried out in pain and I watched Draven and the Ardealean brothers take a few step forward but come to a halt as soon as Dexter hissed at them.
“Get the fuck away from her Dexter! She has nothing to do with this!” Draven suddenly spat, completely losing it as he lunged forward but a group of guys grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back. My eyes widened when I noticed that it was now Francis, Cony and Zavier, their nails digging inside of Draven, who was now breaking free from their grip.
“If you take one more step, I swear to god, this little girl’s life will come to an end!” Dexter yelled and I gasped when he pointed the knife back at my neck, causing Draven to stop punching Zavier, who immediately dropped down on the ground.
“I said,” Draven’s voice suddenly turned all cold and dark, the knuckled on his hands turning white as he took a step forward through the silent crowd. “Let-her-go!” he yelled and spat through gritted teeth and at this point, I could barely recognize him. His eyes had turned almost pitch black and I couldn’t tell what was more scary, seeing this side of Draven again or having a knife pointed at my throat. The Ardelean brothers stopped Draven before he could charge at Dexter and I could hear Dexter sighing in exasperation as the boys struggled to keep Draven away.
“You’re scaring the poor girl here, Draven.” Dexter taunted, pulling my body closer against his chest and I let out a growl before struggling to break from his grip but it was no use. The more I struggled, the harder he would squeeze my upper arm and at some point, I couldn’t bear the pain. I’m sure it would have left a big black bruise by now but I couldn’t care less.
“Dexter, let me go! What do you want?!” I finally screamed, digging my nails inside his hands and I watched him shake his head, his eyes not leaving from Draven, who was now being held back by the Ardelean brothers.
“I want what’s rightfully mine, of course. Now for all of you who were nice enough to not act out,” he gave Draven a look and I watched Draven glare at him with so much hatred and anger, it caused a shiver down my spine. “Let me tell you why I’m here.” Dexter squeezed my already sore arms and I whimpered in pain, blinking away the tears as he kept going on. “I am a simple man. I just want what the rest of you want. I want power, a kingdom, a place for my brothers to stay, whores I can fuck with,” he paused for dramatic effect, then look at Draven, his actions growing a lot more colder as he pointed the knife at Draven. “In short, I want what he has.” It took me a few minutes to take in his words and when it made sense, I glanced back at Dexter as he simply stared at the people, who were by the way, just standing around like a bunch of lost, scared puppies and not doing anything to help.
“All of this, because you want to have what he has? Are you sick or-” I choked when he suddenly gripped my neck, the pain on my upper arm loosening and getting replaced with a more excruciating one around my neck.
“Sweetheart, shut up or else I’ll cut that pretty little face of yours. And yes, I want everything he has because he clearly doesn’t deserve any of this. It was me, who helped him create all of this and it is me who deserves everything he received on a silver platter!” he suddenly snapped at the end and I gasped for air, my mind loosing focus as I looked at Draven, who was now staring at me in desperation, his eyes full of plead and hatred at the same time.
“Stop! Let her go before I fucking-”
“Before you what, Draven? Hunh? Kill me? Last I remembered, this is mine.” He suddenly dropped the knife he was holding and swiftly picked out another one from his pockets and I stared at the long and silver knife with some carvings on the sides.
“Where did you-”
“I found it mate, and you know what they say, finders keepers.” Dexter let out his usual dark chuckle and I gripped his hands, hoping he would loosen the grip but it was no use. “Now, should I use it to kill you first and then go for her next?” he questioned and his words rang through my mind a million times before it all came crashing down. Wait-wait, there is no way that this knife can kill a vampire right? It can’t be, there is-
“I suppose that would be poetic,” He mumbled and I noticed a smirk tugging on his lips as Draven finally stopped struggling. “You know, she does remind me of Lianna. After all, they were both hot, and Lianna was really good in bed. Can’t wait to see what this one has in storage for me.” Dexter’s lips brushed against my cheeks and I cried out in disgust before jerking myself away. I didn’t even know it was possible for me to break free from his grip so easily but it somehow happened and I spun around to run towards Draven but my feet came to a sudden halt when my eyes landed on Dexter, who was now standing right in front of Draven, his arms extending further inside Draven’s chest as he let out a painful gasp. It all happened so fast and my eyes widened when I noticed Dexter pulling out the knife from his chest as blood starting oozing out of Draven’s chest and mouth, making my jaws drop open in horror but no words seemed to come out. The room grew quiet for a few seconds before people started screaming and crying, running away from the scene and Draven dropped down on the floor, right next to the Ardelean brothers, who were now in shock as well. A scream escaped my throat as I rushed towards Draven but by now, everyone had huddled around him and I pushed past them all before dropping down on the floor and grabbing his suit that was now soaked in blood.
“You bastard!”
“I’ll kill you, I swear to god, I’ll rip you apart!” I heard the Ardelean brothers yell and bolt up to Dexter but before they could grab him, he disappeared, along with the Armenius brothers, making my heart drop. I turned my head and stared at Draven, who was now laying still, his eyes not even opening as I tugged on his clothes harder.
“Wake up, what are you doing? Draven, wake up!” I sobbed and yelled at the same time, covering my hands on his wounded chest as the blood kept oozing out. I mentally gagged but held myself back before calling his name once again, and then again and again.
“Call the ambulance! The police, anything! Help him, he’s dying!” I cried, turning to look at Vincent and Tyrell, who were now just as panicked as I was.
“It’s not going to work alright?! They went to get the herb, the rest went to look for Dexter, Adriana. We need to take him to the room, now!” Vincent tried to push me to a side but I only gripped on him harder and shook my head vigorously, refusing to let him go. I was afraid, afraid that he will disappear if I let him go now.
“No! Don’t take him, he’s hurt! Just heal him, he’s dying!” I screamed, letting the tears roll down my cheeks as I watched the color on Draven’s face fade away with each passing second. He was losing too much blood.
He’s dying. He's really dying.
Xxx
